Nyeli & the Fishbone Key
My new play Nyeli & the Fishbone Key will be part of an evening of staged readings, six ten-minute plays inspired by the topic, ‘Bedtime Stories’ on Monday, March 2nd, 7pm Pacific. You can come in person to Portrero Stage in San Francisco, you can livestream, or you can watch later (but only if you sign up for the livestream in advance.) Details and tickets here.
March 2nd at 7pm
Portrero Stage
1695 18th Street
San Francisco, CA , 94107
Spring Forward reading
In an evening of first scenes from new plays, At the End of Our Streets Our Stars will have its first reading. Carol Jacobanis as the young Cassie, and Kim Yancey-Moore as her guardian Mona. The setting is Mona’s boat on the San Francisco Bay. In fact, the whole play takes place on the bay. But this reading will take place at the Barrow Group Theatre in NYC. If you’re in town, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello to the actors and the other playwrights from my playwriting master class.
May 4th at 7pm
The Barrow Group
520 8th Ave, #901
New York, NY 10018
Just Writing
Not much going on lately in terms of readings and productions. I’m working hard on my first full-length play, At the End of Our Streets, the Stars. I’ll let you know when it has its first local reading.
We’ll have a new Write Away! show in April. Watch this space for the date and a link to register.
Best of Playground (full production)
Mack & Mimi Encounter Totality. Again. But this time at the Portrero Stage in San Francisco as part of Best of Playground. The wonderful Emilie Talbot will reprise her role as Mimi—she brought the house down in February. This should be a wonderful show, so…
…come on down to Portrero Stage on May 25th or 26th, live stream, or watch online. PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED if you want to watch it online. The show is free but donations are cool.
Nothing new here, but it’s the first time I’m mentioned in Broadway World, so I just had to include it. Pretty cool.
May 25th & 26th
Portrero Stage & Streaming
Festival of New Works Kickoff & Panel
Hear from seven of the playwrights featured in this year’s Festival of New Works! Join Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann in conversation with PlayGround playwright alumni Robyn Brooks, Anne Yumi Kobori, Matthew Y. Morishige, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Louel Señores, Stan Stone, and Lisa Gaye Thompson. These award-winning dramatists will discuss their plays, their processes, and the role of new works in the evolving landscape of American theatre. A festival kick-off reception with the playwrights immediately follows the panel discussion. More…
May 7th
Portrero Stage, San Francisco
& Streaming
Playground / Freight & Salvage
Third play this season to be selected! Wowza.
A woman runs into the younger, hot woman her husband left her for. We know how this goes! Or do we? That’s the premise for Welcome to the Club. It was fun and overall a great night of plays.
March 18th, 2024
Playground / Freight & Salvage
My play was selected! WooHoo! It also went on to win the People’s Choice award.
Mack & Mimi Encounter Totality takes place waaay back in 1994 during that year’s total solar eclipse and culminates with a song.
Mack and Mimi know something needs to change but neither one can quite make it happen. Until totality.
February 19th, 7pm in Berkeley
January Write Away! 2024
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Four playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by often-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
This time around I’m wrote along with actor/playwright Laura Valpey, Kenn Adams, artistic director of Synergy Theater, and special guest, Alex Roe, artistic director of the Metropolitan Playhouse in NYC. I performed in a couple of the plays as well.
We had fun!
Playground People’s Choice Award!
My short play America Chavez: Particle Flyer was staged on October 16th. The people spoke and they like it!
Do origin stories have power in the real world? On the eve of a last-ditch procedure to save her life, a young girl learns how her origin story and that of her favorite superhero, America Chavez, intertwine.
Wonderful actors Gisela Feied, Annette Amelia Oliviera, and Dave Sikula, and direction and comic book knowledge by Søren Oliver brought it to life. I was quite happy.
September Write Away! 2023
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Three playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by often-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
This time around I’m writing along with Kenn Adams and special guest, Alex Roe, artistic director of the Metropolitan Playhouse in NYC.
Audience members will engage in some fun creative writing exercises while the playwrights do their thing off-screen. It will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
September 25th, 4:15pm PST, 7:15 EST
May Write Away! 2023
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Five playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by often-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
This time around I’m co-hosting with Michael Durkin. Our playwrights will be: Laura Livingston, Kenn Adams, and special guest, screenwriter Bill Marcili
Audience members will engage in some fun creative writing exercises while the playwrights do their thing off-screen. It will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
April Write Away! 2023
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Five playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by often-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
This time around I’m co-hosting with Kenn Adams. Our playwrights will be: Sheila Head, Laura Livingston, Emmy Laybourne, Chris Marcil & Laura Valpey.
Audience members will engage in some fun creative writing exercises while the playwrights do their thing off-screen. It will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
April 17th, 4:15pm PST, 7:15 EST
Fringe of Marin
Fringe of Marin is having a short play festival featuring my play, Three Centimeters Per Second, along with plays by Rod McFadden, Pat Morin, Karen Pierce Gonzales, and Marsha Roberts. Come on out. I’ll be there for both shows and would love to see my Bay Area friends at the lovely Belrose Theatre in San Rafael.
October 14th, 7pm
& October 16th, 2pm
Lucy in the Clouds
You missed the first reading of my play Lucy in the Clouds, but luckily it’s still available. This short play is close to my heart! In it, a chance meeting at the laundromat leads to connection between a woman of a certain age and a young man who find themselves sharing more than a wash cycle.
The play was brilliantly acted and directed, and I was nurtured and supported by the Dragon Eggs team. All in all a magnificent experience.
My play begins at 36:12 but I recommend watching all three plays.
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Sunday, July 17th
People’s Choice Award
Guess what?!? My play, Three Centimeters Per Second, won the People’s Choice Award for Monday Night Playground’s February 21st performance. I’m so grateful for the incredible support I received from so many of you. Thank you if you watched or voted for the play.
What does this all mean? For one thing, the play will be considered along with other People’s Choice award winners from the season to be included in a performance on the Portero Stage in San Francisco later this spring. It also means I’ll be showered with wealth and fame. Just kidding! But it does mean that the play has this honor forever attached to it, and me too.
2022
My Play at Freight & Salvage
My play Three Centimeters Per Second will be part of an evening of staged readings, ten-minute plays inspired by the topic, ‘What the World Needs Now.’
Three Centimeters Per Second takes place one year after the pandemic’s over, on the day that all covid restrictions are finally lifted. Will it be joyous for everyone?
If you’re on the East Coast or in the Midwest or heck, in the West but have plans that night, get tickets to stream the show. You’ll have one week to watch it On-Demand.
By the way, masks and proof of three vaccinations required to enter.
Monday, February 21st, 7pm
Live, Streamed OR
On-Demand
(Free)
February Write Away! 2022
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Five playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by often-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
Audience members will engage in some fun creative writing exercises while the playwrights do their thing off-screen. It will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
February 28th, 4:15pm (7:15pm ET)
January Write Away! 2022
Upon clicking, the first play you’ll see will be mine, followed by four more wonderful plays. I perform in all four along with a very talented group of folks.
Watch December’s Performance
Watch last month’s plays here, including three I performed in, and one I wrote.
In the Playoffs
The Playoffs festival includes six “play groups”, with each group featuring staged readings of FIVE ten-minute plays by Playwrights Center of San Francisco members. Audience members of each group will vote for their two favorite plays in that group. The top audience favorite from each group will receive a full production in the fall. The PlayOffs showcases the talents of 30 PCSF playwrights, 6 directors and 45 actors. My short play, Pebbles on a Shore, will be presented on July 25th at 2pm. It’s free, but you need to register.
I’d love your support!
July 25th, 2021
Write Away!
We’ll once again zoomcast an improv/playwriting/cold-read mashup produced by Freestyle Rep and Synergy Theater. Five playwrights from both coasts will write short plays based on audience suggestions followed by mostly-brilliant, always-fun cold readings.
Audience members will engage in some fun creative writing exercises while the playwrights do their thing off-screen. Click the button to register for this free event. It will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
July 19, 2021
Lisa Gaye Thompson is a 2025 Three Girls Theatre Brady Fellow. Her full-length play, At the End of Our Streets, the Stars, set entirely in the magical world of the San Francisco Bay will have its first staged reading on May 17, 2026. In her seven seasons in the Monday Night Playground writers pool, Lisa has had multiple short plays selected for staged readings, received several People’s Choice awards, and won Best of Playground with a full production for Mack and Mimi Encounter Totality at Portrero Stage in San Francisco. Lisa is a founding company member, playwright, and performer with Write Away, an online improvisational playwrighting show running monthly since May 2020.
Reach out: plays (@) lisagayethompson (dot) com