In connection with Jeffrey Lo’s I THOUGHT I WOULD LIKE IT HERE, about the perils of new work festivals, we figure, we’d… do a new works festival. But different. Audiences will be able to come weekend mornings for coffee and a presentation of our new works in development. You’ll hear from these artists about the process so far, see selections of the work, learn about what’s next and be a part of the larger discussion about the power of new stories. Productions will include:

DELANO
By Carlos Aguirre, Jeffrey Lo and Lisa Ramirez
Developed by Sean San José

A new play about 1965 Delano Grape Strike through the characters of Larry Itliong, Dolores Huerta, and Cesar Chavez. The development process asks for each character to be written by a different playwright – Jeffrey Lo (continuing the work he started on Itliong in T1’s 7 FINGERS), Carlos Aguirre (Chavez), and Lisa Ramirez (Huerta).

Funded by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts.

F.D.R. DRAG SHOW
Developed by M. Graham Smith and Regan Linton

FDR DRAG SHOW is an interactive, historical drag dramedy that turns the conventional understanding of disability on its head. Focusing on a Roosevelt “children’s hour,” the Roosevelts and their inner circle will bring people face-to-face with the visceral, vibrant realities of crippledom and leadership, exploring cocktails and braces, swimming pools and hand jobs, New Deals and marital dances. Historically accurate events will be augmented to relate the Roosevelt experience to a more universal and contemporary experience of politics, identity, social programs, and individual character.

A MARRIAGE
By Tom Swift
Developed by George Maguire

This is the story of one gay marriage: from Daniel and Richard’s unexpected declaration of love during a one night stand, all the way through their thrity years of marriage, sexual adventure, break ups, marriage (again), building a family, watching friends die and each others’ last breaths of life. 

YADAM
By Kimiya Shokri
Developed by Evren Odcikin

YADAM explores the playwright, Kimiya Shokri’s growth as an Iranian American artist, longing to find connection in a post-diasporic state. Looking to ancestors for healing, this play is a reminder to hold on to those we love, whether they are with us or not.

BAD TENDENCY: THE VEXING CASE OF ANITA WHITNEY
By Sam Hurwitt
Developed by Erin Merritt

At a time when “free speech” has been co-opted by neo-Nazis and other “alt-right” figures, a young Antifa activist grapples with the legacy of Anita Whitney, the patrician Oakland women’s rights activist and Communist Labor Party organizer who was the defendant in a landmark 1920 Supreme Court case that set free speech in America both backward and forward at the same time. 

GOOD WHITE MEN
By Melina Cohen Bramwell
Developed by Linda Girón

Good White Men – a new play that defies the social media era’s demand for easy answers –  explores “cancel culture”, the political gray areas in our interpersonal disasters, the damage wrought by the commodification of personality, and the power we all have to hurt and heal.

BOUNDLESS AS THE SEA
By Cleavon Smith
Developed by Philippa Kelly

Diving head first into the world of Romeo and Juliet, Smith and Kelly will unpack gender, class, and family expectations through the relationship between the characters of Mercutio and Tybalt, explored on a wider stage than that which has for over four centuries belonged to the eponymous characters. 

THE QUEEN OF THE ZYDEC
By Lady Zen
Developed by Jon Tracy

International star, Lady Zen explores the life of Bet van Beeren, known as the “Queen of the Zeedijk” as the impact of trans-masculine women during the Second World War, throughout history, and in the present day. Zen uses monologue, song, poetry, and original music to illuminate historical events through a contemporary lens.

THIS SEPTEMBER 11TH
By Rob Dario
Developed by Domenique Lozano

What will it take for cousins Jake and Sue to move on from tragic family history? Is there a way to exist without reliving, obsessing, denying traumatic events? How can you thrive in a world always bracing for more terror?

THREE PERCENT
By Dazie Grego Sykes

What’s next for one of the bay’s most in-your-face solo performers? A play about him wrestling the contents of the Mueller Report (read by only 3% of the country) to the ground and unearthing the distance between him and a political system he’s never trusted.