Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: Events
First we eat and drink...
posted by Elissa Dunn on Tue, Jun 30, 2009
in Events
If you happened to attend a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening performance this past season you may have had the pleasure of experiencing a Berkeley Rep Tasting night. This is a fairly new program at Berkeley Rep, one that works well for us, for our tasting partners and for you, the oh-so-lucky recipient of a stellar taste of wine, gelato, chocolate, salumi, or countless other offerings. We hosted 90 tasting events throughout last season, serving over 13,500 patrons.
Now we’re ramping up for the 09/10 season, and I’m reaching out to our past tasting partners and also some new ones to bring them into the theatre and onto your plate. I have a few favorite places in mind to reach out to, but I’m interested in hearing from all of you. Please leave a comment and let me know who or what would you like to see in our Tasting Series this season. If you have some ideas or have a local business and would like to participate, we want to know! Here are just a few of the tasting partners who have confirmed for Green Day’s American Idiot in September:
- Kokomo Wines– September 19
- Venus Restaurant– September 20
- Raymond Vineyards– September 25
- Amanda’s Restaurant– September 26
- Berkeley Farmer’s Market– October 2
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...and SOLD!
posted by Lynn Eve Komaromi on Tue, Apr 7, 2009
in Events
On Friday night, we mounted what I affectionately call our “8th production.” The Narsai Toast, our gourmet gala fundraiser, might not be a play or have an extended rehearsal period, but it is certainly a production. Everyone in the theatre is involved in some way, and instead of emanating from the Artistic Department, this production is rooted in Development.
This was the 17th year of The Narsai Toast and a bit bittersweet as our host, Narsai David, decided this was the year to retire from all the toasting. Narsai was one of the founding board members of the Theatre and is an elder statesman of sorts. For the past 17 years, he has corralled teams of celebrity chefs to create one spectacular dinner, and our fundraising gala has become known as one of the finest in town--no rubber chickens served here!
This year, we introduced something new. Inspired by the rise in popularity of shows on the Food Network (personally, I am a die-hard fan of Top Chef, as is our art director Cheshire), we took video cameras into the kitchen at The Ritz-Carlton to see this year’s team at work. Guests got a backstage view of Michael Chiarello prepping his asparagus, Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani searing their black cod, Jean-Pierre Dubray trimming artichokes for his barigoule, and Gerald Hirogoyen macerating some strawberries for his dessert.
While the food is what draws many to the event, raising money for Berkeley Rep is what it’s really all about. In this down economy, paying $600 a head is tough to swallow, but we were thrilled that we had nearly 350 guests in attendance. Tony Taccone spoke eloquently about the times we are living in. When the global crisis hit six months ago, many of us were forced to re-evaluate what was important in our lives. Of course, family comes first---but to see that the folks who came to The Narsai Toast placed value on Berkeley Rep, that this theatre is important to them and worth supporting, was deeply meaningful for all of us who work in the theatre.
That sense of value was particularly evident when the live auction got off to a rousing start. First up for bid was a VIP trip to Washington, DC, which included a private tour of the White House and Supreme Court with a DC insider. The bidding was fast and furious, and came to a crescendo when the last paddle was raised for $11,000. The auctioneer’s proclamation of “SOLD!” sent the crowd into cheers. Everyone wanted Berkeley Rep to win.
All told, more than $440,000 was raised to benefit the Theatre. It wasn’t as much as we have raised in other years, but it is demonstrative of the incredible generosity of hundreds of people who believe in the power of theatre. It was a great night.
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Night/OUT! had a blast!!!
posted by Joan Anderson on Thu, Feb 12, 2009
in Events
If these pictures are not enough to demonstrate all the fun and excitment that was had at Berkeley Rep's night/OUT party for our LGBT friends, I will try and explain.
Drinks + Free Food + Pumping Music = Awesome.
The evening started off with DJ rrrus spinning great music as patrons flowed into the upper Roda lobby where they were met by a bountiful and tasty spread courtesy of Bistro Liaison. As the night and music carried on, people mingled with one another, and the ladies of Twilight Vixen Revue took over the lobby to perform scintilating (and sexy) burlesque dance numbers for the the happy crowd.
To sum up the evening, it was a blast and a great time all around. Were you there? What did you think--about the show or the party?
Mark your calendars -- the next night/OUT is Thursday, April 24 for Lieutenant of Inishmore. Hope to see you there.
Photos courtesy of Cheshire Isaacs
Top photo -- patron services manager, John Gay, and me
Middle photo -- The ladies of Twilight Vixen Review
Bottom photo -- theatre fans chat about the show beneath the night/OUT disco ball
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Monday night dance party
posted by Megan Wygant on Thu, Dec 11, 2008
in Events
This past Monday, Berkeley Rep staff, crew, and friends gathered in the rehearsal hall to chow down on a fantastic potluck, dance like crazy people, and generally spread holiday cheer.
Wait, Monday??
Well, yes-–Monday’s the only day the theatre is dark (meaning there are no shows). It’s actually the day off for about half our staff—-specifically, the half that just came off a grueling five-show weekend, and will be back at the Theatre on Tuesday night, running Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and The Arabian Nights. So we couldn’t have the party on any other night—-and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The high point of the party each year is the centerpiece competition. Each department is responsible for bringing a centerpiece for one of the dining tables, and a panel of anonymous and impartial staff judges (only one of those two adjectives is true) convenes to choose the winner and two runners-up. Competition is fierce and awe-inspiring. I mean, would you want to go up against the costume or prop department? This kind of thing is their livelihood. And don’t get me started on the pyrotechnics that electrics is capable of, or the things that the scenic studios can make with their power tools.
Below is a photo of the costume shop's 2006 prize-winning entry. We made this and other photos of the winners into a set of lovely holiday cards.
This year, the judges clearly had a different idea of holiday cheer in mind. I have to give a shout-out to my department, marketing, which got into the winner's circle for the first time EVER thanks to Elissa Dunn's inspired merging of In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. The School of Theatre pulled a second-place win with their interactive Pictionary tree. And in first place was the development department with their centerpiece, “Have a very Carrie Christmas.”
In the words of one of the judges, “they won because, well, they went THERE.”
Yeah, they did.
One of my favorite things about the holiday party is that it’s entirely self-created. The electrics department brings in the disco ball and hooks up lights, the sound department brings in a sound board and speakers, the board and development department works to get donated gifts for our raffle, and everyone brings food to contribute to the potluck. (And what a spread it is –- Berkeley Rep staff can really--I mean really--cook.) (Has anyone mentioned recently that we love free food?)
And after that? We break it down. We’ve got a few moonlighting DJs on staff, plus the professional talents of our head sound engineer’s husband (their daughter, Anja, is below, boogying down with Gendell Hernandez from the School of Theatre).
Our Monday night dance party is off the hook. And every year, watching the fantastic talents of each department bring it all home, it reminds me-—again-—why I’m so glad to be celebrating the holidays with this group of people.
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Theatre people heart free food
posted by Pauline Luppert on Fri, Oct 3, 2008
in Events
Yesterday at 11AM, the lobby of the Roda was packed and buzzing with excitement. There was a nice spread of bagels, an assortment of schmears, a few thermoses of fresh coffee, and more than 100 people. It was the meet & greet for our upcoming show, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Meet & greets are a standard practice in most of the theatres where I’ve worked. Though the details vary a bit from theatre to theatre, they typically take place on the first day of rehearsal of a new show. Except for a really good opening-night party, meet & greets are usually the one and only occasion when every person involved in a production will be in the same room: the cast, crew, director, and designers (of course), and also the box office personnel, grant writers, database managers, executive assistants, payroll personnel, marketing and multimedia manager (me), etc. (It is pretty mind-blowing to see just how many people it takes to run a theatre.)
The other standard detail of every meet & greet I’ve ever attended is free food. Free food is always a big draw. I wish that when I’d ceased being a struggling student, I’d have gotten over the thrill of free food, but alas. Free food still totally rules. Whether it’s pizza, bagels, baklava, or canapés, I will eat free food at meet & greets whether or not I’ve just had a ten-course meal because, you know, it’s free food. Naturally, I love meet & greets.
After we’d sufficiently met, greeted, and obliterated the buffet, we were called into the Roda Theatre for a presentation from the show’s lead artists. Our associate artistic director, Les Waters, introduced us all to Delroy Lindo (whom many Reptiles, as we call ourselves, already know from his work on Blue Door in 2007). As soon as Delroy began speaking, I remembered the other reason I love meet & greets: hearing the artists talk about their passion for the show and share a bit about how they arrived at that passion reminds those of us who do not work onstage or even backstage what we’re doing here. Obviously, we don’t work in nonprofit arts organizations for the money. There are plenty of industries that pay administrators, accountants, and security staff a lot more. We work for the arts because we believe that it’s good for our spirits and good for society’s collective health (and as my a friend of mine who works in costume shops says, “You know, art: blah blah blah, makes society suck less”).
Delroy talked about his transformative experiences working on Joe Turner as an actor. I knew that he'd been in several successive productions of the show, including the Broadway production, and that he’d been nominated for a Tony for his performance (1986). I didn’t know that he wasn’t in the very first production--Delroy explained that Charles “Roc” Dutton played Herald Loomis in the first production, which was at Yale. Apparently, director Lloyd Richards and playwright August Wilson initially wanted Dutton to continue performing the role in successive productions. After the Yale production, however, Dutton was up for a film role. Richards and Wilson kept Delroy on stand-by while waiting to hear if Dutton would be cast. By the time they offered Delroy the part, there were only two weeks until the show opened in Boston. That blew my mind. Delroy Lindo played Herald Loomis after two measly weeks of rehearsal.
The character of Herald Loomis is a Herculean challenge with any amount of rehearsal. The role is enormously complex, physically demanding, and off the charts with regard to emotional intensity. Delroy went on to describe the evolution of his work on the role over the next four productions of the play. He felt that he genuinely needed all four full productions to really get the character. It was extraordinarily difficult and equally rewarding. He also shared, with a laugh, that August Wilson agreed with him--after the third production, in San Diego, August encouragingly told Delroy, “You’re really getting it now.”
The everything bagel with roasted vegetable schmear and the coffee were also delicious.
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Yellowjackets takes a night/OUT (or, how to throw a party in a little under an hour)
posted by Megan Wygant on Fri, Sep 5, 2008
in Events
Several times each season, Berkeley Rep hosts "night/OUT," which is basically a giant party for the LGBT community. Basically, theatre-loving L, G, B, or T peeps come to the show, and get a post-show party filled with food, drink, and dancing--free with your ticket.
Last night was the first night/OUT of the season -- here's what went down.
Set-up for all these parties takes place during the show's second act, since we need to take over the Theatre's public areas--areas where the audience is hanging out during intermission. It means we're on a pretty tight schedule--especially in this case, where the second act has been clocking in at exactly fifty-eight minutes for the past several nights.
Here's a shot of the courtyard, T-minus 52 minutes or so.
Lucky for us, Chef Todd of Liaison Bistro was punctual as usual, arriving just a few minutes before the lights flashed to signal the end of intermission. Chef Todd really is one of my favorite people to work with. Aside from the fact that he's amazingly generous with both his time and talents, and that he always creates a beautiful (and delicious) spread for our patrons, he's got a great sense of humor, and makes working together fun. Here, though, he's got his game face on, and is preoccupied with making sure everything looks exactly right.
We had little laugh at the expense of Elissa Dunn, our audience development and events manager. This was the first night/OUT where she was completely in charge, and as a result, she was a little nervous. She spent most of the first act pacing the Roda Theatre lobby (where we'd hidden the goods), double- and triple-checking everything, convinced she'd forgotten to check some crucial party detail. Here, she's testing to make sure the keg works (really). And the best part? She was so nervous, she actually did forget how to pour a cup of beer -- the first three cupsful were nothing but foam.
The food. Yum! There was an amazing double brie on this table that literally melted in your mouth.
Here's the drinks table, with Webmaster Christina Cone testing the keg once more.
...And here they come! Party! (The angle doesn't show it as well as I thought it did last night, but there is a line streaming out behind these two guys.)
See if you can spot the Yellowjackets cast in the next few shots. Everyone came down to mix and mingle with the audience, and they had a great time. Actually, some of the actors closed the place down (No, I'm not telling which ones. But they were awesome, and we were sorry to kick them and a few die-hard fans out, but really, our facilities guy needed to lock up).
Thanks again to the cast, to the most excellent DJ rrrus, Darling Flower Shop for their fantastic blooms throughout the theatre, Chef Todd and Liaison, and of course, to everyone who came out and made it an awesome night. You all rock.