New Theatre Developer PlayGround to Celebrate 30 Years with Gala in Four Cities
The events, which will also be livestreamed, will feature a starry array of playwright alumni, including many of the busiest names in theatre today.
One of the nation’s oldest and most respected developers of new works for the theatre, PlayGround will mark its third decade of incubating new plays by hosting simultaneous parties in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco on Monday, September 16, 2024. The events, which will also be livestreamed, will feature a starry array of playwright alumni, including many of the busiest names in theatre today.
The PlayGround 30th Anniversary Gala will celebrate the company’s monumental history of launching over 350 significant new playwrights and over 1,500 new plays onto The National Theatre scene, by playwrights including Lauren Yee, Jonathan Spector, Geetha Reddy, Diana Burbano, and Cleavon Smith, among hundreds of others. Highlighting the many accomplishments of its expanding company and prestigious alumni, this celebration comes at a key time as the organization emerges post-pandemic with an expanded national presence and reach. Thanks to PlayGround’s commitment to radical accessibility, the program now offers its signature short play program, Monday Night PlayGround, in four major theatre hubs: the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, with all programs admission-free and simulcast online in a first-in-the-nation partnership with SAG-AFTRA. The company has also forged deeper ties to the San Francisco Bay Area artistic community through a growing suite of locally presented programs at PlayGround’s home theatre, the state-of-the-art Potrero Stage.
PlayGround’s 30th Anniversary Gala celebrating PlayGround’s enduring legacy will be celebrated with 30 distinguished playwright alumni: Linda Amayo-Hassan, Esther Banegas Gatica, Cass Brayton, Diana Burbano, Patricia Cotter, Bailey Jordan Garcia, Dana Leslie Goldstein, Prince Gomolvilas,Ruben Grijalva, Garret Jon Groenveld, Julianne Jigour, Nina Ki, Molly Olis Krost, Mildred Inez Lewis, Aaron Loeb, Daniel Martinez, Jr., Daniele Nathanson, Evelyn Jean Pine, Ken Prestininzi, Geetha Reddy, Jacob Marx Rice, Carolina Rojas, Jessica June Rowe, Jonathan Spector, Nicki Spencer, Tom Swift, Malachy Walsh, Jennie Webb, Christian Wilburn, and Maury Zeff. Funds raised will enable PlayGround to create more opportunities for working artists across the country, as well as establish a national network for this country’s most promising new voices and their artistic collaborators.
“The 30th Anniversary Gala is an opportunity for PlayGround’s hundreds of alumni, fellow artists, and supporters to reunite, celebrate 30 years of PlayGround’s role in launching some of the nation’s most significant new writers and plays, and help secure PlayGround’s future,” said PlayGround Founding Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann.
General Admission tickets start at $300 and include a four-course gourmet meal and entertainment. Host tickets also include recognition on the Host Committee and complimentary concierge service for remote gatherings. Host tickets are $1,000 (includes two host-level tickets and recognition on the host committee), $5,000 for a table of eight, and $10,000 for event sponsors (includes 12 host-level tickets). All proceeds support PlayGround’s playwright incubator programs, creating opportunities for new voices nationally. For tickets and more information, visit playground-sf.org/gala.
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