ACCUSED! By Patricia Milton Extends At Central Works

CENTRAL WORKS 2024 SEASON'S comedy Accused! written by Patricia Milton and directed by Kimberly Ridgeway is extended through August 18! 

The fun that greeted audiences and press alike for Accused! by Patricia Milton, has generated many sold out houses, as a result, Accused! has been extended for three more performances:  August 15, 16 & 18! The production plays the same weekly schedule, Thurs & Fri 8pm, Sat 7pm, Sun 5pm. 

CENTRAL WORKS premiere #74, Accused! written by Patricia Milton is a comic murder mystery from the Central Works Writers Workshop. The production originally scheduled to close August 11 now will run through August 18 at the historic Berkeley City Club. http://centralworks.org 

The final comic caper of the Victorian Lady Detectives opens just as they have accepted a new murder case. When a dead body turns up in the parlor of the Hunter Lodging House, the evidence points to Victorian Lady Detective Katie Smalls herself as the prime suspect. The trail of clues leads our intrepid detectives into a murderous web of anarchists and religious fanatics in their most daring caper yet! Directed by Kimberly Ridgeway, the cast of Accused! features Chelsea Bearce, Alan Coyne, Lauren Dunagan, Sindu Singh, and Jan Zvaifler. 

Central Works' 2024 season continues with The Contest written and directed by Gary Graves, Oct 19–Nov 17:  Michelangelo vs Leonardo in an Exquisite Rivalry.

"After reading an autobiography called “A Girl Among the Anarchists,” I leapt at the chance to see the Victorian Ladies' Detective Collective solve a case involving an anarchist attack in London. In my research, I delved into the tactics of British counter-terrorism agents, the Victorian era's ideal of Christian manliness, the Russian influenza epidemic, expansion of police powers at the time, and “fake news,” including an item about the Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894: all of which have echoes in our modern day. I also applied my usual focus on women and those seen as “other” fighting to be treated as worthy of respect and equality. This is my third and final play featuring these characters, and it has been such a delight to write them!"  Playwright Patricia Milton

Patricia Milton is a resident playwright at Central Works, and her plays have been produced around the world. Her productions at Central Works include The Engine of Our Disruption, Bamboozled (Outstanding Production, East Bay, and Outstanding Ensemble, Theatre Bay Area), Hearts of Palm, Reduction in Force, The Victorian Ladies' Detective Collective (BroadwayWorld Critics Choice “Best of Maine” 2022, at The Public Theater) and Escape from the Asylum (Outstanding Production, 2022, SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle). Enemies: Foreign and Domestic was awarded Outstanding World Premiere Play by Theatre Bay Area. Her audio plays are Bystanders (Central Works) and The Law of Attraction (New Conservatory Theater Center, San Francisco). Without Mercy was commissioned and produced by Off-Broadway West. Her comedy Believers was produced in San Francisco (Wily West Productions) and ran for three years in Istanbul, Turkey. She is a former Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild and former President, Playwrights Center of San Francisco.

Kimberly Ridgeway (director) is a director, actor, playwright, and producer. Kimberly has directed projects locally for Altarena Playhouse, African American Shakespeare Company, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Ubuntu Theatre Project, Bay Area Performing Arts Collective, Bay Area Drama Company, SF Playhouse, Town Hall Theatre, Playwrights Center of San Francisco, SF Playground, Theatre Rhinoceros, 3Girls Theatre and TheatreFirst. She has also directed projects for Three Willows Theatre (TX), National Black Theatre (NY), and Spokane Civic Theatre (WA). Kimberly wrote, produced and directed the full-length stage plays Prospect Place, Heavy Burdens, No More Secrets, The Confession, The Gigolo Chronicles, and The Drowning Pool.  Some of Kimberly's notable acting roles include The Revolutionists, The Piano Lesson, Colman Domingo's DOT, and her award-winning portrayal of Camae in Katori Hall's The Mountaintop.

Now in its 34th season, Central Works continues to fill a special niche for theater artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, exclusively producing world premiere plays with a focus on local playwrights and local artists. As “The New Play Theater,” Central Works utilizes three basic strategies for its play selection: those developed in the Central Works Writers Workshop, the products of the Central Works Method, and some which come to the company fully developed.

The Central Works Writers Workshop is an ongoing commissioning program established in 2012.  Twice a year, in 12-week sessions, 8 local playwrights are selected to develop projects through informal readings and carefully directed discussions.  Last season, both Patricia Milton's The Engine of Our Disruption and Lauren Smerkanich's The Dignity Circle emerged from this program. For more information, visit our website:  www.centralworks.org

Central Works Method plays bring together writer, actors and director at the very outset of the playwriting process. In a supportive workshop environment, group research and collective brainstorming contribute to the entire development of the script.

Company Co-directors Jan Zvaifler and Gary Graves remain steadfast in their mission to          develop and produce new works. “New plays are the lifeblood of the theater,” says Ms. Zvaifler. “We look at current events, politics, classic literature and traditional storytelling to bring our audience face to face with the challenges of our lives everyday, juxtaposed against the reflections of history, both recent and far-reaching. Given our current harrowing times, we all need an opportunity to pause, feel, think and act.” The special intimacy of the Central Works theater offers this in a truly unique package.

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