Shows & Events

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the World Premiere of Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day and to our first full-length play to emerge from Aurora’s Originate + Generate Play Development Program. In 2005 when I first became Artistic Director, we began work on an ambitious new play discovery program called The Global Age Project.

That program met a number of worthy goals for us. One, we created many more opportunities for playwrights, directors and dramaturges here at Aurora by producing over 40 readings from an international roster of plays. We flew in and housed non-local playwrights from as far away as Australia. Two, we gave out over $43,000 in playwriting grants as well as stipends to our readers, actors and producers. Three, we offered free readings, talk backs and intimate salons for our enthusiastic Aurora community. And finally, we produced 3 world premieres on our main stage.

After ten years, we decided it was time to revamp the program and turn it into a developmental program supporting local theatre makers to create works specifically for our stages; hence, Originate + Generate. Not only are we offering seed money for getting projects started, but we’re also asking the artists to tell us what kind of a creative process would be the most beneficial to them. Would you like a reading or three readings or a longer workshop? Do you need space to play? Do you need support for research? Would you like to hire some musicians and start a cabaret band?

Next season, we’ll be presenting the next incarnation of Beth Wilmurt’s OLGA: A Farewell concert cabaret and in several months we’ll begin working on a new play by Christopher Chen,

with more to follow.

Speaking of next season, if you turn over your program, you’ll find information about our upcoming Season 27 – two classics, three Bay Area premieres, and a West Coast premiere created by the notable artists: Oscar Wilde, Joan Didion, Jonathan Safran Foer , Simon Block, Dominique Morisseau, Anna Ziegler, and August Strindberg.

Thank you for joining us today.