Announcing the Lineup for the 2026 Free-Play Festival
PlayGround closes out the summer season with the fifth annual FREE-PLAY FESTIVAL, July 31st – August 23rd, 2026, at Potrero Stage and simulcast. This four-week “fringe style” new works festival features 21 productions and 61 performances by talented theatre artists from across the country including PlayGround artists based in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Ranging in subject from improvised protest songs to how to resist an orange predator, and scaled from ensemble plays to one-person shows, PlayGround’s Free-Play Festival features a stellar lineup of seasoned theatre professionals, first-time producers, and all-star performers in every aspect of live performance, direction, and choreography. Productions will be presented for 3 performances at Potrero Stage (18th Street @ Arkansas), detailed schedule below. Admission is free (donations gratefully accepted) the day of performances for in-person attendance and all online viewing (live simulcast as well as on-demand); a minimal $10 donation is requested for advance in-person reservations. For more information or to reserve in-person or online tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/freeplay.
Full Lineup & Synopses
(in)credibility: a new curriculum by The Forum Collective
Wed, Aug 19, 8PM; Sun, Aug 23, 12PM
(in)credibility is a curriculum that uses devised theatre practices to explore and teach media literacy. Showcasing students from Tennyson High School, this presentation will present the capstone performance pieces developed through working with this new curriculum. This project will also include a panel with the curriculum builders (Austin De Rubira & Julius Ernesto Rea) as well as local arts and media literacy instructors. Hosted and developed by The Forum Collective, the (in)credibility presentation will match audiences interested in engaging, political work with educators interested in using the curriculum in the future.
Divorced: The Musical by Hannah Gould with Gianni Staiano
Thurs, Aug 6, 6PM; Sat, Aug 8, 4PM; Sun, Aug 9, 8PM
Divorced: The Musical is a radically honest tragi-comedic journey of healing and fresh pain after divorce. Hannah, a bi-sexual woman in her late 30s, spirals into deeper and deeper self-awareness in the year following separation from her husband. The process is messy and filled with contradictions! All original songs range from musical theater ballads to quiet a cappella folk songs to satirical accordion-accompanied romps.
Down to the “Fifty-Four” by Bill Savage
Sat, Aug 8, 6PM; Sun, Aug 9, 12PM; Sat, Aug 15, 2PM
When a shy Columbia University student goes down to Studio 54 during the height of the disco craze in the late 70s … well, John Travolta, he ain’t. But after he literally bumps into a bit of magic, well, what will his mom out on Long Island think?
Dreams of Home by Kim Reed
Fri, July 31, 8PM; Sat, Aug 1, 6PM; Sun, Aug 2, 2PM
A homeless married couple living in their car seek out a younger man the husband worked with before the plant closed on the union family. He lives with his mother in a house that needs some TLC, but can’t seem to escape the couch or her hostility. The husband exploits his former union position and friendship to get into his home. Claiming they are just visiting (or waiting for mail to arrive), the couple meet an entrepreneurial cousin, the wife’s old beau from high school who offers to loan them money against their car in an attempt to enslave the husband and capture the wife. The homeowner’s family shoot one another as tensions rise in this situation. The surviving couple claim this home needs them. A satiric melodrama that warns against how exploitive and calculating everyone becomes when the American dream of a home supported by honest work, family and friends, slips away.
Fork’s Amazing Day by Jove Tripp-Thompson
Fri, Aug 14, 6PM; Sat, Aug 15, 8PM, Sun, Aug 16th, 12PM
Fork is an observant dog. When his owner’s abuse forces Fork’s closest companion, Little One, to flee their home, Fork retrieves a fresh idea: if his owner were dead, the Little One would return. But that’s only the start of FORK’S AMAZING DAY…
From Dusk to Dawn in collaboration with Evert “Eve” Gandarosa, Jeanie Ngo, and Ely Sonny Orquiza
Mon, Aug 17, 6PM; Thurs, Aug 20, 8PM; Sat, Aug 22, 2PM
Five prayers. Five chapters of a life. One man standing at the crossroads of faith, queerness, humor, and home. From Dusk to Dawn is a luminous, unflinching solo performance about a queer Maranao-Filipino Muslim navigating identity across the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and America — a story of magical realism, love, silence, and the courage to be whole.
Goddess DA From The Planet Yuronit by Melinda Lopez
Mon, Aug 10, 6PM; Thurs, Aug 13, 8PM, Sun, Aug 16, 6PM
This project is a new version of my last Goddess DA From the Planet Yuronit 2024 Free-Play Festival performance! The addition of live jazz and world musicians will provide a transformational experience as music can make stories more readily engaging as the songs beat with the collective hearts in the audience.
Hair Loss Is Real: A Love Story by Ryan Serrao
Fri, Aug 7, 8PM; Sat, Aug 8, 2PM
A young Christian man tries to find love in a world that doesn’t quite play by his rules. Caught between modern dating, a rapidly receding hairline, and a conservative Indian family with very clear expectations, things don’t exactly go as planned. In the middle of it all, his search for faith and meaning leads him somewhere unexpected—a clown. Turning heartbreak, rejection, and insecurity into comedy, this show explores faith, love, identity, and the absurdity of trying to hold it all together.
Improv Playhouse of San Francisco
Fri, Aug 21, 8PM; Sat, Aug 22, 6PM; Sun, Aug 23, 6PM
Fully improvised performances (every night is a new, original script!).
8/21: The Naked Stage, a fully improvised 2-Act Play, in which each improviser plays one character only and all the action takes place on one set.
8/22: Improvised Movie. Based on a title from the audience, the story jumps through different times and locations, like a “movie”. But on stage!
8/23: The Bechdel Test: 3 women. 3 lives. All improvised.
Joanie of the U.P. by JJ Gatesman
Fri, July 31, 6PM; Sat, Aug 1, 4PM; Sun, Aug 2, 12PM
A divinely inspired, cheese packaging worker takes on a quest with a group of misfits against a bumbling senator to return Wisconsin to its former glory by retaking the Upper Peninsula. A fever-dream, comedy tour through the magical midwest and encounters with people who occupy it.
Melina’s Not Good Enough For Monday by Melina Cohen-Bramwell
Sat, Aug 1, 2PM; Sun, Aug 2, 8PM; Thurs, Aug 6, 8PM
Melina Cohen-Bramwell has been in the PlayGround writers pool for two years and hasn’t been picked for a single Monday Night. Come see why!
My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection by Barbara Brady
Sun, Aug 9, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 12PM; Sun, Aug 23, 4PM
I have to clean out my “funny uncle’s” house. It’s a house full of secrets, and his “stash” is not the strangest thing I find.
Next Time by Sean P. Breen
Sun, Aug 9, 4PM; Mon, Aug 10, 8PM; Sat, Aug 15, 12PM
What if you only got one chance–and didn’t take it? In a barbershop on the corner of memory and possibility, a barber, his twin sister, and four singers with voices full of longing stand at the edge of everything they’ve been afraid to want. “Next Time” is a musical full of life, songs, and possibilities. Funny. Soulful. Alive. Don’t miss your chance to see it. Because there may not be a next time.
Sister Africa by Stephanie Liss, music by RebbeSoul
Thurs, Aug 20, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 8PM; Sun, Aug 23, 2PM
The early days of the work of Jewish World Watch, on the ground in the Congo, working with the women and children used as weapons of war.
The Big Woo-Hoo! by Kyle Melgarejo
Sat, Aug 1, 12PM; Sun, Aug 2, 4PM; Mon, Aug 3, 6PM
A surreal, darkly comedic exploration of love, control, and intimacy through the lens of a life simulation video game.
The Last Wife-Seller of Yorkshire by Homeira Elder
Thurs, Aug 13, 6PM; Sun, Aug 16, 4PM; Mon, Aug 17, 8PM
A dark comedy period-piece set in 1856 England. Jade is the Jamaican step-daughter of a wealthy and crotchety old British man unhappily remarried to a much younger woman. Jade “pulls the strings” to get Edward to auction his wife, but to her actual lover (unbeknownst to Edward), and hi-jinks ensue, while also offering subtle commentary about recently eroding rights of women in the United States.
Therapist Zero by Brian Leonard
Sat, Aug 1, 8PM; Sun, Aug 2, 6PM; Mon, Aug 3, 8PM
A raw, darkly comic solo performance written and performed by Brian Leonard and directed by Ken Sonkin. This deeply personal one-man show explores the complexities of parenting a brilliant but emotionally intense daughter through two decades, 28 therapists, and a mental healthcare system that often felt more confounding than supportive.
Three Tall-ish Tales: Ethel & Joe at the Empire State by Linda Ayres-Frederick, Revenge of the Q.A.I. by Stan Stone, and Road Trip by Jan Probst
Fri, Aug 7, 6PM; Sat, Aug 8, 8PM; Sun, Aug 9, 2PM
It’s the 1950’s. Ethel and Joe are celebrating their anniversary and Joe’s retirement at the top of the Empire State Building. During the long elevator ride down, things go sideways and the conversation takes an unexpected turn. Julie Dimas Lockfeld directs.
In Revenge of the Q.A.I. A queer genius is afraid to leave his home because of the danger and political upheaval that exists outside his door. His only companion is a humanoid A.I. he created that is evolving in ways neither of them expected. Directed by Cathleen Riddley.
In Road Trip there’s a marriage, a map, and a montage of family. Buckle up!
Visions Of An Innovator: Letters From The Plantation produced by Brittany Mellerson
Fri, Aug 21, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 4PM; Sun, Aug 23, 8PM
VIP is a visionary collective of artists, creators, and performers obsessed with evolving arts relationships within our communities. This performance is a journey of manifestation and reinvention – finding family with whom we cultivate affinity and community. A carnival of black joy and existence. A sensitive experience filled with music, conversation, storytelling and love.
Waterfall by Lisa Scola Prosek
Fri, Aug 14, 8PM; Sat, Aug 15, 4PM; Sun, Aug 16, 8PM
A one act opera based on the life and poems of Laura Brown, a San Francisco poet who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, scattering her poems on the bridge. Starring soprano Kayla Wilfong and baritone Bradley Kynard , with chamber orchestra and chorus.
Worth Playing For: A Survival Fantasy by Colin O’Neill
Sat, Aug 8, 12PM; Sat, Aug 15, 6PM; Sun, Aug 16, 2PM
When a lifelong fan sits down to record an audition tape for the hit TV show Survivor, he struggles to find a story worth telling. So he turns to the show’s trusted host, Jeff Probst, who has a natural instinct for exactly what the audience wants to hear. As the two work together, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and what starts as an honest, personal reflection, gets produced into something more…watchable.
Schedule By Date:
Friday, July 31
6:00PM Joanie of the U.P., JJ Gatesman
8:00PM Dreams of Home, Kim Reed
Saturday, August 1
12:00PM The Big Woo-Hoo!, Kyle Melgarejo
2:00PM Melina’s Not Good Enough For Monday, Melina Cohen-Bramwell
4:00PM Joanie of the U.P., JJ Gatesman
6:00PM Dreams of Home, Kim Reed
8:00PM Therapist Zero, Brian Leonard
Sunday, August 2
12:00PM Joanie of the U.P., JJ Gatesman
2:00PM Dreams of Home, Kim Reed
4:00PM The Big Woo-Hoo!, Kyle Melgarejo
6:00PM Therapist Zero, Brian Leonard
8:00PM Melina’s Not Good Enough For Monday, Melina Cohen-Bramwell
Monday, August 3
6:00PM he Big Woo-Hoo!, Kyle Melgarejo
8:00PM Therapist Zero, Brian Leonard
Thursday, August 6
6:00PM Divorced: The Musical, Hannah Gould
8:00PM Melina’s Not Good Enough For Monday, Melina Cohen-Bramwell
Friday, August 7
6:00PM Three Tall-ish Tales
8:00PM Hair Loss Is Real: A Love Story by Ryan Serrao
Saturday, August 8
12:00PM Worth Playing For: A Survival Fantasy, Colin O’Neill
2:00PM Hair Loss Is Real: A Love Story by Ryan Serrao
4:00PM Divorced: The Musical, Hannah Gould
6:00PM Down to the “Fifty-Four,” Bill Savage
8:00PM Three Tall-ish Tales
Sunday, August 9
12:00PM Down to the “Fifty-Four”, Bill Savage
2:00PM Three Tall-ish Tales
4:00PM Next Time, Sean Breen
6:00PM My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection, Barbara Brady
8:00PM Divorced: The Musical, Hannah Gould
Monday, August 10
6:00PM Goddess DA From The Planet Yuronit, Melinda Lopez
8:00PM Next Time, Sean Breen
Thursday, August 13
6:00PM The Last Wife-Seller of Yorkshire, Neil Harkins
8:00PM Goddess DA From The Planet Yuronit, Melinda Lopez
Friday, August 14
6:00PM Fork’s Amazing Day, Jove Tripp-Thompson
8:00PM Waterfall, Lisa Scola Prosek
Saturday, August 15
12:00PM Next Time, Sean Breen
2:00PM Down to the “Fifty-Four,” Bill Savage
4:00PM Waterfall, Lisa Scola Prosek
6:00PM Worth Playing For: A Survival Fantasy, Colin O’Neill
8:00PM Fork’s Amazing Day, Jove Tripp-Thompson
Sunday, August 16
12:00PM Fork’s Amazing Day, Jove Tripp-Thompson
2:00PM Worth Playing For: A Survival Fantasy, Colin O’Neill
4:00PM The Last Wife-Seller of Yorkshire, Neil Harkins
6:00PM Goddess DA From The Planet Yuronit, Melinda Lopez
8:00PM Waterfall, Lisa Scola Prosek
Monday, August 17
6:00PM From Dusk to Dawn, in collaboration with Evert “Eve” Gandarosa, Jeanie Ngo, and Ely Sonny Orquiza
8:00PM The Last Wife-Seller of Yorkshire, Neil Harkins
Wednesday, August 19
8:00PM(in)credibility: a new curriculum, The Forum Collective
Thursday, August 20
6:00PM Sister Africa, Stephanie Liss, music by RebbeSoul
8:00PM From Dusk to Dawn, in collaboration with Evert “Eve” Gandarosa, Jeanie Ngo, and Ely Sonny Orquiza
Friday, August 21
6:00PM Visions Of An Innovator: Letters From The Plantation, Brittany Mellerson
8:00PM Improv Playhouse of SF: The Naked Stage
Saturday, August 22
12:00PM My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection, Barbara Brady
2:00PM From Dusk to Dawn, in collaboration with Evert “Eve” Gandarosa, Jeanie Ngo, and Ely Sonny Orquiza
4:00PM Visions Of An Innovator: Letters From The Plantation, Brittany Mellerson
6:00PM Improv Playhouse of SF: Improvised Movie, Tim Orr
8:00PM Sister Africa, Stephanie Liss, music by RebbeSoul
Sunday, August 23
12:00PM (in)credibility: a new curriculum, The Forum Collective
2:00PM Sister Africa, Stephanie Liss, music by RebbeSoul
4:00PM My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection, Barbara Brady
6:00PM Improv Playhouse of SF: The Bechdel Test, Tim Orr
8:00PM Visions Of An Innovator: Letters From The Plantation, Brittany Mellerson
About PlayGround
PlayGround was founded in 1994 by Jim Kleinmann, Brighde Mullins and Denise Shama, beginning as a professional-academic partnership in residence at San Francisco State University and with initial sponsorship from SFSU’s Creative Writing Program. Early participating artists included Prince Gomolvilas, Garret Jon Groenveld, Daniele Nathanson, Sandra Rodgers, Colman Domingo, Kent Nicholson, Antigone Trimis, Mary Coleman and Rhonnie Washington. The fledgling organization moved to Project Artaud and A Traveling Jewish Theatre’s new 80-seat black box theatre in 1996, at which time Kleinmann took on sole leadership as PlayGround’s founding Artistic Director.
The company was in residence at Berkeley Repertory Theatre from 2003 until the COVID pandemic of 2020 and has also presented at the San Francisco Main Library, Freight & Salvage, Zeum, ACT’s Costume Shop, and Thick House, as well as co-producing with such notable Bay Area theatres as SF Playhouse, Shotgun Players, Impact Theatre, San Jose Stage, and Magic Theatre, among others. PlayGround first brought its work to NYC with the 2008 co-production of Garret Jon Groenveld’s Missives, followed by the 2009 NY International Fringe Festival hit co-production of Aaron Loeb’s Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party, 2013 NY International Fringe Festival co-production of Katie May’s Manic Pixie Dream Girl. PlayGround celebrated its 25th anniversary with a one-night program of original short musicals at NYC’s Theatre Row in 2019.
PlayGround’s first ongoing regional expansion came in 2012 with the launch of PlayGround-LA at West Hollywood’s Zephyr Theatre. In 2018, PlayGround-LA relocated to Hollywood’s Broadwater Theaters (home of Sacred Fools Theater Company), where the company continues to present its Monday Night series. PlayGround expanded to NYC in 2021 and Chicago in 2022, with in-person performances (and simulcasts) beginning in the Spring of 2023, at NYC’s Producers Club and Chicago’s Theater Wit, respectively.
Over its 30+ year history, PlayGround has grown into a leading national playwright incubator and theatre community hub, providing unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s and, more recently, Los Angeles’, New York’s, and Chicago’s best new playwrights through innovative programs such as the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions, playwright residencies and production support through the New Play Production Fund.
To date, PlayGround has developed and staged more than 1,500 original short plays through Monday Night PlayGround and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned and/or developed several hundred new full-length plays by PlayGround alumni through its Commissioning Initiative, Playwrights Residency and Alumni Programs and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 40 full-length plays at theatres of every size, including many that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities across the country.
In 2017, PlayGround launched Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays, a 99-seat state-of-the-art performance venue to serve as a shared community resource for dozens of local companies and hundreds of artists. New programs in residence at Potrero Stage like the Free-Play Festival, Solo Performance Festival, and Innovator Incubator provide opportunities for local and national artists to self-determine and showcase their work in San Francisco at little to no cost.
Over 350 early-career playwrights have gotten their start at PlayGround, including Lauren Yee, Jonathan Spector, Geetha Reddy, and Cleavon Smith, helping to expand and deepen the canon of American 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 Tony Awards, Steinberg Awards, Glickman Awards, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and New York International Fringe Festival, among others. PlayGround serves one of the largest theater artist networks in the nation, connecting hundreds of Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York artists in support of a common vision: the development of bold and diverse new voices and new works.
This work has not gone unnoticed. PlayGround has received numerous awards, including: Playwrights Foundation’s Inaugural New Play Champion Award, BATCC’s Paine Knickerbocker Award for ongoing contributions to Bay Area theater, and American Theater Wing’s National Theater Grant. In 2016, Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann was recognized by Theatre Bay Area as one of the Bay Area’s top 40 leaders. Three of PlayGround’s commissioned plays have won the Bay Area Critics Circle award for Best New Play, and three have had subsequent productions in NYC. Four of the past ten Will Glickman Award winners for best new play are PlayGround alumni. When other theater companies think of producing new work, PlayGround artists are often their first call. As a result of PlayGround’s strong leadership, planning, and a willingness to take bold risks with high payoff, the new play ecosystem has been utterly transformed by PlayGround.
For more information, visit https://playground-sf.org.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS
WHAT: PlayGround presents the Fifth annual FREE-PLAY FESTIVAL, a fully free-admission “fringe-style” festival of new works that includes 21 productions and 61 performances by an eclectic group of theatre artists from across the country including four PlayGround artists based in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
WHERE: Potrero Stage, 1695 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107, and simulcast online
WHEN: July 31 – August 23, 2026
WHO: (in)credibility: a new curriculum, The Forum Collective (Wed, Aug 19, 8PM; Sun, Aug 23, 12PM); Divorced: The Musical by Hannah Gould (Thurs, Aug 6, 6PM; Sat, Aug 8, 4PM; Sun, Aug 9, 8PM); Down to the “Fifty-Four” by Bill Savage (Sat, Aug 8, 6PM; Sun, Aug 9, 12PM; Sat, Aug 15, 2PM); Dreams of Home by Kim Reed (Fri, July 31, 8PM; Sat, Aug 1, 6PM; Sun, Aug 2, 2PM); Fork’s Amazing Day by Jove Tripp-Thompson (Fri, Aug 14, 6PM; Sat, Aug 15, 8PM, Sun, Aug 16th, 12PM); From Dusk to Dawn by Ely Sonny Orquiza, Jeanie Ngo, & Evert “Eve” Gandarosa (Mon, Aug 17, 6PM; Thurs, Aug 20, 8PM; Sat, Aug 22, 2PM); Goddess DA From The Planet Yuronit by Melinda Lopez (Mon, Aug 10, 6PM; Thurs, Aug 13, 8PM, Sun, Aug 16, 6PM); Hair Loss Is Real: A Love Story by Ryan Serrao (Fri, Aug 7, 8PM; Sat, Aug 8, 2PM); Improv Playhouse of SF (Fri, Aug 21, 8PM; Sat, Aug 22, 6PM; Sun, Aug 23, 6PM); Joanie of the U.P. by JJ Gatesman (Fri, July 31, 6PM; Sat, Aug 1, 4PM; Sun, Aug 2, 12PM); Melina’s Not Good Enough For Monday by Melina Cohen-Bramwell (Sat, Aug 1, 2PM; Sun, Aug 2, 8PM; Thurs, Aug 6, 8PM); My Dead Uncle’s Porn Collection by Barbara Brady (Sun, Aug 9, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 12PM; Sun, Aug 23, 4PM); Next Time by Sean Breen (Sun, Aug 9, 4PM; Mon, Aug 10, 8PM; Sat, Aug 15, 12PM); Sister Africa by Stephanie Liss, music by RebbeSoul (Thurs, Aug 20, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 8PM; Sun, Aug 23, 2PM); The Big Woo-Hoo! by Kyle Melgarejo (Sat, Aug 1, 12PM; Sun, Aug 2, 4PM; Mon, Aug 3, 6PM); The Last Wife-Seller of Yorkshire by Neil Harkins (Thurs, Aug 13, 6PM; Sun, Aug 16, 4PM; Mon, Aug 17, 8PM); Therapist Zero by Brian Leonard (Sat, Aug 1, 8PM; Sun, Aug 2, 6PM; Mon, Aug 3, 8PM); Three Tall Tales (Fri, Aug 7, 6PM; Sat, Aug 8, 8PM; Sun, Aug 9, 2PM), Visions Of An Innovator: Letters From The Plantation by Brittany Mellerson (Fri, Aug 21, 6PM; Sat, Aug 22, 4PM; Sun, Aug 23, 8PM); Waterfall by Lisa Scola Prosek (Fri, Aug 14, 8PM; Sat, Aug 15, 4PM; Sun, Aug 16, 8PM); Worth Playing For: A Survival Fantasy by Colin O’Neill (Sat, Aug 8, 12PM; Sat, Aug 15, 6PM; Sun, Aug 16, 2PM).
TICKETS: Admission is free (donations gratefully accepted) the day of performances for in-person attendance and all online viewing (live simulcast as well as on-demand), a $10 donation is requested for advance in-person reservations. For more information or to reserve in-person or online tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/freeplay.
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