Just five days before the April 30 opening of the San Francisco International Arts Festival, founder-director Andrew Wood was at his desk filling out sound permits for the Mission District venues housing this year’s event.
This is the third year that the festival, founded in 2002, is swooping into the Mission District, after many years at Fort Mason. Its multicultural performances—dance, music, theater, circus and spoken word—will be onstage at a larger-than-ever number of nontraditional venues.
Along with such dedicated theatrical houses as Theatre of Yugen’s Noh Space, Dance Mission Theatre and The Marsh, this year’s performance spaces include Abanico Coffee Roasters, Folk Yoga Studio, Fingersnaps Media Arts and many more, all within the confines of the bustling and energetic Mission.
Among the many ensembles offering over 100 concerts and performances, including both U.S. and world premieres, plus lectures and workshops (some are free) during the 11-day festival are international groups from Australia, Canada, Estonia, Japan, Northern Ireland and Poland. They join a cohort of 40 Bay Area-based actors, performance, spoken word and circus artists and musicians. The lineup includes walking tours led by Precita Eyes.
Wood started planning this year’s festival two years ago, traveling to the Edinburgh Fringe, Barcelona, Canada and Asia to find the best works to fit the festival’s requirements (small ensemble work in the varied categories, no more than 90 minutes). All the theater pieces he chose for this year’s festival involve stories that will resonate with Bay Area audiences; at the same time, they could not have been made by a Bay Area artist and are unique to their countries of origin.
For example, “In the Name of the Son,” about the late, Belfast-born Gerry Conlon, who was wrongfully imprisoned in London for being an Irish Republican Army bomber, is onstage at the Victoria Theatre on April 30 and May 2-3. Described as a “metaphor for Northern Ireland’s struggle to escape the trauma of the Troubles,” the solo show was co-written by a friend of Conlon.
Also, Canadian-Jamaican guitarist-performer Duane Forrest arrives with the U.S. premiere of “Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World” onstage May 1-3 at Fingersnaps Media Arts.
Poland’s Fret Studio brings “The Border,” the true story of Antonina Romanova, a transgendered Ukrainian performance artist who was drafted into the Ukrainian army in 2023. Monika Wachowicz performs, with Romanova on video, on May 1 and May 3 at Noh Space.
“Our ongoing theme is ‘Diaspora for a new majority.’ It’s about shifting demographics, voices left out of prevailing narratives. There’s a socio-political dimension even if it’s only slightly stated,” says Wood, who adds, “Backlash against LGBTQ around the world is becoming a loud drumbeat” and was especially looking for work representing those communities.
The artistic director of the Japanese contemporary dance company Suichu-Meganeά (onstage May 9-10 at Dance Mission) is an out lesbian in a culture where “if you’re gay you don’t say so.” She brings “my body, my choice” to the festival; the performance includes traditional masks and a classical influence.
One of the best shows Wood saw when scouting in 2023 was Fairly Lucid Productions (of Australia and the UK), presenting the U.S. premiere of “Member” on May 8-10 at The Marsh. In the solo show written and performed by Ben Noble, a violently antigay father must come to terms with his gay son. “The deep thing about it is that it’s about the perp,” said Wood. “It gets inside his head, his whole understanding of life is turned around. It’s absolutely fascinating.”
For Wood, obstacles continue to exist in putting up this annual festival. As the time of the interview for this story, the festival had not yet received the agreed-upon $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts; usually the NEA grant arrives in January.
At the moment, under the current government, the grant is frozen. “Scary,” says Wood, who concludes, “We’re a tiny organization that does our bit. All things that make a multiracial, equitable society is what we stand for. And what San Francisco stands for.”
The San Francisco International Arts Festival runs April 30 through May 11, 2025 at numerous locations in the Mission District. Tickets are free to $50. Visit sfiaf.org for schedule and details.
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