Company in the News Aug-2025

See what PlayGround-LA Writers, Alumni, and Company Members are up to this August!

Damian Alejandro Arteaga’s play, Growing Starseed, will be featured in Little Fish Theatre’s Pick of the Vine Festival. Nine California playwrights will tell stories about finding and even redefining home through humor, drama, and heart. Among these playwrights are also PlayGround-LA writers Scott Mullen and Uma Incrooci. The show runs from August 8th to the 24th.

Mildred Inez Lewis’s puppet play THE REPOSITORY OF JOY was part of Rogue Artists Ensemble’s Puppets and Prose show at the Valley Relics Museum (Lake Balboa, CA). A new full-length play with music ARETHA AND THE G-MAN, an imagined retelling of Aretha Franklin’s first year being surveilled by the FBI was in IAMA Theatre’s Emerging Writers Festival.

Alexia Jasmene voiced a poetry lounge wonder in the point and click adventure Kathy Rain 2 where you investigate a serial killer while facing your own inner demons. She also did the English VO and healed produce Transvanilla’s “I Choose Me”. Link to view

Christian Haines will be performing in “Night of the Iguana” at Boston Court. Come on out!

Jon Gentry stars in the World Premiere of “Masala Dabba,” a new play by International City Theatre playwright-in-residence Wendy Graf. Marya Mazor directs the three-week run, Aug 29-Sep 14. American born Nisha Byrd has long been estranged from her mother, Aditi. The two haven’t spoken since Aditi returned to her native Gujurat after Nisha’s marriage to Charlie (Jon Gentry), and Aditi has never met Tina, her now 14-year-old granddaughter. When an unanticipated event brings Aditi back to the States and into the Byrd family’s orbit, long buried truths bubble to the surface. The production runs (Thu/Fri/Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm), Aug 29-Sep 14. Two preview performances take place Aug 27 & 28, both at 7:30pm.

Allie Costa appeared in ten films shot in July, including a stylish sci-fi movie, a sweet coming-of-age story, a lighthearted comedy, a wild satire, some heartbreaking dramas, and several twisty thrillers. Her play Low Light, which began at PlayGround-LA, runs August 2nd & 3rd at The Tank in New York City – Attend in person or watch the livestream! For more information, visit Allie Costa and HERE

Jully Lee will be in the upcoming production of THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA by Tennessee Williams, directed by Jessica Kubzansky at Boston Court Pasadena. Sept. 11 – Oct. 19. Jully Lee

Rachel Borders’ full length comedy The Death Doula will have a workshop and public reading as part of the Road Theatre’s 2025/2026 season. Dates TBD. She hopes to see you in North Hollywood.

Matthew Henerson will return as Special Agent Cal Loughlin in the second season of NCIS: ORIGINS. He recently played several roles in the US premiere of THE VIOLIN MAKER by Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak at International City Theatre, and this fall he will appear in the world premiere of Paul Slade Smith’s comedy BESIDE MYSELF at North Coast Repertory and the Laguna Playhouse.

Edward Hong booked his very first primetime sitcom after 15 years of trying! Airing end of November 2025 with details to come soon.

Steve Harper (LA writers pool) appears in the sci-fi / reproductive rights comedy short A Matter of Poultry (now in festivals). He was commissioned by Juilliard to write The Summer Issue – a short film that’s being shot in August and features graduating students.

Tahmus Rounds recently worked on the latest ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES, feature film.

Andy Lowe will be performing on August 16 in Crazy Talented Asians, presented by AJ Raphael. The annual Cabaret event is a showcase for Asian American Industry Talent. Andy will also be Co-directing a presentation of Excerpts of PROUD MARYS, an original Musical by Jennifer Paz and Anthony Fedorov that has received residency at Goodspeed, NAMT, and most recently a reading at Dramatists Guild in NYC. August 24th’s 1pm presentation will be hosted by Asian American Friends of the Theater. Tickets are not yet open to the public, but For more info and announcements follow HERE

Summer Broyhill’s short play “An Exclusive Replica” will be performed in the 2025 Staged Reading Festival at California Center for the Arts Escondido on Saturday August 16th.

Jonathan Josephson took part in Rogue Artist Ensemble’s “Puppets and Prose” event on June 26 at the Valley Relic Museum. He shared pages of his new fiction piece “The Monster is Confused” which he recently adapted into a play… which will receive a staged reading on August 17 as part of Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA’s Sunday Best! He is also a new proud member of the the Colony Theatre Company’s Writers Lab.  jonathanjosephson.com

Collette Rutherford will be performing in Jen Silverman’s “Witch” at The Garage Theatre in Long Beach. July 11 – August 9, 2025.

Writer/performer Jon Joseph Gentry’s award-winning solo show “Black Bastard” makes its Atlanta premiere July 17th and 19th at the 2025 Lavender Fest hosted by OutFront Theatre. “Black Bastard” isn’t just a one-person show—it’s an every-person show where humor meets heart and style meets substance. Don’t miss this fervently personal yet universally resonant theatrical memoir that proves coming home to yourself is the greatest adventure of all.

Allie Costa recently sang at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, singing selections from the new musical The Whirlwind by Michael Gordon Shapiro. Her play Remembrance, which began at PlayGround-LA, wrapped its successful world premiere production with Nomad Theatre Company, followed by a special one-night-only encore performance at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Her piece Amelia, Still was performed in both London and Los Angeles, Other People was performed in Cambridge, and Cat Burglar was performed in Houston. For more information, visit http://www.alliecosta.com and http://www.imdb.me/alliecosta

Evan Baughfman’s short play, A BERRY NICE MEMORY, kicked off the Broken Arts Entertainment audio play series, “Good Vibes Summer: Season 2”! A BERRY NICE MEMORY is inspired by The Beatles and contains elements from their songs, “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Here Comes the Sun.” What is A BERRY NICE MEMORY about? “A man takes his niece on a trip to a strawberry field, in order for him to re-live a happy childhood memory.” Listen to the play at: https://youtu.be/IKxSjxc7up0

MJ Kang’s play, James & Eddie will be performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival. It features, Katherine Ko, who performed in an iteration of MJ Kang’s Watermelon Love, which was a Best of Playground season. If you have family and friends in Toronto, please tell them to see James & Eddie. It has already received numerous awards. Click here for more information

Andrew Joseph Perez was just seen at the Love & Devotion book convention in Burbank, and on screen in Glendale and at the Chinese Theatre in the feature film Astral Plan Drifter and the short Unfaithful.

Ivan Rivas is associate producing the Los Angeles premiere of John Kolvenbach’s “Reel to Reel” at the Matrix theatre opening on July 18th. It is a co-production between Horsechart Theatre and Rogue Machine Theatre.

Mildred Inez Lewis: The Repository of Joy was part of Puppets and Prose with Rogue Artists Ensemble at the Valley Relics Museum on June 26. Aretha and the G-Man goes up on Saturday, July 13th at 8 p.m. in IAMA’s Emerge Festival. Free, but reservations needed. https://www.iamatheatre.com/get-tickets

New Playground-LA company member Kyla Tucaya Garcia stars in this powerful short which amplifies the impact of the MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Girls 2-Spirit) crisis on one Native family in Montana. Written and directed by Mikaela Bruce and starring JaShaun St. John, the film is now available on YouTube. Please share far and wide! https://youtu.be/EBLnqYwTIX4?si=zkx1AJM8fhHsU27l Learn more about how you can help: www.niwrc.org

Carolyn Deskin recently wrapped on a feature. She’s now looking for work! You can also catch her onstage with her sketch team, Paperback, at the Pack Theater.