←Playwrights Foundation

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced ALL I WANNA DO IS BE PRETTY LIKE YOU as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by the way the writer handles complex narratives of the exploitation of women and teenagers, the male gaze, objectification, the difference between consent and pleasure. We were engaged by the questions this play raises about gender without it being watched or commodified. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THESE AND THOSE as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by the play's interrogations of how observing traditions shapes one's worldview, as well as friendships and relationships. We were deeply moved by the impact of an outside traumatic event on the characters, and variety of responses generated from within a community's safe space and traditions. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THE MOTHER as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We commend the writer for moving us fluidly between realistic worlds to surreal and abstract spaces in this examination of upending changes on the mother in the wake of a school shooting. We were compelled by the potential of this play for initiating community conversations about empathy in this non-linear, self-aware telling. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced 1898 OR HOW SUGAR CONQUERED THE ENCHANTMENT as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by this story of American capitalist seduction on an influential family that becomes complicit, with the energy and pace as the monster of colonialism tries to consume the young. We were highly engaged by the play's rhythms, poetic imagery, and hope in the midst of impending injustices. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced MADDIE ON HER WAY HOME as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by the authentic voice writing about elder care, the health system's failure, grief, economic insecurity, false friends, and spousal abuse. We were engaged by the dramatic irony, the careful rendering of sisters and building of tension, and ultimately, the dramatic question of how to re-build trust with found friends. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THE FRONTLINERS as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were intrigued by the play's central questions about refugee workers and if one can find a home and family when so much has been left behind. We found compelling the character's relationships and struggles, and the issues the play raises for workers in refugee communities navigating complicated systems. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced VERY BERRY DEAD as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were highly engaged by this look into intergenerational family trauma around death, with stylistic fast pacing and twists that made this an enjoyable read. We were engaged by the theme of hope in mending broken families, as well as the humor and tender moments in a blended family with hurts, secrets, and misunderstandings. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THE LARK ASCENDING as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We highly enjoyed the sunrise and sunset structure of this piece as well as recognizable relationships as characters navigate complex emotional moments. We were engaged by the intimacy in the questioning of faith, and grief within religious community. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced THE TRUE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We highly enjoyed the world-building as the traditional tale of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was fractured in a playful way and subverted traditional gender roles. We were compelled by this play's promise with clever dialogue, inherent poetry, theatrical gestures like puppetry and the comic duo Yin & Yang. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46

The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced CARPENTER GORGE as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were deeply moved by the play’s investigation of what home means and the grappling with our past to forge a future. We were engaged by the mystery employed in the play and its breaking of traditional forms. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46