2026 Pittsburgh New Works Festival Wrap Celebration
Dinner, Drinks, and Awards!
3:00 pm Sunday, October 4, 2026
You're invited to Celebrate the end of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival’s 36th year! Eat, drink, and celebrate the Pittsburgh New Works Festival! Join the Festival participants, directors, and playwrights as we honor the work done by everyone who brought this Festival's world premiere plays to life!
Ticket includes light appetizers with a cash bar. Seating is limited.
Tickets are $25 per person.
Reservations must be made by September 30. Tickets will not be available at the door.
The FOOLS 370 Rochester Rd. Pittsburgh, Pa 15237
The Donna Awards
Awards will be given for Audience Favorite Production, determined by a vote by patrons who have seen all 12 plays of this year’s festival, and a $500 prize for the Outstanding Contribution By a Playwright, determined by a panel of five judges.
Every year, the Festival recognizes an outstanding individual for their impact and service to the Pittsburgh region's theatre community. The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Board is thrilled to honor John Lane as the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
John E. Lane, Jr. Lifetime Achievement honoree
Congratulations and thank you for your contributions to the theater community!
John E. Lane, Jr. is an Associate Professor and the Director of Theater Arts program for Duquesne University. He has directed over 120 productions for various companies around the Pittsburgh area including Pittsburgh Public Theater, Carlow University, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, Wilkinsburg Arts Theater, Medieval and Renaissance Players, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, Thank You, Felix Productions, and Future Tenants. He is a board member of the Gemini Children’s Theater and the Pittsburgh New Works Festival.
He was the Technical Director for the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and toured extensively through the United States and Europe including a tour of The Marriage of Figaro with Renee Fleming. He directed several productions for the company including Amahl and the Night Visitors.
He was the Operations Manager of The Pittsburgh Public Theater for 18 years where he worked with August Wilson, Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, Marlo Thomas, F. Murry Abraham, Horton Foote, Mel Shapiro, Rob Marshall, Mark Rylance, Kim Hunter, Haley Mills, and many others. He has directed many medieval plays both here in Pittsburgh and at the University of Toronto.
Since joining Duquesne he has directed 12 world-premiere productions including a new adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera with new music by Suzanne Polock and book by Lane and The Mother of Us All: An Evening with Gertrude Stein, Serenede, The Consorts, and Shuffle Ball Change … and Die! He has taught Intro to Theater, Intro to Drama, Acting I, Acting II, Acting III, Acting IV, Directing I, Directing II, History of Theater I, History of Theater II, Dramatic Criticism, Twentieth Century American Drama, LOL: Comic Masterpieces of the Theater, August Wilson, Technical Theater, Queer Drama, Film Musicals, Gender and Drama, Existential Drama, Medieval Drama, Shaw: Drama and Performance (Spring Breakaway), Shakespeare and Performance, Queer Coming of AgeLiterature, and Medieval Comedy.