DG National Report: San Francisco by Suze Allen
@dramatistsguild @suzemallen
I am happy to spotlight Linda Ayres-Frederick who has been a member of Dramatists Guild since 2005. She is the Artistic Director of The Phoenix Theatre in San Francisco and hosts SF Friday Footlights for the Guild once a month.
The Phoenix has been around for 32 years, yes count ‘em – 32!, and has afforded Linda a place to grow as a person, an actor and writer. The theatre has provided her with some amazing friends and a few lovers along the way. And she appreciates the perk of being in the theatre is that keeps the drama on stage, so you don’t have to play it out offstage.
Initially, The Phoenix grew out of a group of actors from StageGroup that Linda had studied and worked with whose theatre was dissolving.
“I couldn’t imagine not being part of a group so I used that talented bunch to create the Phoenix. We “rose from the ashes”, so to speak. I’m probably one of the few theatre founders who was shy about self-producing for fear of being considered a vanity producer. But that has changed as I’ve had the thrill of seeing my work on stage, gained confidence in my writing and been very fortunate to have seen over 20 of my plays produced in other theatres. I’ve been accepted into groups of playwrights such as the Monday Night Group, which is still going after three decades. For several years I met with the Z Space Artists, and later wrote with writers from Will Dunne’s workshop, Faux Will we called it. In more recent years, I’ve worked with Ann Randolph, and Charlie Varon, developing additional styles of work that began as solos and later expanded to include more actors. I still meet with some of Ann’s students two Sundays a month. I’ve always loved writing from prompts in a room with other writers and then reading back our work to each other.”
Linda has also been a theatre critic for the last ten years and is VP of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Her own work has been in the Marin Fringe, Bay One-Acts, and SF Fringe winning prizes and publications and she is reworking some of her full-length work and daring herself to begin producing them in the next year or so.
“It’s only taken me three decades to get up the nerve.”
Linda has found the work of new writers from the playwright Conference in Alaska, which she’s produced at the Phoenix.
“When I met Gary Garrison up in Valdez at the conference over a decade ago, it was a turning point for me. I think I finally started taking myself seriously as a playwright and joined DG as soon as I got back to San Francisco. That year I volunteered to have the Friday Footlights (though it actually met on Sundays) at the Phoenix. I’ve always wanted to support new work. I’m glad to have Friday Footlights back at the Phoenix now. As a venue, since the beginning, I’ve provided space for hundreds of newly formed nomadic theatre companies such at affordable rates. I’ve also umbrella-ed several groups like SF Playhouse & Fools Fury Ensemble under the auspices of our 501 © 3 until they were able to get their own non-profit status.”
The Phoenix also hosts acting workshops, and performances from the several groups of playwrights that Linda is a part of. Linda Ayres-Frederick is a consummate, and eclectic theatre professional and the Bay Area is proud to call her our own.
