3. Phoenix Theatre New Works Festival

The Buzz -- Theater's power comes through the spoken word, and like any great art, playmaking is a process. This company revels in that knowledge, allowing playwrights to workshop new plays and find out how they perform on stage before going back in and revising, reconsidering, and completing them. For a month each summer, four works by four playwrights get due attention, including actors and directors but no costumes or sets. The subject matter varies, so audiences get a new perspective with each work. A great chance to see theater in its unpolished form and to catch plays before they are widely produced.