This week, the San Francisco Playhouse stage will be transformed into a basketball court. And instead of acts, the drama will unfold in quarters for Flex, a new play about high school girls with hoop dreams. The action-packed production gets its West Coast premiere on March 26 and features a good amount of game play, but it’s really all about the aspirations and struggles that drive the girls to leave it all on the court.
Directed by Bay Area theater veteran Margo Hall, Flex takes place in Arkansas, the home state of playwright Candrice Jones. She began developing the play in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Ground Floor program for experimental new works a decade ago.
Set in 1998, the action in Flex unfolds just after the formation of the WNBA. “It’s about dreaming of being a champion,” Hall told KTVU in a recent interview. “It’s also an opportunity for these young girls to get out of Arkansas, to have a life beyond this rural life.”
The play arrives in the Bay Area as all eyes are on women’s basketball. Last year, the WNBA had its most popular season to date, and the Bay’s own Golden State Valkyries exceeded expectations as the first expansion team to make it to the playoffs.
This week, the WNBA made history once again: After contentious negotiations, players signed a new collective bargaining agreement. It raises their minimum salary from $66,000 to $300,000, and gives players more opportunities to share in the wealth they’re generating for the league. Experts have called it a massive step forward for women athletes, who have spent decades fighting for access, recognition and fair compensation.
