Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s 39th Annual Young Playwrights Festival returns January 1–24, 2026 at Chicago Dramatists (798 N. Aberdeen), with tickets now on sale for one of the city’s most inspiring annual celebrations of teen voices on stage. Now approaching four decades strong, the Young Playwrights Festival is widely recognized as the oldest festival of its kind in the United States, and it continues to spotlight Chicago high school students who are learning how to shape big ideas into sharp, stage-ready one-act plays.

Each year the program draws more than 300 submissions, and the selected works receive the kind of professional care most young writers only dream about: development, workshopping, and a full premiere produced under the Pegasus banner. The 2026 lineup offers a terrific range of styles and stakes, from the everyday to the cosmic. Audiences can expect the snowy pressure-cooker of Blizzard Bound by Sophia Ponce, where a convenience store owner and stranded customers wait out a storm, and the workplace comedy of Offices Etc. by Clark Tavas, which turns the hunt for someone who knows Excel into a surprisingly theatrical crisis. A Question by Lola Zimmerman brings two strangers together on a park bench as an asteroid approaches Earth, while Toil & Trouble by Ashley Snyder pairs family tension with ancient magic in a reunion that crackles with old wounds and new revelations.

The festival’s performances are staged by an accomplished team of Chicago theatre artists, including directors ILesa Duncan, Anna C. Bahow, and Ben Locke, alongside a full design and production crew supporting these young writers’ worlds with professional polish. That mix of youthful imagination and seasoned artistry is the festival’s signature thrill and one of the reasons it remains such a vital fixture on the city’s calendar.

The 2026 company includes Shelby Marie Edwards, Leah Huskey, Rich Lazatin, Diego Rivera-Rodriguez, Kianna Rose, and Peter Stielstra, with Emmett Knee, Mia Marks, Karli Scott, and Aaron Warrow serving as understudies. It’s a strong ensemble built to shift tones quickly and bring four distinct stories to vivid life.

Tickets range from $15–$30, and educators who want to bring students to experience the festival firsthand can arrange school group matinees by emailing YPF@PegasusTheatreChicago.org

For anyone who loves new work, believes in the next generation of storytellers, or just wants a refreshing reminder of how bold and funny and fearless young writers can be, this year’s Young Playwrights Festival is an easy, heart-lifting choice for January.