7th annual PlayGround Solo Performance Festival / Jan 26-Feb 11

PlayGround has announced the lineup for its seventh annual PlayGround Solo Performance Festival, a curation of the best in Bay Area solo performance, running January 26-February 11, 2024 (Fri-Sun at 7pm PT), presented live at San Francisco’s Potrero Stage and simulcast online. The festival of new solo work features 8 double-bill performances by eight California artists over three weeks, including Steve Budd, Geoffrey Grier, Bethany Mitchell, Miyoko Sakatani, Sonia Sawkar, Nicole Soul, Jill Young, and Hector Zavala. No two evenings are the same! This year’s festival was competitively selected from open applications, and is a direct extension of PlayGround’s mission and commitment to the discovery of bold new voices for the stage and the development of innovative and timely original content. Tickets are free with donations gratefully accepted, directly supporting our artists. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/solofest.

Schedule of Performances and Show Synopses:

Steve Budd in Seeing Stars
1/26 & 1/27 at 7pm  Ever wish that someone you love would change overnight? Be careful what you wish for! At 31, Steve moves back in with his parents. But when his gruff, distant dad transforms before his very eyes, Steve is in for the ride of a lifetime. Seeing Stars is a heartfelt and hilarious exploration of family dysfunction, mental illness, and a man’s desire to connect with his dad. Steve Budd plays multiple characters in this drama-with-laughs. Directed by Mark Kenward.

Geoffrey Grier in Salaam Huey, Salaam
2/2 & 2/4 at 7pm  Geoffrey Grier performs in Salaam Huey, Salaam, a one-person show based on an original essay written by Marvin X and later converted to a one-act by his colleague and fellow Black Arts Movement artist Ed Bullins. The two argued about who originated the play and ultimately settled on separate versions, both of which contain the same content. Grier’s presentation is a mix of the two versions.

Bethany Mitchell in Boxsteps and Beers
1/27 & 1/28 at 7pm  Boxsteps and Beers is the fantastical, musical story of Bethany’s life. Driven by her original songs, we follow her journey as a touring dancer in New York City to being thrust into the San Francisco creative scene at the height of the pandemic. Equal parts ridiculous, beautiful, and heart-breaking, Boxsteps and Beers makes for a unique cocktail of song, dance, and storytelling. Get ready to laugh, cry, or feel really uncomfortable as she ruminates on topics such as sex organs, female contraception, growing up a musical theater nerd, and making a lemon drop martini when life gives you lemons. Did I mention that this show is also a drinking game? So grab a beer and sit back to enjoy something like you’ve never seen before.

Miyoko Sakatani in I’ll Look Up As I Walk
2/9 & 2/10 at 7pm Miyoko created this show to pay homage to her Japanese immigrant mother’s life of hardship, poverty, many losses and the WWII internment camp. This is also a story of a mother and daughter relationship. Miyoko shares what it was like growing up Japanese in America and the challenges of having a Buddhist immigrant mother who could not speak English. Her story follows her difficult relationship and a long estrangement that eventually led to a reconciliation where she and her mother traveled to Japan together. It was her mother’s first time back in 55 years and Miyoko’s first time meeting her grandmother.

Sonia Sawkar in Baby Coconut
2/2 & 2/3 at 7pm Baby Coconut is an interactive, stand-up comedy performance based on the life of the performer, Sonia Sawkar who is currently 6 months pregnant with her third child! Sonia is the younger of two children of tone-deaf and very strict, Indian immigrant parents. Her performance will start from being born and raised in a predominantly white, Christian/Mormon town, where she developed her identity crisis and self-proclaimed “coconut” status. And how her childhood shaped her own parenting style, for better or worse.

nicole soul in The Evolution Will Not Be Televised
2/9 & 2/10 at 7pm “The Evolution Will Not Be Televised” unfolds as an origin tale narrated by an unlikely guide—an inquisitive right-wing conservative pageant host. This hour-long dramedy weaves together character monologues, multimedia, music, and movement to unravel the bittersweet journey of evolution. Directed by Fariso Scales.

Jill Young in Little Stars Youth Theatre presents: MACBETH (a solo show)
2/3 & 2/4 at 7pm Little Stars Youth Theatre presents: MACBETH (a solo show)  is a metatheatrical marriage of slapstick comedy and queer existential angst– as an audience member, you walk into what is supposedly a children’s production of The Scottish Play. But when an emergency broadcast announces the incoming end of the world, the young cast evacuates, leaving only their director, Jill, behind. The show must go on…right? This comedic solo piece explores the paradox of live performance in a seemingly-doomed world. As Jill attempts to save the show, it devolves into an anxiety spiral on death and identity, featuring clowning, character performance, and Shakespeare.

Hector Zavala in Seeking The last Gay Man
1/26 & 1/28 at 7pm  Seeking The last Gay Man is a comedy narrated in a single voice speech with melodramatic, cabaret and clown overtones. Inspired by the experiences of the interpreter and his adventures as an openly homosexual man in cultures such as Mexico and the United States. The work focuses on the word and presence of the actor, using only transfigured scenographic elements that suggest different spaces, times and places. It takes pop art as references in its aesthetics, as well as resources of the LGBT culture, in order to promote and spread understanding, diversity and rights for gender equality and equity. The work has original music inspired by Mexican folklore in conjunction with electronic music, as well as artificial lighting and objects that enhance the scenic game.

About the Artists:

Steve Budd, he/him, is an actor, writer, storyteller, and award-winning solo performer living in Oakland. He has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University, and has trained at The Marsh and with The Groundlings in L.A. Budd has performed with the San Francisco Playhouse, Custom Made Theatre Company, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Central Works, Impact Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, Wheelock Family Theater, The Theater at Monmouth, and The English Theatre Company of Israel. His previous solo shows include What They Said About Love and What They Said About Sex.

Geoffrey Grier, he/them, using the depth of his experiences, now manages the San Francisco Recovery Theatre, whose mission is to organize the partnership between actors, scripted material, writers, directors, and newcomers (returning citizens and homeless performers). As a recovering addict, Grier believes that the artistic processes of theater and the performing arts give people a chance to lower the masks they wear on the street and successfully communicate from the heart and in the moment.

Bethany Mitchell, she/her, is a dancer, singer, producer, and Fulbright Scholar from Mission Viejo, California. She has toured to over forty countries as a contemporary dancer with Liss Fain Dance in San Francisco and Battery Dance in NYC. As a musician, she plays guitar, piano, and drums and performs at venues such as The Lost Church and Hotel Utah in San Francisco and Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. Her one-woman show, Boxsteps and Beers, debuted at The Marsh in San Francisco in November, 2021. Her art salon, ArtPärdē, began in April, 2022, and Bethany is proud to have produced five shows at local venues.

Miyoko Sakatani, she/her, is a SAG-AFTRA-e actor, singer, writer, producer and a proud company member of PlayGround. Miyoko has performed on many Bay Area regional and community theatre stages over many years, including writing and performing her solo piece. Film credits include the award winning Samuel Goldwyn film “East Side Sushi” (IMDb.com/Miyoko Sakatani). As founding director of Playland Productions, Miyoko has produced and co-directed several short films and stage plays. She is also a member of an all Asian ukulele band who performs regularly and gratuitously for residential care facilities. Deepest love and gratitude to Richard, Shanti and dearest friends.

Sonia Sawkar, she/her, is an actor, stand-up comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Her most noteworthy theatrical performance was playing the sociopathic serial killer in Awesome Theatre’s dark comedy play Let’s Kill Jessica,  which received rave reviews. She also wrote, directed and starred in the dark comedy pilot CRAY which has won dozens of awards and accolades. She is a mother of two (with a third on the way!) and a strong advocate for maternal mental health. Her realistic, dry humor and authentic storytelling keeps her audience engaged from start to finish. Sonia would like to thank her supportive partner Ankit Garg, her acting teachers from ZA Studio: Robert Zimmerman & Peter Allas, and her loving acting community – thank you for always laughing at her jokes! IG @soniasawkar Website: soniasawkar.com

nicole soul, she/her, is a Nevisian-American comedian, writer, and award winning TV host who served as lead host on season 1 & 2 of Zappos LIVE. She debuted her one woman show, The Evolution Will Not Be Televised at Philadelphia Fringe Festival to a sold out audience, and was a selected performer at Lysistrata Comedy Festival, Black Girl Giggles Comedy Festival, and Laugh Riot Grrrlll Festival. In 2021, she took on the role as Chief Experience Officer of Antidepressants Media where she hosts and produces live experiences such as variety, comedy shows, and game shows that champion Black joy. Nicole got her start in entertainment winning the Miss Black New Jersey Scholarship Pageant, which inspired her acting career, as well as ongoing involvement in social activism. She graduated with honors from Rutgers University where she kicked off a career in broadcasting at 90.3 The Core radio station. Before using comedy as a vehicle for expression, nicole was the Founder of In Carrie’s Closet Vintage Boutique, and turned her love for thrifting into a nationwide vlogging tour. On Juneteenth 2021, she received dual citizenship in Nevis, West Indies, the birthplace of her father, nicole’s early retirement home.

Jill Young, they/she, is an LA-based actor, writer, and comedian. They have a BFA in Acting and a certificate in Creative Writing from UT Austin, and have refined their comedic voice by studying sketch, improv, and clowning at The Second City and The Idiot Workshop. Jill is an active member of fluxus-inspired performance troupe The Nonsemble. Jill co-wrote and starred in the feature film “Dear Leo” (2020) which premiered at the Inside Out: Toronto LGBTQ+ Film Festival. They premiered “Little Stars…” in a sold-out run at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and are looking forward to bringing it to Edinburgh in 2024. Follow @jillisyoung for updates and more shows!

Hector Zavala, he/they, is considered a chameleon in a thousand ways. He mixes his studies in Performative Art, Acting, Dance, Multimedia, Costumes, Set Design and his love for theater to instill his own style of culturalism, carrying with him the weight of the universal struggle to defend one’s own. He has participated in international festivals such as FITLA, (International Latin Theater Festival of Los Angeles.), the Edinburgh Theater Festival and the Ibero-American Art Festival. He has collaborated with greats from the “Chicano” community and is a member of Latinx Mafia and PlayGround.

PlayGround, a leading national playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s, Los Angeles’, New York’s, and Chicago’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 350 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1,500 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 100 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 36 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 and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. Over the past twenty-seven 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 Steinberg Awards, Glickman Awards (including 6 of the last 10), O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and New York International Fringe Festival, among 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.

Potrero Stage is a 99-seat state-of-the-art performance space located in the heart of San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood, operated by PlayGround and serving as home to some of the Bay Area’s leading new play developers and producers. Originally founded by Thick Description as Thick House in 1999, the theater underwent a significant renovation in 2016 and reopened in 2017 as Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays. The venue hosts more than 100 public performances each year for a combined audience of over 6,000, in-person and simulcast. For more information, visit https://potrerostage.org.

WHAT: PlayGround has announced the lineup for the 7th annual PlayGround Solo Performance Festival, a celebration of the best in Bay Area solo performance, in person and live-streaming January 26-February 10, 2024 at Potrero Stage and On-Demand. The festival features 8 double-bill performances by eight local artists over three weeks, including Steve Budd, Geoffrey Grier, Bethany Mitchell, Miyoko Sakatani, Sonia Sawkar, Nicole Soul, Jill Young, and Hector Zavala. Running time is approx. 2 hours per evening (with a brief intermission between acts). The festival represents an extension of PlayGround’s mission and commitment to the discovery of bold new voices for the stage and the first PlayGround offering fully dedicated to solo performance. Tickets are free with donations gratefully accepted, to help support our artists. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/solofest or call (415) 992-6677.

WHERE: Potrero Stage & Simulcast (on-demand access for one week)

WHAT & WHEN:

Friday, January 26, 2024, 7pm
Hector Zavala in SEEKING THE LAST GAY MAN
Steve Budd in SEEING STARS

Saturday, January 27, 2024, 7pm
Steve Budd in SEEING STARS
Bethany Mitchell in BOXSTEPS AND BEERS

Sunday, January 28, 2024, 7pm
Bethany Mitchell in BOXSTEPS AND BEERS
Hector Zavala in SEEKING THE LAST GAY MAN

Friday, February 2, 2024, 7pm
Sonia Sawkar in BABY COCONUT
Geoffrey Grier in SALAAM HUEY, SALAAM

Saturday, February 3, 2024, 7pm
Jill Young in LITTLE STARS YOUTH THEATRE PRESENTS: MACBETH
Sonia Sawkar in BABY COCONUT

Sunday, February 4, 2024, 7pm
Geoffrey Grier in SALAAM HUEY, SALAAM
Jill Young in LITTLE STARS YOUTH THEATRE PRESENTS: MACBETH

Friday, February 9, 2024, 7pm
nicole soul in THE EVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
Miyoko Sakatani in I’LL LOOK UP AS I WALK

Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7pm
Miyoko Sakatani in I’LL LOOK UP AS I WAL
nicole soul in THE EVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

TICKETS: For tickets and more information, visit https://playground-sf.org/solofest or call (415) 992-6677. NOTE: For in-person attendance, masks are voluntary (PlayGround will provide masks for those who wish them). To access the live-stream/on-demand broadcast, log in at https://tickets.playground-sf.org, select the main menu (“home”) and “tickets for upcoming performances” to find your show and then click “watch”. For box office questions, including online access, email boxoffice@playground-sf.org.