Upcoming Performances
studio Production
Lysistrata: A Woman's Translation
By Drue Robinson
Directed by Timmia Hearn DeRoy
March 6–9, 2025
Zellerbach Hall, Room 7
Tickets: $10–20
This modern verse translation of Aristophanes' classic comedy blends heightened language and 21st-century sensibilities to explore the power of the sex strike. Now set in a futuristic, drag-influenced, underground bar, this production will address issues of bodily autonomy, sexual and gender agency, and what we are willing to sacrifice in the face of continuous war.
student-directed workshop
Top Girls: Act I
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Olivia Freidenreich
March 13–14, 2025
Zellerbach Hall • Room 170
Free Admission
What happens when an Emperor’s courtesan turned Buddhist nun, a mother who led an army of women on their battle through Hell, and the only woman Pope sit down for dinner? This workshop of Top Girls: Act I is a dynamic, stand-alone scene where women from centuries past humorously spar, sharply contrast, and vulnerably connect. Their discussion is a cacophony of perspectives on womanhood.
student-directed workshop
Stop Kiss
By Diana Son
Directed by Kira Wefers
April 17–18, 2025
Zellerbach Hall • Room 170
Free Admission
“A poignant and funny play about the ways, both sudden and slow, that lives can change irrevocably,” says Variety. After Callie meets Sara, the two unexpectedly fall in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate.
Playhouse Production
Berkeley Dance Project 2025
Directed by Lisa Wymore
Choreography by Philip Agyapong, Sammay Peñaflor Dizon, Leyya Mona Tawil, and Berkeley Students
May 1–4, 2025
Zellerbach Playhouse
Tickets: $10–20
Celebrating our diverse and vibrant community of dance-makers, this annual concert features an exciting array of new pieces by faculty, students, and guest artists.
Past Performances
new play reading series
Limão y Sal
By linda maria girón
Directed by Evan Sakuma & Maria Silk
October 9, 2024 • 6pm
Dwinelle Hall • Room B-4
From rags to riches. From gentrified to gentrifiers. Newly married and Michelin-starred chef Renata Machado is living her ancestors’ wildest dreams. But after an unsavory review, the fate of the restaurant and Renata’s reputation are in limbo. A quest for redemption soon spirals into a destructive obsession, and just as Renata’s whole world seems to collapse, so does the global food chain.
new play reading series
The Bugs
By Sloka Krishnan
Directed by Evan Sakuma & Maria Silk
October 30, 2024 • 6pm
Dwinelle Hall • Room B-4
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.
student-directed workshop
Parasite Words (Cлова-паразиты)
Directed by Paul Baliaouri
October 30 & 31, 2024 • 8pm
Zellerbach Hall • Room 170
This newly-devised experimental play explores identity and the erasure of history.
Playhouse Production
Everybody
By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Susannah Martin
November 7–10, 2024
Zellerbach Playhouse
This modern and comedic riff on a 15th-century morality play follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life's greatest mystery: the meaning of living.
staged readings
17 Reasons (Why)
By Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Margo Hall
November 19 & 21, 2024
Durham Studio Theater
Uncover the hidden history of San Francisco’s Mission District through a collection of captivating stories, both past and present—some true, some fictional—that delve into the lives and legends of the neighborhood. With nine actors portraying 30 characters, the play takes us on a journey through tales spanning from 1905 to the 2000s.
studio Production
Fall Choreography Showcase
Directed by Lisa Wymore
December 5–6, 2024
Zellerbach Hall • Room 7
Our annual choreography showcase features student-created solos and duets that draw on a diverse range of dance styles, influences, and ideas.