Berkeley Rep Blog

Previous entry: Revving up the tunes before Klass Klown
Next entry: Tres Agaves Tequila warms up summer nights

Lisa Kron goes Against the Grain

posted by Chad Jones on Tue, Jun 8, 2010
in At the theatre , Our shows

Lisa Kron's In the Wake, now having its world premiere in the Roda Theatre, is full of powerful observations linking the personal and political. The drama also asks questions about how our personal sense of responsibility becomes manifest in our relationships as well as in our political convictions.

The play seemed like a perfect match for Berkeley Rep's intelligent, ever-questioning audiences, and that's turning out to be true.

Lisa was interviewed by C.S. Soong on his KPFA-94.1FM radio show Against the Grain.

Listen to Part One of the interview. (Be aware that Lisa follows UC Berkeley political science professor Ron Hassner, and her segment begins at about the 35-minute mark.) Listen to Part Two of the interview. (Lisa's segment begins at the 32-minute mark.)

As always, Lisa is fascinating as she discusses the genesis of the play and its subject matter, which is, in her words, "white liberalism and what it misses in American `democracy'."

Lisa also talks about a central issue in the play, which is the notion of a "blind spot," both on a personal and on a national level. Lisa says she was fascinated by, "our deeply held belief — and it's as true on the left as on the right — that we will land on our feet and right ourselves. There's only so far we can fall. I was questioning that in a political sense. And then you go through things in your personal life, as people do, and I realized I did believe that in my personal life. Why? I thought to myself, `That is so American.'"

In the Wake continues through June 27. Visit our online box office for tickets or call 510 647-2949.

Lisa Kron photo by Joan Marcus.