THE MOTIoN

A WORLD PREMIERE BY CHRISTOPHER CHEN
DIRECTED BY PATRICK DOOLEY

The Motion

Live Theater for Live People

Shotgun Players exists to light up the Bay Area with exhilarating, come-as-you-are live theater. The eye-opening experiences we share push through the static in a way that’s both provocative and disarming, because when there’s no screen between you and the power of the stage, we’re connected and invigorated.

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN

FEATURING JOSH KORNBLUTH

JOSH KORNBLUTH

Josh Kornbluth has been performing his autobiographical monologues for theater audiences all over the U.S. (and in other countries as well) for year. His show RED DIAPER BABY ran Off-Broadway, was selected for the Best American Plays of 1992 collection, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and was made into a performance film for the Sundance Channel. His monologue THE MATHEMATICS OF CHANGE was also made into a performance film. His shows HAIKU TUNNEL and LOVE & TAXES have both been adapted into feature films by Josh and his brother Jacob: HAIKU was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival and was distributed nationally by Sony Pictures Classics.  Since January 2017 he has been an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute, where he produces the “Citizen Brain” series of online videos; he also served a stint as Hellman Visiting Artist at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center. Throughout his career, Josh has done numerous benefit performances for organizations that focus on supporting people of color, low-income folks, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups.  He lives in Berkeley, Calif., with his wife, Sara, a public schoolteacher; their son, Guthrie, a budding filmmaker, is an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz.

ELIZABETH CARTER

OCTOBER 3

SUSANNAH MARTIN

NOVEMBER 7

SUSANNAH MARTIN

A director, teacher, performer, and theatre maker of Tunisian heritage, and a Sephardic/Mizrahi feminist-activist-artist, Susannah has made live performances for organizations throughout the Bay Area.

Selected directing credits include: Oklahoma! for Korsa Musical Theater; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody for UC Berkeley; Arti Ishak’s Closure for Golden Thread Productions; elaine magree’s AC/DC for 3Girls Theatre Company; Lisa Ramirez’s Book of Sand (a fairytale) for Oakland Theater Project; Denmo Ibrahim’s Arab Spring for the Bay Area Playwright’s Festival; Carol S. Lashof’s The Melting Pot for Those Women Productions; and Sheila Callaghan’s Women Laughing Alone With Salad, David Greig’s The Events, and Christopher Chen’s Caught at Shotgun Players (Company Member).

Susannah received her BFA in Theatre from NYU, and her MFA in Directing from UC Davis. She is currently the Theatre Director at San Francisco University High School as well as Adjunct Faculty in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies Department at UC Berkeley.

She strongly believes in fostering new voices and developing young storytellers to build and transform our communities.

MICHAEL MORAN

DECEMBER 5

MICHAEL MORAN

Michael Socrates Moran is a Bay Area native whose artistic journey began in Richmond, California and led him to a BFA in Theater Arts from Boston University and an MFA in Directing from UC San Diego. While at UCSD, he founded the Oakland Theater Project (formerly Ubuntu Theater Project), now acclaimed as one of the Bay Area’s most daring theater companies. As Executive and Co-Artistic Director, Moran has helmed over 60 productions—world premieres, West Coast premieres, and bold reinterpretations of classics—earning praise from the San Francisco Chronicle for his “visionary” leadership. His direction has garnered numerous awards, including the 2020 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award, Best Director for Angels in America, and multiple Bay Area Critics Circle honors. In addition to directing, Moran has acted professionally in numerous productions, and his original play, Exodus to Eden, was celebrated by KQED as one of the Best Productions of 2023. He also serves as a continuing lecturer at UC Berkeley.

shotgun spotlight

Join us for coffee and cookies on the first Friday of every month from 10:30 AM to 12 PM at the Shotgun Studios (1201 University Ave.) as we meet some of the most influential theater makers in the Bay Area. Each session will begin with an interview about their history and artistic endeavors, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and a group discussion.

Tickets are pay-what-you-can.

shotgun players 2026

PROUDLY ANNOUNCING OUR 34th SEASON

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Support our work

Shotgun Players Needs You!

Thank you for being part of our community! We have an ambitious season ahead with 150 local artists who are eager to create theater that will inspire us all. But we can’t do it without you! Every single donation makes it all possible.

To donate over the phone, call Joanie McBrien, Director of Development at 510.841.6500 ext. 301

Donations to Shotgun Players are fully tax deductible. Our nonprofit tax ID number is 94-3265879

Everyone is Welcome Here

bold, relevant, affordable theatre

Accessibility

Shotgun Players is committed to creating a theatre experience that embraces audiences and artists of all abilities. We are always looking for new ways to make our events inclusive and accessible.

Mad Tickets

We make a lot of theatre with and for young folks, so if you’re 25 or under, you can get in for $12! Also, keep an eye out for MAD NIGHTS where we offer FREE pizza and drinks, including beer for those 21 and older. Spread the word!

Diversity

Our commitment to an inclusive community takes center stage. Explore how we champion equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and strive to make our spaces affordable, accessible, and free of bias and injustice.

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