SATE presents the Ninth Annual Aphra Behn Festival

To kick off the 2025 Season of Adventure, SATE will present its ninth annual Aphra Behn Festival, April 3-5, 2025, at The Chapel.

The Aphra Behn Festival is named for the fascinating poet, translator, and spy, Aphra Behn, who is widely considered to be the first English woman to make her living as a playwright. When established in 2017, a goal of the Aphra Behn Festival was to give women interested in directing and writing for theatre an opportunity to get more experience, try out ideas, experiment, and hone their craft. SATE continues to expand the mission to make the Festival a more inclusive space for transgender and non-binary artists, as well.

*The performance Friday, 4 April features audio description by Mind's Eye Radio.

In 2025, SATE will produce the following original plays.

The Inferno is for B*tches by Aurora Behlke, directed by Kayla Lindsay
Featuring Claudia Barney, Celeste Gardner, Bradley Rohlf

Heaven McPherson-Petermeyer did NOT do her book report on Dante’s Inferno. Instead, she was busy getting totally sucked into a journey through real life Hell. With the power of punk music, she must find her way back home… and delete the friggin’ illegal copy of Detective Pikachu off of her family computer ASAP.

Felicity by Dylan Malloy, directed by Ashwini Arora
Featuring Lydia (Lyd) Foss, Rosemary Shawver

As billionaires take off into space to colonize Mars, Will and June, two impoverished teenagers from a drought-stricken town, watch the rocket launch and reflect upon their lifelong friendship. June is devastated when she learns that Will is obsessed with the impossible hope of leaving Earth behind forever–and her along with it.

Scenes from Pierrot’s Blanket by Meredith Lyons, directed by Christina Yancy
Featuring Miranda Jagels Félix, Joseph Garner, Kaylyn McKoy, Jan Niehoff

Embark on a surreal journey with Pierre as he navigates the landscape of your wildest dreams, desperately searching for his missing blanket on a quest that stands between him and his favorite activity, jamming out on his guitar. Revel in delight as he meets a charming, colorful parade of peculiar personalities.

SATE’s 2025 Aphra Behn Festival is made possible by funding from Missouri Arts Council and the Steve Nelson Memorial Playwright's Fund.

Host or Publisher SATE