Amphibian Stages' SparkFest features a variety of events, workshops, performances, staged readings, and parties over a two-week period.

Schedule of events

• June 1: Light Up the Runway - The festival kickoff is like Project Runway with mystery ingredients a la Chopped and the campy flourish of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Favorite Fort Worthians team up in hopes of being named “Best Amateur Fashion Designers.”
• June 2: Layla Murad: Egyptian Cinderella - A special lecture by Dr. Hanan Hammad exploring her book Unknown Past about Egyptian star Layla Murad. (Takes place at Leaves Book and Tea Shop)
• June 3 (7 pm): Tejas Dance Performance - A performance by Tejas Dance Company, founded by Bhuvana Venkatraman in 2014 as a platform to enrich and popularize Bharatanatyam and also identify and encourage talent in the field.
• June 3 (8:30 pm): Neighborhood Leap Walk - A walk using Neighborhood Leap Trail, the app-based augmented reality art walking trail, covering .6 miles of the South Main Village. Created by Amphibian Stage in partnership with Blue Zone Project Fort Worth, the app features over 50 artists with over 20 stops, honoring South Main’s past, present, and future through a range of virtual experiences, including visual art, music, movement, and storytelling.
• June 4 (2 pm): This is My Story: A Storytelling Event - A storytelling event directed by Julia Estelle Cotton, with stories by Hamid Adibi, Engineer; Ambreen Butt, Visual Artist; Hady Mawajdeh, producer; Laleh Rezaie, Barber; Morvarid Rezaie, Physician.
• June 4 (6 pm): Staged Reading: Iron Henry - Inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Frog-King, or Iron Henry,” Iron Henry revolves around a royal courtier whose life has been marked by grief but must find a way to move forward after his best friend disappears.
• June 7 (8 pm) and 10 (11 am): Staged Reading: The Ushers - Charlotte and Graham are good people trying to make a difference in their community. After attending an inspiring lecture by a motivational speaker they return home resolved to try and do more to make things better and more equitable for others in any way they can. But just before they turn in for the night, they spot a car-theft in progress right outside their window. Suddenly their renewed resolve to do good and participate more in their community is put to the test.
• June 8 (5:30 pm): Round 1: Acting Competition - The 10 actors selected from a nationwide search will perform a monologue of their choice for round 1.
• June 8 (8 pm) and June 10 (3 pm): Staged Reading: Take My Milk for Gall- Take my Milk for Gall is a prequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, charting the breakdown of the Macbeths’ relationship as they fail to produce an heir.
• June 9 (5:30 pm): Round 2: Acting Competition - For round 2, the 10 actors will be given a scene and 30 minutes to prepare before performing it for the judges. The judges will give adjustments and hear the scene at least twice for each actor. Five actors will be eliminated after round 2.
• June 9 (8 pm) and June 11 (2 pm): Staged Reading: The Handless King - A eunuch scribe tasked with counting up bodies on a battlefield of the Assyrian Empire learns that their much-loved language Cuneiform is changing to Aramaic, and that they’re being replaced by a new scribe. What the new scribe doesn’t know is that older scribe has invented a new form of writing– writing without purpose: poetry. The new scribe has a secret too: he wants to overthrow the oppressive empire. The fight to keep their language and rebellions leads the scribes into a web of deceit, blackmail, and an endless cycle of violence.
• June 10 (7 pm): Rangoli Workshop - Adults and kids 10 and older can participate in the colorful Indian Folk Art of Rangoli making. Guests can collaborate and work on elaborate, traditional designs brought to life with a play of brightly colored powders.
• June 10 (8 pm): Round 3: Acting Competition - For the final round, the remaining five actors will perform their monologue from Round 1 again, taking into consideration written notes provided by the judges.
• June 11 (6 pm): Staged Reading: Feeding the Cat, Incorrectly, Several Times Over - Jo and Jen live parallel lives: they work in hospitals, pay their rents, and fight with their boyfriends. When a personal crisis brings them together, Jo makes a professional call that forces her to reckon with the limits of her compassion – the extent of her responsibility.
• June 13 (10:30 am): Rhythm and Instruments from the Middle East Workshop - This is a music workshop celebrating rhythm and instruments from the Middle East designed for youths ages 10-15 with an interest and/or background in music. Participants can learn from professional musicians and explore the world of music.
• June 13 (7 pm): Music from North Africa to the Middle East and Iran Workshop - This is an adult music workshop celebrating music from North Africa to the Middle East and Iran where participants can earn from professional musicians and explore the world of music.
• June 14 (10:30 am): Music from North Africa to the Middle East and Iran Workshop - This is a youth music workshop celebrating music from North Africa to the Middle East and Iran designed for youth ages 10+ where participants can learn from professional musicians and explore the world of music.
• June 14 (8 pm): Voices Unveiled Performance & Closing Reception - “The Voices Unveiled” musical project magnifies the voices of the Woman-Life-Freedom movement heroes, the Iranian Women. The seeds of the project were sown when composer Matoori read multiple tragic news articles about multiple women refugees who left their motherlands in quest for equality, justice, and freedom, but lost their lives while crossing the borders. The story of the woman who died of hypothermia because she put her clothes on her children protecting them from the cold; the story of the women who were detained, tortured, raped, kidnapped, and killed were among those. The two characters of Voices Unveiled were born after Matoori met with one of the survivor and listened to her horrifying recounts of the unbearable conditions she endured.