Actor - Lance/Speed

Our 43rd season of Free Shakespeare in the Park brings you The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Ely Sonny Orquiza.  Since 1983, as part of SF Shakes’ mission to make Shakespeare accessible to all, we’ve brought our Free Shakes production to audiences around the SF Bay Area; no tickets or Shakespeare experience required.

In this summer’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, two young men journey from a small Midwestern town – rooted in simplicity and tradition – to the alluring promise of California, where dreams are made and shattered in equal measure. The two friends who venture westward confront their inner conflicts as they are seduced by the possibilities of love, success and reinvention. Grounded in the spirit of exploration, this adaptation captures the quintessential drive for self invention, while acknowledging the costs that often accompany it.

The show runs approximately 90 minutes; there is no intermission.

FREE

Written by lily gonzales

Directed by linda maria girón

In-person performance dates: September 25 & 26, 2023

Shotgun Players, Ashby Stage - Berkeley, CA

Sam is queer, a little trans, and a child of Mexican immigrants living in Texas. They’re trying to figure out how to express their gender − to themselves and to the world. Just as Sam is building the courage to present their gender to their mother, they go to a high school party. Amidst the debauchery, a brave and strange set of rituals ensues.

Alejandra will be reading as Sam.

Written by lily gonzales

Directed by linda maria girón

In-person performance dates: September 25 & 26, 2023

Shotgun Players, Ashby Stage - Berkeley, CA

Sam is queer, a little trans, and a child of Mexican immigrants living in Texas. They’re trying to figure out how to express their gender − to themselves and to the world. Just as Sam is building the courage to present their gender to their mother, they go to a high school party. Amidst the debauchery, a brave and strange set of rituals ensues.

Alejandra will be reading as Sam.

Written by lily gonzales

Directed by linda maria girón

Portrero Stage, San Francisco

Sam is queer, a little trans, and a child of Mexican immigrants living in Texas. They’re trying to figure out how to express their gender − to themselves and to the world. Just as Sam is building the courage to present their gender to their mother, they go to a high school party. Amidst the debauchery, a brave and strange set of rituals ensues.

Alejandra will be reading as Sam.

THE RED SHADES

On the Steindler Stage from October 19 to November 5, 2022
A World Premiere Production!

Written by Adrienne Price
Music by Adrienne Price, Matt Grandy, and Jeanine Adkisson
Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe and Rotimi Agbabiaka

Mixing elements of rock concert and musical theater, The Red Shades tells the story of Ida, a teenage trans girl, who runs away from her small-town life to join a gang of trans superheroes squatting in the Tenderloin.

Courage to Right a Woman's Wrongs (Valor, agravio y mujer) (circa 1630s)

by Ana Caro de Mallén

Directed by Dawn Monique Williams

When Leonor’s womanizing lover Don Juan lets her down, she sets out to put him in his place. Dressed as the dashing “Leonardo,” our heroine tosses bon mots like bombs and manages more masterful maneuvers than a “real man” can handle, leaving “gender” and “honor” in the dust in this wild, witty, twist-filled comedy of intrigue.

Presented by Aurora Theater

2081 Addison Street, Berkeley

The Emperor of the Moon (1687)

by Aphra Behn

Directed by Erin Merritt (formerly of Woman’s Will)

When a gullible father stands in the way of four thwarted lovers, they devise a visit from a magical moon delegation to change his mind, in this irresistible, commedia-inspired, sci-fi farce. How can a dad say no to an Emperor, especially one whose sex-life he’s been trying so hard to watch?

California Shakespeare Theater

100 California Theater Way, Orinda

Kudzu 2012

By Tracy Baxter

All the spades-playing, weed-smoking, fish-fry-having Warfield family wants is to live out their ordinary lives in the working-class community they've always called home. But an energy drink-chugging tech "visionary" is determined to reinvent their neighborhood using a people-curation app he built—and the powers that be are on his side. Who'll be left standing? And just what the hell is in that smoothie?

Aurora Theatre Company

Berkeley, CA

Please consider a donation to the Bay Area Women's Theatre Festival to keep the content and productions free and to pay our volunteers, so that we can create more events in the future. Without our volunteers, these events to lift up womxn's voices would not be possible. Thank you!

Imogen Says Nothing

by Aditi Brennan Kapil

directed by Maryssa Wanlass

Real women aren't allowed on stage...but they said nothing about bears!

VENUE TBD

Presented by San Francisco Shakespeare Festival

Please consider a donation to the Bay Area Women's Theatre Festival to keep the content and productions free and to pay our volunteers, so that we can create more events in the future. Without our volunteers, these events to lift up womxn's voices would not be possible. Thank you!

Kudzu 2012

By Tracy Baxter

All the spades-playing, weed-smoking, fish-fry-having Warfield family wants is to live out their ordinary lives in the working-class community they've always called home. But an energy drink-chugging tech "visionary" is determined to reinvent their neighborhood using a people-curation app he built—and the powers that be are on his side. Who'll be left standing? And just what the hell is in that smoothie?

Brava Theater Center

2781 24th Street, San Francisco

Please consider a donation to the Bay Area Women's Theatre Festival to keep the content and productions free and to pay our volunteers, so that we can create more events in the future. Without our volunteers, these events to lift up womxn's voices would not be possible. Thank you!

Winter's Passage

By Jennifer Le Blanc

Directed by Jennifer Le Blanc

A companion piece to Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale (circa 1609 – 1611), Winter’s Passage imagines a history before Shakespeare’s story began and explores what happens at Court in the play’s lost 16 years. What is the nature of love, friendship, forgiveness, knowledge, and hope? What happens after death, in the undiscovered country—and what if some travelers could return?

Presented by SPARC (Shakespeare and Performing Arts Regional Company, formerly Livermore Shakespeare Festival)

SPARC Studio; 2172 Railroad Avenue, Livermore

Get your free tickets here!

La Paloma

by Alejandra Maria Rivas

Father. Daughter. Mexican. American. Familial bonds are tested and linguistic lines broken in this fascinating take on a magical journey into the afterlife.

Aurora Theatre Company

Berkeley, CA

by linda maria girón

directed by karina gutiérrez

April 1, 2, 8, & 9* @ 8PMUntimely. Uncertain. Unrequited. Unemployed. In amémonos // let us love each other newly discarded graduate Karina Inés makes an inconvenient pilgrimage back home, Kari is surprised to find Abuela Eulalia exactly as she was six years prior. Trapped between lost languages, time & house keys, Kari and Eulalia are confronted with a choice; reckon with the ghost of a secret unrequited or lose each other in the haze of an uncertain future.

Cast: Alejandra Maria Rivas, Alexander Espinosa Pieb, Carla Gallardo, Jeanette Sarmiento, and Jovita Molina

Producer: Lisa Anne Morrison

Stage Manager: Michelle Hoselton

Dramaturg: Caro Asercion

The New Voices series will produce two brand new, never produced-on-stage plays by playwrights living in the seven Bay Area counties. These lightly produced productions will heavily feature plays written by traditionally under-represented and under-produced artists.

*pay what you can

by linda maria girón

directed by karina gutiérrez

April 1, 2, 8, & 9* @ 8PMUntimely. Uncertain. Unrequited. Unemployed. In amémonos // let us love each other newly discarded graduate Karina Inés makes an inconvenient pilgrimage back home, Kari is surprised to find Abuela Eulalia exactly as she was six years prior. Trapped between lost languages, time & house keys, Kari and Eulalia are confronted with a choice; reckon with the ghost of a secret unrequited or lose each other in the haze of an uncertain future.

Cast: Alejandra Maria Rivas, Alexander Espinosa Pieb, Carla Gallardo, Jeanette Sarmiento, and Jovita Molina

Producer: Lisa Anne Morrison

Stage Manager: Michelle Hoselton

Dramaturg: Caro Asercion

The New Voices series will produce two brand new, never produced-on-stage plays by playwrights living in the seven Bay Area counties. These lightly produced productions will heavily feature plays written by traditionally under-represented and under-produced artists.

La Paloma

by Alejandra Maria Rivas

Father. Daughter. Mexican. American. Familial bonds are tested and linguistic lines broken in this fascinating take on a magical journey into the afterlife.

Brava Theatre Center

San Francisco, CA

by linda maria girón

directed by karina gutiérrez

April 1, 2, 8, & 9* @ 8PMUntimely. Uncertain. Unrequited. Unemployed. In amémonos // let us love each other newly discarded graduate Karina Inés makes an inconvenient pilgrimage back home, Kari is surprised to find Abuela Eulalia exactly as she was six years prior. Trapped between lost languages, time & house keys, Kari and Eulalia are confronted with a choice; reckon with the ghost of a secret unrequited or lose each other in the haze of an uncertain future.

Cast: Alejandra Maria Rivas, Alexander Espinosa Pieb, Carla Gallardo, Jeanette Sarmiento, and Jovita Molina

Producer: Lisa Anne Morrison

Stage Manager: Michelle Hoselton

Dramaturg: Caro Asercion

The New Voices series will produce two brand new, never produced-on-stage plays by playwrights living in the seven Bay Area counties. These lightly produced productions will heavily feature plays written by traditionally under-represented and under-produced artists.

by linda maria girón

directed by karina gutiérrez

April 1, 2, 8, & 9* @ 8PMUntimely. Uncertain. Unrequited. Unemployed. In amémonos // let us love each other newly discarded graduate Karina Inés makes an inconvenient pilgrimage back home, Kari is surprised to find Abuela Eulalia exactly as she was six years prior. Trapped between lost languages, time & house keys, Kari and Eulalia are confronted with a choice; reckon with the ghost of a secret unrequited or lose each other in the haze of an uncertain future.

Cast: Alejandra Maria Rivas, Alexander Espinosa Pieb, Carla Gallardo, Jeanette Sarmiento, and Jovita Molina

Producer: Lisa Anne Morrison

Stage Manager: Michelle Hoselton

Dramaturg: Caro Asercion

The New Voices series will produce two brand new, never produced-on-stage plays by playwrights living in the seven Bay Area counties. These lightly produced productions will heavily feature plays written by traditionally under-represented and under-produced artists.

Love. What is Love? Who is worthy of it? In the backdrop of a typical San Franciscan book club, a group of humans’ interaction with Plato’s Symposium is anything but typical. Surrounded by books, mythologies, cultural stories, and a serious dose of humor, this diverse group looks inward to understand their own self-love, queerness, relationships, and vulnerability, all while enduring the chaotic playfulness of the old gods. 

In Neo-Symposium, A.C.T.’s staff break down love in a community-centric, interactive, experiential theatrical piece inspired by the themes of Plato’s Symposium. They invite you to gather as a community and share in the act of breathing life into the philosophy of love.

Love. What is Love? Who is worthy of it? In the backdrop of a typical San Franciscan book club, a group of humans’ interaction with Plato’s Symposium is anything but typical. Surrounded by books, mythologies, cultural stories, and a serious dose of humor, this diverse group looks inward to understand their own self-love, queerness, relationships, and vulnerability, all while enduring the chaotic playfulness of the old gods. 

In Neo-Symposium, A.C.T.’s staff break down love in a community-centric, interactive, experiential theatrical piece inspired by the themes of Plato’s Symposium. They invite you to gather as a community and share in the act of breathing life into the philosophy of love.

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas

BY SARAH RUHL
DIRECTED BY SUSI DAMILANO
MAY 5 - JUNE 20 · SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE

BUY TICKETS HERE

A serious career-oriented doctor, Lane, has hired a quirky Brazilian maid named Matilde. There’s just one problem: Matilde, an aspiring comedienne, would much rather be telling jokes than mopping floors. When Lane is deserted by her husband, she must turn to the women in her life to help her put things back together. Winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer finalist, The Clean House reminds us that there is humor and beauty to be found in life’s most unlikely messes.

Featuring: TBD

Assistant Director: Alejandra Maria Rivas