Author Archives: Bill English

Bill English Bill English is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of San Francisco Playhouse, and in twenty years with Susi Damilano, has guided its growth from a bare-bones storefront to the second-largest theater in San Francisco.

‘Shoot Me When…’: A Note from the Artistic Director

‘Shoot Me When…’: A Note from the Artistic Director

We first noticed Ruben Grijalva, the second of our San Francisco Playhouse-commissioned playwrights to be produced this season, when we...

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Notes from the Empathy Gym – April 2021

Notes from the Empathy Gym – April 2021

We are fanatical storytellers. Everyone in the theatre, from set designers to automation techs, from actors to general managers, are magnetized by...

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‘I Was Right Here’: A Note from the Artistic Director

‘I Was Right Here’: A Note from the Artistic Director

I did not imagine, when we started our five-year, 20-play commission program that we would be commissioning a solo piece. The one-person show has...

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Notes from the Empathy Gym – March 2021

Notes from the Empathy Gym – March 2021

They are calling this the age of disinformation – the systematic and knowing flooding of the airwaves with false statements – the countless...

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‘Art’: A Note from the Artistic Director

‘Art’: A Note from the Artistic Director

When Art was first produced on Broadway 22 years ago, it was a brilliant fable about male friendship. An affectionate satire, written by a woman,...

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Notes from the Empathy Gym – April 2020

Notes from the Empathy Gym – April 2020

Right about now, I’m sure many of us are feeling pretty small, isolated, many of us alone, feeling defeated by a microscopic single cell...

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Real Women Have Curves: A Note from the Artistic Director

Real Women Have Curves: A Note from the Artistic Director

Thirty years ago, in San Francisco at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Real Women Have Curves by Josefina López was given its world...

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Born in East Berlin: A Note from the Artistic Director

Born in East Berlin: A Note from the Artistic Director

We are worried these days about our privacy. We feel like thousands of eyes are watching us. Surveillance cameras, the info we must share to travel...

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Notes from the Empathy Gym – January 2020

Notes from the Empathy Gym – January 2020

January 2020 First off, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our End of Calendar Year fundraising campaign. You gave over $400,000 —...

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Notes from the Empathy Gym – December 2019

Notes from the Empathy Gym – December 2019

December 2019 HEARTS BEAT AS ONE We are often reminded of the precariousness of live theatre. That something can go wrong at any moment. Lines...

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