She Kills Monsters is a play about a grieving young woman who embarks on a journey into the unknown world of Dungeons and Dragons to understand the little sister she never truly knew. This production will be part of San Francisco State School of Theatre & Dance’s Spring 2024 season. Here at the School of Theatre & Dance we not only offer education, but a sense of belonging, community, and friendship -- qualities which we think this play also has to offer the world. At the heart of She Kills Monsters is a story about family, identity, and finding escape from the harsh realities of the real world. Our hope is to highlight these themes by focusing on the elements and possibilities that the Dungeons & Dragons world provides. There will be puppetry and epic battles, humor and joy, alongside the thrilling and darker elements that the play has to offer.

She Kills Monsters is a play about a grieving young woman who embarks on a journey into the unknown world of Dungeons and Dragons to understand the little sister she never truly knew. This production will be part of San Francisco State School of Theatre & Dance’s Spring 2024 season. Here at the School of Theatre & Dance we not only offer education, but a sense of belonging, community, and friendship -- qualities which we think this play also has to offer the world. At the heart of She Kills Monsters is a story about family, identity, and finding escape from the harsh realities of the real world. Our hope is to highlight these themes by focusing on the elements and possibilities that the Dungeons & Dragons world provides. There will be puppetry and epic battles, humor and joy, alongside the thrilling and darker elements that the play has to offer.

This is a very special and rare opportunity to hear about the lives and trailblazing work of longtime community heroes Cecilia Chung and Nicky “Tita Aida” Calma— hosted by Anand Kalra (Executive Director, Queer Cultural Center). This event will be ASL interpreted, the venue is wheelchair accessible, has all-gender bathrooms, and KN95 masks will be provided & required for audiences. FRESH WORKS! supports the creation of new work by BlPOC transgender, gender-nonconforming, non-binary and queer artists. Our other commissions will be performance premieres at the 2024 FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of trans and queer performance (June 21-23 at Z Space, SF) and at satellite performances throughout the year!

Smuin’s season finale will be headlined by the World Premiere of Tupelo Tornado from international superstar Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This extraordinary new ballet inspired by the life and music of Elvis is her first creation for Smuin. Also on the bill is Smuin Associate Artistic Director Amy Seiwert’s Broken Open, set to a lush score from renowned cellist and composer Julia Kent.Kent, who creates music using looped cello, found sounds, and electronics, will perform live at opening weekend performances of “Dance Series 2” in San Francisco. Closing the bill is Smuin dancer Brennan Wall’s vivid and complex Untwine for four couples, set to Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” reinterpreted by Max Richter; and Michael Smuin’s dreamy Starshadows, an evocative adagio for three couples exploring the mystery and beauty of intimate relationships.

The People’s Palace is an artistic intervention with City Hall’s Beaux-Arts Roman and Greek iconography. Aerialists and performers will interact with the architecture and large scale projections, transforming these symbols into new, more inclusive narratives that more accurately reflect San Francisco’s diverse and dynamic cultures and community. Through performance, music, storytelling, and immersive technologies, The People’s Palace invites the audience to actively engage these new narratives, to see themselves within the broader context of the city, and to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives. Performance repeats every 30 minutes: 8:00 PM (7:50 entry) 8:30 PM (8:20 entry) 9:00 PM (8:50 entry) 9:30 PM (9:20 entry) 10:00 PM (9:50 entry) Each ticket has a timed entry 10 minutes before each performance cycle begins, allowing extra time for check-in and security. Once inside, you are invited to stay for multiple performances so you can experience the work from a new vantage point or see your favorite part again. Conceived and directed by Joanna Haigood, this work is being developed in collaboration with composer Marcus Shelby, visual artist Mildred Howard, scenic designer Sean Riley, rigging designer David Freitag, design consultant and fabricator Wayne Campbell, lighting designer Krissy Kenny, projection designer Aron Altmark, costume designer Dana Kawano, indigenous culture bearers Gregg Castro and Jonathan Cordero, and performing artists Veronica Blair, Tristan Ching Hartman, Ciarra D’Onofrio, William Brewton Fowler, Jr., Jocelyn Reyes, Nina Sawant, Saharla Vetsch, and The Skywatchers Ensemble. A co-presentation of Dancers’ Group and ZACCHO Dance Theatre.

Empress Archer digests the input of 12 choreographers, 10 years, 8 cities, 4 global upheavals, 3 weddings, 2 pregnancies, and an infinite grasping for humanity into a dance show about 1 relationship. Ariel Freedman and Meredith Webster join forces from opposite corners of the world (Israel/ Palestine and San Francisco, respectively) to witness each other, survive motherhood and loss, goof around, and achieve something together that can't be done alone.