In 1977, Theatrical Outfit was founded by nine young Atlanta theatre artists who wanted to shake things up and launch some electric new energy into the theatre scene.  TO is launching a new festival to re-capture that energy, and launch a new generation of touring work that can light up stages in Atlanta, across Georgia, across the nation, or across the globe.

The American Theatre ecosystem is at a turning point post-pandemic. We need fresh new ideas.  New energy.  New performances that can shake up the theatre making model, and offer audiences something exciting and raw. Something that demands them to pull their asses from their couches and streaming services and interact with other human beings in an electric live performance space.

LAUNCHPAD: A “MADE IN ATLANTA” FESTIVAL is an exciting way to empower a new generation of theatre artists with the space, resources, development, and institutional support to create visceral, compact, innovative, and portable performance pieces than can be replicated in ANY space in Atlanta, Georgia, the nation, or even across the globe. This MADE IN ATLANTA festival will become an incubator for pioneering brand-new shows originating from the diverse creative ecosystem of ATL.

July 14, 21 & 25 at 7:30pm | July 18 at 2:30pm | Click Poster For Tickets

BlerdMan follows a lifelong Black nerd whose world is shaken when a school bully claims there are no real Black heroes. Equipped with his own overactive imagination, he sets out on a hilarious and heartfelt quest to prove otherwise. His journey through pop culture, history, and personal memory leads to the revelation that the greatest hero he’s ever known is his own mother. This one-man adventure blends comedy, storytelling, and theatrical spectacle to celebrate Black resilience and the extraordinary power found in everyday heroes.

ARTISTS: Chase Brantley (Artistic Consultant), Thomas Brazzle (Playwright & Performer), Julian Clove (Illustration), Darrell Grant (Director), Atalanta Siegel (Props and Scenic Design)

July 15, 18 & 22 at 7:30pm | July 25 at 2:30pm | Click Poster For Tickets

An estranged grandmother and granddaughter, both named Penelope, share a sleepless night on the porch. As the evening unfolds, Poppy’s mischievous, magnetic spirit collides with Nell’s quick-witted restlessness as they dance barefoot under moonlight, spill secrets over tarot cards, and face the shadows who’ve shaped them both. By dawn, both women discover a path toward transformation that glows as gently and defiantly as sunrise. The Penelopes is a poetic two-hander about intergenerational kinship, the rituals we create to survive, and the hidden magic in the most ordinary of nights.

ARTISTS: Brandy Bell (Performer), Kira Rockwell (Playwright), Alejandra Ruiz (Director)

July 16, 23 & 26 at 7:30pm | July 19 at 2:30pm | Click Poster For Tickets

An Asian-American actor returns home to Mississippi, caught between the glitter of the American Dream and the reality of his immigrant upbringing. Queen (of the American Nail Salon) is a one person show exploring family, cultural distance, and time. Wrestling with the growing distance from his mother, a proud Vietnamese woman who calls herself “Queen of America” all while scrubbing strangers’ feet in a small Southern nail salon. With a story shifting between English and Vietnamese, reflecting the alienating effect of a man who doesn’t know the language of his own cousins, Queen is a search for connection and belonging, seeking enduring love even when words fail.

ARTISTS: Corey Bradberry (Co-Playwright, Director & Dramaturg), Ryan Vo (Co-Playwright & Performer)

July 17, 19 & 24 at 7:30pm | July 26 at 2:30pm | Click Poster For Tickets

In this bold, electric fusion of stand-up and theatrical storytelling, Valeka returns to the stage on her own terms. With Keysha—her no-filter, truth-spilling alter ego—by her side, and insights pulled from her bestselling book Blossoming After Divorce, she dismantles the lies, the rumors, and the people who underestimated her, transforming it all into her manifesting queendom. Abandoned mid-IVF. Broke. Alone. A survivor of sexual assault and divorce. Valeka steps forward to set the record straight—loud, raw, and unapologetically clear: “I’m A Motherfucking Super Star.”

ARTISTS: Rhavynn Drummer (Director & Producer), Valeka Jessica (Playwright, Performer, Producer), Vallea Woodbury (Production Manager & Producer

TRIUNE by Stephen Ruffin and Filipe Valle Costa  |  July 27 @ 7:30pm

TRIUNE traces the same act of conquest across three seemingly disparate moments in time. In the Past, Lapu-Lapu faces Ferdinand Magellan as Europe arrives by force; in the Present, two Hollywood producers fight over ownership of that history; and in the Future, a soldier surveys a new world for humanity’s next claim. TRIUNE moves through three intimate stories to reckon with how power mutates over time, from blade, to camera, to interstellar expansion.

In Rapping Shakespeare by Caleb Clark  |  July 28 @ 7:30pm

In Rapping Shakespeare is a whirlwind journey through hip-hop and Shakespeare that asks the audience to grapple with their own self-image, reconnect with the spoken word, and see their fellow human with a bit more kindness, curiosity, and wonder. We follow an ambitious actor as he builds the career he’s dreamt of, achieves everything he’s ever wanted, and slowly finds himself becoming a person he not only doesn’t recognize but despises. Follow him on his road to recovery and see what happens when he’s forced to finally stop running and face himself.