3rd Annual Innovators Showcase Spotlights Tomorrow’s Visionaries Today

PlayGround has announced the programming lineup for the 3rd annual INNOVATORS SHOWCASE, featuring new works by the 2021 Innovator Incubator Cohort: Analog Theatre, The Chikahan Company, The Forum Collective, Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, Latinx Mafia, Native Writers’ Theater, Poltergeist Theatre Project, and Theatre Cultura. The Innovator Incubator was launched in 2019 to foster new innovative theatre companies and productions with a strong commitment to BIPOC representation. Every company in the 2021 Incubator Class was given the full opportunity to craft their own unique premiere experience ranging from developmental readings to full-fledged debuts. The Showcase runs November 16-December 5 at Portero Stage with all shows simulcast via Vimeo Live. Advance reservations are required and all events are ADMISSION-FREE (donations can be made at the time of reservation and directed to the Incubator organization(s) of choice). For the complete schedule or to reserve tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/incubator.

PlayGround, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s (and now Los Angeles’) best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has supported over 250 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1,000 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 90 new full-length plays by 60 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 34 plays at theatres of every size, including three that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities. Most recently, PlayGround renovated and relaunched the former Thick House Theater in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill as Potrero Stage, a state-of-the-art center for new plays, home to PlayGround’s expanding artistic programs, including the Innovator Incubator and Solo Performance Festival, and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. In 2020, PlayGround responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, shelter-in-place orders and theater closures by launching the nation’s first fully-digital new play festival, the PlayGround Zoom Fest, which featured more than 30 play performances and staged readings over six weeks and engaged more than 250 local theatre artists and 14,000 viewers.

Over the past twenty-five years, PlayGround has served to identify some of the most important new local voices for the theatre. PlayGround’s alumni have gone on to win local, national, and international honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the Humana Festival, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Lark’s Playwrights’ Week, New York International Fringe Festival, and others. PlayGround received the 2009 Paine Knickerbocker Award for outstanding contributions to Bay Area theatre, 3 BATCC Awards for Best Original Script for PlayGround commissions, a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (founder of the Tony Awards®), and a 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Visit https://playground-sf.org for more information.

SHOWCASE SCHEDULE & EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

Tues, Nov 16 @ 7PM PT
The Forum Collective presents HOME, devised by Lilia Houshmand, Kieran Beccia and Julius Rea

An individual transitions while isolating during the pandemic with their straight, cis partner. The two then fall into a sitcom world while struggling with the cognitive dissonance they are both experiencing. Filmed in an empty theater, Home responds to the rise of sexuality consciousness over the past decade. The presentation will also showcase messages from LGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced gender and sexuality transitions in romantic or familial relationships.

Fri, Nov 19th & Sat, Nov 20th @ 8PM PT / Sun, Nov 21st @ 3PM PT
The Chikahan Company presents THE ACT OF CARE by Lauren Andrei Garcia and Conrad A. Panganiban

When an unexplainable virus begins to infect several patients and nurses at a local hospital, a reserved Filipina nurse, Olivia, is visited by mythological creatures who lurk in the shadows of the illness. Are they the cause or the cure? The Act of Care is a horror drama that explores the humanity and inhumanity of the American Healthcare System. A celebration and collaboration of local Filipinx American artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, The Act of Care is a theatrical project that brings together the craft, artistry, and the minds of artists and leaders of our community who have long sought after a platform and opportunity to showcase their works to be fully recognized in the American Theater. 

Sat, Nov 20th @ 2PM PT / Sat, Dec 4th @ 2PM PT
Theatre Cultura presents LA VIDA LOBO by Linda Amayo-Hassan

Theatre Cultura will present two developmental staged readings of the new full-length play, LA VIDA LOBO, co-commissioned by PlayGround and Planet Earth Arts and based on the 2019 Best of PlayGround short play. In a Latinx nod to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano DeBergerac, Linda explores the lives of three endangered Mexican Gray Wolves and the impact that new border wall construction can have on their livelihood and ultimately their existence as a species.

Sun, Nov 21st @ 7PM PT (online only)
Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project presents TELLING TALES AND ROLL’N EYES by Victoria Evans Erville

In Telling Tales and Roll’n Eyes, three writers and a producer of a midsize theatre company talk about their upcoming season. As they discuss their sketches, the audience witnesses them come to life as the writers and producer act out and discuss scenes from the plays. 

Tues, Nov 23rd, Wed, Nov 24th & Fri, Nov 26th @ 7 PM PT
Native Writers’ Theater presents An Evening of New Native Plays, with works by Beth Piatote, Matt Kizer, and a work collectively written by Shannon Davis, Steven Flores, Anne Yumi Kabori, Ramon Real, Freddie Gutierrez, and Addie Kaori-Walters.

“An Evening of New Native Plays” will take place over three nights and feature three short new works written by local Native American playwrights. Beth Piatote’s Indian Reality Show is a comedy set between takes of an Indian Reality Show. Matt Kizer’s Starlings centers on an Urban Indian having a crisis after hours at a museum. An excerpt from Braided will be performed. This “intergalactic, pan-dimensional, haunted, Noh-inspired, fall-down-the-proverbial wormhole in Native American liberation and Japanese resilience” play was written by Shannon Davis, Steven Flores, Anne Yumi Kabori, Ramon Real, Freddie Gutierrez, Addie Kaori-Walters. Live post-show panel discussion following November 26th performance.

Sat, Nov 27th – Wed, Dec 1st @ 7PM PT
Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega

After his father’s sudden death, Jason Gomez reunites with his family to honor his father’s legacy. Jason’s older siblings, Aldo and the twin sisters, Gemma and Magdalena, help support their grieving mother, Maria. Sibling trauma and rivalry resurface with a hidden truth that changes the course of their relationships. In this family-themed play, honor and loyalty are tested and familial ties are challenged when the image of their father is not what it seems. Will this Velorio resurface the past or will it help to bury it forever?

Sun, Dec 5th @ 2PM PT
Poltergeist Theatre Project presents THE BLACK QUEER JOY PROJECT by Lavale Davis (Coco Buttah)

Charting individual paths to self-love, THE BLACK QUEER JOY PROJECT documents the ups and downs met along the way. These stories and themes will be told in a vaudeville cabaret-style featuring a cast of all black and queer performers. Anchored by periodic cabaret solo performances such as drag, burlesque, singing, and clowning; the piece will feature interconnected scenes exploring the ensemble’s journeys to self-love.

Sun, Dec 5th @ 7PM PT
Analog Theatre presents an Innovator Incubator Roundtable

PLAYGROUND INNOVATOR INCUBATOR 2021 COHORT

ANALOG THEATRE
Leadership Team: Rebecca Pingree, Elissa Beth Stebbins

Analog Theatre’s mission is to create collaborative, multidisciplinary, storytelling, devising performances that rely on technical skill and collective acts of actor-audience imagination, rather than literal representations of reality. We use bodies, voices, instrumentation, audience interaction, improvisation, poetry, puppetry, maskwork, and mime, to create back-to-basics theatre magic.

THE CHIKAHAN COMPANY
Leadership Team: Alan S. Quismorio, Krystle Piamonte, Ely Sonny Orquiza

Exploring Filipinx hxstory, politics, psychology, and diaspora through the craft of theater and the performing arts, The Chikahan Company strives to develop the unique voice of and uplift the robust Filipinx narratives and artistries, and advocate its influence to the American theater. Reclaiming and revealing the multifaceted experiences of the Filipinx community is a fundamental vision of The Chikahan Company in order to amplify the complex and dynamic narratives that have long been pushed to the margins and to actively challenge the stereotypes about our kababayan (people), our kwento (story), and our kasaysayan (hxstory).

THE FORUM COLLECTIVE
Leadership Team: Julius Rea, Marisa Ramos, Leigh Rondon-Davis, Ryan Takemiya, and Kieran Beccia 

The Forum Collective is dedicated to creating a new structure of journalism theatre. Focused on shared governance, its members mirror an editorial board when analyzing a central piece of work in relation to a political, social, or historic trend. This structure allows the company to redefine journalism theatre and detach from traditional hierarchies that have previously excluded marginalized communities. Overall, their multidisciplinary projects blend live performance, visual & audio art, written articles, and digital data compositions. The end result relates to different types of people and learning styles while deeply exploring a central topic. Additionally, the company’s development process focuses on in-depth interviews, research, and community outreach to showcase the nuances in the narratives of marginalized groups. This unique mix of structure and intention leads to work that speaks for, to, and with audiences.

JUNETEENTH THEATRE JUSTICE PROJECT
Leadership: Aldo Billingslea 

The Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project was launched by Aldo Billingslea to center Black theatre artists and new voices, address systemic racism in the theatre industry, and help raise much needed funds in support of Black Theatres around the country. The inaugural project featured more than half a dozen online staged readings of Vincent Terrell Durham’s play, Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids, on Juneteenth 2020, involving over sixty theatre companies from around the country and in support of a national GoFundMe campaign for Black Theater.

LATINX MAFIA
Leadership Team: Tony Ortega, L. Duarte, Sedrick Cabrera, Natalia Delgado

The Latinx Mafia was founded to empower and support Latinx teatristas by reclaiming, demystifying and recreating Latinx representation in theatre/media. They aim to ensure that Latinx representation in theatre and media radically and accurately embraces historically marginalized communities including but not limited to: the LGBTQ+ community, indigenous and Afro-Latinx people, differently-able folx, migrants regardless of immigration status, and the many linguistic backgrounds in Latin America.

NATIVE WRITERS’ THEATER
Leadership: Matt Kizer & Nick Garcia

Native Writers’ Theater is dedicated to: Creating, producing and performing plays written by Native playwrights past and present; creating a community of Bay Area Native and BIPOC artists; telling our stories to inspire open, decolonized communication between all people; preserving and sharing our stories from our heritage that has been all but erased.

POLTERGEIST THEATRE PROJECT
Leadership Collective: Britt Lauer, Brooke Jennings, Caroline Portante, Chris Steele, Giselle Boustani-Fontenele, Jesse Annette Koehn, Lavale-William Davis, Linda Maria Girón, Ling Lee, Mey Lee, Sgt. Die Wies 

Poltergeist Theatre Project’s mission is to reclaim Queer narratives through performance processes that dismantle toxic cultural norms, viscerally immerse audiences, and celebrate the innovation and liberation of Queer folx. The company’s vision is to create theatre that follows you home. Honoring San Francisco’s strong tradition of revolutionary art that ignites the flame of cultural and societal progress, Poltergeist creates radically queer, feminist, intrinsically participatory theater. Whether highlighting work by new artists or subverting and re-framing a problematic public domain play to create a brand new adaptation, Poltergeist seeks to normalize and centralize Other narratives. Focusing on the tenets of inclusivity, representation, and accessibility, Poltergeist seeks to remind this city of its deep roots in queer art.

THEATRE CULTURA
Leadership Team: Linda Amayo-Hassan, April Ballesteros, Dov Hassan 

The mission of Theatre Cultura is to provide opportunities for Latina theatre artists and celebrate  their voices in high quality, deeply invested productions. Theatre Cultura’s intention is to create a professional theatre company that will inspire, empower, embrace and reflect the lives and communities of Latinx people. Theatre Cultura strives to empower and give voice to Latina playwrights and Latinx playwrights and Latinx theatre artists.

WHAT: PlayGround presents the 3rd annual INNOVATORS SHOWCASE, November 16-December 5, at Potrero Stage and simulcast via Vimeo Live, and featuring new works by the 2021 Innovator Incubator Cohort: Analog Theatre, The Chikahan Company, The Forum Collective, Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, Latinx Mafia, Native Writers’ Theater, Poltergeist Theatre Project, and Theatre Cultura.

WHERE: Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco & Simulcast via Vimeo Live

WHEN:

Week One
Tues, Nov 16th, 7pm PT: The Forum Collective presents HOME
Fri, Nov 19th, 8pm PT: The Chikahan Company presents THE ACT OF CARE by Lauren Andrei Garcia and Conrad A. Panganiban
Sat, Nov 20th, 2pm PT: Theatre Cultura presents LA VIDA LOBO by Linda Amayo-Hassan, followed by a live panel discussion
Sat, Nov 20th, 8pm PT: The Chikahan Company presents THE ACT OF CARE by Lauren Andrei Garcia and Conrad A. Panganiban
Sun, Nov 21st, 3pm PT: The Chikahan Company presents THE ACT OF CARE by Lauren Andrei Garcia and Conrad A. Panganiban
Sun, Nov 21st, 7pm PT: Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project presents TELLING TALES AND ROLL’N EYES by Victoria Evans Erville (online only)

Week Two
Tues, Nov 23rd, 7pm PT: Native Writers’ Theater presents “An Evening of New Native Plays” (online only)
Wed, Nov 24th, 7pm PT: Native Writers’ Theater presents “An Evening of New Native Plays” (online only)
Fri, Nov 26th, 7pm PT: Native Writers’ Theater presents “An Evening of New Native Plays”, followed by a live panel discussion
Sat, Nov 27th, 7pm PT: Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega
Sun, Nov 28th, 7pm PT: Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega

Week Three
Mon, Nov 29th, 7pm PT: Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega
Tues, Nov 30th, 7pm PT: Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega
Wed, Dec 1st, 7pm PT: Latinx Mafia presents VELORIO by Tony Ortega
Sat, Dec 4th, 2pm PT: Theatre Cultura presents LA VIDA LOBO by Linda Amayo-Hassan
Sun, Dec 5th, 2pm PT: Poltergeist Theatre Project presents THE BLACK QUEER JOY PROJECT by Lavale Davis (Coco Buttah)
Sun, Dec 5th, 7pm PT: Analog Theatre presents an Innovator Incubator Roundtable

TICKETS: Advance reservations are required and all events are ADMISSION-FREE (donations can be made at the time of reservation and directed to the Incubator organization(s) of choice). For the complete schedule or to reserve tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/incubator.