FEB 1 -18
VARIETY PACK 2024
Featuring SHORT CUTS, UNDISCOVERED/UNDEVELOPED, & MIXED METAPHORS
Join Cutting Ball for a micro-festival of New Works, bold risks, and unexpected discoveries! Featuring the SHORT CUTS director series: 6 directors working with one repertory cast and set pieces creatively string together their distinct styles through a series of short play experiences that challenge the theatrical form; also featuring UNDISCOVERED/UNDEVELOPED where 2 local playwrights share semi-rehearsed readings of promising new experimental works, just itching for full production; and finally featuring MIXED METAPHORS: an evening of non-scripted, non-traditional theatre pieces ranging from original music to dance to drag to puppetry, all devising an original piece on a communal theme over the course of one week!
This three week festival highlights the best up-and-coming talent in the Bay Area in conversation with one of the most established experimental work incubators on the West Coast! Be there for the genesis of the next great wave of experimental stage performance.
FOR ACCESSIBLE TICKETS
Need Accessible seating? Add any ticket tier to cart. During checkout under "Additional Details" click "check this box for accessible seating" for an accessible floor seat for you (and a companion if purchasing two tickets).
ACCESS THE WHOLE FESTIVAL WITH THE
VARIETY PACK PASS
For one price, you get to access what the entire 11 day festival has to offer. That includes ShortCuts happening the first weekend (Feb 1 - 4), Undiscovered/Underdeveloped pieces - The Bugs and Pieces - happening the second weekend (Feb 8 - 11), and our newest addition to the festival, Mixed Metaphors - a Cabaret styled night with multiple shows - happening the final weekend (Feb 16-18). Individual prices range from $10 to $100 per show.
SHORT CUTS
DIRECTORS' SHORTS LINEUP
The Short Cuts director series: 6 directors working with one repertory cast and set pieces creatively string together their distinct styles through a series of short play experiences that challenge the theatrical form.
SHORT CUTS DATES
Thursday, February 1 at 7pm
Friday, February 2 at 8pm
Saturday, February 3 at 8pm
Sunday, February 4 at 2pm
HELL IS OTHER ACTORS written & directed by Ezra Reaves
"Hell is Other Actors" by Ezra Reaves is a darkly comedic play that opens with Richard arriving in what appears to be a 1940s theater, discovering that he is in Hell. As he interacts with a bellboy and later meets fellow damned souls Ashley and Kathleen, they realize they are trapped in a perpetual performance of Sartre's "No Exit." The play cleverly explores the dynamics between the characters and the absurdity of eternal theatricality, mixing humor with existential themes.
CENTER PIECE written & directed by Lana Richards
"Center Piece" is a play for three individuals set in a theater or construction site. The characters engage in intense manual labor, questioning the nature of existence through riddles and existential dialogue, ultimately culminating in a chaotic celebration of despair, joy, and purity as they destroy their creation and soil the floor.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY by Eteya Trinidad & directed by Claire Ganem
"Welcome to the Party" is a lively and free-spirited play set in a modern-day house party. As the characters, including the Host, Lover, and Gardener, navigate the chaos, they discuss the significance of mundane objects, share personal perspectives on life, and celebrate the joy found in unexpected moments, culminating in a shared experience with a pomegranate.
AY-YO, EOS! by Justin Lopez & directed by Daniel J. Eslick
"AY-YO, EOS!" is a modern and vibrant play that reinterprets Greek mythology, focusing on the tumultuous love affair between EOS, the goddess of dawn, and Tithonus, a young prince of Troy. When EOS seeks eternal love for Tithonus, the unintended consequences of immortality lead to a tragic and despairing outcome, exploring themes of love, mortality, and divine intervention
SHARON THE GHOST LIGHT by Anya Richkind & directed by Jax Blaska
"Sharon the Ghost Light" is a unique play set in the audience's imagination, where they enter a dark theater with a ghost light on stage. The voice of a deceased investor, Sharon, urges the audience to turn off the light to find peace. As Sharon's wife, Anna, shares their story and attempts to turn off the light, the play takes an unexpected turn, blending reality and imagination in a powerful and introspective exploration of love, loss, and the desire for release.
LOST IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE by Diane Sampson & directed by Charles Lewis III
"Lost in the Middle of Somewhere" unfolds in a quiet suburban neighborhood, where Roger and Glenn, both casually dressed men with backpacks, grapple with a bizarre and seemingly unending loop of strange occurrences and conversations. Their interactions, shaped by Roger's verbose nature and Glenn's preference for precision, navigate a series of absurd situations, culminating in a realization that they may be perpetually stuck in an inexplicable cycle, questioning the nature of their reality and the possibility of escape.
UNDISCOVERED/ UNDEVELOPED
STAGED READINGS
2 local playwrights share semi-rehearsed readings of promising new experimental works, just itching for full production.
STAGED READINGS DATES
Thursday, February 8 at 7pm
Friday, February 9 at 8pm
Saturday, February 10 at 8pm
Sunday, February 11 at 2pm
THE BUGS by Sloka Krishnan & directed by AeJay Mitchell
Genevieve Ingleside, disgraced future Baroness of Savannah, has escaped her family’s stifling country estate and found a life for herself in the city, navigating newfound intimacies in a time of plague and surveillance. Her grandmother, meanwhile, remains at home. When both find themselves in the crossfire of a public health and/or -relations crisis, they are forced to reconsider the strength of their family ties ... and of their facility with a pair of gardening shears.
PIECES by Nic Sommerfeld & directed by Tessa Corrie
A play that exists within a human body. Systems of the body are personified by the actors. They interact, disagree, move, and collaborate as the parts of the body should, whether or not they are able. It is at times sweet, hard, funny, and frustrating; much like having a body.
“Pieces” was commissioned by fellow playwright Lauren Gunderson during lockdown in 2020
MIXED METAPHORS
CABARET STYLE SHOW
An evening of non-scripted, non-traditional theatre pieces ranging from original music to dance to drag to puppetry, all devising an original piece on a communal theme over the course of one week!
MIXED METAPHORES DATES
Friday, February 16 at 8pm
Saturday, February 17 at 8pm
Sunday, February 18 at 2pm
THE STORM presented by The Puppet Circle
Step into a fantastical San Francisco, where our puppet hero faces a city that comes alive unexpectedly. Confronted with the choice to hide, escape, or confront the animated threat, a mystical encounter with a sea creature sparks a transformative journey. Now equipped with newfound powers, our puppet must navigate how to wield them in this enchanting tale of choice and power.
NOT THERAPY presented by Radhika Rao
DEEP DIVE presented by Kasaundra Couch
MY BLODDY RIGHT THUMB presented by Kunal Prasad
With severed right themb in hand Eklavya faces the pain and loss of his present moment by embracing the sensual.
BIG GAME presented by the Forum Theater Collective
COMPTON CAFETERIA presented by Pangea Colter