Playwrights Foundation

Playwrights Foundation We support, empower, and center playwrights. Playwrights are the center of our universe. Pure and simple. We seek to identify exceptional emerging writers.

We value diverse, complex, and experimental new works.

> Playwrights Foundation has been a new play launch pad and home for playwrights to explore, create, and collaborate for 45 years

> We discover exceptional, groundbreaking playwrights early in their careers, nurture their talent, and connect them to theater producers

> Over 80% of the plays we develop have gone on to successful productions, winning awards and accolades

Founded in 1976, Playwrights Foundation is widely recognized today as one of the top playwright development organizations in the United States. Dedicated to the creative development and career acceleration of contemporary playwrights, we serve emerging and mid-career playwrights. We give them space, time and professional artistic collaborators to explore new theatrical ideas. This helps them to experiment and take risks with structure, form and/or content in an environment that is free from the pressures of the marketplace. Many alumni have gone on to become the most important voices in theater, television, and film, shaping the landscape of American culture, and include visionary artists such as Sam Shepard, David Henry Hwang, Paula Vogel, Anna Deavere Smith, Philip Kan Gotanda, Paula Vogel, Rajiv Joseph, Marcus Gardley, and Peter Nachtrieb – to name just a few. Playwrights we have worked with have won every award in the theater including the Pulitzer, the Obie, the National Critics Circle Award, and many more.

We’re thrilled to continue announcing our full casts & creative teams for our four festival readings, as our first rehea...
09/12/2026

We’re thrilled to continue announcing our full casts & creative teams for our four festival readings, as our first rehearsals have begun and the countdown to the Bay Area Playwrights Festival begins!

Our week of first rehearsals continued with the first rehearsal for Greg T. Nanni’s SU***DE COWBOYS.

The full creative team and cast gathered in our Playwrights Foundation offices to read through Greg’s powerful two-character story about survivors of su***de trying to inspire in each other the will to live.

Greg had written a brand new scene that allows us to understand even more nuance about these two fascinating characters, and the whole team is looking forward to sharing this thoughtful and compelling work with you starting in just one week!

Learn more about the cast and creative team on our website, and mark your calendars for Greg T. Nanni’s SU***DE COWBOYS (Sat. Sept 19 at 7pm and Sat. Sept 26 at 1pm) and the entire Bay Area Playwrights Festival coming September 18-27 at the Rueff at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater.

Single tickets are on a sliding scale ($10-45) and festival passes are still available ($50-250).

Learn more and purchase tickets on our website: https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/

We’re beyond excited to announce our full creative teams for our four festival readings, as our first rehearsals have be...
09/12/2026

We’re beyond excited to announce our full creative teams for our four festival readings, as our first rehearsals have begun and the countdown to the Bay Area Playwrights Festival begins!

Last week we had the first rehearsal for christina michelle watkins’s BY THE BANKS - the entire creative team was joined for the first time by the cast, who brought christina michelle’s thoughtful and poetic words to life and voice. christina michelle has written an entirely new ending to the play, and it was captivating to hear this moving new ending out loud for the first time.

Between the first and second rehearsals, the BAPF playwrights will make even more changes to their scripts after hearing them voiced by the cast, so we expect even more exciting developments as the rehearsal process continues!

Learn more about the cast and creative team on our website, and mark your calendars for christina michelle watkins’s BY THE BANKS (Friday Sept 18 at 7pm and Sunday Sept 20 at 3pm) and the entire Bay Area Playwrights Festival coming September 18-27 at the Rueff at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater.

Single tickets are on a sliding scale ($10-45) and festival passes are still available ($50-250).

For more information and tickets, see our website: https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/

We are less than two weeks out from the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and we’re thrilled to announce our full creative ...
09/10/2026

We are less than two weeks out from the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and we’re thrilled to announce our full creative teams for our four festival readings, as our first rehearsals have begun!

Last weekend we had the first rehearsal for Maxine Dillon’s THE NEGROES HAVE RISEN - the room was filled with energy and anticipation as the creative team and cast gathered in one room for the first time (including Maxine, our playwright, who Zoomed in to the rehearsal from Austin, TX).

Excitement for the festival mounted as we all heard the playwright’s words come to life off the page, as the cast began to give voice to the dynamic and compelling characters that Maxine has created.

Learn more about the full cast and creative team on our website, and mark your calendars for Maxine Dillon’s THE NEGROES HAVE RISEN (Sunday Sept 20 at 3pm or Sat Sept 26 at 7pm) and the entire Bay Area Playwrights Festival coming September 18-27 at the Rueff at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater.

Single tickets are on a sliding scale ($10-45) and festival passes are still available ($50-250).

Click for more info and tickets: https://playwrightsfoundation.org/2026-bay-area-playwrights-festival/

We are excited to introduce our new Associate Producer, Emily Russell!Emily (she/they) is a scholar and writer who holds...
09/02/2026

We are excited to introduce our new Associate Producer, Emily Russell!

Emily (she/they) is a scholar and writer who holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University, where she is currently the Gerhard Casper Postdoctoral Fellow. She is also a playwright whose work has been supported by the Sewanee Writers Conference and Lambda Literary Writers Retreat.

In the newly created position of Associate Producer, Emily will support our Literary and Producing Director leading up to and during the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and support our application processes as well as the Resident Playwright Program.

Emily shares that “Encountering new plays excites me because theatre is our oldest way of telling stories that undergoes reinvention and experimentation with every iteration. Entering a new play feels like space travel: you land on a new planet, in a world whose rules you don’t yet know. Supporting these new works is my passion because I love watching a story sharpen until it becomes exactly what it wants to be.”

Learn more about Emily on our website!

✨There's still space to enroll in this invaluable masterclass on networking for freelance artists happening TOMORROW! ✨F...
08/15/2026

✨There's still space to enroll in this invaluable masterclass on networking for freelance artists happening TOMORROW! ✨

For many freelance artists, the hardest part of the job isn't the craft, it's the conversation. Talking about your work, your ambitions, and your value to producers, collaborators, and peers can feel exposing, awkward, or downright terrifying. This masterclass is designed to change that. The session blends candid conversation, real stories from decades in the field, and hands-on practice with community learning.

This masterclass is led by two veteran new-play development leaders, Nan Barnett and Jessica Bird Beza, with experience coaching artists through these exact challenges. Nan Barnett is Executive Director of National New Play Network and has spent 24 seasons producing new work at Florida Stage and helped build NNPN's field-changing Rolling World Premiere program and New Play Exchange. Jessica Bird Beza is Playwrights Foundation’s Executive Artistic Director and a Bay Area director and producer whose career spans The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Broadway musical Come From Away.

Whether you're early in your career or a seasoned freelancer who still dreads the "so, tell me about your work" moment, this masterclass offers a supportive space to own your artistry and practice the conversations that build a sustainable artistic life.

Beyond the Elevator Pitch: How to Create Lasting Industry Relationships

A Masterclass with Nan Barnett and Jessica Bird Beza

Sunday, August 16, 2026
10-12 pm PT/ 1-3 pm ET (on Zoom)
Sliding Scale $45-75

More info & enroll at this link: https://playwrightsfoundation.anywhereseat.com/access.php?event_id=16185&time_id=15100

Join us for "A Sunday Stroll with Playwrights” North Bay Walk and Picnic this Sunday August 16, 2026, 2-5pm!Leading up t...
08/15/2026

Join us for "A Sunday Stroll with Playwrights” North Bay Walk and Picnic this Sunday August 16, 2026, 2-5pm!

Leading up to the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in September, Playwrights Foundation is hosting a series of events to bring us all together to build & strengthen community and bring to life our theme for this year’s Festival: REVIVE - RESIST - RENEW!

Join Playwrights Foundation staff, artists, board and SF Bay Area theatre community friends and supporters for a walk and a BYO picnic along the Tiburon Old Rail Trail while learning more about Playwrights Foundation from staff, board, and playwrights.

The beautiful setting of Tiburon’s shoreline will allow us to REVIVE ourselves in fresh air and natural surroundings, and will help us RESIST oppression by RENEWING community connections and strengthening support for writers and the creation of new work.

Kids and leashed dogs are welcome. The area & path are wheelchair accessible. Water station, some beverages, and light snacks will be provided by Playwrights Foundation board member organizers and staff - feel free to bring anything else you’d like to eat/drink and/or something to share!

Details and RSVP at the link: https://partiful.com/e/XS5cdnZzBfF1D6RY8jb3?c=TIRWFz3F

Early Bird prices for festival passes have been EXTENDED to August 5, and our first round of festival events has been an...
07/23/2026

Early Bird prices for festival passes have been EXTENDED to August 5, and our first round of festival events has been announced!

Join us for the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival running September 18-27 and experience four transformative playwrights’s new work as they take us on a journey through inner and outer worlds, traversing time and space:

from Jordan Bird’s haunting depiction of a neurodivergent woman grappling with memories of childhood trauma as fairy tale and reality blur in Howling: A Fairytale-

to Maxine Dillon’s exploration of Black twentysomethings confronting the real Living History of the plantation museum where they work in THE NEGROES HAVE RISEN-

to Greg T. Nanni’s powerful depiction of the inner and outer struggle of a survivor of su***de as he tries to help someone very much like himself choose to live in Su***de Cowboys-

to christina michelle watkins’ poetic exploration of the complicated bond between estranged sisters as they find a way to heal old wounds in By the Banks.

Attendees will have the chance to mingle and enjoy drinks and small bites at our Opening Night Post-Show Party, experience our Resident Playwrights Mini-Showcase and the BAPF and Resident Playwrights Panel & Reception, and attend our Closing Party, as well as other soon-to-be-announced events.

Passholders receive insider access to the events above, PLUS exclusive invitation-only festival events attended by BAPF47 artists, festival producers, and other special guests.

If you have not had a chance to purchase your BAPF festival pass, it’s not too late to receive the Early Bird discount!

Swipe to see some of the exclusive events you have access to as a passholder.

Check out our website for more details.

We had a wonderful audience turnout and an enlightening post-show discussion yesterday at Playwrights Foundation Day for...
07/06/2026

We had a wonderful audience turnout and an enlightening post-show discussion yesterday at Playwrights Foundation Day for Denmo Ibrahim’s ARAB SPRING at Golden Thread/SFBATCO!

The audience heard playwright Denmo Ibrahim speak (pre-recorded) about “The Art & Craft of Theatricalizing the Dead” in her work, joined by PF Resident Playwrights Aidaa Peerzada and Julius Ernesto Rea discussing how they render the departed and the spiritual realm in their own writing, moderated by PF Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza.

You have until July 12 to see this beautiful and moving story - be sure to catch it before it closes!

More info: https://goldenthread.org/productions/arab-spring/

Playwrights Foundation is excited to announce a casting call for our 2026 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF47)!First r...
06/26/2026

Playwrights Foundation is excited to announce a casting call for our 2026 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF47)!

First rehearsals will take place Monday 8/24-Monday 8/31. Subsequent rehearsals begin Friday 9/11 and run through the festival dates, with public readings and rehearsals running concurrently from September 18-27.

AEA actors can sign-up for in-person EPA auditions taking place on July 1 between 12-6pm. In-person EPAs will be held at the PF offices, 1616 16th Street, Suite 350, SF, CA 94103.

Both AEA actors and non-AEA actors can also submit virtual auditions. All virtual auditions must be submitted by 11:59pm on Sunday, July 5, 2026.

For all sign-up links, more information including a more detailed rehearsal schedule, and role breakdowns, visit the casting page on our website: https://playwrightsfoundation.org/engage/casting-actorsubmissions-2/

Join Playwrights Foundation at Golden Thread and SFBATCO’s production of ARAB SPRING by Denmo Ibrahim (she/her, BAPF2022...
06/25/2026

Join Playwrights Foundation at Golden Thread and SFBATCO’s production of ARAB SPRING by Denmo Ibrahim (she/her, BAPF2022) on Sunday, July 5 at 3pm at Potrero Stage, followed by a post show conversation on "The Art & Craft of Theatricalizing the Dead" with PF alumni and SFBATCO artists.

ARAB SPRING was developed in Playwrights Foundation’s 2022 Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and we are excited for its world premiere here in the Bay Area!

Playwrights Aidaa Peerzada (BAPF2024; RPP2026-2027) and Julius Ernesto Rea (RPP 2026-2027) will discuss the various ways they theatricalize the dead in their storytelling and how they explore the world of spirit, memory, and lineage. The panel event will also include a recorded video appearance from ARAB SPRING playwright Denmo Ibrahim.

Moderated by Executive Artistic Director Jessica Bird Beza.

Get $5 off your ticket with the code PLAYWRIGHTS

To purchase tickets and join us, click the link: https://goldenthread.org/productions/arab-spring/

Address

1616 16th Street, Ste 350
San Francisco, CA
94103

Telephone

+14156262176

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Playwrights Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Playwrights Foundation:

Shortcuts

Share

Category