It’s an excursion to Rome, where the mythologies of the world crossed paths!
Since 2010 the festival has featured the work of 110 Writers, 85 Directors, 447 Actors, and 45 Fine Artists!
This year we are excited to debut 27 new plays by 28 writers, 10 of whom will be contributing written work to the festival for the first time! The plays range from shorts to one-acts and full-lengths, and each one explores a different legend or god from the mythology of Ancient Rome. Though exclusively local in the past, the 2018 festival includes a number of non-Bay Area writers, brought into the festival for the first time to honor the expanding spirit of Rome that built the Roman Roads! This year’s festival also features a serial, created by a team of writers and other artists, played out over eight separate nights!
The 2018 festival is 12 nights from October 3rd to the 20th, Wednesday through Saturday, at the EXIT Stage Left Theatre in San Francisco (156 Eddy Street). Tickets are $10.00 at the door, and can be purchased starting at 7:30 the night of the show, or for $12 in advance at Brown Paper Tickets. All shows begin at 8 PM. Audience members who attend more than four nights get the fifth free.
Advance Tickets available at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3583969
Please note, only 1/4 of the box office each night can be purchased in advance. 3/4ths of the box office of each night can only be purchased in cash at the door of the theater, half an hour before the start of the show.
This year’s company includes: Janelle Aguire, Joe Ayers, Chris Anderson, Vonn Scott Bair, Erika Bakse, Sara-Jean Bartky, Stacy Beckley, Eric J. Berglund, Kerri Blake Cavanaugh, Sara Breindel, Brianna Cala, David Chalk, Zoe Chien, Andrew Chung, Christy Conway, Amy Cook, Ronald Cook, AJ Davenport, Adrian Deane, Jason Vuong Do, Laura Domingo, Raisa Donato, Pam Drummer Williams, Ellen Dunphy, Juliana Egley, Alisha Ehrlich, Ciera Eis, Mikl Em, Spencer Evans, Valerie Fachman, Vince Faso, John Ferreira, Ashley Gennarelli, Lorenz Angelo Gonzales, Toni Lynn Guidry, Matt Gunnison, Julian Harbison, Don Hardwick, Abigail S. Henderson, Alice Highman, Michael Houston, Gary Hughes, Colin Hussey, Pamela Ignacio, Amanda C. Johnston, Tirumari Jothi, Moses Kaplan, Heather Kellogg, Helen Kim, Wiley Kornbluh, Rebekah Kouy-Ghadosh, Christina Lancaster, Sophia Lanza-Weil, Amanda Lee, Scott Lettieri, Brian Levi, Will Livingston, Carl Lucania, Alissa Magrill, Steve Mallers, Nicole Martin, Valmina May, James McGarry, Jennifer McNeal, Kyle McReddie, Alex Mechanic, Risa Moreno, Sarah Negron, Rebecca Newton, Nicole Odell, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Kaitlyn Ortega, Sunil Patel, Gerardo Paz, Genevieve Perdue, Jared Polivka, Miguel Ramirez, Jess Rankin, Bruce Reif, Rana Rines, Leer Relleum, Kelly Rinehart, Renee Rogoff, Rick Roitinger, Alison Sacha Ross, Kim Saunders, Marshall F. Scott, Lynda Sheridan, Dillon Siedentopf, Marissa Skudlarek, Jacob Soss, Sidney Spiegel, Stephanie Thomas, Kaz Valtchev, Vicki Victoria, Zoheb Virani, Wera von Wulfen, Alejandra Wahl, Sam Wessels, Karl Wieser, Lauren Yellow, Ted Zoldan
This year’s fine artists include: Nathan Anderson, Christopher Bauman, Molly Benson, Donald Bolin, Liz Conley, Rogernald “Rusty” Jackson, Emily C. Martin, Ashley Kea Ramos, Cody Rishell, Rachel Vanderpool, Terezi Velasco
The art will be on display at the EXIT Theatre the entire month of October!
The festival runs Wednesday-Saturday, October 3- October 20. All shows begin at 8 PM. Here is the line-up:
SF OLYMPIANS IX: ROMAN HOLIDAY (10/3-10/20)
Week One: IMPERIAL WORLD (10/3-10/6)
Wednesday, October 3: The Way In
JANUS by Ai, Directed by Finn Ware
HE can’t end; SHE can’t start. Janus, the God of Beginnings and Endings, split in two and stuck in the middle. It’s a new Divine Comedy for our times.
Thursday, October 4: The Venerable Father
SATURN by John Lamar Elison, Directed by Dan Kurtz
Sometimes, sons become fathers. Fathers become Gods. And sometimes Gods die.
Friday, October 5: Capitoline Triad
JUPITER/JUNO/MINERVA by Laylah Muran de Assereto, Directed by Dan Wilson
Sometimes resistance looks like tea and cookies with a General.
Saturday, October 6: The Prodigal Son
Directed by Sara Judge
MARS by John Lennon Harrison
In a world on built on mistrust, can Mars kill his people with kindness before they burn him at the stake?
CUPID by Jason Mendez
That moment when the woman of your dreams meets the love of your life. Yeah it’s that kind of love story.
PSYCHE by Terezi Harrison
The best way to cope with the past is to laugh about it.
Week Two: DIVINE DESCENT (10/10-10/13)
Wednesday, October 10: The Legacy
AENEAS by Stuart Bousel, Directed by Alejandro Torres
All stories have an ending, all endings become beginnings.
Thursday, October 11: The Founders
Directed by Juliana Lustenader
ROMULUS by John Patrick Bray
A school is only as strong as its twin spirits.
REMUS or THE FIRE WOLVES by Jessica Chisum
During the worst forest fire in the history of Washington state, a tech giant’s best-laid schemes come to a screeching halt. A CEO is missing in the wilderness, and the man who saw him last speaks only in riddles. As the fires close in, a young biologist tracks a lone wolf searching for answers.
Friday, October 12: The Inheretors
JULIUS CEASAR by Allison Page, Directed by Allison Page
With great power comes great ego. A seemingly quiet man named Julius is named Manager In Perpetuity at a smoothie stand in a dying American mall. While his grand plans begin to take shape, angst in the mall is about to boil over. Et tu, Briana?
OCTAVIAN AUGUSTUS by Nic Sommerfeld, Directed by Kieran Beccia
The Society of Historically Accurate Porn is here to answer all your hard questions. This year’s feature, a private meeting between Marc Antony and Octavian Augustus.
Saturday, October 13: The Origin
VENUS by Christine Keating, Directed by Alessandro McLaughlin
They’re The Venutians. They’re not like other girls.
BELLONA by Bridgette Dutta Portman, Directed by Jerome Josephe Gentes
Press the button. You know you want to.
VICTORIA by Annette Roman, Directed by Jerome Josephe Gentes
As opposing factions fight over whether to preserve or remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the statues of the Goddess of Victory and Joseph Stalin—as well as some surprise guests—debate their role as historical monuments.
Week Three: HEARTH & TOWN & COUNTRY & TOMB (10/17-10/20)
Wednesday, October 17: The Secret Keeper
VESTA by Veronica Tjioe, Directed by Lily Sorenson
This play for anyone who has struck through a whole damn box of matches with no luck. It is also good for fans of mail, democracy, and toucans.
Thursday, October 18: Gods! Gods! Gods!
Directed by Sophia Mia Dipaola
NEPTUNE by Elizabeth Flanagan
He thought it was ancient history.
MERCURY by Nicole Jost
Sex and money can’t be exchanged when communications misfire. Is this Mercury’s hand? Or is there something else bumming you out?
APOLLO by Kirk Shimano
ARE YOU RRRR-READY TO…COMPARE THE RELATIVE CULTURAL IMPACT OF TWO RATHER SIGNIFICANT DEITIES OF THE ROMAN PANTHEON-NNNNNN?!?!?
VULCAN by Casey Busher
Do a workhorse and a show pony make the perfect couple-or just a couple of animals
SOL by Christian Simonsen and Lisa Kee-Hamasaki
How can the ancient God of Truth survive in the modern world of lies? By working as a K-J at The Golden Emu Karaoke Lounge!
QUIRINUS by Eve Edelson
Orpheus swears he didn’t kill Eurydice - but Quirinus wants that confession, one way or another.
DIS by Maury Zeff
Purgatory is for lovers
FAUNUS by Meghan Kathleen O’Connor
Ever been mistaken for another person? More than once? How about for thousands of years? Faunus knows the feeling. Don’t worry, he’s super-fine-not-resentful-totes-chill-fiiiiiiiine.
Friday, October 19: Aventine Triad
CERES/LIBER/LIBERA by Barry Eitel, Directed by Cole Ferraiuolo
At a humble diner in small town Ohio, suburban authoritarians, war weary soldiers, glassy eyed profiteers, and star-crossed lovers collide as an empire teeters on collapse.
Saturday, October 20: The Triple Goddess
Directed by Stuart Bousel
DIANA by Libby Emmons
The vestal virgins bring Diana back from the dead and turn her from the huntress into a goddess of fertility.
LUNA by Neil Higgins
Can a name embody all that it is to be a goddess? Keep in mind: language is an inherently meaningless human construction.
TRIVIA by Alan Coyne
A meeting at the crossroads leads to matched wits, riches wished, and a switch. Which witch is which?
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER:
A SERIAL: CLEOPATRA or NOT THAT CLEOPATRA or NOT CLEOPATRA: A SEARCH FOR THE UNKNOWABLE QUEEN
by Carson Beker and Nara Dahlbacka
(With Patricia Reynoso, Cody Rishell, Kitty Torres)
Directed by Carson Beker and Nara Dahlbacka
October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 19
Killer Queen, Cunning linguist, colonizer, badass, icon, last pharaoh of Egypt, femme fatale, or collective fever dream? Who, what, and where is Cleopatra, and who are we for looking anyway?
Advance Tickets available at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3583969
Please note, only 1/4 of the box office each night can be purchased in advance. 3/4ths of the box office of each night can only be purchased in cash at the door of the theater, half an hour before the start of the show.