Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: At the theatre
Concerning Johnny Wu and Strange Devices
posted by Cheshire Isaacs on Tue, Feb 23, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz
We're gearing up for the world premiere of Naomi Iizuka's Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, and we're pretty excited. Previews begin Friday, February 26 in the Roda Theatre, and opens on Wednesday, March 3.
It's going to be, in our humble opinion, amazing. The combination of Naomi with director Les Waters, along with an incredible cast and creative team, couldn't be more thrilling. This is a sexy, mysterious show, and that's a hard-to-beat combo.
Johnny Wu, one of the actors in Strange Devices, created a video for his blog that begins with his road trip from Los Angeles to Berkeley and continues with glimpses of the rehearsal process and interviews with Les, assistant director Mina Morita, co-star Bruce McKenzie, sound designer Bray Poor, and others.
It's a fun video, and Johnny has graciously shared it with us so that we could share it with you. Enjoy. (And we couldn't help noticing Johnny's excellent, not to mention appropriate, choice of music to underscore the video. We can never get enough Green Day.)
Comments: 3 | Read comments
Jaden Wiggins "brightens up" Coming Home
posted by Chad Jones on Mon, Feb 22, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz
Could it be a star is born at Berkeley Rep?
Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse wrote a terrific piece in last Sunday's newspaper about Jaden Malik Wiggins, the 11-year-old actor in Athol Fugard's Coming Home.
In the show, which closes on Sunday, February 28, Jaden plays Mannetjie Jonkers, the son of Veronica, the main character played by Roslyn Ruff. Kohle T. Bolton, a dynamic 5-year-old, plays the younger version of Jaden's character.
Thomas Silcott, another of Jaden's adult co-stars, makes some astute observations about the young actor:
"Of the 11-year-olds I've seen on stage, a lot of them are very dutiful and will do anything you ask. But they don't go beyond that and take it on themselves. And that's what Jaden does. He willingly becomes more creative...the boy is like a sponge. He's really smart, very talented and knows how to take what you teach him and make it work."
Comments: 1 | Read comments
posted by Christopher Dawe on Mon, Feb 1, 2010
in At the theatre
Now in its fourth year, the Berkeley Rep green initiative works to model responsible environmental behavior that is in harmony with the Theatre’s core mission. Part of that goal is helping to create a framework within which the arts industry as a whole can shift towards practices that can contribute to sustainable development.
In a continuing effort to meet that mandate, Berkeley Rep is constantly reviewing and monitoring operations in all facets of the Theatre in an effort to ensure they are functioning at levels of environmental responsibility. Where we don’t find those higher levels, we are crafting policies to get there.
Here are highlights of Berkeley Rep’s green initiative:
- We now compost four yards a week (that’s cubic yards of waste not heading into a landfill but rather coming back to gardens and communities in an altered form).
- We recently had to increase our commercial recycle bin size because we’re recycling much more than ever before – and that’s a trend we intend to maintain.
- We’ve replaced a large percentage of the Theatre’s usage of incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and/or LEDs where possible, thus reducing energy consumption. The bulbs also have a much longer life span, which reduces waste. Incandescent bulbs are about 90 percent heat and 10 percent light. Compact fluorescents and LEDs are much more efficient, utilizing 75 percent less energy and creating 75 percent less heat.
- We’re constantly monitoring our paper usage and trying to use less. For our copy machines, we have switched to 30 percent recycled paper. By making that switch, assuming 24 trees go into making one ton of office paper (and with 40 cases per ton), we’ll save an additional five trees a year. And our goal is to keep using less and less paper.
- In our scene shop, we’re using FSC lumber (http://www.fscus.org/) whenever possible. We build the set frames out steel because the steel frames, compared to wood, are easier to recycle and re-use – and you’re not cutting down a tree.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Fugard, Aurelia in the news
posted by Chad Jones on Thu, Jan 21, 2010
in At the theatre , Our shows
Last night's opening of Athol Fugard's Coming Home was a thrilling experience. Audience members who battled the ongoing El Niño deluge were rewarded with deeply emotional performances by the cast and superb direction by Gordon Edelstein.
This morning's San Francisco Chronicle brought us several post-opening treats, the first of which is Robert Hurwitt's wonderful interview with Fugard, who talks about living in San Diego (surf's up!), his age and health (77 and so-so), and his recent creative spurt.
Here's Fugard talking about Veronica, the young woman we met in Valley Song whose story continues in Coming Home:
"Same woman who left the village at the end and went to Cape Town to be part of the glorious new South Africa, when so many politicians made so many promises. What's happened over the years, not just to this woman but to the nation, I think, has created a degree of disillusion and cynicism unequaled in our history. We had a president, Thabo Mbeki, for whom I had no admiration, who totally ignored the relationship between AIDS and antiretroviral drugs, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of children and adults have died who should be alive.
"Desmond Tutu, that magnificent man, has said that AIDS and its mismanagement by that government in South Africa killed more people than apartheid. That is central to the play."
For more on Fugard and South Africa, you might be interested to read a recent feature on the playwright and his considerable body of work from the Chicago Sun-Times focusing on three Fugard plays — "Master Harold”...and the Boys, The Island, and Sizwe Banzi Is Dead — being produced in the Chicago area over the next six months. Read the story.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
The amazing Athol Fugard
posted by Chad Jones on Fri, Jan 15, 2010
in At the theatre
Tonight, on the Thrust Stage, Athol Fugard's Coming Home begins previews (opening night is Wednesday, January 20). This incredibly moving play, directed by Gordon Edelstein, addresses the complexities of contemporary post-apartheid South Africa in a deeply personal way.
In today's San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, and Contra Costa Times, theatre writer Karen D'Souza writes about Coming Home, and her article features a wonderful interview with Fugard.
Here he is commenting on the play: "Children are the seeds of hope; they are the only hope of any society," he says. "I hope that people come away from the play with a reverence for life, the fragility of life."
The San Francsico Chronicle's Ovation section also focused on Coming Home for a recurring feature they do on significant props in local productions. In this case, they zeroed in on a tin that contains pumpkin seeds and other surprising symbols of hope.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
A taste of South Africa in Coming Home
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, Jan 13, 2010
in At the theatre , Our shows
South Africa's master playwright Athol Fugard returns to Berkeley Rep with the moving drama Coming Home, which begins previews this Friday on the Thrust Stage.
Our resident mixologists always like to create specialty drinks to complement each show. For Coming Home, they've outdone themselves by crafting two unique cocktails made with some traditional South African ingredients. Patrons will be able to immerse themselves in the world of Fugard's drama and enjoy an authentic taste of his homeland.
Here are the Coming Home cocktails:
- The Amarula Cream
Amarula Cream, a South African liqueur made from African Marula tree fruit (a favorite elephant snack), is artfully blended with Crème de Cacao, Amaretto, and milk. - The Van der Hum
Made in the Cape Winelands of South Africa, Van der Hum is a unique tangerine-flavored liqueur that mixes beautifully with Korbel brandy, orange juice, and cranberry juice.
Coming Home opens January 20 and continues through February 28. For information visit our website or call the box office at 510 647-2949.
Photo by Nora Merecicky
Comments: 7 | Read comments
The magic of Aurelia extends! And Aurelia's on the radio!
posted by Chad Jones on Fri, Jan 8, 2010
in At the theatre , News , Our shows
Aurélia's Oratorio has been such a hit with Berkeley Rep audiences that the show will extend for FIVE PERFORMANCES ONLY January 28 through 31 in the Roda Theatre.
The show that has ignited imaginations and delighted Bay Area audiences must close January 31. The final performances are:
- Thursday, January 28 at 8pm
- Friday, January 29 at 8pm
- Saturday, January 30 at 2pm
- Saturday, January 30 at 8pm
- Sunday, January 31 at 2pm
Experience this unique theatrical event or make a gift of tickets to friends and family. Tickets start at $33 (half that if you're under 30!). Visit our online box office or call the box office at 510 647-2949. Box office hours are noon to 7pm Tuesday through Sunday.
And be sure to catch Aurélia Thierrée interviewed on Sedge Thompson's West Coast Live this Saturday, January 9. The show is carried live on KALW 97.1 FM from 10am to noon. The show is also streamed live kalw.org at 10am and on jeffnet.org at 11am.
Above photo: Aurélia Thierrée in Aurélia's Oratorio. Photo by Richard Haughton
Comments: 0 | Read comments
David Sedaris is coming to Berkeley Rep!
posted by Chad Jones on Wed, Dec 16, 2009
in At the theatre
Yes, it's true. One of the funniest men in the world presents An Evening with David Sedaris from June 14 to 20 on Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage.
Last week, our subscribers and donors were the first to learn about this special event. A few days later, friends of Berkeley Rep found out (basically anyone who's on our email list, which you can join by clicking here), and now the information is spreading out to the rest of the world.
An Evening with David Sedaris will feature the author reading from his as-yet-untitled new book. He will take questions from the audience and then sign books (all of which will be available for sale in the lobby by arrangement with Books, Inc.). We're not kidding when we say tickets are going fast. Seriously. Fast.
Tickets are $35 (half that if you're under age 30). Click on our online box office or call 510 647-2949.
David Sedaris is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as four collections of personal essays: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, each of which became a bestseller. There are a total of seven million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages. He was also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. Sedaris’ pieces appear regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in The Best American Essays. He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name "The Talent Family" and have written half-a-dozen plays which have been produced at The Drama Department, La Mama Experimental Theatre Company, and Lincoln Center in New York City, as well as at theatres nationwide. Their scripts include The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service; Incident at Cobbler’s Knob; One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award; Stitches; and Stump the Host. David’s original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ.
He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. Listen to a four-minute excerpt from his most recent recording, released last month, David Sedaris: Live For Your Listening Pleasure here.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Congrats to our first lobby photo contest winner!
posted by Chad Jones on Tue, Dec 15, 2009
in At the theatre , Events , News
Because it's the holidays and because we're having so much fun with Aurélia's Oratorio, the extraordinarily unique show running through January 24 in the Roda Theatre, we decided to have some fun in the lobby.
After setting up some decorations along with a trunk of robes and hats and other costume pieces, we invited our audience members to dress up and take a photo or two of themselves. If they send us the lobby photo (to [email protected]) or post it on our Facebook page, they're automatically entered into a contest to win four tickets to an upcoming Berkeley Rep show along with a pre-show drink for you and your three guests.
We'll conduct random drawings throughout the Aurélia run, and we're delighted to report that our first winner is Laurel Scheinman (seen above in the gold hat with her friend Mindy Geminder in the black hat). Congratulations, Laurel, and many thanks for playing.
Below are a few more festive lobby photos. You can see the entire collection in our Facebook photo album.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Aurelia casts a spell over critics!
posted by Chad Jones on Thu, Dec 10, 2009
in At the theatre
The holidays are here, and the critics have given Aurélia's Oratorio some very nice gifts by way of some truly lovely reviews.
Here are some excerpts from Robert Hurwitt's review in the San Francisco Chronicle, where the Little Man is jumping out of his chair!
- Arms turn into legs and at times there's no telling which end of a person is up. Reversals of expectations are the order of the day in Aurélia's Oratorio, the delightfully surreal dreamscape of a show that opened Wednesday at Berkeley Repertory's Roda Theatre. Part nouvelle circus, part vaudeville of illusions, part fantastical free association, Oratorio is a whimsical showcase for the talents of Aurélia Thierrée, a performer who practically defines the word beguiling.
- At a mere 70 minutes long, Oratorio is packed with enough delights for a show twice as long. It may not have been designed specifically for the holidays, but it's like a Christmas stocking stuffed with one gift after another.