Co-Founders Ryan Nicole Austin, Beau Lewis, Adesha Adefela Music Team Led by Victoria Theodore American Conservatory Theater For seven years, Esata has been coding in her mother's West Oakland basement, creating an interacting avatar of her deceased father, Cyril -- an incredible accomplishment for someone non-degreed who learned to code with her dad on an Atari … [Read more...] about Co-Founders
world premiere
Pear Slices 2025
Pear Slices 2025 Various Playwrights Pear Theatre Since Season Two of its now twenty-three, Pear Theatre each year has reaped a delicious harvest of world premiere, one-act playlets offered as Pear Slices -- six to eight, ten-to-fifteen-minute pieces, each written by members of an ongoing Pear Playwrights' Guild who meet every two weeks to discuss and provide … [Read more...] about Pear Slices 2025
Simple Mexican Pleasures
Simple Mexican Pleasures Eric Reyes Loo New Conservatory Theatre Center No one would possibly dare accuse Eric of even having one toe still in the closet -- not his friends, family, colleagues, or even a casual passer by on the streets of L.A. But when his boyfriend in Seattle sends him a text that "I think it's over" just as Eric is packing his hoards of … [Read more...] about Simple Mexican Pleasures
the aves
the aves Jihae Park Berkeley Repertory Theatre There is no doubt but that Marsha Ginsberg's designed serene pond setting with its yellow lilies floating in slow circulation underneath a wooden boardwalk with its lone bench is nothing short of serenely mesmerizing -- a scene made even more idyllic by the dreamlike songs of birds, crickets, and rain storms created … [Read more...] about the aves
Shameless Hussy
Shameless Hussy Lynne Kaufman The Marsh Surrounded by the sounds of fog horn, crashing waves and terrifying thunder, a trembling eleven-year-old girl cries to her mother as the two leave her native France, bound for the U.S, "I am losing my country, my language, and my father". Her mother hands her a notebook and suggests she write in it letters to the father left … [Read more...] about Shameless Hussy
Writing Fragments Home
Writing Fragments Home Jeffrey Lo Hillbarn Theatre & Conservatory Forty-year-old Jay awaits anxiously with luggage in hand for his mom to get home from work, nervously practicing various ways of saying, "Hi, Mom, it's good to see you/How was work?/I'm sorry ... can I move back home?" When Mary Beth walks in, her first reaction? "What's wrong?... What are you … [Read more...] about Writing Fragments Home
The Boiling: A Tale of American Nihilism
The Boiling: A Tale of American Nihilism Sunhui Chang Magic Theatre in Association with Campo Santo At the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, playwright Sunhui Chang heard on a local Seattle newscast how two potentially infected individuals had voluntarily checked into a quarantine motel, only for one to be caught later on a surveillance camera walking out … [Read more...] about The Boiling: A Tale of American Nihilism
Push/Pull
Push/Pull Harry Davis Central Works Dedication/Obsession. Self-esteem/Self-disgust. Fulfilling a dream/Living a delusion. Acceptable friendship/Forbidden Intimacy. Wanting to feel male/Wanting the feel of a male. Life seeking/Death wishing. Where is the boundary between these extremes? When and how does the balance shift from one side to the other? Is … [Read more...] about Push/Pull
Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical
Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical Min Kahng (Book, Music & Lyrics) TheaterWorks Silicon Valley, in Co-Production with Center Repertory Company Reminiscent of Sondheim's Passion, the musical now in its world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley also opens in the midst of a hot, bedroom scene of lovemaking, with arms and bodies … [Read more...] about Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical
Cuckoo Edible Magic
Cuckoo Edible Magic Reed Flores San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) It is Tumaiguini, the first month of the CHamoru year; and as the moon shifts to a new phase, something has ripped a hole in the universe, permitting a dark force to enter the world. Across the San Francisco Bay Area, imported rice cookers, elderly Tai Chi women, and dark shadowy … [Read more...] about Cuckoo Edible Magic
The Thing about Jellyfish
The Thing about Jellyfish Based on the Novel by Ali Benjamin Adapted for the Stage by Keith Bunin Berkeley Repertory Theatre A bright, curious, talk-a-mile-a-minute seventh-grade girl learns a life lesson that "sometimes things [even very bad things] just happen." To reach that important conclusion, Suzy must also ask herself, "What can jellyfish teach us about … [Read more...] about The Thing about Jellyfish
Accused!
Accused! Patricia Milton Central Works Politicians and police ranting against immigrants and the crimes they bring. An invading plague blamed on other countries. Threats and fears of domestic terrorists and possible bombings. Suspicion of corrupt public officials. People of color ignored by police. Women’s opinions ridiculed and outright dismissed by the men in … [Read more...] about Accused!
Chaplin and Keaton on the Set of Limelight
Chaplin and Keaton on the Set of Limelight Greg Lam The Pear Theatre One was known worldwide for his bamboo cane, derby hat, toothbrush mustache, too-small black jacket, and a walk more like a penguin than a man. The other’s big screen image familiar to all was a clean-shaven face smothered in thick, white makeup; a deadpan expression with smile totally absent; baggy … [Read more...] about Chaplin and Keaton on the Set of Limelight
Garuda’s Wing
Garuda’s Wing Naomi Iizuka Magic Theatre in a Co-Production with Campo Santo “I’m going to tell you a story, and then maybe you’ll remember.” The last line of Naomi Iizuka’s latest play, Garuda’s Wing, is clearly aimed at us, the audience. The story we have witnessed over the past ninety minutes in Magic Theatre and Campo Santo’s world premiere production has been … [Read more...] about Garuda’s Wing
Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration
When he was just fourteen and called by Robert Kelley to come and play the piano for a local theatre’s rehearsal session, could then young William Liberatore ever imagine that nearly five decades later in 2024 he would be opening his fiftieth show as music director with that same company, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley – a show he and Kelley, the company’s founder and now- … [Read more...] about Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration
