Celebrating 20 years!
A Letter from our Artistic Director...
Welcome to LAUNCH PAD!
LAUNCH PAD began in 2005 and we are proud to have supported so many talented playwrights and plays on their journey from incubation to professional world premiere.
Our 20th season opened with the Preview Production of "Strange Birds" by E. M. Lewis, award-winning playwright, lyricist, book writer, and opera librettist. Set in a small, rustic cabin in the woods, "Strange Birds" is about women and wolves... and sisters... and secrets, looking into what we owe to the systems that oppress us and how we escape from something we carry inside us.
The concept of a "Preview Production” is unique in the American theater: a fully realized and professionally designed and directed production that stays in previews throughout the run of the show allowing the writer to revise their work through the final performance. Bringing together talented students, faculty artists, and professional guest artists to work on these dynamic new plays is the hallmark of our program.
Our celebration continued on April 25/26 with the AMPLIFY Reading Series Festival, bringing together an exciting slate of diverse playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, and actors to showcase their new works.
Next up is the three-week Summer Reading Series. Please join us for three readings in three weeks from acclaimed writers Louis Bayard, Melinda Lopez, and Lia Romeo.
If you have any questions about LAUNCH PAD, please reach out to us at LAUNCHPAD@theaterdance.ucsb
All my best,
Risa
Upcoming Events...
June/July 2025
Summer Reading Series
FREE PUBLIC READINGS: June 26, July 3, July 10 at 7:00pm
Q&A follows each reading
Learn more and RSVP
In The News...
Summer Series Playwright Lia Romeo
2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominee
(John Gassner Award)
Congratulations, Lia!
Read about the 2025 LAUNCH PAD Amplify Reading Series Festival
The Current, April 23, 2025 / Article by Shelly Leach
Indigo Runge receives the first Shirley Jo Finney Excellence Award
Our dear friend and colleague, Shirley Jo Finney, passed away on October 10, 2023. Shirley Jo was a bright light in our lives. She first came to direct for the Theater/Dance Department in 2014. Over the next 8 years, she returned several times to teach and direct, most recently Candrice Jones' "A Medusa Thread." You can read more about her incredible career here. Shirley Jo was a wonderful teacher and gifted director. She brought out the best in absolutely everyone she came in contact with. Those who had the honor of knowing Shirley Jo miss her dearly. Her legacy lives on through the "Shirley Jo Finney Excellence Award" which honors a deserving acting or directing student who exemplifies Shirley Jo's joyous spirit, generosity, and talent.
Inaugural recipient, Indigo Runge, is an upcoming fourth year in the BFA Acting program. In addition to acting, she has aspirations of using her acting training to be a director and/or casting director. Indi has many acting credits at UC Santa Barbara and has taken a keen interest in all aspects of theatre. We congratulate Indi on this award and look forward to seeing her continue to shine in her final year with us.
Shirley Jo Finney in rehearsal for A Medusa Thread by Candrice Jones. With Imani Alis.
Indigo Runge in rehearsal. (photo credits: Jeff Liang)
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST
Dramatic Publishing: publisher
and exclusive licensing of
LAUNCH PAD’s Alone, Together Festival
of short plays and monologues!
If you are interested in licensing the Alone, Together compilation,
please contact CustomerService@dpcplays.com or visit their website.
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