Magic Theatre’s core artistic programs provide writers with the practical resources they need to develop new works from conception to performance. We support commissioned artists during the early stages of play development with public readings of the script, casting support, fundraising, workshops, previews, and present the world premiere. Additional support comes through structured partnerships with local organizations connected to the play’s themes. We make long-term investments in the playwright by presenting premieres throughout the writer’s career as they build a body of work and promoting the plays to our nationwide network to build a writer’s career with other theaters.

Recognizing that BIPOC companies lacked a permanent home because of demographic and economic shifts in the Bay Area, the Magic has prioritized persons of color in all aspects of our organization- from staffing to creative support and partnerships. We revised our programs to better serve artists with multi-year residencies, organizational partnerships, and subsidized rental programs. We provide space, infrastructural, technical, and labor support; the artists and organizations are responsible for the creative and production elements of the performances. Each artist and organization we present reflect a different BIPOC experience, culminating in a tapestry of powerful work that is often ignored by mainstream theaters.

The Magic believes that the long-term vitality of our field is achieved through art education that inspires and motivates students and cultivates new audiences for theater. Making Magic: Art and Community partners with community service organizations to provide a standards-based literacy and art education program for youth and adults in the San Francisco Tenderloin, one of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Through partnerships with Code Tenderloin, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Center, Larkin Street Youth Center, the Southeast Asian Development Center, Bayview Opera House, and the SF AIDS Foundation, we encourage students of all ages to make their voices heard.