Berkeley Rep Blog
"Bible's" good news
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Oct 6, 2011
in Our shows
The world premiere of Bill Cain's How to Write a New Book for the Bible, directed by Kent Nicholson, begins previews tomorrow! Learn more about the play -- and Bill -- in todays' San Francisco Chronicle. Then, reserve your seats!
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Building a New Book
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Oct 5, 2011
in Our shows , Scene shop
By Lisa Lazar, charge scenic artist
Bill Cain's How to Write a New Book for the Bible, directed by Kent Nicholson, begins performances on Friday. Get a glimpse behind-the-scenes and see how some of the set elements came together for this new play.
The scene shop is in the middle of building How to Write a New Book for the Bible. We are delighted to work on any show designed by the Scott Bradley.
Carpenter Colin Babcock stands in front of one of the windows he built. This particular window will eventually feature faux stained glass.
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It's National Arts & Humanities Month
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Oct 4, 2011
in News
October is National Arts & Humanities Month, an annual coast-to-coast celebration of culture in America and coordinated by Americans for the Arts. President Obama has issued a White House proclamation that recognizes the value of the arts and humanities and kicks off this month’s celebrations. How can you participate? Check out the Google Events Map to see what events are happening in your community. Or, follow Americans for the Arts on Twitter, and share items from the Arts Action Fund page with your social networks. Join the celebration!
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The makings of a mustache maker
posted by Amy Bobeda on Mon, Oct 3, 2011
in Costume shop
Mustaches are in vogue. Mustache mugs. Mustache T-shirts. The mustache on my father. After years, they are all finally cool, which makes my niche profession of mustache-making cool. You may remember my mustaches from such Berkeley Rep productions as The Great Game: Afghanistan, Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead, and my personal favorite mustache was a minor plot point in last season’s Three Sisters.
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Les Waters' summer vacation
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Sep 30, 2011
in Shows on tour
It was a busy summer here at Berkeley Rep: we wrapped an encore performance of Let Me Down Easy, rehearsed and opened Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, and started rehearsing Bill Cain’s How to Write a New Book for the Bible. But associate artistic director Les Waters wasn’t hanging out by the pool: he was off to Yale Repertory Theatre (after some slight travel delays due to hurricanes) to restage Sarah Ruhl’s version of Three Sisters with most of the original cast seen here including locals James Carpenter, Alex Moggridge, and Barbara Oliver, among others. And they earned some great reviews. Here are some excerpts:
From the Boston Globe:
If done right, as in the incisive and well-acted production at Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Les Waters, “Three Sisters’’ reminds us that few writers have ever seen into the human soul with more acuity and understanding than Chekhov.
Waters has taken pains to ensure that the performances remain grounded in the particulars of each character, so the sisters and their friends register as real people who are grappling with the difficulties and disappointments of existence. Scene by scene, the Yale Rep’s “Three Sisters’’ adds up to a compelling group portrait of characters who, in ways large and small, try to escape the limitations life has imposed on them.
Natalia Payne, Heather Wood and Wendy Rich Stetson play the title characters. Photo by mellopix.com.
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Amplifying Rita Moreno
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Sep 29, 2011
in From the booth , Our shows
By Elliott Ares, sound fellow
Many elements go into the sound design for Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, but one element in particular is essential: vocal amplification. Wireless microphones are utilized so that the audience can hear the actors over the sound effects and live music.
These two RF (radio frequency) mics are assigned to each dancer, Ray Garcia and Salvatore Vassallo. The flesh-colored cable at the top left of the image is the lavalier.
The lavalier sucks up sound and puts it into the body pack transmitter. We painted some of the lavalier cables black to blend in with Ray and Salvatore's hair.
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An ode to the rumba
posted by Amy Bobeda on Wed, Sep 28, 2011
in Costume shop , Our shows
In the production departments, we have to learn to let go of our work. Many artisans at Berkeley Rep are artists outside the gates of our Harrison St. and Addison St. campuses, but here, as artisans we have to embrace what most artists fear: our hard work may never see the light of day. Some departments are used to this; the scenic painting folks work tirelessly to paint the steel framing on the backside of scenery that will never be seen by anyone beyond stage crew.
Change is particularly common on world premieres of shows that have had limited workshop time. Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup is a perfect example.
When the costume shop began production, we began reconstructing a beautiful black-and-white gown for a rumba number. It was a snow storm of rhinestones, spandex, and about 30 yards of sheer and opaque black-and-white taffeta ruffles. Needless to say, it was, as many of our garments are, a challenging by enjoyable execution process.
Alas, no Berkeley Rep audience member will ever gaze upon the rumba dress, because the number was cut from the show.
Many people may read this and think “OMG weren’t you guys mad!? You made so many ruffles!” But here is the kicker: we are just here to make the beautiful things, it isn’t up to us what happens with them next, and there is something incredibly freeing about that feeling.
Personally, I loved the rumba dress. It was sparkly. It was outrageous. It looked darn good on Ms. Moreno, and hopefully its ruffles will one day be seen by eyes other than those of the costume department. Am I sad to see it go? Sure. But, the beautiful thing about costumes is that one day, the rumba dress will come out of the closet again.
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If you were looking for a reason to email Oprah...
posted by Megan Wygant on Mon, Sep 26, 2011
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz , General theatre talk , Our shows
...let it never be said that a passion for the arts didn't give you that opportunity.
Earlier this week, I was pleasantly surprised when an email from Oberon K.A. Adjepong arrived in my inbox. Oberon played Christian, the traveling salesman, in Berkeley Rep's production of Ruined last season and we've kept in touch on and off since then. Like the character you saw on the Roda stage, the real-life Oberon is gifted with a strong sense of humor, an instinct for mischief, and a singular ability to make you feel like a dear friend from the first moment you meet. I really enjoyed having him with us in Berkeley, and am always happy to hear from him.
Oberon was writing because he wanted to ask for my help. And, reading his request, I thought that it might be something that the greater Berkeley Rep community might like to jump in on as well!
Here's the deal:
Late last year, Oprah announced that she was involved with a film adaptation of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer-winning play, Ruined. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that she would be playing Mama Nadi.
At present, the role of Christian has not been cast.
Oberon would very much like to be the one tapped for that role -- and the first step is getting an audition. He and his agent are working the regular channels to make such a thing happen, but he recognizes that this is the time to think about nontraditional solutions as well.
Oberon is therefore asking his friends and family to launch a letter-writing campaign in support of his recent work with Ruined, and to recommend his being given the opportunity to audition for the role.
You see where you can help, don't you? The more, the merrier!
It's pretty simple: write a letter to [email protected]. Tell her that you saw Oberon in the recent Berkeley Rep production of Ruined (if you'd like, you can also mention that he played the role at La Jolla Playhouse and the Huntington Theatre in Boston). Tell Ms. Winfrey how much you liked Oberon's work as Christian. Be specific if you can. And ask her to consider casting him in the role of Christian for her film.
Again, that email address is [email protected].
We all talk about how, in this business, being successful is a combination of talent, hard work, and luck. Sometimes, you just have to make your own luck -- and this is one of those times. Let's help him do it!
Photo: Oberon K.A. Adjepong as Christian and Tonye Patano as Mama Nadi in Berkeley Rep's production of Ruined (photo by Kevin Berne)
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At Burning Man
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Sep 23, 2011
in Scene shop
By Colin Babcock
As master carpenter of Berkeley Rep, I am constantly confronted with new challenges and get to work with new materials and techniques. It’s my favorite part about my job. Recently I built the rolling fire escape and stoop unit you saw on stage in Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup. The stoop unit was tricky. It had to be wheeled out and placed on its spike mark and stay there as Rita Moreno recounted her early years in New York. To accomplish my given task, I drew upon past Berkeley Rep experience, with some help from my wife Stephanie Shipman, who built two rolling desks for The People’s Temple back when she was the scene-shop intern during the 2004/05 season. I was able to base the engineering of my stoop on what she did with the desks, but augmented her design with some techniques I recently employed on an outside project. I devised a lever-and-pulley system in the stoop that engages the wheels in much the same way that I made the rudder turn with the front wheels of the 25-foot-long submarine my friends and I made from scratch this summer.
The task was to build a replica of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that could be driven around the playa at the recent Burning Man Festival in Nevada. About 40 of us worked long nights and weekends all summer long at the Five Ton Crane Headquarters in West Oakland to accomplish our goal.
Attaching skeleton to the vehicle
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The Glamour of Old Hollywood: A New World for Teens
posted by School of Theatre on Thu, Sep 22, 2011
in School of Theatre , Teen Council
By Gisela Feied
One of the best parts of being a part of Berkeley Rep’s Teen Council is that it allows a teenager like me to see beautiful plays at an amazing theatre. Attending Teen Night for Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup on September 9 was no exception.
As I walked in through the doors of the School of Theatre, I instantly felt the welcoming smiles of Teen Council members and School of Theatre staff. The food was to die for (adorable mini burgers from Phil’s Sliders -- thanks Phil's!). As we enjoyed our dinner, we talked to Ray Garcia and Salvatore Vassallo, the two back-up dancers in Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup. It was very easy and fun to ask them questions about their performing arts training, including their triple-threat status being singers, actors, and dancers. And, of course, what was it like working with Rita Moreno? It was extremely exciting to hear about how Salvatore has toured the world with stars like Cher and Britney Spears! Ray was asked about his experience in the Broadway production of Rent! In the show we would get visual proof of how gifted and skilled they truly are.
After interviewing Ray and Sal, we walked together to the theatre with tickets in hand and found our seats. As the lights went down and the curtain came up we leaned forward in our chairs and were enchanted to see Rita Moreno standing centerstage, looking out over the audience. Throughout the performance there was in intensity in watching Rita’s life unfold as a one-woman show. Seeing her life was like a seeing a new world! From an early age she realized she was a performer, and at 16 she got her first contract. She got to meet people like Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, and Elvis Presley. Not to mention the fact that she played Anita in the movie version of West Side Story! She spoke about how frustrating and unfair it was to be cast in many movies and plays based on a stereotype of her ethnicity, despite her incredible talents.
Intermission was the longest 15 minutes of my life. After the show, I was completely speechless. We could only listen to the each other try to formulate thoughts into words. It was useless, but we all knew what the others were feeling, because we felt it too. It also connected us to a whole world that, until that night, I, and many of my peers, hadn’t been exposed to. That new world was the glamour of old Hollywood. Seeing this show made me more confident in my pursuit to become a working actor one day. What an amazing show. It will stay with me for the rest of my life -- I can’t wait for the next Teen Night!
An aspiring actress and stage combatant, Gisela Feied is a junior at Oakland School for the Arts. A Teen Council regular, Gisela has participated in many Teen Council programs, including acting in the Teen One-Acts Festival and winning the title of Top Fundraiser at last year’s Teen Council Dramathon.