Naomi Iizuka News

 #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence today announced its selection of eight eye-opening, provocative and vital plays as the winners of its national short play competition.

 NAATCO (The National Asian American Theatre Company) and The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the upcoming world premiere of OUT OF TIME, a collection of five brand-new monologues by five award-winning Asian American playwrights.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY has announced its return to live performances with three plays performing in repertory. THE PLAY YOU WANT, written by Bernardo Cubria and directed by Michael John Garcés, will begin previews on Tuesday, February 8; will open on Friday, February 11 at 8pm and run through Sunday, March 27.

As many teens return to classrooms for the first time since the pandemic, THIRD RAIL is joining forces with #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence to give them a platform to explore the impact of gun violence on their lives and communities by writing 10-minute plays.

As many teens return to classrooms for the first time since the pandemic, #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence is giving them a platform to explore the impact of gun violence on their lives and communities by writing 10-minute plays. Submissions are being accepted now through November 1 and the call is open to all writers across the U.S. in grades 6-12. 

Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham announced the line-up today for The Public’s 2021-22 Season, returning to their landmark home on 425 Lafayette Street after the year-long pandemic shutdown with a robust slate of new productions and ongoing  programming.

The Muse Collective will stream the world premiere of Peter Gray’s THE KARENS beginning August 13, 2021. Muse Collective’s founder and artistic director Michael Alvarez directs the cast of Morgan Danielle Day, Felicia Santiago and LaurenSage Browning. Got the chance to chat with Peter on his KARENS and his creatively productive relationship with Michael and his Muse Collective.

For his opening salvo as Magic Theatre’s newly appointed Artistic Director, Sean San José has decided to throw a party. On Thursday, August 5th, Magic will present its 2021 gala 'The New Age of Magic' outdoors at Fort Mason. San José strongly believes theater should be for everyone, not just people of means, so Magic is hosting a more egalitarian event with ticket prices starting at a very reasonable $25. Mainly, though, the goal is to bring people together to kick back and have some fun.

Victory Gardens Theater will welcome Marisa Carr, Keelay Gipson, Isaac Gómez and Stacey Rose as the new members of the Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble. The Ensemble will be members for a three-year term, through 2024.

Each year a new class, comprised of one to two MFA Playwrights, will be given a commission through the partnership. Playwrights awarded The Finish Line Commission will be given a week-long workshop culminating in a public reading, a financial reward, and an assurance that the play will have an opportunity for a world premiere production at Cygnet.

La Jolla Playhouse has announced its return to live, in-person theatre with several exciting upcoming projects. This summer, the Playhouse will offer two on-site events: the Without Walls (WOW) production of A Thousand Ways (Part 2): An Encounter, by 600 Highwaymen, and the 2021 DNA New Works Series.

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, a program within the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University will present “Anon(ymous)” by Naomi Iizuka as a virtual streaming event in collaboration with Broadway on Demand.

While the theater field remains uncertain yet cautiously optimistic that 2021 will see a return to in-person performances, there is no uncertainty around the systemic inequalities that have been exposed and amplified during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic 'business as usual' will not be enough when theaters open their doors again.

Play On Shakespeare today announced their spring 2021 season. Play On Shakespeare’s mission is to enhance the understanding of Shakespeare’s plays in performance for theatre professionals, students, teachers, and audiences by engaging with contemporary translations and adaptations.

NAATCO, today announced that the company has commissioned five Asian American playwrights, all women, to write monologues for characters no younger than 60-years-old. Each monologue will be at least 30 minutes long, and all five will be performed together as a piece entitled Out of Time.

Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse plans to continue to offer one-of-a-kind virtual productions this coming spring with the continuation of Here. Now. Next!, building on the wildly inventive body of productions this fall. The spring will include bold and provocative theatre and dance productions, the popular Dance Speaker Series, and a reimagined Media Innovators Workshop & Speaker Series. The dance productions are generously sponsored by UPMC.

The UNC Greensboro School of Theatre has announced a new slate of digitally streamed offerings for the spring 2021 season.

The UNC Greensboro School of Theatre has announced a new slate of digitally streamed offerings for the spring 2021 season.

In a time of uncertainty for the country and for the arts, Portland Playhouse put out a call to local artists to open our hearts and broaden our perspectives. The result is Wonderland, a virtual festival of four short new works that directly engage with our current socio-political landscape from the perspective of WONDER.

Stage West is pleased to announce that it will be presenting October Playlets, three short plays written specifically to be live-streamed, from October 8-18.