Preview Productions

The concept of the “Preview Production” is unique in the American theatre. As a fully-realized production without the pressures of the commercial world, the play stays in previews through the run of the show, allowing the writer to continue revising as the piece evolves through performance. We started this program in 2005 and are proud to have supported so many great playwrights and plays on their journey from incubation to professional world premieres.

Click here for our full
Gallery of Preview Productions.

"I feel so lucky to have had the chance to explore my play in the LAUNCHPAD program. I don't know of any other new play workshop opportunity that gives the writer the experience of developing her play all the way through readings to rehearsal to full production. Risa Brainin, through LAUNCH PAD, has created a nurturing and exciting environment that challenged my play to grow, while giving students the invaluable experience of helping to develop a new work."

~ Enid Graham, playwright, What Martha Did

May 13-23, 2026

Standing Still
by Melinda Lopez

A co-commission with Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Ordinary women just trying to get centered during crazy times but, in a time of social unrest, they each have to decide what 'living your truth' actually means. A play about the cost of showing up.

The Creative Team

Playwright | Melinda Lopez

Director | Risa Brainin

Scenic Designer | Ann Sheffield

Costume Designer | Alexa Behm

Lighting Designer | Michael Klaers

Dramaturgs | Angel Miguel Lopez, Sara Sotelo

Assistant Director | Wuxiaoxiao (Kayla) Dong

Assistant Scenic Designer | Olivia Shu

Assistant Costume Designer | Annelise Miedema

Meet the Artists...

Melinda Lopez (she/her) is thrilled to return to LAUNCH PAD with Standing Still. (Standing Still was featured in the 2025 Summer Series.) Melinda is a multiple award-winning playwright and performer. She is the recipient of the 2019 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Achievement, recognizing her 20-year career as and playwright, performer and educator. She was a member of the Mellon Foundation’s National Playwrights Residency Program and the Playwright-in-Residence at the Huntington Theatre Co. from 2013-2023. Some plays include: Stir (Writer/Performer, Old Globe Theatre), Mala (Arts Emerson, The Guthrie Theatre, the Huntington Theatre Company, Old Globe, and others), Mr. Parent (Geva Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse and others), Becoming Cuba (Huntington Theatre Co) and Sonia Flew (Huntington, Steppenwolf, Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and many many others.) Currently she is working on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night blending Spanish and English, for Play On!

Risa Brainin is a freelance director, professor and Founder/Artistic Director of LAUNCH PAD which was featured in American Theatre magazine for its innovation and contribution to new play development. Since 2005, Brainin has developed and directed 20+ new works by distinguished writers including recent plays by Jami Brandli, Mia Chung, Yussef El Guindi, Anne Garcia-Romero, Idris Goodwin, Enid Graham, Arlene Hutton, Jenny Mercein, Joyce Carol Oates, James Still and Cheryl L. West. She pioneered, along with Annie Torsiglieri, the groundbreaking Zoom Festival Alone, Together, a collection of 39 new short plays and monologues written by LAUNCH PAD alums and published by Dramatic Publishing Company.

Prior to UCSB, Brainin served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Associate Artistic Director for both Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Resident Director at the Guthrie Theater. Other directorial credits include plays at American Players Theatre, Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Clarence Brown Theatre, Commonweal Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, Elements Theatre Collective, Ensemble Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, Gulfshore Playhouse, History Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Illusion Theatre, Kansas City Actors' Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Mixed Blood, New Harmony Project, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Portland Stage Company, Red Bull Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Skylight Theatre, Syracuse Stage and TheatreSquared.

A graduate of the Carnegie-Mellon University Drama Program, Brainin is a member and Past President of the National Theatre Conference, and a member of The College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

Ann Sheffield is Head of Design and Director of Performance at UC Santa Barbara. Concurrently, Ann continues her work with regional theaters across the country including Indiana Repertory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Oklahoma Festival Ballet, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, the South Coast Repertory Theatre, and locally with Ensemble Theater Company Santa Barbara. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Ann further honed her design skills assisting award-winning Broadway designer Tony Walton. During her tenure with Tony, she worked on a number of major productions including Anything Goes, The Will Rogers Follies, Lend Me a Tenor, and The Grand Hotel. Ann enjoys teaching, oil and watercolor painting, and beach walks with her sweet pup, Trooper.

Alexa Behm is a freelance costume designer, who enjoys creating characters spanning multiple genres of entertainment. She works on a diverse body of productions including musical theatre, Shakespeare, ballet, and opera. Alexa recently joined the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of California, Santa Barbara as an Assistant Professor. As a proud member of USA 829, Alexa’s professional collaborations have included, but are not limited to, The Children’s Theatre (Minneapolis), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, LA Opera, American Contemporary Ballet, Studio Tenn, Opera Birmingham, Music Theatre Works Chicago, The Writer’s Theatre, and Marriott Lincolnshire. Some of her favorite theatre credits include Treasure Island, Hamlet, Sherwood, Sapphires: The Lost Jewel, Cabaret, Touch (World Premiere), La Bohéme, Spring Awakening, Anything Goes, and Candide.

Alexa is also a proud alumnus of UCLA, holding her MFA in Design for Theatre, Film, and Digital Media. During this time, she was lucky enough to meet her husband and favorite collaborator, Jeff Behm (lighting and scenic designer). Following her graduate work at UCLA, Alexa freelanced as a Local 705 costumer for episodic television and film. Her credits include Fatal Attraction (Paramount+), The Offer (Paramount+), American Horror Stories (Hulu), and Don’t Worry Darling (New Line).

Alexa continues to balance her career as a mentor in theatre education, with artistically challenging work as a designer. The human experience is the foundation of character driven storytelling and it is Alexa’s greatest hope to bring this energy into her classroom and professional collaborations. www.abehmdesign.com

Michael Klaers' regional theatre credits include the Guthrie Theater, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pacific Conservatory Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company and more. Michael was the lighting designer forTriple Espresso – A Highly Caffeinated Comedy, which played in 50 cities in the US and Europe. He has been the lighting designer for UCSB's Santa Barbara Dance Theater since 2014. Standing Still marks Michael’s 16th preview production for LAUNCH PAD.