Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Berkeley, CA)
Come see where the Bay Area's theatre pros go to play on their night off. Now in its 16th season, PlayGround presents staged readings of six original short plays written by top Bay Area emerging playwrights, inspired by a single topic and performed by leading local directors and actors.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
* Additional fees apply.
For being up and coming playwrites, the overall quality of the plays were pretty darn good.The actors and directors themselves did a great job with min little prep time (1 wk). Stacy Ross (act), Jon Tracy (dir) / Tim Kniffin (act), Mark Rucker (dir) / Alex Moggridge (act) / Jomar Tagatac (act) stood out as top notch professionals and made the evening worthwhile just to see their raw talents shine!
A Futurist in 6 Acts, The Secret Language of Coughing (my personal fav - bravo Evelyn Jean Pine!!) and Little Man were quite witty and smartly written. The others plays' attempts at wit and humor were a bit cliche and left me bored (though around me, the audience seemed charmed and chuckled aloud on cue).
All said, I love the concept and purpose of PlayGround, love the risk involved and collaborative nature of pairing professional actors & directors with up and coming playwrites. It's a great idea and I'll continue supporting it.
it was good to experience a unique form of theater. i had no idea what i was in store for. each month the "troupes" have less than a week for the screenplay writer to do the script, get the actors, have one rehearsal and then perform. of the five one acts, two were great, two were good and one was too faux-artaud or something...but hell, all worth experiencing.
Brian Griset
A brilliant night of refreshing 6 one act plays based on one theme. Witness new works in an impromptu format. All 6 playwrights were present.Each play is read from script and staged simply.You get what ever current Berkely Reps scenery as a backdrop and that adds its own flavor.We are so lucky to watch these new works and variety abounds. Treat yourself and see the last one of this series visit www.playground-sf.org
Tips are provided by Goldstar members and PlayGround. Goldstar is not responsible for their content or accuracy.
Born in a storefront on College Avenue, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre—and is still telling unforgettable stories. Founded in 1968 by Michael Leibert, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily g
Website: http://www.playground-sf.org/monday.shtml
Each month during the season, PlayGround announces a topic to a pre-selected writers pool of Bay Area emerging professional playwrights, inviting the submission of original ten-page plays. The best six of these plays are presented as staged readings before a live audience on the third Monday of the month at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, featuring some of the Bay Area's best directors and actors. PlayGround began its 16th season in October 2009.