PUP Fest is back! This year's Playwright's Under Progress (PUP) Festival will take place on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 12 pm AND 2 pm at Dallas College - Richland Campus (12800 Abrams Rd, Dallas, TX 75243), Building F – Fannin Hall – Blackbox Theatre.

PUP Fest 2026 features 6 plays written and performed by teenagers across North Texas! Junior Players and Kitchen Dog Theater started Playwrights Under Progress (PUP) Fest in 2002 as a new piece of Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival. An annual anticipated event, PUP Fest is also a component of the Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership between Junior Players, Kitchen Dog Theater, and the Dallas Independent School District to provide innovative programs and opportunities for high school playwrights. The D-PAC partnership allows Junior Players and Kitchen Dog to serve an additional 1,000 DISD students through ongoing playwriting master classes throughout the school year.

This year’s scripts include, in alphabetical order: A Heart Found in Code by Hailey Bautista (W.H. Adamson High School), Fruit Bowl by Makayla Leija & MacKayla Rodriguez (W.T. White High School), Making Lemonade by Bailey Lusk (Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management), Object Zero: The Receptionist by LeCalvin Wiggins (David W. Carter High School), Voices by Graham Raney (Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet), and [We Know His Name] by Natalie Lugo (Greenhill High School). These six scripts were selected from a field of over 100 submissions from a variety of high schools from all over the Metroplex.

Space is limited! Tickets are limited to 4 per person. RSVP for either our 12 pm performance OR our 2 pm performance to ensure you don't miss out on this incredible festival! Please note that all seating is General Admission and patrons will be able to select their seats on a first-come first-serve basis. If you are in need of accessible seating, please email Junior Players Events and Outreach Manager, Jeremy Saxton, at [email protected] at least 24 hours prior to the performance and we would be happy to accommodate you.

About PUP Fest: Junior Players and Kitchen Dog Theater started Playwrights Under Progress (PUP) Fest in 2002 as a new piece of Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival. An annual anticipated event, PUP Fest is also a component of the Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership between Junior Players, Kitchen Dog Theater, and the Dallas Independent School District to provide innovative programs and opportunities for high school playwrights. PUP Fest was recognized in September 2003 with a Special Award from the Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum.

About Junior Players: Since 1955, Junior Players has been empowering young voices by providing high quality, arts programming to North Texas children and youth at no cost to our participants. Over its existence, Junior Players has striven to meet the changing needs of the community. From 1955 to 1989, Junior Players presented traditional children's theater productions performed entirely by children and teenagers. In 1989, the Board of Directors changed the focus of Junior Players activities, deciding that, Junior Players can best serve the youth of Dallas by providing free programming accessible to all the children of North Texas. Junior Players, therefore, exclusively provides free arts education programs in local recreation and cultural centers, housing projects, elementary and middle schools, and through social service agencies serving youth at risk.

About Kitchen Dog Theater: For 35 seasons, Kitchen Dog Theater (KDT) has provided a place where questions of justice, morality, and human freedom can be explored, whether they are found in the classics, contemporary works, or new plays. KDT provides a vibrant home base for Dallas theater artists by maintaining a 35-member Artistic Company of the area’s best theater artists. Over the years, Kitchen Dog has received over 400 awards, including D Magazine’s “Best Theater Company” for 2019 and "Best Theater Production" for 2024. A mission-driven company, Kitchen Dog is also staunch champion of new work and is a founding member of the acclaimed National New Play Network, producing timely, provocative plays that may have otherwise never been seen in Dallas.