Scene Nights

Member playwrights of all experience and style often find it useful to attend these readings because it gives them some of the benefits of a full production earlier in the writing process.

  • Scenes must be no more than ten pages of properly formatted script.
  • Scene Nights are free for everyone to contribute, but non-members must pay $5 if they wish to have a scene read.
  • Unless otherwise announced, all scene nights occur at 7:30 p.m. at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. Check the calendar for dates.

NOTE: We pay our actors $10 for Scene Night! If you'd like to sign up for a night of fun cold-reading (and a workshop for your resume) please e-mail Andy Black, our Scene Night Coordinator.

How it works

We sit in a circle and read about 10 pages of a scene. The playwright selects the readers from the evening's 4 paid actors, with any additional parts assigned to whoever else is willing to read. We strongly recommend that the playwright not read their own work.

After the reading, we critique what we have heard, emphasizing the strengths and possibilities, and maybe sing a few rounds of Kumbayah... Usually we have six scenes, allowing 20 minutes for each, including the reading and the critique.

Although Scene Nights are first come, first served, we try to fit everyone in! If you'd like more details, contact Andy Black, our Scene Night Coordinator.