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spring 2014 Reading Series This page contains events that are part of the later-development developmental and staged reading series, programs for plays that are closer to theater-ready, having progressed beyond scene nights. and the Read-Through series.
All readings are free to PCSF members. Kaleidoscope With a simple twist, the kaleidescope's design changes into something new, while retaining some reminder of the pattern it replaced. Kaleidescope is a theatrical experiment... Eight actors play 27 different roles, in a series of comedic and dramatic vignettes. Like the patterns in a kaleidescope, each vignette is separate from the others, but always somehow connected. Since he began writing plays in 2009, Rod McFadden's plays have been produced at theatres around the US and Canada, and have been well-received by Bay Area audiences of Broadway West, The Playwrights Center of SF, Wily West Productions, The Eugene O'Neill Foundation, Fringe of Marin, the Masquers, and PlayGround SF. 7:30 p.m. An Ear for Voices 7:30 p.m. Ouida is a voice-over actress who begins to hear voices. Is she sick, psychic, or metaphysically disabled? And how can she get her life back? Alina Trowbridge's 10-minute plays have been performed in Berkeley, Boston, New York, New Hampshire, San Francisco and Seattle. A Moment of Your Undivided Attention was published in Smith & Kraus's Best 10-Minute Plays of 2005. Most recently, Double-Edged Sword appeared in "Lawfully Wedded," an evening of short plays about gay marriage. If Not Home, Tacoma Irresistible force meets immovable object. Jackie lives solely for her art; Renee, her friend for more than thirty years, lives for love. A difficult diagnosis tests their bonds of loyalty, obligation, and loving kindness in extremis. If Not Home, Tacoma explores the limits of art, envy, friendship, devotion, and desire. Telling stories your own way is like teaching yourself to cook because you like to eat. Rita Long has written three full-length plays, including Whore meets Tranny and Seven Days of Suicide, coming to her in a series of sudden mental electrical storms. If Not Home, Tacoma is her first. 7:30 p.m. Ptolemy Epiphanes Many centuries before the Arab Spring, there was another popular rebellion in Egypt – that of the native Egyptians against their dictatorial Greek pharaoh, Ptolemy V Epiphanes. As Ptolemy struggles to crush the rebels, as well as a disturbing memory that threatens to surface from his own unconscious, this play explores the theme of repression – both political and psychological. Bridgette Dutta Portman has been a member of PCSF since Fall 2009. Four of her full-length plays have had staged or developmental readings through PCSF – most recently La Fee Verte in October 2013. Her short comedy Brew, Drink, Repeat will be featured in PCSF and Wily West's annual Sheherezade festival in June, 2014. Shelton Theater (downstairs) Anomie Syd Sessuous, a newly rich mortgage broker, moved with his wife, Penny, from an apartment to a mini-mansion near a wilderness. He had gone hiking with his friend, Ron. They went missing for four years. Syd returns without Ron, much changed physically, and with radical ideas, like preferring to live in a tree. Suffering from transient global amnesia, he can neither remember much of anything, nor what happened to Ron. Accompanying Syd is a mysterious old woman whom only Ron's wife, alcoholic Diana, can see. Bereft, Diana hires a private investigator/hypnotist to interrogate Syd, with grisly results. Tony, Syd's mortgage business mentee and friend, convinces Syd to work for him. And he does, with disturbing consequences. Gaetana Caldwell-Smith has had her plays produced in Bay Area theatres since the late 1990s. Two have won awards. Traveling Music was seen at Sheherezade 2012. Most recently, Jump! Theatre produced Applesauce for its 2013 Springboard in November. Since 2010, she's been a happy member of the Playwrights Center. 7:30 p.m. Interference Emma thinks she just wants to be left alone to live – or rather die – with her past choices. Enter her sister, ex-lovers, and dead childhood friend, unleashing an interrogation of how we make sense of illness, death, choice and community, early in our scientific, new-agey, well meaning 21st century. Inbal Kashtan has written numerous short plays, some performed on both coasts. She has also written and performed short solo work, and is a Playground company member. Her social change dreams infuse her writing, including multiple plays in development. Her family and community are a dream come true. 7:30 p.m. Fugitive Colors 7:30 p.m. Fugitive Colors is a play about women and the choices they make. Every second Sunday of the month Katherine (60ish), Alicia (60ish) and Kimberly (33) visit their friend Marge (83) at her cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains for a walk in the redwoods. This Sunday is different. Very different. Barbara Anderson is a retired business consultant and author. She has performed with Blue Blanket Improv and currently performs with the Peninsulator Improv troupe on TV and Internet. Fugitive Colors started as a solo performance at the Marsh Theater and was rewritten for four actors in 2013. Classics Misclassified: 3 takeoffs on classic works In Tales of Hoffman by Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Hoffman tries to enjoy lunch with friends but can't stop reliving her husband's dalliances. The Making of Medea's Medea documents the production of Medea's modern-day retelling of her own story, and is there when things go awry. The Scottish Panda Play re-enacts Shakesbear's "Scottish play" by the menagerie at the Edinburgh Zoo. Chas Belov's full-length plays Rice Kugel, Hemlock, and My Visit to America have had staged readings at PCSF. His short plays have been produced in SF, Texas, Ohio, and New York City. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Theatre Bay Area. Visit his playwriting blog at chasbelov.com. 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 2, 2014 - new date Wig Bubbles A series of tall tales and altered versions of historical events strung together by a pack of outlandish lies. Dennis Campagna has been writing stories, mostly short comedies, continuously for over forty years, and his hand is starting to get tired. For the last few years he's been writing stage-plays. 7:30 p.m. The Blood of My Subjects Five American soldiers in Viet Nam are put on trial for refusing to fight in a senseless war run by leaders who pay no penalty for sending them into chaos. Their defense: when the government is wrong the people should say no. Bob White is a novelist, playwright, and freelance writer living in San Francisco. He is the author of the Amazon Kindle e-book Kid Chocolate along with the play The Blood of My Subjects, currently in development at The Playwrights Center of San Francisco. 7:30 p.m. Monday, june 16, 2013 - new date Bloodline Bloodline is a historical drama of Alexander the Great's rise to power. Set against bitter family quarrels and political intrigue, the young prince must fight to win the crown of Macedon. Although a new playwright, Alan Olejniczak is not new to the theater. His on-stage experience has been in the opera choruses of the San Francisco Lyric Opera, the Atlanta Opera, and the Florentine Opera Company. His play Last Laughs will be presented this October by the Sun City Players. Jeff Mattlin earned degrees in engineering and theater from the Claremont Colleges. Most of his work in theater has been as an actor, working at companies such as the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Kingsman Shakespeare Festival, and Summer Repertory Theater. Bloodline represents his first time as a playwright. 7:30 p.m.
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