Company in the News Aug-2025

See what PlayGround Writers, Company Members, and Alumni are up to this August!

Laura Domingo was part of the writing team for Killing My Lobster’s Dungeons & Dragons-themed sketch comedy show, Legends & Laughter. The show performs Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm at Eclectic Box in the Mission.

Ely Sonny Orquiza is directing The Two Gentlemen of Verona with SF Shakes this summer! The show open the weekend of August 2 at Cupertino Memorial Park, then head to Redwood City from August 9–24, followed by performances in San Francisco at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre and Sue Bierman Park from August 30–September 21. All shows are free of charge—bring your blanket, dogs, and friends for a Shakespearean adventure under the stars!

Emilie Talbot will be in Actors Reading Collectives RECIPE by Michael Gene Sullivan August 4 @ The Aurora and August 5 @ The Magic, along with fellow company members Mary Baird and Julia McNeal Arc Stream. In September she will direct LAUNDRY & BOURBON by James McLure at The 222 in Healdsburg.

Norman Gee rejoins SPARC/Livermore Shakespeare (https://sparctheater.org/) this summer in Merry Wives of Windsor. He is Artistic Director of Oakland Public Theater (OPT), Associate Producer with PlayGround-SF, and regularly directs there during the season. Norman also works with companies including A.C.T., SF-Shakes, Lorraine Hansberry, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, CentralWorks, Ubuntu, San Jose Stage, and SF Mime Troupe. Last fall Gee produced OPT’s INVENTORY/James Baldwin Abroad, celebrating Baldwin’s centennial. This spring Norman appeared in BUTTERCUP at the Marin Shakespeare Studio, and in a Word For Word workshop at Z Space-SF (for possible Spring 2026 production -stay tuned!)

Stan Stone will perform his solo work, Johnny And Scrap, at The Marsh SF, as part of the Monday Night Marsh series. In this show, Stan will share how bowling becomes a poignant lover’s lane for two southerners, recalling their long life together. Every Monday the Marsh features 3 people who perform up to 20 minutes of their (work-in-progress) piece. After each show, there is a Q&A with the audience and performers, which allows for the opportunity to give and receive any feedback. You can watch in person, or stream via zoom for free. Come and see Stan transform into his Father and Mother on August 11 and 25, 7pm.

Carl Johnson People’s Choice winner ‘Othello: Lie’s and Consequences’ was performed at the ‘Now That’s What I Call Shakespeare’ Festival presented by Plethos Productions in Castro Valley. This production also marked Carl’s directorial debut, as he took on the role of stage director for the first time.

Ben Chau-Chiu is directing Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz through Teatro de las Tías! We perform Aug 15-31 in the Young Performers Theatre at Fort Mason in SF. Tickets are a sliding scale from $10-40!

Lana Richards is Assistant Directing The Tempest at Marin Shakespeare Company, directed by M. Graham Smith and featuring Stacy Ross as Propspero. August 15-September 14 at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre in San Rafael

Cindy Goldfield is headed back to Center Rep to start rehearsals for INDECENT.

James W. Perry is excited to announce that his one-act play, “Nick and Georgia Visit a Sex Club,” has been selected for a One-Act Festival at Prospect Theatre Project in Modesto. The festival runs two weekends, with six performances total—opening August 15 and closing August 24. This marks James’s first production with PTP, and he is honored to be included.

Sanjit Sengupta’s 10-minute play, Dance With Me, directed by Ben Chau-Chiu, will be performed live at The Marsh, San Francisco, as part of Monday Night Marsh on September 15 and 29.

Maury Zeff’s short play THE EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY ONES, which won the People’s Choice Award at Monday Night PlayGround in October 2022, will be produced in the LAB Theater Project’s LAB Laughs Comedy Festival July 31-August 3.

As You Like It, directed by Doyle Ott, Opens at Curtain Theatre in Mill Valley and runs Aug 9 through Sept 1.

Kenneth Prestininzi Returns to SF with composer Christopher Winslow and they are bringing their new musical to PlayGround’s Free-Play Festival August 2, 4, 9, 10 at Potrero Stage for a tryout with live streamed performance, so you can see it wherever you are. And if you’re in SF, come to Potrero Stage! Miss Rose Williams cordially invites you to attend her original cabaret show in honor of her brother Tennessee. Come see Big Sis take the stage at last! Rose was taken to a hospital for a lobotomy operation and never came home again. Brother and sister have only each other when the world is brutal and unkind. They know each other’s humor and hurts as only siblings can. Through songs that Rose writes and performs, we experience the ridiculous and the vulnerability embedded in their shared ambitions, lusts and intimacies.

The Prophecy of the Crows by Jan Probst will be broadcast on WVPE public radio, as part of The Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour, Monday August 4, 4PM PDT.

Michael Barrett Austin will be performing in a workshop of ‘The Bridge,’ a new musical by Patricia Cotter and The Kilbanes, at the TheatreWorks New Works Festival this month.