New Festival for Live Performance Comes to Louisville This Spring

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 29, 2026) — Louisville’s performing arts scene is getting something new this spring. Actors Theatre of Louisville will debut the Storytelling Revolution Festival, a 12-day celebration of live performance running April 1–12, 2026, throughout Actors Theatre’s Main Street Complex.

Created in collaboration with the Louisville Fringe Festival, this new festival invites audiences to experience a wide mix of performances — from brand-new plays and readings to immersive theater, dance-theatre, comedy, and family-friendly shows — all in one walkable downtown location.

The idea is simple: come see one show, then stick around for another. With multiple venues activated across the theater complex, the festival is designed to encourage exploration, conversation, and discovery, making it easy to build a night (or weekend) around live performance.

In addition to performances, festival ticket holders will be invited to opening and closing celebrations, creating a social, community-driven atmosphere that feels more like a cultural block party than a traditional theater run.

Tickets go on sale to the public on February 17. Full schedules and additional details will be announced closer to the festival.

Festival Performances & Scheduling

Wave After Wave
World Premiere
April 1–12 | Bingham Theatre
A sweeping new play following two cousins across a century, exploring family, memory, and environmental change.

Louisville Tens
Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm | Bingham Theatre
An evening of short plays by Louisville writers, offering bold, funny, and thought-provoking stories rooted in the region.

Blood Song: The Story of the Hatfields & the McCoys
Friday, April 10 at 7 pm
Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm
Pamela Brown Auditorium
A powerful retelling of the famous Appalachian feud, performed by a multigenerational Kentucky-based cast.

A Reading of Chagutok
Sunday, April 12 at 7 pm | Bingham Theatre
A staged reading of a new play set on a remote Alaskan island, where strangers gather for a mysterious natural event.

Don’t Do It! with Hannah Don’t DeWitt
Saturday, April 11 at 9 pm | Victor Jory Theatre
An anything-goes late-night revue of provocative, experimental performance art. Adult content.

Ho Ho Havoc
Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 12 at 2 pm
Victor Jory Theatre
A playful, off-beat performance featuring music, crafts, and a search for hope in unexpected places.

La Petite Volontaire
Saturday, April 4 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2 pm
Victor Jory Theatre
A surreal, visually rich solo performance exploring resilience, curiosity, and self-discovery.

Life of the Party
Saturday, April 11 at 7 pm
Sunday, April 12 at 7 pm
Victor Jory Outer Lobby
An immersive dark comedy set inside a shopping party that examines friendship, grief, and storytelling.

Because you were, I am!
Saturday, April 4 at 7 pm | Victor Jory Theatre
An interactive performance sharing ancestral stories collected across Kentucky.

Mimi
Friday, April 10 at 7 pm | Victor Jory Theatre
A 45-minute dance-theatre work blending movement, multimedia, and intimate audience engagement.

Romantics vs. Rebels
Friday, April 10 at 9 pm | Victor Jory Theatre
A comedic, interactive show where audiences choose sides in a playful theatrical showdown.

Sally Salem’s Horror in the Holler!
Saturday, April 4 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2 pm
Victor Jory Theatre
A family-friendly immersive show using puppetry and magic to bring Kentucky legends to life.

Shotz!
Saturday, April 11 at 7 pm | Pamela Brown Auditorium
A one-night-only festival where artists create and perform brand-new 10-minute plays in just hours.

Never Bring a Gun to an Art Fight
Saturday, April 1 at 9 pm | Victor Jory Theatre
A fast-paced sketch comedy performance that leans into absurdity and satire.

The Tongue
Saturday, April 4 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2 pm
Victor Jory Theatre
A whimsical, puppet-infused reimagining of a classic story about voice, identity, and self-expression.