A 30-minute romance, a 75-minute rideshare memoir, a musical noir, and a true-story cult investigation will share the same 50-seat Pasadena stage Saturday when the LA Freeway Circuit opens its 2026 season at Parson’s Nose Theater.
The one-day festival, produced by Los Angeles-based company The StageCrafts, brings four independently produced theatrical works to 95 N. Marengo Ave. in a format the organization launched in 2025. Parson’s Nose — a nonprofit theater founded in 2000 that typically stages classical works by Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov, and others — is the circuit’s first stop this year, according to the producers’ announcement. Four additional venues across LA County will host later stops through November.
The afternoon begins at 3 p.m. with “Any Time & Place,” a family-friendly romance written and performed by Azucena Flores Pizaña and Josh Swezey. The 30-minute show, which premiered at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival, is described as a multiple BroadwayWorld LA Award nominee in the producers’ press release.
At 4 p.m., Jonathan Tipton Meyers takes the stage with “We Are Traffic,” a 75-minute solo show chronicling his two-year journey through the Los Angeles gig economy driving for Uber and Lyft. Meyers, a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, performed the show at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it drew notice from The Scotsman, The Guardian, and The Times of London, according to the production’s website.
The evening slate opens at 6 p.m. with “Belladonna Highway,” a 60-minute musical noir by Ben Boquist and Ben Baharona Ginsberg. The day closes at 7:30 p.m. with “Did I Just Join a Cult?,” a 60-minute true-story investigation written and performed by Lawrence Meyers, which was previously staged at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Jenn Crafts, who co-founded the circuit and The StageCrafts with Gregory Crafts, said in the producers’ press release that Parson’s Nose was a deliberate choice. “As an established company focused on the classics with a long history and loyal patron base, they’re the ideal partner for us, as we can bring their audience something new, exciting, and very different than they’re used to,” she said.
The StageCrafts, established in 2017 as a venue management company rooted in the Hollywood Fringe Festival, launched the Freeway Circuit last year with stops in West LA, Venice, and North Hollywood. The 2026 season expands to five stops: Pasadena in March, followed by Ophelia’s Jump Productions in Upland, The Electric Lodge in Venice, Theatre 68 in North Hollywood, and Outside In Theater in Highland Park.
Gregory Crafts said in the press release that the circuit is growing. “With new shows in this year’s line-up, and new partnerships in locations throughout the Southland, we’re excited to push boundaries both geographic and artistic as we bring the best of our stages in Hollywood to Greater LA County,” he said.
Parson’s Nose Theater, co-founded by Lance Davis and Mary Chalon, spent 17 years as an itinerant company before settling into its permanent home — a circa-1922 former chapel at the corner of Marengo and Holly — in 2016. The intimate house seats roughly 50 per performance.
Tickets for the four shows are sold individually, not as a day pass. Lineups vary at each circuit stop, with four to six productions typically presented in a single day.
The LA Freeway Circuit at Parson’s Nose Theater, Saturday, March 21, 2026. “Any Time & Place,” 3 p.m., $15; “We Are Traffic,” 4 p.m., $20; “Belladonna Highway,” 6 p.m., $20; “Did I Just Join a Cult?,” 7:30 p.m., $20. Parson’s Nose Theater, 95 N. Marengo Ave., Pasadena (entrance on Holly Street). For more, visit www.lafreewaycircuit.com.
