Joy Meads

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has announced the productions that will make up the company’s 2023/24 season. See the lineup, and learn how to purchase tickets!

Playwrights Dipika Guha (“Yoga Play” at Syracuse Stage through Feb. 6), Hilary Bettis and Joy Meads join Syracuse Stage associate artistic director Melissa Crespo and moderator and arts journalist Kelundra Smith for a panel discussion “Inside the Kilroys List” on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.

Today, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein announced that William Shakespeare's Cymbeline will be the next production for A.C.T. Out Loud, a series of play readings featuring enduring works by some of the greatest minds of generations past.

BARD AT THE GATE will return for an additional two seasons starting this fall when Paula Vogel's virtual start-up partners with McCarter Theatre Center. Plays by Zakiyyah Alexander (HOW TO RAISE A FREEMAN), Jose Rivera (SONNETS FOR AN OLD CENTURY) and Christina Anderson (GOOD GOODS) will be featured during the 2021-22 season.

Tony Award winner and American Conservatory Theater Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Executive Director Jennifer Bielstein announced today the world premiere production of Obie Award–winning Bay Area playwright Christopher Chen's virtual play, Communion.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced This Is Just Intermission-InterACT at Home, an online initiative that aims to engage, enrich, and entertain patrons through a series of interactive events, activities, and innovative programming from the comfort and safety of their homes.

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) announced today that the theatre has been named one ofThe Jubilee's Cultural Architects. This designation honors the work done by San Diego REP to feature historically marginalized voices and perspectives and celebrates the theatre's work to unite, uplift, encourage and enrich the community.

Play On Shakespeare today announces an expansive list of compelling actors and dynamic directors confirmed to participate in the Play on! Festival, presented in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Play on! features 39 readings of new, work-in-progress translations of Shakespeare's plays into contemporary modern English by some of today's most exciting playwrights-May 29-June 30 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th Street). In 2015, Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched an ambitious 39-play, three-year commissioning project, Play on!, tasking 36 playwrights-more than half of whom were women and playwrights of color, each paired with a dramaturg-to translate Shakespeare's canon in celebration of the enduring impact of the Bard's work. Supported by a generous grant from the Hitz Foundation and inspired by long-time patron Dave Hitz's passion for Shakespeare, the project was and continues to be led by Lue Morgan Douthit. For more information, visit playonfestival.org.

Today, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)'s Director of Dramaturgy and New Works Joy Meads announced the lineup for A.C.T.'s fourth annual New Strands Festival, taking place at A.C.T.'sStrand Theater (1127 Market Street, San Francisco) May 16-19, 2019. The New Strands Festival is a free festival featuring new theatrical pieces, works-in-progress, and readings, as well as a master class series and special happy hours to celebrate and share the artistry and expertise from the local and national theater scene.

Play On Shakespeare in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) presents the Play on! festival-featuring 39 readings of new, work-in-progress translations of Shakespeare's plays into contemporary modern English by some of today's most exciting playwrights-May 29-June 30 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th Street).In 2015, Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched an ambitious 39-play, three-year commissioning project, Play on!, tasking 36 playwrights-more than half of whom were women and playwrights of color, each paired with a dramaturg-to translate Shakespeare's canon in celebration of the enduring impact of the Bard's work. Supported by a generous grant from the Hitz Foundation and inspired by long-time patron Dave Hitz's passion for Shakespeare, the project was and continues to be led by Lue Morgan Douthit. For more information, visit playonfestival.org.

On Monday, March 25th The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents) presented the 2019 Theatre Women Awards at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012).

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison and Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents), an organization which has been leading the gender parity conversation and championing women in the professional theatre for over 35 years, will present the 2019 Theatre Women Awards at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012) on Monday, March 25 at 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm). For more information on the 2019 TheatreWomen Awards, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.theatrewomen.org.

The 29th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement throughout Los Angeles, were presented on Monday, January 28, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown LA.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison and Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents), an organization which has been leading the gender parity conversation and championing women in the professional theatre for over 35 years, will present the 2019 Theatre Women Awards at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012) on Monday, March 25 at 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm). For more information on the 2019 Theatre Women Awards, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.theatrewomen.org. 

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced today that Words on Plays-the institution's in-depth performance guide series-is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Created in 1994 in response to audience members requesting the program before seeing the show, this entertaining and informative publication offers revealing artist interviews, original articles, and additional background information about the historical and cultural context of the plays included in A.C.T.'s subscription season.

New year, new Kilroys! For the past five years The Kilroys, an LA-based collective of playwrights/producers continuing the fight to achieve gender balance in the American theater, have been advocating for equal representation on our American stages, and have released an annual list of under-produced plays by women, trans, and non-binary writers. Despite some measurable progress, we still have a long way to go before we strike that balance. So, as we approach 2019, we are beyond thrilled to introduce a fresh new gang of fearless badass leaders. These women will seize our reins and continue the fight for equality, creating random acts of disruption along the way, while the OG Kilroys will serve as an advisory board supporting the current class. 

Mari Marchbanks announced today the 2018 recipients of the biennial Horton Foote Prize, named in honor of the late playwright, which recognizes excellence in American theater. The 2018 Prize for Outstanding New American Play, presented to a work produced in the 2016-17 or 2017-18 seasons, is awarded to Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee. The 2018 Prize for Promising New American Play, presented to a previously unproduced work, is awarded to India Pale Ale by Jaclyn Backhaus.

Today, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon announced the appointment of three new employees to fill key positions within the Artistic and Conservatory departments at San Francisco's premier nonprofit theater organization-Joy Meads as Director of Dramaturgy and New Works; Peter J. Kuo as Associate Conservatory Director; andDanyon Davis as Head of Movement.

Center Theatre Group has announced the launch of the inaugural L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged In L.A., to celebrate some of the freshest and most exciting voices in modern American theatre coming out of Los Angeles and Center Theatre Group's long-standing L.A. Writers' Workshop. To be held annually at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the festival will feature readings of three new plays by three L.A. Writers' Workshop participants from throughout the program's thirteen year history. The inaugural festival will be on June 23 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with readings of "A Kind of Weather" by Sylvan Oswald, "New Life" by Dan O'Brien and "How To Raise A Freeman" by Zakiyyah Alexander.

Center Theatre Group has announced casting for the inaugural L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged In L.A., a one day event at the Kirk Douglas Theatre celebrating some of the freshest and most exciting voices in modern American theatre. The festival will take place on June 23 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with readings of three new plays by three L.A. Writers' Workshop participants from throughout the program's 13-year history. The readings include "A Kind of Weather" by Sylvan Oswald, "New Life" by Dan O'Brien and "How To Raise A Freeman" by Zakiyyah Alexander.