PlayGround presents Season 28

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

Topic: “WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW…“

January 21, 2022 7pm PT

Live at Freight & Salvage + Simulcast & On-Demand

Acknowledging the Legacy of the Land We Inhabit

PlayGround acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush (RAH-my-toosh) Ohlone (oh-LOW-nee) and Lisjan (lih-SHAH-n) Ohlone, the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula and East Bay, respectively. As the past and present Indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramaytush Ohlone and Lisjan have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We recognize the historic injustice of the forcible removal of the Ohlone people from their ancestral lands, and that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the Ancestors, Elders and Relatives of the Ramaytush and Lisjan Communities and by affirming their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We honor the storytellers of the Ohlone and are grateful for our ability to share and uplift Indigenous stories and those of other historically marginalized communities.

To learn about the legacy of the land you inhabit, visit Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land. To read the complete Land Acknowledgment Policy, click here.

PlayGround’s Anti-Racist Policy

PlayGround recognizes the impact of racial oppression within society and the American Theater and that we have been complicit in White Supremacy culture. Our goal is to co-create safety for our community by identifying and interrupting instances of racism and all forms of oppression when we witness them, through specific actions rooted in the principles of anti-racism and accessibility. In its endeavor to address the implications of our history, PlayGround is committed to its compliance with the following fundamental rights:

• The recognition of inherent dignity and worth of each human being.
• The recognition of equality of all human beings.
• Recognition of rights of ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious groups.
• Equality and non-discrimination.

PlayGround’s Anti-Racist Policy applies to: all members of the PlayGround community, including employees, independent contractors, volunteers, audience members, donors, and general members of the community.

To read the complete Anti-Racist Policy, click here.

Gaia
by Anne Yumi Kobori
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
Sun…………….Nic A. Sommerfeld
Gaia……………Stephanie Prentice
Moon…………….Charisse Loriaux
Man………………..Rudy Guerrero

Three Centimeters per Second
by Lisa Gaye Thompson
Directed by Tessa Corrie
Michele……………………Monica Ho
Louie…………..Christiano Delgado

Leif to Root
by Lisa Kang
Directed by Claire Ganem
Tiera (Cathy)……Annette Oliveira
Leif (Daniel)………….Gabriel Grilli

An Intergalactic Gift Horse
by Alanna McFall
Directed by Aldo Billingslea
Dr. Gupta…………..Roshni Datta
Alien………………….Rosie Hallett

The Invisible Collection
by Rebecca Schweitzer
Directed by Norman Gee
The Collector……………Louis Parnell
The Dealer….Daryl Anthony Harper
The Wife…………………..Molly Noble
The Daughter………….Alicia Mason

In Antici—
by Etreya Trinidad
Directed by Kimberly Ridgeway
Riff Raff………..Aaron Wilton
Frank……………..Chris Steele
Magenta…..Emily Keyishian
Columbia….Natalia Delgado
Eddy………….Daniel Benitez

Stage Manager: Dianne Harrison
Sound Designer: James Goode

This live stream is produced under a SAG-AFTRA New Media Agreement.

PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group,
and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

People’s Choice Award

Following tonight’s performance, we invite your participation in this month’s People’s Choice Award. Through the People’s Choice Award, our audience can play a direct impact in furthering the career of a promising new playwright. To vote, make a People’s Choice Award tax-deductible donation on behalf of your favorite play(s)/playwright(s) from the evening. Every donated dollar counts as a vote while directly supporting PlayGround’s award-winning incubator programs.

Cast your vote for your favorite play(s) by making a People’s Choice donation via Zelle (info@playground-sf.org), Venmo (our account ID is @playgroundsf and if they ask for the last four digits of my phone, it’s 8541) or on our website at https://tickets.playground-sf.org/TheatreManager/1/online?donationquick=16 (you can also visit the Monday Night PlayGround page for the People’s Choice donation button). Add a note/memo with your gift to indicate your favorite play(s) or email your selection to boxoffice@playground-sf.org.

At the end of the week, we’ll tally up the top vote-getter and automatic semi-finalist for our season-ending Best of PlayGround. It’s a powerful way of showing your support for new writers and their work, while helping PlayGround continue doing what we do!

BIOGRAPHIES

PLAYWRIGHTS

LISA KANG (Leif to Root) has worked as a writer, actor and educator with San Francisco Bay Area theater companies for several years. As a writer, she has had short plays performed by theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seoul, Korea and Taipei, Taiwan. Other plays have been given readings at various theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has received the honor of being featured in Theater Bay Area’s Playwright’s Showcase and at Naatak Theater Company’s reading series as a finalist in their Ink Pot writing contest. Her play A Wife of Buddha has been a semi-finalist in the Bay Area Playwright’s Festival and for MultiStages Theater Company’s New Works Contest in New York. She is a co-founder of Same Boat Theater Collective, San Jose’s City Lights Theater Company’s Light Source playwriting workshop, founder and former coordinator of Butterfly Effect’s playwriting workshop in Taipei and former member of Asian American Theater Company’s New Works Incubator.

ANNE YUMI KOBORI (Gaia), she/her, is a Japanese-American theatre artist. She has written multiple short plays for production: The Art of Suffrage (Best of PlayGround 25), Coward’s Flame, Give Me the Sky, Two Detectives are Better Than One (MondayNightPlayGround), Simulation (Pear Theatre), Roses in the Desert (Dragon Theatre) and The Disappearance of Betty La Rose (Neighborhood Stories). Her full-length plays Seeds and Every Day Alice have premiered with Utopia Theatre Project. Currently, Anne is a co-writer for Braided, in development with Theatre of Yugen, and script conspirator for the ACT MFA program’s production of Neo Symposium. www.anneyumikobori.com

ALANNA MCFALL (An Intergalactic Gift Horse), she/her, is a novelist and playwright. Her novel, The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus, was published by Atthis Arts. She was a company Resident Playwright for two seasons and has been featured in Best of PlayGround 22 and 23. Alanna was the 2019 recipient of the June Anne Baker Prize.

REBECCA SCHWEITZER (The Invisible Collection), she/her, is a theatre artist in the Bay Area, known predominantly as an actor and voice over talent. She’s very much enjoying her third season in the writers pool. Currently she is working on a full length play about San Francisco at the turn of the last century. Ever grateful for the support that surrounds her.

LISA GAYE THOMPSON (Three Centimeters per Second), she/her, is in her third season with Playground where her play Strike Home was performed in 2020. She writes essays, short stories and lyrics. She’s also a company member of Write Away, a monthly show where playwrights from NYC and the Bay Area write plays in forty-five minutes based on audience suggestions and then perform them. When not writing she’s swimming and dreaming about seeing her new granddaughter.

ETEYA TRINIDAD (In Antici—), she/her, is a playwright, stage manager, and theater artist. She is a resident playwright at PlayGround and a member of the 2021 LezWritesBTQ Cohort at 3 Girls Theatre. Her writing has been recognized in the 2021 Best of PlayGround Festival with the June Anne Baker Prize, and as a finalist for the 2019 Bay Area Playwrights Festival.thrilled to be a resident playwright at PlayGround and the 2021 recipient of the June Anne Baker Prize. Her work has also been seen at Berklee College of Music, SF Olympians Festival, Ross Valley Players, and Amios West, among others. www.eteyatrinidad.com

ACTORS

DANIEL (DANY) BENITEZ (In Antici—, “Eddy”), they/he, is an actor, dancer, choreographer, Drag artist, and PlayGround Producing Fellow based in the Bay Area. They most recently performed in The Magic Lamp at the Presidio Theatre and are currently preparing for their first Drag Pageant on March 4th at the SF Eagle. During the day, you can find Dany teaching performing arts workshops for underserved youth in the city and at night, you can find them performing as their Drag persona, Richie Richport, all over the city. They are eager to have their Monday Night PlayGround debut and share the stage with incredibly talented actors including their own Drag mother, Chris Steele (aka Polly Amber Ross).

ROSHNI DATTA (An Intergalactic Gift Horse, “Dr. Gupta”), she/her, is a stage/film actress, dancer/choreographer and a radio jockey where she goes by Mirchi Rosh. She has previously acted in various Bay Area theater productions such as Mahabharat, Rumors, Kingdom of Cards, State of Denial, and Rehearsal for Murder. She is a trained classical dancer and has acted in and co-created various short films & music videos. In her free time she enjoys writing poetry and rapping. She is super excited to participate in Monday Night PlayGround.

CHRISTIANO DELGADO (Three Centimeters per Second, “Louie”), he/him, is super excited to introduce “Marcus” to you! He is a Bay Area actor and also born in raised in the Bay. He is currently in “I, Too, Sing America” with SFBATCO. And he would love to thank Youth Musical Theatre Company, his family, and friends for all of their love and support!

NATALIA DELGADO (In Antici—, “Columbia”), she/her/Ella, born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, has always been surrounded by visionary creatives. Her background in theatre continues to spark her passion and curiosity for the world around her, she enjoys connecting with people and exchanging stories. She is the jack of all trades- whether she’s on or off stage, she commands the room with her infectious charm and giving spirit. Memorable roles include: Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Blondie (Zoot Suit), Camila (In the Heights) and many more. She has been featured in various Staged Readings through Latinx Mafia and is honored to have the opportunity to read original new works aloud! She is now based in Oakland C.A where she is currently enrolled in Alder Graduate School of Education where she plans on receiving Masters in Education. Less than a year from now, she hopes to be teaching kiddos full time while balancing her love for the performing arts.

GABRIEL “GG” GRILLI (Leif to Root, “Leif”), he/his an actor, director, writer, and teacher. He’s worked at theatres in the Bay Area, NYC, regionally, and internationally for over 25 years. In 2021, GG directed a reading of Maury Zeff’s MERCHANT OF STRATFORD for Ross Valley Players and collaborated on the international short, VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE, writing and directing the NY section with the Sundance Globe Writers. Other recent theatrical work includes lead roles in THE WAITRESS & THE ROBBER with Concrete Temple in NYC and Seoul, South Korea and MOTHER NIGHT with Custom Made at 59E59. MFA Directing, Penn State. BFA Acting, Hofstra. www.gabrielgrilli.com

RUDY GUERRERO (Gaia, “Man”), he/him, has performed at numerous Bay Area theater companies. He has a MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theater and a BFA in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory. He is a proud member of Actors Equity Association. www.rudyguerrero.com.

ROSIE HALLETT (An Intergalactic Gift Horse, “Alien”), she/her, is the current Playground Women Leaders Fellow for Acting. Those with good memories may remember her pre-pandemic performances in Mother of the Maid at Marin Theatre Company and Top Girls and Men on Boats at ACT! Her recent work has been mostly on-camera, in the short films The Circle of 13 and Us + Them and in commercials.

DARYL ANTHONY HARPER (The Invisible Collection, “The Dealer”), he/him, is an American-born Voice Over Artist and Actor best known for his work in the commercial industry as a Narrator for the award-winning “Honda is Family” campaign and as an ADR performer on films such as Zodiak directed by David Fincher and Bolden directed by Dan Pritzker. Daryl is also a proud member of PlayGround-SF. PlayGround is a leading playwright incubator and theatre community hub, with a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

MONICA HO (Three Centimeters per Second, “Michele”), she/her, she, currently lives in Oakland, CA. She is a recent graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre MFA program, class of 2020. Regional credits include Top Girls (American Conservatory Theater); The Good Person of Szechuan (California Shakespeare Theater); Noises Off (SF Playhouse); The Taming (Marin Shakespeare Company); Crane (Ferocious Lotus Theater Company); Shiner (FaultLine Theater). Monica is the winner of the 2016 San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her work in In Love and Warcraft (Custom Made Theater). In 2020, she produced, directed, and performed a one-woman play about legendary silver-screen actress Anna May Wong [China Doll, by Elizabeth Wong].

EMILY M. KEYISHIAN (In Antici—, “Magenta”), she/her, is always thrilled to perform with Playground and the talented people involved. She’ll be performing with Custom Made in Circle, Mirror Transformation in the Spring at Custom Made Theater. She has performed around the Bay in various theater projects with Town Hall Theater, Role Players, Left Coast, Arabian Shakespeare, Golden Thread, Marin Theater and others. She’s taken on a variety of film roles, including a Satanic knife-wielding killer. Visit her website to stay updated: www.emilykeyishian.com

CHARISSE LORIAUX (Gaia, “Moon”), she/her, was last seen in the World Premiere of You Mean To Do Me Harm (San Francisco Playhouse) and Eureka Day (Aurora Theatre Company). Other credits include the Magic Theatre, Crowded Fire Theater, Shotgun Players, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Tabia African-American Theatre Ensemble, Berkeley Playhouse, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Charisse modeled for the world renowned figurative artist Richard MacDonald on the Grand Coda, which was recently unveiled in Shenzhen, China Charisse is a graduate of SJSU and is a company member at Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre.

ALICIA MASON (The Invisible Collection, “The Daughter”), she/her, is a Bay Area actor, daughter, partner and diligent pet mom. She was raised by parents who served in the military and a mother who was a clinical psychologist, who taught her the value of understanding all that encompasses the human experience. Her goal and mission as an actor is to tell stories that move and transform the audience and highlight the communities of color she grew up in.

MOLLY NOBLE (The Invisible Collection, “The Wife”), she/her, is always thrilled to return to work with her PlayGround family. A Bay Area born actor, director and teacher, she has worked in New York, Boston, Chicago, London and almost literally in her own backyard under the redwoods with Porchlight Theatre Company. She teaches and directs at College of Marin. You can learn more about her at www.mollynoble.com.

ANNETTE AMELIA OLIVEIRA‘s (Leif to Root, “Tiera (Cathy)”), she/her, theatre roles include quite a few women (and men) of a certain age these days…some wise, some fierce, some losing marbles, many Latina. She has performed at many East Coast and Bay Area theatres. She played Shakespearean roles at Marin’s redwood-ringed Curtain Theatre. She narrates fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for Learning Ally — often bilingually. She was honored to play in Hector Zavala’s 40, Latino, Single and Gay web series. Annette has acted via Zoom for Altarena, Central Works and Contra Costa Civic Theatres, for Fruitlessmoon Theatreworks and, of course, for Playground.

LOUIS PARNELL (The Invisible Collection, “The Collector”), he/him, has been an active actor and director in the Bay Area for the last 50 years. He has performed at many professional theaters (A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, Center Rep, Marin Theatre, TheatreWorks)as well as with numerous smaller companies. He works most frequently with the SF Playhouse where he last appeared in CABARET and will perform this coming summer in FOLLIES. He has also performed in many films, TV and commercial roles. He is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA and PlayGround.

STEPHANIE PRENTICE (Gaia, “Gaia”), she/her, is a Bay Area native, and is frequently seen in Monday Night PlayGround, appeared in Best of PlayGround 19 and 20, and has performed in three full-length Festival of New Works plays. Stephanie has been a PlayGround company member since 2015, serves on the Board of Directors, and is an Associate Producer. She is also the Patron Services Director and Casting Associate for TheatreFIRST in Berkeley. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of two wonderful kids.

NIC A. SOMMERFELD (Gaia, “Sun”), they/them, is an San Francisco based actor and playwright. They have acted in plays and musicals with companies all around the Bay Area, including Marin Theatre Company, the California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Playhouse, FaultLine Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. They have also acted in and worked as a Trans consultant on developmental readings with NCTC, UCSF, and Magic Theatre. When not writing or in shows, they perform as their drag king persona, Chester Vanderbox.

CHRIS STEELE (In Antici—, “Frank”), they/them, is a queer trans nonbinary performance artist, writer, and activist whose work centers on highlighting queer narratives throughout history and combating bigotry and white supremacy. They are a co-founder of the subversive, queer, feminist collective Poltergeist Theatre Project through which they’ve funded and produced 3 years of world-premiere works. Their award-winning drag personas Polly Amber Ross and Peter Pansexual can be found on Instagram @pollyandpeter. As a community activist, their work centers on connecting the Queer Trans community in the Bay with professional artistry opportunities. They are a founding member of the Trans & Gender Non-Conforming Advocacy Collective and the upcoming queer artistry resource BookBayDrag.com.

AARON WILTON (In Antici—, “Riff Raff”), he/him, is elated to be working with PlayGround again where he is part of the acting company. Notable stage productions include George Street Playhouse’s “Inspecting Carol” (with Peter Scolari & Dan Lauria), Aurora Theatre Company’s “John Gabriel Borkman” (with Karen Grassle) and the lead in Hudson Stage Company’s “After All” (with Broadway’s Walter Charles & Susan Pellegrino). Film: Jexi, The Boat Builder. TV: Criminal Minds, Sunset Glory. Video Games: Watch Dogs 2, Godfather 2, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Battlefield: Hardline. Commercials: Taco Bell, Xfinity, Wells Fargo, Blue Shield, Tejava, Charles Schwab, Chase, EA Games, Cisco, Adobe, Pixar.

DIRECTORS

ALDO BILLINGSLEA (An Intergalactic Gift Horse), he/they, has been a long time Playground Company Member who has been an actor, director, and board member with Playground. He is the founder of the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project and is the Father William J. Rewak S.J. Professor of Theatre Arts at Santa Clara University.

TESSA CORRIE (New Year), she/her, is a Queer and Latinx theater director based in the Bay Area. Her work is grounded in creating space for marginalized and underrepresented communities and narratives. She is a company member, ambassador, and this year’s Women Leaders Directing Fellow at PlayGround SF. Her credits include work at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Center REPertory Company, HillbarnTheatre, Pear Theatre, Shotgun Players, TheatreFirst, The Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, More Más Marami Arts, Poltergeist Theatre Project, PianoFight, AmiosWest, and Our Digital Stories.

CLAIRE GANEM (Leif to Root), she/her, is a director, performer, and educator, who has a passion for bringing new works to the stage. She is a current company member and ambassador at Playground. In addition to Playground, her work has been featured at Magic Theatre, Cutting Ball Theater, Pianofight, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. Upcoming: Antigone, presented by the Girls of St. Catherine’s at Town Hall Theatre and Mirror Face at 3Girls Theatre Company in June 2022. She is a proud graduate of UC Santa Cruz and Nazareth College of Rochester, NY.

NORMAN GEE (The Invisible Collection), he/him, is the newest participant of the Innovator Incubator program, and is excited to be launching Oakland Public Theater’s latest show, a Sneak Peek at the baldwincentennialproject.com on 6pm Feb.26, at the BayFront Theatre in Ft. Mason https://www.improv.org/. Most recently he was seen onstage with SJ Stage in GREAT EXPECTATIONS, and last summer in the Shakespeare In The Park production of PERICLES. Norman is also an Associate Producer with PlayGround, and regularly directs in the Monday Night PlayGround.

JIM KLEINMANN (Gaia; Artistic Director & Co-Founder), he/him, co-founded PlayGround in 1994, along with playwright Brighde Mullins and director Denise Shama, and has served as Artistic Director since 1996. For PlayGround, he has provided artistic and administrative leadership for the past twenty-four seasons, developing PlayGround’s unique array of new playwright and new play incubator programs, including Monday Night PlayGround, the PlayGround Festival of New Works, the full-length play Commissioning Initiative, the New Play Production Fund, Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays, and most recently the Innovator Incubator. For PlayGround, he has directed more than one hundred short and full-length plays, including works by Garret Jon Groenveld, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Lauren Yee, Katie May, and many others. Recent directing and dramaturgy credits include David Steele’s Vignettes on Love and Ruben Grijalva’s Value Over Replacement. He is a veteran arts administrator with more than thirty years of experience, including stints leading Traveling Jewish Theatre, Smuin Ballet and Berkeley Symphony, and received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

KIMBERLY RIDGEWAY (In Antici—), she/her, is thrilled to direct for Monday Night Playground again! She has been working professionally as a director, actor, playwright, and producer in theater for over 25 years. Kim directed projects for many Bay Area Theatre Companies including Dragon Productions Theatre Company (DPTC), Altarena Playhouse, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, Ubuntu Theater Project, Playwrights Center of San Francisco, Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco Playhouse, and TheatreFirst. Kimberly is the Director of Dragon Eggs for DPTC; a monthly short play incubator series. She can be seen as “Shelly” in Colman Domingo’s DOT in March 2022 at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

PRODUCTION & STAFF

ANNIE STUART (Associate Artistic Director) has served as casting director for PlayGround for the past twenty-two seasons and in 2005 was named Associate Director. As a freelance casting director, her other credits include Marin Theatre Company, Center REP, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Francisco and Los Angeles Shakespeare Festivals, Brava!, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Z Space, among others. She has taught at San Jose State University, College of Marin, and Marin Theatre Company. For the PlayGround 2021-22 season, Annie will cast more than 300 roles.

JAMES GOODE (Sound Designer), he/him, has worked with a number of Bay Area theater companies, including 6NewPlays, African-American Shakespeare Co., Altarena Playhouse, Anton’s Well, Center REP, Custom Made, Hillbarn Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Oakland Theater Project, Palo Alto Players, PlayGround, Playwrights Foundation, Stage 1, Theater of Others, and Theatre Rhinoceros. Goode is also a composer, musician and songwriter, and has collaborated with actors, animators, choreographers, curators, visual artists, writers, and others on a wide variety of projects, including films, gallery and museum installations, live performances, music videos, podcasts, and radio dramas. https://jamesgoodesound.com

DIANNE HARRISON (Stage Manager), she/her, was born and raised in Sonoma Valley and performed in children’s theatre before shifting to stage management. Some of her past shows include Sonoma Arts Live’s Same Time, Next Year; Santa Rosa Junior College’s Legally Blonde: The Musical and Almost, Maine, which earned a Certificate of Merit from the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival; JoLee Productions’ Bluff, which she also co-directed; and Ross Valley Players’ Silent Sky and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily. She is thrilled to be a part of Monday Night PlayGround.

PLAYGROUND, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s, Los Angeles’ and now New York’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 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1000 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 and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. Over the past twenty-four 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.

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, including PlayGround, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, and Playwrights Foundation, among others. While the venue is closed during the COVID pandemic, Potrero Stage will highlight the best in online programming by PlayGround, Potrero Stage resident companies and other Potrero Stage producers. For more information, visit https://potrerostage.org.

PLAYGROUND CONTRIBUTORS

PlayGround is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals, foundations, gifts of $125 or more committed between February 1, 2021 & February 21, 2022.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • American Rescue Plan Act & CARES Act • Art Space Development Corporation • Berkeley Civic Arts • The Bernard Osher Foundation • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • Creative Capacity Fund • First Republic Bank • The Fleishhacker Foundation • Goldman Sachs • Google • Grants For The Arts • Koret Foundation • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Nvidia • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Planet Earth Arts • San Francisco Arts Commission • The Shenson Foundation • The Shubert Foundation • Stanford University • The Tournesol Project • Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation • Zellerbach Family Foundation

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

Mr. William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Jerome Joseph Gentes & Michael Bourque, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Craig & Kathy Moody, David Steele, Anonymous

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)

John H. Gilman, Regina S. Guggenheim, Linda Kremer, Anonymous

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Mr. William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Sidney Glass & Eleanor Clement Glass, Thalia Dorwick, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Tish and Steve Harwood, Mrs. Frannie Pope Hohman, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Karen Mauney-Brodek, Nitin, Diane Sampson, Sharon Simpson, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, David Cost and Kate Stechschulte, Anonymous (5)

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Mr. Thomas Patrick Broyhill, Karen Chakmakian, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Mr. Richard Dixon, Michael Fried, Barbara Goodyear & Stephen Rosenfield, Ruben and Keli Grijalva, Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Jofish Kaye & Erin Marie Panttaja, Diane Leonard, Gwen Loeb & Doyle Ott, Ray Riegert, Michele and John Ruskin, Nancy Spencer & Hardy Callcott, Oren & Justin Stevens, Mr. Malachy Walsh, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus, Maury Zeff

PATRON ($250-$499)

Sharon Baldwin, Wendy Bear, Cass Brayton, Ruth & Robert Brayton, In memory of Susan Bruett, Karen Catlin, Lily L Chow, Laurie Cohen, David Cramer, Ms. Doris Davenport, Mr. Richard Davis – Lowell, Maggie Dewan-Smith, Ms. Lynda Divito, Mr. Mark Andrews, Krystyna Finlayson , Ms. Jessica Forbess, Sarah Gasser, Justin and Oren Stevens, Keith Goldstein, Eileen Grady, Joan & Donald Green, Vicki Hamilton, Daryl Anthony Harper, Becky Harris, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Margaret and Cory Johnson – UCSF Essential Worker’s Program, Roxy Jones, Ray and Carla Kaliski, Jonathan Luskin and Leslie Katz, Michael Lutz, Brittany S Mellerson, Three Kurtics and a Morse, Bud & Donna Ogle, Chris Potter & Lisa Mammel, Annie Stuart & June Palladino, Lisa R. Taylor, Liam Vincent, Ms. Rosalinde Westil, Christian Wilburn, Janine Wilburn, Joanne Chow Winship, Anonymous (3)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Mary E. Baird, Julie  Birdsong, Gwendolyn Marie Boozé, Nancy Rivera Brooks, Jessica Forbess, Gina Harris, Joanne Kobori, Gregg Le Blanc, Ms. Lisa A. Mammel, Cecily T. Martin, Trynne Miller & David Prince, Doug Peckler & Evelyn Jean Pine, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Kathy J Reynolds, Kary Schulman, Rebecca Schweitzer, Jeunée Simon, Kurt Taylor & BJ Olsen, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Jeffrey Trescott, Mr. Darryl Wilburn, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Kelli Wong, Anonymous (3)

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PLAYGROUND COMPANY

PLAYGROUND WRITERS COMPANY

Linda Amayo-Hassan+, Cass Brayton+, Tom Bruett+, Rachel Bublitz+, Madeleine Butler, Vanessa Cassandras, Reg Clay, Victoria Evans Erville, Jessica Fechtor, Ipsheeta Furtado, Akaina Ghosh, Linda Maria Giron, Garret Jon Groenveld+, Monique Hafen Adams, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Lisa Kang, Anne Yumi Kobori, Molly Krost+, Jennifer Le Blanc, Jonathan Luskin+, Christopher Magee, Alanna McFall, Bacilio Mendez II, Isaac Ontiveros+, Conrad Panganiban, Erin Marie Panttaja, Evelyn Jean Pine+, Madeline Puccioni, Neiry Rojo, Kevin Rolston, Annette Roman, Rebecca Schweitzer , Susan Sher, Marissa Skudlarek, Alexis Standridge, Chris Steele, Shruti Tewari, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Eteya Trinidad+, Daysha Veronica+, Madison Wetzell, Christian Wilburn+, Maury Zeff
+ Resident Playwright

PLAYGROUND COMPANY

Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Angel Adedokun, Patrick Alparone, Liz Anderson, Rinabeth Apostol, Michael Asberry, Michael Barrett Austin, Mary Baird, Aldo Billingslea, Giselle Boustani-Fontenele, 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, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Christian Haines, Margo Hall, Rosie Hallett, Katherine Hamilton, Daryl Anthony Harper, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Monica Ho, Laura Humphrey, J Jha, Colin Johnson, Lyndsy Kail, Dean Koya, Danielle Levin, Amy Lizardo, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, George Maguire, Melanie Marshall, Alicia Mason, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Julia McNeal, Sam Misner, Brady Morales-Woolery, Lisa Morse, Jasmine Murray, Noble, Joseph Patrick O’Malley, Karen Offereins, Annette Oliveira, Soren Oliver, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell, Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Ezra Reaves, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Neiry Rojo, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Lindsey Marie Schmeltzer, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Jeunee Simon, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin, Lauren Spencer, Teddy Spencer, Howard Swain, Jomar Tagatac, Emilie Talbot, Danielle Thys, Isabel Anne To, Jon Tracy, Dane Troy, Mark Rafael Truitt, Liam Vincent, Ian Walker, Maryssa Wanlass, Tracy Ward, Reggie D. White, Aaron Wilton, Elena Wright

PLAYGROUND AMBASSADORS

Jomar Tagatac (Co-Chair) , Aaron Wilton (Co-Chair) , Aldo Billingslea, Tessa Corrie, Livia Demarchi, Britney Frazier, Claire Ganem, Cindy Goldfield, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, Brady Morales-Woolery, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Stephanie Prentice, Katja Rivera

PLAYGROUND STAFF

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Annie Stuart, Associate Artistic Director
Norman Gee, Associate Producer
Jed Parsario, Associate Producer
Stephanie Prentice, Associate Producer
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer
Lana Richard, Associate Director of Development
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager & Assistant to the Artistic Director
Daniel Benitez, 2021-22 Producing Fellow
Emlyn Doolittle, 2022 Producing Fellow
Bacilio Mendez II, 2022 Producing Fellow
Caroline Portante, 2021-22 Producing Fellow

PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Regina Guggenheim, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Jerome Joseph Gentes, VP-Communications
Emilie Talbot, VP-Development
Nitin, Treasurer
Katie May, Secretary
William Bivins
Diana Burbano
Eleanor Clement Glass
Lisa Mammel
Rebecca Martinez
Rondrell McCormick
Stephanie Prentice
Katja Rivera
David Steele

www.PlayGround-sf.org
3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485
info@playground-sf.org
(415) 992-6677