The theatre community has seen immense creativity in the past few weeks as many local theatres have been announcing their updated plans for next season to bring the arts to audiences without gathering in droves. The latest to join the ranks of such innovators is Theatrical Outfit.

Just the facts

Theatrical Outfit has pivoted their ’20-’21 season to incorporate streaming, notably adding a four-part play reading series to their previously announced season. They will move forward with modified plans for their Unexpected Play Festival, their mainstage production of Tiny Beautiful Things, and the launch of Made in Atlanta, as well as other newly-announced performances.

Check out full season’s programming plan below!

From Theatrical Outfit

“We believe that theatre offers an essential place for dialogue in times of extreme disruption, and a space in which our community can celebrate, console, and most importantly, connect with one another. TO is committed to building programs that not only respond actively to the present crisis, but also serve as a long-term investment in our community, Atlanta artists, and our future as a Downtown theatre.”

-New Artistic Director Matt Torney

Downtown Dialogues

A four-part series of digital readings each followed by a live video podcast hosted by arts journalist Gail O’Neill

Gail will talk to experts and special guests about the play and its themes, incorporating responses to questions from the audience. The four titles take a deep dive into important topics of today from equality to education to the environment.  The lineup includes:

September 24- The Children by Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Susan Booth, it is a taut environmental thriller about legacy, responsibility, and how to step up in the midst of a crisis.

October 8- FLEX by Candrice Jones
Directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and developed at the Humana 2020 Festival of New American Plays, this groundbreaking new work takes a hard look at the lives of an African American girls’ basketball team on and off the court.

October 22- Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector
Directed by January LaVoy, this immensely funny play explores how a parent governed charter school tries to respond to a health crisis.

November 12- Stew by Zora Howard
Directed by Ibi Owolabi, this family drama is set in the kitchen where Mama makes her famous stew and looks at three generations of African American women and the bonds and secrets that they share.

Made in Atlanta

A place-based program that aims to create a space in the heart of downtown Atlanta where artists can tell the stories of our City and the South 

It will include three stages: commissioning brand new plays, developing scripts through workshops and readings, and most importantly, producing world premiere productions. Through these avenues, Theatrical Outfit is investing in powerful new voices and building national partnerships that will enrich the theatre and our community. Slated for Fall 2020.

The Welcome Table


A special one-night event to benefit organizations that serve the downtown homeless community

The Welcome Table will raise awareness of the most vulnerable among us, shining a light on how the homeless community has been impacted by COVID while raising funds to support the wonderful organizations working to mitigate that impact. Slated for “the holiday season,” the exact date has yet to be announced.

Unexpected Play Festival

In partnership with Working Title Playwrights, this month-long festival celebrates brand new work by local playwrights

Each digital reading will be immediately followed by a discussion led by WTP Artistic Director Amber Bradshaw in which the audience will offer essential feedback that will help the playwright take the work to the next level.  At TO, January will bring a new year, new work, and brand-new conversations that matter.

Mainstage Season- Spring 2021

Tiny Beautiful Things

Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed
Adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos
Directed by Amber McGinnis

Based on the New York Times bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed (author of Wild) and adapted by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tiny Beautiful Things explores Strayed’s time as the anonymous,unpaid, advice columnist Dear Sugar. While navigating her readers’ questions and pleas for advice, Strayed weaves together her own personal experiences to create a column full of light, laughter, and humanity.

Fires In The Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities

Written by Anna Deavere Smith
A Co-Production with Theater J in Washington DC
Co-Directed by Adam Immerwahr and January LaVoy

Theatrical Outfit and Theater J join forces to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Crown Heights riot by bringing Anna Deavere Smith’s (Shonda Rhimes’ For The People) documentary theatre masterpiece to life with soaring theatricality. Taken directly from a series of interviews with over fifty members of the Jewish and Black communities following the historic riots, Fires In The Mirror turns their voices into a tour de force one-woman show starring January LaVoy.

Plus one more “smart, authentic, and vital” play to be announced soon.

Visit www.theatricaloutfit.org for more information and to donate to help the theatre continue to thrive.

About Sally Henry Fuller

A theatre aficionado with a passion for telling people's stories, Sally Henry Fuller is a performing arts journalist. She has had the privilege of interviewing both local theatre professionals and multi-award-winning celebrities including Carol Burnett, Matthew Morrison, Vanessa Williams, Josh Gad, and Taylor Hicks. With theatre journalism experience since 2011, her work has also been featured on BroadwayWorld.com, the Huffington Post, and the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival.

View all posts by Sally Henry Fuller