Lights Up! 2026

New plays. Unforgettable stories. And your feedback. City Lights’ annual “Lights Up!” festival is back, with dynamic staged readings of two new scripts, followed by an audience talkback where you help the playwrights shape their work. Readings are script-in-hand, but often so immersive and vivid that audiences forget the actors are holding something.

In addition, the theater hosts a maker fair with local artists, with tables and mingling before and in between the two play readings. City Lights Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette will display and sell her popular hand-painted hostess gifts, including coasters, tea lights and photo cards. The fair also features Julie Nuñez (Yulita Studio), with washi tape, stickers and other cute items; and Arturo Montes, who will run a matcha cart. Rancho Roben Rescues will sell farm-fresh eggs as a benefit for the organization, which operates an animal sanctuary for rescued farm animals.

“Lights Up!” is generously supported by Elaine Baskin and Ken Krechmer.

Doors open at 1 p.m. for all to enjoy the maker fair. The first play reading begins at 2 p.m., followed by the audience talkback. Then stay with us for a spaghetti feed (with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options) and more time at the maker fair. The second play reading starts at 5:30, followed by the second audience talkback. Tickets for all the day’s events are $20 general and $10 for students.

This year’s plays:

Breadcrumbs, Honey, & Bone by Lauren Doyle, directed by Erin Southard (reading at 2 p.m.)
Alice is forty, broke, and lonely, with nothing going for her…until a reclusive relative leaves her a small house in the woods of New England. Full of taxidermy, art, and secrets, the house is in need of renovation, and Alice is in a hurry to sell her strange inheritance and get back to California. The locals are friendly enough, but is there something about the town, the woods, the house, that Alice doesn’t know? A local woman disappears and Alice gets swept up in trying to discover the truth. Can she solve the mystery before time — and her sanity — runs out?

Lauren Doyle (they/she) is a longtime favorite at City Lights. A disabled, neurodivergent, and queer writer, actor, and director, they work regularly in the South Bay. Lauren’s most recent onstage role is the Duchess of York in Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s production of Richard III, directed by Doll Piccotto.

The Great Gatsby from the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted by Kit Wilder and directed by Mark Anderson Phillips (reading at 5:30 p.m.)
A highly theatrical but faithful rendering of the novel, true not only to Fitzgerald’s original story and characters, but above all to its language and tone. Wilder’s retelling of this quintessentially American novel is an inspiring and heartbreaking memory play, a cautionary tale that focuses on Fitzgerald’s unforgettable characters and perfect prose, steering clear of the mythical glitz and trappings of the “Jazz Age” that have beguiled the creators of so many other film and stage adaptations. This is a Gatsby for actors and audiences, for lovers of the original novel, and for anyone who has loved, loved and lost, or longed for a love only imagined or forever out of reach.

It’s a thrill to welcome playwright Kit Wilder (he/him) back to City Lights! He co-wrote our hit Truce: A Christmas Wish from the Great War, and his other writing credits include the commissioned CLTC productions Frankenstein, Toxic and The Three Musketeers. He has also served as City Lights’ associate artistic director and acted in numerous productions on our stage.

Our team of “Lights Up!” actors features a host of City Lights favorites! Here’s the full lineup: April Culver, Eddie Zhang, Roneet Aliza Rahamim, Caitlin Lawrence Papp, Jackie Roach, Lauren Berling, Christian Pizzirani, Wesley Barker, Filip Hofman, Damian Vega and Dan Roach.

Parking info:

Should you require accessible parking, email us at citylights@cltc.org or add a note to your order to reserve a spot in front of the glass doors. We will accommodate as many as possible. And for everyone else, there are many lots downtown (street spots can be hard to find). Most ParkSJ garages offer 90 minutes of free parking, and the website ParkSJ.org is a great resource providing real-time parking availability, maps and more.

The closest city lot is the First Street and I-280 Lot, under the freeway. Parking there is limited, but free on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The theater is wheelchair-accessible. To book the accessible and companion seats, please call the box office at 408-295-4200.