Berkeley Rep Blog

Category archive: School of Theatre

Girlfriend resonates with teens at the student matinee

posted by Lizz Guzman on Wed, May 5, 2010
in At the theatre , Backstage buzz , School of Theatre

"Authentic, intimate, and romantic” is how the San Francisco Chronicle described Girlfriend at Berkeley Rep. And this was the show to which we were expecting a large group of high school students for the student matinee on April 29.

Berkeley Rep’s student matinees are a rare opportunity for high-school and middle-school teachers to expose their students to theatre and to the transformative power of art. Our hope at the School of Theatre is that the matinee serves as a memorable, educational, and fun theatre experience for all involved.

As the rest of the School of Theatre staff and I donned our nametags and took our positions a little before noon, I wondered what the audience response would be. I scanned the faces of the students as they arrived, but I could not read the energy of this crowd. How would these teens handle the sensitive subject matter and tenderness of the story?

As the house lights went down and the band picked up, I held my breath.

The reactions of the audience quickly put my mind at ease. It became clear as the show went on that the group really related to the awkwardness of first love and the challenges of being different. Every uncomfortable silence and rambling conversation was greeted with a knowing laugh. It seemed like this audience had a more profound connection and empathetic understanding of the situations and emotions in the play.

Were there uneasy giggles? Sure. Soon, however, the laughter and the chatter faded away. I could feel the nervous energy in the theatre turn to focused concentration. The teens seemed to be as moved by the tenderness and sweetness of the scene as I was. At the end of Act 1 when Mike leans in to kiss Will, the entire audience held its collective breath in anticipation. When the two actors finally kissed, the theatre erupted into cheers and screams, students and teachers alike on their feet. My skin prickled with goosebumps as the ovation continued. And continued. The actors and band had to finish the song above the applause that continued until the house lights came up for intermission.

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Holiday centerpiece salutes "21 Guns"

posted by Chad Jones on Tue, Dec 22, 2009
in Backstage buzz , School of Theatre

There's an annual holiday tradition around here, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it involves creativity.

In the weeks leading up to the Berkeley Rep staff holiday party, each department is charged with creating one of the festive centerpieces that adorn the tables. Some departments take this charge very seriously and begin thinking about it months before. Others are more inspired by the creative push of a deadline and throw something together before heading into the party.

The one rule is that the design must have something to do with a Berkeley Rep show, past or present.

An impartial panel of judges at the party (their identities are known only to Company Manager Megan
Wygant) covertly assesses the creations and a prize is awarded to the winner.

Now that this year's party is behind us, we can share with you the winning entry. Designed by School of Theatre administrator Emika Abe and fellow Lizz Guzman and constructed by the SoT staff, the centerpiece paid homage to the Green Day song "21 Guns" featured in American Idiot. A Christmas tree shape is decorated with toy guns and pictures of guns (21 in all, very clever) and topped with a plush heart grenade. There's also an accompanying note to the big man in red. Taking its cue from Johnny's letters in the show, the missive reads: "Santa, take a f@#*ing shower."

Members of the SoT design team each won a $50 Whole Foods gift card for their efforts.

And speaking of "21 Guns," the fantastic version Green Day recorded with the American Idiot cast is available for download at all the usual outlets including iTunes and Amazon.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Berkeley Rep!

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American Idiot, Rent stars rattle School of Theatre

posted by Bert Reptile on Tue, Oct 20, 2009
in School of Theatre

By Elizabeth Guzman
Education Fellow

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d be able to say: “Sorry, I can’t hang out tomorrow. I’ll be welcoming John Gallagher Jr., Rebecca Naomi Jones, Michael Esper, Tony Vincent, and Anthony Rapp to the event I planned."

As the fellow in charge of Teen Council at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, I have been working to keep up momentum and excitement after American Idiot. While perusing theatrebayarea.org, I was excited to see that Rent would be playing in San Francisco starring Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, the original Mark and Roger respectively. Over the next few weeks, Rachel Fink, associate general manager and director of the School, Gendell Hernandez, our education associate, and I put together plans to take a group to see Rent as part of our Theatre Scene program. Although this was the first experience with the show for many of the teens, I discovered Rent 13 years ago and consider it to be one of my formative experiences personally and theatrically. So you can imagine my excitement when Rachel suggested inviting Anthony Rapp and members of the American Idiot cast to come to the School and have a special talkback with the teens about their experiences in these shows.

By 4pm on October 15, the crowd of teenagers was gathering outside the doors of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. Some came inside to giggle and whisper with their friends, while others hung around the door hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of the actors. The adults were also extraordinarily excited, and I, for one, felt myself holding my breath as the interview began. I wanted to make sure that the event went well — that the actors were comfortable and that the teens felt inspired, learned something, and had fun. Perhaps, most importantly, I wanted to make sure the students’ pizza and actors’ food arrived on time and was correct. However, as soon as Valerie Dohrer and Darcy Davis (our wonderful teen interviewers) asked the first question and Anthony answered, I relaxed and listened to what the actors had to say. The insight, laughter, and theatrical passion that each actor shared with the group elicited smiles, laughter, and knowing nods from teens, fellows, and staff alike. Even comments relating auditioning to being a dog on an electrocuted floor could not take away from the evening (thank you, Michael Esper!).

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Yellowjackets on Yellowjackets

posted by Dave Maier on Wed, Oct 15, 2008
in School of Theatre

Brian, Jahmela, and Amaya with kids from Performance Lab
Actors from Performance Lab with three Yellowjackets cast members

On September 10, 14 classes from Berkeley High School packed into the Thrust to watch Itamar Moses’ play Yellowjackets. They were a lively audience, often audibly commenting on the scenes being played out before them. Of course, they had a special relationship to this play. They got the references specific to Berkeley High that the rest of us did not. However, as I moderated the post-show discussion it became clear to me that they also got a whole lot more. They saw themselves in this play.

Two weeks later, 568 students from Berkeley High School filled the Roda Theatre, not to see a Berkeley Rep production, but to watch their peers respond artistically to the themes of Yellowjackets. The performers and many of the audience members had participated in Performance Lab, a high-school residency program in which students see a Berkeley Rep production and work with a teaching artist to develop an artistic response.

Usually, these workshops close with a modest sharing of the work. This culminating event was far bigger then usual, with all 14 of the Berkeley High Performance Lab classes being represented. It was the first time that Berkeley Rep had hosted such an event — and I was nervous. The logistics involved with getting all the teachers, students, administrators, permission slips, photo waivers, production concerns, etc., on the same page seemed overwhelming.

In spite of the strong production team and competent teachers and teaching artists, I was sure this event would resemble a train wreck. But when the lights went down and the first student stepped on the stage to read an autobiographical poem about her experience as a Tibetan American attending Berkeley High, my fears were put to rest. I realized that we had succeeded because the spotlight was on the diverse and passionate voices of these young people.

Like the characters in Itamar’s play, these students had something to say about issues that are not just central to Berkeley High, but to our community and our nation. These students went on to fill the next two-plus hours with poetry, dance, music, and theatre—all of it original. Each student took the risk of speaking out in front of their peers. All of it inspired by something they had seen on stage in the Thrust just 19 days earlier.