Now in its third year The From Home Fest returns this Jan. 23rd with an all new lineup of fourteen offerings that you can experience from the cozy comfort of your own home including new work from Phoenix Tears, cirqueSaw, and NoPro podcast associate producer Parker Sela.
The festival “celebrates the theatrics that blossomed at the start of the pandemic...shows that bravely and playfully expand the definition of ‘theatre;’” and welcomes “artists and audiences who may be unable to physically go to a theater”
We checked in with festival founder and organizer Tia Shearer Bassett, of Flapjack Theatrics whose own The Kingdom of Cade and Glitter Vikings of a Wolfish God are set to be part of the fest which runs Jan. 23rd - Feb. 8th, 2026, with all shows being PWYW.
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No Proscenium: Tell us a little bit about the festival and its focus. How do immersive experiences fit in?
Tia Shearer Bassett: There are different levels of immersion, and we often have immersive pieces that don’t involve cameras for audience members, so the immersion becomes more user-friendly for people who aren’t comfortable being seen but who want to be dropped into a role and world. Immersion-seekers can find a telephone show by Parker Sela; two pieces by cirqueSaw who code and create their own interactive digital platforms; a script-by-mail to send people adventuring; a solo journaling RPG by Tristan B Willis; and 4 one-shot TTRPGs hosted by Phoenix Tears.
NP: Is there a theme that was set, or has emerged, for this edition’s programming?
TSB: Because we have legitimately caring, curious and world-aware creators, there are microthemes that emerge. This year, there’s a cirqueSaw show where you play a billionaire at the end of the world, and a show by Stephen Fruchtman/Ongoing Pandemic Theater about private equity in late-stage capitalism. Tristan’s Cloud Nine Caretaker, which plays with ideas of actual wellness, is in dialogue with Arshan Gailus, V. Brancazio and Joe Juknievich’s wellness podcast parody, Actually Well. There are also conversations happening between forms, for the creation-nerds like me. How does Megan Markham use Zoom to build community in Witch Online vs. how Miah Gibbons does it in Miah in Love vs how I do it in Glitter Vikings? How does community happen in our theatre-adjacent work this year, where we will be crafting with Ricky Young-Howze, and inspiring Idris Goodwin’s rhymes, and role-playing around virtual tables? How does the pre-recorded Riot: The Beat of Freddie Gray add a different spark of immediacy to the collection of live offerings?
NP: Tell us a bit about the artists who are involved.
TSB: We have a core group known as our Partner Artists who have been part of multiple Fests: Tristan B Willis, Parker Sela, Megan Markham, cirqueSaw, Arshan Gailus, and Phoenix Tears Productions. These artists became a community instantly, showing up for and promoting each other’s work, cheering each other on, play-testing work with each other. It was awesome to see. I realized that I wanted to build The Fest around THAT, that vibe, that communal joy of creation. On top of this lovely spirit, these are also some of the most innovative creators I’ve ever known. They are curious and questing, and they open-heartedly welcome any of us along for the journey.
Along with the Partner Artists, we have Young Playwrights’ Theater, doing beautiful work with young and emerging artists in the DC area, and this year we welcome longtime Fest community members, Ricky Young-Howze and Stephen Fruchtman, as producing creators. We are also hosting an event with playwright/storyteller Idris Goodwin who is a Fest fan!
NP: How do you approach programming the festival?
TSB: I took this idea from a friend who got it from a French clown…I only work with people I want to hug. Look, I am a cancer survivor. I got a rare and scary diagnosis at age 39 and went through a grueling year of treatment. More important to me than anything is that the artists involved in The Fest care about COMMUNITY. They are people who celebrate each other, who thoughtfully consider and welcome their audiences, who care more about using theatre to connect with people and ideas (and connect people to each other and themselves and ideas) than to show themselves off.
Along with that, I seek a mix of forms and a spectrum of engagement.
NP: What’s your best case for why someone who is on the fence about all this immersive stuff should attend this event as opposed to binge watching whatever series dropped this week?
TSB: You can still be on your couch with your favorite drink and snacks while you attend this festival, and the shows are all PWYW!
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