Unseen Shepard a BFF 2026 Free Event

It’s BFF 2026, the 11th Annual BFF Binge Fringe Festival of FREE Theatre, October 13 through November 20, the only FREE Fringe Festival in the nation, offering 37 in-person plays, workshops and family-oriented events, presenting:
A fantasy about Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard on the last night of his life. He’s confronted by versions of characters from his past works, demanding a rewrite, and they won’t let him go without a fight. Among them are writers, cowboys, abusive husbands, punk rockers and long-suffering women, who all want more out of their trapped existence. The writing of the play began when Nic D’Avirro approached Matt Braaten with an idea for a play about Sam Shepard. Nic and Matt were set to premiere it at the 2020 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but COVID changed that. As they were preparing for the 2021 festival, Nic died, unexpectedly, on January 12 of that year. Written by Nic D’Avirro & Matt Braaten; Performed by Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri, Matt Braaten, and Paul Perri.
Unseen Shepard premiered at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the production was dedicated to Nic D’Avirro.
Special thanks to generous grants from the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, and Playhouse PALS. The BFF celebrates the range and depth of the human condition and the idea that theatre arts experiences are vital, transformative, and must be available for all.
FREE as part of the BFF Binge Fringe Festival of Free Theatre. Live-streaming info can be found at SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com. No need to make a reservation If you are live-streaming.