PlayGround Company in the News May 2020

Michael Barrett Austin (and his very talented spouse Emily) home-produced a short theatre/film piece which was selected for Shotgun Players’ “Two Minutes/Two Days” online festival.  He also loved participating in the first Zoom Monday Night PlayGround from his basement, and is preparing for his second Zoom-Chekov reading since quarantine began, THREE SISTERS.  

Julia Brothers is thrilled to be one of the 132 actors participating in what will be a historic and iconic Best of Playground Festival!!! Before that, she will be appearing in CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET, GOING THROUGH BOXES, and THESE SPICES EXPIRED IN 1998 – a triptych of one woman shows performed for no one in her apartment in NYC. 

Rachel Bublitz’s full-length science play BURST will be included this year in PlayGround’s Zoom Festival! The virtual staged reading is scheduled for Monday June, 1st, and she so excited to explore new ways of sharing theater. Last month a monologue from her play THE NIGHT WITCHES was included in American Theatre’s podcast The Subtext: Excerpts of a Lost Spring, which featured samples of plays that had their premieres canceled because of the Coronavirus. You can listen to the episode, and read all about all of the plays here: . Finally Rachel is pleased to announce the arrival of baby chicks at her house. Without a summer full of camp for her kids chicken school was just what the family needed. They’ll hopefully be getting fresh eggs by September!

Ron Campbell rehearsing ZOOMING FOR GODOT with Troubador Theatre Company Artistic Director Matt Walker, Lee Arenberg (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Jeffrey Wieseman (Back to the Future II).  ZOOMING FOR GODOT premiers June 6th on YouTube Live.  I’m also teaching GOING SOLO , a one person show workshop via Zoom for Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre May 30th from 12:30 to 3:30. Sign up here.  He also performing the one person show he developed for Playground Solo Festival 2019, HOW TO FAIL (ZOOM EDITION) June 15th.

Tessa Corrie is thrilled to be directing her second Best of PlayGround this June with the revival of Melissa Morrell’s LOVE, PRAY, EAT! Tessa is also organizing a queer panel this June to promote Leanna Keyes’ LOVE SERVING LOVE in the postponed Redwood City Play Festival premiering next June. On August 14th she will be making her Pear Theatre directing debut with the opening of ELLIOT, A SOLIDER’S FUGUE by Quiara Alegria Hudes.

Sarah Gasser is gearing up to stage manage 15 Zoom performances as part of the PlayGround Zoom Festival!

Norman Gee thought he’d be sitting on my hands, but instead find the Lockdown has just shifted what we do, not ended it. In the last month, in addition to again directing for Best of PlayGround, he’s helped to put together a radio play, THE FISHIN’ TRIP by Robert Fields, acted w/ SF-Shotz, and am teaching PlayMaking to a group of 3d-graders. He’s also managed to get most of the weeding done & his spring gardening off to a good start.

Having been in the middle of rehearsal for 9 to 5, THE MUSICAL at the Lesher Center, and anticipating a full summer contract at SF Playhouse in FOLLIES, Cindy Goldfield found herself out of work and like many of her compatriots, more than a little worried about what to do next and how to pay for healthcare.  What to do next ended up being to start a Home Cooked Meal Delivery service with her partner, Chef Willi Nordby.  They are currently preparing dozens of jars of Ragu. Pesto, delicious soups, fresh pastas, sourdough bread and various sweets and delivering to SF, North Bay and East Bay customers weekly.  You can find out more about it through Cindy’s FB page (where she does daily updates on menu items and just dealing with this strange time) or website:.  Also coming soon: marthaavenuefoods.com

Tanya Grove has been learning how to teach adults remotely and is starting to grow weary of all Zoom meetings except for her weekly Zoom-ba class. She “attended” Berkeley Rep’s taped performance of SCHOOL GIRLS, an anniversary broadcast of Josh Kornbluth’s RED DIAPER BABY with a Q&A afterward, and a live-streamed concert of PlayGround faves Misner & Smith. And she’s had many,  many cocktails. Her husband makes an amazing Zoom

Daryl Anthony Harper has been staying busy upgrading his home VO Recording Studio for remote broadcast quality production. He has launched into the wonderful world of shooting scenes via Zoom with 3 bookings by the Academy of Art University for On Camera work and a Voice Over PSA for the San Francisco Fire Department.  Daryl is also booked for a remote on camera self tape for Oracle this month, in which Oracle is sending him all the equipment to self-tape from his apartment.

Alanna McFall‘s debut novel, THE TRAVELING TRIPLE-C INCORPOREAL CIRCUS, is a finalist for two different awards! Triple-C is up for a Midwest Book Award from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association, in the “Fiction—Fantasy/SciFi/Horror /Paranormal” category, and a Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association, in the “Best New Voice- Fiction” category. Check her website  to follow the upcoming results.

Julia McNeal recently recorded her Far Apart Art contribution to the Magic Theatre’s podcast of the same name (it’s a way cool trove of 5-minute Shelter-in-Place visits with theatre artists), her online classes are filling up (wow! cool new thing:), and she’s perfecting her Irish Brown Bread bake, one week at a time.

Molly Noble is directing Nic Sommerfeld’s THÉ CORNER TABLE for Shotz’ Socially Distant Noir on May 7th featuring Melissa Ortiz, Madeline Rouverol and best of all her daughter, Sarah Guilbault. 

Ely Sonny Orquiza recently launched a podcast called United States of Asia with his students at UC Berkeley. In mid-May, he will be directing I’D LIKE TO BUY A VOWEL by Cass Brayton for PlayGround’s Zoom Fest and ON THE LINE for an NYC-based new media project, ZoomFest: A Theatrical Podcast. He’s been enjoying wine and cheese while sheltering in place at home.

Jed Parsario is excited to reprise his role in LA VIDA LOBO by Linda Amayo-Hassan for the Best of the Best of PlayGround May May 11th, Directed by Ivan Rivas.  Bindlestiff Studio has invited Jed back to facilitate the first ever virtual Stories High Acting Workshop!

New PlayGround Board Member, Stephanie Prentice has recently been cast in the role of homeschool teacher to her two children, She will also be  performing in the upcoming PlayGround Zoom Festival. 

Madeline Puccioni’s  musical comedy, FINDING MEDUSA, has won a spot in Musical Cafe’s Next Stages program, and will have a rehearsed staged virtual reading on May 30.  It will have another reading, hopefully live, on August 2.   Click here for a  20 minute video of a showcase for FINDING MEDUSA, produced in June 2018 at the Osher Theatre.  Madeline’s COOLEY’S REEL is now up and dancin’ (VIRTUALLY) for Stage It!  in their Social Distancing Short Plays Festival. 

What can be learned, felt and created during this time of global pandemic? If we tune in, what might we hear? Check out MOMENT 2 MOMENT, a new live talk series created and hosted by Amy Sass, Artistic Director of Ragged Wing Ensemble. Devoted to fostering deeper conversations, MOMENT 2 MOMENT features new guests each week with unique perspectives on this transformational time. RSVP at raggedwing.org and join us on Thursdays at 5:00 PDT via Zoom or FB Live

Lisa Gaye Thompson will appear in an improv/writing mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Six playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by mostly-brilliant, always-fun cold readings. While hunkering down she’s writing monologues from shelter, the first of which, Murmurations, has just been released. She’s eager to collaborate on more.