A festival to celebrate new work and the creative spirit
Over the course of the last 18 years, The Orchard Project has supported over 500 new productions in various forms of development, including the creation pieces that have moved to Broadway such as ALL THE WAY, AMELIE: THE MUSICAL, and 33 VARIATIONS, award winning work such as AN OCTOROON and THE ALIENS, and works by the likes of Taylor Mac, Young Jean Lee, Rachel Chavkin, Annie Baker, Jeremy O Harris, Savion Glover, Esperanza Spalding, and many more.
Once again, in 2026, we are expanding upon a tradition of local events that began with the likes of Ben Folds, Esperanza Spalding, Savion Glover, and Alan Cumming – inviting artists at the forefront of storytelling to share their work, process, and sources of inspiration. The Orchard Project Festival weekend will include work-in-progress showings of new work and free workshops, concerts, and conversations that share a joy of storytelling, creativity, and process that the Orchard Project is well known for.
ALL EVENTS IN THE WEEKEND ARE FREE. Join us for some or all of the events in this weekend, and by joining, support the next generation of work that will grace stages and screens around the country. Any donor of The Orchard Project at our Member level ($100) gains special access to each events in the weekend.
HOW TO ATTEND
ALL OF THE ORCHARD PROJECT EVENTS IN SARATOGA ARE FREE, BUT PRIORITY SEATING IS RESERVED FOR ORCHARD PROJECT MEMBERS. There are two ways to attend events during the Orchard Project Festival:
1. If you become a supporting “Member” of The Orchard Project (a tax deductible donation of anything above $100!), you can be assured you can see everything in the weekend. Donors at the Member level receive the ability to reserve priority seating for all events, and donors at higher levels receive the ability to bring guests to events and best available seating.
2. Want to come and don’t want to donate? No worries – all of our events are free based on availability. Reserve Individual Seats for various events through our form, and we will confirm availability with you shortly after.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, June 19
4:00pm — Free Public Workshop: Machine de Cirque
Saturday, June 20
2:00 pm — Reading: If I Forget Thee, O Earth by Kate Douglas / The Civilians
Friday, June 26
4:00pm — Readings: Topia by Kate Tarker and I Hope This Letter Reaches Mictlān by Amalia Oliva Rojas
Tuesday, July 7
7:30pm — Performance: Big Stuff by Matt Baram & Naomi Snieckus with Kat Sandler
Wednesday, July 8
7:30pm — Interactive Performance: Elegy for a Former Best Friend by Swim Pony / Adrienne Mackey
Thursday, July 9
7:30pm — Interactive Performance: Elegy for a Former Best Friend by Swim Pony / Adrienne Mackey
9:30pm — OP Comedy Week — Popup Showcase #1
Friday, July 10
7:30pm — Interactive Performance: Elegy for a Former Best Friend by Swim Pony / Adrienne Mackey
9:30pm — OP Comedy Week — Popup Showcase #2
Saturday, July 11
11:00am — Reading: Find Me in the Mirror by Jordan Ramirez-Puckett
2:00pm — Performance: Big Stuff by Matt Baram & Naomi Snieckus with Kat Sandler
7:00pm — Concert Reading: COAL: An Americana Musical by Nicholas Connors
THE SHOWS
FREE WORKSHOP
MACHINE DE CIRQUE
Machine de Cirque
@ FILENE HALL, SKIDMORE COLLEGE
FRIDAY 6/19 at 4PM
ALL AGES
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
Join internationally acclaimed circus company Machine de Cirque for a free public workshop exploring the physical techniques, creativity, and collaborative spirit behind their inventive work. Known for blending breathtaking acrobatics, humor, and theatrical storytelling, the company offers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into their creative process.
READING
IF I FORGET THEE, O EARTH
Kate Douglas • The Civilians
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Saturday 6/20 at 2pm
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
An astronaut and a robot rehearsing a Mars mission in the Utah desert are interrupted by the discovery of fossils, sparking a conflict about whose work matters more in an age of mass extinction: the futurists or the historians. Presented by The Civilians as part of their residency at The Orchard Project.
WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING
TOPIA
Kate Tarker • The Civilians
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Friday, 6/26 at 3pm
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
An irreverent, multigenerational play about climate change and authoritarianism in Providence, Rhode Island. Presented by The Civilians as part of their residency at The Orchard Project.
WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING
I HOPE THIS LETTER REACHES MICTLĀN
Amalia Oliva Rojas • INTAR
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Friday, 6/26 at 3pm
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
When her recently departed brother’s soul is deported back to Mictlān, the Aztec underworld, grief-stricken Sarai attempts to harness her newly discovered shamanic powers to bring him home. A bold new play exploring family, loss, and the worlds beyond our own.
INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCE
ELEGY FOR A FORMER BEST FRIEND
Adrienne Mackey / Swim Pony
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Wednesday 7/8 at 8:30pm
Friday 7/4 at 5:00pm
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
A participatory theater experience in which audiences collectively reconstruct a real-life friendship breakup. Using a projected script alongside texts and voice recordings from the friendship itself, the piece examines loss, memory, and the limits of our ability to fully understand another person.
COMEDY SHOWCASE
OP COMEDY WEEK POPUP
Aparna Nancherla • Jo Sunday • Michael Cruz Kayne • Michael Abber
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Thursday 7/10 at 9:30pm
Friday 7/11 at 9:30pm
FREE IF YOU RSVP!!!//$10 at DOOR FOR OTHERS
Part of The Orchard Project’s inaugural Homegrown Solo program, OP Comedy Week brings together some of today’s most exciting comedians and solo performers for an evening of new work, unexpected discoveries, and works-in-progress developed during their Orchard residency.
READING
FIND ME IN THE MIRROR
Jordan Ramirez-Puckett • INTAR
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
SATURDAY 7/11 at 11am
FREE//RSVP REQUIRED
Directed by Alex Keegan
Find Me in the Mirror charts the twenty-year relationship of August and Cole—college sweethearts on parallel paths of trans identity—in an intimately tender two-hander that reflects the light and shadows that shape our relationships to ourselves and those we love.
PERFORMANCE
BIG STUFF
Matt Baram • Naomi Snieckus • Kat Sandler
@ FILENE HALL, SKIDMORE
Tuesday 7/7 at 7:30pm
Saturday 7/11 at 2:00pm
FREE - RSVP REQUIRED
A funny and moving new play about memory, meaning, and the things we leave behind. Created by award-winning performers Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus and co-created and directed by Kat Sandler.
CONCERT
COAL: AN AMERICANA MUSICAL
Nicholas Connors
@ SARATOGA LOCATION SHARED UPON RSVP
Saturday 7/11 at 7:00pm
FREE//FOUNDERS CLUB RECEPTION BEFORE
Deep in the hills of West Virginia, a young coal miner fights for his shot at the American Dream as the world around him descends into turmoil during the 1921 West Virginia Coal Wars. An epic new musical about family, ambition, and one of the largest labor uprisings in American history.
