PlayGround presents
The 8th Annual

PLAYGROUND SOLO PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL

January 24 – February 9, 2025 7pm PT

Potrero Stage & Online Simulcast

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.

Friday, January 24, 2025, 7pm
Safiya Fredericks in THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!
Jon Gentry in BLACK BASTARD

Saturday, January 25, 2025, 4pm
Elijah Jalil Paz Fisher in THE SKIBIDI M’FIN BIBIDI EXPERIENCE
Safiya Fredericks in THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Saturday, January 25, 2025, 7pm
Jon Gentry in BLACK BASTARD
Ric Iverson in PERIOD. NEW PARAGRAPH.

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 1pm
Safiya Fredericks in THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!
Jon Gentry in BLACK BASTARD

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 4pm
Elijah Jalil Paz Fisher in THE SKIBIDI M’FIN BIBIDI EXPERIENCE
Daniel Martinez Jr. in WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 7pm
Ben Chau-Chiu in LUCKY CHANCES
Aaron Pang in HEREIN LIES THE TRUTH

Friday, January 31, 2025, 7pm
Steve Harper in SNOW (BLACK MAN / WHITE OUT CONDITIONS)
Elijah Jalil Paz Fisher in THE SKIBIDI M’FIN BIBIDI EXPERIENCE

Saturday, February 1, 2025, 4pm
Aaron Pang in HEREIN LIES THE TRUTH
Steve Harper in SNOW (BLACK MAN / WHITE OUT CONDITIONS)

Saturday, February 1, 2025, 7pm
Daniel Martinez in WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Ben Chau-Chiu in LUCKY CHANCES

Sunday, February 2, 2025, 1pm
Steve Harper in SNOW (BLACK MAN / WHITE OUT CONDITIONS)
Daniel Martinez Jr. in WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Sunday, February 2, 2025, 4pm
Miyoko Sakatani in I WASN’T ALWAYS AN ASIAN
Lucy London in GRASPING AT STRAWS

Sunday, February 2, 2025, 7pm
Aaron Pang in HEREIN LIES THE TRUTH
Ric Iverson in PERIOD. NEW PARAGRAPH.

Friday, February 7, 2025, 7pm
Tansu Philip in MOST ACHIEVED PERSON
Diana Brown in VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE by Susan L. Jackson

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 4pm
Miyoko Sakatani in I WASN’T ALWAYS AN ASIAN
Tansu Philip in MOST ACHIEVED PERSON

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 7pm
Diana Brown in VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE by Susan L. Jackson
Lucy London in GRASPING AT STRAWS

Sunday, February 9, 2025, 1pm
Tansu Philip in MOST ACHIEVED PERSON
Ric Iverson in PERIOD. NEW PARAGRAPH.

Sunday, February 9, 2025, 4pm
Miyoko Sakatani in I WASN’T ALWAYS ASIAN
Diana Brown in VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE by Susan L. Jackson

Sunday, February 9, 2025, 7pm
Lucy London in GRASPING AT STRAWS
Ben Chau-Chiu in LUCKY CHANCES

PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group,
and a National New Play Network (NNPN) Partner Organization.

Performance Schedule

Safiya Fredericks in The Birthday Girl!
1/24 at 7 pm, 1/25 at 4 pm & 1/26 at 1 pm
This show has been described as a comical drama/dark comedy/dramedy. It takes place over the course of a day where I am trying to have a celebratory birthday rather than a “spend the day alone” kind of day. In my attempt to do this there is an underlying tone of grief which some years takes more of a front seat than others. “My parents are dead.” Throughout the meticulously planned day there are run ins with various characters, stories of past dates all the while looking forward to a night out with my best friend, which paints a clearer picture of what it’s like to be a single gal navigating life solo. There’s a lot of music sung or played and a simple set would be nice if possible depending on what is available in the space.

Jon Gentry in Black Bastard
1/24 at 7pm, 1/25 at 7pm, & 1/26 at 1pm
Black Bastard is a poignant exploration of identity and becoming, told in phases that move through the intricacies of growing up as the black sheep navigating queerness and fatherlessness in the South. Through literature, clowning, self-discovery, and original song, the production invokes 90s nostalgia in a jambalaya of memoir, embodied character transformation, and socio-cultural commentary. The show confronts stereotypes about absent Black fathers while exploring broader themes of identity, expression, and our collective search for belonging and ultimately home.

Elijah Jalil Paz Fisher in The SKiBiDi M’FiN BiBiDi EXPERIENCE
1/25 at 4pm, 1/26 at 4pm, & 1/31 at 7pm
THE SKiBiDi M’FiN BiBiDi EXPERiENCE is a one-person, musical, and athletic performance that wrestles with the comedic and sophisticated absurdity of modern-day existence through the examination of addiction, expectation, and the English language in an ever-evolving quest for understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. Its form spans multiple genres from an epic poem to a rap waltz to a performance art installation to a contemporary hip-hop dance piece. Most notably, THE SKiBiDi M’FiN BiBiDi EXPERiENCE aims to motivate the audience to look up from their phones and discuss what a cultural reset looks like amongst the middle class.

Daniel Martinez Jr. in What’s in a Name?
1/26 at 4pm, 2/1 at 7pm, & 2/2 at 1pm
What’s In a Name? is the story of Gregory. He’s in his 30s and has worked hard his entire life to be successful. He wakes up, goes to work, comes home, and repeats. One day, he visits a medium who leaves their clients with their greatest attribute tattooed to their forehead. To his horror, and on the eve of his big promotion, Gregory looks in the mirror to see CUMDUMP tattooed on his forehead. A peculiar situation! Gregory grapples with the consequences of his choice, and the highs and lows of coming to terms with their true nature. This play explores the concept of living your life for yourself and on your own terms, and not living your life for other people.

Aaron Pang in Herein Lies The Truth
1/26 at 7pm, 2/1 at 4pm, & 2/2 at 7pm
Herein Lies the Truth is a solo performance, part theater, part standup, in the vein of storytellers like Mike Birbiglia and Derek Del Gaudio. When people see my cane, they have the instinctual urge to ask “what happened?” – this show answers that question. This show tells two stories of how I became disabled: the first is a sweet lie, a feel-good story of triumph, love, and satisfaction; the second the truth, something messy, morally gray, and unsatisfying. The stories walk through my journey to find love and sex in this disabled body through online dating and sex work. It explores the structures of stories we tell about disabled people, and challenges the audience to examine their own biases and wants for “inspirational disabled stories” by playing with their delicate understanding of what truth could be. They are caught red-handed wanting the “inspirational story,” and the show ends by giving them the choice to hear a happy ending or a sad ending. So far, every audience has chosen the happy ending. The audience feels delight, mistrust, doubt, and self-reflection through the series of stories presented. I’m sharing something vulnerable and f**king with you along the way.

Ben Chau-Chiu in Lucky Chances
1/26, 2/1, & 2/9 at 7pm
Lucky Chances is a collection of romantic tales and meet cutes, some real and some imagined, told in storybook fashion to the audience. This piece explores love, relationships, and intimacy, and how each of those evolve over time as we meet potential, or realized, partners.

Ric Iverson in Period. New Paragraph.
1/25, 2/2 at 7pm, & 2/9 at 1pm
This is a follow up to last year’s award winning solo work, Ric Iverson is Alive and Well and Living in Milpitas. Surviving cancer was a huge part of that show. Being recently diagnosed with Stage IV Prostate Cancer, Ric’s just not sure where this new version is taking him…but it’s definitely still a musical!

Steve Harper in SNOW (Black Man / White out Conditions)
1/31 at 7pm, 2/1 at 4pm, & 2/2 at 1pm
During a mid-pandemic drive from Reno to L.A., Steve is just trying to make it home (from his husband’s house in Nevada) when a freak snow storm turns the trip into a near-death experience. The journey is harrowing, absurd, thought-provoking and funny, touching on issues of race, loss, grief, death, and loneliness. Snow: Black man. White out Conditions reveals sharp truths about modern life, mortality, faith and what it means to survive.

Miyoko Sakatani in I Wasn’t Always An Asian
2/2, 2/8, & 2/9 at 4pm
Miyoko takes us on a funny and sometimes serious look at what it means to be Asian-American and more specifically, Japanese-American. The performance is a mix of biography, stand-up, storytelling, and an impersonation of an iconic Japanese-American woman. She will take us on a journey of how the Japanese-American’s rose from the depth of exclusion, anti-Asian laws and imprisonment to economic and educational success as “model minorities.” And how Japan’s cultural exports influenced and contributed to the lives of the Japanese in America. She also gives the audience a look into how America’s traditional cinematic and theatrical history deeply influenced her perspective and place in America, and why there are so few notable Japanese-Americans in the performing arts compared to other Asian cultures.

Lucy London in Grasping at Straws
2/2 at 4pm, 2/8, 2/9 at 7pm
Grasping at Straws: Reflections on an Activist Trajectory explores the contradictions and nuances of changemaking through storytelling, poetry, movement, song, meditation, and community building. Lucy’s performance brings audiences along on her evolving theory of changemaking, from championing individual sustainability in high school as “the straw girl,” to focusing on systems change and living in Indigenous-led resistance camps fighting the Line 3 tar sands pipeline in Minnesota during the summer of 2021. Through sharing these experiences, Lucy hopes to prompt personal and community reflection and collective healing. Grasping at Straws considers the question: how do we recognize our agency among waves of other people’s theories of change, navigate the inherent and ever-present contradictions of changework, and acknowledge our interconnectedness with all things?

Tansu Philip in Most Achieved Person
2/7 at 7pm, 2/8 at 4pm, & 2/9 at 1pm
Most Achieved Person is a follow-up to Paratha, exploring familiar themes while charting new territory. In this piece, Tansu once again serves as the narrator, but instead of revisiting her Indian-American identity and travels to India, she invites you into her life over the past two years. It’s a candid and humorous look at taking on too much, burning out, and ultimately finding relief in medication. This comedy emphasizes the value of community and mental health, delivering a relatable and hilarious journey. It also features Bollywood dancing!

Diana Brown in VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE by Susan Lily Jackson
2/7 at 7pm, 2/8 at 7pm, & 2/9 at 4pm
Lily reveals her unexpected connection to Vertigo–but not the movie--the chronic condition. Is there humor after being diagnosed? Yes, because now she can’t clean the house: PPPD and all its variations are explored in this informative/amusing/eye opening exposure of what it’s like to be dizzy all the time.

BIOGRAPHIES

ARTISTS

Diana Brown (Performer, VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE) is excited to be a part of PlayGround’s Solo Fest, and delighted to continue her collaboration with Susan Jackson. She’s appeared in Jackson’s plays TAKEN, WHEN YOU ARE CALLED, IN SITU, BLESSING HER HEART for which she was nominated for a BATCC award. She appeared in San Francisco and New York in the long-running two-hander DEAD CERTAIN. Diana has performed at the Spoleto Festival and the Capital City Fringe and others She’s half of the touring comedy duo BINGEWATCH. A guest artist with Bay Area TheatreSports and a member of the acting pool with Killing My Lobster.

Ben Chau-Chiu (LUCKY CHANCES) is an actor and director based in the Bay Area. They are a company member and ambassador with PlayGround SF, and have directed and performed with both the SF and NY companies. They’ve also been fortunate to work on multiple productions at A.C.T., Cal Shakes, and SF Shakes. As well as working on shows at Shotgun Players, SF Playhouse, 42nd Street Moon, and Berkeley Rep. benchauchiu.com

Claire Ganem (Director, LUCKY CHANCES) is a Bay Area-based theater director who specializes in new play development. She loves stories that explore feminine rage, queer joy, and the chaos of our rawest deepest emotions. Claire is a current company member and ambassador at PlayGround SF. In addition to PlayGround, her work has been featured at Cutting Ball Theatre. Town Hall Theatre, 3Girls Theatre, Z Below, Pianofight, Left Coast Theatre Company, and Magic Theatre, where she was an artistic direction apprentice during their 2018-2019 season.

Safiya Fredricks (THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!) has been happily navigating the acting world for several years. After studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and bumbling around New York, she found her way to a steady career in regional theater. She is the recipient of the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actress for her work in ‘black odyssey’ at CalShakes and was most recently seen in ‘Can I Touch It?’ At Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles. Film/TV credits include Bitter Melon, I’m Charlie Walker, Sorry to Bother You, Book of Boba Fett, and 911.

Elijah Jalil Paz Fisher (THE SKIBIDI M’FIN BIBIDI EXPERIENCE) identifies as a Niggapino, and he is a multidisciplinary performance and recording artist from Richmond, CA. He received his BA in Theater from University of Portland and MFA in Acting from University of Montana. Throughout his work, Elijah expresses himself through songwriting, playwriting, poetry, and choreography. In the Bay, he has worked as an actor with AASC, and with his alma mater, SJND as a teacher/director. As he continues on his journey, Elijah aims to build a massive body of work that highlights the complexity of human existence, especially from his perspective as a Niggapino.

Jon Gentry (BLACK BASTARD) was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He earned his BA in English from Harvard, where he served as President of BlackCAST. He holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater. As a teaching artist, he co-directed “Child Life” with UCSF Children’s Hospital and led acting workshops across the Bay Area. He currently teaches Michael Chekhov Acting Technique at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory. Regional theater credits include roles in Masao and The Bronze Nightingale, A Christmas Carol, and Romeo and Juliet. Onscreen, he appeared in TEN, Behold a Lady, Meeting Matt Damon and voiced Preston Garvey in Fallout 4, gaining viral fame.

Steve Harper (SNOW (BLACK MAN / WHITE OUT CONDITIONS)) is a playwright and actor. Plays: co-writing Black Lives / Blue Lives (The Theater Project, NJ), Urban Rabbit Chronicles (Georgia Southern University), Princeton Theory, and Almost. TV: Tracker, God Friended Me, and American Crime. Acting: Guthrie, CATF, Cincinnati Playhouse. Education: Yale, A.R.T. Institute at Harvard and Juilliard playwriting program.

Ric Iverson (PERIOD. NEW PARAGRAPH.) can write himself out of any situation. Including stage IV prostate cancer. Hopefully.

Susan L. Jackson (Playwright, VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE) received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Play. LEAVING SIMONE: Semi-Finalist for the National Playwrights Conference—Eugene O’Neill Center : Staged- read/produced New York City, Bay Area, Eugene O’Neill Foundation, William Inge Festival, Sydney, London.   DEATH BE NOT LOUD! –Best of Capital Fringe—Washington Post positive review.  Published: Smith and Kraus, (2017-2024) Finalist: Creede Repertory Theatre; Henley Rose Competition for Female Playwrights; Fusion Theatre Company; Centre Stage; 3Girls Theatre Co. Alum-PlayGround; Mid-America Theatre Conference; Last Frontier Theatre Conference; Powerstories: Voices of Women Festival; Sparks Creative Works, Believability: Shiny Unicorns Productions: Part of the SF Young Playwrights Festival with Lauren Yee.

Lucy London (GRASPING AT STRAWS) is a folk musician, performance artist and opera singer from Petaluma, California. She graduated in 2023 with a degree in performance studies from Northwestern University, where she also studied classical voice and environmental policy. She wrote and created her own solo performance Grasping at Straws: Reflections on an Activist Trajectory, which debuted in Spring 2023. She has performed with international folk ensembles in Delhi, India and Greensboro, North Carolina. She also co-composed and sang the leading role in Fox & Beggar Theatre Company’s Spring 2024 production, The Paper Operetta, that will tour in Fall 2025.

Daniel Martinez Jr. (WHAT’S IN A NAME?) is a playwright and actor from San Jose, CA. Daniel has written and performed two solo shows; Me Again and Round Hole. Daniel has written short plays and written his first full length play through the PlayGround Writers Pool. During the day, Daniel teaches at a film school for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Aaron Pang (HEREIN LIES THE TRUTH) is a storyteller, comedian, and writer living in Iowa City, Iowa. Aaron Pang tells uncomfortable, funny, and challenging stories about disability. He is interested in leading audiences to places they’ve never been. Aaron has appeared on The Moth Radio Hour, Proof by America’s Test Kitchen, and Frictions Media. His essays have appeared on Essay Daily and Michigan Quarterly Review. He has performed with The Moth Mainstage, Infinite Dream Festival, Unruly Storyfest, Slant’d Media, and more.

Tansu Philip (MOST ACHIEVED PERSON) is a queer, Indian-American actor/writer based in Los Angeles. Her solo show PARATHA premiered at PlayGround Solo Fest 2023 and has won awards!

MIYOKO SAKATANI (I WASN’T ALWAYS AN ASIAN) she/her, is a Sag-Aftra-e stage and screen actor, singer, writer, producer and a proud company member of SF PlayGround. Miyoko has performed on many Bay Area regional and community theater stages over many years, including writing and performing her solo piece, which she performed in PlayGround’s 2024 Solofest. Film credits include the award winning Samuel Goldwyn film “East Side Sushi” (IMDb.com/Miyoko Sakatani). As founding director of Playland Productions, Miyoko has produced and co-directed several short films and stage plays. Miyoko is also a member of a Bay Area all Asian ukulele band who performs regularly and gratuitously for residential care facilities.

Cezar Williams (Director, SNOW (BLACK MAN/WHITE OUT CONDITIONS)) is an award-winning director. Credits: Dancing on Eggshells (Billie Holiday Theatre), Till: A Musical (American Theater Group), The October Storm (Hudson Stage), and Mitchelville (Lean Ensemble Theatre). He is the Artistic Director of the Obie Award winning Fire This Time Festival and an NYU graduate.

PRODUCTION & STAFF

JIM KLEINMANN (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.

JENNA STEIN-CORMAN (Stage Manager), she/her, grew up immersed in the bay area theatre community. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she has gone on to work as a teaching artist, stage manager, and director in theaters all over the bay. Currently, she works with Town Hall Theatre, The Berkeley Playhouse, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. She recently stage managed PlayGround’s 2nd annual “twisted” holiday show, A Very Hitchcock Christmas, streaming thru New Year’s.

BRITTANY MELLERSON (Lighting Designer, Technical Director), all pronouns, is an East coast native and a graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory Program, with a BFA in Theatrical Lighting & Sound Design. Brittany is the Resident Lighting designer for Lamplighters Music Theatre, SF PlayGround, and the Telluride Film Festival. Recent credits include lighting design for LMT’s Princess Ida, PlayGround’s Solofest and sound design for Mothers of the Bride. Throughout the pandemic, Brittany has been working to source and produce equitable employment avenues in the Bay Area for Black designers and technicians. “The world is burning. Learn its truth.”

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, corporations and government agencies whose contributions make our work possible. This list reflects gifts of $125 or more committed between December 1, 2023 & December 16, 2024.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • American Rescue Plan Act & CARES Act • Art Space Development Corporation • Avenue Greenlight • Berkeley Civic Arts • The Bernard Osher Foundation • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • California Humanities • California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program • Creative Capacity Fund • Disney • Grants For The Arts • KFF • Koret Foundation • LA County Arts Commission • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Nvidia • NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Planet Earth Arts • Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Inc. • Rye Financial Services • San Francisco Arts Commission • The Shubert Foundation • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

Paul Haahr, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500+)

Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Daniel E. Cohn & Lynn Brinton, John H. Gilman, Nitin, Anonymous (2)

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Randy Adams, Meriko Borogove, Jediah Craig, David Goldman, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Regina S. Guggenheim, Just Play Productions, Linda Kremer, Ronald Whittier Family Foundation, Daniele Nathanson , Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock, John J. Ruskin, Tom Swift, Malachy Walsh, Janine Wilburn, Anonymous

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Linda Ayres-Frederick, Phoenix Theatre SF, Jim Brayton & Debbie Marr, Mr. Richard Davis – Lowell, Hillary DeMartino, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Kate Hecht, Diane Leonard, Kathy Roberts & Aaron Loeb, Dr. Gary W. London, Molly Noble and Bob Guilbault, Diane Sampson, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, Maury Zeff

PATRON ($250-$499)

Nina Ball & Jon Tracy, Ruben & Keli Grijalva, Brandy T Jones, Jonathan Luskin, Dolores Martinez, Rebecca Martinez, Christopher Reber, Chris and Cindy Redburn, Christian Wilburn, Anonymous (5)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Naomi & Sam Abramovitz, Mary E. Baird, Ms. Portia F. Bock, Cass Brayton, Sheila Collins, Joyce Dieda, Clint Fleener, Michael Fried, Patience Haggin, Gina Harris, Ms. Sharlene Hartman, Mr. Stanley William Hathaway, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Tanuja Devi Jagernauth, Abbe S. Kalos & Kitt Saginor, Gregg Le Blanc, Pam MacKinnon, Paris McCarthy, Kimberly Ridgeway, Ms. Jessica Rofé, Margo Rofé, Carolina Rojas Moretti, Katie Ryan, Christine Sheppard, Stan Stone, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus, Anonymous

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 (833) 992-6677.

Become a PlayGround contributor!

DONATE

PLAYGROUND COMPANY

PlayGround-SF Writers Pool 2024-25

Linda Ayres-Frederick, Tanika Baptiste, Daniel Baxter, Nico Bocalan, Robyn Brooks, Madeleine Butler, Melina Cohen-Bramwell, Jediah Craig, rob dario, Laura Domingo, Elizabeth Flanagan, Reed Flores, Antonio Greene, Garret Groenveld, KT Frances Hartline, Grace Hoffman, Everett Holland, Christine C. Hsu, Carl Johnson, Ruth Kirschner, Sarena Kuhn, Greg Lam, Jennifer Le Blanc, Kristy Lin Billuni, Daniel Martinez Jr., Richard Perez, Bridgette Portman, Kimberly Ridgeway, George Rose, Louel Señores, Alexis Standridge, Stan Stone, Lisa Gaye Thompson, Kaz Valtchev, Livian Yeh, Maury Zeff.

PlayGround Resident Playwrights

Michael Adams, Anthony Anello, Robyn Brooks, Bailey Jordan Garcia, Garret Groenveld, Juliet Kang Huneke, Karissa Murrell Myers, Lyra Nalan, Jacob Marx Rice, Kimberly Ridgeway, Louel Señores, Christian Wilburn.

PlayGround Company

Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Angel Adedokun, Patrick Alparone, Linda Amayo-Hassan, Liz Anderson, Rinabeth Apostol, Michael Asberry, Michael Barrett Austin, Mary Baird, April Ballesteros, Tanika Baptiste, Aldo Billingslea, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero, Ron Campbell, Joy Carlin, Nancy Carlin, Zoe Chien, Ben Chau-Chiu, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer, Will Dao, Anne Darragh, Roshni Datta, Natalia Delgado, Dodds Delzell, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle, Leticia Duarte, Nora el Samahy, Rebecca Ennals, Gisela Feied, Britney Frazier, Michael French, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Linda Giron, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Gabriel Grilli, Rudy Guerrero, Rosie Hallett, Katherine Hamilton, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Champagne Hughes, 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, Sam Misner, Brady Morales-Woolery, Lisa Morse, Khary L. Moye, Molly Noble, Karen Offereins, Annette Oliveira, Soren Oliver, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Tony Ortega, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell, Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Krystle Piamonte, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Ezra Reaves, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Kimberly Ridgeway, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Patrick Russell, Miyoko Sakatani, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Dave Sikula, 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, Christian Wilburn, Wayne Wong, Elena Wright, Hector Zavala.

PLAYGROUND STAFF

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director 
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager/General Manager 
Lana Richards, Associate Director of Development 
Jonathan Josephson, Director of Marketing & Communications 
Norman Gee, Associate Producer 
Katja Rivera, Associate Producer 
Zoe Chien, Associate Producer
Tessa Corrie, Casting Associate 
Patricia Cotter, Casting Associate 
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer 
Liam Kirk, Resident Stage Manager 
K’Zhane McGill, Box Office Manager 
Katie Brown, 2024-25 Producing Fellow 
Zoe Lesser, 2024-25 Producing Fellow 
Joey Reyes, 2024-25 Producing Fellow 
Amal Mazen Salem, 2024-25 Producing Fellow 
Sarah Showich, 2024-25 Producing Fellow 

PLAYGROUND AMBASSADORS

Julia Brothers, Jordan Carlson, Ben Chau-Chiu , Julia Crowley, Sheri Flanders, Claire Ganem, Eric Geller, Monica Ho, Tony Kim, Christine Liao, AJ Lily, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Andrew Perez, Ivan Rivas, Miyoko Sakatani, Braedyn Youngberg.

PLAYGROUND EQUITY WORKGROUP

Diana Burbano, Victoria Evans Erville, Norman Gee, Jim Kleinmann, Brittany Mellerson, Tiana Randall-Quant, Katja Rivera, M. Graham Smith.

PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stephanie Prentice, Chair 
James A. Kleinmann, President 
Emilie Talbot, Vice President
Nitin, Treasurer
Christian Wilburn, Secretary
Regina Guggenheim, Chair Emeritus

Tanvi Agrawal
Linda Amayo-Hassan
Julia Brothers
Ben Cain
Howard Ho
Toby Inoue
Rebecca Martinez
Kendall Phillips
Jessica June Rowe

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