Jessica Bird News

Explore the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival with Playwrights Foundation's on-demand readings and events. See full programming and learn how to purchase tickets.

Discover the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival's on-demand readings and events, released by Playwrights Foundation.

Playwrights Foundation announces cohort and finalists for Resident Playwrights Program, offering a two-year residency to Bay Area playwrights for artistic growth and career advancement. Meet the selected playwrights: Cat Brooks, Ruben Grijalva, Sloka Krishnan, and Leigh M. Marshall.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced the playwright cohort for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF46) which will be presented in a hybrid festival with in-person readings April 12 - 21, 2024 in San Francisco and on-demand recordings released post festival.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced the semifinalists and finalists for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF), which will be presented in a hybrid festival (both in-person and streamed attendance options) April 12-21, 2024, per Playwrights Foundation's recent announcement to shift to a biennial festival structure.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has revealed the semifinalists and finalists for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, which will be presented in a hybrid festival.

For 45 years, Playwrights Foundation has invested in the next generation of playwrights writing today’s stories that transform the world of tomorrow. Today, Playwrights Foundation announces their new purpose and reimagined core programs to deepen their support for playwrights.  

Spotlighting the power of human connection, the 2022 BAPF featured readings five new works.

Playwrights Foundation has announced the special events for this summer's 45th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF), allowing audiences members and theater industry leaders additional opportunities to engage with new theater; connect with the playwrights, directors, and artists participating in 2022 BAPF; and mingle with fellow theater lovers.

Playwrights Foundation has announced the artistic teams for this summer's 45th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) which will be presented as a hybrid (in-person and streamed) festival July 29 - August 7, 2022.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced its lineup for the 45th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) which will be presented as a hybrid (in-person and streamed) festival July 29 - August 7, 2022. Selected from 240 applicants via a committee process with 150 readers (the majority of whom are also playwrights), five powerful plays by five exciting new voices will receive public readings and workshops in this year's festival.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast’s premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced the semifinalists and finalists for the 45th Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF), which will be presented as a hybrid (in-person and streamed) festival July 29-August 07, 2022. For more information and a complete list of winners, the public may visit  playwrightsfoundation.org or call 415-626-2176.

Pulitzer winners Paula Vogel, Katori Hall, Annie Baker & Sam Shepard are just 4 of the many celebrated playwrights whose work was developed in the Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF). Established in 1976 and currently led by Playwrights Foundation’s Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza, this year’s BAPF runs July 16-25, featuring 5 very different new works. Casts include acclaimed actors such as Emily Kuroda. BroadwayWorld recently caught up with Beza to talk about the festival.

The casts for BAPF’s live streamed readings spotlight acclaimed actors including TV/film actor and theatre mainstay Emily Kuroda, known for her role as Mrs. Kim in “Gilmore Girls,” as well as Bay Area theatre veterans Halili Knox, Tasi Alabastro, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro and Michael Ray Wisely, plus many others.

Real Time remix is a new selection of short works in which four storytellers crisscross paths across dimensions as they seek to survive the weight of white words and thrive. Learn more about the performances and how to view them here!

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for plays and playwrights, has announced the lineup for the 44th annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival, scheduled to stream online.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for plays and playwrights, has announced the semi finalists and finalists for the 44th annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) scheduled to stream online July 16-25, 2021.

Crowded Fire, Magic Theatre, and Playwrights Foundation, will launch in February 2021 Making Good Trouble: Anti-Racist Trainers --a training program with a goal of empowering Bay Area artists and staff to become anti-racism trainers. Currently, the theatre industry is experiencing a racial justice reckoning demanding for more anti-racist training and practices, and this program will further that cause.  

On the anniversary of the Americans With  Disabilities Act (ADA), two theater organizations join forces on Saturday September 26 ( 2PM Pacific, 5PM Eastern)  to virtually present award-winning playwright Tanya Shaffer's MANATEE ON MARS, a dramedy about the struggles that children on the spectrum and their families face in the American school system.