PlayGround presents Season 29

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

Topic: “GIVE AND TAKE“

November 21, 2022 7pm PT

Live at Potrero Stage + 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.

Wish and Rue
by Anne Yumi Kobori
Directed by Directed by Sahar Assaf
Rue………………Rinabeth Apostol
Lilly………………April Ballesteros
Huntsman…………..Tony Ortega

Work/Shoot
by Matthew Y. Morishige
Directed by Khalia Davis
Farrah Fenix...Krystal Piamonte
Maya Money…………….L Duarte
Ryan………….Mark Rafael Truitt

Going to the Trouble
by Cherielyn Ferguson
Directed by Khalia Davis
Patty.……………..Annette Oliveira
Jeff………………………Soren Oliver
Ted.………………….Robert Sicular

On the Night of the Apocalypse
by Daniel Martinez
Directed by Tessa Corrie
Pedro………….……Hector Zavala
Sam……………….Ben Chau-Chiu
Elias……………………………..J Jha
Voiceover…….Krystle Piamonte

Peace of Stone
by Lisa Kang
Directed by May Liang
Chiang Lixing ……………Leon Goertzen
Alison Lennox.……………….Marjan Safa
Statue Of Buddha……Miyoko Sakatani

Playground Underground
by Max Tachis
Directed by Jim Kleinmann
The Boss……………….Chris Steele
The Goon………….Patrick Russell
The Kid………….Rebecca Pingree

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

CHERIELYN FERGUSON (Going to the Trouble), she/her,  is an East Bay playwright who’s excited to be part of the writers pool this year. Earlier in November, Oakland’s Pan Theater included her 10-minute play, This Will Be Thine, in its 10-minute play festival, and Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre and Minneapolis’s Chameleon Theatre Circle will include other 10-minute plays in their 2023 festivals of new works. Her one-act play, Valuable, was featured this summer at the Shawnee Playhouse as part of its Original Short Play Festival and in early 2023 Adams State University in Colorado will produce her one-act play, Emergency Prep. She participated in the 2022 Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive.

LISA KANG (Peace of Stone), she/her, is the founder of Same Boat Theater Collective, a PlayGround Incubator theater project connecting people to their environment in the Bay Area. She has had work performed in the Bay Area, Taipei and Seoul, most recently with Ferocious Lotus Theatre Project.

DANIEL MARTINEZ (On the Night of the Apocalypse), he/him, is a writer and actor based in San Jose. This is his first season in PlayGround’s Writers’ Pool and the water is ~warm~! He’s stoked to be making his MNP debut. Daniel previously wrote and starred in his first solo show, “Me Again”, as part of PlayGround’s Solo Performance Festival. Daniel has had short plays produced in LA and was recently a semi-finalist in NBC’s “Ya Tu Sabes” Monologue Slam. During the day, Daniel works as a Screenwriting, Acting, and Directing teacher to adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

MATTHEW Y. MORISHIGE (Work/Shoot), he/him,  is an actor, musician, and playwright based in the Bay Area. Matthew’s work aims to capture unique perspectives and voices pulled from his own personal experiences. He is energized by collaboration with talented artists across many different disciplines. This is his first staged production with Playground.

MAX TACHIS (Playground Underground), he/him, is an actor and playwright based in San Jose, with pieces produced at readings and festivals across the Bay Area at companies like City Lights Theater Company, Los Altos Stage Company, The Pear Theater, and Dragon Productions Theater Company; digital plays presented on the Our Digital Stories (ODS) platform; and an annual gig writing for students in the Ohlone College Theatre & Dance Department. This is his first PlayGround SF appearance.

ACTORS

RINABETH APOSTOL (Wish and Rue, “Rue”), she/siya, loves being at MNP! She recently completed her residency at College of William + Mary as The Class of 1939 Artist and Asian Centennial Distinguished Theater Fellow. 2021- 2022 season includes Starting Here, Starting Now (SF Playhouse), The Magic Lamp (Presidio Theater), Red Winged Blackbird (world premiere, SP Productions), The Chinese Lady (Williamsburg), Smart People (Capital Stage), The Lion King Jr. (co-director/choreographer, Los Gatos School), EVOLUTION (director, Ferocious Lotus), voicing Gretchen Campbell in Marvel’s Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Podcast (Sirius XM) and Marvel’s Midnight Suns (MoCap, Firaxis games) being released next month. Proud member of Actors’ Equity + SAG-AFTRA.

APRIL BALLESTEROS (Wish and Rue, “Lily”), she/her, is an actor, director, educator, stage manager, and properties designer. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Cultura and Artistic Learning Programs Manager at the California Shakespeare Theater. She has worked with SF Playhouse, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, SFBATCO and the Latinx Mafia Theater Collective, to name a few. She earned a BA in Theatre Arts from California State University, East Bay and hails from East Los Angeles. With every project she does, she hopes to empower and uplift BIPOC voices.

BEN CHAU-CHIU (On the Night of the Apocalypse, “Sam”), he/him, is a Bay Area actor, singer, and director. He’s excited to work with Playground for the first time. Recent productions include: Beauty and the Beast (Palo Alto Players); Much Ado About Nothing (SF Shakes); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Lamplighters Music Theatre); The Elixir of Love, Otello (Livermore Valley Opera). He has also worked with Cal Shakes, Berkeley Rep, N.C.T.C., Plethos Productions, Town Hall Theatre, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and Marin Shakes. He holds an M.A. in Theater Arts from U.C. Santa Cruz.

L. DUARTE (Work/Shoot, “Maya Money”), they/them, is an actor, director & playwright whose recent projects include: August: Osage County with San Jose Stage Company, Julius Caesar with PacRep, The Review with Theatre Rhinoceros , Helen! With Theatre of Yugen, Into the Beautiful North & The King of Cuba with CentralWorks. Duarte is a graduate of UCLA, UCSC, and has trained with A.C.T. and Shakespeare & Co. They are a founding member of Latinx Mafia, a Bay Area collective of Latinx Teatristas, who work to ensure Latinx stories are valued and accurately represented. www.latinxmafia.com Find a full range of work by Duarte at Casting Networks https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/d69eed18-24bd-11ec-8124-c9bb66a47a51

LEON GOERTZEN (Peace of Stone, “Chiang Lixing “), he/him, Leon Goertzen has worked at theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, including East West Players, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Will and Company, Magic Theatre, Asian American Theater Company, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Road Theatre Company, Cutting Ball Theater, Aurora Theater Company, Bay Area Playwright’s Festival, and New Conservatory Theater. Leon is a co-founder and company member of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company; He is a graduate of the School of Drama at UNC School of the Arts and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild.

J JA (On the Night of the Apocalypse, “Elias”), all pronouns, is a Trans GNC performer who has worked with Playground, Oakland Theater Project, Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, MTC, Magic among other Bay Area theatres. They just finished Fagg@ts and their Friends between Revolutions and are looking forward to her solo piece entitled Mahābhārata in June 2023 at Z Space. #translivesmatter

SOREN OLIVER (Going to the Trouble, “Jeff”), he/him,  is an actor, director and play write. He has been working professionally in the Bay Area since 1977. Soren is also the founding artistic director of Berkeley’s Central Works.

ANNETTE AMELIA OLIVEIRA (Going to the Trouble, “Patty”), she/her, has had many theatre roles including women (and men) who are wise, fierce, sometimes losing marbles, often Latinx. She’s performed in two Shakespeare plays at Marin’s redwood-ringed Curtain Theatre. She was honored to play in Hector Zavala’s 40, Latino, Single and Gay web series. Annette has acted via Zoom for many theatres and playwrights groups. She records audiobooks for Learning Ally and you’ll soon find two books she recorded for Penguin-Random House on Audible.com.

TONY ORTEGA (Wish and Rue, “Hunstman”), he/him/el, is a father, actor and writer who has lived and worked in the Bay Area for over a decade. His artistic journey began at TeatroVision in San Jose, and since has worked with companies such as The San Francisco Playhouse (The Paper dreams of Harry Chin) African American Shakespeare Co. (Richard II) SFBATCO (La Posarela.) San Francisco Youth Theatre (Afterlife), Alter Theatre (Ghosts of Bogota) Mexican American Conservatory Theatre (A Solid Home) La Lengua (Adios Robinson) Coastal Repertory Theatre (Native Gardens, Death of A Salesman) Half Moon Bay Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet) Dragon Productions (Take Me Out) and Bay Area Drama Company (State of Denial). Tony is proud to have founded City Street Artists with his team of talented artists. City Street Artists will strive in supporting the creation of new performance works. As a new father it is important to him to build the cultural landscape he hopes his son can enjoy in the future.

KRYSTLE PIAMONTE (Work/Shoot, “Farrah Fenix”; On the Night of the Apocalypse, “Voiceover”), she/her, is a Bay Area-based stage and screen actor. Theatre credits include work at Z Space, SF Playhouse, Ferocious Lotus, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, TheatreFirst, Bindlestiff Studio, and 59E59 in collaboration with Artistic Stamp. Screen credits include the award-winning short films “Bound 4 Heaven” and “Median”. She is a 2x Theatre Bay Area Award Finalist for Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role in a Play and was named an MVP of Bay Area Theatre by KQED. Krystle is a Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of The Chikahan Company and a company member of PlayGround. www.krystlepiamonte.com | IG: @xLe

REBECCA PINGREE (Playground Underground, “The Kid”), she/her, most recently played Judge 1 & Mr. Putnam in The Crucible at Oakland Theatre Project, and Bridget Potter in the original cast of The Kilbanes’ The Code with the ACT YC. She’s been seen on stages throughout the Bay Area, including TheatreFirst, Shotgun Players, Berkeley Playhouse, SPARC Livermore, Ray of Light, Napa Valley Conservatory, Marin Theatre Company, and Perspective Theatre. She holds an MFA in Collaborative Theatremaking from Rose Bruford in London, and co-founded Analog Theatre, part of PlayGrounds Innovator Incubator cohort. Catch her back at Potrero Stage on Monday November 28 for the Analog IN2 Showcase!

PATRICK RUSSELL (Playground Underground, “The Goon”), he/him, is an actor, director, and teaching artist. He has performed at ACT (A Christmas Carol), Sf Playhouse (Noises Off, Ref Velvet), Aurora (Body Awareness), Cal Shakes (As You Like It), Magic Theater (Fool for Love) and Marin Shakespeare (Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure), among others. He is the co-founder of The Actors Space acting school and performance group in SF. He is a lecturer in Acting and Movement at UC Berkeley, where he will be directing Eurydice in the spring. He also teaches for several programs at A.C.T. where he earned his MFA in Acting. Patrick is a proud company member of Playground and a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity.

MIYOKO SAKATANI (Peace of Stone, “Statue Of Buddha”) she/her, is a Bay Area actor~singer who is always thrilled to be working with PlayGround. She has performed with Berkeley Rep, Cutting Ball, SF Playhouse, TheatreWorks, AlphaNYC off Broadway virtual stage. Miyoko performed her solo piece about her family’s immigration and internment at the Marsh Theater. Films include the award winning HBO/Samuel Goldwyn’s East Side Sushi (IMDb/Miyoko Sakatani). As founder of Playland Productions, she has produced short films, plays and co-directed the innovative Silent City by Dan Wilson with an ethnically diverse hearing and deaf cast signing in ASL with closed captions. She performs regularly for residential care facilities with a Bay Area ukulele band.

ROBERT SICULAR (Going to the Trouble, “Ted”), he/him, Robert Sicular has performed a universe of roles in a decades long career that has spanned the country – and beyond! His theater performances are almost too numerous to mention but in film he can be seen in Josh Kornbluth’s “Love and Taxes”, the sci-fi action comedy thriller, “Never Die Twice”, the Bollywood potboiler, “Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya” and the chilling podcast series, “Dr. Dark Presents”.

MARJAN SAFA (Peace of Stone, “Alison Lennox”), she/her, is a San Francisco Bay Area – based actor and is delighted to be making her debut with Playground. She was last seen as Betty 5 in Collective Rage at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View. Prior to that she was seen as Mrs. Soames and Rebecca in Our Town with Contra Costa Civic Theatre, and Motherhood Outloud at the Altarena Playhouse, playing seven different characters. She has previously worked with TheatreFirst, Golden Thread Productions, San Francisco Play- house, Palo Alto Players, San Francisco Playwrights’ Center and Multi-Ethnic Theatre. She is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) Summer Training Congress, and has trained extensively at both ACT and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Currently she is in ongoing classes with Richard Seyd at the Seydways Acting Studios. She likes to read, bake, walk and dip her toes in water in her spare time. To learn more about her you can visit her webpage at marjansafa.com.

CHRIS STEELE (Playground Underground, “The Boss”), they/she, is a multidisciplinary creator and performer, trans activist, and horror enthusiast. They’ve performed with theatre companies across the Bay Area, a founder of Trans Queer immersive arts group Poltergeist Theatre Project, and her award-winning drag persona Polly Amber Ross performs in queer spaces across San Francisco and on instagram at @pollyamberross.

MARK RAFAEL TRUITT (Work/Shoot, “Ryan”), he/him, has appeared in Titanic, Star Trek Voyager, Chance, and The Practice among other television and film appearances. He has appeared with the Magic theatre, Goldenthread productions, and has been a member of Playground here in the Bay area for over 20 years. He teaches at Cal, USF, ACT, and the Academy of Art University, and is author of the book “Telling Stories a Grand Unifying Theory of Acting Techniques.”

HECTOR ZÁVALA (On the Night of the Apocalypse, “Pedro”), 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 currently on tour with his One Man Show “Seeking the Last Gay Man”.

DIRECTORS

SAHAR ASSAF (Wish and Rue), she/her, is a Lebanese theatre-maker and currently the Executive Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions (San Francisco, CA). She’s presented works in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Belgium, London, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Chicago, and NYC. Sahar is a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship (2009) and holds an MA in Theatre Studies from Central Washington University (2011) and an MA in Sociology from the American University of Beirut (2005). She is an alumna of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in NYC (2014) and of Directors Lab North in Toronto (2017), and she is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Directors Lab Mediterranean.

TESSA CORRIE (On the Night of the Apocalypse), she/her, is a Queer and Latinx neurodivergent theater director based in the Bay Area. Her work is grounded in creating space for marginalized and underrepresented communities and narratives. She is a casting associate and producer at PlayGround SF. Her credits include work at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Palo Alto Players, Pear Theatre, The Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, More Más Marami Arts, Poltergeist Theatre Project, PianoFight, AmiosWest, and Our Digital Stories.

KHALIA DAVIS (Work/Shoot; Going to the Trouble), she/her, is a multidisciplinary artist and Artistic Director of Bay Area Children’s Theatre where she recently led the world premieres of a kids play about Racism and The Imaginaries: An Immersive Musical. As a director and arts educator, she has worked with prominent theaters all over the country. Before assuming her role as AD, Ms. Davis served as the Director of Inclusion and Education with Brooklyn Children’s Theatre restructuring their children’s musical theater programming through an anti-racism lens. Awards: 2019 Emerging Leader Fellowship, 2019 NYCCT Leader Fellowship, 2021 Corey Medallion Award. BA Theater Arts-University of Southern California www.khaliadavis.com!

MAY LIANG (Peace of Stone), she/her, is a Stage Director and Theater Artist of Color based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is the Artistic Director of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company. She has worked with American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theater’s Ground Floor Lab, California Shakespeare Theater, Crowded Fire Theater Company (Resident Artist), Bay Area Playwrights Foundation, Bindlestiff Studios, PlayGround Center for New Plays (Directing Fellow 2017), and Oakland Theater Project among others. May was a member of the 2017 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York City and a member of the Director’s cohort for the 2019 Directors Lab Chicago.

DOYLE OTT (On the Night of the Apocalypse), he/him, has performed, directed and taught with companies including Make A Circus, Splash Circus Theatre, Prescott Circus, Playground, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Circus Center, Antenna Theatre, Golden Thread, and the San Francisco Playwright’s Foundation, As Artistic Director at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland he has overseen the creation of two new performance spaces, written and directed over 30 plays, and developed Fairyland’s professional Theatre for the Very Young. A member of Actors Equity and a certified Feldenkrais practitioner. Doyle h lectures in theatre and dance at Sonoma State University, where he is currently directing Eurydice at Sonoma State.

JIM KLEINMANN (Playground Underground; 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.

PRODUCTION & STAFF

JAMES GOODE (Sound Designer), he/him, is a sound designer, composer, audio engineer, musician, and songwriter based in the Bay Area. He’s collaborated with actors, animators, visual artists, writers, and other musicians and composers on a wide variety of projects, including films, gallery and museum installations, live performances, music videos, podcasts, and radio dramas. Local theater productions he’s done sound design for include As You Like It (San Francisco Playhouse), The Four Gifts (Hillbarn Theatre), Richard II (African-American Shakespeare Company), Dot (New Conservatory Theatre Center), Native Gardens (Center REPertory Company), and Pool of Unknown Wonders: Undertow of the Soul (Oakland Theater Project). 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.

LAUREL SCHWEIDEL (Box Office), she/they, is a Bay Area native who loves to teach and perform. She graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in Drama and has taught improvisation, music, and songwriting through Bay Area Children’s Theater, the Willard Metal Shop Theater, and Leap Arts in Education. Laurel also MC’s concerts with Sofar Sound and releases original music under the name Laurel Hannah.

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 October 1, 2021 & October 10, 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 • California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program • 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 • The Shubert Foundation • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation • Zellerbach Family Foundation

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Jerome Joseph Gentes & Michael David Bourque, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Peggy Haas, David Steele, Anonymous

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)

John H. Gilman, Regina S. Guggenheim

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Sidney Glass & Eleanor Clement Glass, In Memory of M. David MacCallum, Jr., Rebecca Martinez, Nitin, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, Anonymous (3)

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Thomas Patrick Broyhill, David Goldman, Jeff Gregory, Regina S. Guggenheim, Linda Kremer, Lisa A. Mammel, Lisa Morse, Nvidia, Nancy & Carty Spencer, J.B. Strasser, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus, Anonymous (3)

PATRON ($250-$499)

Dr. Elaine Baskin & Kenneth R. Krechmer, Lily L Chow, Ruben & Keli Grijalva, Vicki Hamilton, Roxy Jones, Ray and Carla Kaliski, Annie Stuart, Lisa R. Taylor, Maury Zeff, Anonymous (3)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Maura C. Berkelhamer, Dr. Katherine Ardis Blenko, Frieda de Lackner, Jessica Forbess, Mr. Eric Garcia, Sarah Gasser, Tom Goetzl, Gina Harris, Abbe S. Kalos & Kitt Saginor, Jennifer King, Douglas & Mary Ann Le Blanc, Gregg Le Blanc, Trynne Miller & David Prince, Everett & Julia Moore, Louis Parnell, Dr. Alan Pearl, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Mike Rosenthal, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Jeffrey Trescott, Liam Vincent, Mr. Darryl Wilburn, Janine & Darryl Wilburn, Robin L. Wimsatt, Kelli Wong, Anonymous (3)

To contribute to PlayGround, visit https://playground-sf.org/contribute or contact PlayGround Associate Director of Development Lana Richards at lana@playground-sf.org or by phone at (415) 992-6677.

Become a PlayGround contributor!

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PlayGround Company

PLAYGROUND WRITERS COMPANY

Monique Hafen Adams, Barbara Anderson, Nicole Bruno, Madeleine Butler, Allie Costa+, Jediah Craig, Cherielyn Ferguson, Ipsheeta Furtado, Bailey Jordan Garcia+, Lauren Gorski,+ Aaron Higareda+, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Lisa Kang, Ruth Kirschner, Anne Yumi Kobori+, Steve Koppman, Jennifer Le Blanc+, Kristy Lin Billuni, Justin Lopez+, David MacFadden-Elliott, Daniel Martinez, Alanna McFall+, Bacilio Mendez II, Matthew Morishige, Vicky Pham, Bridgette Portman, Alexis Roblan, Jessica Rowe+, Anthony Sampson Semandiris, David Schweidel, Tony Sciullo, Marissa Skudlarek, Alexis Standridge, Max Tachis, Lisa Thompson, Eteya Trinidad, Michael Tuton, Kaz Valtchev, Daysha Veronica+, Michael Waterson, Christian Wilburn+, Maggie Wilson+, 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, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero, Ron Campbell, Joy Carlin, Nancy Carlin, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer, Will Dao, Anne Darragh, Dodds Delzell, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle, Nora el Samahy, Rebecca Ennals, Gisela Feied, Britney Frazier, Michael French, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Gabriel Grilli, Christian Haines, Rosie Hallett, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Monica Ho, Laura Humphrey, J Jha, Colin Johnson, Jennifer King, Dean Koya, Danielle Levin, Amy Lizardo, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, George Maguire, Melanie Marshall, Alicia Mason, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Julia McNeal, Bacilio Mendez II, Sam Misner, Brady Morales-Woolery, Lisa Morse, Khary L. Moye, Molly Noble, Joseph Patrick O’Malley, Karen Offereins, Annete Oliveira, Soren Oliver, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell,​​ Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Krystle Piamonte, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Ezra Reaves, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Patrick Russell, Lindsey Marie Schmeltzer, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Jeunee Simon, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin, Lauren Spencer, Teddy Spencer, Chris Steele, 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, Rosie Hallett, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, Brady Morales-Woolery, Karen Offereins, Ely Sonny Orquiza

PLAYGROUND STAFF

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director 
Norman Gee, Associate Producer 
Jed Parsario, Associate Producer 
Stephanie Prentice, Associate Producer 
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer 
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager 
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer 
Lana Richards, Associate Director of Development 
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager 
Emlyn Doolittle, 2022 Producing Fellow / 2022-23 Directing Apprentice 
Savannah Greene, 2022-23 Producing Fellow 
Justin P. Lopez, 2022-23 Producing Fellow 
Bacilio Mendez II, 2022 Producing Fellow 
Tanvi Agrawal, 2022-23 Directing Apprentice
Jenna Stein-Corman, 2022-23 Directing Apprentice

PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stephanie Prentice, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Rondrell McCormick, VP-Communications
Emilie Talbot, VP-Development
Nitin, Treasurer
Katie May, Secretary
Regina Guggenheim, Chair Emeritus
Diana Burbano
Philippa Kelly
Lisa Mammel
Rebecca Martinez
David Steele

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