Brisk Festival LA will return for its sixth edition Aug. 22 through Sept. 13 at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, presenting 49 original short plays that organizers say mirror the multilingual character of Los Angeles.
The festival, an international showcase of live performances of 10 minutes or less, will stage 30 plays in English and 19 in Spanish. The rapid-fire format allows audiences to move through a wide range of stories, genres and emotions in a single evening while giving participating artists a platform for concise, original work.
"Brisk Festival celebrates the immediacy and emotional power of live theater," said Christian Rodrigo, the festival's founder, director and executive producer. "The VI Edition will continue expanding our mission of creating a bilingual, inclusive, and international space for theater in Los Angeles."
That bilingual programming sits at the center of the festival's identity, Rodrigo said, and grows out of both deliberate cultivation and the submissions the festival draws.
"It's a combination of intention and organic growth," he said. "We curate the festival based on the strongest work, first and foremost, but because our mission has always included amplifying bilingual and Spanish-language theater, we actively encourage those submissions and cultivate relationships within those artistic communities."
The two language tracks are not meant to run on separate paths, Rodrigo said. "Los Angeles is inherently multilingual, and we want the festival to reflect the city we actually live in," he said. "Some audience members come specifically for one language, while others discover work they might not otherwise experience. That cross-pollination is one of my favorite things about the festival."
The Instituto Cervantes of Los Angeles continues to support the festival by helping promote writers, directors and actors creating and performing in Spanish, part of what organizers describe as an ongoing commitment to Spanish-language theater and to the visibility of Hispanic and international artists in the city.
New this year, the festival will pair its performances with food from Fuegos, which organizers describe as one of California's most celebrated Argentine restaurants, giving audiences a taste of Argentine cuisine alongside the evening's plays.
Now in its sixth year, Brisk has grown well beyond what Rodrigo said he first imagined when he set out to give artists a place to take creative risks and be discovered.
"What has surprised me most is seeing Brisk become a launching pad," he said. "Plays have gone on to full productions, or converted into films, artists have formed lasting collaborations, and many have found new opportunities because they were part of the festival." The most rewarding change, he added, "has been watching Brisk become more than a festival—it's become a creative community."
Sustaining that growth remains a challenge. The festival has been financed entirely by Rodrigo's production company, Full Emotions Inc., a point he raised as the festival looks toward future editions.
"Producing an independent festival like Brisk is incredibly challenging, and everything we've done so far has been privately funded by Full Emotions Inc," Rodrigo said. "That makes it even more difficult to sustain and grow the festival year after year, especially as it continues to expand."
He said he hoped to draw new backing from public cultural programs and private sponsors. "We're hopeful that we'll receive greater support from Los Angeles and Santa Monica cultural programs, as well as grants and private sponsors who believe in what we're building," he said. "Every year the need grows, and with stronger institutional and community support, we could reach even more people and continue building a festival that celebrates diverse voices and new work."
Since its creation, Brisk has given more than 1,200 artists the chance to share their work and connect with local audiences, according to the festival. It is produced by Full Emotions, a company with more than 12 years of experience in film, television and theater.
Rodrigo credited Santa Monica audiences with embracing the festival's experimental spirit. "Santa Monica has been a wonderful home because the audiences here are genuinely curious," he said. "They embrace experimentation and appreciate being introduced to emerging artists alongside established voices."
The festival has also traveled beyond California. "Our edition in Buenos Aires was an incredible success, with most of the performances selling out," Rodrigo said, describing Buenos Aires as home to "one of the most passionate theater communities in the world."
Wherever the festival lands, he said, the aim holds steady: "to create a space where artists can share their stories and audiences can discover work that inspires, surprises, and sparks conversation."
Performances run Saturdays and Sundays at 5:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the 2026 edition are available at briskfestival.com/tickets. More information is at briskfestival.com.