Monday Night PlayGround: The American Experiment

“The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.”
– George Washington, January 9, 1790

Join us in kicking off our 4th Season with a Monday Night full of the stories you thought you knew and the stories you never knew – until now – inspired by the prompt “The American Experiment”! Join us on Monday, October 28th at 7PM ET live at The Producers Club and simulcast online to experience the exploration of American Democracy and the great experiment.

“I Believe in Limbo” by Kamila Boga, directed by Kayla Amani

“Falling Forward” by Todd Cerveris, directed by Amelia Xanthe Boscov

“Personal Justice Delayed” by Saiya Floyd, directed by Jully Lee

“Take the Shot” by Bram Hartman, directed by Abigail Rosen

“President One Day” by Howard Ho, directed by Jim Kleinmann

“Marcus & Martin” by Camron Wright, directed by Charlique C. Rolle

PlayGround-NY’s sister companies—PlayGround LA, PlayGround, and PlayGround-Chicago—will present their own interpretations of the theme on October 14th, October 21st, and November 4th, respectively. Monday Night PlayGround is admission-free (donations gratefully accepted) for online reservations and day-of admission in person.

Advance in-person reservations require a $10 admission fee. For the complete schedule or to reserve tickets, visit playground-sf.org/monday.

The 4th season of PlayGround-NY’s celebrated Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series will take place from October 28, 2024, to March 24, 2025, in person at the Broadwater Second Stage and simulcast online. Each month, PlayGround announces a topic, and writers have four-and-a-half days to generate original ten-page scripts. Recent topics have included “The Legacy of the Land We Inhabit,” “Origin Story,” “What the World Needs Now…,” and “Give and Take.” The top six scripts are matched with directors and a cast of professionals and rehearsed for ninety minutes before performance day. Following a brief technical rehearsal to add sound and design elements, the plays are performed as script-in-hand staged readings for both in-person and live-stream audiences.

Audience members can participate in the People’s Choice Awards, influencing which plays and playwrights advance for consideration in PlayGround-NY’s annual showcase, *Best of PlayGround-NY*. Masks are recommended for in-person performances, and attendees should be symptom-free with no recent exposure to COVID.

Why Free?

In May 2020, PlayGround began streaming all live programs, expanding accessibility beyond the Bay Area to global audiences. To further its commitment to radical accessibility, PlayGround offers admission-free programs, ensuring no one is turned away due to financial limitations. Donations are encouraged to help sustain these efforts, supporting fair wages for artists and maintaining the accessibility of PlayGround’s offerings.

PlayGround, a national leader in playwright incubation, provides development opportunities for new writers in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Programs include the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, the annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions, and support for productions through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has developed over 1,500 original plays and commissioned more than 100 full-length works. Through the New Play Production Fund, it has premiered 36 plays, some of which have reached major theater markets like New York City.

PlayGround also operates Potrero Stage, a state-of-the-art venue in San Francisco, home to its artistic programs and other prominent new play developers. Over 27 years, PlayGround has nurtured important new voices in theatre, with alumni recognized at the Steinberg Awards, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the New York International Fringe Festival. PlayGround’s work has earned numerous honors, including the 2009 Paine Knickerbocker Award and a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing.