January 16, 2027 The Lab, San Francisco
Deadline for proposals: November 9, 2026 ||  Notifications by November 22, 2026

Small Press Traffic invites proposals for the 2027 San Francisco Poets Theater Festival — a return to the full-day community celebration that defined the festivals of the 2000s. This is a fundraiser and a gathering, a day of performance by and for the experimental literary community.

We are seeking short works (5–20 minutes) in the spirit of poets theater: performance that puts language at the center while remaining open to everything else.

We welcome:

• Poets plays — scripted works for one or more voices
• Poets monologues — solo performance rooted in text
• Interdisciplinary work — text in combination with movement, sound, video, or other forms
• Interactive experiments — works that implicate the audience
• Revivals — bring back a favorite poets theater work
• Improvisational and embodied poetry — durational, responsive, or scored work
• Collaborations — performance texts developed with other writers, artists, musicians, dancers, or community members

Proposals do NOT have to be polished or all figured out at this stage. Poets theater encourages us to not know what we're doing until we're doing it: improvisation, wildness, instinct, spontaneity, and serious play. If you're looking for collaborators, reach out and we'll do our best to connect you with others. Our goals are to present as many different styles as possible, to bring new people into the practice, and to showcase community talent in the Bay.

This is a non-paid event in the spirit of poets theater — performance made in community from the resources we already have, for the love of it. All are welcome to apply, no Bay Area residency required.

Proposals open NOW. Deadline: November 9, 2026.

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APPLY HERE

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RESOURCES

October 17, 1-4pm: Opening the Sugar Bag: A Poets Theater Workshop with Lindsey Boldt & Steve Orth [$15-30 registration req, NOTAFLOF]

October 28 & Nov 1, 12-6pm: Drop-in Poets Theater Hours with Maxe Crandall at the SPT Archives (Et al. Gallery) for help with the app, to brainstorm your ideas, or browse poets theater in the Archives

David Buuck, Patrick Durgin, Rodrigo Toscano & Corina Copp "What Is Poets Theater?" Poetry Foundation (2010)

Kevin Killian and David Brazil (eds). The Kenning Anthology of Poets Theater, 1945-1985. Kenning Editions (2010)

David Buuck (editor) "A Poets Theater Tribute to Kevin Killian" Tripwire 16 (2020)

Maxe Crandall "The Dreams of Poets Theater" Poetry Project Newsletter #278 (2024)

Tony Torn (editor) "Poets Theater Feature" FENCE #43 (2026)