Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: Our shows
Breaking news: The composer is dead!
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, Nov 29, 2010
in Backstage buzz , Costume shop , Our shows , Prop shop
Have you seen the two features about Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead that came out over the weekend? Robert Hurwitt at the San Francisco Chronicle interviewed Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko of Phantom Limb, who created the puppets, while Jackie Burrell at the Contra Costa Times conducted an irreverent interview with author Lemony Snicket’s stand-in, Daniel Handler.
I myself have been absolutely fascinated with the orchestra of marionettes in Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead, and during tech week, I managed to catch up with Erik as well as the costume shop staff to talk about how they designed and costumed these marionettes.
The show is based on the book by the celebrated author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. At the top of the story, a composer turns up dead, and everyone in the orchestra is a suspect. But, these aren’t your everyday everyones.
“The Inspector interrogates the instruments,” says Erik, “not the musicians.” In fact, the musicians and instruments are essentially one and the same.
Erik’s marionettes are elegant human/instrument hybrids. Put simply, they’re instruments with faces, arms and hands, but Erik was careful not to “Disneyfy” them. The violins, for example, have an austere bone structure that’s not at all cartoonish. Erik created the heads and hands using Celluclay. “No one over age 8 uses it,” Erik says, laughing. “But I don’t use synthetics in my work.” The Berkeley Rep props department cast all the instruments over the summer.
While the marionettes were being made, the costume shop started working on their elaborate wardrobe. The fabric that makes up the brass section’s pinstripe suits is printed with the actual score from the show. Three different dye vats were used to create the parchment-colored clothes for the oboes. The violins wear corsets that form their body, while the ruffled fronts are the strings. “They’re my favorite,” says Kitty Muntzel, a draper in our shop. “They’re very girly.”
I asked Kitty how costuming marionettes is different from costuming actors. “Well,” she says, “you can stitch the costumes directly to the puppets!” We laugh. Another plus is that there’s hardly any tailoring and no intricate facing like functioning pockets.
One of the costume shop’s biggest considerations was the marionettes’ range of motion and where the strings are located. They also had to consider that the marionette’s bodies are fabric as well, so the costumes don’t slide over them the same way clothes slide when an actor raises his arm. Erik noted that the resistance of fabric against fabric was actually helpful when the puppeteers started working with the marionettes.
Most of the marionettes were dressed in rehearsal – after they had already been strung. So almost every morning, the costume department would arrive early to costume a section of instruments. Each section had to be unstrung, and the costumers had to dress each marionette in the quarters of their orchestra pit.
One of the biggest challenges in rehearsal was getting groups of marionettes, like all the violins, to stand up and sit down as a group. Each marionette is individually strung, so it takes an elaborate network of pulleys and expert puppeteers to make them all move the same way simultaneously while still being able to move individually.
The result, judging from the dress rehearsal I saw last week, is visually stunning. And we’re all looking forward to sharing it with you, so purchase your seats now before it’s too late!
Photo of Geoff Hoyle by kevinberne.com.
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A curious dispatch from Lemony Snicket
posted by Pauline Luppert on Thu, Nov 18, 2010
in At the theatre , General theatre talk , Our shows
With the world premiere of Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead mere days away, Lemony Snicket himself has taken the time to send you a curious dispatch in which he shares with you why theatre is important – and how you may find a more or less everlasting joy and peace.
Is theatre important to you? Make a gift to Berkeley Rep today.
Click www.berkeleyrep.org/give
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Invasion of the puppets
posted by Daria Hepps on Fri, Nov 12, 2010
in Our shows
Rehearsals are underway, and Berkeley Rep's been overrun with marionettes. I had a chance to talk with the puppeteers for our upcoming production of Lemony Snicket's the Composer is Dead. I'm no expert on these things, so it was fascinating to hear them talk about their field. Here are some of the fun and interesting things I learned...
Marionettes have existed since ancient times. Of all puppetry fields, it’s the one that is fading most rapidly – not because audiences don’t love marionettes, but because they are the most difficult to work with. They demand specially designed sets, special lighting, and they are themselves complex to design and manipulate. Marionettes, which can have up to 20 strings, blend art, engineering and manipulation in a unique way.
Jessica Grindstaff and Erik Sanko of Phantom Limb (shown in this photo) both have art backgrounds, and they believe that marionettes are the most magical of all puppetry fields. As marionettes are not physically attached to the body of the puppeteer, they can appear to be fully functioning independent beings. Notes Erik, “Audiences are enthralled.”
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Lemony Snicket introduces The Composer is Dead
posted by Karen McKevitt on Mon, Nov 8, 2010
in Our shows
Excitement is building up around here at Berkeley Rep as rehearsals start in earnest for Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead. Yep, by the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. In fact, we could think of no other person than the author himself to introduce this show perfect for the whole family:
“Once Berkeley Rep had a long and proud tradition of presenting some of the most exciting and engaging theater in the land, and Phantom Limb had a reputation as an emerging and dynamic force in the world of puppetry and design. I am sad to report that this new production brings these traditions and reputations to sorry ends. The Composer is Dead began its life as a composition for narrator and orchestra, written in collaboration with living composer Nathaniel Stookey and, to our surprise and horror, performed all over the world by various symphony orchestras who lived to regret it. One would have thought that would be the end of it, but Berkeley Rep, in a fit of madness for which the East Bay is well-known, has revived and reinvented this work for audiences of all ages, as all ages will be equally depressed over this sorry spectacle. Please join me in the cheap seats of Berkeley Rep’s crowded and crumbling theatre, so that together we, the audience viewing this sorry spectacle, might cry out the only thing that might save us: ‘Fire!’” –Lemony Snicket
Read more and buy tickets now!
Photo of Geoff Hoyle as the Inspector by kevinberne.com.
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A personal, passionate opinion about The Game
posted by Terence Keane on Fri, Oct 29, 2010
in Our shows
This week, in the Napa Valley Register, Sasha Paulsen asks all of the questions that come up when one hears about The Great Game: Afghanistan -- and then she answers them in cogent, passionate prose. It's rare that one reads a review this thorough and heartfelt:
All during the drive to Berkeley, Afghanistan kept surfacing in NPR news reports: Had fraud invalidated the recent elections; was it necessary for the Afghan government to negotiate with the Taliban; why was Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declaring Pakistan is the U.S.’s greatest ally in defeating terrorism?
The drone of these news stories, day after day, can be numbing. Set against it is the fact that a 21-year-old Napa man, Army Spc. Chase Stanley, died last July in this conflict.
He was one of 62,415 troops from 46 countries currently in Afghanistan, and to the military fatalities must be added the deaths of thousands of civilians — and thousands more if one goes back to the beginnings of this “Great Game,” according to information in the “The Great Game” program.
Theatrical questions arise: Can ‘entertainment’ be made of this? Is this issue so important one can dispense with entertainment and just be enlightened? Is it possible to entertain and inform? Is it possible that entertainment can prove more enlightening that “just the facts?” Twelve playwrights on one vast, complex, bewildering topic: We were going to watch blind men describing an elephant?
... Eleven hours later, on the drive back to Napa from Berkeley, slightly foggy-headed but oddly exhilarated, I was listening to NPR again.
The news stories were the same as they’d been that morning: the election fraud, Hilary Clinton and the Pakistanis, could the U.S. hold Kandahar, and can anyone negotiate with the Taliban?
These complex stories, however, had acquired faces and voices, amid drumbeats of history and human folly. And that, in the end, is the affect of great, of brilliant theater.
If you've already seen the show, or if you're trying to decide if you want to see it, Sasha's story will undoubtedly speak to you. Read the entire review here.
There's one more week of The Great Game. It closes next Sunday, November 7, and then heads off to New York.
Photo of Danny Rahim in The Great Game: Afghanistan by John Haynes
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Great Game garners great reviews
posted by Terence Keane on Tue, Oct 26, 2010
in Our shows
Our actors and backstage crews pulled off quite a feat this weekend: nine shows in three days! On Friday, we opened our epic production of The Great Game: Afghanistan, presenting the entire trilogy in one impressive marathon that started at 11:30 AM and ended at 10:30 PM. And then we did it again on Saturday and Sunday! (And meanwhile, next door on our Thrust Stage, the hardworking folks from Compulsion "only" gave us the usual five-show weekend.)
Was it worth it? Well, the local critics have added their voices to the international praise for this ambitious production:
"There's no doubt that the Tricycle Theatre's The Great Game: Afghanistan is one of the theatrical events of the season... This is no polemic. It's a timely history lesson, an animated primer to add context to one of the era's most pressing issues. It's also strikingly staged." - San Francisco Chronicle
“This production pulls off an amazing feat. It entertains and informs. It’s a double whammy that should not be missed by fans of theater nor fans of politics.” – Stark Insider
“Berkeley Rep’s Great Game is powerful… Going to see all three plays will definitely provide theatergoers with a deeper understanding of a 170-year swath of Afghanistan’s history. They will see some fine acting as well. Many members of the Tricycle’s London company are simply outstanding, including Jemma Redgrave (of the famous acting family).” – Berkeleyside
“This really is a staggering event… the plays as a whole create a fascinating portrait of Afghanistan – not unlike like the giant mural at the back of Pamela Howard’s simple set that undergoes several important evolutions.” – Theater Dogs
We're still waiting to see the review from the Bay Area News Group, which should appear this Thursday in the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, and Contra Costa Times. But you may not want to wait that long to order tickets. The Chronicle urges you to "Go for the marathon," and tickets to see the entire series are going fast!
Photo of Jemma Redgrave and Daniel Rabin in The Great Game: Afghanistan by John Haynes
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Let the Great Game Begin!
posted by Cheshire Isaacs on Fri, Oct 22, 2010
in News , Our shows
In just over an hour, The Great Game: Afghanistan begins! It's the first marathon performance, with Part 1 starting at 11:30 AM; Part 2 at 3:30 PM; and Part 3 at 8 PM.
The Great Game has arrived direct from London, where it played at Tricycle Theatre, co-directed by artitsic director Nicolas Kent. Check out the SFGate.com's article about the show and Nicolas here, and we hope to see you at the show, which plays through November 7. Here's more information.
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1,001 stories for the price of one
posted by Cari Turley on Wed, Oct 20, 2010
in News , Our shows
The Arabian Nights is back! The show that inspired nightly standing ovations in 2008 is returning for a limited engagement this holiday season. Until now, tickets were only available to subscribers, but now the hottest ticket of the season is available to everyone. So what are you waiting for? Call the box office at 510-647-2949 or buy your tickets online today!
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Guess who's gonna be on our stage next week!
posted by Pauline Luppert on Thu, Oct 7, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz , Our shows , Shows on tour
We've had some pretty stellar people on our stages in the two years I've been working at Berkeley Rep. Tony and Emmy Award—winning actor Mandy Patinkin will be on the Thrust stage this very evening. We've had a lot of performances sell-out of tickets. American Idiot sold so well we had to extend it before it even opened. An Evening with David Sedaris was sold out for months in advance of his appearance during our Fireworks Festival this past summer.
We've just announced a special event in The Roda. It will take place for only three nights—Sunday October 10, Tuesday October 12, and Wednesday October 13. It appears the event may set some new ticket sales records for us—and we haven't really done much marketing yet.
Have you heard about it yet? Here's a clue:
Robin Williams "Cyber Witches Coven" from Robin Williams on Vimeo.
Yup! Robin Williams will be here. Get a ticket while you can.
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Billie Joe does St. Jimmy at the St. James
posted by Terence Keane on Thu, Sep 30, 2010
in Our shows , Shows on tour
Did you hear? Billie Joe Armstrong -- that local punk who grew up to be the international punk -- just made his Broadway debut in our production of American Idiot. Tony Vincent had to take a break for a few days to attend to a family matter, so Billie Joe stepped into the role! This week only, he's playing St. Jimmy at the St. James Theater in Times Square alongside the rest of our cast.
Watch Billie Joe and his cohorts singing "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" during the curtain call on Tuesday night. Our managing director, Susie Medak, was there and she says, "The crowds were huge, and Billie Joe was awesome. Generous, scary, soulful." Which is, of course, perfect for the charismatic drug dealer he's portraying.
But don't take our word for it. You can read a review of his performance on MTV.com, or watch the accompanying video with interviews from thrilled fans who were lucky enough to be in the audience that night.
The New York Times notes that "Mr. Armstrong’s yearslong involvement in American Idiot, to the point of joining the cast, is without equal for a major American rock performer." Even better, our board member, Felicia Woytak, points out a comment posted about it on the Times' blog. An audience member penned a little ditty that puts the evening in context with the hallowed history of the St. James Theater:
ODE TO BILLIE JOE
We’d seen some people pull out flyers, did they think they would be good this week?
No there were many willing buyers, even us, and I’m a Gershwin geek
And as the lights went down we heard somebody say this stuff was quasi-punk
But as I listened to the sound I got swept in, well really who’d have thunk?
Some say he's singer more than actor, I won’t fight if that’s what someone claims
But I loved Billie Joe, John Gallagher and Green Day at the old St. James
Heck, I saw Patti walk the aisle there, she had us with “Sing out Louise”
Nathan wowed in The Producers; honey, pass the kish-kas please
Saw the Merm do her great Dolly there; oh bubbie, get your dad the pie
But then I saw this Billie Joe, I’m goin’ back three times, don’t ask me why
'Cause now your Mama listens to this stuff and Papa he gets mad and blames
The week that Billie Joe, John Gallagher and Green Day rocked the old St. James
It's going to be quite a week. Then Billie Joe heads off to Caracas, Venezuela to join the rest of the band for its South American tour. And American Idiot will keep on rocking Broadway for months to come.
Photo by Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images