TheatreWorks Partners With Stanford For NEW WORKS NEXT GENERATION, February 27-28

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announces that it has partnered with Stanford University again to present New Works Next Generation, a play festival offering three dynamic new plays about race and identity, non-binary sexualities, and ethnic oppression in times of crisis.

Presented in collaboration between TheatreWorks New Works Initiative and Stanford's Department of Theater and Performance Studies, this event will spotlight the voices of theatre's next generation of emerging artists, with plays performed by Stanford students and directed by Stanford PhD students and TAPS professors.

New Works Next Generation performs February 27-28, 2022 in person at the Pigott Theater on Stanford University's campus, 551 Jane Stanford Way. To reserve free tickets and for more information about parking and safety policies, the public may visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voices-of-theatre-a-festival-of-readings-tickets-273776933177.

The collaboration for New Works Next Generation is coordinated by TheatreWorks's Artistic Associate and Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli and Samer Al-Saber, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University. Katherine Hamilton and Karishma Bhagani serve as Festival Line Producers. "The Next Generation partnership with Stanford was born of creative necessity during the beginning of the pandemic," said Sardelli. "That first collaboration was such a meaningful multi-cultural, multi-generational conversation inspired by new plays that explore race, ethnicity, culture, and identity that we immediately started planning the next one. We are continuing the conversation with a new class, new writers, and new plays - the next generation of theatre artists."

"For my Actor/Director Dialogue class at Stanford TAPS, I wanted our brilliant ensemble of actors and directors to engage directly with a professional theatre. Our neighbor, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, has been an ongoing and committed partner since the beginning of the pandemic" said Samer Al-Saber. "Students loved our last collaboration. This time, our work is more layered and complex, with in-person participation and virtual engagement from our playwrights. Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli tirelessly proposed new ideas. Our students proposed their own. After an enriching period of dialog, we arrived at an agreement that brings playwrights of color and emerging artists together to bridge theory and practice in the best way possible. I am a firm believer that this is exactly the kind of art Stanford must continuously nurture into the world."

"We were drawn to writers Jillian Walker, Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel, and Sam Hamashima not only because of what they write, but also because of why they write," added Sardelli. "This is purpose driven storytelling, artfully crafted to lead us toward robust, fascinating, and hopefully healing conversations. They entertain, provoke, question, and inspire. These writers are beautiful, bold truth tellers."

The lineup for New Works Next Generation is as follows:

SARAH'S SALT

by Jillian Walker

Co-directed by Isaiah Woods and Dr. Aileen Robinson
2:30pm PST Sunday, February 27, 2022

The Maryland funeral of a centenarian racist relative reconnects estranged cousins, Sarah and Penelope. When Penelope insists on staying with Sarah and her husband, Nolan, these young Black adults must confront how their inheritances of the vestiges of American slavery impact their relationships with each other and themselves. A ritual of remembrance and becoming, Sarah's Salt is a powerful and daring meditation on Black American sisterhood, marriage, family and identity.

Jillian Walker (she) is a multidimensional artist, teacher, healer, and ancestral guide devoted to remembering ancestral ways through her work and life. She is the creator of the critically acclaimed 'SKiNFoLK: An American Show" forthcoming from 53rd State Press, and several other award-winning works. Walker is currently working on several ancestrally-guided liberation-focused projects and collaborations, including screenwriting and starring in the lyrical film, BLK GRK; Reconstruction: an epic performance-work with 23 other writers, a new off-Broadway play premiering in 2023, and her monthly shamanistic newsletter, The Free List.

Cast: Amani Starnes, Emily Waters, and Isaiah Woods

WHEN THE PARTY'S OVER

by Ezperanza Rosales Balcárcel

Directed by: Adin Walker

Sound Designer/Composer: Stan Mathabane
7pm PST Sunday, February 27, 2022

Danny, Jas, and Levi - three best friends at Princeton - come together to have one good final night before graduating. All that stands in their way is Danny's drinking, which has just gotten more out of control as they get closer to graduating. A fantasy dance piece, When the Party's Over explores how the mind heals and learns from trauma.

Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel (they/them) is a first-generation, trans Guatemalan-American artist, born in Guatemala City and raised in Norwalk, CT. Their plays are a queering of themes surrounding love, trauma, family, dance, gender expression, and healing. Their work has been supported by Princeton University, Stanford University, the Yale School of Drama, Roundabout Theater, and now TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Their writing mentors include Tarell Alvin McCraney, Anne Erbe, Sarah Ruhl, Amy Herzog, and Aïda Mashaka Croal. They are currently in their 'middle year' at the Playwrights Program with Anne + Tarell at the David Geffen School of Drama @ Yale, graduating in the spring of 2023. This summer, they are co-leading the Yale Summer Cabaret's first in-person season since the 2020 pandemic.

Cast: Morgan Tom Gwilym Tso, Lisa Li, Dahkota Kicking Bear Brown, Elaine Jean Lai, Zoe Ryu, Westley Montgomery, and Lily Sarah Rashes

SUPPOSED HOME

by Sam Hamashima

Co-directed by Westley Montgomery and Marina J. Bergenstock
6pm PST Monday, February 28, 2022

Shiyoko left the Japanese American Concentration Camps a long time ago, or so she thought. Faced with questions from a curious grandson, Shiyoko's world becomes both what had happened and what was wanted. Past and present become one landscape for this anime adventure as enemies are revealed, companions are found, trauma is unpacked, and what was only thought becomes (un)spoken word. A poetic impression from the Yonsei perspective, Supposed Home brings a new piece of the puzzle that is the Japanese American experience. Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2021, Winner of Seattle Public Theater's Emerald Prize.

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