About The Ground Floor

Over the years, as we’ve increased the amount of new work we produce, Berkeley Rep has built a team and created a system to foster the creation of a new piece of theatre from the ground up into production. Our intention is to create a bespoke process for each piece that becomes part of The Ground Floor — from year-long series of commissions, readings, workshops, and/or a concentrated time in the Summer Residency Lab.

The Ground Floor is based on a relational transformational process to meet artists where they are at in their artistic development, project needs, and overall vision. We emphasize process over product. We hope to incorporate a level of flexibility that is becoming less and less possible in the American theatrical landscape. We provide resources for artists to respond to the modern and changing world, promote cross-pollination among artists, and place high value on face-to-face contact. We explore theatricality in all its forms by celebrating language in its broadest terms and define it as more than just the spoken word.

Mission

The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work seeks to enhance and expand the processes by which Berkeley Rep makes theatre. We strive to offer the most flexible environment possible for artists to come together and share ideas in person, to receive customized support on each individual project, and to work together across disciplines. We will maintain an ongoing conversation with our audience and community about the work we are creating, and we will champion the spirit of innovation so inherent to Berkeley and the Bay Area.

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For the most up-to-date information on The Ground Floor, including invitations to public performances, log in to your account or join our email list, then check “The Ground Floor—New Plays” checkbox.

Commissioned artists

Questions?

Email us at [email protected].

Special thanks

Lead support for The Ground Floor has been provided by Bank of America, Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau, The John Logan Foundation, The Maurer Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.