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Crosscurrents

Life on Mars: SF playwright imagines the Bay Area of the future

Star Finch

 

Playwright Star Finch was born and raised in San Francisco, which means she’s seen a lot of change in her hometown over the years. Those changes, and her thoughts and concerns about them, show up in her work as a playwright and author. 

Her new show, H.O.M.E.: Hookers on Mars Eventually, is running now at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater in San Francisco. The play brings us to a not-so-distant future where Google elites have colonized Mars, leaving the already marginalized citizens of the Bay Area to struggle with an increasingly damaged planet. Star Finch spoke with KALW’s Jen Chien about humanity in the age of hyper technology, and depictions of women of color on the stage and in science fiction.

 

FINCH: Can you imagine what it feels like to feel free? To feel completely free as a woman, and I can't really. I can't say that I know that feeling.

H.O.M.E.: Hookers on Mars Eventually is running at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater in San Francisco through Sunday.

Click the audio player above to listen to the complete interview.

Crosscurrents
Jen Chien was the managing editor for Crosscurrents and KALW News from 2016 to 2018. She has been a contributor to All Things Considered, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, BBC/PRI’s The World, Making Contact, SF Public Press, East Bay Express, New America Media, and KPFA in Berkeley, where she took part in the First Voice Apprenticeship Program. She is the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Emerging Journalist Award from the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California. She holds a BA in American Studies from Smith College, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Performance from New College of California. Before entering the field of journalism, she had a successful career as a professional dance and theater artist, teacher, and massage therapist.