February 7, 2018

This season over 75 California Playwrights have been invited by PlayGround to write ten-minute plays in competition for Monday Night PlayGround Readings. In San Francisco and Los Angeles well over 1,000 audience members statewide have seen the winning 26 plays to date. Play topics have included Reap What You Sow, Probable Future Or Possible Future, Home For The Holidays and In The Beginning... This February cycle invites playwrights to write ten-minute plays inspired by "TALL TALES" for Monday Night PlayGround Readings on February 12, 8PM at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles and on February 19, 8PM at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley.

November 9, 2018

PlayGround is the only theatre company in California to have Statewide, Northern, and Southern California New Play Competitions. PlayGround's 78 Member Statewide Writers Company, primarily based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, compete to write original plays in four-and-a-half days. The tremendous diversity of California has infused the writers pool with many writers new, not only to California, but to the rest of the country as well. The November plays will be inspired by the topic "REAP WHAT YOU SOW". "As you sow, so shall you reap." (Galatians VI)

September 29, 2017

The essentials: It's the eighth annual edition of Unbound Productions’ immersive experience, in which the audience wanders a graveyard to encounter three horror stories adapted for performance. This year's spooky sources include Ambrose Bierce, Margaret Oliphant and the “Egyptian Book of the Dead.”
 

Why this? The walking means “Wicked Lit” isn’t for the uncertain of gait. The spooky subject matter makes it inappropriate for the faint of heart. But those who do dare should reserve tickets soon. These shows sell out.

June 20, 2017

Stage & Scream: Immersive Horror Theater – Noah Nelson of No Proscenium is set to host this fascinating discussion amongst several very different performance group visionaries that each have their own approach and following in the exceptionally popular world of immersive horror theater on the West Coast and beyond. Joining Noah on stage are Jonathan Josephson of Unbound Productions/Wicked Lit, Zombie Joe of Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group, Anna Mavromati of Shine On Collective, and Landon Zakheim, Co-Director of the Overlook Film Festival.

November 30, 2017

Dave's Epic 40th Birthday Party  was named the ​November People's Choice Award at Playground-LA. The short was presented as a staged reading at Monday Night PlayGround on November 13 at the Zephyr Theatre. Here are the first two pages from the award-winning script. Enjoy!

November 1, 2017

"...Thoth’s Labyrinth, based on the Egyptian legend “The Book of Thoth,” directed by Jonathan Josephson, and directed by Darin Anthony, is the most exciting and, in a sense, modern piece of the group.  Seemingly a gothic take on Indiana Jones, audience members follow explorers racing through the mausoleum itself, searching for artifacts while dangerous creatures snap at their heels. This thrilling play has multiple tracks to follow that ultimately lead to a satisfying and memorable conclusion. As the only piece not based on a specific prior work, Thoth’s Labyrinth manages a more modern twist than the other plays, particularly in its comedic aspects."

September 28, 2017

..."“‘Labyrinth’ is the most different. It’s like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ in the dark in the labyrinth — we have adventurers, curses, amulets, Egyptian gods and long-lost children, and it’s set in 1972 Altadena,” explains Josephson. “So when you walk into Mountain View Mausoleum, you’re actually walking into the mausoleum in the show. It’s loosely inspired by an Egyptian legend called ‘Book of Ghosts,’ and is like Wicked Lit within Wicked Lit."

June 15, 2017

"Unbound Productions takes original material and sets it in vaguely similar settings using carefully-chosen actors and company directors; the company has been producing site-specific plays since 2008. Their latest concoction is an amusing mash-up (as they describe it) of three Conan Doyle short stories starring Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Inspector Lestrade, Irene Adler and a bevy of policemen. The three stories, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Red-Headed League,” and “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” are now subtitled Mystery Lit: Holmes, Sherlock, and The Consulting Detective..."

November 16, 2017

Force of Nature Productions rings in holiday cheer with their latest RUSH play festival “Twas the RUSH Before Christmas”

What better way to end the year than with a holiday themed RUSH?  Take eight wild, zany, spankin' new plays inspired by classic holiday songs. Mix in an all-star cast. Throw in random holiday props. Pepper in some fun musical numbers. What do you get? The biggest, baddest and craziest RUSH to date! Grab your hot cocoa, put on that old ugly Christmas sweater and come celebrate the holidays with us like never before! You won't want to "mistletoe" it! Written by Andy Shultz, Marnie Olson, Tyler Bianchi, Jonathan Josephson, Tom Jones, Bobby J Watson, Mike Knowlan and Steven Thomas Sabel

October 5, 2017

The first, THOTH'S LABYRINTH, was written by Wicked Lit co-founder Jonathan Josephson, specifically with the mausoleum in mind, and is loosely based on the Egyptian legend, The Book of Thoth. Set in 1972 Altadena, it turns the mausoleum's darkened hallways into a labyrinth resembling the tunnels of Egypt as its characters search for a legendary book said to give them the power of the gods. The key is finding six amulets that must all be placed on the sarcophagus at the same time. Thus begins a breathless journey to uncover the book's secrets reminiscent of the old black and white adventure films of the 1950s.

August 28, 2017

Award-winning playwright Jonathan Josephson (Milwaukee Rep, Humana Festival) and director Jonathan Harper Schlieman (Actors Theatre of Louisville) have announced their latest collaboration: the east coast premiere of The Giant and The Pixie, fairy tale for grown ups. The play received its world premiere at Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA where it received a StageSceneLA award for Best Ensemble. The play was also named as a Finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.

June 11, 2017

"Ellen Dostal writing for Broadway Word calls it a “roguishly handsome production” and an “epic whodunit” with a cast that has “whip-smart abilities. Where Wicked Lit uses the mausoleum to achieve a spooky effect, the train depot plays into the dark and foggy night intrigue of Victorian England. It’s a surprisingly versatile canvas on which to sculpt the play and as this is the first time theatre has been done here, you never know what to expect next; perfect for an evening of mystery and mayhem....'"