Spring is here!New play readings, exciting productions, classes & conversations are blossoming—we hope you'll join us in the studio and at the theater!
 Marcus Gardley's …and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi
…and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is a Playwrights Foundation Producing Partnership project with The Cutting Ball Theater.
Show Details
About the Play
Set on the banks of the Mississippi during the Civil War, …and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is a poetic journey of forgiveness and redemption. Inspired by the myth of Demeter and Persephone, this deeply personal play combines traditional storytelling, gospel music, and a wicked sense of humor to create a rich, imaginative world that allows trees to preach, rivers to waltz and Jesus to moonwalk.
Featuring: Aldo Billingslea*, Rebecca Frank, Martin F. Grizzell Jr., Jeanette Harrison, Nicole C. Julien, Halili Knox, Erika A. McCrary, Sarah Mitchell, Erica Richardson, Zac Schuman, David Sinaiko, and David Westley Skillman.
*The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Read more about the play in the SF Chronicle: "Jesus Moonwalks looks at race, identity". And get your tickets soon! The show will sell out!
A Note from the Director: Amy Mueller
This play has taken five years to create. Our first go-round with the script was in 2005 at Playwrights Foundation's Rough Readings Series, and from that moment on I have been its passionate advocate, knowing the play would find its first production in San Francisco. The play's wildly theatrical gestures and poetic language drew my aesthetic interest, but it was its story that drew my heart, as I know it will draw yours. Don't miss this epic, historical fantasia, narrated by none other than The Mississippi River!
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New Play Institute
 Don't miss out on Thomas Bradshaw's upcoming class April 7—11th Morality and Depravity in Modern Drama.
Join Thomas Bradshaw, a playwright whose work the New York Times says, "is likely to leave you speechless!" for this dynamic new class. Morality and Depravity in Modern Drama, covers transgression, censorship and the unspeakable. Exercises will focus on ways to humanize characters that you'd perhaps rather not write about at all!
Special Offer: A special 20% discount is offered to students who wish to volunteer for our annual Brunch With a Playwright Benefit on Sunday, May 2. To inquire, email Kirk Johnson at kirk@playwrightsfoundation.org.
Check out other upcoming classes, including Dominic Orlando, Lee Blessing and Marcus Gardley, at our website: www.playwrightsfoundation.org.
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Rough Reading Series Continues
 Thank you to all who attended Michael Gene Sullivan's Recipe Rough Reading at Central Works' Berkeley City Club on March 9th!
 Next up on the Rough Reading Series calendar… Cory Hinkle's The Killing of Michael X: A New Film by Celia Wallace, a new dark comedy about grief and pharmaceuticals, shot in digital video.
The Killing of Michael X: A New Film by Celia Wallace Rough Reading Details
… And Coming Soon! Lauren Gunderson's Exit, Pursued by a Bear.
- Directed by Meredith Friedman
- Monday, May 17th at Stanford University, 7:30pm
- Tuesday, May 18th at Climate Theater, 7:00pm
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News: Alumni and
Resident Playwrights
Congratulations to Bay Area Playwrights Festival Alumnus, Prince Gomolvilas, on the opening of Mysterious Skin, based on the novel by Scott Heim, in London on March 15, 2010.
Developed in a Playwrights Foundation Rough Reading Series, Yussef El Guindi's Language Rooms, a dark comedy about a mysterious workplace, gets its world premiere at The Wilma Theater in PA.
Congratulations to Katori Hall on the success of The Mountaintop, a play about Martin Luther King Jr. recently announced for a Broadway premier in the Fall of 2010. The Mountaintop was developed on the 2008 Bay Area Playwrights Festival.
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Playwright Opportunities
2011 P73 Playwriting Fellowship Applications Now Online
COMPLETED APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY MAY 1, 2010.
The P73 Playwriting Fellowship is a year-long program that provides support to one early-career playwright each year, from January 1 to December 31. During the year, Page 73 serves as the fellow's producer and advocate, providing support for career development, the development of one or more new theatrical projects, and a cash stipend. Past fellows are Kirsten Greenidge, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Jason Grote, Krista Knight, Tommy Smith and Heidi Schreck. This year's fellow is Eliza Clark.
Visit the Page 73 website to apply.
Seeking Plays for 10th Annual NAAA Festival: UK
London: The North American Actors Association (NAAA) is seeking new North American plays for the 10th Annual Play Reading Festival, DOUBLE X. Thanks to an exciting new relationship with the world-renowned Central School of Speech and Drama in London, this week of public performances will take place at their Webber Douglas Studio Theatre 6-11 September.
To find out more details and submit a play for consideration please register at www.naaa.org.uk/festival then send two bound copies of your script to the indicated address by March 30, 2010.
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Benefit 2010: Seeking Committee Members & Volunteers
Our annual Brunch With a Playwright Benefit will take place on Sunday, May 2, 2010. We are seeking new play enthusiasts to be community committee members and volunteers. If you're interested, please contact Jill MacLean for more information at jill@playwrightsfoundation.org.
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Resident Playwrights Update
Check out our new weekly Playwright Feature Interviews on our Blog. Be sure to see the first few interviews in our new feature series:
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