Berkeley Rep Blog
Life imitating art
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Apr 18, 2012
in Our shows
David Henry Hwang's new hit comedy Chinglish had its last Broadway performance in January -- so why's it making news now?
Well, it appears the scandel in China involving party leader Bo Xilai, whose wife is being investigated in the mysterious death of a British businessman, bears an uncanny resemblance to Hwang's play, where an American businessman gets involved with the wife of a Communist official.
In his article for Newsweek magazine (which we found at the Daily Beast), Hwang says that Chinese nationals had a quibble with his script. "This, they said, might make for good drama, but couldn’t actually happen in China. Such a woman would never enter into a close relationship with a foreign man." Well, until now, apparently. Tina Brown also has a few words to say about all this too.
Life imitating art? Decide for yourself in August, when Chinglish kicks off Berkeley Rep's exhilarating 2012-13 season!
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Happy Arts Advocacy Day!
posted by School of Theatre on Tue, Apr 17, 2012
in School of Theatre , Teen Council
In celebration of Arts Advocacy Day 2012, Teen Council's #claimyourARTS initiative has released a new Arts Advocacy PSA! See what Berkeley Rep teens and staff created together in support of arts education!
Want to learn more about #claimyourARTS? Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, where you can follow our six teen delegates at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
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Tony Taccone picks up an award
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, Apr 10, 2012
in News
What do Artsitic Director Tony Taccone, actor and producer Chris O'Donnell, and comedian/actress Amy Poehler have in common? Well, by the end of this month they'll all be recipients of the Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement.
Right after the opening night of In Paris, Tony heads back to his alma mater to receive his award and also make a number of public appearances as part of the 14th annual Arts Festival at the college. Read more about Tony and the Arts Festival in this Broadway World article.
Congratulations, Tony!
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A groundbreaking baker's dozen
posted by Kyle Sircus on Mon, Apr 9, 2012
in At the theatre , General theatre talk , News , Our shows
Get ready for some news that's going to really rock the foundation. This past September, we announced plans for the launch of The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. Today, we're happy to announce the full list of participants (nearly 40 writers, directors, and composers) and their respective projects (a full baker's dozen of them) for the Summer Residency Lab, set to take off this July.
Some of the names are familiar ones to Berkeley Rep fans -- Lynn Nottage, Itamar Moses, Leigh Silverman, and Greg Pierotti will all return to the Bay Area to take part in various projects, ranging from food politics to apology lines. What's particularly exciting is the addition of several names that are new to our audience members -- Dan LeFranc, whose Troublemaker will have its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in 2013, will workshop his play here this summer with director Dexter Bullard; considering The Ground Floor doesn't require a formal presentation of the work, playwrights like Amelia Roper can take full advantage of the Summer Residency Lab to continue to develop their work. It's a fascinating list and we're already gearing up to welcome them in just a few short months.
To read what the press is saying about The Ground Floor, check out articles in today's New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and on Playbill.com. If you're a Berkeley resident, it's almost time to break out your binoculars -- you may just spot one of these talented artists around town!
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Support teens supporting the arts!
posted by School of Theatre on Mon, Apr 9, 2012
in School of Theatre , Teen Council
If you see Red in the next few weeks, you may see members of Berkeley Rep’s Teen Council in the lobby with buckets and blue plastic bracelets bearing the phrase: ClaimyourARTS. These bracelets are a fun gift for those who support the School of Theatre’s ClaimyourARTS initiative, which is sending 10 Teen Council members to Washington, D.C. and Boston to advocate for arts education.
The initiative began on February 12 when the School of Theatre hosted a teen arts-advocacy conference, which sought to excite and educate Bay Area teens about arts advocacy. Negi Esfandiari, one of the teens who will be traveling to Boston as a Teen Council representative, writes about her experience at the conference below.
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25,000 gum stains
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Apr 5, 2012
in News
Yep, that's how many gum stains were removed from the streets of downtown Berkeley thanks to Downtown Berkeley Association's Cleaning Team. The Team also removed 8,500 pounds of trash, power-washed sidewalks, hung banners, weeded tree wells, and painted poles, boxes, and bins all in an effort to beautify the streets around Berkeley Rep and beyond.
Our Managing Director Susan Medak is none other than the board president of the DBA and has some lovely quotes in this Berkeleyside article and this UC Berkeley News Center post.
So, next time you come to the Theatre, take a look around at all the beautiful improvements. Go ahead, look up -- there's now less risk of stepping in some gum.
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John Logan talks "Red"
posted by Kathleen Martinelli on Wed, Apr 4, 2012
in At the theatre , Events , Our shows
As someone who’s dreamed about going to the Oscars since I was 4 years old, I was pretty star-struck when I heard a rumor that John Logan, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Tony award-winning playwright of Red (which just extended, by the way!), would be doing a talkback at Berkeley Rep. I mean, this is the guy that Scorsese calls when he needs a good script. Martin Scorsese. And Berkeley felt a little bit like Hollywood last Saturday night when Logan showed up for a post-show discussion with dramaturg Julie McCormick.
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Can't get enough of Les?
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Mar 29, 2012
in General theatre talk , Our shows
A brief stint as a print model, a stop by Berkeley Rep to direct Red...so, what's Les Waters up to next?
Well, as the new artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, he already has big plans. He'll direct not only the wildly popular Girlfriend (which had its world premiere at the Rep with Les at the helm) there, but also the classic epic Long Day's Journey into Night.
On top of that, he and playwright Sarah Ruhl reunite for the world premiere of her new play, Dear Elizabeth, based on the letters poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell wrote to each other. Dear Elizabeth plays at Yale Rep, where their production of Three Sisters landed after its run here at Berkeley Rep.
Rock on, Les!
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Hey, we announced our new season
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Mar 28, 2012
in News , Our shows
Well, we announced five of seven plays, that is. But, they are awesome!
CHINGLISH
Written by David Henry Hwang
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Main Season | Roda Theatre
August 24–October 7, 2012
West Coast premiere
AN ILIAD
Adapted from Homer
By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare
Translation by Robert Fagles
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Limited Season | Thrust Stage
October 12–November 11, 2012
Read an interview with Denis O'Hare
THE WHITE SNAKE
Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman
A co-production with Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Main Season | Roda Theatre
November 9–December 23, 2012
World-premiere production
TROUBLEMAKER, OR THE FREAKIN KICK-A ADVENTURES OF BRADLEY BOATRIGHT
Written by Dan LeFranc
Limited Season | Thrust Stage
January 4–February 3, 2013
World Premiere
Get a glimpse at Dan LeFranc's process
PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Mark Wing-Davey
Main Season | Thrust Stage
April 12–May 26, 2013
Stay tuned: we'll announce more soon!
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The "Red" playlist
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, Mar 28, 2012
in Our shows
The second-most-popular audience question after "What's happening to the canvases?" is, "What are the musical selections you use in Red?"
Wonder no more! Mixing rousing classical music with a bit of Chet Baker, the playlist is as follows:
SCENE 1:
• Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C Minor for Strings, K. 546
• Mozart: String Quartet in D Major, K. 499 (Hoffmeister) – Allegretto
SCENE 2:
• Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Flat, Op. 99 D. 898_ II. Andante un poco mosso
SCENE 3:
• Bach: French Suite No 1 in D Minor
• Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Vedrai, carino
• Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Di molte faci il lume
• Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Sola, sola in buio loco
• Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, Jupiter I. Allegro vivace
SCENE 4:
• Chet Baker: Cheryl Blues (Chet Baker in Milan)
SCENE 5:
• Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor
• Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759, Unfinished II. Andante con moto, Part I