Members forum Feb. 25

All PCSF members and supporters are invited to a Member Forum on Thursday, February 25th, 7:30pm at Ray of Light Theatre.

PCSF is having a tough year financially as are many other arts organizations. We face a growing deficit between the cost of our programs and the income we receive from membership dues and other contributions. The Board feels we are at a crossroads as an organization and that we need input from the membership as a whole in order to determine the best way forward. We also want to offer you the opportunity to ask questions, share concerns and your ideas for the future. Please join us for this very important event. Light refreshments will be provided.

Sheherezade X: A Year in Review (2009) tickets on sale now!

Sheherezade, our annual benefit production, is one of the hottest short play festivals in the Bay Area. This year's line-up is fresh, satirical and edgy theatre you won't see anywhere else!

Employing comedy and drama, the plays cover a variety of incidents and people, including Obama's administrative appointments, stellar discoveries, the swine flu, Muni fiascos, celebrity deaths, the Iranian elections, quirky cults, and our favorite bad guy Bernie Madoff.

Buy Sheherezade tickets here! or call to reserve: 415-885-8526.

March 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, 27th
Tickets $25
Phoenix Theatre
414 Mason Street, 6th Floor*

All performances 8 p.m. (with 7 p.m. Reception)

• NOSEGAY by Andrew Black
• MUNI APHRODITE by Bob Hayden
• BERNIE & RUTH: A LOVE STORY by George Knuepfel
• LOOK CLOSER by VB Leghorn
• FOR THE LOVE OF RHADA by Morgan Ludlow
• MELTDOWN by Patricia Milton
• CENSORED IN TEHRAN by Laylah Muran
• HEAD N THE CLOUDS by Brian Tognotti

* - Accessible entrance to the lobby elevators through Ruby Skye at 420 Mason Street.

Crafting Plays 2010 classes

2010 Crafting Plays Playwrighting Classes with The Playwrights' Center of SF's Dramaturge Suze Allen

How do you write a great play? This Crafting Plays workshop series takes you from raw idea to final draft. Part lecture, play readings and writing exercises, these two-hour classes are informative and hands- on. Learn the skills to make your plays electric and rich. Whichever road you take into the dramatic writing process, you need a good road map or you can get lost. Find your way with Crafting Plays.

Shaking the Pillars - Writing with the Mythic Journey
Jan. 16
Based on a 10-step process of the feminine and masculine journey, you will find ways to deepen your central character's arc, structure your plot points and strengthen the very pillars of your play from beginning, middle to end.

Protagonists, Antagonists and Dialogue
Feb. 20
Finding Fully Realized Characters, fine tuning the Unity of Opposites, and writing Dynamic Dialogue. Giving an authentic voice to your characters and something for them to fight for is the very heart of your play.

Premise, Plot and Dramatic Structure
March 20
How to have a clear message, a working Dramatic Intensity Curve, a Pivotal Scene, and Meaty Conflicts. What makes for an Intriguing Plot? How do you forward the plot with the Rise and Fall of Physical, Emotional and Psychological Action?

Going Deep - Rewriting, Refining Your Second Draft
April 17
Nail down what you really want to say in your play. Solidify your premise and put your play into a synopsis. This workshop focuses on how you get from your first draft to your second with vibrant dialogue, free from exposition, and rich in subtext and revelation.

Collaboration - Tools for the Ultimate Final Draft - Actors, Directors, Dramaturges, and Readings
May 15
A director, dramaturge and actors will be on hand to give you insight into your scripts as we explore the process of final draft.

Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m. starting in January 2010

For a complete schedule email Suze at suze.m.allen@gmail.com or call 207.205.0636 for more information.

Where: SF Writers and Actors' Studio, SF, CA 94110

Cost: $60 per class ($40 for PCSF Members); $150 for any 3 classes

To Sign-Up: Suze Allen suze@playwrightscentersf.org or register online below:

Choose the appropriate cost

PCSF Member Rate $40.00 3-Class Rate (Non-Member) $150.00 Non-Member Rate $60.00

New Location! New Night!

The Playwrights Center has a new venue for the New Year. This will make Scene Nights and Developmental Readings physically accessible again. There are two regular elevators. And we'll be closer to downtown theaters where we can schedule staged readings.

We are moving into the
Ray of Light Theatre
965 Mission
Room 350 (3rd floor)

We've been in this building before, at the Off Market Theater, but it's a new theater and room for us.

Our night is moving, too. Scene Nights and Developmental Readings have gone back to Thursdays. It's all part of making The Playwrights Center more open, more welcoming, and more useful to San Francisco playwrights. Look forward to seeing you there.

100% accessible: 965 Mission has two elevators that all visitors must take to get to the higher floors.

965 Mission is between 5th and 6th streets, a short walk from Powell Street BART/Muni station and the 5th and Mission parking garage.

Look for the big iron gates; arrive by 7:50 p.m. to ensure building entry.

When PCSF was in this building, we used to meet on the second floor. No longer. The Ray of Light Theatre is on the third floor. There are still theaters on the second floor, but if there's somebody there, it won't be PCSF. Be sure to go to the third floor.