User:Fernanjo/SF Playhouse

The San Francisco Playhouse is a non-profit theater company based in San Francisco, CA established in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. Located at 533 Sutter Street, the company houses two theaters, a 99-seat main stage, and a 50-seat black box. The goal of the Playhouse is to provide an intimate theater alternative to the traditional Union Square theater fare. Based on the principle of "YES!", they aim to provide a creative home and inspiring environment where actors, directors, writers, designers and theatre lovers converge to create works that celebrate the human spirit.

Season Format
San Francisco Playhouse currently operates six Main Stage productions per season, as well as two Sandbox World Premieres. Selection of shows for the Main Stage depends on the theme of the season and input from subscribers and board members. Sandbox Productions are selected by the literary committee after an open submission process.

Season 8 - 2010/2011
The upcoming season at the Playhouse, like the previous 7 seasons, has been given an overall theme. This season, the 6 plays will explore the question: 'Why Theatre?'. Among the scheduled plays are two West Coast Premieres and Two World Premieres, including the first work ever commissioned by The Playhouse.

The Plays for Season 8 are:
 * The Sunset Limited
 * Harper Regan
 * Wirehead
 * Reborning
 * Alcestis
 * (TBA)

Sandbox
Launched in 2010, The Sandbox Project was set up to present World Premieres in the theater's 50 seat Stage 2. The mission of The Sandbox is to promote new works utilizing top-notch directors and actors, with limited design elements and as little financial risk as possible.

The first production as part of the Sandbox initative was Safe House by Geetha Reddy. Originally comissioned by PlayGround, this was a PlayGround co-production. The second production was The Apotheosis of Pig Husbandry by William Bivins.

Rising Stars
The Rising Stars program, begun during the 2009/2010 season, the aim of which is to provide the opportunity to Bay Area school students to attend shows at the Playhouse, funded by donations from subscribers and patrons.

Previous Seasons
Over the course of 7 seasons, the Playhouse has produced 39 mainstage productions and has received 57 various awards. Their productions have varied from comedies to tragedies, from dramas to musicals. Listed below is the performance history from each season.