PlayGround Presents The Shakespeare Prequels
Before HAMLET, ROMEO & JULIET and RICHARD III, there were “The Shakespeare Prequels”! PlayGround kicks off the first Monday Night PlayGround of 2020 on Monday, January 20, 8pm at Berkeley Repertory Theatre with staged readings of six original ten-minute plays, each inspired by and serving as a prequel to a noted work of Shakespeare and presented in association with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Members of the 2019-20 PlayGround Writers Company have just four-and-a-half days to generate their original ten-minute plays inspired by this month’s prompt. The top six scripts will each receive an hour-and-a-half rehearsal and a professional script-in-hand staged reading at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre on January 20. PlayGround writers in Los Angeles are working simultaneously on the same prompt and their finalists will be presented at Hollywood’s Broadwater Main Stage (home of Sacred Fools Theatre Company) on January 13. General admission tickets are $15 in advance ($10 for 25-and-unders), $20 at the door, with a limited number of Pay-What-You-Can tickets available starting one hour before curtain. 4-admission flex passes are just $80 and include preferred seating and free exchange privileges. For tickets or more information, visit https://playground-sf.org/monday.
The playwrights of the 2019-20 PlayGround Writers Company are: Ai, Linda Amayo-Hassan+, Lynn Aylward, Vonn Scott Bair, Rosalie Fay Barnes, Tom Bruett+, Madeleine Butler, Ron Campbell, Patricia Cotter+, Nara Dahlbacka, Rob Dario, Victoria Chong Der+, Victoria Evans Erville, Elizabeth Flanagan, Jerome Joseph Gentes+, Akaina Ghosh, Lauren Gorski+, Garret Jon Groenveld+, Tanya Grove, Sarah Haas, Karen Hartline, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Lisa Kang, Melissa Keith, Molly Olis Krost+, Brady Lea+, Meghan Maugeri, Alanna McFall+, Madeline Puccioni, Annette Roman, Ayelet Schrek, Rebecca Schweitzer, Nic Sommerfeld, Martha Soukup, Lisa Thompson, Addie Ulrey, Leela Velautham, Madison Wetzell, Christian Wilburn, James Yu, and Maury Zeff (+ Resident Playwright).
Recent topics have included: “Anthropomorph,” “Trick or Treat,” “Justice,” “Holiday Miracle,” Twist of Fate” and “Borders, Islands & Walls” as part of a now-six-year collaboration with Planet Earth Arts and Stanford University. The top six plays from each month are rehearsed for just one-and-a-half hours each and presented as script-in-hand staged readings at Monday Night PlayGround, now celebrating its twenty-sixth year. PlayGround audiences get to enjoy a unique behind-the-scenes perspective, with a free Pre-Performance Discussion at 7:10pm. Audience members can also experience the thrill of being a producer through the monthly People’s Choice Awards, helping to determine which plays and playwrights go on for consideration in PlayGround’s annual showcase, the Best of PlayGround Festival.
Supporting PlayGround playwrights and the Monday Night series are the members of the PlayGround Company, representing some of the Bay Area’s leading directors, actors, and designers, with a majority belonging to Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. The 2019-20 PlayGround Company includes: Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Patrick Alparone*, Liz Anderson*, Rinabeth Apostol*, Michael Asberry*, Michael Barrett Austin*, Mary Baird*, Aldo Billingslea*, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers*, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero*, Ron Campbell*, Joy Carlin*, Nancy Carlin*, Desdemona Chiang, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer*, Will Dao*, Anne Darragh*, Dodds Delzell*, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle*, Nora el Samahy*, Rebecca Ennals, Britney Frazier*, Michael French, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee*, Douglas B. Giorgis*, Amy Glazer , Cindy Goldfield*, BW Gonzalez*, Christian Haines, Margo Hall*, Rosie Hallett*, Daryl Anthony Harper, Eric Fraisher Hayes*, Brian Herndon*, Laura Humphrey, Lyndsy Kail*, Danielle Levin*, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb*, George Maguire*, Melanie Marshall, Julia McNeal*, Sam Misner*, Brady Morales-Woolery*, Lisa Morse*, Molly Noble*, Soren Oliver*, Joseph Patrick O’Malley*, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz*, Doyle Ott*, June Palladino*, Carla Pantoja*, Louis Parnell*, Jed Parsario*, Michael Phillis , Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice*, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley*, Katja Rivera , Adrian Roberts*, Stacy Ross*, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Lindsey Marie Schmeltzer, Robert Sicular*, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin*, Lauren Spencer*, Teddy Spencer*, Howard Swain*, Jomar Tagatac*, Emilie Talbot*, Danielle Thys*, Jon Tracy , Mark Rafael Truitt*, Liam Vincent*, Maryssa Wanlass, Tracy Ward , Reggie D. White*, Aaron Wilton*, and Elena Wright* (* Member, AEA).
PlayGround, the Bay Area’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s 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 local playwrights in the development and staging of more than 950 original short plays and 80 new full-length plays, with 5 more commissions currently in development. PlayGround also operates Potrero Stage (formerly Thick House), a state-of-the-art 99-seat black box theatre in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood, home to some of the Bay Area’s leading new play developers and producers, including PlayGround, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, and Playwrights Foundation. For more information, visit https://playground-sf.org.
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival (SF Shakes) makes the words and themes of Shakespeare accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status, or level of education. We believe that Shakespeare experienced in a communal setting—whether outdoors, in a classroom or in a theater—elates the soul, inspires the mind, and unifies those who sit beside each other. Our programming represents the plays in their finest light, demonstrates their relevance to today’s society, and inspires audiences to seek out additional theatrical experiences. By lowering practical and perceptual barriers, the Festival encourages broad participation in the arts and makes these artistic activities an active part of community life.