Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: Our shows
Anna lands the Ovation
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, May 26, 2011
in Our shows
Did ya catch the Chronicle's "Ovation" cover story today? Yep, that's Anna Deavere Smith, just in time for the first performance this Saturday of Let Me Down Easy. Robert Hurwitt interviews Anna about her past Bay Area performances and more, how Let Me Down Easy evolved, and of course, about her TV career.
What's that? Paper is passe? Well, check out the interview right here!
And, y'all heard we extended the show by two weeks even before it opened, right? So, if you're thinking of reserving seats, don't wait too long and be let down! Reserve your seats here.
Photo of Anna Deavere Smith by Mary Ellen Mark.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
What do Anna Deavere Smith and Green Day have in common?
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, May 23, 2011
in Our shows
They have the top two advance sales in Berkeley Rep's 43-year history! Yep, Anna Deavere Smith's new show, Let Me Down Easy, is second only to the blockbuster premiere of Green Day's American Idiot.
So, we're extending Let Me Down Easy before it even opens! It now runs two additional weeks, from May 28 through July 10. Premium seats are now available, but going fast. Check out the buzz and buy tickets now.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
"Carpenter strikes acting gold"
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, May 16, 2011
in Our shows
As our critically acclaimed production of Sarah Ruhl's new version of Three Sisters enters its final week, Bay Area News Group published this glowing article about one of the members of the exemplary ensemble of actors. No stranger to regular Bay Area theatregoers, James Carpenter has been acting on local stages (and regionally) since 1984.
Here's a snippet:
"Carpenter, 58, estimates that he's been in nearly 100 plays in his 27 years in local theater. But he's whimsical about being perceived as a thespian treasure."
Photo: James Carpenter, Thomas Jay Ryan, Heather Wood, and Bruce McKenzie. Courtesy of mellopix.com.
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Announcing our Limited Season, plus a special event!
posted by Karen McKevitt on Wed, May 11, 2011
in News , Our shows
We just announced our Limited Season! We’ve got two premieres plus a special presentation starring legendary performer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Following its success with Brief Encounter, Britain’s celebrated Kneehigh Theatre Company returns to the Bay Area for the American premiere of The Wild Bride. Then we debut Black n Blue Boys, a powerful world premiere written and performed by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Dael Orlandersmith, which will be staged by Obie Award-winner Chay Yew. To top it off, Baryshnikov performs next spring in a special event: tickets for In Paris, a dazzling romance from visionary director Dmitry Krymov, will go on sale to our subscribers before they’re available to the general public. These new shows round out an incredible schedule that already includes three world premieres, a classic Molière comedy, and a remarkable script that won the Tony Award for Best Play.
Want more information? How about information on subscribing?
2011-12 SEASON SCHEDULE
Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup
Main Season Play #1 – Roda Theatre
World premiere
Written by Tony Taccone
Directed by David Galligan
September 2 – October 30, 2011
How to Write a New Book for the Bible
Main Season Play #2 – Thrust Stage
World premiere
Written by Bill Cain
Directed by Kent Nicholson
October 7 – November 20, 2011
The Wild Bride
Limited Season Play #1 – Roda Theatre
American premiere
Adapted and directed by Emma Rice
December 2, 2011 – January 1, 2012
Ghost Light
Main Season Play #3 – Thrust Stage
World-premiere production
Conceived and developed by
Jonathan Moscone and Tony Taccone
Written by Tony Taccone
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
January 6 – February 19, 2012
A Doctor in Spite of Himself
Main Season Play #4 – Roda Theatre
Written by Molière
Adapted by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp
Directed by Christopher Bayes
February 10 – March 25, 2012
Red
Main Season Play #5 – Thrust Stage
Written by John Logan
Directed by Les Waters
March 16 – April 29, 2012
In Paris
Special Presentation – Roda Theatre
Adapted from the short story by Ivan Bunin
Directed by Dmitry Krymov
April 25 – May 13, 2012
Black n Blue Boys
Limited Season Play #2 – Thrust Stage
World premiere
Written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Chay Yew
May 25 – June 24, 2012
Photo: Emma Rice and Kneehigh Theatre Company return to the Bay Area for the American premiere of The Wild Bride. (Photo courtesy of Kneehigh Theatre)
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Anna Deavere Smith introduces Let Me Down Easy
posted by Karen McKevitt on Tue, May 10, 2011
in Our shows
Anna Deavere Smith comes to Berkeley Rep starting May 28 with her new show, Let Me Down Easy. She's racked up some terrific reviews for the show in San Diego. Check out what they're saying:
A "vitally important, wide-ranging and ultimately very moving solo piece." LA Times
A "captivating solo play about matters of body and soul." San Diego Union-Tribune
And be sure to also check out the NPR feature.
Or, hear about the show straight from Anna herself:
Comments: 0 | Read comments
From sketch to stage
posted by Cari Turley on Wed, May 4, 2011
in Costume shop , Our shows
This article first appeared in the Three Sisters program. The costume renderings are copyright of the artist.
Costume designer Ilona Somogyi and assistant designer Noah Marin discuss costume renderings for Three Sisters. Photo by Cheshire Isaacs.
Maggi Yule is unflappable. As the director of Berkeley Rep’s costume shop, she’s handled an eclectic season of all-day marathons, puppet orchestras, and solo shows without breaking a sweat. Her latest challenge was to pull together a staggering 43 costumes for Sarah Ruhl’s new version of Three Sisters, a coproduction between Berkeley Rep and Yale Repertory Theatre. For mere mortals, this would be a daunting endeavor. For Maggi and the Berkeley Rep costume shop, it’s just another Tuesday.
At 9am, the costume shop is already bustling with activity. Although it’s only been a couple of months since the shop moved to Berkeley Rep’s new Harrison Street campus, it already feels cozy. Sketches and reference photos cover a whole wall from floor to ceiling, a small crowd of headless dress-forms gather around the sewing machines, and handmade hats perch on every available surface. It’s still early, so Kathy Kellner Griffith, staff tailor and honorary DJ, keeps the music low until everyone wakes up. (Sometimes in the afternoon, when the volume goes up, the departments upstairs get to rock out with the shop.)
The role of Berkeley Rep’s costume shop is to turn abstract ideas into tangible products, and Maggi and her tight-knit staff pull it off with aplomb. Most of the team has been working together for so long that the shop runs like a well-oiled machine. In fact, between the two of them, Kathy and draper Kitty Muntzel have worked in the costume shop for more than 50 years. Together with Maggi, Costume Fellow Amy Bobeda, and backstage support from Wardrobe Supervisor Barbara Blair, they’re turning sketches by Yale Rep costume designer Ilona Somogyi into one of the most ambitious wardrobes of the season.
Rendering for Masha.
Les Waters, Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director, is staging Three Sisters. He worked with Ilona to create a relaxed, timeless style that felt lived in, not formal. When Ilona’s gorgeous sketches arrived, Amy arranged them into the “bible” — an enormous reference book with contact sheets, headshots, and measurements for every actor, as well as costume sketches and research photos for every character in the show. Once that was done, Maggi looked at the designs and figured out where the costumes would come from: what we already had, what needed to be rented or purchased, what could be altered to work, and what we needed to make from scratch.
Rendering for Olga.
Maggi is so good that even a massive order like this one doesn’t rattle her. She has an answer ready for everything I throw at her. “Where are you going to find that fur coat?” Without even hesitating, she replies, “Oh, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has one.” Maggi’s encyclopedic knowledge of past productions, both at Berkeley Rep and at other regional theatres, is amazing. And when she needs a little help, she need only look as far as her own staff. “If I need menswear, I look to Kathy,” she says. “Womenswear, I ask Kitty.” Maggi knows who has the best 1920s apparel, where to get turn-of-the-century Russian boots (“Dance supply stores have a really surprising selection”), and how to find the perfect sweater for a disaffected young woman in the Russian countryside: have Pat make it, of course.
Rendering for Vershinin.
Pat Wheeler is Maggi’s go-to knitter when Berkeley Rep needs a custom piece. Although not a theatre artist by trade, Pat has knitted pieces for several Berkeley Rep shows including Heartbreak House and Passing Strange, and now she’s creating sweaters for Three Sisters. She’s not the only outside contractor working for the shop; when it’s crunch time, Maggi brings in extra hands to cut and stitch. But for most of the process, it’s just Maggi, Kitty, Kathy, and Amy.
Rendering for Irina.
Start to finish, it only takes about six weeks for the costume shop to go from sketch to stage. After the bible is done, Kitty drapes the muslin (an inexpensive cloth used to make rough drafts), and then the real costume is made in fashion fabric. As someone who can barely hem a pair of pants in six weeks, I can’t help but be impressed that it’s enough time for the shop to assemble every piece of clothing — including every coat, necklace, belt, and boot — that you see on stage. But for Berkeley Rep’s costume shop, turning ideas into reality is all in a day’s work.
Comments: 1 | Read comments
Apple of the day
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Apr 29, 2011
in Our shows
The Public Theater in New York announced its next season, which launches with Mike Daisey’s The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which played here in January and February. This marks the 24th show Berkeley Rep has sent to New York in the past 24 years! Currently, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is playing at Seattle Rep, which hosted a Steve Jobs look-a-like contest, with amusing results. While Mike was performing the show at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, he gave an interview on PBS’ NewsHour -- check it out!
Comments: 0 | Read comments
Candle, candle, burning bright
posted by Karen McKevitt on Fri, Apr 29, 2011
in Our shows , Prop shop
When you come to Three Sisters, you may eventually catch a slight whiff of a particular scent in the air. Yes, that’s the scent of a candle lit by a real flame. These days, flames are often faked with electric light, but director Les Waters and the creative team wanted the authenticity of a real candle flame, often carried by Emily Kitchens, who plays Natasha. But what does it take to have fire on stage?
Emily Kitchens in Three Sisters. Photo courtesy of mellopix.com.
Well, it usually depends on what fire effect the play demands, notes Berkeley Rep’s properties manager. For The Glass Menagerie in 2006, the props team had to cut the candles to size so they burned out by the end of a scene. This was no small feat as air currents and temperature in the theatre all affect the length of time it takes a candle to burn. But Three Sisters has no special burning-time requirement, so getting a flame on stage mostly came down to bureaucracy.
Whenever you use fire on stage you must get a permit from the city. Permits vary depending on the type of the fire effect. Pyrotechnics like in this season’s Great Game required a fire permit, hiring a specialist, and obtaining an additional license. But for Emily to carry a candle across stage in Three Sisters, we just needed to submit a ground plan that shows the movement and locations of the flame to the city of Berkeley and to pay a nominal fee once the city approved the plan. If the blocking changes -- as blocking often does in tech the week before previews -- an amendment needs to be filed.
Of course, additional safety procedures are in place. Even for an effect as small as a candle flame, someone is nearby (usually in the wings) with a fire extinguisher. If the matches are extinguished on stage, the props team puts gel activator in the ashtrays to ensure the match really goes out.
Sure, it’s easier to use a fake candle with an electric flame, but for me at least, the real candle enhances the setting and feel of the play. I may have only peripherally noticed both the organic movement of the real flame, as opposed to an oddly static electric flame, and the subtle scent of a real candle, but suddenly I felt as though I were really in that old house. After all, we often associate a place -- especially home -- with a specific scent, be it mom’s cooking or, in this case, the faint scent of wax and flame.
Comments: 1 | Read comments
An actor prepares: Firefighter makeup
posted by Amy Bobeda on Thu, Apr 28, 2011
in Costume shop , Our shows
In the fire, Fedotik loses everything. In reality, after they apply their firefighter makeup for the disastrous Act III of Three Sisters, actors David Abrams (Fedotik), Bruce McKenzie (Vershinin), Sam Breslin Wright (Solyony), and James Carpenter (Chebutykin) lose only the ability to perform simple tasks like opening pickle jars and answering text messages without a helping hand. So, for the folks back home, David and I have prepared a little behind-the-scenes, how-to Chekhovian firefighter makeup tutorial.
David prepares. The process is neither fast nor simple, so David downs a quick cup of water before we begin.
The secret to quick removal: stage soot can be a beast to wash off, especially in the short amount of time between exits in Act III and entrances in Act IV, so the men slather themselves in cocoa butter gel (found at your local CVS) that smells delightfully of German chocolate cake.
Sooting up. The soot is mixed from a top-secret formulation of powdered charcoal makeup and cocoa butter lotion, for easy, lung-friendly application. The actor strategically dabs it on and smears. David begins with his calves and works up.
The face, obviously, is the most important. A balance between too little and the inevitable Uncle Tom’s Cabin jokes is achieved through a gradient scale of light and dark smudges, and lots of room around the eyes for maximum expression.
Blood is key. Each man has a signature wound. Bruce loves his bleeding ear. Sam is committed to his forehead gash that resulted from Solyony saving a baby in the fire. Jim focuses on hands and knuckles, while David’s focus is on his calf gash and bloody nose. His theory is that when close to a fire for a prolonged period of time, one’s nose would most certainly dry up. Attention to detail is paid as they all trail fake blood from their wounds onto their clothing.
Sweat. While most would do anything they can to hide embarrassing pit stains, we enhance them for the audience’s viewing pleasure. A spray bottle full of water hits the pits, chest, and back, followed by a second coat of cocoa butter oil to the face for a sexy, glossy sheen, and a dousing and tousle of the hair to complete the look.
The finale. Smelling of cake, these hot messes of men are armed and ready to break hearts and (spoiler alert) clocks, just in time to ship off to Poland.
The new version of Three Sisters by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Les Waters, continues through May 22. Reserve your seats now.
Comments: 2 | Read comments
Teenagers and Chekhov
posted by Karen McKevitt on Thu, Apr 21, 2011
in Our shows
Think teenagers and Chekhov don’t mix? Well, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking so -- truth be told, most of us probably thought the same.
And then there was that teenager who came to Three Sisters last week. We spotted him before the show, hoodie pulled up completely over his face, with all the body language of someone who just lost a big fight over where they would be going that night. (Or, over the fact that he had to go out with his parents at all.)
Well, he did emerge from the hoodie at the top of the show. And after the first 10 minutes he was sitting forward in his seat completely engrossed. He appeared to thoroughly enjoy the entire show. Was it Sarah Ruhl’s more colloquial version? The superb acting? The exquisite design? Or, did he really like Chekhov all along?
In any case, it’s been proven once again: Never underestimate teenaged audience members.