in-depth and experimental coverage of the bay area’s arts and cultural scenes
By Julius Ernesto Rea, with Austin Dean Ashford
Substrate Arts co-founder Julius Rea sits down with As the 2024 Artist-in-residence at Z Space in San Francisco, the critically-acclaimed Austin Dean Ashford shares his philosophy behind his art making.
By David John Chávez, with Jeffrey Lo
Substrate Arts co-founder David John Chávez sits with Bay Area theater maker Jeffery Lo about his career and the state of local arts producing.
By David John Chávez
Three female and queer DJs flip the script on who can lead the way in the Bay Area music scene.
DJ Lady Ryan, DJ Del and DJ DeeAndroid make the Bay Area a better, more badass place, one mix, scratch, one track at a time. Or maybe even four at a time.
By Julius Rea, with ShawnJ West & Charles Lewis III
How do we give criticism and stay supportive of our arts community?
A Substrate Arts co-founder sits down with a local arts writer and theatre-maker to discuss theatre criticism in the Bay Area.
By David John Chávez, with Alan Quismorio
A longtime pillar of Bay Area theatre looks in the past and hopes for the future.
The Chikahan Company co-founder Alan Quismorio sits down with David John Chávez to unpack the state of theatre-making and the power of Filipino narratives.
By Hiya Swanhuyser
Nazi punks, fuck off! The night of a small-town rebellion.
Bad trouble came to Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater in the form of skinheads wearing military-style jackets, tall boots, and armbands with swastikas. That night, a group of teenagers banded together to resist that racist violence—culminating in an intense but nearly forgotten confrontation.
By David John Chávez, with Sean San José
As part of Substrate Arts’ Launch Party held at Magic Theatre in June 2023, Substrate Arts co-founder David John Chávez spoke with Sean San José, artistic director of Magic Theatre and co-founder of Campo Santo.
By Nicole Gluckstern
No EXIT, a post-mortem.
What will become of EXIT Theatre’s vision of an expanding Tenderloin arts district now that they’ve closed up shop at 156 Eddy Street?