PlayGround Gala: September 14 at Lookingglass

Join us for the ONE PLAYGROUND GALA (2026)
Celebrating the June Anne Baker Prize 25th Anniversary
September 14, 2026, 7pm-9pm CT
Lookingglass Theatre Company, 821 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Tickets: $150 or review Host levels

PlayGround will honor four theatre luminaries at our annual four-city gala on Monday, September 14th. In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of PlayGround’s June Anne Baker Prize, one of the nation’s longest-running play commissions dedicated to the next generation of promising women/non-binary playwrights, PlayGround will recognize significant theatre artists and producers who have elevated womxn playwrights and stories throughout their careers: Margo Hall, Lorraine Hansbury Theatre (San Francisco), Jessica Kubzansky, Boston Court Pasadena (Los Angeles), Emily Shooltz, Signature Theatre (New York), and Ericka Ratcliff, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Chicago). The 2026 June Anne Baker Prize winners are Esther Banegas Gatica (PlayGround-Los Angeles), KT Frances Hartline (PlayGround-SF), Uma Incrocci (PlayGround-NY), and Toby Inoue (PlayGround-CH). The Gala honorary committee includes June Anne Baker Prize alumni Lauren Yee and Geetha Reddy (honorary co-chairs), as well as Rachel Bublitz, Patricia Cotter, Laura Domingo, Brady Lea, Alanna McFall, Erin Marie Panttaja, Evelyn Jean Pine, Bridgette Dutta Portman, and Kimberly Ridgeway.

MEET THE PLAYGROUND HERO GALA CO-CHAIRS AND HONOREES

Geetha Reddy (C0-Chair) is a playwright and filmmaker. Her plays include The Employee Dharma Handbook (TheaterWorks Silicon Valley), Mahābhārata (Oakland Theatre Project) Far, Far Better Things (Shotgun Players/ TheatreFirst), Hela (with Lauren Gunderson, TheatreFirst), Safe House (SF Playhouse), Blastosphere (with Aaron Loeb, CentralWorks). Geetha’s plays Me Given You, Girl in a Box, and On a Wonderverse  were part of the Playwright’s Foundation’s ‘In the Rough’ reading series. Safe House and On a Wonderverse were featured in the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. She has been commissioned by TheatreWorks, SFPlayhouse,  Oakland Theatre Project, Shotgun Players, Crowded Fire, the Gerbode Foundation, and PlayGround (3). Her plays have also appeared in the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the Santa Rosa Quickies festival, the Best of PlayGround Festival, the Just Theatre Lab series, the Crowded Fire Matchbox series, and the Theatreworks New Works Festival. Her short film Obit appeared at LA Shorts, NY Indie Fest, Bend Film Festival, the GI Film Festival and many others. Geetha is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild and alumna Resident Playwright at the Playwright’s Foundation.

Lauren Yee (Co-Chair) is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based in New York. Recent plays include Cambodian Rock Band (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Signature Theatre), The Great Leap (Denver Center, Seattle Rep, the Atlantic, Steppenwolf, ACT), King of the Yees (Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group), and Mother Russia (Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre). Honors include the Doris Duke Artist Award, Whiting Award, Steinberg/ATCA Award, Horton Foote Prize, and Kesselring Prize. TV:  “Pachinko” (Apple), “Soundtrack” (Netflix), “Interior Chinatown” (Hulu), “Billions” (Showtime), “Clipped” (FX). She’s previously developed pilots for Netflix and Apple, and is currently developing TV and feature projects for Netflix and Universal. BA: Yale, MFA: UCSD. laurenyee.com

Ericka Ratcliff (Chicago), storyteller and arts advocate, is committed to creating bold work that amplifies underrepresented voices, fosters dialogue and builds community through the power of theater. She currently serves as the Literary Manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Coordinating Producer for 100 Free Acts of Theater at Goodman Theatre. Formerly the Artistic Director at Congo Square Theatre, she programmed critically acclaimed productions such as Welcome to Matteson, What To Send Up When It Goes Down, and How I Learned What I Learned in collaboration with Goodman Theatre, and served as the Executive Producer of The Blackside digital series. As a director, her credits include Chlorine Sky (Steppenwolf for Young Adults), WHITE! (Definition Theatre), Blues for an Alabama Sky (UIC), Hit the Wall (NIU), and The Wolves (University of Chicago). She is also an ensemble member at Lookingglass Theatre. As an actor, she was last seen on stage in the Jeff Award-winning production of The Penelopiad at Goodman Theatre.

MEET THE CHICAGO JUNE ANNE BAKER AWARD WINNER

Toby Inoue (PlayGround-Chicago), she/her, has been a part of the PlayGround-Chicago community for three seasons. The short plays that she’s written for PlayGround-Chicago have gone on to other short play festivals, including 23 And Me And Me And Me (Trinity Theatre Company New Works Festival, San Diego, CA, Apr 2025); Serene Healthy Wellness Spa Retreat Resort (audio broadcast, Theatrical Shenanigans, UK, Dec 2025); and Power Play (Troy Foundry Theatre’s Half Baked Festival, NY, Sep 2025). She’s also had readings of her full-length plays Keep It Light at Redtwist Theatre and Sora And Keller at Chicago Dramatists. Toby is a founding member of the Evanston Playwrights Group and a member of the Playwrights Circle @ Speranza Theatre Company. Her short play, Mukashi Mukashi, was featured in Best of PlayGround(Chicago) ‘26. https://wabi-sa.com; @toby.inoue

For more information and tickets to the 2026 One PlayGround Gala, visit playground-sf.org/gala.