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PlayGround
Category: Arts & Entertainment Performing Arts Performing Arts [Edit]
Berkeley Repertory Theatre2025 Addison St
Berkeley, CA 94704
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
(415) 992-6677
- Hours:
Mon, Sun 7 pm - 9 pm
Thu-Sat 8 pm - 10 pm
Sun 2 pm - 4 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
5 reviews for PlayGround
5 reviews in English
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Review from Wilhelm Y.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 11/20/2008 1 photo
I attended my first Monday Night PlayGround for the new season earlier this week at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Since attending for the very first time a little over a year ago I can truly say that I have become a huge fan. Seriously, these performances are nearly as addictive as Yelp itself. Participating actors and actresses see their scripts for the very first time just two and a half hours before the show so you never know what to expect. Even though they perform with the scripts in hand you're guaranteed a very original show live on stage.
The topic for the performance that I attended was "Palindrome", and thank goodness none of the six performances made reference to Sarah Palin.
The shows begin promptly at 8 PM and each performance is followed by the next one with no intermission. On most evenings the performances are over by 9:30 PM.
As it was we had an overflow of volunteers this week meaning that most of us did very little. I folded a few programs, handed out a few audience surveys, greeted ticket holders at the door and I was done. That's not a bad deal in exchange for watching great theater on stage. I'll be there again on December 15!Listed in: Bear Tracks, Hey, Why Not Volunteer?, The Show Must Go On
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/17/2007 First to Review
Based in San Francisco, PlayGround is a project designed to develop up and coming playwrights by… Read more »
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Review from Eustacia V.
Oakland, CA
12/4/2007
To get this out FIRST: I work for PlayGround, so I'm not just any ol' person posting a review, but I will say that Monday Night PlayGround is GREAT fun--for the audience, but also for all the artists involved. It's fast and furious and completely original. You never really know what's going to happen--neither do the performers, either. A lot of what happens is just improvised on the spot.
Thanks to all who posted here, and to all who come and join in the fun. The next one is Dec. 17th, and after that, January 21. -
Review from KJ P.
Hayward, CA
10/22/2008
Great writing! Amazing ten minute creations each different yet each based on the same theme (the opener of the 15th season: The Impossible Dream). Fine fine acting- script in hand reading after only an hour and a half with one of the Bay Area's innovative directors. The actors and actresses look like they are having fun. The actors pool like the writers pool is rich with bay area favorites as well as newbies to watch.
A great evening out! Third Monday each month from Oct to April. Must see entertainment! -
Review from G G.
Manhattan, NY
6/14/2009
This is a wonderful and vibrant event that showcases some of the top talent in the Bay Area - the writing is always interesting and diverse, and the actors are often inspiring. As each month has a different theme and talent pool, its always fresh and never repetitive. A must see for Bay Area theatre people, or for anyone looking to have an interesting night out. The plays featured are usually 6 short one-acts, so the event is usually from about 8 - 9 pm. Don't miss it when its back in the fall!
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Review from Megan K.
San Francisco, CA
2/23/2009
The Mon. night PlayGround series is a monthly volunteering event for One Brick, so I decided to pick it as my event of choice to coordinate a few months ago. Now that I've done it a second time, I can honestly say that each show is high quality and entertaining. I went in it w/ no expectations and couldn't believe how much I enjoyed myself. PlayGround is designed to showcase playwrights, so if you appreciate clever writing, you'll appreciate it all the more. Playwrights are given a different topic every week and hae to write a 10 minute play based on this theme. The cast of professional actors is given the script mere hours before showtime and act out the play with script in hand. In less capable hands, this could be a recipe for tomato throwing. Instead, the scripts seem to disappear as you get swept up by the inventive, creative, often funny mini-plays that come out. What's also nice about the PlayGround is its "pay-what-you-can" policy for its shows, making it an affordable opportunity for students or the otherwise cash-strapped to afford a night of theater. But if you do happen to have some dollars to spare, humor the volunteers like me handing out envelopes and put a little something in them to support the production. After all, the show must go on.
Specialties
Producer of the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series (in residence at Berkeley Rep, Oct-Mar) and the annual Best of PlayGround Festival (in residence at San Francisco's Thick House). Co-producer of short play podcasts with KQED's The Writers' Block.
History
Established in 1994
Since its founding in 1994, PlayGround has developed and staged more than 570 original ten-minute plays by 170 early-development writers through its Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and Best of PlayGround Festival, and is today the leading Bay Area developer of short works for the stage. The company has also become one of the most important commissioners of full-length work by new writers, with thirty-five full-length commissions since 2002, including two Bay Area Theater Critic Circle Award winners for "best original script". Through the process of staging both the short and full-length works, PlayGround has helped to identify some of the most promising new writers in our community. During the past sixteen seasons, PlayGround's alumni have gone on to win both local and national honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the NY International Fringe Festival, Humana Festival, Sundance Festival, and Bay Area Playwrights Festival, among others.
Meet the Manager: Jim K.
Jim Kleinmann (Artistic Director) co-founded PlayGround in 1994 with playwright Brighde Mullins and director Denise Shama and became PlayGround's first Artistic Director in 1996. For PlayGround, Kleinmann has staged more than eighty original short works and produced sixteen consecutive seasons of Monday Night PlayGround and fourteen annual Best of PlayGround Festivals. He has also directed nine audio recordings of short plays as part of PlayGround's Podcast series, distributed through KQED's The Writers' Block. He is a veteran arts administrator with more than 21 years of experience, including the past 18 serving as chief executive for some of the Bay Area's leading performing arts organizations. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama, where he also worked for the Yale Repertory Theatre. While an undergraduate at Brown University, he founded and performed in Brown's first comedy improvisational theatre troupe, IMPROVidence.
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