Past Productions

Spring 2024

She Kills Monsters Graphic

She Kills Monsters

by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Patrick Russell

May 2-11, 2024

 

Mask de Semblance graphic

Masquerade De Semblance

Mask Performance Showcase

Directed by Yukihiro Goto

April 25-27, 2024

University Dance Theatre, Directed by Ray Tadio

University Dance Theatre

Directed by Ray Tadio

April 5-7. 2024

(Photo by Chani Bockwinkel)

Fall 2023

A white woman in a beret and white blouse sits on a stage surrounded by strands of string, two actors in bellhop suits stand behind her against a striped wall.

Eurydice

by Sarah Ruhl

Directed by Bruce Avery

October 19 – 29

Torn between her dead father and her living husband, Eurydice is forced to choose between the memories of the past and an unwritten future. With this evocative work, Ruhl asks us to contemplate the power of loss, and the purpose of grief.

Production photos by Richard Mayer

Yellow background with silouette of a seagull head in the foreground. Stylized text reads STUPID F##KING BIRD, By Aaron Posner.

Stupid F##king Bird

Directed by Patrick Russell

Blue background with spotlights crossed over a dancer in a white leotard leaping in the air with one foot pointed, text reads PRAXIS New Moves.

PRAXIS: New Moves

 Student Choreography Showcase

Spring 2023

Ensemble cast of Rent sitting around a long table with their fists raised in the air. One actor wearing a striped sweater and glasses is standing on the table as if leading the chant.

SFSU Production of RENT

Book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Directed by Tracy Ward

Music Direction by Dee Spencer

May 4 – May 13

The smash Musical hit inspired by  Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème and the lives of New York's struggling artist communities. Winner of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Production photos by Richard Mayer

Placeholder of SFSU offical seal in grayscale

Greenhouse 2023

Emerging student playwrights

Brightly colored black of sunburst graphics on a white background with chunky text that reads 2023 Fringe Festival, April 4-April 8, Featuring plays written and directed by SFSU students

2023 Fringe Festival

Student playwrights and directors

Graphic with a white background and stylized elongated text in orange that reads University Dance Theatre. The bodies of three dancers in motion are superimposed over the text.

University Dance Theatre

New works Dance Festival

Fall 2022

Cream-colored backround and dark lettering that reads Doubt. In smaller white letters it reads Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley

Doubt: A Parable

By John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Rhonnie Washington

December 1 – December 9

Set in 1964, Doubt: A Parable encapsulates the tension and uncertainty of that explosive era roiling through the microcosm of a Catholic boy's school. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2005.

Production photos by Richard Mayer

A black-and-white image of a dancer on a white background iteracting with read text that reads Paradox: New Moves

Paradox: New Moves

Student Choreography Showcase

Light blue background with white and blue text that reads Dealing Dreams by Jeffrey Lo, November 3-10

Dealing Dreams, by Jeffrey Lo

Directed by Cara Phipps

Spring 2022

A group of six actors in festive wedding attire toast each other in a circle, confetti at their feet

A Midsummer Night's Dream

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Bill Peters

April 28 – May 6

Four Athenians run away to the forest only to have the Puck make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps their master play a trick on Titania the fairy queen.

Production photos by Claire Rice

Placeholder of SFSU offical seal in grayscale

Greenhouse 2022

Emerging playwrights

A bare-chested dancer balancing on one hand in blue light. Text reads University Dance Theatre 2022

University Dance Theatre

Showcase of new choreography

Four actors in South Asian wedding attire dance onstage in saturated lighting

A Nice Indian Boy

Directed by Sukanya Chakrabarti

2021

A Latina Actor in a patterned coat stands in a spotlight, as actors behind her lift an actor dressed as an angel into the air

Marisol

By José Rivera
Directed by Bruce Avery

Nov 12 – 19

Marisol by José Rivera is a dip into the chaos and hope of the 21st Century. In an interview about Marisol, José Rivera shared his impetus for writing the play.

“This is the first play I’ve written with an eye on the next generation. We need to find new heroes and new myths for our society – the old ones just aren’t working.”

Written in 1992, this play prophetically imagined our world today. As we crawl out from our COVID dens and meet the masked world of today the last line of Marisol echoes: ”Oh God, what light. What possibilities. What hope.” San Francisco State University, School of Theatre & Dance presents Marisol in tribute to its students who faced the challenges of the COVID nightmare and dared to hope.

Production photos by Claire Rice

An ensemble of dancers in black dance clothing and black facemaskspose onstage at the end of a number

Univeristy Dance Theatre

Homecoming: A Dance Recital

 

Poster graphic of lights on a performance stage for SFSU Fringe Festival

SFSU Fringe Festival Phase 1 & 2

Student playwrights and directors

 

Pop art graphic of circles, triangles, squares, in bright colors. Text reads Brown Bag Theatre and the names of three plays: Eurydice, Lyrebirds, and A Gaggle of Saints

Brown Bag Theatre

Directed by SF State students

 

Fall 2020

Water_by_the_Spoonful

Water by the Spoonful

By Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by Rhonnie Washington

November 5 – 14

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. Pulitzer Prize Winner, Water by the Spoonful, is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.

Water by the Spoonful will be the School of Theatre & Dance's first production presented live via Zoom.

Quake by Melanie Manchi cover

Quake

Directed by Laura Wayth

Three_Week_Challenge

Three Week Challenge

By SF State Students

Shelter_in_Shakespeare

Shelter in Shakespeare

Directed by Kurt Daw

Uni_Dance_Theatre

University Dance Theatre

Directed by Ray Tadio

Learning_Alone

College in the Time of Corona

Directed by Bruce Avery

NewPlays_Days

New Plays New Days

By SF State Students

Spring 2020 (postponed productions)

Collateral UDT 2020 promo flier

University Dance Theatre 2020

Directed by Jo Tomalin

March 12 – March 15

University Dance Theatre 2020 features a 16-student dance ensemble in an exciting new choreography showcase. This year’s production features work from guest choreographer dana e. fitchett, as well as new work from faculty choreographers Wendy Diamond, ArVejon Jones, and Ray Tadio. 

SpringAwakening

Spring Awakening

Books & Lyrics by Steven Sater

Music by Duncan Sheik

Directed by Tracy Ward

April 30 – May 9

Based on Frank Wedekind’s 19th-century play of the same name, Spring Awakening tells the story of a group of teens discovering themselves in new ways their repressive upbringing never allowed. Tony Award winners Duncan Sheik (music) and Steven Sater (book and lyrics) penned the musical adaptation of this once-banned work. 

Fall 2019

passionfootprints

New Moves: Passion Footprints

Directed by Ray Tadio

 

coloryourworld

Color Your World: A Children's Musical

Directed by Terry Boero

ghost sonata

The Ghost Sonata

Directed by John Wilson & Florentina Mocanu-Schendel

TheBrechtEffect

The Brecht Effect

Written and Directed by Joel Schechter

Spring 2019

Promo photo of a notebook, coffee cup, paperclips, and an eraser. Text reads Title of Show, music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen, Book by Hunter Bell, directed by Laura Wayth

[title of show]

Music and Lyrics by Jeff Bowen

Book by Hunter Bell

Directed by Laura Wayth

April 18 – April 27

Can you write a killer musical in only three weeks? Hunter and Jeff, two New York musical theatre nerds, think yes! ... maybe … With a team of their musical theatre buddies, they set out to write a Tony Award-winning musical. The hitch? They don't know what their musical will be about. So they begin to write a musical -- about writing a musical. And they don't know what to call it.

[title of show] takes you through the highs, lows, uncertainties and celebrations of being a creative artist with humor, heart and a really good take-out pickle.

Promo graphic of three women in long gowns with one hand raised in a synchronized dance move. Text reads Dreamgorls in concert, music Henry Krieger, lyrics & book Tom Even, Directed by Dee Spencer.

Dreamgirls in Concert

Directed by Dee Spencer

Cartoon graphic of a blonde woman in a blue power suit. Text reads Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, directed by Bill Peters.

Top Girls

Directed by Bill Peters

Graphic design of three bars of text stacked against each other. The text reads UDT. Additional text reads University Dance Theatre, April 4-7, 2019 McKenna Theatre.

University Dance Theatre

Dance showcase

Graphic of an open laptop with an image of bronze-colored flowers. Text reads Fringe Festival.

Fringe Festival 2019

Student playwrights and directors

Fall 2018

Graphic of a cityscape in apocalyptic reds and orange. Text reads Mojada, a Medea in Los Angeles.

Mojada

By Luis Alfaro

Directed by Terry Amara Boero

December 8 - December 14

Mojada: A Medea In Los Angeles pushes the Greek Medea myth into 21st-century California. As the title implies the issues of immigration, racial, political and economic disparity weigh on our protagonist as she struggles to live in her new homeland: Los Angeles. Only love anchors her to this new world, and she will do anything for her husband's dreams and her son's well being.

A graphic of a greek ruin in saturated purple twilight. Text reads Medea.

Medea

By Euripides

Directed by Rhonnie Washington

Musical direction by Dee Spencer

December 7 – December 13

Based on the C.A.E. Luschnig adaptation of Euripides' Medea, this production explores the raging tsunami of Medea's rage and the sea of love that supports it.

Graphic of blurred lines, as if someone is running by at high speed. Text reads Pulse: New Moves Student Choreography Showcase

Pulse: New Moves

Student Choreography Showcase

Several rows of typewriters. Text interpersed reads Fringe Goes Long.

Fringe Goes Long

Student playwrights and directors

Sepia-toned stormy sky above a watery horizon. Text reads William Shakespeare's Pericles.

Pericles

Directed by Bruce Avery