Company in the News September 2026

See what PlayGround-LA Writers and Company Members are up to this month including: Allie Costa, Evan Baughfman, Jon Gentry, Juilio Hanson, Rachel Harner, Matthew Henerson, Paris Herbert-Taylor, Jonathan Josephson, Stephanie T. Keefer, Mildred Inez Lewis and Jennie Webb!

Allie Costa recently wrapped four films: In the twisty thriller Quiet on Set, she plays a tourist who sneaks onto a movie set and impulsively kidnaps her favorite actor. In the coming-of-age film Seventeen, she plays an astute PhD student. In the slice-of-life film We Take Cash, she’s a woman torn between what she needs and what she wants. And in the thriller Please Hold, a routine customer service call slowly shifts into something deeply unnerving. Allie also appears in the animated film Blooky: The Book Who Wanted to Be Read, which was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Comic-Con, HollyShorts, and SIGGRAPH. She just recorded demo songs for a fun new musical comedy about a haunted theatre. Her film Constellations, which she wrote, directed, edited, and appeared in, was selected for the Chatting Over the Fence festival, where it won The One Perfect Frame Award. Her play Remembrance, which began at PlayGround-LA, had a special one-night-only presentation at Fenton House and Garden in London. The recent production of her play Live a Little is currently available to stream anywhere in the world, thanks to HystericalFest. For more information on any of these projects, visit www.alliecosta.com and www.imdb.me/alliecosta

Jonathan Josephson’s adaptations “Las Lloronas” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” will receive their Orange County premieres as a part of Wicked Lit 2026: La Llorona and The Headless Horseman, presented by Unbound Productions at Chance Theater (October 29-November 2, deets at wicked-lit.org). His Romeo & Juliet & Zombies mash-up “These Violent Delights” was recently named a Finalist for Avant Bard’s 11th Annual Scripts in Play Festival. Jonathan has also been leading a bunch of playwriting workshops recently, including sessions for Play Cafe, London Writers Salon, and Chance Theater’s Speak Up program. More at jonathanjosephson.com.

Paris Herbert-Taylor is thrilled to be bringing her original play, Happy Havens Church of Higher Enlightenment, to the stage September 8–13 at the Hobgoblin Playhouse in West Hollywood. The dark comedy takes audiences inside a cult when two members of the Church are inexplicably left behind from ascension and attempt to rebuild the community in Dear Leaders honor. The cast also features one of PlayGround-LA’s very own, Mae Ruling, and is the full length version of the 10 minute piece which was a finalist at the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway competition showcase in 2024. We would love to see some PlayGround faces there! TICKETS

Stephanie T. Keefer is currently producing a short film starring herself, Anthony Rutowicz and Jully Lee. The film is based on a 10 minute play Scott Mullen wrote for PlayGround LA.

Mildred Inez Lewis’ Aretha and the G-Man has been accepted for the 2026-2027 Atlanta Dramatists reading series. The Museum Annex will appear in Mosaic Theatricals Staged Reading Festival this October (San Marcos, CA). Through Water Into Blood is part of ReproEco: Tomorrow is Now at the Theatre of the 14St Y this September. MOSAIC THEATRICALS INFO and REPROECO INFO

Evan Baughfman’s short play, THE LION AND THE WALL, will have its world premiere in the “Act 1 Scene 1: One-Act Festival Weekend,” Sept 17th thru 19th, at The Village Playbox in Haddon Heights, NJ! What is THE LION AND THE WALL about? “Playwright Peter Quince and actor Tom Snout perform a sequel to ‘Pyramus and Thisbe,’ the classic play-within-a-play from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”” This play originated with a previous PlayGround prompt, “The Shakespeare Sequels.” More info about the production can be found at: villageplaybox.org

Matthew Henerson continues to recur on the third season of NCIS:ORIGINS. He recently played Polonius and the Gravedigger in HAMLET for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, and he’s currently rehearsing THE VISIT, directed by Darko Tresnjak, and starring Jefferson Mays, for the Pasadena Playhouse. MORE INFO

Rachel Harner is proud to announce she recently joined the Writers Guild of America West as an Associate Member.

Jennie Webb is thrilled that her play WOMEN, BIRDS, STARS is included in “50 Plays by Women+ Over 50,” a curated Honor Roll! List, alongside other works by fabulous writers including PlayGround-LA alum Mildred Lewis. MORE INFO

Julio Hanson was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Play for the 31st NAACP Theatre Awards 2026

Jon Gentry is premiering “All My Dads Were Gay”, the sequel to Jon Gentry’s award-winning hit, “Black Bastard.” It is a baptism by blood, a millennial retelling of The Prodigal Son (1927) in a genre-bending descent into the collective void. September 4th & 11th at the LA LGBT Center and September 12th & 13th at the Willie Agee Playhouse as part of the Un-Erasable Solo Festival. TICKETS