July 31 - August 3, 2025
State of Play invites you to join the creative process, presenting premieres and works in progress by dance artists from the Bay Area and across the US who push the limits of experimentation, risk, and curiosity. Bringing audiences and artists closer together, State of Play centers the art of art-making and its constant: play.
Supporting your favorite art venue is an act of protest!
We’re serious.
Tallies are in and the arts have been stripped of $27 million dollars by the federal government (which included ODC Theater) this past Spring. Want to do something about this? As simple as it sounds: buy tickets to your favorite local artists events!
To not be overwhelmed by these cuts, ODC Theater needs to pack houses for our State of Play Festival—get your tickets NOW!
ARTIST LINEUP
RISK-TAKERS // Evening Length Performances
Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein, Wanjiru Kamuyu | WKcollective, a dance company
CURIOUS CREATORS // Short Form Performances
Leila Awadallah, gizeh muñiz, Black Benatar, Molly Rose-Williams
EXPERIMENTERS // Studio Presentations
Kira Fargas, Kimie Parker
Performance Schedule
Thursday, July 31
6:00pm - Black Benatar: Meet Black Benatar
7:00pm - gizeh muñiz: FISHBLOD
8:00pm - Wanjiru Kamuyu | WKcollective, a dance company: An Immigrant's Story
Hospitality Partner: Palm House SF
Friday, August 1
5:00pm - Kira Fargas: Maya ASL Interpretation
5:30pm - Fall in Love at CRUSH!
6:00pm - Wanjiru Kamuyu | WKcollective, a dance company: An Immigrant's Story ASL Interpretation
7:30pm - Molly Rose-Williams: CRUSH
8:30pm - Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein: Deepe Darknesse
Hospitality Partner: Tonantzin SF
Saturday, August 2
6:00pm - Kimie Parker: komainu duet ASL Interpretation
7:00pm - Leila Awadallah: shuhada alive-streamed un-ceased FIRE
8:00pm - Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein: Deepe Darknesse ASL Interpretation
9:30pm - Black Benatar: Meet Black Benatar ASL Interpretation
Hospitality Partner: Lil' Alijo
Sunday, August 3
5:00pm - gizeh muñiz: FISHBLOD ASL Interpretation
6:00pm - Molly Rose-Williams: CRUSH ASL Interpretation
7:00pm - Leila Awadallah: shuhada alive-streamed un-ceased FIRE ASL Interpretation
Hospitality Partner: Palm House SF
Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase from our hospitality partners prior to and during festival performances. Join us nightly in the ODC Theater Lobby to toast the artists and learn more about their performances.
STATE OF PLAY WORKSHOP WITH FESTIVAL ARTISTS
July 28 - 30, 2025
Dance your way through State of Play! The State of Play Workshop is a three-day dance and movement-based workshop featuring a selection of performing artists from ODC Theater’s State of Play festival. Each morning will begin with technique followed by varying afternoon content, with each instructor guiding students through a distinct process of play. The State of Play workshop is geared towards professional dancers, though all movers are welcomed and encouraged to join at their own pace. Enjoy sessions with gizeh muñiz, Kira Fargas, Molly Rose Williams, Natalya Shoaf, Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein, Leila Awadallah, and Wanjiru Kamuyu!
Thank You To Our Community Partners
Thank you to all of our hospitality partners for supporting our State of Play festival with their food and drink services! We're grateful for collaboration and invite continued support of all of our partners, far beyond the festival.
State of Play Digital Encore 2025
Discover, and re-discover, the presented artists of ODC Theater’s 2025 State of Play festival through this Free Digital ReCap. Dive deep into the creative process with behind-the-scenes clips, mini documentaries and excerpts from performances ranging from presenting premieres to works-in-progress. Artists have come from across the US to present work that pushes the limits of experimentation, risk and curiosity.
Sign up for free and be the first to know when it drops.
Accessibility at ODC
ODC is ADA Accessible. Additional wheelchair seating is provided for select shows. ODC Theater seats are 17 inches wide. Getting to second floor studios in the ODC Dance Commons and ODC Theater involves riding an elevator or climbing one flight of stairs. The majority of the ODC Annex is carpeted.
Land Acknowledgement
ODC is on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush People in Yelamu. We pay respects to elders past and present, who are still here and part of our community. We recognize that regenerative land management is not new, but is a continuation of practices from Native cultures and from our own ancestors. It is our responsibility to steward the land with care, as our elders did before us.
Arts Access Tickets
ODC offers a limited number of free and/or lower-cost Art Access tickets to every ODC presented performance. For most performances in B. Way Theater, twenty tickets are allocated to the Arts Access tiers. These additionally subsidized tickets, available on a first-come, first-serve basis, are reserved for those for whom price is a barrier. Please contact boxoffice@odc.dance if you or your organization is interested in underwriting the cost of additional Arts Access tickets.
About the Theater
ODC Theater exists to empower and develop innovative artists. It participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship and space access; it develops informed, engaged and committed audiences; and advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the economic and cultural development of our community. This 170-seat venue is the site of over 150 performances a year involving nearly 1,000 local, regional, national and international artists.
What’s on at ODC Theater?