Up Next: Acting
A Thousand Ships
By Marcus Gardley
Directed by Michael Socrates Moran
December 13, 2024- January 5, 2025
World Premiere!
From the beloved playwright of black odyssey and screenwriter for The Color Purple comes an extraordinary tale of friendship between two Black women and their families, from their wartime work in the Oakland shipyards to the fulfillment of a dream: their own hair salon.
Up Next: Costume Design
Co-Founders
By Ryan Nicole Austin, Beau Lewis, Adesha Adefela
Directed by Jamil Jude
May 29, 2025- July 6 ,2025
World Premiere!
Witness the launch of the next great hip-hop musical, born in the heart of the Bay! Co-Founders is the story of an underrated young Oakland coder, Esata, who hacks her way into the most competitive startup accelerator in San Francisco. Determined to save her house as an influx of wealth threatens to push her community out, Esata forms an unlikely partnership with a prep-school dropout. In a field where the privileged make a killing while folks across the bridge grind to survive, can Esata win Silicon Valley’s game without leaving her community behind? Created by three extraordinary Bay Area voices, the piece features a deliciously catchy score that draws from the Bay’s rich hip-hop traditions, as well as soul, gospel, funk, jazz, R&B, and more. Employing visual technology entirely new to theater, Co-Founders is a sharply funny, deeply felt, exuberant celebration of the Bay and the dreamers, hustlers, and innovators that make it magical.
.
