PlayGround-NY presents Season 5

MONDAY NIGHT PLAYGROUND

“Murder Mystery”
October 27st, 2025 7pm ET
The Producers Club & Vimeo Live Simulcast

ACKNOWLEDGING THE LEGACY OF THE LAND WE INHABIT

PlayGround-NY acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Munsee Lanape, the original inhabitants of the territory colonially known as the five boroughs of New York City. As the past and present Indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Munsee Lanape have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We recognize the historic injustice of the forcible removal of the Munsee Lanape people from their ancestral lands, and that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the Ancestors, Elders and Relatives of the Munsee Lanape Communities and by affirming their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We honor the storytellers of the Lanape and are grateful for our ability to share and uplift Indigenous stories and those of other historically marginalized communities.

To learn about the legacy of the land you inhabit, visit Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land. To read the complete Land Acknowledgment Policy, click here.

PLAYGROUND’S ANTI-RACIST POLICY

PlayGround recognizes the impact of racial oppression within society and the American Theater and that we have been complicit in White Supremacy culture. Our goal is to co-create safety for our community by identifying and interrupting instances of racism and all forms of oppression when we witness them, through specific actions rooted in the principles of anti-racism and accessibility. In its endeavor to address the implications of our history, PlayGround is committed to its compliance with the following fundamental rights:
● The recognition of inherent dignity and worth of each human being.
● The recognition of equality of all human beings.
● Recognition of rights of ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious groups.
● Equality and non-discrimination.

PlayGround’s Anti-Racist Policy applies to: all members of the PlayGround community, including employees, independent contractors, volunteers, audience members, donors, and general members of the community.

To read the complete Anti-Racist Policy, click here.

Stage Manager – Sarah Gasser

This live stream is produced under a SAG-AFTRA New Media Agreement.

PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area, A.R.T.-New York, League of Chicago Theatres, and Theatre Communications Group, and a Partner Organization of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

BIOGRAPHIES

PLAYWRIGHTS

SARENA KUHN (Will You Let Me In?), she/her, is a writer based in Brooklyn and an MFA candidate in fiction at NYU. She previously worked as a water quality engineer in the Bay Area. After two seasons with PlayGround SF, this is her first season with PlayGround NY.

HOWARD HO (Merchant of Death), he/him, is a playwright and composer. His play Reset was produced at Moving Arts and was an O’Neill Finalist. Where I’m From was a Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival Finalist, was featured in Center Theatre Group’s Community Stories, and is being developed into a musical. His musical analysis YouTube channel (youtube.com/HowardHoMusic) has 120,000 subscribers and was recognized by Lin-Manuel Miranda. His sound design has earned him Ovation and SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations. He’s been published in American Theatre Magazine and the LA Times. He holds degrees from UCLA and USC. Instagram: @howardwho

SIO HORNBUCKLE (Content Strategy), they/he, is a playwright and director living in Brooklyn. Their plays have been developed by November Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, and Columbia University NOMADS, and their short play EOL won Best Play at the Secret Theatre’s Act One: One Act Festival. They direct the sketch duo DUKES.

ASH (Happy Birthday, Beatrice), they/she, is an active composer, choral arranger, playwright, songwriter, sound designer, and music director for choir and theatre. As a writer, she is currently developing both musicals and plays, and she recently participated in the National Queer Theater 2025 Criminal Queerness Studio, Fresh Binder Spring 2025 Writer’s Cohort, and The Workshop Theatre’s Fall 2025 Writers’ Intensive. Ash is the former artistic director of Transpose PDX, and her choral work has been performed globally. As a queer, non-binary, Persian, and hard-of-hearing artist, they value storytelling as a means of connection, revelation, and celebration. Portland raised, NYC based. MusicByAsh.com

TAYLOR A. BLACKMAN (Two of Pair), he/him is a writer, actor, producer from Chicago, Illinois. His written works include To Infinity, (Alfred P. Sloan/Ensemble Studio Theatre Commission), It’s Karen, B****” (2024 Fire This Time Festival, 2024 WE/US Playwrights of the Gender Minority publishing deal under Smith & Kraus), Riverside Drive (5th Floor Theatre New Works Grant Finalist, Hi-ARTS Residency), and Two of A Pair (PlayGround-NY). He is a current Comedy Central Laugh Lab TV Fellow, an Alfred P. Sloan/EST Commissionee, an Uptown Collective Renaissance Residency Fellow, and A Fire This Time Festival Fellow. As an actor, Taylor has collaborated and worked with Roundabout Theatre Company, The Movement Theatre Company, The Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, New York Stage & Film, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Page 73, Signature Theatre, The Parsnip Ship, and others. TV/Film Credits: FBI (CBS), Raising Kanin (STARZ), Alternatino (Comedy Central). Directing Credits include Movement Director for Sweet Chariot at The Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival, and 48Hours in Harlem Festival.

UMA INCROCCI (William 3), she/her, has been a member of the PlayGround-NY Writing Pool since 2018. Her play To Keep and Bear had a workshop at the New Ground Theater Festival at the Cleveland Playhouse last year. Her short plays have been performed around the country. You can catch her TV movies Romance with a Twist, Nature of Love, and A Christmas Carousel on the Hallmark Channel.

ACTORS

JOSH BLOOM (Will You Let Me In?, “Paul”) is an actor, community organizer, butoh dancer, and alligator enthusiast. He often has strong opinions about theater, and he cherishes every opportunity to play his part in making it happen. In his free time, you can catch him trying to befriend the local bodega cat or cooking curry for friends. Training: Atlantic Acting School.

GEORGE HARRIS (Merchant of Death, “Alfred”), he/him, is an actor living in NYC. Proudly added as a member to PlayGround-NY and a member of AEA, he has been in numerous regional productions and TV work also. Past credits include Pippin, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Hairspray, and Dreamgirls. He has also appeared on Project Runway, and Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It directed by Spike Lee.

MONICA HO (Two of Pair, “Detective”), she/her, is an actor and singer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the MFA program at American Conservatory Theater, class of 2020. Monica is a first generation Chinese-American actress. Growing up in an eastern household in a western culture, emotional expression was something she felt deep down inside, but didn’t see reflected in the behavior or language of the adults who raised her. Through years of training and self-discovery, she has learned to embrace the power of empathy and compassion in her storytelling. Apart from her acting, she’s also an accountant, burlesque dancer, and yodeler. In her spare time she likes to journal, play ukulele, and pet dogs.

ABIGAIL ROSEN (Content Strategy, “Amy,” Executive Producer), she/her, is a director, producer, and dramaturg, and the Executive Producer of PlayGround-NY. She is honored to be making her official PlayGround performing debut. Thank you to Sio, Charlie, Jim, and BJG.

ELI WASSERTZUG (Happy Birthday, Beatrice, “Beatrice”), they/them, is an NYC-based actor and singer with a BA in Drama from Vassar College. They are a resident artist with The Firebird Project, a member of the Artists Advisory Committee for Notch Theatre Company, and a summer teaching artist for Traveling Players Ensemble; they also recently appeared in the city as part of the 2025 cohort of The 24 Hour Plays Nationals. Eli aims to create inclusive, collaborative, and spectacular art that challenges entrenched systems of power, especially gender.

BEX WHITE (William 3, “Annie”), she/her, fed a 3-legged echidna named Luigi in Australia, & is still smiling about it. Theater includes: Hadrian’s Wall (Best Actress NY Fringe), Lauren Gunderson’s The Taming, 8 roles + guitar in A Christmas Carol (Merrimack Rep), Hennie in Awake & Sing!, Off-Bway’s The Exonerated (dir. Bob Balaban), & T.I.C. (World Premiere, Magic SF). Film/TV: Homeland (SHO), Falling Water (USA), Eye Candy (MTV), Person of Interest (CBS), The Waiting Room (dir. Oscar-winner Graham Moore & Ben Epstein), Limit (Golden Honu Winner – Hawaii’s BIFF). Graduate: Brown & The Shakespeare Lab (Public Theater/NYSF). She singer-songwrites as @bexarkana

DIRECTORS

JACKSON BRADSHAW (Happy Birthday, Beatrice), (they/he) is a director, writer, and multimedia artist with a passion for new works development. Some of Jackson’s favorite work includes being the Artistic Director of A La Carte Writers Workshop, directing People Don’t Shoot Up Schools in 1930. at Theatre Row, and producing their internationally acclaimed short film, Untitled Self Portrait! Jackson is an alumni of the Dobbins Conservatory. You can follow them @jacksonbradshawofficial on all socials.

GRACIE CONNELL (Two of Pair), she/her, is an actor, voiceover artist, writer, now director, Basset Hound Enthusiast, and overall funny-girl based out of New York City.

SARAH GUILBAULT (Merchant of Death), they/she, is “in the moment.”

JIM KLEINMANN (Will You Let Me In?, Artistic Director & Co-Founder), he/him, co-founded PlayGround in 1994, along with playwright Brighde Mullins and director Denise Shama, and has served as Artistic Director since 1996. For PlayGround, he has provided artistic and administrative leadership for the past twenty-eight seasons, developing PlayGround’s unique array of new playwright and new play incubator programs, including Monday Night PlayGround, the PlayGround Festival of New Works, the full-length play Commissioning Initiative, the New Play Production Fund, Potrero Stage: PlayGround Center for New Plays, and most recently the Innovator Incubator. For PlayGround, he has directed more than one hundred short and full-length plays, including works by Garret Jon Groenveld, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, Lauren Yee, Katie May, and many others. Recent directing and dramaturgy credits include David Steele’s Vignettes on Love and Ruben Grijalva’s Value Over Replacement. He is a veteran arts administrator with more than thirty years of experience, including stints leading Traveling Jewish Theatre, Smuin Ballet and Berkeley Symphony, and received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

AUSTIN KU (William 3), he/they, is a Grammy-nominated NYC actor, director and new works enthusiast. He is a frequent PlayGround-NY collaborator. Broadway Tour: Chinglish (StageSceneLA Award). Off-Broadway: Soft Power at The Public, Pacific Overtures at CSC, Dead Outlaw at Audible and more. Regional: Bay Street, Berkeley Rep, CTG/Ahmanson, Muny, SF Shakes, Walnut and more (Barrymore, BroadwayWorld and IRNE Award nominations). Film: Kinda Pregnant, The Bubble, Sleeping with Other People and more. TV: Inventing Anna, Bull, Shades of Blue and more. Also known for Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration. Boston Conservatory alum. Austin is also an audiobook narrator and food lover. Austin-Ku.com | @secretaustinman.

CHARLIE RODRIGUEZ (Content Strategy), he/him, has a BA in Drama from Texas Women’s University and a MFA in Acting from University of Arkansas and has studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic arts. He has performed both in the US and the UK. He is represented by the bicoastal agency Media Artist Group (MAGtalent). He just finished filming a supporting role for the film Lucky Lu by award winning director director Lloyd Lee Choi His Insta is @elmejorcalosrodriguez

PRODUCTION

SARAH GASSER (Stage Manager) joined PlayGround in 2017 and has staged managed for the Monday Night PlayGround series and PlayGround Festival. In the Bay Area, she has stage managed for Brava and Bay Area Children’s Theatre, among others.

KAYLA AMANI (Associate Producer), she/they, is a director, storyteller and collaborator born and raised in NYC. They are a proud graduate of Syracuse University. Recently, they have assisted directors such as Lileana Blain-Cruz and Sarah Hughes at Second Stage and Lincoln Center Theater as well as directed at PlayGround-NY.

CHARLIQUE ROLLE (Associate Producer) is a nationally recognized arts and culture leader, producer, community and cultural design specialist, and visionary storyteller committed to amplifying Black and marginalized voices. A Bahamas-born multidisciplinary creator, she serves as Associate Director of the Off-Broadway New York Times Critic’s Pick Oh Happy Day at The Public Theater; a member of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Director’s Group (Cohort 7) and Space Jam; Producer at Baltimore Center Stage; and Associate Producer and Company Member of Playground-NY. Recognized in Newcity’s 50 Players (2022, 2024), Charlique bridges faith, art, and justice to cultivate spaces for healing, imagination, and collective liberation. Through her work, she reimagines creative production as cultural ministry—designing ecosystems of sustainability, creative freedom, and joy-centered transformation.

BAILEY JORDAN GARCIA (Casting Director), they/he, is a playwright/actor/producer based in NYC. As a playwright, Bailey’s worked with places such as Atlantic Theatre Company, The Blank, Boston Theatre Company, Cry Havoc, First Kiss, Ohio University, StageQ, and many others! They’re currently a member of Purple Light Production’s Pallet Cohort and under commission for a full-length for PlayGround-NY as well as a 60-minute touring production for Appalachian Center for the Arts (touring schools in January 2026). They’re also the proud co-founder of Fresh Binder Productions, a theatrical home for emerging TGNC playwrights. baileyjordangarcia.com

PLAYGROUND-NY is the second regional expansion of the celebrated Bay Area playwright incubator and theatre community hub, PlayGround(SF). PlayGround, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s, Los Angeles’ and now New York’s best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has supported over 350 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1,500 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 100 new full-length plays by 60 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 36 plays at theatres of every size, including three that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities. Most recently, PlayGround renovated and relaunched the former Thick House Theater in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill as Potrero Stage, a state-of-the-art center for new plays, home to PlayGround’s expanding artistic programs and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. Over the past twenty-seven years, PlayGround has served to identify some of the most important new local voices for the theatre. PlayGround’s alumni have gone on to win local, national, and international honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the Steinberg Awards, Glickman Awards (including 6 of the past 10), Humana Festival, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Lark’s Playwrights’ Week, New York International Fringe Festival, and others. PlayGround received the 2009 Paine Knickerbocker Award for outstanding contributions to Bay Area theatre, 3 BATCC Awards for Best Original Script for PlayGround commissions, a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (founder of the Tony Awards®), and a 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

STREAMING NOW AND COMING SOON

PLAYGROUND CONTRIBUTORS

PlayGround is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals, foundations, corporations and government agencies whose contributions make our work possible. This list reflects gifts of $125 or more committed between October 1, 2024 & October 17, 2025.

GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS

Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • Art Space Development Corporation • Berkeley Civic Arts • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • Fleishhacker Foundation • Grants For The Arts • KFF • Koret Foundation • LA County Arts Commission • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Nvidia • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Rye Financial Services • San Francisco Arts Commission • SF Shines • The Shubert Foundation

SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)

Emilie & Gordon Brooks, Dan Cohn & Lynn Brinton, Keith Goldstein & Donna Warrington, Regina Guggenheim, Jim Kleinmann & Lara Gilman, Craig Moody

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500+)

Randy Adams, John Gilman, Kathryn Hecht, Nitin, Jessica June Rowe, Darryl Wilburn, Christian Wilburn, Anonymous

PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)

Jahnavi Alyssa, Linda Amayo-Hassan, Meriko Borogove, Anne & Kevin Brady, Summer Broyhill, Madeleine Butler, Sheila Collins, Jediah Craig, Elizabeth Dudak, David Goldman, Greg Gorel, Jonathan Josephson, Linda Kremer, Tobi Marcus, Rebecca Martinez, Molly Noble, Berlanti Family Foundation, Kendall Phillips, Doug Peckler & Evelyn Jean Pine, Bridgette Dutta Portman, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock, Kathryn Ryan, Miyoko Sakatani, Diane Sampson, Kurt Taylor, William & Sharon Thompson, Jeffrey Trescott, Hechale Productions, Anonymous

PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)

Tanvi Agrawal, Jim Brayton, Ben Cain, Lydia R. Diamond, Philip Gotanda, Toby Inoue, Jacqueline Kubicka, Bram McGinnis, Jenny Rand, Kitt Saginor, Anonymous, Janine Wilburn, Maury Zeff

PATRON ($250-$499)

Linda Ayres-Frederick, Ruth Brayton, Mara Gaudette, Matt Schwartz & Karen Levesque, Alex Loddengaard, Gary London, Alan Maass, Pam Mackinnon, Anonymous, Cindy Redburn, George Rose, Jerome Solberg, Jon & Susan Sweedler, Mia Taylor, Robin Wimsatt

ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)

Sharon Baldwin, Marilyn Cooper, Clint Fleener, Wilmina Jensen, Abbe Kalos, Abbe Kalos, Ellen Loebl, Mark Peters, Abigail Rosen, Anonymous, Stephen & Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, Bex White, Susannah Wise

To contribute to PlayGround, visit https://playground-sf.org/contribute or contact PlayGround Associate Director of Development Lana Richards at lana@playground-sf.org or by phone at (833) 992-6677.

PlayGround-NY Writers Pool 2025-26

Claire Abramovitz, Taylor Blackman, Tré Calhoun, Maisa Chiang, Kyri Colson, Chelyn Cousar, Dana Leslie Goldstein, Bram Hartman, Stanley Hathaway, Howard Ho, Wade Lawrence Hollomon, Sio Hornbuckle, Le’Kee Antonio Horton, Uma Incrocci, Nathaniel Blake Johnson, Sarena Kuhn, Heather McDonald, D.A. Mindell, Gaurav Mishra, Ayodeji Otuyelu, Annie Raczko, Jacob Marx Rice, Kathryn Ryan, Ash, Camron Wright, Melvin Yen

PlayGround Resident Playwrights

Saiya Floyd, Dana Goldstein, Howard Ho, Wade Hollomon, Lyra Nalan, Camron Wright

PlayGround-NY Company

Kayla Amani, Jen Anaya, Sergio Mauritz Ang, Rebecca Aparicio, Jackson Bradshaw, Julia Brothers, Eva Burgess, Tia Cassmira, Nathaniel Claridad, Sheila Collins, Gracie Connell, Julia Crowley, Sarah Guilbault, Neal Gupta, Noor Hamdi, SouJee Han, Amy Hart Nguyen, Monica Ho, Mary Hodges, Anya Josephs, Tyler Kent, Nikhaar Kishnani, Kalina Ko, Nico Krell, Austin Ku, Willow Lautenberg, Jully Lee, MeeWha Lee, Timothy Lee, AJ Lily, Ana Margineanu, Alex Moggridge, Ed Moreno, Norm Munoz, Graceson Nunez, Attilio Rigotti, Charlique C. Rolle, Abigail Rosen, Betsy Rosen, Paris Ruiz, Alex Shafer, Nick Sholley, Olivia Songer, Illana Stein, James Suarez, Kimberly Van Vo, Rebbekah Vega-Romero, Rebecca White, Laith Zuaiter.

PlayGround-NY Staff

Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Lana Richards, Associate Director of Development
Jonathan Josephson, Director of Marketing & Communications
Abigail Rosen, Executive Producer
Bailey Jordan Garcia, Casting Director
Kayla Amani, Associate Producer
Charlique Rolle, Associate Producer

PlayGround Ambassadors

Julia Brothers, Jordan Carlson, Ben Chau-Chiu , Julia Crowley, Sheri Flanders, Claire Ganem, Eric Geller, Monica Ho, Tony Kim, Christine Liao, AJ Lily, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Andrew Perez, Ivan Rivas, Miyoko Sakatani, Braedyn Youngberg.

PlayGround Equity Workgroup

Diana Burbano, Victoria Evans Erville, Norman Gee, Jim Kleinmann, Brittany Mellerson, Tiana Randall-Quant, Katja Rivera, M. Graham Smith.

PlayGround Board

Stephanie Prentice, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Emilie Talbot, Vice President
Nitin, Treasurer
Christian Wilburn, Secretary
Regina Guggenheim, Chair Emeritus
Tanvi Agrawal
Linda Amayo-Hassan
Julia Brothers
Ben Cain
Howard Ho
Toby Inoue
Rebecca Martinez
Kendall Phillips
Jessica June Rowe

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www.playground-ny.org

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3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485