Running Aug. 8-12 in Ojai, CA, the festival allows playwrights the opportunity to develop their works during a two-week workshop, which culminates in public performances. Robert Egan is artistic director of the Ojai Playwrights Conference.

Tony Award-nominated playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (The Motherf**ker With the Hat) and Obie winner Nikkole Salter will be writers in residence.

On Aug. 8 Guirgis will be joined by Father Greg Boyle and the Homies for an evening of the playwright's work. It will chronicle "the life of urban America along with actors who have performed [Guirgis'] work in New York and around the country. They will be teamed with Father Greg Boyle and gang members from Homeboy Industries who will perform original pieces about the streets of LA."

Ojai will also offer a gala celebration on Aug. 9, featuring the work of women playwrights, actors and musicians. It promises appearances by Amanda McBroom, Charlayne Woodard, Amy Lippman, Linda Gerhinger, Agapi Stassinopoulos, Sarah Treem, Nikkole Salter and more.

Among the workshopped plays will be McNally's And Away We Go, which will debut Off-Broadway at the Pearl Theatre Company in April 2013. It will be presented to Ojai audiences Aug. 11. Here's how it's billed: "Times change but life in the theatre remains the same: chaotic, sometimes brutal but often euphoric, too. And Away We Go, the newest play from Terrence McNally, jumps through time from backstage in ancient Athens to a rehearsal at Shakespeare's Globe, from Moliere's Versailles Royal Theater to the first reading of a new play by Chekhov – with an unlikely stop in Coral Gables and the American premiere of Waiting For Godot along the way.

Additional presentations include Judith of Laurelton by Liza Powell O'Brien and St. Jude by Luis Alfaro (Aug. 10); Fish Display by Robert Askins, Sustainable Living by Jennifer Haley and The Glint: A Mean Little Comedy by Matt Hoverman (Aug. 11).

For tickets, phone (805) 640-0400 or visit OjaiPlays.