Berkeley Rep Blog
Category archive: General theatre talk
They don't walk alone
posted by Megan Wygant on Fri, Oct 9, 2009
in General theatre talk
American Idiot is a high-energy show. The cast members act, they sing, they dance – as loud as they can, hard as they can, eight shows a week.
And, sometimes, they get hurt.
I’m not saying we’re carrying folks out on stretchers night after night...but this is a strenuous performance. Conditioning and personal training is a required part of all the actors’ routines. During the rehearsal process, choreographer Steven Hoggett led the cast through an intense (and mandatory) 90-minute warm-up/workout at the start of each day’s work. More recently, it’s been an informal (but no less intense) warm-up led by associate choreographer Lorin Latarro before each performance. This session is specifically geared toward stretching out and strengthening the muscles and ligaments that the actors will use during the show – created not just to ensure that they’re performing at their best, but to ensure they're avoiding injury.
And yet...people slip. Someone steps on a piece of paper and loses footing. A head bang gets a little too enthusiastic. Blocking gets off, and two people land their leaps in a place where only one was meant to be.
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Bond, James Bond and Wolverine to hit Broadway?
posted by Elissa Dunn on Thu, Jul 9, 2009
in General theatre talk
Apparently so! While Broadway is no stranger to the occasional mega-watt movie star hitting the stage, this is a whole lot of star-power for one production! It's also being directed by John Crowley of the 2003 London production of The Pillowman. Will Craig and Jackman soon make their way to the Bay Area? One can dream! A Steady Rain by Keith opens at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City in September 2009.
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Beautiful and sad
posted by Megan Wygant on Wed, Jun 17, 2009
in General theatre talk
Our internal staff newsletter can contain wonderful things: announcements of art shows created by coworkers, invitations to plays at local theatres, the occasional good joke, staff gossip, and the like.
Occasionally, there's something beautiful that a member of our staff wants to share with others. Like this: a slideshow of abandoned theatres, found and shared by Ashley Dawn, our prop manager. Check it out.
Thanks for the link, Ashley!
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Drama Obama
posted by Robert Sweibel on Tue, Jun 2, 2009
in General theatre talk
It would be too simple to compare the fact of President and Mrs. Obama's attendance last night at a performance of August Wilson's contemporary masterpiece, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, in New York City, with the patronage habits of his predecessor. I can only suppose that President Bush #43, were he a playgoer, would have attended only matinees. Hard to make it bed by 9pm if you've got an 8pm curtain.
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The Zombie Chicken Awards
posted by Megan Wygant on Tue, May 26, 2009
in General theatre talk
You like us! You really like us!
OK, well, Chad Jones over at Theater Dogs likes us, which is totally awesome.
Theaterdogs.net is run by Chad Jones, who writes about the ins-and-outs and behind-the-scenes buisiness of theatre at many of our local papers. I also have it on good authority that he's an excellent bowler. One of my favorite things about Theater Dogs is that it really reflects the wealth of theatre taking place in the Bay Area -- whether it's an interview with a local playwright, a profile on a Bay Area comedy troupe (well, hello, Killing My Lobster!), or a carefully examined, thoughtful critique of the latest show on one of the Bay Area's numerous stages.
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Contact your Senators!
posted by Susie Medak on Tue, Feb 10, 2009
in General theatre talk
President Obama proposed including $50 million for the arts in the stimulus package and, once again, the culture wars are upon us. Our senators have defeated efforts to support the arts. Now is our last chance to fight to include artists among the people who can be put to work as part of stimulating our economy. It is also the final opportunity to remove the onerous amendment that would prohibit arts organizations from receiving the benefits of any stimulus money... be it NEA funds, environmental funds, capital improvements funds, education funds, etc.
Click here to take action: http://theperformingartsalliance.org/campaign/SupporttheArtsintheEconomicStimulusBill/65b56x947iwtxm3.
And, in case you're interested, here are some more of my thoughts on this topic:
Since when are artists not workers? During the Great Depression, artists of every persuasion were employed by the government... actors, directors, writers, painters, and musicians were all eligible for subsidized work. And the result was that some of the most important artists of the 20th century were given the chance, early in their careers, to hone their skills. Authors like Saul Bellow and directors like Orson Welles, to name only two, were fed by the WPA. And our post offices and schools are embellished with the work of sculptors and painters like Diego Rivera who immortalized that period through their unique sensibilities.
In the late '60s or early '70s, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) was open to artists and arts organizations along with every other industry in the country. The result of that initiative is the hundreds (if not thousands) of arts organizations that have enriched our communities throughout the last 40 years. There is a great tradition in this country of recognizing that artists have real, substantial value and that they contribute to a societal good. They contribute to the common good. They should be entitled to all the same benefits as the rest of our American workforce.
As for infrastructure, we have already submitted to the City of Berkeley a list of shovel-ready projects that we’d like to see included for consideration, should our city receive stimulus money. We’ve taken the position that our ability to spend money for physical improvements has as much validity as does programs for the City pound, street improvements, local housing projects, or university expansion. Our ability to impact the viability of the area’s restaurants and shops is well documented. Our impact within the schools is unparalleled in the state. And artists, just like every construction worker, pay taxes, purchase groceries, and pour money into the local economy.
I came across this opinion piece in the Boston Globe last week. It is specifically about Brandeis University's decision to sell its art collection, but at some level it speaks to this issue of why we must support art and artists. You can read it at http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/02/05/why_should_we_care_about_the_arts/.
Please join us in supporting the arts as an essential part of the American economy.
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Support the Arts in Economic Recovery
posted by Robert Sweibel on Fri, Jan 30, 2009
in General theatre talk
This just in from Americans for the Arts, the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the art in America...
"The legislative action surrounding jobs funding for the arts in the Economic Recovery Package in Congress is picking up speed, and we need you to take action! Americans for the Arts has been working with Congressional leaders to build support for this emergency funding for local and state arts organizations to prevent job losses during this recession.
House
As you recall, last week the House Appropriations Committee approved a plan that included $50 million in supplemental grants funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and a number of other provisions that can benefit the arts. Starting tonight, and continuing tomorrow, the House will be considering the recovery legislation on the floor, and a number of votes are expected.
Senate
The Senate will be starting their debate on the bill on Friday and continuing through next week. While the Senate Appropriations Committee did not include an arts jobs funding provision in their version of the bill, advocates still have several opportunities over the next few days to change the final outcome. Amendments could be made to the Senate bill or the House arts funding provision itself could prevail in the final House/Senate conference bill.
Click here to send a message to our leaders in support of the arts and arts education. Americans for the Arts has supplied you with fresh research and key quotes that support this funding -- your help in communicating this information to your Member of Congress is critical.
Thank you for your support of the arts!"
I needed less than two minutes to act on this, and one minute more to forward the link to my family.
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What's the future of the published program?
posted by Megan Wygant on Tue, Jan 13, 2009
in General theatre talk
Last week, Bay Area critic Chloe Veltman asked her readers whether they thought that the programs that theatre-goers receive when they visit a theatre are growing obsolete. With the internet offering a variety of ways to access the same information (and more) she questioned whether the various expenditures--of labor, of ecologic resources, of money--were worth it.
It's something we're talking about over at Berkeley Rep, too. Everyone gets the program, of course, but if you visit the Theatre and we already have your email address, you get "liner notes" emailed to you the week before you come. Basically, it's like the "program plus": all the articles you'd read in the program--and more. Madeleine, our dramaturg, writes a note; sometimes we're able to include expanded versions of the articles that we had to trim due to space constraints in the printed program. We can't print videos in the program; online we can link to Les Waters or Mary Zimmerman introducing their show on the first day of rehearsal.*
But does a service like this supplement or supplant the role of the production program that you receive as part of your day-of-show experience? Among the many hats I wear here at the Theatre, I'm editor of the program. It's my baby, from running the editorial meeting to taking final responsibility for proofreading (I always wanted to be Lois Lane when I grew up). This week, as the one for In the Next Room heads off to the printer (that's the cover, at left), I gotta say that putting them together is no small task. We're effectively publishing a 40 to 50-page magazine every few weeks, and in many ways, it would be much easier to just put it all online and call it done.
So why don't we? Well, we have specific contractual obligations to the actors and the other artists which include specific credits in a printed program--but I'm sure that the day will come when those credits are renegotiated in such a way that budget-conscious nonprofits (like us!) could extend some form of equitable credit in an online forum. And then we'll have to make a choice.
I can tell you my perspective on it -- which is that even as a very small kid, I always felt that receiving a program as I entered the theatre was part of the experience. At the very least, it's what you do before the show. It's that thing you revisit at intermission, to see how many of the pieces hinted at by the dramaturg and the artistic director are now beginning to fit together. I can't imagine plugging in my iPod at the Theatre to listen to a podcast of the same. But, I recognize this is a topic for debate with many perspectives. So, I wanted to throw it open to you, the Berkeley Rep audience. What part does the printed program play in your experience at the Theatre? Do you think it should stick around? Why or why not?
I'm curious to hear what you have to say.
*If you get our emails, and for some reason you're not getting the liner notes, drop me a line, and I'll figure out what's going on.
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How about a bailout for the arts?
posted by Rachel Fink on Wed, Jan 7, 2009
in General theatre talk
Michael Kaiser, who is the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, recently wrote a very articulate op-ed piece in The Washington Post about the need for a bailout for the arts.
If I could, I'd make it required reading for all.
As he succinctly states, "This sector is at serious risk. Because the arts are so fragmented, no single organization's demise threatens the greater economy and claims headlines. But thousands of organizations, and the state of America's arts ecology, are in danger."
We're already seeing it in our local theatre community with the demise of American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the recent (successful) campaign to save Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the current appeal for The Magic Theatre. Even the organizations that aren't in dire straits are facing the prospect of significant cutbacks and layoffs due to decreased revenue streams.
Clearly, those of us in the field are very concerned, and know that it'll take the collective action of the community to help weather these hard times. Please take a moment and read Michael Kaiser's piece and help advocate for support for our arts community, including our very own Berkeley Rep.
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They did it!
posted by Megan Wygant on Tue, Dec 23, 2008
in General theatre talk
A quick update on the Shakespeare Santa Cruz situation -- they did it.
Thanks to donations from theatre fans across the country, Shakespeare Santa Cruz was able to raise $416,417 in a little over a week. We're hugely relieved for our compatriots over the hill, and thrilled to live in a region where the arts are supported so strongly.
So, now that all the hubbub is over, and a little of the strain is off, it might be a good time to mention that...ahem...if you'd still like to get a write-off before tax season (by making a tax-deductable donation by the year's end), well, I can think of a few other local nonprofits that would welcome the help.