Eight Plays Make a Splash
NAMBA Performing Arts Space presents the 5th Annual Emerging Playwrights’ Splash Festival, bringing eight award-winning productions from the Hollywood Fringe Festival to Ventura Sept. 19 through Oct. 24.
Each summer, NAMBA volunteers travel to the Hollywood Fringe in search of compelling new voices and distinctive works that explore culture, identity, history and the human experience. The Splash Festival gives these acclaimed productions an extended life while introducing Ventura audiences to emerging playwrights and performers from across the country.
Like the Hollywood Fringe, NAMBA embraces diverse viewpoints and artists willing to take creative risks.
“Our SPLASH Festival is edgy, unafraid and illuminating,” said NAMBA Executive Director Tamara Varney. “Like cool water on a hot day, these works can be refreshing – and like an unexpected splash on bare skin, they can be shocking, too.”
This year’s SPLASH Award for Excellence in Cultural Arts Performance goes to My Body As An Archive, written and performed by Junru Wang, a world-class acrobatic artist with Cirque du Soleil. The visually striking performance combines movement, imagery and autobiographical storytelling.
The 2026 festival lineup:
- Anxiety: The Musical!: Sept. 19, 7 p.m. An energetic musical comedy transforming everyday anxiety into laughter, music and connection.
- Hollywood Chola: Sept. 20, 7 p.m. A funny and fearless coming-of-age story exploring family, identity and culture.
- Dead Man: Sept. 26, 7 p.m. A dark comedy exploring mortality, redemption and the unexpected tenderness of life.
- Day After Day: Oct. 3, 7 p.m. A moving journey through grief, resilience and hope.
- In Search of Black People: Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Humor, history and storytelling spark meaningful conversation.
- Something is Seriously Wrong with Cyrus: How I Went from a Hot Mess to a Hot Bitch – Oct. 10, 7 p.m. An intimate and humorous solo performance about memory, belonging and the stories that shape us.
- My Body As An Archive: Oct. 16, 8 p.m. The 2026 SPLASH Award winner, blending movement, imagery and personal storytelling.
- I SUCK: A Vampire Comedy: Oct. 24, 7 p.m. A hilarious closing-night comedy with a fresh bite.
All performances take place at NAMBA Performing Arts Space, 47 S. Oak St. Tickets are $20 online and $25 at the door. For tickets and information, visit NambaArts.com or call 805-628-9250.
NAMBA Performing Arts Space is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to nurturing new work, fostering collaboration and enriching Ventura’s cultural landscape through live performance, education, workshops and community programming.
