CHECK 3 DATES/TIMES BELOW:

• Saturday, August 17 (6:00pm)
• Sunday, August 18 (2:00pm)
• Sunday, August 25 (6:00pm)

“Where I Come From” follows the experiences of 19-year-old Fergus Maloney, who flees famine-plagued Ireland in 1847 for a new life in New York City. The play begins in Ireland, takes Fergus across the North Atlantic to South Street Seaport and then continues with him as he tries to settle into a new life as a refugee in New York. Throughout his journey, Fergus faces deprivation, loss, anger, helplessness, uncertainty and hope.

The play is written and performed by Jerry Metzker with direction by Robert Lucchesi.

“Where I Come From” is one of 11 solo and multi-character productions featured in this third annual, three-week, fringe-style, new works festival produced by PlayGround. There will be three performances of the play:
1. Saturday, August 17, 6:00 pm
2. Sunday, August 18, 2:00 pm
3. Sunday, August 25, 6:00 pm

All performances take place at the Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street (near Arkansas) in San Francisco. Admission is free, but all donations are gratefully accepted. Seating is limited, so advance reservations are recommended. All three performances will be live-streamed (advance reservations required). For more information or to reserve in-person or online tickets, go to:
https://tickets.playground-sf.org/TheatreManager/1/login?event=377

Jerry Metzker (he/him/his) is a playwright, director, dramaturg, solo performer and theater creator. As a solo performer, he has workshopped several solo pieces at the Marsh in San Francisco, including “Guardian Angel,” “Nephilim” and “Mercy Buckets” (SF Fringe Festival). A reading of his new play, “Ms. Vicky Is Busy,” was presented by SF Eagle Players in April 2024, paired with Lanford Wilson’s “The Madness of Lady Bright;” Metzker played both principal roles. He is the director of John Fisher’s long-running solo play “A History of World War II,” which played at the Marsh-SF, Marsh Berkeley, the United Solo Festival (New York) and Hollywood, running more than eight months, and Fisher’s “A History of the Civil War,” which premiered in Playground’s Solo Performance Festival. He has directed several other solo plays written and performed by John Fisher. Jerry is also a musician and a static trapeze artist. www.jerrymetzker.com.

Robert Lucchesi (he/him/his) is a San Francisco born-and-raised educator and theatre artist. He has supported new play development as a director, actor and dramaturg on the West, East and North Coasts, working with the BU College of Fine Arts in Boston, Cleveland Public Theatre, Ohio City Theatre Project, Playwrights Local and continuum-convergence in Cleveland, and Robillard Theatre Works and the SF Eagle Players in San Francisco. When not helping new plays get to the stage, he helps high school students figure out their paths as a School Counselor.

Over its 30-year history, PlayGround has grown into a leading national playwright incubator and theater community hub, providing unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s and, more recently, Los Angeles’, New York’s and Chicago’s best new playwrights through a variety of innovative programs. To date, PlayGround has developed and staged more than 1,500 original short plays, commissioned and/or developed several hundred new full-length plays and directly facilitated the premiere of 40 full-length plays that have gone on to productions throughout the United States. www.playground-sf.org.

Production: “Where I Come From” written and performed by Jerry Metzker, directed by Robert Lucchesi

Producer: PlayGround Free-Play Festival
Location: Potrero Stage, 1695 18th St (near Arkansas), San Francisco, CA
Dates: Saturday, August 17 (6:00pm), Sunday, August 18 (2:00pm) and Sunday, August 25 (6:00pm)
Admission: Free (Donations graciously accepted)
Reservations: https://tickets.playground-sf.org/TheatreManager/1/login?event=377
Box Office: boxoffice@playground-sf.org / (415) 992-6677
Press Contact: Jonathan Josephson, jonathan@playground-sf.org