30 Mar Last chance to enter Aspen’s Solo Flights Festival
The deadline is approaching to enter Theatre Aspen’s seventh annual Solo Flights Festival, set for Sept. 8-13 at the Hurst Theatre, located at 470 Rio Grande Pl.
Producing Director Jed Bernstein will be taking submissions through April 10 for the organization’s one-person show festival.
Founded in 2019, Solo Flights is a developmental festival to present one-person shows still in their beginning stages. The festival runs one week long and has brought a variety of playwrights, actors and directors to Theatre Aspen. The festival has featured talents like Phylicia Rashad, Beau Bridges, Margaret Cho and Anthony Rapp.
In 2022, Theatre Aspen created the Solo Flights Project Advancement Fund, which provides $10,000 grants to two works chosen by a distinguished theater panel to support future development each year.
In 2024, one of the Project Advancement grants went to Kenny Finkle, whose play “Touch” recently completed a run at East Village Basement starring Rapp.
“Solo Flights at Theatre Aspen was an invaluable opportunity for me to develop my play in a safe and supportive environment,” Finkle said in a statement.
He added that the chance to work with Aspen’s “very smart and enthusiastic audience was deeply impactful and the chance to see the work of other creative teams and share insights was a true thrill.”
The 2025 grant recipients were “The Goldsmith” by Sharone Sayegh and ” Vampire” by Alec Silberblatt. Last year’s festival broke attendance records and expanded audience participation.
Submissions are typically based on one-act plays, musicals or dance shows written for one actor. Musicals can include a musical director or accompanist. The piece should be in the early stages of its development with the primary goal to work on the script during the festival. There aren’t any thematic restrictions.
In addition to the performances, Solo Flights features signature events, including innovative conversations, talkbacks, panels and receptions.
Final submissions to the 2026 Festival can be sent in a PDF form to soloflights@theatreaspen.org. For more information, visit theatreaspen.org/solo-flights.