Calendar
Riding the Currents of the Wilding Wind
Riding the Currents of the Wilding Wind
a world premiere theatrical concert
by Martha Gonzalez and Virginia Grise
Directed by Kendra Ware
Garuda’s Wing
GARUDA’S WING
WRITTEN BY NAOMI IIZUKA
Directed by Margo Hall
Garuda’s Wing is a new play by Naomi Iizuka. This is a ghost play of interpersonal intimacy and international investigation. This mystery, intergenerational, global spellbinder is an exploration, shrouded in mystery, entangled in the effects of colonization. Garuda’s Wing is magical in that it is a play that is both a spellbinding trance and one that spans continents and time. This play begins in Borneo. It takes us to Jakarta. And in the midst, we travel through generations, histories, and bloodlines. The play involves a search, unearthing, murder, on the personal familial intimate level as well as connecting to the large global colonial plane. Iizuka possesses the ability to create intimate human portraits, while simultaneously evoking the layers of revolution and colonial effects - a stunning and magnetic feat, even in reading alone.
RIchard II
TRANSLATED BY NAOMI IIZUKA
DIRECTED BY DR. KATRINA GUITERREZ
Richard II is Shakespeare’s examination of the destructive powers of privilege. In the second half of the Iizuka Repertory - the company from the world premiere of Garuda's Wing will perform a new, lean production of Iizuka’s Play On version of Richard II shaped to this company. Not modernized, just new. This will be the first Shakespeare produced by the Magic Theatre in decades, but this is new!
Jerry Garcia in the Lower Mission
JERRY GARCIA IN THE LOWER MISSION
CREATED AND WRITTEN BY RICHARD MONTOYA
DEVELOPED WITH SEAN SAN JOSÉ
A brand new music theatre piece from Richard Montoya of the iconic satire group Culture Clash. Richard Montoya continues his years-long collaboration with new performances group Campo Santo, creating this new performance piece especially for the Magic Theatre and Presidio Theatre. This is an original creation uncovering the roots of Jerry Garcia in the Mission. A Tribute to the formative years in our own City of an American Icon and local legend- Jerry Garcia. A special piece of storytelling and live music, San Francisco history, Grateful Dead Lore wrapped into an intimate theatre concert. The performance will be surrounded by video in the former movie theatre space of the beautifully refurbished Presidio Theatre! This theatrical exploration goes to the earliest roots (1947-48) of this hero, Jerry Garcia. We go on a time trip journey into Garcia's early life as it plays out in our City, in the Mission District of yore. Before the Dead, we reach back to Jerry, an imaginative and sensitive child who witnesses the drowning of his Spanish father and must now navigate the length of Mission Street and his memory of a strong Irish Mother, owner of a Merchant Marine and Navy saloon, right in the heart of the Lower Mission.
Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad NARCAn Training
Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad By Ashley Smiley
Special event Narcon training
Oscar Party
Watch the Oscars with us!
Magic Board Member, and Sean San José’s bestie, Colman Domingo is nominated for his performance in Rustin.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, February 26th @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
Making Magic: Masterclass
On January 27, 2024 Magic Theatre’s Education Program Making Magic: Arts and the Community will present Making Magic: A Masterclass, featuring San Francisco Bay Area theatre’s legends and local artists who have made indelible impact in the community.
Making Magic: A Masterclass is a new initiative within Magic Theatre’s Education geared to provide tools, resources, and techniques to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who identify as theatre artists in preparation for upcoming regional General Auditions as well as other audition-based arts employment opportunities within the region.
Rainbow Zebra Productions LLC Presents: Miriam and Esther Go To The Diamond District
Rainbow Zebra Productions LLC presents Miriam and Esther Go To The Diamond District
STILL Here
STILL HERE
Still Here – The Workshop Performance
“Still Here” tells the story of how San Francisco, in the face of adversity and unprecedented devastation, a generation found the fortitude to not only survive but to thrive in spite of overwhelming odds. It is a story told through the eyes of ten members of the SF AIDS Foundation’s Elizabeth Taylor 50 Plus Support Network that is sometimes powerful, passionate, poignant, and poetic.
Hear how they rose as a community, and as individuals, as they bring to life the challenges and struggles they overcame in order to discover that love is the answer, whatever the question.
A collaboration of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Magic Theatre Workshop, “STILL HERE” was written by members of Elizabeth Taylor 50 Plus Support Network. Script by Ely Sonny Orquiza, co-directed and co-facilitated by Ely Sonny Orquiza and James WDL Mercer II.
Performance: December 4, 2023 at 8PM in Fort Mason.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, November 27 @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
Mother/Tongues
On this 45th anniversary of the play Tongues by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin premiering at the Magic Theatre we are doing a celebratory event called Mother/Tongues conceived by Aidan Stone.
The event will include a reading of Tongues and plus additional material, including letters between Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin.
RIchard II A Conversation
Join us in conversation at the Orinda Public Library! Led by Liam Vincent, Sean San José, Lue Douthit (Play On! Shakespeare) Dr. Karina Gutierrez and Dr. Philippa Kelly. These incredible people will discuss the play Richard II and the translation of it by Naomi Iizuka.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, September 18 @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
Post Show Conversation with Luis Alfaro
Post-show conversation with Luis Alfaro! Enjoy a free drink and intimate conversation with the incomparable Playwright following the LA performance of The Travelers at LATC in downtown Los Angeles!
The Travelers at LATC!
by Luis Alfaro
Directed by Catherine Castellanos
restaged for LTC by Sean San José
Set inside a nearly abandoned Catholic monastery, a small group of Brothers world is exploded with the sudden arrival of a man shot through the heart. The Travelers explores a disconnected community of Brown men in search of connection and corazon with intimate honesty and inspired humor. These travelers are emblematic of the communities of California’s Central Valley as they seek some soul connection in a state that is building prisons over schools and forgoing any sense of faith over fear-mongering. In the original voice of the Latinx/Latiné world, Alfaro’s writing breaks through religious dogma, recognizes cultural connections, and offers solace for communal souls.
EDit Annie
Reverse. Slow it down. MAKE IT RIGHT.
Annie has the perfect job editing videos for social media influencer Clara Couture: she sets her own schedule, she doesn’t have to leave the house, and she doesn’t have to interact with the outside world. But when a chance encounter brings her face-to-face with Clara in real life, Annie gets pulled out of her comfort zone in more ways than one. A life full of jump cuts, reverse scrubs, and parasocial relationships pulled into the real world quickly gets dizzying. What story is Annie creating? A queer rom-com? Buddy film? Psychological thriller? Claymation creature feature? Where is this Insta Story leading? Heartfelt, comedic, and poignant, Edit Annie invites us to explore our relationships to internet fame, anonymity, and intimacy in the digital age.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, September 18 @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
DUGO
The Magic Theatre • Saturday and Sunday August 26 & 27 @ 8PMIntroducing a project by Sean San Jose In collaboration with Rachel Lastimosa, Patricia Barretto Ong and Joan Osato
Sponsored by SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District
A new performance piece walking through memory of a time before AIDS
Created by Sean San José with Rachel Lastimosa, Joan Osato, Christopher Sauceda & Tessa Nebrida
One weekend only at the Magic Theatre in the YPT space
Magic Gala 2023!
Help us celebrate 2023 and ring in the upcoming 2024 year of exciting programming! Mingle, dine, dance and drink with artists, fellow supporters, friends, performers and of course, the Magic staff.
Queens Feast
Conversation with playwright Star Finch, actor/director Margo Hall and director Ellen Sebastian Chang. One evening only! Included with tickets to Sunday August 6th 3:00PM matinee!
Josephine’s Feast EXTENDED THRU Aug 27th
The inimitable Star Finch plates for us a family on the brink of its future as they also figure out a way to release from the past. A Black matriarch, on a verge that lights up the truth for all to immerse, makes an audacious step into the future and foists her family into confronting change. Star manages to weigh issues of legacy, spirituality, and growth set against the comedy and chaos of true-to-life family dynamics. Laced on stage by legendary director Ellen Sebastian Chang, Josephine’s Feast is sure to be a banner production of the year.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, July 17 @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
San Francisco Girls Chorus- Tomorrow’s Memories: A Little Manila Diary
A new choral opera based on the once-hidden writings of a young girl who, through her diary, renders the ordinary extraordinary.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
We're thrilled to present the world premiere of IN THE EVENING BY THE MOONLIGHT, a new play uplifting the revolutionary playwright behind our company’s name. Set in her Waverly Place flat in New York, legendary writer Lorraine Hansberry shares a rowdy, scotch-filled evening debating, confronting fears, and celebrating the hope of revolution with the incomparable musician Nina Simone and the prolific writer James Baldwin.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a new monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, May 22 @ 6pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
House of Thompson
Sunday May 7th at 7PM the Magic Theatre’s own Lead Director- and co-director of the play- Sean San José will introduce the event and a short Q&A. Tickets are $100 for thise event, and do NOT include tickets to the show on Sunday at 3PM. This is one of one of a few select benefit events for the Magic Theatre- to support the Magic Theatre’s new and robust Residency Program. Last year’s Special Benefit Valentine’s with Colman Domingo- featured the Magic’s Board Member and collaborator Colman Domingo. The larger annual Gala Benefit event, which last year featured Ed Harris and Kathy Baker reuniting with the original cast of Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, will this year be August 10, 2023– you never know who will show up!
THE NI¿¿ER LOVERS
Marc Anthony Thompson is a world renowned composer, songwriter, musician, performer- who has spent the past two decades creating new performance pieces for the stage with the great Roger Guenveur Smith. In his first full fledged play, Marc Anthony takes us into an inspired true story of a couple who miraculously escaped from chattel slavery from a plantation in Georgia to freedom in Boston. A provocation in Black creation, from its brazen title to the intentional inversion of minstrelsy, this genre-shattering piece will layer original music, movement, and film and engage us in the horror and humor of history masterfully retold.
The Travelers Streaming Video
Experience why Luis Alfaro remains a quintessential part of Magic Theatre and at the center of our future in many ways. Continuing Alfaro’s legacy is emblematic of our own present state, as a city and nation: immigrant life, the heartland, our migrant roots, lost connections and longing in between. Set inside a nearly abandoned Catholic monastery, The Travelers explores a disconnected community and a search of corazon with intimate honesty and inspired humor. This premiere is focused on an all male presenting group of actors, and will be designed by an all female and nonbinary identified team, led by director Catherine Castellanos.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a new monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Monday, April 24th @ 5pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.
The Last Days of Pu’unene Mill
A New Immersive Installation Conceived by Joan Osato for Campo Santo
The piece explores immigration, forced migration, indentured servitude, history, legacy, commerce - and all the while still creating community, language, family, memories and more.
Indigenous Magic
Indigenous Magic is a new monthly arts series for and by Native Folk, presented at the Magic Theatre. Organized by Jerome Joseph Gentes (Standing Rock Lakota and Fort Belknap A'aninin) Sunday, March 26th @ 5pm in the lobby of the Magic Theatre.