The week-long Valdez Theatre Conference is held every summer in Valdez, Alaska. It draws a majority of its participants from Alaska, but each year there are also attendees from the rest of the country and beyond.

The Conference components include:

1. The Play Lab is the heart and soul of the Conference. Each year, submissions from playwrights are solicited, and selected playwrights invited to attend the event and present their piece in a staged reading. There is a rehearsal day before the presentations, which are responded to by a panel of theatre professionals (Featured Artists) and by the audience. The writers also receive a private consultation with one of their panelists. Approximately 50 plays are presented each year during these daytime readings, presenting two plays concurrently

2. There are numerous classes and panel discussions. They include discussions of both the craft and business of working in the theatre. There is an emphasis on classes that involve active participation like the Monologue Workshop, which involves actors working on new material by attending playwrights over the week, leading to a final performance

3. There are evening performances including plays, films, and the nightly Valez Theatre Fringe. The shows presented on the Civic Center mainstage feature work by past and present participants in the Conference, both featured artists/teachers and participants in the Play Lab.

4. There is daily catered lunch, a two-hour Cruise, and multiple other social events during the week.