Brainpeople was commissioned by South Coast Repertory (David Emmes and Martin Benson, Artistic Directors; Paula Tomei, Managing Director). Brainpeople was made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for New Works, an endowment fund of the Next Generation Campaign.
On February 2, 2008 Brainpeople received its world premiere at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (Carey Perloff, Artistic Director; Heather M. Kitchen, Executive Director). It was directed by Chay Yew. Daniel Ostling was the set designer. Lydia Tanji was the costume designer. Paul Whitaker was the lighting designer. Cliff Caruthers was the sound designer. June Palladino was the stage manager. The cast was as follows:
| MAYANNAH | Lucia Brawley |
| ROSEMARY | René Augesen |
| SCANI | Sona Tatoyan |