Aaron Loeb News

In a nod to the bygone days of radio plays, Casey Stangl created RADIO ROUND, a series of 10 short interlinked two-character plays written by 10 visionary writers, performed online by 10 all-star actors, in which one character from each play moves forward to the next play until it comes full circle. Thus, a character from the last play winds up meeting a character from the first, proving the whole of humanity is interconnected and absolutely greater than the sum of its parts. Tune in Sunday, July 12 at 4pm Pacific at http://HouseSeats.LIVE

Today (July 9) in live streaming: The Public Theater premieres The Line, Bernadette Peters visits Stars in the House, and so much more!

Central Works new initiative: the Central Works Script Club,  is a monthly book club for plays. The Script Club offering for July is from the sensual world of writer Cristina García, The Lady Matador's Hotel. Cristina García, author of a past season's hit adaptation King of Cuba returned to Central Works in 2019 to adapt another of her popular novels. 

San Francisco's new works incubator PlayGround in partnership with Bay Area theatre veteran Aldo Billingslea, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Planet Earth Arts, and more than 30 leading theatres from the Bay Area and beyond team up to present a Juneteenth livestreamed Zoom reading of Vincent Terrell Durham's thrilling and timely play, Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids.

In light of curfew orders throughout the Bay Area PlayGround has moved the showtime of its Saturday, June 6 opening night performance of Genevieve Jessee's The Rendering Cycle to 5pm PT.

PlayGround, San Francisco's renowned theatre development lab, is currently in the midst of hosting the nation's largest fully digital new play festival, PlayGround Zoom Fest. Already running and continuing through June 14, 2020, the ambitious five-week online event gathers leading voices in American Theatre including Lauren Yee, Jonathan Spector, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Kent Nicholson, acclaimed actors, theatre journalists, designers, and more from across the country, to present and discuss a panoply of new works and celebrate PlayGround's 25th anniversary. BroadwayWorld caught up this week with PlayGround's Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann and the much-in-demand playwright Lauren Yee in separate phone conversations. Yee is just coming off a huge success with the New York run of her newest play, Cambodian Rock Band. She participated in PlayGround's Writers Pool as a young playwright and will be part of the festival's Zoom Town Hall panel on June 8th.

Central Works has paused its 30th season productions and remains focused on its mission to develop new plays. The company is announcing a new initiative: the Central Works Script Club, a book club with scripts.

Central Works has paused its 30th season productions and remains focused on its mission to develop new plays. The company is announcing a new initiative: the Central Works Script Club, a book club with scripts. Each month the company takes a play from the Central Works catalog or a new script, makes it available to read, and invites the participants to send in questions for the playwright.

PlayGround, San Francisco's premier theatre development lab, is hosting the nation's largest fully digital new play festival PlayGround Zoom Fest presented May 11 through June 14, 2020.

San Francisco Playhouse announced their new Empathy Gym Fireside Chat series which will be streamed live for free on YouTube. Each week, Artistic Director Bill English invites playwrights to join him for a one-hour conversation about playwriting, business, and the future of theatre. Audience members can participate in the conversation by leaving a comment on YouTube.

The Playwrights Foundation's  Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza announces the 2020 dates for the 43rd annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival July 17 - 26, 2020. a?oePlaywrights Foundation is committed to developing five playwrights' new, unproduced work at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020 in July...a?? remarks Jessica Bird Beza  a?oeWhile there is hope that it will be possible to do so in person, we are actively developing plans to create a virtual aspect to the Festival, if necessary, due to COVID-19, to protect the health and safety of the artists, staff and audiences.a?oe  

The Central Works Celebratory 30th Season continues with Queen Mair by Matthew Wells, a new play inspired by King Lear running May 9a?"Jun 7 at the historic Berkeley City Club. In Matthew Wells' new play Queen Mair it's ninety minutes before the start of the tale that is known as King Lear. The old king's wife, Queen Mair, has asked her three daughters and their nurse to join her in her private bedchamber, to say farewell to the youngest, gentle Cordelia, whose hand is about to be given in marriage. But there are other farewells to be taken, and painful secrets that must be revealed, before young Cordelia will be on her way.

The first play in Central Works 30th Season, a new play about art and scandal The Human Ounce by Nicole Parizeau has been extended thru March 22  (originally scheduled to run  Feb 15a?"Mar 15). The Human Ounce by Nicole Parizeau was described at its opening as a?oeposing provocative questionsa??a?? in a a?oefiery debate.a??

Playwrights Foundation's March Rough Reading is The Pitch by Aaron Loeb, who is a Playwrights Foundation Alum, with these readings presented in partnership with San Francisco Playhouse. The Pitch by Aaron Loeb readings are on March 2, at 7:30 PM, Roble Hall, Stanford University, March 3 at 7:30PM, Theatre of Yugen (SF).

Playwrights Foundation's first Rough Reading of the year is Emmylu by Boni B. Alvarez, directed by M. Graham Smith. Using the tragic 2017 Las Vegas shooting as a point of departure, Emmylu explores how Trumpism appeals to many people of color. Readings of Emmylu by Boni B. Alvarez are on on January 13, 7:30pm, Roble Hall, Stanford University and January 14, 7:30pm, Theatre of Yugen, San Francisco.

Central Works 2020 Celebratory 30th Season begins February 15 and runs through November 15, 2020 featuring 4 new world premieres plays. The Central Works 30th Anniversary Season launches with world premiere #66, from the Central Works Writers Workshop. A new play about art and scandal, The Human Ounce by Nicole Parizeau running Feb 15a?"Mar 15 (Previews Feb. 13 &14).

San Francisco Playhouse presents the Bay Area premiere of Tiny Beautiful Things by Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated writer and actress Nia Vardalos, based on the book by best-selling author Cheryl Strayed (Wild). Bill English will direct the Playhouse production.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the company for A Thousand Splendid Suns, adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and based on the 2007 New York Times bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner). Set in 1992 in war-torn Afghanistan, this gripping story centers around a friendship that develops between two Afghan women following a tragedy. While facing insurmountable odds of a brutal and oppressive way of life, the two form an unlikely bond in a heart-rending fight for survival. Directed by Carey Perloff, A Thousand Splendid Suns runs January 17 - March 1, 2020 in the Kreeger Theater.

Namaste. LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents the second show of its 99th season, the critically acclaimed San Francisco Playhouse production of YOGA PLAY, written by Dipika Guha and directed by Bill English.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its dynamic 28th season with the Bay Area Premiere of Ike Holter's  EXIT STRATEGY. Aurora's new Artistic Director Josh Costello will direct this powerful examination of the Chicago public school system.