OUR PRODUCTIONS
The core mission of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is to create theatrical works by, for, and about African American people and other people of color. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre has produced more than 135 plays, including West Coast and World Premieres, experimental works, classics in the Black theatre canon, lively musicals, and poignant socio-political dramas.
THE DePRIEST INCIDENT
By Charles White
In-person reading at Museum of the African Diaspora
2pm June 4, 2022
FREE with museum admission
ANNOUNCING THE YOUNG WRITERS OF COLOR FESTIVAL
CO-PRODUCED WITH Z SPACE
June 3-5, 2022
The Young Writers of Color Festival (YWCF) encourages and fosters aspiring school-aged BIPOC writers by providing mentorship through a development process leading to a new work showcase. For this pilot program, writers will be encouraged to submit projects and pieces that they have been developing since the beginning of the pandemic, as a reaction to the changes in their lives.
The festival will help youth of color come together after a period of isolation, meet new friends, unite behind their shared experiences, learn about the unique experiences of others, and use theatrical performance as an outlet for personal expression. The project is important because young BIPOC writers deserve mentorship and in-person opportunities to share their experiences and reflections. Topics of interest may include their responses to George Floyd, Black Lives Matter movement, and Stop Asian Hate, or any experiences or perspectives primed for artistic expression or production. The YWCF encourages artists to explore projects about joy, happiness and resilience responding to their current moment.
Let's CONNECT
Magic Theatre
Fort Mason Center
2 Marina Boulevard, Building D
San Francisco, CA 94123
WINNER OF THE BEST PLAY AWARD
FROM THE AMERICAN THEATRE CRITIC AND NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS' CIRCLE
Directed by ShawnJ West, with Musical Director Yvonne Cobbs
December 17 - 19, 2021
Magic Theatre
Fort Mason Center
2 Marina Boulevard, Building D
San Francisco, CA 94123
New Roots Theatre Festival
Presented by SFBATCO
Featuring a performance by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
October 16 & 17, 2021
Brava Theater Center
2781 24th St, San Francisco
The New Roots Theatre Festival is a two day theatrical experience produced by The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) featuring eight unique performances that celebrate the resilience of the global community in the Bay Area.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre will present an excerpt of In the Evening by the Moonlight, an original work by Margo Hall and Traci Tolmaire that explores the friendships between Lorraine Hansberry, Nina Simone and James Baldwin.
Intimate Apparel
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Jan Hunter
May 31 - June 18, 2021
An audio play presented with Z Space
No longer available to stream
WINNER OF THE BEST PLAY AWARD
FROM THE AMERICAN THEATRE CRITIC AND NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS' CIRCLE
Meet Esther, an African American seamstress in 1905 New York, dreaming of a new life, wearing her heart on her sleeve while sewing intimates for other women. When an egregious deception dashes her hopes, can the strength of the human spirit overcome class, culture and circumstance? A brilliant work by Lynn Nottage, the first female playwright to win two Pulitzers.
[hieroglyph]
By Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Co-production with SF Playhouse
Directed by Margo Hall
March 13 - April 3, 2021
No longer available to stream
Involuntarily displaced in Chicago two months post-Katrina, 13-year-old Davis wrestles with the cultural landscape of a new city and school community while secretly coping with the PTSD of an assault at the Superdome. With her mother still in New Orleans committed to the fight for Black land ownership and her father committed to starting a new life in the Midwest, divorce threatens to further separate a family already torn apart. Will Davis be left hanging in the balance? [hieroglyph] traverses the intersection of environmental racism, sexual violence, and displacement, examining the psychological effects of a state-sanctioned man-made disaster on the most vulnerable members of the Katrina diaspora.
Recent Productions
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Jan Hunter
April 1-16, 2022
A Soulful Christmas
Directed by ShawnJ West
with Musical Director Yvonne Cobbs
December 17-19, 2021
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
An audio play presented with Z Space
Directed by Jan Hunter
May 31 - June 18, 2021
[hieroglyph]
by Ericka Dickerson-Despenza
Co-produced by San Francisco Playhouse
Directed by Margo Hall
April 2-16, 2022
On-demand streaming production
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Jan Hunter
March 13 - 29, 2020
Buriel Clay Theater
Single Black Female
Oct. 25th - Nov. 10th
by Lisa B. Thompson
Directed by Aejay Mitchell
The Urban Retreat
by A. Zell Williams
March 23 - April 6, 2019
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THE PRESS RELEASE
We are a not-for-profit theatre. DONATIONS and support are always appreciated.