PlayGround Company in the News September-2019
Read on to learn more about PlayGround Company Member and Alumni recent news, current happenings, and upcoming events as we prepare for PlayGround’s Silver Jubilee next Monday!
Jonathan Spector’s play EUREKA DAY is having its NYC debut with Colt Coeur, and was featured in The NY Times.
Liz Anderson is doing a year-long residency at SF FilmHouse developing a SciFi feature film entitled CORDYCEPS, which is a finalist for the Sundance Development Track (formerly called the Sundance Screenwriters Lab).
Rinabeth Apostol was in HOUSE OF JOY at Cal Shakes, which ran until September 8th.
Michael Barrett Austin is playing Orlando in San Francisco Shakespeare Company‘s new musical version of ‘AS YOU LIKE IT,’ FREE in San Francisco parks from now through September 22nd!
Ellen Koivisto, Bridgette Dutta Portman, and Lisa Kang’s Innovator Incubator company Same Boat Theater Collective had a staged reading of their collectively-written play THE EMERYVILLE HORROR (Lynn Aylward, Lead Writer; Linda Amayo-Hassan, contributing writer) at Potrero Stage on August 12, directed by Ellen. An excerpt of the play was performed at the Emeryville Block Party on August 24 and it will also be presented at Lit Crawl on October 19.
Mary Baird recently did a reading of THE SWEET SPOT at Capital Stage Playwrites’ Revolution. In January of 2020 she will be playing Ann Marie in A DOLL’S HOUSE 2 at Coyote Stages.
Tom Buett had a short (meaning 2.5 minute short) play in an evening of 21 short plays called FINGERTIPS, based on the music of They Might be Giants. It ran at the Exit Theatre in SF as part of the SF Fringe Fest.
Millie Brooks is performing in TESTMATCH at ACT directed by Pam MacKinnon, running from October 24th to Dec. 8th.
Julia Brothers is appearing as Maeve in DANCE NATION by Clare Barron at SF Playhouse, directed by Becca Wolff, choreography by Kim Richards running Sept 24 – Nov 9, 2019.
Rachel Bublitz is thrilled to have the Utah Premiere of RIPPED with Good Company Theatre in Ogden, Utah, from September 20 – October 6 . Rachel will also be back near the Bay Area for a workshop production of her full-length BURST, with UC Davis’ Ground & Field Theatre Festival, October 3, 4, and 5.
Lizzy Calogero’s TREASURE ISLAND with the SF Mime Troupe closed September 8th in Santa Cruz.
Ron Campbell is currently performing 25 characters in THE 39 STEPS at TheatreWorks and his short film DUNK (originally a Playground play) is completed and is being submitted to film festivals.
Patricia Cotter had a reading of her play 1980 (OR WHY I’M VOTING FOR JOHN ANDERSON) as part of Portland’s The Reading Parlor, in September. Rehearsals begin soon for the World Premiere of THE DAUGHTERS, produced by SF Playhouse’s Sandbox Series . Patricia is thrilled to be the first recipient of the Theatre Lab’s, “The Fair Play Initiative”. The program for commissioning and development of plays by LGBTQ+ playwrights will have a reading of Patricia’s new play in October.
Nara Dahlbacka will be directing for OLYMPIANS NIGHT OF SHORTS. She also just closed 52 LETTERS with Ubuntu, for which she did staging consulting.
Rob Dario is appearing in THE FLICK, Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize Winning play about a movie theater (and so much more), at Shotgun Players August 29 thru September 22
Rebecca Ennals directed AS YOU LIKE IT: A NEW MUSICAL with music by The Kilbanes and Phil Wong for San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, which runs in San Francisco through Sept 22, featuring PlayGround company members Gwen Loeb, Norman Gee, and Michael Barrett Austin
Victoria Evans Erville‘s play, THE LIES THAT BIND, has been chosen to receive the Brady Fellowship at 3Girls Theatre. It will be presented in January as part of the Salon Reading Series.
Margo Hall is appearing in EXIT STRATEGY, the season opening show at Aurora. It runs through September 29th.
Eric Fraisher Hayes will be directing LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at Tao House in September. The production will be traveling to Ireland in October.
Sarah Gasser is starting rehearsals for EL RIO with BACCE, performing in October at Brava.
Elizabeth Flanagan’s one-act play, ANNA NOT EMMA, will be produced as part of the Stranger Play Festival this September in Vermont.
Norman Gee is performing in AS YOU LIKE IT with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Jerome Joseph Gentes is participating in Steven Westdahl’s FINGERTIPS at the SF Fringe Festival. Inspired by a surreal collection of 21 short song choruses written by the band They Might Be Giants, Fingertips consists of 21 short plays written by 21 different playwrights performed in 60 minutes (or less)!
Cindy Goldfield is currently directing GEORGIA MCBRIDE at TownHall Lafayette, and prepping for her 16th (!) season of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at ACT
As Co-Editor-in-Chief of Exposition Review, Lauren Gorski will be hosting a hybrid reading and writing workshop on Saturday, October 19th with Lit Crawl SF. The reading/workshop is called “SF In a Flash” and features flash readers in different genres, with a prompt at the end for everyone to write their own flash piece.
Tanya Grove got a new kitten, name pending but very likely Rumpus, as in “Let the wild rumpus start!” in Where the Wild Things Are. He and her dog Ruby are becoming fast friends.
Brian Herndon just closed CABARET at City Lights Theater Company in San Jose. Next up, he will be playing Mr. Collins in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at TheatreWorks.
Jeffrey Lo’s production of THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley (featuring PlayGround company members Jomar Tagatac and Elena Wright) closed a few weeks ago. He is now producing a night of short plays for charity called THE BENCH PROJECT 7 at Los Altos Stage Company where folks can donate a warm coat for those in need to watch a night of six plays, including one written by Jeffrey and one written by alumnus Cleavon Smith and one directed by company member Tessa Corrie.
Johnathan Luskin production company, Flying Moose Pictures, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the short documentary, MY NAME IS SIRI, about a young woman with autism who discovered her talent for designing jewelry and changed her life. It is being
George Maguire is co-producing a new film, HE WAS HERE, with Michael Ray Wisely and Nancy Madden. He also did a photo shoot for AARP Magazine for the upcoming issue’s article by Tom Hanks on the meaning of friendship, and is a proud part of Theaterfirst’s new play development series working with Tom Swift and his PlayGround commissioned play, A MARRIAGE.
Meghan Maugeri‘s full-length comedy, MOTHERS OF THE BRIDE, will have a staged reading at Pear Theatre in Mountain View, CA on November 16th at 2PM. A discussion with the playwright will be held after the show.
Alanna McFall has been visiting open mics across the Bay Area, sharing excerpts from her debut novel THE TRAVELING TRIPLE-C INCORPOREAL CIRCUS. She also recently sat down with Bay Area interviewer Anne H. Maxwell to talk her novel, her participation with PlayGround, and her writing process in general. You can check out the upcoming interview here.
Julia McNeil is playing Isabella Bird/Louise in A.C.T.‘s season opener, TOP GIRLS by Caryl Churchill directed by Tamilla Woodard. This will be her first time on the Geary stage!
Alex Moggridge‘s play THE BOATMAN will have a staged reading at Los Angeles’s Antaeus Theatre Company in September.
Last year Lisa Morse ran a pilot program at Miriam and Lydia’s elementary school to start a Glee club, a free-after school club aimed at building community and providing stress relief through singing. This year, registration was so abundant they had to split into two clubs, so Lisa will be leading a total of 55 kids in grades 2-5 in weekly acapella singing. She is pulling together curriculum as we speak, so all recommendations are welcome!
June Palladino is settling into her new role as Safety & Occupational Health Manager at the Presidio Trust.
Louis Parnell recently concluded performances as Herr Schultz in the SF Playhouse production of CABARET.
Evelyn Jean Pine‘s 2-minute masterwork, WRECK MY CAR, was performed at the SF Fringe Festival as part of Steven Westphal’s genius FINGERTIPS SHOW inspired by They Might Be Giants. The Bridge initiative in Tempe Arizona performed MOM, I HAD AN ABORTION as part of their ROAR revue celebrating women and GRSM in theatre on September 14.
Stephanie Prentice will be the emcee for the PlayGround Silver Jubilee on September 23!
Madeline Puccioni‘s new full-length, TIME AFTER TIME AGAIN, received a staged reading with Paper Wing Theatre in Monterey, on Sept. 7, and will get another staged reading for Playwright’s Center San Francisco at The Shelton Theatre on November 11. Both readings are free. And yes, don’t worry – Madeline will send you a reminder. And she will bring wine and nibbles to The Shelton reading for you on November 11th. It behooves her now to finish the 4th draft of this little monster, does it not?
Geetha Reddy’s adaptation of MAHABHARATA will be performed by Ubuntu Theatre November 8-December 1.
Cathleen Riddley will be playing Mary Tyrone in LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at Ubuntu Theater Project in October.
Annette Roman’s short play BEST SERVED, originally written for Monday Night PlayGround, will be produced as part of the Hollywood Short+Sweet festival end of September/early October 2019. She will be producing a holiday show at PianoFight in early December 2019 entitled HOLIDAYS WITH A TWIST: CHRISTMAS EDITION II. It will include a short holiday play Annette wrote for Monday Night PlayGround, a one-act produced in the first edition of this show in 2016, and two short plays by other playwrights to be determined.
Mark Routhier is directing Shakespeare for the first time, the OSF commissioned update of MEASURE FOR MEASURE by Aditi Kapil. It will run in The Great Hall of the New Orleans Museum of Art and is produced by The NOLA Project.
Robert Sicular returns to the Bay Area after a wonderfully successful summer at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and is looking forward to MOTHER OF THE MAID at Marin Theatre Company later this Fall.
Lauren Spencer is closing Just Theater’s production of CRY IT OUT just in time to begin rehearsals for SF Playhouse’s DANCE NATION. She will be directing two pieces in TheatreFirst’s GHOST Stories this fall.
Danielle Thys just wrapped shooting her scenes as Susan in FREE BYRD, an indie feature currently in production in the North Bay.
Tracy Ward is directing the regional premiere of THE CAKE by Bekah Brunstetter at New Conservatoryin November.
Steven Westdahl produced/directed FINGERTIPS at the SF Fringe. The 60-minute show features 21 short plays written by 21 different playwrights, including some PlayGround folks from both SF and LA. Inspired by a surreal collection of 21 short song choruses written by the band They Might Be Giants, Fingertips consists of 21 short plays written by 21 different playwrights performed in 60 minutes (or less)! A one-of-a-kind locally-grown short-attention-span experience!
Madison Wetzell’s play THE OFFICIAL UNICORN HUNTERS’ GUIDE was a finalist for PianoFight’s ShortLived VIII, which took place at A.C.T’s Strand Theater on September 6th and 7th at 8pm. Her play MEDIOCRE HETEROSEXUAL SEX will be part of the second annual Problematic Play Festival, a staged-reading series at Z-Space on October 4th.
Reggie White is understudying in THE INHERITANCE on Broadway.
Maury Zeff‘s one act play, ETERNAL HELLFIRE AND DAMNATION: A LOVE STORY, will receive a main stage production in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, September 20 – 29 at the Genesius Theatre. The play was originally commissioned for the 2018 SF Olympians Festival.