Company in the News Dec-2023

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

Aaron Higareda, playwright and producer, will present a fall staged reading series with AKA productions in downtown Riverside on December 2nd & 3rd at 7pm. Featuring University of California, Riverside Undergraduate Students, MFA Students, Alum such as PlayGround’s Esther Banegas Gatica, and other I.E. Artists! More information can be found on Instagram @a.k.aproductions.

Jonathan Josephson is gobsmacked-yet-delighted that his short marshmallow comedy CHUBBY BUNNY, which just made it’s New Zealand premiere, will have its 22nd and 23rd production in San Antoni, TX, and Alberta, Canada next month. He is also looking forward to a table read of his Romeo & Rosaline & Shylock & Zombies play THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS with Playground, coming soon! 2024 will kick off with a 10-performance run of THIS HUNGRY CHURCHYARD, the short play that begins the aforementioned Shakespearean mash-up, at UNLV. More at jonathanjosephson.com.

Evan Baughfman’s new play, PIGS OUT OF WATER will run December 8-10 at Brickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. Force of Nature Productions will present PIGS OUT OF WATER, as part of “RUSH Around the World: A Holiday Adventure”! Eight short plays inspired by lesser-known holiday celebrations/traditions from around the globe! The premise for PIGS OUT OF WATER: “On a winter trip to the Caribbean, two pigs meet a very friendly(?) wolf.” Tickets for the show are now available.

Ben Cain is co-starring in a movie called, “That’s Funny” playing now on Amazon and Apple TV.

Rachel Borders, a Playground-LA Writers’ Lab alum, has been selected as a participant in the 2023-2024 IAMA Emerging Playwrights Lab. Learn more here.

Stephanie T. Keefer stars as a corporate villain in the feature film “A Girl, A Guy, A Space Helmet,” a sci-fi rom-com recently picked up by TUBI. Access it here!

Michael Kaplan’s full-length play FOUR TOP will be having a staged reading on the nights of Tuesday, December 5 and Wednesday, December 6 at 7:00 at the Group Rep Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. No reservations necessary; admission is free!

Lina Patel‘s short play “Karma” developed at PlayGround is part of The Echo’s “Alternate Endings” short play festival. More information available here.

Allie Costa can be heard in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer audio series produced by Audible featuring several of the show’s original cast members. Listen here! She was also interviewed in Bold Journey. Read it here! Her play HANNAH BROWN IS NOT OKAY will be part of Patch Plays in London on December 17th and PHANTOM PAINS will be performed by Ghost Light Theatre in Wales on December 16th. Her play PIECE OF CAKE was recently produced in Ohio; 20 QUESTIONS is currently running in Montana; UNFINISHED BUSINESS had a reading in New York; APRES-SKI had a reading in Ireland; and SAFE DISTANCE and DON’T FEAR THE REAPER were both part of a special event in London. Learn more on her website and IMDB.

Rhea MacCallum’s short play, CHRISTMAS TODAY, originally written in response to a PlayGround topic, will receive a staged reading by Left Coast Theatre Co. as part of their Found Family program on Tuesday, December 5th at 7:30 PM at Strut in San Francisco. For more information, please visit this site.