Berkeley Rep Blog
In this performance...
posted by Megan Wygant on Wed, Nov 17, 2010
in Backstage buzz
You've heard the old adage, "the show must go on." Nowhere is that more apparent than when one person covers for another, so that the show itself can go on, even if an individual artist cannot.
If you've attended any number of theatrical events, you've probably seen this sign at one time or another:
"In this performance, the roles normally played by [person 1] will be played by [person 2]."
Now, sometimes, that's a real bummer -- you might have come to a show specifically to see person 1, for example -- but you should know that sending on an understudy is never something done lightly. Sending on an understudy is a Big Deal. And that's why I want to tell you a little bit about the last time that sign appeared on Berkeley Rep's stages -- partially to give you some insight into what's might be going on backstage while you're reading that notice, and partially to give a round of applause to some serious superstars who rarely get the limelight.
In one of the very last weeks of Compulsion, you might have seen that understudy sign in the lobby. Tuesday night, about 90 minutes before the first show of the week, puppeteer Emily DeCola recieved a phone call. There was a family emergency, and she needed to get home. This could have been a major problem -- we cast a full contingent of understudy actors for each show, but we don't shadow-cast the backstage crew or the puppeteers. We were about to be one man down for three days.
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Invasion of the puppets
posted by Daria Hepps on Fri, Nov 12, 2010
in Our shows
Rehearsals are underway, and Berkeley Rep's been overrun with marionettes. I had a chance to talk with the puppeteers for our upcoming production of Lemony Snicket's the Composer is Dead. I'm no expert on these things, so it was fascinating to hear them talk about their field. Here are some of the fun and interesting things I learned...
Marionettes have existed since ancient times. Of all puppetry fields, it’s the one that is fading most rapidly – not because audiences don’t love marionettes, but because they are the most difficult to work with. They demand specially designed sets, special lighting, and they are themselves complex to design and manipulate. Marionettes, which can have up to 20 strings, blend art, engineering and manipulation in a unique way.
Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko of Phantom Limb (shown in this photo) both have art backgrounds, and they believe that marionettes are the most magical of all puppetry fields. As marionettes are not physically attached to the body of the puppeteer, they can appear to be fully functioning independent beings. Notes Erik, “Audiences are enthralled.”
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Lemony Snicket introduces The Composer is Dead
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, Nov 8, 2010
in Our shows
Excitement is building up around here at Berkeley Rep as rehearsals start in earnest for Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead. Yep, by the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. In fact, we could think of no other person than the author himself to introduce this show perfect for the whole family:
“Once Berkeley Rep had a long and proud tradition of presenting some of the most exciting and engaging theater in the land, and Phantom Limb had a reputation as an emerging and dynamic force in the world of puppetry and design. I am sad to report that this new production brings these traditions and reputations to sorry ends. The Composer is Dead began its life as a composition for narrator and orchestra, written in collaboration with living composer Nathaniel Stookey and, to our surprise and horror, performed all over the world by various symphony orchestras who lived to regret it. One would have thought that would be the end of it, but Berkeley Rep, in a fit of madness for which the East Bay is well-known, has revived and reinvented this work for audiences of all ages, as all ages will be equally depressed over this sorry spectacle. Please join me in the cheap seats of Berkeley Rep’s crowded and crumbling theatre, so that together we, the audience viewing this sorry spectacle, might cry out the only thing that might save us: ‘Fire!’” –Lemony Snicket
Read more and buy tickets now!
Photo of Geoff Hoyle as the Inspector by kevinberne.com.
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Hometown pride
posted by Megan Wygant on Thu, Nov 4, 2010
in Backstage buzz
San Francisco, you should know...
...it's not just a hometown thing.
This is Danny Rahim, one of the actors in The Great Game: Afghanistan. One of my favorite things about this cast has been how eager they've been to absorb local culture -- they've made a point each day of going out to experience the best that the Bay Area has to offer (you have to admit, our best is pretty darn amazing).
As a result, they've fallen completely in love. Last week, when the house managers were announcing the World Series' score before the start of the show and end of intermission, there were a few cast members backstage, whooping and clapping along with all of you out front.
So, Monday -- the theatre's dark day -- the company went over to San Francisco to sit in a sports bar, and cheer for the home team. And yesterday, sure enough, a group of them BARTed back under the Bay to soak up the celebration. Last night, Danny -- and Tom McKay -- came up to the production office to show off their new hats. New hats with one very special addition, so appropriate, I thought it was just a lucky buy:
(Tom was rushing for the stage, so he couldn't stand for a photo)
I think we just turned these Brits into baseball fans.
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Sold! A new home for our shops and offices
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Nov 2, 2010
in News
Photo by Cheshire Isaacs.
It’s still a buyer’s market! Yesterday, Berkeley Rep announced the purchase of a 62,000-square-foot building at 999 Harrison Street in West Berkeley, which will house our artisans and administrators under one roof for the first time in decades—while cutting costs and supporting the local economy, to boot.
Of course, all performances will continue at the Roda Theatre and the Thrust Theatre—and the extra space means new amenities for our audiences in the future.
We’re thrilled that our offices and shops will be under one roof, instead of in five different locations in two cities. Our employees are coming back to Berkeley to a spacious, attractive new campus in West Berkeley, the city’s home for light manufacturing. And we’re owning instead of renting office and shop space, and gaining 50% more space while paying 50% less money. Score!
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A personal, passionate opinion about The Game
posted by Terence Keane on Fri, Oct 29, 2010
in Our shows
This week, in the Napa Valley Register, Sasha Paulsen asks all of the questions that come up when one hears about The Great Game: Afghanistan -- and then she answers them in cogent, passionate prose. It's rare that one reads a review this thorough and heartfelt:
All during the drive to Berkeley, Afghanistan kept surfacing in NPR news reports: Had fraud invalidated the recent elections; was it necessary for the Afghan government to negotiate with the Taliban; why was Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declaring Pakistan is the U.S.’s greatest ally in defeating terrorism?
The drone of these news stories, day after day, can be numbing. Set against it is the fact that a 21-year-old Napa man, Army Spc. Chase Stanley, died last July in this conflict.
He was one of 62,415 troops from 46 countries currently in Afghanistan, and to the military fatalities must be added the deaths of thousands of civilians — and thousands more if one goes back to the beginnings of this “Great Game,” according to information in the “The Great Game” program.
Theatrical questions arise: Can ‘entertainment’ be made of this? Is this issue so important one can dispense with entertainment and just be enlightened? Is it possible to entertain and inform? Is it possible that entertainment can prove more enlightening that “just the facts?” Twelve playwrights on one vast, complex, bewildering topic: We were going to watch blind men describing an elephant?
... Eleven hours later, on the drive back to Napa from Berkeley, slightly foggy-headed but oddly exhilarated, I was listening to NPR again.
The news stories were the same as they’d been that morning: the election fraud, Hilary Clinton and the Pakistanis, could the U.S. hold Kandahar, and can anyone negotiate with the Taliban?
These complex stories, however, had acquired faces and voices, amid drumbeats of history and human folly. And that, in the end, is the affect of great, of brilliant theater.
If you've already seen the show, or if you're trying to decide if you want to see it, Sasha's story will undoubtedly speak to you. Read the entire review here.
There's one more week of The Great Game. It closes next Sunday, November 7, and then heads off to New York.
Photo of Danny Rahim in The Great Game: Afghanistan by John Haynes
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Free panel discussion on Afghanistan tonight
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Oct 28, 2010
in Events
(l to r) Shereen Martineau and Sheena Bhattessa star in The Great Game: Afghanistan. Photo: John Haynes.
We’ve received terrific response from both critics and audiences for The Great Game: Afghanistan, the sweeping three-part cycle of short plays by 12 top playwrights, playing through November 7. We shouldn’t be surprised; after all, we know our audiences are adventurous and hungry for theatre both intelligent and entertaining. And many of you are looking for more ways to be involved in the conversation about the war in Afghanistan.
One of our many special (and free!) events takes place tonight at the Roda Theatre at 6:00 PM. "Representing Afghanistan: The Great Game" is a forum that examines the opportunities and challenges that involvement in Afghanistan presents, both for foreign countries and for Afghan natives. Moderated by Simon Gammell, director of the British Council, West Coast, the panelists include Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi, president, California State University, East Bay; Nushin Arbabzadah, research scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women; and Rona Popal, executive director, Afghan Coalition. They’ll discuss the role played by the arts, the media, and academia in our understanding of Afghanistan.
What does The Great Game illustrate about the importance of cultural understanding and dialogue in relation to current events? How do we represent a culture, whether it’s our own or someone else’s? Come find out tonight!
Do you want more info on our speakers? Here are the bios:
Simon Gammell has worked for the British Council in the UK, Italy, Argentina, Australia, India, and now the United States. He has worked extensively in the arts throughout his career, with a particular specialism in international theatre. Simon relocated to LA in August to take up his new position in the British Council's leadership team for USA.
Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi, Ph.D., is president of California State University, East Bay (CSUEB). He has worked in university administration more than 30 years and has a background in both engineering and business. Qayoumi was born in Afghanistan and is the first person of Afghan descent to head a major US university.
Nushin Arbabzadah is an Afghan author, journalist, analyst, and translator who grew up in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation before fleeing to Germany with her family. She is a research scholar at UCLA Center for the Study of Women. Before going to UCLA, Nushin worked for the British Council, running literary and journalistic projects on intercultural communication, with a focus on dialogue with the Muslim world. In 2005, she joined the BBC, where she specialized in media, politics, and society in contemporary Afghanistan.
Rona Popal is the executive director of the Afghan Coalition and AWAI and the project director at Afghan Health Partnership Program. She has worked in social services for more than 20 years as an employment counselor and social worker and has headed the Afghan Women’s Association since 2001 and the Afghan Coalition since 2003. Popal is a recognized community leader and was voted International Woman of the Year by the Silicon Valley Women’s Organization in 2002. She holds a BA in political science and international relations from CSUEB.
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Great Game garners great reviews
posted by Terence Keane on Tue, Oct 26, 2010
in Our shows
Our actors and backstage crews pulled off quite a feat this weekend: nine shows in three days! On Friday, we opened our epic production of The Great Game: Afghanistan, presenting the entire trilogy in one impressive marathon that started at 11:30 AM and ended at 10:30 PM. And then we did it again on Saturday and Sunday! (And meanwhile, next door on our Thrust Stage, the hardworking folks from Compulsion "only" gave us the usual five-show weekend.)
Was it worth it? Well, the local critics have added their voices to the international praise for this ambitious production:
"There's no doubt that the Tricycle Theatre's The Great Game: Afghanistan is one of the theatrical events of the season... This is no polemic. It's a timely history lesson, an animated primer to add context to one of the era's most pressing issues. It's also strikingly staged." - San Francisco Chronicle
“This production pulls off an amazing feat. It entertains and informs. It’s a double whammy that should not be missed by fans of theater nor fans of politics.” – Stark Insider
“Berkeley Rep’s Great Game is powerful… Going to see all three plays will definitely provide theatergoers with a deeper understanding of a 170-year swath of Afghanistan’s history. They will see some fine acting as well. Many members of the Tricycle’s London company are simply outstanding, including Jemma Redgrave (of the famous acting family).” – Berkeleyside
“This really is a staggering event… the plays as a whole create a fascinating portrait of Afghanistan – not unlike like the giant mural at the back of Pamela Howard’s simple set that undergoes several important evolutions.” – Theater Dogs
We're still waiting to see the review from the Bay Area News Group, which should appear this Thursday in the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, and Contra Costa Times. But you may not want to wait that long to order tickets. The Chronicle urges you to "Go for the marathon," and tickets to see the entire series are going fast!
Photo of Jemma Redgrave and Daniel Rabin in The Great Game: Afghanistan by John Haynes
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We can all be Superman
posted by School of Theatre on Mon, Oct 25, 2010
in School of Theatre
By Allison Whorton
Education Fellow
“Is everyone ready to go?” Candice McDowell, my fellow Education fellow, said to me at 12:45pm on Thursday afternoon. The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre staff gathered together in our lobby. What were we ready for? Not a staff meeting, not one of our many School of Theatre events. Instead, the six of us excitedly headed out the door and walked down Shattuck Avenue to a local Berkeley movie theatre for a field trip. A movie? During a work day? The School of Theatre staff can primarily be found in our office during the work day, plugging away at our desks, orchestrating our diverse range of theatre education programming, or out in Bay Area schools. However, this day was special. We went to see Waiting for ‘Superman’, Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary about America’s flawed education system.
With our large popcorn and soda to share, we scurried into the balcony of the movie theatre, awaiting the start of the film. It begins with an interview with Anthony, a little boy who lives in the Washington D.C. area. As Guggenheim interviews him about his experiences, the elementary school student says, “I want my kids to have better than what I had.” From the moment the documentary began, I knew it would be an intimate and profound reflection of the dismal state of our nation’s public education system. Guggenheim follows five young and promising students around throughout the documentary, and we witness how our current education system can hinder our youth, instead of supporting their growth as students and as people.
The documentary imparted some staggering statistics. America ranks only 25th in math and 21st in science among 30 developing countries. It is estimated that only 50 million Americans will be qualified to fill the 123 million high-paying, high-skilled jobs that will be available by the year 2020. More than 2,000 American high schools are “dropout factories” (meaning more than 40 percent of the students do not graduate). After I saw the documentary, I researched statistics specific to California. California’s high school graduation rate is 68 percent. In 8th grade, only 37 percent pass the state test in math, and 38 percent pass the state test in reading.
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Let the Great Game Begin!
posted by Cheshire Isaacs on Fri, Oct 22, 2010
in News , Our shows
In just over an hour, The Great Game: Afghanistan begins! It's the first marathon performance, with Part 1 starting at 11:30 AM; Part 2 at 3:30 PM; and Part 3 at 8 PM.
The Great Game has arrived direct from London, where it played at Tricycle Theatre, co-directed by artitsic director Nicolas Kent. Check out the SFGate.com's article about the show and Nicolas here, and we hope to see you at the show, which plays through November 7. Here's more information.