Berkeley Rep Blog
Poetry Out Loud streams live
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Apr 14, 2011
in General theatre talk
Hey, y'all know it's National Poetry Month, right? We wanted to let you know about this really cool event on April 28 and 29: the Poetry Out Loud national finals. It's the nation's largest youth poetry recitation contest in partnership with the NEA and the Poetry Foundation.
This year the Poetry Out Loud semifinals and finals will be webcast live right here, so you can check out these 53 talented teens compete for $50,000 in awards. The California representative is Robert Marchand, a senior at Pacific Grove High in Monterey County. In fact, Pacific Grove High has sent a state champion to the finals for the past three years. Robert is active in his high school's drama club, and likened reciting poetry to performing a monologue. (Hmm, we wonder if he's destined for the stage.)
Break a leg, Robert!
Robert Marchand. Photo copyright Brian Baer,
courtesy of California Arts Council.
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
More nominations for Ruined
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Apr 14, 2011
in News , Our shows
After 125 performances in three cities, Ruined closed last weekend here at Berkeley Rep. Its run at La Jolla Playhouse earned numerous San Diego Critics Circle nominations and awards, and we just learned that the run at Huntington Theatre in Boston earned the following Elliot Norton Award nominations: Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Actress (Tonye Patano).Congratulations all!
Photo of Tonye Patano with Joseph Kamal courtesy of kevinberne.com.
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
Countdown to the BIG warehouse sale
posted by A Susskind on Wed, Apr 13, 2011
in Events , News
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
If you missed the last post about our giant warehouse sale, or if you're just looking for an unusual place to take a first date this weekend, keep in mind 937 Carleton in Berkeley (not in Oakland). On Friday and Saturday (April 15 and 16) from 10am to 4pm our staff will be on hand to hook you up with some great deals on some unusual wares. Today I swung by to take some photos of the awesome items we have for sale. Keep in mind, many of the items pictured are props and costumes that have been on our stage -- you could even walk away in the shoes worn by Laura Bush!* The coolest items go fast and everything is cash only. Come early for the selection, come late for the deals!
Take home a poster from BRT's archives
Upscale chairs for your upscale home
A mountain to spruce up your H.O. Gauge Train Set
Hats!
Hats!
And more hats!
Assorted awesomeness
Costumes
A piano costume! (You gotta see it to believe it)
Bert won't bite!
Something fishy?
Find the perfect gift for all types
See you this weekend!
*As played by Kate Eifrig in Tiny Kushner.
Comments: 3 | Post a comment / Read comments
Congratulations to Semifreddi's
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Apr 13, 2011
in News
We serve their cookies and biscotti at our concessions counter. We've hosted them countless times at our free tastings. Now, we're thrilled to hear that Semifreddi's won a Small Business of the Year award! Senator Loni Hancock selected Semifreddi's, which is located in her district (9), indicating that the company "exemplifies it is indeed possible to be a successful business that gives back to the community, provides fair employment opportunities, and promotes environmental sustainability."
On June 6, Semifreddi's will receive the award at a California Small Business Association luncheon in Sacramento. Congratulations!
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
Meet the Three Sisters
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Apr 12, 2011
in Our shows
Sarah Ruhl's new version of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters opens Wednesday evening, helmed by none other than Les Waters -- and we just posted our production photos! Take a look (all photos courtesy of mellopix.com):
James Carpenter, Sam Breslin Wright, and Barbara Oliver.
Thomas Jay Ryan and Heather Wood.
Emily Kitchens, Wendy Rich Stetson, and Heather Wood.
Natalia Payne, Heather Wood, and Wendy Rich Stetson.
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
Sadistic fortune cookie
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, Apr 11, 2011
in
Three Sisters opens this week, and an unfortunate Berkeley Rep production staffer received this message over the weekend:
At least it reveals which cues those are!
Comments: 2 | Post a comment / Read comments
Les Waters on Three Sisters
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Apr 8, 2011
in Our shows
Tonight marks the first preview of Three Sisters, Sarah Ruhl's new version of the Chekhov masterpiece. Director Les Waters talks about the production in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. Here's a tiny tidbit:
"I sort of knew that before, but how desperate it is, how much people's huge emotional needs are not fulfilled by the others. It's a constant revelation. I'm astonished, on a daily level, with how brilliantly it's constructed and how quickly it changes gears - and how skillfully the construction is hidden."
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
Words for arts advocacy
posted by School of Theatre on Thu, Apr 7, 2011
in School of Theatre
By Allison Whorton
Education Fellow
Tuesday, April 5 was Arts Advocacy Day 2011, a national event dedicated to underscoring the importance of supporting and funding for the arts. In honor of this event, five members of Berkeley Rep’s Teen Council went to Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office in San Francisco to have their voices heard about the importance of arts education. They met with Director of Field Services Gina Banks and engaged in a conversation about the need to keep the arts in our schools.
As part of an arts advocacy social media initiative, members of the Berkeley Rep community and beyond posted on Twitter and Facebook about the value of the arts. Berkeley Rep teens presented these messages at the Senator’s office. Take a look below at some of the key words from their tweets and status updates, compiled into a word cloud on Wordle.net. The larger the word, the more people included it in their posts. (Click the image to make it full size.)
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
Apple and Intel stop using conflict minerals
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Apr 5, 2011
in News , Our shows
Yesterday, Fast Company reported that Apple and Intel, two of several companies involved in the Conflict-Free Smelter program, have stopped using conflict minerals, and in its article references Bloomberg, which reports, among other things, that the SEC will issue regulations this month to stem the purchase of these minerals: "U.S. companies will be required to audit mineral supplies next year to identify purchases that may be tainted by the Congo fighting, according to draft SEC regulations."
We've blogged about conflict minerals a few times, and it's pretty cool to see these reports come out during the last week of performances of Ruined in our Roda Theatre.
Comments: 0 | Post a comment / Read comments
It's a warehouse sale!
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Apr 5, 2011
in Costume shop , Events
Hey, have you heard we're having a huge warehouse sale on April 15 and 16? Here's what you might find:
You can get the hat -- you can't get the girl!