Company in the News June-2022
See what PlayGround-LA Writers, Alumni, and Company Members are up to this June!
Alexia Jasmene is performing in TALES OF THE TRANCESTORS at Hollywood Fringe Festival thanks to Celebration Theatre. An all trans cast, production (Amanda Krueger- they/them) and directing (Shaan Dasani- he/him), each trancestor was picked by each performer and written and devised by them. Six stories, through time and cultures, TALES OF THE TRANCESTORS honors and reclaims the stories of trans and gender expansive humans proving we have not only always been here, but powerfully so. Learn more here.
Rachel Borders produced a new relationship podcast for Headspace Studios, Hung Up with Shan Boodram. Find it starting June 6th where ever you listen to podcasts! Each episode someone is hung up on an ex, and we help them get past this. It’s fun, soapy, and dare I say educational.
Emily Brauer Rogers‘ play DREAM INC. will be part of The Vagrancy’s Blossoming New Play Development reading at the Lyric Hyperion on June 12 at 3 pm. Go here for more info.
Debba Rofheart is delighted to announce she will be playing Peter Quince in Open Fist Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMERS NIGHT’S DREAM. Directed by James Fowler, and set in Athens, Georgia in 1855, the production opens June 25 at Atwater Village Theatre, where performances continue through August 13. Get more info here.
Julia Belanova is recurring as Sasha on Mayans M.C.! You can see her most recent episode, “Death of the Virgin,” now on Hulu! She’ll back for more, so keep watching Mayans MC on FX on Tuesdays at 10 PM. Watch it here.
Mildred Inez Lewis‘ podcast script “Meets Prince, Loves Frog” was released in the Feminist Fairytales series. A short version of “Juked”, an adaptation of Electra is being produced by Towne Street Theatre at A Noise Within. A Different Myth has commissioned a full length version to be produced in 2023. “Suitcases” will be produced in EST-LA’s Early Bird Special. Her play WE WUZ ROBBED, read at PlayGround-LA in 2020, is being published by NextStage Press in 9 x 9, a collection of baseball-themed shorts. WE JUMP BROOM, a Best of PlayGround 2021pick has been selected for the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival. Her full-length adaptation of Sophocles’ ELECTRA, JUKED, has begun the development process with A Different Myth.
Maiya Reaves will be Performing in the world premiere production of A SKEPTIC AND A BRUJA by Rosa Fernandez at freeFall theatre in St. Petersburg FL from May 21st-June19th. She is performing the role of The Skeptic in this thrilling horror play that explores ancestral rituals, friendship, and equity. She is proud to bring this incredible play to the freeFall stage and beyond. Get tickets here.
Uma Incrocci‘s play THE VAULT, inspired by a Planet Earth Arts prompt, will be performed at Skylight Books in Los Angeles at a launch party for Exposition Review on June 11 and in NYC at the Sixth Festival, a festival to raise awareness about climate change and environmental action, on June 7.
Tiana Randall-Quant will be premiering in her first Hollywood Fringe Festival Show! Produced by Unladylike Theatre (of which she is a co-founder) and tv writer Sterling Gates, they are presenting THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, a dark comedy about agency and climate change in a not-too-distant future. The show will open June 4th, 7pm, at The Actor’s Company. Additional shows will be on June 12th at 1pm and June 25th at 5:30pm. Learn more here.
Sarah Congress‘ play CHOP SUEY will be streaming-on-demand in the Jakespeare VTC Renderings Festival August 5-15th. Learn more here.
Evan Baughfman‘s play, BLUNK, will be featured in Theatre Unleashed’s “Twenty-Five Plays Per Hour,” as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Joni Ravenna‘s ten minute play, THE GREEN GROCER was one of four plays selected for The 2022 New Works Festival’s summer production on stage at the On Pitch Performing Arts Center in Utah. OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT – Playwright, Sean Militscher PARTY FAVORS – Playwright, Cary Pepper THE GREEN GROCER – Playwright, Joni Ravenna THE WAY YOU MADE ME – Playwright, Lindsay Partain Premiering on stage at OPPA! July 8th – 23rd. Learn more at www.joniravenna.com.
Ben Cain will playing Perry Gamble in the Lifetime movie “Buried in Barstow” airing on June 4th starring Angie Harmon. And on the same day he starts shooting an independent film called “45th Parallel” in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Watch it here.
Allie Costa recently played the lead role in the musical Pickpocket and a supporting lead in a workshop of a new musical about Vincent van Gogh. She also wrote and directed an episode of an upcoming immersive audio series – Stay tuned! Her plays THERE WILL BE POLAR BEARS and BOXES ARE MAGIC, the latter of which began at PlayGround-LA, were performed at the Climate Justice Festival in London. Learn more at http://www.alliecosta.com
M.J. Kang‘s newest play, THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA, will be having a reading as part of The Vagrancy Theater on Sunday, June 12th at 12Noon. It’s directed by Playground-LA Associate artist, Jully Lee and features Abraham Lim, Cindy Nguyen and Jennifer Cheung. Get tickets here.
Hugo Carbajal invites you to a bilingual (English/Spanish) adaptation of Romeo & Juliet. Adapted by Karen Zacarias and directed by KJ Sanchez. Playing at Cal Shakes (Orinda CA) now through June 19. I play Tybalt and Paris. This adaptation sets the play in Alta California during the mid-1800s, shortly after California became US territory. Romeo and Juliet are female characters, thus making their union even more dangerous. Check out our review on SF Chronicle- https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/theater/review-cal-shakes-bilingual-romeo-y-juliet-reveals-new-discoveries-in-shakespeare. Get tickets here.
Joni Ravenna’s short play, FRERE JACQUES will run at the Secret Theatre (NY) in their Summer Fest. It was first written and staged a couple of months ago by Playground LA (Nursery Rhymes prompt) with Jully Lee at the helm. Learn more here.
Danny J. Gomez will be starring in the world premiere play and winner of the 2021 Burman New Play Award “All of Me” written by Laura Winters. The production will run from September 21- October 9 at the Barrington Stage in Pittsfield Massachusetts. Learn more here.
Uma Incrocci‘s short play THE VAULT (inspired by a Planet Earth Arts prompt) was published in the Exposition Review and performed June 7 at The Sixth Fest, a climate change arts festival, at Theater 80 in NYC. Check it out here.
Evan Baughfman‘s spooky novella, VANISHING OF THE 7TH GRADE will be released by D&T Publishing on Friday, June 24th. The book will be available for Amazon pre-order on June 10th. What VANISHING is about: “Nobody can explain why Sophia Kershaw’s classmates have disappeared… Does it have something to do with the arrival of their strange new 7th grade teacher? At first, Mz. (“not Miss, not Mrs., not Ms.”) Salem is playful and kind, but the woman becomes increasingly sinister as her students begin to vanish on their ways home from school. What does Sophia do once she suspects that her teacher is the culprit responsible for all the missing children?” For more, visit here.