Name: Free-Play Festival: Where I Come From
Start: 2024-08-17T18:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-08-17T19:30:00-07:00
Location: Potrero Stage

WHERE I COME FROM, by Jerry Metzker
August 17 at 6:00 PM, August 18 at 2:00 PM, August 25 at 6:00 PM
In 1847, Fergus Maloney flees famine-plagued Ireland for a new life in New York City. His journey is one of deprivation, loss, anger, helplessness, uncertainty and hope.
Jerry Metzker is a playwright, director, dramaturg, solo performer and theater creator. As a solo performer, he has workshopped several pieces at the Marsh, including Guardian Angel, Nephilim, Mercy Buckets (SF Fringe Festival) and most recently Where I Come From. A reading of his new play, Ms. Vicky Is Busy, was presented by SF Eagle Players in April 2024, paired with Lanford Wilson’s The Madness of Lady Bright; he played both principal roles. He is the director of John Fisher’s long-running solo play A History of World War II, which played at the Marsh-SF, Marsh Berkeley, the United Solo Festival (New York) and Hollywood, running more than eight months, and Fisher’s A History of the Civil War, which premiered in PlayGround’s Solo Performance Festival. He has directed several other solo plays written and performed by John Fisher. Jerry is also a musician and a static trapeze artist. jerrymetzker.com
PlayGround closes out the summer season with the third annual FREE-PLAY FESTIVAL, August 9-25, at Potrero Stage and simulcast. This three-week “fringe style” new works festival features 11 productions from highly sought-after theatre artists from across the country including four PlayGround artists based in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Ranging in subject from the U.S. Citizen Test to mentally ill mothers to gender dysphoria, and varying in styles from dance pieces to ensemble plays to one-person shows, PlayGround’s Free-Play Festival features a stellar lineup of seasoned theatre professionals, first-time producers, and all-star performers in every aspect of live performance, direction, and choreography. Each production will be presented for three performances at Potrero Stage (18th Street @ Arkansas), detailed schedule below. Admission is free (donations gratefully accepted) but advance reservations are required for livestreaming. For more information or to reserve in-person or online tickets, visit https://playground-sf.org/freeplay.