In ACT’s ‘Co-Founders,’ High Tech Meets West Oakland Hustle
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This week, we’re looking back on the best art, music, food, movies and more from the year. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/best-of-2025\">See our entire Best of 2025 guide here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Bay Area theater was loaded with innovative artists producing great shows, coupled with a hope that the local scene will soon see healthier days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a spate of theater closures, funding challenges and diminished audiences, there’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">no shortage of ideas\u003c/a> from the Bay Area’s top theater brass as to how Bay Area theater can survive. There were also plenty of victories to be had on our region’s stages in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984280\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1047\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1536x1005.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Syrian-Armenian-American artist Sona Tatoyan talks about her friend, Turkish political activist Osman Kavala, as renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian accompanies her in ‘AZAD,’ at Golden Thread.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(David Allen Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The beautiful spectacle of ‘AZAD’ at Golden Thread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Written and performed by Sona Tatoyan, a Syrian Armenian American theatre-maker and Storyteller, \u003ci>AZAD\u003c/i> defied categorization in its April premiere at Golden Thread. With its compelling personal narrative, it presented like a solo show but relied on a taut ensemble of puppeteers, centenarian Karagöz puppets and a live musician to create an expansive, visionary performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AZAD\u003c/em> excavated painful, rigorously researched histories that rarely see the spotlight, putting the audience and performer through an intense emotional wringer that never relied on cliché or manipulation to elicit a response. With atmospheric projections designed by Camilla Tassi, and meticulous scenic design by Marcelo Martínez García, this Jared Mezzocchi-directed piece was a visual and virtuosic standout. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984283\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mona (Lauren Marcus, left) and waitress Edna Louise (Ashley Cowl, center) get reacquainted with Joanne (Shakina) in the musical ‘Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical’ at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Jimmy Dean’ came back to Mountain View\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It is insanely hard to write a new hit musical. Just take a peek at the constant stream of revivals that have hit theaters in recent years. That’s what made TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s \u003ci>Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical\u003c/i> such an achievement. A darling of the company’s 2024 New Works Festival, the show premiered this past summer, featuring every component of what makes a musical unforgettable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with the insightful book from Ashley Robinson, the playful, fierce music from Dan Gillespie Sells and unbeatable lyrics by Shakina. Add a terrific creative team led by director Giovanna Sardelli, and you’ve got a magical show. As an added bonus, it was thrilling to see an unapologetic transgender narrative, with Shakina stunning as a vision in white. —\u003cem>David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juicy (Devin A. Cunningham) stares down the ghost of Pap (Ron Chapman) in ‘Fat Ham’ at SF Playhouse.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Pulitzer-winning ‘Fat Ham’ astounded at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A singular upside of the COVID lockdown was the rare chance to stream innovative performances from around the world. One such toothsome treat was the world premiere of the Pulitzer-winning \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i>, by James Ijames, staged as a digital production by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. This first taste whetted my appetite for more. At SF Playhouse, \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i> brought a deeply humorous, deeply human reimagining of \u003ci>Hamlet\u003c/i>, in which a grieving Juicy (Devin Cunningham) contemplated mortality and morality as his mother (Jenn Stephens) and new stepfather-uncle (Ron Chapman) celebrated their hasty nuptials with a backyard barbeque.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deftly directed by Margo Hall, the actors pushed each punchline and outrageous misfortune to its absolute limit, flipping the existential dread of Denmark’s saddest prince into a flamboyant embrace of life’s possibilities. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984278\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"560\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-768x538.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tshembe (Jeuneé Simon) faces guard Eric (Monique Crawford) as Madame Nielsen (Jacinta Kaumbulu) sits and looks on in Oakland Theater Project’s production of ‘Les Blancs.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A powerful Lorraine Hansberry revival in Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If there’s any Bay Area company outgrowing their britches faster than a teenager on a growth spurt, it’s Oakland Theater Project. In their charming space at the Flax Art & Design building, their current production of \u003ci>Cabaret\u003c/i> is sold out for the entire run weeks before closing. Ideally, they’d be able to move into a permanent space worthy of their fierce, bold reputation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take their fantastic production of \u003ci>Les Blancs\u003c/i>. Though it lacks the name recognition of \u003ci>A Raisin in the Sun\u003c/i>, it carries major weight in the theater world as Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, adapted by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff. The story is also the only one of Hansberry’s to be set in Africa, using beats, rhythms and dance to signify Black and African cultures. Presenting a clash between white colonialism and Black liberation, the story and production were both memorable and explosive. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez in ‘The Search for Signs\u003cbr>of Intelligent Life in the Universe,’ the last production at famed Berkeley institution Aurora Theatre before the company ceased operations.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marga Gomez helped bid goodnight to Aurora Theatre\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first play I bought as a teenage theatre nerd, Jane Wagner’s inventive \u003ci>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In the Universe\u003c/i> was written to showcase the versatile talents of her wife, Lily Tomlin — a tough act to follow in any era. Thankfully, Aurora Theatre made the inspired move to cast Bay Area powerhouse Marga Gomez in its 2025 revival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comedian, MC, actor and seasoned solo show creator/performer, Gomez switches seamlessly between characters, scenarios and timelines without elaborate props or costume changes — making her a stellar choice to fill Tomlin’s cosmic shoes. Adding to the pressure of the performance was the concurrent announcement that Aurora Theatre would cease operations for the foreseeable future. At least Gomez ensured they went out with a (big) bang. \u003ci>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1116px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1116\" height=\"735\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984279\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg 1116w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-768x506.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Theoretical physicist Marianne (Vivienne Truong) and beekeeper Roland (George Alexander K.), one of three couples with the same names and dialogue in ‘Constellations’ at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Reed Flores)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Constellations’ offered a terrific way forward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the surface, there was nothing terribly flashy about Nick Payne’s \u003ci>Constellations\u003c/i> at the Pear Theatre in Palo Alto. A group of actors — George Alexander K., Raven Douglas, Thomas Nguyen, Sahil Singh, Elana Swartz and Vivienne Truong — enter an open space, pair off and begin spilling their guts. The pairings were different at each performance, and at the end of the show, the audience got to make decisions for the next audience coming in the following night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven in thinking this sounds gimmicky. But under the direction of Reed Flores, it proved that theater need not have bells and whistles, just a great story and fantastic performances that grip the audience. If Bay Area theater is going to survive, phenomenal shows like this one will need to be at its forefront. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katherine Park, Elana Swartz, Carl Lucania and Alejandra Wahl took their ‘Tempest’ to the ocean with Berkeley Shakespeare Company.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Sara Nicole Mindful)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fabulous backdrops that reinvigorated the classics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Theatre-makers love a copyright-free classic, but some productions really push their source material to exciting extremes. This year, standouts included Nate Currier’s first-time adaptation of \u003ci>The Epic of Gilgamesh\u003c/i> at Marin Shakespeare Company, and a site-expansive production of \u003ci>The Tempest\u003c/i> at the windswept Point Montara Lighthouse and Hostel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currier’s \u003ci>Gilgamesh\u003c/i> combined action-hero vigor with bare-bones physical staging, honoring the poetry of the 4,000-year-old original with a modern vernacular — somewhat reminiscent of Maria Dahvana Headley’s “bro”-tinged \u003ci>Beowulf\u003c/i>. Meanwhile, Stuart Bousel’s \u003ci>Tempest\u003c/i>, produced by Berkeley Shakespeare Company, utilized its proximity to the ocean and uniquely intimate interiors to create a truly magical realm for its artists and audiences alike. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1040\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-768x550.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Outgoing American Conservatory Theater artistic director Pam MacKinnon and incoming Golden Thread Productions artistic director Nabra Nelson. \u003ccite>(ACT / Golden Thread)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Seismic comings and goings in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Two theater companies are going into the new year with big shifts at the top. Sahar Assaf, who’s made Golden Thread Productions her artistic home for the past four years, is turning over the reins as artistic director to Nabra Nelson, who has a wealth of experience in arts administration. Nelson is a multi-hyphenate artist, having delved into playwriting, dramaturgy, consultant, director and community engagement, among other roles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Pam MacKinnon concludes her eight years leading American Conservatory Theater at the end of the 2025-2026 season. Soon returning to New York City, she plans to rekindle her freelance directing career. Succeeding longtime A.C.T. leader Carey Perloff, MacKinnon dove deeply into commissions with big names, and oversaw some tough times for the company, including the COVID shutdown and the closure of A.C.T.’s highly regarded MFA program. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1060px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1060\" height=\"632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg 1060w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-768x458.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1060px) 100vw, 1060px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joan Baez joined the circus and starred in ‘The Soiled Dove’ in Alameda. \u003ccite>(Philip Pavliger / Vau de Vire Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘The Soiled Dove’ flew high in Alameda\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Is there anything more synonymous with the Bay Area performing arts than circuses and sin? I hope not, because I’m here for all of it. The Vau de Vire Society’s wicked and wonderful Barbary Coast dinner theatre extravaganza, \u003ci>The Soiled Dove\u003c/i>, has been a perennial crowd-pleaser for over 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s Alameda revival prominently featured legendary singer-songwriter and social activist Joan Baez — whose six-decade career continues to flourish — while the seasoned circus and cabaret performers who make up Vau de Vire’s core company soared. Viva, Vau de Vire! —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 803px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"803\" height=\"630\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-768x603.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magic Theatre’s artistic director Sean San José made a return to the Fort Mason stage in ‘Aztlan’ by Luis Alfaro.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jay Yamada)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Life after prison in the poetic ‘Aztlán’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anytime transcendent poet and playwright Luis Alfaro collaborates with the Magic Theatre, it’s a massive win. This past summer, their pairing yielded the powerful \u003ci>Aztlán\u003c/i>, rooted in Alfaro’s intimate knowledge of the Central Valley. With imagery from Mayan and Mexica folklore, the story of a parolee trying to reinvent his life outside of prison walls was aided by David Arevalo’s costume design, Alejandro Acosta’s sharp lighting design, and dazzling scenic design by Tanya Orellana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beautifully directed by El Teatro Campesino’s Kinan Valdez, Alfaro’s story featured a great cast of Magic regulars. An added bonus? Sean San José’s thrilling return to the stage as an evil-minded deity. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This week, we’re looking back on the best art, music, food, movies and more from the year. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/best-of-2025\">See our entire Best of 2025 guide here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Bay Area theater was loaded with innovative artists producing great shows, coupled with a hope that the local scene will soon see healthier days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a spate of theater closures, funding challenges and diminished audiences, there’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13978734/how-to-save-bay-area-theater-from-collapse-and-closures\">no shortage of ideas\u003c/a> from the Bay Area’s top theater brass as to how Bay Area theater can survive. There were also plenty of victories to be had on our region’s stages in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984280\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1047\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1536x1005.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Syrian-Armenian-American artist Sona Tatoyan talks about her friend, Turkish political activist Osman Kavala, as renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian accompanies her in ‘AZAD,’ at Golden Thread.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(David Allen Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The beautiful spectacle of ‘AZAD’ at Golden Thread\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Written and performed by Sona Tatoyan, a Syrian Armenian American theatre-maker and Storyteller, \u003ci>AZAD\u003c/i> defied categorization in its April premiere at Golden Thread. With its compelling personal narrative, it presented like a solo show but relied on a taut ensemble of puppeteers, centenarian Karagöz puppets and a live musician to create an expansive, visionary performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AZAD\u003c/em> excavated painful, rigorously researched histories that rarely see the spotlight, putting the audience and performer through an intense emotional wringer that never relied on cliché or manipulation to elicit a response. With atmospheric projections designed by Camilla Tassi, and meticulous scenic design by Marcelo Martínez García, this Jared Mezzocchi-directed piece was a visual and virtuosic standout. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984283\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-6-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mona (Lauren Marcus, left) and waitress Edna Louise (Ashley Cowl, center) get reacquainted with Joanne (Shakina) in the musical ‘Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical’ at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Jimmy Dean’ came back to Mountain View\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It is insanely hard to write a new hit musical. Just take a peek at the constant stream of revivals that have hit theaters in recent years. That’s what made TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s \u003ci>Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical\u003c/i> such an achievement. A darling of the company’s 2024 New Works Festival, the show premiered this past summer, featuring every component of what makes a musical unforgettable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Start with the insightful book from Ashley Robinson, the playful, fierce music from Dan Gillespie Sells and unbeatable lyrics by Shakina. Add a terrific creative team led by director Giovanna Sardelli, and you’ve got a magical show. As an added bonus, it was thrilling to see an unapologetic transgender narrative, with Shakina stunning as a vision in white. —\u003cem>David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juicy (Devin A. Cunningham) stares down the ghost of Pap (Ron Chapman) in ‘Fat Ham’ at SF Playhouse.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Pulitzer-winning ‘Fat Ham’ astounded at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A singular upside of the COVID lockdown was the rare chance to stream innovative performances from around the world. One such toothsome treat was the world premiere of the Pulitzer-winning \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i>, by James Ijames, staged as a digital production by Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater. This first taste whetted my appetite for more. At SF Playhouse, \u003ci>Fat Ham\u003c/i> brought a deeply humorous, deeply human reimagining of \u003ci>Hamlet\u003c/i>, in which a grieving Juicy (Devin Cunningham) contemplated mortality and morality as his mother (Jenn Stephens) and new stepfather-uncle (Ron Chapman) celebrated their hasty nuptials with a backyard barbeque.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deftly directed by Margo Hall, the actors pushed each punchline and outrageous misfortune to its absolute limit, flipping the existential dread of Denmark’s saddest prince into a flamboyant embrace of life’s possibilities. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984278\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"560\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-3-768x538.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tshembe (Jeuneé Simon) faces guard Eric (Monique Crawford) as Madame Nielsen (Jacinta Kaumbulu) sits and looks on in Oakland Theater Project’s production of ‘Les Blancs.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A powerful Lorraine Hansberry revival in Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If there’s any Bay Area company outgrowing their britches faster than a teenager on a growth spurt, it’s Oakland Theater Project. In their charming space at the Flax Art & Design building, their current production of \u003ci>Cabaret\u003c/i> is sold out for the entire run weeks before closing. Ideally, they’d be able to move into a permanent space worthy of their fierce, bold reputation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take their fantastic production of \u003ci>Les Blancs\u003c/i>. Though it lacks the name recognition of \u003ci>A Raisin in the Sun\u003c/i>, it carries major weight in the theater world as Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, adapted by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff. The story is also the only one of Hansberry’s to be set in Africa, using beats, rhythms and dance to signify Black and African cultures. Presenting a clash between white colonialism and Black liberation, the story and production were both memorable and explosive. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984281\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1065\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-4-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez in ‘The Search for Signs\u003cbr>of Intelligent Life in the Universe,’ the last production at famed Berkeley institution Aurora Theatre before the company ceased operations.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Marga Gomez helped bid goodnight to Aurora Theatre\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The first play I bought as a teenage theatre nerd, Jane Wagner’s inventive \u003ci>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In the Universe\u003c/i> was written to showcase the versatile talents of her wife, Lily Tomlin — a tough act to follow in any era. Thankfully, Aurora Theatre made the inspired move to cast Bay Area powerhouse Marga Gomez in its 2025 revival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comedian, MC, actor and seasoned solo show creator/performer, Gomez switches seamlessly between characters, scenarios and timelines without elaborate props or costume changes — making her a stellar choice to fill Tomlin’s cosmic shoes. Adding to the pressure of the performance was the concurrent announcement that Aurora Theatre would cease operations for the foreseeable future. At least Gomez ensured they went out with a (big) bang. \u003ci>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1116px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1116\" height=\"735\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984279\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5.jpg 1116w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-5-768x506.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Theoretical physicist Marianne (Vivienne Truong) and beekeeper Roland (George Alexander K.), one of three couples with the same names and dialogue in ‘Constellations’ at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Reed Flores)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Constellations’ offered a terrific way forward\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the surface, there was nothing terribly flashy about Nick Payne’s \u003ci>Constellations\u003c/i> at the Pear Theatre in Palo Alto. A group of actors — George Alexander K., Raven Douglas, Thomas Nguyen, Sahil Singh, Elana Swartz and Vivienne Truong — enter an open space, pair off and begin spilling their guts. The pairings were different at each performance, and at the end of the show, the audience got to make decisions for the next audience coming in the following night. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven in thinking this sounds gimmicky. But under the direction of Reed Flores, it proved that theater need not have bells and whistles, just a great story and fantastic performances that grip the audience. If Bay Area theater is going to survive, phenomenal shows like this one will need to be at its forefront. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katherine Park, Elana Swartz, Carl Lucania and Alejandra Wahl took their ‘Tempest’ to the ocean with Berkeley Shakespeare Company.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Sara Nicole Mindful)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Fabulous backdrops that reinvigorated the classics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Theatre-makers love a copyright-free classic, but some productions really push their source material to exciting extremes. This year, standouts included Nate Currier’s first-time adaptation of \u003ci>The Epic of Gilgamesh\u003c/i> at Marin Shakespeare Company, and a site-expansive production of \u003ci>The Tempest\u003c/i> at the windswept Point Montara Lighthouse and Hostel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currier’s \u003ci>Gilgamesh\u003c/i> combined action-hero vigor with bare-bones physical staging, honoring the poetry of the 4,000-year-old original with a modern vernacular — somewhat reminiscent of Maria Dahvana Headley’s “bro”-tinged \u003ci>Beowulf\u003c/i>. Meanwhile, Stuart Bousel’s \u003ci>Tempest\u003c/i>, produced by Berkeley Shakespeare Company, utilized its proximity to the ocean and uniquely intimate interiors to create a truly magical realm for its artists and audiences alike. —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984282\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1040\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/24sanfrancisco1-superJumbo-768x550.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Outgoing American Conservatory Theater artistic director Pam MacKinnon and incoming Golden Thread Productions artistic director Nabra Nelson. \u003ccite>(ACT / Golden Thread)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Seismic comings and goings in San Francisco\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Two theater companies are going into the new year with big shifts at the top. Sahar Assaf, who’s made Golden Thread Productions her artistic home for the past four years, is turning over the reins as artistic director to Nabra Nelson, who has a wealth of experience in arts administration. Nelson is a multi-hyphenate artist, having delved into playwriting, dramaturgy, consultant, director and community engagement, among other roles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Pam MacKinnon concludes her eight years leading American Conservatory Theater at the end of the 2025-2026 season. Soon returning to New York City, she plans to rekindle her freelance directing career. Succeeding longtime A.C.T. leader Carey Perloff, MacKinnon dove deeply into commissions with big names, and oversaw some tough times for the company, including the COVID shutdown and the closure of A.C.T.’s highly regarded MFA program. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1060px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1060\" height=\"632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390.jpg 1060w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/113301VdVSD-Opening-Night2025-09-05-21_59_03Philip-Pavliger_Web_654x390-768x458.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1060px) 100vw, 1060px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joan Baez joined the circus and starred in ‘The Soiled Dove’ in Alameda. \u003ccite>(Philip Pavliger / Vau de Vire Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘The Soiled Dove’ flew high in Alameda\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Is there anything more synonymous with the Bay Area performing arts than circuses and sin? I hope not, because I’m here for all of it. The Vau de Vire Society’s wicked and wonderful Barbary Coast dinner theatre extravaganza, \u003ci>The Soiled Dove\u003c/i>, has been a perennial crowd-pleaser for over 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s Alameda revival prominently featured legendary singer-songwriter and social activist Joan Baez — whose six-decade career continues to flourish — while the seasoned circus and cabaret performers who make up Vau de Vire’s core company soared. Viva, Vau de Vire! —\u003ci>Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13984277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 803px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"803\" height=\"630\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13984277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7.jpg 803w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/unnamed-7-768x603.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Magic Theatre’s artistic director Sean San José made a return to the Fort Mason stage in ‘Aztlan’ by Luis Alfaro.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Jay Yamada)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Life after prison in the poetic ‘Aztlán’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anytime transcendent poet and playwright Luis Alfaro collaborates with the Magic Theatre, it’s a massive win. This past summer, their pairing yielded the powerful \u003ci>Aztlán\u003c/i>, rooted in Alfaro’s intimate knowledge of the Central Valley. With imagery from Mayan and Mexica folklore, the story of a parolee trying to reinvent his life outside of prison walls was aided by David Arevalo’s costume design, Alejandro Acosta’s sharp lighting design, and dazzling scenic design by Tanya Orellana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beautifully directed by El Teatro Campesino’s Kinan Valdez, Alfaro’s story featured a great cast of Magic regulars. An added bonus? Sean San José’s thrilling return to the stage as an evil-minded deity. —\u003ci>David John Chávez\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "co-founders-act-hip-hop-musical-west-oakland-silicon-valley",
"title": "In ACT’s ‘Co-Founders,’ High Tech Meets West Oakland Hustle",
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"headTitle": "In ACT’s ‘Co-Founders,’ High Tech Meets West Oakland Hustle | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In 2004, \u003cem>Freestyle Love Supreme\u003c/em>, an experiment in improv, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">hip-hop\u003c/a> and spontaneity featuring Lin-Manual Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, burst onto the scene. Inviting artists and audiences to spend a couple of hours in of-the-moment connection set to beatbox rhythms, \u003cem>FLS\u003c/em> helped to cement Miranda and Kail’s theatrical trajectory, eventually leading to the creation and direction of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13972698/hamilton-cancels-kennedy-center-2026\">Hamilton\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the smash hit musical about the “founding fathers” circa the late 1700s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it’s Veneziale’s turn (as a co-producer) to bring a cohort of founders to the hip-hop musical stage with \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/\">\u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, an American Conservatory Theater production in which contemporary West Oakland and Silicon Valley mix it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spoofing Bay Area tech incubator \u003ca href=\"https://www.ycombinator.com/\">Y Combinator\u003c/a>, \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>’ Xcelerator promises to turn “losers” (like Nikola Tesla) into the “1%” of innovators and entrepreneurs. With her family home on the line, and a self-developed interactive AI avatar based on her deceased father, Oakland-born hacker Esata (Aneesa Folds) bets on herself and applies to their 10-week startup program for aspiring unicorns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977685\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977685\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000.jpg\" alt=\"white man and Black woman bump fists on stage\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roe Hartrampf as Conway and Aneesa Folds as Esata in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By a quirk of chance and Uber Pool algorithms, she shares a ride with another applicant Conway (Roe Hartrampf) whose virtual vacation device AVreality lacks actual tech, but whose founder demonstrates the requisite amount of white-guy confidence to give it a chance to push through. Given their complementary strengths and weaknesses, the two soon find themselves agreeing to work together as co-founders rather than as solopreneuers, melding her Dadvatar into the AVreality world as a prototype guide for virtual reality tours of Paris, Mykonos and Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows is a somewhat predictable series of events culminating in our protagonists eventually learning to accept themselves for who they are while developing kinder, more ethical versions of their hi-tech dreams. But not before we’re treated to a variety of scenarios written to send-up startup culture in diabolical and delicious ways: a company called “Buttbit” (“like fitbit for your butt”), rounds of rooftop shots and preposterous PowerPoints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even a pre-show projection of startup ideas sourced from incoming audience members (shoutout to whoever submitted Scat-GPT on opening night). The musical’s plot includes development of an insidious surveillance app with the chillingly of-the-moment moniker of “Victory AI,” positioned to be the next soulless unicorn to advance onto the global stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977683\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977683\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman with hands on head under green light\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aneesa Folds as Esata in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A vocal powerhouse, Aneesa Folds embodies Esata’s intellectual virtuosity with warmth and depth. Her emotional arc travels from self-negating worrying about whether she will be accepted or rejected for who she is, to declaring herself a “Super Nova,” and captain of her destiny — which begins to look a lot more expansive once she successfully infiltrates the Xcelerator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As her foil — and situational co-founder — Hartrampf exudes an awkward charm anchored by a steadfast tenor range. Their onstage relationship is fun without being flirty, and both their friendship and their inevitable falling-out and reunification feel logical and realistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-stars (and co-writers) \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905839/startup-dreams-hip-hop-and-theater-meet-in-a-new-play-about-tech-art\">RyanNicole Austin\u003c/a> and Adesha Adefela imbue their characters with strong wills, side-eyes and a clear commitment to embracing the “yes” in every line. Austin, as Esata’s cousin Kamaiyah, is a quintessential Oakland hustler, whose many gigs include nail art, selling bespoke “Startup Founder kits” (complete with vape pens and mushroom truffles) and angel investing. Adefela as Esata’s mother and as potential investor Sandy Hill provides grounded doses of practical wisdom underscored by her smooth, R&B-channeling vocals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977684\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman in foreground with other cast members behind desks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adesha Adefela, Tommy Soulati Shepherd, RyanNicole Austin, Jordan Covington, Roe Hartrampf and Aneesa Folds in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two members of Bay Area hip-hop theater company Felonius (Tommy Soulati Shepherd and Keith Pinto) grab attention \u003ci>and\u003c/i> the mic as the video-game console controlled “Dadvatar” and insufferably smarmy Xcelerator bigwig Victor. And the pitch-perfect, Energizer Bunny–esque Deanalís Arocho Resto, as Victor’s sidekick Chadwick, steals every scene they’re in with a gap-toothed grin and unimpeachable charisma and dance moves. “Science has proven that you retain information better when you move your booty,” they remind us, as they shake their own to a syncopated beat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wouldn’t be a proper ode to technological advancement if the creative team at ACT hadn’t leaned into using as much fun tech onstage as possible. There’s the now-requisite background projections (designed by David Richardson) and a bonus second projection screen set up at the front of the stage displaying avatars, algorithms, and endless lines of code to complement the action (projection system designed by Frédéric O. Boulay). It gives \u003ci>Star Trek\u003c/i> vibes as Folds swipes through her options and chooses her commands. Shepard operates his “Dadvatar” character from backstage with an Xbox controller, and tech lingo flavors the lyrics to every song like a sprinkling of sea salt on a high-end cupcake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show’s reliance on creative tech offered the opening night audience an impromptu lesson on its limits after a projector failure resulted in a 30-minute delay halfway through the first act. But rather than derailing the show’s momentum, it merely offered a pause to reflect on how ultimately the technical difficulties mattered far less to the show’s overall message. That the Bay Area is a place of innovators and dreamers, that our superpower is our ability to think and act outside of the (X)box and make a viable hustle out of any possible pursuit. While hi-tech is here to stay, without people to activate it, it’s just a construct wrapped in an empty platitude of a better world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>, as in life, it’s the people who hold the power to move and unite us.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/s\">Co-Founders\u003c/a>’ plays through July 6, 2025 at American Conservatory Theater (Strand Theater, 1127 Market St., San Francisco).\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "‘Co-Founders’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Skewers Startups | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 2004, \u003cem>Freestyle Love Supreme\u003c/em>, an experiment in improv, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">hip-hop\u003c/a> and spontaneity featuring Lin-Manual Miranda, Thomas Kail and Anthony Veneziale, burst onto the scene. Inviting artists and audiences to spend a couple of hours in of-the-moment connection set to beatbox rhythms, \u003cem>FLS\u003c/em> helped to cement Miranda and Kail’s theatrical trajectory, eventually leading to the creation and direction of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13972698/hamilton-cancels-kennedy-center-2026\">Hamilton\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the smash hit musical about the “founding fathers” circa the late 1700s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it’s Veneziale’s turn (as a co-producer) to bring a cohort of founders to the hip-hop musical stage with \u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/\">\u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, an American Conservatory Theater production in which contemporary West Oakland and Silicon Valley mix it up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spoofing Bay Area tech incubator \u003ca href=\"https://www.ycombinator.com/\">Y Combinator\u003c/a>, \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>’ Xcelerator promises to turn “losers” (like Nikola Tesla) into the “1%” of innovators and entrepreneurs. With her family home on the line, and a self-developed interactive AI avatar based on her deceased father, Oakland-born hacker Esata (Aneesa Folds) bets on herself and applies to their 10-week startup program for aspiring unicorns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977685\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977685\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000.jpg\" alt=\"white man and Black woman bump fists on stage\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_271_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roe Hartrampf as Conway and Aneesa Folds as Esata in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By a quirk of chance and Uber Pool algorithms, she shares a ride with another applicant Conway (Roe Hartrampf) whose virtual vacation device AVreality lacks actual tech, but whose founder demonstrates the requisite amount of white-guy confidence to give it a chance to push through. Given their complementary strengths and weaknesses, the two soon find themselves agreeing to work together as co-founders rather than as solopreneuers, melding her Dadvatar into the AVreality world as a prototype guide for virtual reality tours of Paris, Mykonos and Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows is a somewhat predictable series of events culminating in our protagonists eventually learning to accept themselves for who they are while developing kinder, more ethical versions of their hi-tech dreams. But not before we’re treated to a variety of scenarios written to send-up startup culture in diabolical and delicious ways: a company called “Buttbit” (“like fitbit for your butt”), rounds of rooftop shots and preposterous PowerPoints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even a pre-show projection of startup ideas sourced from incoming audience members (shoutout to whoever submitted Scat-GPT on opening night). The musical’s plot includes development of an insidious surveillance app with the chillingly of-the-moment moniker of “Victory AI,” positioned to be the next soulless unicorn to advance onto the global stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977683\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977683\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman with hands on head under green light\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_080_2000-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aneesa Folds as Esata in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A vocal powerhouse, Aneesa Folds embodies Esata’s intellectual virtuosity with warmth and depth. Her emotional arc travels from self-negating worrying about whether she will be accepted or rejected for who she is, to declaring herself a “Super Nova,” and captain of her destiny — which begins to look a lot more expansive once she successfully infiltrates the Xcelerator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As her foil — and situational co-founder — Hartrampf exudes an awkward charm anchored by a steadfast tenor range. Their onstage relationship is fun without being flirty, and both their friendship and their inevitable falling-out and reunification feel logical and realistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Co-stars (and co-writers) \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905839/startup-dreams-hip-hop-and-theater-meet-in-a-new-play-about-tech-art\">RyanNicole Austin\u003c/a> and Adesha Adefela imbue their characters with strong wills, side-eyes and a clear commitment to embracing the “yes” in every line. Austin, as Esata’s cousin Kamaiyah, is a quintessential Oakland hustler, whose many gigs include nail art, selling bespoke “Startup Founder kits” (complete with vape pens and mushroom truffles) and angel investing. Adefela as Esata’s mother and as potential investor Sandy Hill provides grounded doses of practical wisdom underscored by her smooth, R&B-channeling vocals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977684\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman in foreground with other cast members behind desks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/CFS_143_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adesha Adefela, Tommy Soulati Shepherd, RyanNicole Austin, Jordan Covington, Roe Hartrampf and Aneesa Folds in ‘Co-Founders.’ \u003ccite>(Kevin Berne)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two members of Bay Area hip-hop theater company Felonius (Tommy Soulati Shepherd and Keith Pinto) grab attention \u003ci>and\u003c/i> the mic as the video-game console controlled “Dadvatar” and insufferably smarmy Xcelerator bigwig Victor. And the pitch-perfect, Energizer Bunny–esque Deanalís Arocho Resto, as Victor’s sidekick Chadwick, steals every scene they’re in with a gap-toothed grin and unimpeachable charisma and dance moves. “Science has proven that you retain information better when you move your booty,” they remind us, as they shake their own to a syncopated beat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wouldn’t be a proper ode to technological advancement if the creative team at ACT hadn’t leaned into using as much fun tech onstage as possible. There’s the now-requisite background projections (designed by David Richardson) and a bonus second projection screen set up at the front of the stage displaying avatars, algorithms, and endless lines of code to complement the action (projection system designed by Frédéric O. Boulay). It gives \u003ci>Star Trek\u003c/i> vibes as Folds swipes through her options and chooses her commands. Shepard operates his “Dadvatar” character from backstage with an Xbox controller, and tech lingo flavors the lyrics to every song like a sprinkling of sea salt on a high-end cupcake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show’s reliance on creative tech offered the opening night audience an impromptu lesson on its limits after a projector failure resulted in a 30-minute delay halfway through the first act. But rather than derailing the show’s momentum, it merely offered a pause to reflect on how ultimately the technical difficulties mattered far less to the show’s overall message. That the Bay Area is a place of innovators and dreamers, that our superpower is our ability to think and act outside of the (X)box and make a viable hustle out of any possible pursuit. While hi-tech is here to stay, without people to activate it, it’s just a construct wrapped in an empty platitude of a better world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em>, as in life, it’s the people who hold the power to move and unite us.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/s\">Co-Founders\u003c/a>’ plays through July 6, 2025 at American Conservatory Theater (Strand Theater, 1127 Market St., San Francisco).\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-plays-musicals-summer-bay-area",
"title": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals in the Bay Area This Summer",
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"headTitle": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals in the Bay Area This Summer | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2025\">2025 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In case you’ve avoided the news cycle, the performing arts are in an unprecedented funding crisis. The U.S. government is slowly dismantling the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13975661/national-endowment-for-the-arts-grants-canceled-nonprofits\">canceled millions of dollars in already-awarded grants\u003c/a> across the country — including several nonprofits on this very summer theater preview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means the support of your favorite organizations is more crucial than ever. What better way to support than to simply \u003cem>show up\u003c/em>? Get thee to a cabaret, a salon, or a summer musical. Buy a ticket, buy a drink, make the scene and make a difference. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are 12 ways to avail yourself of theater’s transformative potential all summer long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976131\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) The ‘Co-Founders’ creative team of Beau Lewis, Adesha Adefela, and RyanNicole Austin. \u003ccite>(Michaela Schulz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/\">Co-Founders\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>May 29–July 6, 2025\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Strand Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area-borne, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rhymecombinator.com/\">Rhyme Combinator\u003c/a>-conceived hip-hop musical \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em> has its world premiere at last. Taking audience immersion to the next level, this “tech-savvy” production promises next-level design elements, powerhouse local performers, and an of-the-moment tale of a Black woman’s attempt to break into the upper echelons of Silicon Valley without losing her soul (and her home). This show’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905839/startup-dreams-hip-hop-and-theater-meet-in-a-new-play-about-tech-art\">a long time in the making\u003c/a>, and it’s ready to make some noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976132\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1272\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976132\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-800x509.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1020x649.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-768x488.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1536x977.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1920x1221.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sasha Velour in ‘The Big Reveal Live Show,’ running at Berkeley Rep June 4–15. \u003ccite>(Greg Endries)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-big-reveal-live-show/\">Sasha Velour: The Big Reveal Live Show\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>June 4–15, 2025\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Roda Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incomparable Sasha Velour, drag queen of 1,000 rose petals and winner of Season 9 of \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em>, comes back to her former hometown at Berkeley Rep with a revival of \u003cem>The Big Reveal Live Show\u003c/em>. A showcase for Velour’s big ideas and even bigger drag, \u003cem>The Big Reveal\u003c/em> offers a fabulous window into the creative landscape of one of drag’s most innovative performers. Sumptuous, playful, and profound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"661\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-768x254.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1536x508.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1920x635.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Jeremy Julian Greco, Tony Cyprien and Scott Cohen. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Sunset Solos)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sunsetsolos.com/\">Sunset Solos\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ongoing; third Sunday of each month\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Sealevel, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since January 2024, a monthly solo performance showcase has been underway at Sealevel, a gallery and community space in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset. The brainchild of seasoned performer and producer Jeremy Julian Greco, this intimate, low-tech series brings some of the Bay Area’s best solo artists to a venue so close to the ocean you can smell the salt tang in the air. A flourishing testament to the arts’ ability to take root and bloom wherever it may be planted, Sunset Solos’ summer performers include Scott Cohen and Tony Cyprien, with more to be announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New York Police officers outside the Altoona Police Department, where Luigi Mangione was taken into police custody, on Dec. 9, 2024, in Altoona, Pa. \u003ccite>(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://luigithemusical.info/\">Luigi: the Musical\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>June 13-28; more dates TBA\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Taylor Street Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If I’m being honest, when I first heard about \u003cem>Luigi: the Musical\u003c/em>, I wondered if perhaps it was a little \u003cem>too soon\u003c/em>. Especially since there are apparently two unrelated Luigi Mangione musicals in the works, one here and \u003ca href=\"https://www.lonestarlive.com/life/2025/02/austin-company-behind-young-greg-abbott-creating-satirical-musical-inspired-by-luigi-mangione.html\">one in Austin, Texas\u003c/a>. But rather than a sympathetic portrait or ill-timed SNL-style skit, this 60-minute musical satire imagines three notorious inmates — Mangione, the accused shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson; accused sex trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs; and convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried — in a cell together, representing the worst manifestations of individualism and fracturing societal norms. Also, songs. Its initial run at Taylor Street Theatre is already sold out, so watch for new dates to be announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976125\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez. \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://auroratheatre.org/search-for-signs\">The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 12-Aug. 10\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Aurora Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Written for and first performed by the extraordinary Lily Tomlin in 1985, Jane Wagner’s \u003cem>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe\u003c/em> remains a skillful and relevant commentary on creativity, society and the human condition as experienced by a multi-generational collection of misfits, middle Americans, and muses. Aurora Theatre’s production stars Bay Area comedy performance legend Marga Gomez, poised to guide us — and some curious visitors from outer space — through a world where soup is art, art is soup, and the search for intelligence is a truly universal concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13857596\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS.jpg\" alt='Still from \"Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,\" a documentary directed by Tracy Heather Strain that premiered on PBS in 2018.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1082\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13857596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-800x451.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-1020x575.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-1200x676.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lorraine Hansberry. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PBS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/blancs\">Les Blancs\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 11-27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oakland Theater Project at FLAX, Oakland\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1961, the prominent playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry penned \u003ca href=\"https://www.villagevoice.com/genet-mailer-the-new-paternalism/\">a thoughtful takedown\u003c/a> of Jean Genet’s \u003cem>The Blacks\u003c/em> for the \u003cem>Village Voice\u003c/em>. She worked on a theatrical response as well — her posthumously produced \u003cem>Les Blancs\u003c/em>. Set on the African continent, this seldom-performed play tackles the deep wounds of colonialism, and the right of indigenous people everywhere for self-determination and freedom from oppression and exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976135\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1679px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1679\" height=\"1011\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976135\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web.jpg 1679w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-800x482.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-1020x614.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-768x462.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-1536x925.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1679px) 100vw, 1679px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Torange Yeghiazarian, the founding artistic director of Golden Thread Productions. \u003ccite>(Navid G. Maghami)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marinshakespeare.org/seeds/\">Seeds of Time Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 15-Aug. 3\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>514 Fourth Street Theater, San Rafael\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Something artistic this way comes. Marin Shakespeare Company and Play On Shakespeare team up for this festival of works-in-progress that reimagine classics into theatrical expressions of the now. Mostly Shakespeare-inspired — with Chekov and 12th century Persia in the mix — the six featured plays riff on themes of love, identity, power, motherhood and AI. A feast of local talent and fervent ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966072\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Margaret Craig in ‘Ride the Cyclone’ at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Jenni Chapman/Courtesy NCTC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://cltc.org/current-events/\">Head Over Heels\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 17- Aug. 24\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>City Lights Theater, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://nctcsf.org/event/ride-the-cyclone-returns/\">Ride the Cyclone\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 11-Aug. 15\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If jukebox musicals have a “season,” surely it’s summer, when long days and languid nights seem to demand lighter, more joyous fare. City Lights Theater Company’s production of \u003cem>Head Over Heels\u003c/em> — a jukebox musical featuring the greatest hits of the Go-Go’s — can fill that need. A less-than idyllic romp through ancient Arcadia, punctuated by songs such as “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips are Sealed” and “Vacation,” \u003cem>Head Over Heels\u003c/em> takes on gender, love and destiny with poppy aplomb. For fun-loving levity with original songs made popular on TikTok, New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco brings back their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966064/ride-the-cyclone-musical-review-san-francisco\">well received\u003c/a> and raucous production of teenage afterlife musical \u003cem>Ride the Cyclone\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976129\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Circus Bella performs at the 25th Yerba Buena Gardens Festival on June 20 and 21. \u003ccite>(Emil Alex)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>All Summer Long\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take it outside with Circus Bella and ChoreoFest at the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>; an \u003ca href=\"https://www.clubfugazisf.com/walking-tour\">arts-centered walking tour of North Beach\u003c/a> presented by the team behind circus spectacle \u003cem>Dear San Francisco\u003c/em>; an ode to California, SF Shakes-style, with \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/gentlemen/\">Two Gentlemen of Verona\u003c/a>\u003c/em>; a hopefully restored mini-tour from the SF Mime Troupe (\u003ca href=\"https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/oyEZqUJSGrc_p45PgwHjhg\">donations are being accepted\u003c/a> to make it happen); \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://pineconesandportals.com/alice2025\">Alice in Wander Land\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a “hiking theatre” production for the young with ADA and ASL options for extra access; or \u003ca href=\"https://www.aeofberkeley.org/\">Shakespeare’s \u003cem>Cymbeline\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Taming of the Shrew\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley in John Hinkel Park.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Outdoor Shakespeare, musical premieres and returning favorites keep Bay Area stages hopping this summer.",
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"title": "10 of the Best Plays and Musicals in the Bay Area This Summer | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2025\">2025 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In case you’ve avoided the news cycle, the performing arts are in an unprecedented funding crisis. The U.S. government is slowly dismantling the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13975661/national-endowment-for-the-arts-grants-canceled-nonprofits\">canceled millions of dollars in already-awarded grants\u003c/a> across the country — including several nonprofits on this very summer theater preview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means the support of your favorite organizations is more crucial than ever. What better way to support than to simply \u003cem>show up\u003c/em>? Get thee to a cabaret, a salon, or a summer musical. Buy a ticket, buy a drink, make the scene and make a difference. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are 12 ways to avail yourself of theater’s transformative potential all summer long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976131\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/BAR9-2024_Credit_MichaelaSchulz-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) The ‘Co-Founders’ creative team of Beau Lewis, Adesha Adefela, and RyanNicole Austin. \u003ccite>(Michaela Schulz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2024-25-season/co-founders/\">Co-Founders\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>May 29–July 6, 2025\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Strand Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area-borne, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rhymecombinator.com/\">Rhyme Combinator\u003c/a>-conceived hip-hop musical \u003cem>Co-Founders\u003c/em> has its world premiere at last. Taking audience immersion to the next level, this “tech-savvy” production promises next-level design elements, powerhouse local performers, and an of-the-moment tale of a Black woman’s attempt to break into the upper echelons of Silicon Valley without losing her soul (and her home). This show’s been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905839/startup-dreams-hip-hop-and-theater-meet-in-a-new-play-about-tech-art\">a long time in the making\u003c/a>, and it’s ready to make some noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976132\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1272\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976132\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-800x509.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1020x649.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-768x488.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1536x977.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/TBRLS_6.2_GregEndries-1-1920x1221.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sasha Velour in ‘The Big Reveal Live Show,’ running at Berkeley Rep June 4–15. \u003ccite>(Greg Endries)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-big-reveal-live-show/\">Sasha Velour: The Big Reveal Live Show\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>June 4–15, 2025\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Roda Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incomparable Sasha Velour, drag queen of 1,000 rose petals and winner of Season 9 of \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em>, comes back to her former hometown at Berkeley Rep with a revival of \u003cem>The Big Reveal Live Show\u003c/em>. A showcase for Velour’s big ideas and even bigger drag, \u003cem>The Big Reveal\u003c/em> offers a fabulous window into the creative landscape of one of drag’s most innovative performers. Sumptuous, playful, and profound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"661\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976126\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-768x254.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1536x508.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/jeremy.tony_.scott_-1920x635.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Jeremy Julian Greco, Tony Cyprien and Scott Cohen. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Sunset Solos)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sunsetsolos.com/\">Sunset Solos\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ongoing; third Sunday of each month\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Sealevel, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since January 2024, a monthly solo performance showcase has been underway at Sealevel, a gallery and community space in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset. The brainchild of seasoned performer and producer Jeremy Julian Greco, this intimate, low-tech series brings some of the Bay Area’s best solo artists to a venue so close to the ocean you can smell the salt tang in the air. A flourishing testament to the arts’ ability to take root and bloom wherever it may be planted, Sunset Solos’ summer performers include Scott Cohen and Tony Cyprien, with more to be announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/NYPDAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New York Police officers outside the Altoona Police Department, where Luigi Mangione was taken into police custody, on Dec. 9, 2024, in Altoona, Pa. \u003ccite>(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://luigithemusical.info/\">Luigi: the Musical\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>June 13-28; more dates TBA\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Taylor Street Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If I’m being honest, when I first heard about \u003cem>Luigi: the Musical\u003c/em>, I wondered if perhaps it was a little \u003cem>too soon\u003c/em>. Especially since there are apparently two unrelated Luigi Mangione musicals in the works, one here and \u003ca href=\"https://www.lonestarlive.com/life/2025/02/austin-company-behind-young-greg-abbott-creating-satirical-musical-inspired-by-luigi-mangione.html\">one in Austin, Texas\u003c/a>. But rather than a sympathetic portrait or ill-timed SNL-style skit, this 60-minute musical satire imagines three notorious inmates — Mangione, the accused shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson; accused sex trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs; and convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried — in a cell together, representing the worst manifestations of individualism and fracturing societal norms. Also, songs. Its initial run at Taylor Street Theatre is already sold out, so watch for new dates to be announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976125\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/MargaGomez.CheshireIsaacs-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marga Gomez. \u003ccite>(Cheshire Isaacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://auroratheatre.org/search-for-signs\">The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 12-Aug. 10\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Aurora Theatre, Berkeley\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Written for and first performed by the extraordinary Lily Tomlin in 1985, Jane Wagner’s \u003cem>The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe\u003c/em> remains a skillful and relevant commentary on creativity, society and the human condition as experienced by a multi-generational collection of misfits, middle Americans, and muses. Aurora Theatre’s production stars Bay Area comedy performance legend Marga Gomez, poised to guide us — and some curious visitors from outer space — through a world where soup is art, art is soup, and the search for intelligence is a truly universal concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13857596\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS.jpg\" alt='Still from \"Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,\" a documentary directed by Tracy Heather Strain that premiered on PBS in 2018.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1082\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13857596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-800x451.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-1020x575.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/LorraineHansberry-PBS-1200x676.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lorraine Hansberry. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PBS)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/blancs\">Les Blancs\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 11-27\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Oakland Theater Project at FLAX, Oakland\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1961, the prominent playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry penned \u003ca href=\"https://www.villagevoice.com/genet-mailer-the-new-paternalism/\">a thoughtful takedown\u003c/a> of Jean Genet’s \u003cem>The Blacks\u003c/em> for the \u003cem>Village Voice\u003c/em>. She worked on a theatrical response as well — her posthumously produced \u003cem>Les Blancs\u003c/em>. Set on the African continent, this seldom-performed play tackles the deep wounds of colonialism, and the right of indigenous people everywhere for self-determination and freedom from oppression and exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976135\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1679px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1679\" height=\"1011\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976135\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web.jpg 1679w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-800x482.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-1020x614.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-768x462.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Torange-Photo-by-Navid-G-Maghami-for-web-1536x925.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1679px) 100vw, 1679px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Torange Yeghiazarian, the founding artistic director of Golden Thread Productions. \u003ccite>(Navid G. Maghami)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marinshakespeare.org/seeds/\">Seeds of Time Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 15-Aug. 3\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>514 Fourth Street Theater, San Rafael\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Something artistic this way comes. Marin Shakespeare Company and Play On Shakespeare team up for this festival of works-in-progress that reimagine classics into theatrical expressions of the now. Mostly Shakespeare-inspired — with Chekov and 12th century Persia in the mix — the six featured plays riff on themes of love, identity, power, motherhood and AI. A feast of local talent and fervent ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966072\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966072\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/RideTheCycloneNCTC_-Grace-Margaret-Craig.-Photo-by-Jenni-Chapman-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Margaret Craig in ‘Ride the Cyclone’ at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Jenni Chapman/Courtesy NCTC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://cltc.org/current-events/\">Head Over Heels\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 17- Aug. 24\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>City Lights Theater, San Jose\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://nctcsf.org/event/ride-the-cyclone-returns/\">Ride the Cyclone\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>July 11-Aug. 15\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If jukebox musicals have a “season,” surely it’s summer, when long days and languid nights seem to demand lighter, more joyous fare. City Lights Theater Company’s production of \u003cem>Head Over Heels\u003c/em> — a jukebox musical featuring the greatest hits of the Go-Go’s — can fill that need. A less-than idyllic romp through ancient Arcadia, punctuated by songs such as “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips are Sealed” and “Vacation,” \u003cem>Head Over Heels\u003c/em> takes on gender, love and destiny with poppy aplomb. For fun-loving levity with original songs made popular on TikTok, New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco brings back their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966064/ride-the-cyclone-musical-review-san-francisco\">well received\u003c/a> and raucous production of teenage afterlife musical \u003cem>Ride the Cyclone\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976129\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Circus-Bella-credit-Emil-Alex-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Circus Bella performs at the 25th Yerba Buena Gardens Festival on June 20 and 21. \u003ccite>(Emil Alex)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>All Summer Long\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take it outside with Circus Bella and ChoreoFest at the \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/\">Yerba Buena Gardens Festival\u003c/a>; an \u003ca href=\"https://www.clubfugazisf.com/walking-tour\">arts-centered walking tour of North Beach\u003c/a> presented by the team behind circus spectacle \u003cem>Dear San Francisco\u003c/em>; an ode to California, SF Shakes-style, with \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/gentlemen/\">Two Gentlemen of Verona\u003c/a>\u003c/em>; a hopefully restored mini-tour from the SF Mime Troupe (\u003ca href=\"https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/oyEZqUJSGrc_p45PgwHjhg\">donations are being accepted\u003c/a> to make it happen); \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://pineconesandportals.com/alice2025\">Alice in Wander Land\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a “hiking theatre” production for the young with ADA and ASL options for extra access; or \u003ca href=\"https://www.aeofberkeley.org/\">Shakespeare’s \u003cem>Cymbeline\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Taming of the Shrew\u003c/em>\u003c/a> with Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley in John Hinkel Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "a-thousand-ships-oakland-theater-project-marcus-gardley-review",
"title": "Formidable Black Women Lead an Epic Theatrical Saga in ‘A Thousand Ships’",
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"headTitle": "Formidable Black Women Lead an Epic Theatrical Saga in ‘A Thousand Ships’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Walking into Oakland Theater Project’s \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/ships\">\u003cem>A Thousand Ships\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is like walking into an Oakland neighborhood hair salon just before business hours. Quite literally, in fact. The intimate set — designed by Randy Wong-Westbrooke and sumptuously lit by Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson — encloses the assembled audience within the salon’s interior. Leatherette-covered swivel chairs extend into the seating arrangements. An assortment of framed photographs of notable Black women adorn the walls, spiraling around a small sandpit in the center of the room. This sandpit grounds the action from scene to scene — from 1944 to 2008 — from the banks of a baptismal river to the last car of a West-bound train. [aside postid='arts_13968828']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ever-present sand shifting beneath the feet of the actors provides a tangible symbol for so many of the play’s fleeting themes. Of arrival and departure. Of baptism and beauty. Of being cast upon a foreign shore and made to work the land. Of the longing to reclaim a piece of land lost for oneself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There must have been a moment during the development of Marcus Gardley’s script for \u003cem>A Thousand Ships\u003c/em> when its current storyline emerged — as it’s quite a departure from the original concept that garnered it a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission (in association with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966472/cal-shakes-to-close-down-citing-insurmountable-financial-impasse\">Cal Shakes\u003c/a>) in 2017. That production promised to revisit the Richmond shipyards during World War II through oral history and vernacular music, a concept Gardley explored in \u003cem>This World in a Woman’s Hands\u003c/em>, produced by Shotgun Players in 2009. But while there’s a single scene in the play that does take place in the shipyards (with choreography by Latanya d. Tigner and music by longtime Gardley collaborator Molly Holm), this play is mainly centered around an Oakland salon on the brink of foreclosure — and the decades-long friendship between its co-owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1769\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-800x553.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1020x705.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1536x1061.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-2048x1415.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1920x1327.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dawn L. Troupe as Laney Melrose Durant in ‘A Thousand Ships’ at Oakland Theater Project. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gardley’s work frequently blurs the lines between the earthly and the epic, and threads of the metaphysical are woven throughout this piece. At the top, Adrian Roberts as the Father of Water delivers a stately, poetic monologue ruminating on the nature of water and the cycles of history. The play’s matriarchs bestow blessings upon their kin that simultaneously reach into the past for inspiration yet call on an unwritten future. Like mythic ancestors, the two protagonists — Adeline Merritt Lake (Halili Knox), and Laney Melrose Durant (Dawn L. Troupe) — represent so much of Oakland even in their names alone. They’re everywomen who are both enchantingly 100% themselves, but also the culmination of those who came before them and those yet to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knox and Troupe are equally charismatic, and their respective performances complement each other’s strengths (even if neither \u003cem>quite\u003c/em> pulls off a convincing octogenarian). But it might be Rolanda D. Bell who really steals the show as neighborhood gossip and unapologetic Republican, “First Lady” Bella Vista Montclair. From the instant she enters the room shaking a miniature tambourine, she grabs hold of our attention and does not let it go. Wonderfully worldly — yet deeply concerned with the matters of the spirit — Bell’s First Lady encompasses multitudes, and leaves an indelible impression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969610\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969610\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1832\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-768x550.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1536x1099.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-2048x1465.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1920x1374.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rolanda D. Bell as First Lady in ‘A Thousand Ships’ at Oakland Theater Project. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat less impactful, the play’s younger generation feel less fully realized as characters and more like filler foils for their storied elders. Two are Laney’s grown children — played by Sam Jackson and William Heartfield — and the third is First Lady’s personal assistant Dimond, played humorously by Jasmine Milan Williams, who exaggerates her character’s advancing pregnancy with much huffing and mincing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a disappointingly tepid embezzlement plot point that doesn’t really amp up the tension, and results in an even more lukewarm conflict between Jackson’s Laurel Durant Bancroft and Heartfield’s MacArthur Bancroft. It’s almost impossible to really root for either of them as written, although Jackson at least is given a transformative moment of music that hints at the emotional depths her character struggles to otherwise reveal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969611\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dawn L. Troupe (left) as Laney Melrose Durant, William Hartfield (center) as MacArthur Bancroft and Sam Jackson (right) as Laurel Durant Bancroft. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It should be noted that despite the Dec. 15 show being originally billed as opening night, Oakland Theater Project made a last minute decision to extend their previews — but to still let press review that preview. So it’s to be expected that evident lags in momentum and memorization will be ironed out by their new official opening night, on Dec. 19. Director Michael Socrates Moran has been bringing Gardley’s work to life for ten years now, and has a keen ear for the distinctive rhythms of his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What will likely not be addressed for this run is the puzzling disconnect between the play’s elders and their heirs, who stand to inherit their legacy, but who feel ill-suited to bear that weight. I’d love to see Gardley revisit these characters again when they’re better prepared to step into their own power, and shape a narrative of their own. With ancestors as magnificent as Adeline and Laney, they’ll have a solid foundation to build from, and plenty of forward momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/ships\">A Thousand Ships\u003c/a>’ runs at Oakland Theater Project through Jan. 5. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Review: ‘A Thousand Ships’ at Oakland Theater Project | KQED",
"description": "Marcus Gardley's long-awaited play at Oakland Theater Project travels through six decades of local history.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Walking into Oakland Theater Project’s \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/ships\">\u003cem>A Thousand Ships\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is like walking into an Oakland neighborhood hair salon just before business hours. Quite literally, in fact. The intimate set — designed by Randy Wong-Westbrooke and sumptuously lit by Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson — encloses the assembled audience within the salon’s interior. Leatherette-covered swivel chairs extend into the seating arrangements. An assortment of framed photographs of notable Black women adorn the walls, spiraling around a small sandpit in the center of the room. This sandpit grounds the action from scene to scene — from 1944 to 2008 — from the banks of a baptismal river to the last car of a West-bound train. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This ever-present sand shifting beneath the feet of the actors provides a tangible symbol for so many of the play’s fleeting themes. Of arrival and departure. Of baptism and beauty. Of being cast upon a foreign shore and made to work the land. Of the longing to reclaim a piece of land lost for oneself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There must have been a moment during the development of Marcus Gardley’s script for \u003cem>A Thousand Ships\u003c/em> when its current storyline emerged — as it’s quite a departure from the original concept that garnered it a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission (in association with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966472/cal-shakes-to-close-down-citing-insurmountable-financial-impasse\">Cal Shakes\u003c/a>) in 2017. That production promised to revisit the Richmond shipyards during World War II through oral history and vernacular music, a concept Gardley explored in \u003cem>This World in a Woman’s Hands\u003c/em>, produced by Shotgun Players in 2009. But while there’s a single scene in the play that does take place in the shipyards (with choreography by Latanya d. Tigner and music by longtime Gardley collaborator Molly Holm), this play is mainly centered around an Oakland salon on the brink of foreclosure — and the decades-long friendship between its co-owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969609\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1769\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-800x553.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1020x705.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1536x1061.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-2048x1415.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_113-1920x1327.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dawn L. Troupe as Laney Melrose Durant in ‘A Thousand Ships’ at Oakland Theater Project. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gardley’s work frequently blurs the lines between the earthly and the epic, and threads of the metaphysical are woven throughout this piece. At the top, Adrian Roberts as the Father of Water delivers a stately, poetic monologue ruminating on the nature of water and the cycles of history. The play’s matriarchs bestow blessings upon their kin that simultaneously reach into the past for inspiration yet call on an unwritten future. Like mythic ancestors, the two protagonists — Adeline Merritt Lake (Halili Knox), and Laney Melrose Durant (Dawn L. Troupe) — represent so much of Oakland even in their names alone. They’re everywomen who are both enchantingly 100% themselves, but also the culmination of those who came before them and those yet to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knox and Troupe are equally charismatic, and their respective performances complement each other’s strengths (even if neither \u003cem>quite\u003c/em> pulls off a convincing octogenarian). But it might be Rolanda D. Bell who really steals the show as neighborhood gossip and unapologetic Republican, “First Lady” Bella Vista Montclair. From the instant she enters the room shaking a miniature tambourine, she grabs hold of our attention and does not let it go. Wonderfully worldly — yet deeply concerned with the matters of the spirit — Bell’s First Lady encompasses multitudes, and leaves an indelible impression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969610\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969610\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1832\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1020x730.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-768x550.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1536x1099.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-2048x1465.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_132-1-1920x1374.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rolanda D. Bell as First Lady in ‘A Thousand Ships’ at Oakland Theater Project. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat less impactful, the play’s younger generation feel less fully realized as characters and more like filler foils for their storied elders. Two are Laney’s grown children — played by Sam Jackson and William Heartfield — and the third is First Lady’s personal assistant Dimond, played humorously by Jasmine Milan Williams, who exaggerates her character’s advancing pregnancy with much huffing and mincing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a disappointingly tepid embezzlement plot point that doesn’t really amp up the tension, and results in an even more lukewarm conflict between Jackson’s Laurel Durant Bancroft and Heartfield’s MacArthur Bancroft. It’s almost impossible to really root for either of them as written, although Jackson at least is given a transformative moment of music that hints at the emotional depths her character struggles to otherwise reveal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13969611\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13969611\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/1000_Ships_2024_197-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dawn L. Troupe (left) as Laney Melrose Durant, William Hartfield (center) as MacArthur Bancroft and Sam Jackson (right) as Laurel Durant Bancroft. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It should be noted that despite the Dec. 15 show being originally billed as opening night, Oakland Theater Project made a last minute decision to extend their previews — but to still let press review that preview. So it’s to be expected that evident lags in momentum and memorization will be ironed out by their new official opening night, on Dec. 19. Director Michael Socrates Moran has been bringing Gardley’s work to life for ten years now, and has a keen ear for the distinctive rhythms of his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What will likely not be addressed for this run is the puzzling disconnect between the play’s elders and their heirs, who stand to inherit their legacy, but who feel ill-suited to bear that weight. I’d love to see Gardley revisit these characters again when they’re better prepared to step into their own power, and shape a narrative of their own. With ancestors as magnificent as Adeline and Laney, they’ll have a solid foundation to build from, and plenty of forward momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/ships\">A Thousand Ships\u003c/a>’ runs at Oakland Theater Project through Jan. 5. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-bay-area-theater-2024",
"title": "The Best Bay Area Theater We Saw in 2024",
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"headTitle": "The Best Bay Area Theater We Saw in 2024 | KQED",
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},
"content": "\u003cp>There’s no denying that theater continued to face massive obstacles in 2024. With audiences still choosing to stay home in large numbers, fundraising campaigns were often as common as season announcements, while consequential closures of legacy institutions stung the ecosystem as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, companies large and small continued to crank out successful, fantastic productions in the face of brutal headwinds — with some of the nation’s biggest touring productions adding cherries to our already massive regional theatrical sundae. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968854\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1248\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1020x636.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-768x479.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1920x1198.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim (William Thomas Hodgson), Amanda (Susi Damilano), Laura (Nicole Javier) and Tom (Jomar Tagatac) in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ at San Francisco Playhouse. \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Truth of Illusion in ‘Glass Menagerie’ at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-playhouse\">San Francisco Playhouse\u003c/a> in May, \u003cem>The Glass Menagerie\u003c/em>, one of Tennessee Williams’ most produced and haunting plays, served a master class in how to modernize a classic. First, find themes of relevance in our modern world through the fraught existence of the Wingfield family and its illusory protagonist Tom. Second, collect a bang-up cast of terrific performers. Third, let them cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This production wrangled such explosiveness out of the piercing text, extracting lessons of race, class and sexuality in flaring new ways. Jeffrey Lo’s direction of his diverse cast bubbled to a firmly unifying crescendo, easily making this one of the year’s most thrilling locally produced pieces of theater. The show blew me away at every turn.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968851\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1265\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-800x506.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1020x645.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1536x972.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1920x1214.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Ramirez and the cast of ‘Angels in America.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Soaring ‘Angels in America’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland-theater-project\">Oakland Theater Project\u003c/a>’s exquisitely distilled \u003cem>Angels in America\u003c/em> stomped, glided and soared across the stage at Marin Shakespeare Company’s new digs in San Rafael. Remounts of this heaving contemporary epic with deep Bay Area roots are always highly anticipated events around these parts, and OTP’s version was a welcome addition to the firmament. From the inspired casting (including company stalwarts J Jha as Prior, and Lisa Ramirez as the Angel) to the bare-bones but carefully curated design choices and the full-throated demand for \u003cem>more life\u003c/em>, this production felt utterly of this time. That’s despite ostensibly being set in an earlier, similarly fraught era, when public health, personal faith and political machination collided in generationally shifting ways. Kudos to director Michael Moran for taking a big swing, and hitting a theatrical home run.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson in ‘Mexodus.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Solidarity Shined in Berkeley Rep’s ‘Mexodus’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If one of theater’s goals is to break new ground while bringing in a younger and more diverse patron base, then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>’s production of \u003cem>Mexodus\u003c/em> was wildly successful. Channeling the art form of live looping in this two-hander, Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson fluttered and flew all over the stage while dropping sick beats everywhere. Their musical magic traversed multiple genres: hip-hop, reggaeton, bachata and classic Mexican bolero. In our fraught times, the message of unity between a Black slave and brown soldier through the Underground Railroad’s little known pathway into Mexico may be the show’s most hopeful lesson.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ai Yin Adelski, Laura Elaine Ellis and Jhia Jackson in Flyaway Productions’ ‘Ode to Jane.’ \u003ccite>(Brechin Flournoy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Dance Dance Revolution\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Election years seem to generate desire for two very different kinds of works: the resolutely political, and the resolutely \u003cem>not\u003c/em>. For the former, I found solace and solidarity emanating from the dance community. Standouts included Flyaway Productions’ \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/public-programs-2024-2/10/4-12/ode-to-jane\">Ode to Jane\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, in which a fierce cohort of aerial performers scaled the walls of the Tenderloin’s Cadillac Hotel and soared over the streets to audio of abortion rights activists, community activators and a stirring score by Xoa Asa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the return of Dance Mission Theater’s \u003ca href=\"https://dancemissiontheater.org/2024/07/15/oct-13-nov-15-d-i-r-t-festival-2024/\">D.I.R.T. (Dance in Revolt-ing Times) Festival\u003c/a> included free outdoor activations in the form of embodied invocations led by Dance Brigade and guest artists, followed by pay-what-you-could indoor performances by powerhouse radicals such as the Embodiment Project, amara tabor-smith and Sara Shelton Mann. And over at Z Space, the barrier-breaking \u003ca href=\"https://seandorseydance.com/\">Sean Dorsey Dance\u003c/a> celebrated 20 years of cultivating trans and queer resistance via life-affirming, liberatory dance with a retrospective of early works.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968852\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1548\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-800x619.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1020x789.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-768x594.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1536x1189.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1920x1486.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Wiley Naman Strasser and Sam Jackson in ‘As You Like It’ at Cal Shakes — the final production in the company’s history. \u003ccite>(Craig Isaacs/BlueGoo photography)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Continued Rise (With One Tough Fall) of Outdoor Theater\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s temperate summer climate makes us the envy of those who sweat, swelter and shrink elsewhere in the country. Sure, it’s a little chilly at night, but the cool fog rolling in is the stuff from which legendary songs are made. This year, summertime shows like \u003cem>Jersey Boys\u003c/em> at Oakland’s picturesque Woodminster Summer Musicals or the San Francisco Chinatown-inspired production of \u003cem>The Comedy of Errors\u003c/em> at Silicon Valley Shakespeare were dazzling in both spectacle and scenery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sadly, one of the Bay’s most perfect outdoor venues has officially \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966472/cal-shakes-to-close-down-citing-insurmountable-financial-impasse\">shut down for good\u003c/a>, and it’s impossible to overstate the impact on the Bay Area’s theater ecosystem. Many efforts were made to save \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/cal-shakes\">California Shakespeare Theater\u003c/a>, including a $350,000 fundraiser to bankroll its final production. Even a softening of the budget and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13952927/zendaya-cal-shakes-north-star-fund-donation\">$100,000 gift from superstar (and Cal Shakes alum) Zendaya\u003c/a> could not stave off the inevitable. It’s depressing to think that Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre in Orinda, whose last production was \u003cem>As You Like It\u003c/em>, will now move forward only as a beautiful forest, “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968849\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Andre Amarotico, Michael Gene Sullivan, Mikki Johnson in the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s production of ‘American Dreams.’ \u003ccite>(Mike Melnyk)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Go Out(side) and Play\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Speaking of the great outdoors, it’s been a particularly good year to take in a performance al fresco. From the joys of witnessing a mesmerizing Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe wreak magical havoc in SF Shakes’ \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/tempest/\">The Tempest\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, to the solace of SF Mime Troupe’s election-year production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmt.org/show-archive/american-dreams\">American Dreams\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, to a chance encounter with an afterlife-themed play — \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/skateboarding-through-bardos\">Skateboarding Through Bardos\u003c/a>\u003c/em> — during the Día de Los Muertos celebrations at Potrero del Sol Park, there were more than enough opportunities to scratch the theatre-going itch outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of way-outside-the-black-box concepts that I hope make a comeback next year are San Francisco’s mid-Market block parties, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marketstreetarts.org/unstaged\">Unstaged\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which included a rollicking “jazz club” aboard the F-Market train, and the delightful, kid-oriented \u003ca href=\"https://www.pineconesandportals.com/aiw2024\">Pinecones and Portals\u003c/a> “Hiking Theater Company” which holds its performances in East Bay parks. Audiences follow the action literally along woodland trails, or huddle together around campfires for music, stories, and s’mores. How cool is that?\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1459\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968856\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-800x584.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1020x744.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-768x560.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1536x1121.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1920x1401.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dyana Diaz and Iris Diaz in ‘Paradise’ at La Lengua Teatro en Español in September.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Cinco Años de la Lengua\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Producing theater in San Francisco can be viciously difficult and cost-restrictive, often quickly turning grand openings in grand closings. Fortunately, Virginia M. Blanco didn’t get that message. Blanco’s company, La Lengua Teatro en Español, continues to find new ways forward, with a September run of their critically-acclaimed, world premiere production \u003cem>Paradise\u003c/em> by Tere Martínez playing to sold out houses at the Mission’s Brava Theater Center studio space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blanco, a native Argentinian and the executive artistic director and founder of the company, has poured heart and soul into the venture, surrounding herself with a terrific team of like-minded, passionate creatives who’ve tapped into the Bay’s massive Spanish-speaking citizenry. The company is celebrating their fifth year of existence, and are now in a \u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/lalengua5years/davidmolina\">critical campaign\u003c/a> to secure funding for 2025. Despite the company being around since 2019, it certainly feels like they’re just getting started.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Lan (Sharon Omi) and Mai (Jenny Nguyen Nelson) are taken aback by consultant Vera (Rinabeth Apostol) in San Francisco Playhouse’s ‘My Home on the Moon.’ \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Future (Really) is Now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It was a good year for staged speculative fictions, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-playhouse\">SF Playhouse\u003c/a>’s production of \u003cem>My Home on the Moon\u003c/em>, by Minna Lee, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a>’s \u003cem>Big Data\u003c/em>, by Kate Atwell (both world premieres). The former was set in a simulverse inside a woman-owned, struggling Phở shop, where a community development “grant” from a corporate benefactor comes with a suspiciously helpful “consultant” named Vera (played impeccably by Rinabeth Apostol). With seemingly unflagging optimism for novelty and aphorism, Vera is eventually revealed to be AI, and when the newly decorated walls of the restaurant begin to crack and eventually transform, reality itself is revealed to be a fragmenting hall of mirrors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Atwell’s \u003cem>Big Data\u003c/em>, the suspiciously helpful character “M” (a magnetic BD Wong) was the embodiment of “the” algorithm that dominates so much of what we consciously and unconsciously consume. Casually embedded in the everyday routines of a cast of interrelated characters, M had an uncanny ability to simultaneously attack and affirm, flirt and fight, and the startling results of his capricious, relentless campaign flipped the script, quite literally, by the play’s end. That both productions had incredible sets designed by Tanya Orellana was a welcome detail.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The world premiere of SFBATCO’s ‘Sign My Name to Freedom’ told the story of Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin, portrayed in four different phases of her life by (L–R) Cathleen Riddley, Aidaa Peerzada, Lucca Troutman and Tierra Allen.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Alexa 'LexMex' Treviño)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>SFBATCO Celebrates a Decade\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I first interviewed Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. in 2014, when he was on tour in Motown: The Musical playing David Ruffin, which came with lead vocals on “My Girl.” That conversation with the native San Franciscan came around the same time his new theater venture, the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO), was kicking off. Jackson and co-founder Marcelo Javier’s company has made huge strides in the past 10 years, and is now considered one of the most critical developers of new work in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, their New Roots Theatre Festival launched with a focus on developing new works from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ voices. And one of the company’s highlights in 2024 was their scintillating world premiere musical \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13955108/betty-reid-soskin-stage-play-z-space-sign-my-name-to-freedom-review\">Sign My Name to Freedom\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, telling the story of 103-year-old Betty Reid Soskin and her rich history in the Bay Area, including her retirement as a national park ranger at the age of 100.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "The Best Bay Area Theater We Saw in 2024 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There’s no denying that theater continued to face massive obstacles in 2024. With audiences still choosing to stay home in large numbers, fundraising campaigns were often as common as season announcements, while consequential closures of legacy institutions stung the ecosystem as a whole.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, companies large and small continued to crank out successful, fantastic productions in the face of brutal headwinds — with some of the nation’s biggest touring productions adding cherries to our already massive regional theatrical sundae. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below, theater critics and regular KQED contributors Nicole Gluckstern and David John Chávez share their most significant Bay Area theater happenings of 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968854\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1248\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968854\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1020x636.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-768x479.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1920x1198.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim (William Thomas Hodgson), Amanda (Susi Damilano), Laura (Nicole Javier) and Tom (Jomar Tagatac) in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ at San Francisco Playhouse. \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Truth of Illusion in ‘Glass Menagerie’ at SF Playhouse\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-playhouse\">San Francisco Playhouse\u003c/a> in May, \u003cem>The Glass Menagerie\u003c/em>, one of Tennessee Williams’ most produced and haunting plays, served a master class in how to modernize a classic. First, find themes of relevance in our modern world through the fraught existence of the Wingfield family and its illusory protagonist Tom. Second, collect a bang-up cast of terrific performers. Third, let them cook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This production wrangled such explosiveness out of the piercing text, extracting lessons of race, class and sexuality in flaring new ways. Jeffrey Lo’s direction of his diverse cast bubbled to a firmly unifying crescendo, easily making this one of the year’s most thrilling locally produced pieces of theater. The show blew me away at every turn.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968851\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1265\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968851\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-800x506.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1020x645.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1536x972.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-1-1920x1214.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Ramirez and the cast of ‘Angels in America.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Soaring ‘Angels in America’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland-theater-project\">Oakland Theater Project\u003c/a>’s exquisitely distilled \u003cem>Angels in America\u003c/em> stomped, glided and soared across the stage at Marin Shakespeare Company’s new digs in San Rafael. Remounts of this heaving contemporary epic with deep Bay Area roots are always highly anticipated events around these parts, and OTP’s version was a welcome addition to the firmament. From the inspired casting (including company stalwarts J Jha as Prior, and Lisa Ramirez as the Angel) to the bare-bones but carefully curated design choices and the full-throated demand for \u003cem>more life\u003c/em>, this production felt utterly of this time. That’s despite ostensibly being set in an earlier, similarly fraught era, when public health, personal faith and political machination collided in generationally shifting ways. Kudos to director Michael Moran for taking a big swing, and hitting a theatrical home run.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mexodus_Production_2024_1581-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson in ‘Mexodus.’\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Solidarity Shined in Berkeley Rep’s ‘Mexodus’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If one of theater’s goals is to break new ground while bringing in a younger and more diverse patron base, then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>’s production of \u003cem>Mexodus\u003c/em> was wildly successful. Channeling the art form of live looping in this two-hander, Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson fluttered and flew all over the stage while dropping sick beats everywhere. Their musical magic traversed multiple genres: hip-hop, reggaeton, bachata and classic Mexican bolero. In our fraught times, the message of unity between a Black slave and brown soldier through the Underground Railroad’s little known pathway into Mexico may be the show’s most hopeful lesson.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968855\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/01-Flyaway-Productions-Ode-to-Jane-Ai-Yin-Adelski-Laura-Elaine-Ellis-Jhia-Jackson-Photo-by-Brechin-Flournoy-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ai Yin Adelski, Laura Elaine Ellis and Jhia Jackson in Flyaway Productions’ ‘Ode to Jane.’ \u003ccite>(Brechin Flournoy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Dance Dance Revolution\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Election years seem to generate desire for two very different kinds of works: the resolutely political, and the resolutely \u003cem>not\u003c/em>. For the former, I found solace and solidarity emanating from the dance community. Standouts included Flyaway Productions’ \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/public-programs-2024-2/10/4-12/ode-to-jane\">Ode to Jane\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, in which a fierce cohort of aerial performers scaled the walls of the Tenderloin’s Cadillac Hotel and soared over the streets to audio of abortion rights activists, community activators and a stirring score by Xoa Asa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the return of Dance Mission Theater’s \u003ca href=\"https://dancemissiontheater.org/2024/07/15/oct-13-nov-15-d-i-r-t-festival-2024/\">D.I.R.T. (Dance in Revolt-ing Times) Festival\u003c/a> included free outdoor activations in the form of embodied invocations led by Dance Brigade and guest artists, followed by pay-what-you-could indoor performances by powerhouse radicals such as the Embodiment Project, amara tabor-smith and Sara Shelton Mann. And over at Z Space, the barrier-breaking \u003ca href=\"https://seandorseydance.com/\">Sean Dorsey Dance\u003c/a> celebrated 20 years of cultivating trans and queer resistance via life-affirming, liberatory dance with a retrospective of early works.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968852\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1548\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968852\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-800x619.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1020x789.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-768x594.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1536x1189.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-3-1920x1486.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Wiley Naman Strasser and Sam Jackson in ‘As You Like It’ at Cal Shakes — the final production in the company’s history. \u003ccite>(Craig Isaacs/BlueGoo photography)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Continued Rise (With One Tough Fall) of Outdoor Theater\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area’s temperate summer climate makes us the envy of those who sweat, swelter and shrink elsewhere in the country. Sure, it’s a little chilly at night, but the cool fog rolling in is the stuff from which legendary songs are made. This year, summertime shows like \u003cem>Jersey Boys\u003c/em> at Oakland’s picturesque Woodminster Summer Musicals or the San Francisco Chinatown-inspired production of \u003cem>The Comedy of Errors\u003c/em> at Silicon Valley Shakespeare were dazzling in both spectacle and scenery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sadly, one of the Bay’s most perfect outdoor venues has officially \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13966472/cal-shakes-to-close-down-citing-insurmountable-financial-impasse\">shut down for good\u003c/a>, and it’s impossible to overstate the impact on the Bay Area’s theater ecosystem. Many efforts were made to save \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/cal-shakes\">California Shakespeare Theater\u003c/a>, including a $350,000 fundraiser to bankroll its final production. Even a softening of the budget and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13952927/zendaya-cal-shakes-north-star-fund-donation\">$100,000 gift from superstar (and Cal Shakes alum) Zendaya\u003c/a> could not stave off the inevitable. It’s depressing to think that Bruns Memorial Amphitheatre in Orinda, whose last production was \u003cem>As You Like It\u003c/em>, will now move forward only as a beautiful forest, “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968849\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Mimetroupe-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Andre Amarotico, Michael Gene Sullivan, Mikki Johnson in the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s production of ‘American Dreams.’ \u003ccite>(Mike Melnyk)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Go Out(side) and Play\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Speaking of the great outdoors, it’s been a particularly good year to take in a performance al fresco. From the joys of witnessing a mesmerizing Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe wreak magical havoc in SF Shakes’ \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/tempest/\">The Tempest\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, to the solace of SF Mime Troupe’s election-year production \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmt.org/show-archive/american-dreams\">American Dreams\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, to a chance encounter with an afterlife-themed play — \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dayofthedeadsf.org/skateboarding-through-bardos\">Skateboarding Through Bardos\u003c/a>\u003c/em> — during the Día de Los Muertos celebrations at Potrero del Sol Park, there were more than enough opportunities to scratch the theatre-going itch outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of way-outside-the-black-box concepts that I hope make a comeback next year are San Francisco’s mid-Market block parties, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.marketstreetarts.org/unstaged\">Unstaged\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which included a rollicking “jazz club” aboard the F-Market train, and the delightful, kid-oriented \u003ca href=\"https://www.pineconesandportals.com/aiw2024\">Pinecones and Portals\u003c/a> “Hiking Theater Company” which holds its performances in East Bay parks. Audiences follow the action literally along woodland trails, or huddle together around campfires for music, stories, and s’mores. How cool is that?\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1459\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968856\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-800x584.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1020x744.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-768x560.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1536x1121.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/Paradise_LaLengua_ManuelOrbegozo-150-1920x1401.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dyana Diaz and Iris Diaz in ‘Paradise’ at La Lengua Teatro en Español in September.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Cinco Años de la Lengua\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Producing theater in San Francisco can be viciously difficult and cost-restrictive, often quickly turning grand openings in grand closings. Fortunately, Virginia M. Blanco didn’t get that message. Blanco’s company, La Lengua Teatro en Español, continues to find new ways forward, with a September run of their critically-acclaimed, world premiere production \u003cem>Paradise\u003c/em> by Tere Martínez playing to sold out houses at the Mission’s Brava Theater Center studio space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blanco, a native Argentinian and the executive artistic director and founder of the company, has poured heart and soul into the venture, surrounding herself with a terrific team of like-minded, passionate creatives who’ve tapped into the Bay’s massive Spanish-speaking citizenry. The company is celebrating their fifth year of existence, and are now in a \u003ca href=\"https://givebutter.com/lalengua5years/davidmolina\">critical campaign\u003c/a> to secure funding for 2025. Despite the company being around since 2019, it certainly feels like they’re just getting started.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/SFP_MyHomeOnTheMoon_JessicaPalopoli_2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Lan (Sharon Omi) and Mai (Jenny Nguyen Nelson) are taken aback by consultant Vera (Rinabeth Apostol) in San Francisco Playhouse’s ‘My Home on the Moon.’ \u003ccite>(Jessica Palopoli)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Future (Really) is Now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It was a good year for staged speculative fictions, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-francisco-playhouse\">SF Playhouse\u003c/a>’s production of \u003cem>My Home on the Moon\u003c/em>, by Minna Lee, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/act\">ACT\u003c/a>’s \u003cem>Big Data\u003c/em>, by Kate Atwell (both world premieres). The former was set in a simulverse inside a woman-owned, struggling Phở shop, where a community development “grant” from a corporate benefactor comes with a suspiciously helpful “consultant” named Vera (played impeccably by Rinabeth Apostol). With seemingly unflagging optimism for novelty and aphorism, Vera is eventually revealed to be AI, and when the newly decorated walls of the restaurant begin to crack and eventually transform, reality itself is revealed to be a fragmenting hall of mirrors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Atwell’s \u003cem>Big Data\u003c/em>, the suspiciously helpful character “M” (a magnetic BD Wong) was the embodiment of “the” algorithm that dominates so much of what we consciously and unconsciously consume. Casually embedded in the everyday routines of a cast of interrelated characters, M had an uncanny ability to simultaneously attack and affirm, flirt and fight, and the startling results of his capricious, relentless campaign flipped the script, quite literally, by the play’s end. That both productions had incredible sets designed by Tanya Orellana was a welcome detail.\u003cem>—Nicole Gluckstern\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968853\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/unnamed-4-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The world premiere of SFBATCO’s ‘Sign My Name to Freedom’ told the story of Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin, portrayed in four different phases of her life by (L–R) Cathleen Riddley, Aidaa Peerzada, Lucca Troutman and Tierra Allen.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Alexa 'LexMex' Treviño)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>SFBATCO Celebrates a Decade\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I first interviewed Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. in 2014, when he was on tour in Motown: The Musical playing David Ruffin, which came with lead vocals on “My Girl.” That conversation with the native San Franciscan came around the same time his new theater venture, the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO), was kicking off. Jackson and co-founder Marcelo Javier’s company has made huge strides in the past 10 years, and is now considered one of the most critical developers of new work in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, their New Roots Theatre Festival launched with a focus on developing new works from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ voices. And one of the company’s highlights in 2024 was their scintillating world premiere musical \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13955108/betty-reid-soskin-stage-play-z-space-sign-my-name-to-freedom-review\">Sign My Name to Freedom\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, telling the story of 103-year-old Betty Reid Soskin and her rich history in the Bay Area, including her retirement as a national park ranger at the age of 100.\u003cem>—David John Chávez\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How Do People Fall In Love? In ‘Thirty-Six,’ It’s Not So Simple",
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"content": "\u003cp>One of the many endearing characteristics of the East Bay’s Shotgun Players is their commitment to holiday season shows with zero holiday content, but nonetheless lean heavily into the capricious landscape of human emotion. In other words: the feels. And \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em>, by Leah Nanako Winkler, is rife with feelings, following two strangers who meet-not-quite-cute on an app and embark on a whirlwind first not-quite-date, accompanied by the hilariously laconic voice of the stage directions (nic feliciano). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her script, Winkler appealingly captures the loaded subtext of such encounters, where every sentence uttered leaves two more unspoken. With so many conflicting sets of cookie-cutter, magazine-published “rules” for modern dating, simply figuring out which ones are in play can be a laborious process. This may explain the initial buzz surrounding Mandy Lee Catron’s 2015 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> article “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” which introduced psychologist Arthur Aron’s “36 Questions That Lead to Love” to a wider audience. The questions bypass the typical first-date tips and tricks about who pays for what, and which topics are off-limits, and cut straight to the emotional jugular with questions designed to create a sense of intimacy between participants — a way to jumpstart or reinforce a personal connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968584\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1401px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1401\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny.jpg 1401w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-800x1142.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-1020x1456.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-160x228.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-768x1096.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-1076x1536.jpg 1076w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1401px) 100vw, 1401px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren Andrei Garcia as Jenny in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s David’s (Soren Santos) hope when his date Jenny (Lauren Andrei Garcia) arrives at the quiet New York bistro where they’ve agreed to meet. A transplant from Kentucky (like Winkler), he loves the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, cheerfully admitting that it forms a cornerstone of his personality. He proposes they give the 36 Questions a shot. She almost immediately declares she’s only here to get laid. “I don’t want to give you depth, and I need you to respect that,” she asserts crisply. Despite their mismatched expectations, David soon winds up at Jenny’s “extremely nice” apartment, and the rest of the evening unfolds apace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a static quality to the staging of \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em> that enhances its unflinching post-modernity. Paneled white walls — designed by Randy Wong-Westbooke — frame the action like an Instagram reel. Matching clear lucite tables and rolling office chairs are the only furniture, easily transforming from bistro interior to apartment décor to subway seating by the power of suggestion. Table mics on stands, worthy of a podcast studio, pin the actors to their seats during their most intimate moments, allowing that same power of suggestion (and a nod to ASMR) to illustrate a far more ribald encounter than the chastely garbed performers seated on opposite sides of the stage would otherwise suggest. Kudos to director Michelle Talgarow, and intimacy choreographer Natalie Greene, for finding ways to create heat and connection between the actors using technology as a scene partner rather than an obstacle. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968586\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">nic feliciano as Stage Directions in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Jenny, Garcia presents convincingly as a no-nonsense, bluntly honest Millennial Miss on the prowl. She ricochets frenetically between self-assurance and self-doubt — sometimes spoken, sometimes implied by what’s left unsaid. Santos, as David, cultivates a gentler persona, down to his forgettable attire and unguarded facial expressions that speak volumes, whether telegraphing delight or scrunched up in disgust. As a world premiere production, there were some evident opening-night line stumbles, particularly from Garcia, but nothing that stalled the overall momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By design, the play often feels like an exercise in eavesdropping, even surveillance, following the two leads around New York City. Anonymous bars and bistros are full of connection-seekers meeting for the first time, and playing “Will they make it to round two?” is a not-unusual pastime for the bystanders they draw briefly into their orbit. David is the man who masks his romantic insecurities by learning to give great head, and Jenny, the woman who savvily uses words like “respect,” “consent” and “social construct,” not-so-secretly longs for the simplicity of a more traditional kind of attachment. But while the 36 questions they pepper each other with do lead to further revelation, and even occasional glimpses of profundity, the stakes never feel particularly urgent. Will they make it to round two? Who knows? Who cares? \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1351\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968587\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1920x1297.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Soren Santos as David in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Regardless, as a rom-com with an irreverent streak, \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em> is a fun, flirty, occasionally dirty romp. Maybe bring a date. You’ll definitely learn something about each other by the end of the evening — even if it’s just how the other reacts to the play’s more humorous forays into kink, and the rare gift that Winkler bestows the actors in the final moments of the piece.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Thirty-Six’ runs through Dec. 29 at the Ashby Stage in Berkeley. \u003ca href=\"http://shotgunplayers.org/online/article/thirty-six\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One of the many endearing characteristics of the East Bay’s Shotgun Players is their commitment to holiday season shows with zero holiday content, but nonetheless lean heavily into the capricious landscape of human emotion. In other words: the feels. And \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em>, by Leah Nanako Winkler, is rife with feelings, following two strangers who meet-not-quite-cute on an app and embark on a whirlwind first not-quite-date, accompanied by the hilariously laconic voice of the stage directions (nic feliciano). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her script, Winkler appealingly captures the loaded subtext of such encounters, where every sentence uttered leaves two more unspoken. With so many conflicting sets of cookie-cutter, magazine-published “rules” for modern dating, simply figuring out which ones are in play can be a laborious process. This may explain the initial buzz surrounding Mandy Lee Catron’s 2015 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> article “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” which introduced psychologist Arthur Aron’s “36 Questions That Lead to Love” to a wider audience. The questions bypass the typical first-date tips and tricks about who pays for what, and which topics are off-limits, and cut straight to the emotional jugular with questions designed to create a sense of intimacy between participants — a way to jumpstart or reinforce a personal connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968584\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1401px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1401\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny.jpg 1401w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-800x1142.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-1020x1456.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-160x228.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-768x1096.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/9-Lauren-Andrei-Garcia-as-Jenny-1076x1536.jpg 1076w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1401px) 100vw, 1401px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren Andrei Garcia as Jenny in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s David’s (Soren Santos) hope when his date Jenny (Lauren Andrei Garcia) arrives at the quiet New York bistro where they’ve agreed to meet. A transplant from Kentucky (like Winkler), he loves the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, cheerfully admitting that it forms a cornerstone of his personality. He proposes they give the 36 Questions a shot. She almost immediately declares she’s only here to get laid. “I don’t want to give you depth, and I need you to respect that,” she asserts crisply. Despite their mismatched expectations, David soon winds up at Jenny’s “extremely nice” apartment, and the rest of the evening unfolds apace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a static quality to the staging of \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em> that enhances its unflinching post-modernity. Paneled white walls — designed by Randy Wong-Westbooke — frame the action like an Instagram reel. Matching clear lucite tables and rolling office chairs are the only furniture, easily transforming from bistro interior to apartment décor to subway seating by the power of suggestion. Table mics on stands, worthy of a podcast studio, pin the actors to their seats during their most intimate moments, allowing that same power of suggestion (and a nod to ASMR) to illustrate a far more ribald encounter than the chastely garbed performers seated on opposite sides of the stage would otherwise suggest. Kudos to director Michelle Talgarow, and intimacy choreographer Natalie Greene, for finding ways to create heat and connection between the actors using technology as a scene partner rather than an obstacle. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968586\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/11-nic-feliciano-as-Stage-Directions-smiling-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">nic feliciano as Stage Directions in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Jenny, Garcia presents convincingly as a no-nonsense, bluntly honest Millennial Miss on the prowl. She ricochets frenetically between self-assurance and self-doubt — sometimes spoken, sometimes implied by what’s left unsaid. Santos, as David, cultivates a gentler persona, down to his forgettable attire and unguarded facial expressions that speak volumes, whether telegraphing delight or scrunched up in disgust. As a world premiere production, there were some evident opening-night line stumbles, particularly from Garcia, but nothing that stalled the overall momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By design, the play often feels like an exercise in eavesdropping, even surveillance, following the two leads around New York City. Anonymous bars and bistros are full of connection-seekers meeting for the first time, and playing “Will they make it to round two?” is a not-unusual pastime for the bystanders they draw briefly into their orbit. David is the man who masks his romantic insecurities by learning to give great head, and Jenny, the woman who savvily uses words like “respect,” “consent” and “social construct,” not-so-secretly longs for the simplicity of a more traditional kind of attachment. But while the 36 questions they pepper each other with do lead to further revelation, and even occasional glimpses of profundity, the stakes never feel particularly urgent. Will they make it to round two? Who knows? Who cares? \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13968587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1351\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13968587\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/6-Soren-Santos-as-David-1920x1297.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Soren Santos as David in ‘Thirty-Six’ at Shotgun Players. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Regardless, as a rom-com with an irreverent streak, \u003cem>Thirty-Six\u003c/em> is a fun, flirty, occasionally dirty romp. Maybe bring a date. You’ll definitely learn something about each other by the end of the evening — even if it’s just how the other reacts to the play’s more humorous forays into kink, and the rare gift that Winkler bestows the actors in the final moments of the piece.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Thirty-Six’ runs through Dec. 29 at the Ashby Stage in Berkeley. \u003ca href=\"http://shotgunplayers.org/online/article/thirty-six\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Merging Indigenous Tradition With Club Culture in ‘GhostRave’",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>“They told the people they could dance a new world into being…”\u003cbr>\n— ‘Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions,’ by John Fire Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1889, the Ghost Dance movement spread among a number of Native American nations across the Western United States. Originating as far back as 1869 with the Northern Paiute, the Ghost (or Spirit) Dance was a ritual and belief system promising a future of land properly restored to its original inhabitants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ghost Dance was adopted by the Lakota in early 1890, and became central to their resistance movement. It was also used as a supposed justification, on the part of the United States Army, for the massacre at Wounded Knee. Despite the horror of that event, the Ghost Dance lived on, notably resurfacing during the 1970s AIM movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966561\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1920x1277.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dany Benitez (Coyote) in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>More than 100 years from the rise of the Ghost Dance, an entirely new and electronic music-based dance movement emerged. House music has now made its way around the world, uniting ravers, club kids and musical innovators — a high-energy scene that playwright and producer Jerome Joseph Gentes cites as inspiration for his time-traveling, musical theatre workshop production \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>, playing Oct. 17–27 at Magic Theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A descendant of the Fort Belknap A’aninin and the Standing Rock Lakota, Gentes currently resides in Palm Springs. But it’s his time in the Bay Area in the 1990s that he draws upon for \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the Bay Area, in the heyday of South of Market club life, Gentes says, “and I thought, wow…If we could just go back for one night. Wouldn’t it be great?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966562\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1368px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1368\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966562\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052.jpg 1368w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-800x1170.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-1020x1491.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-160x234.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-768x1123.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-1051x1536.jpg 1051w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1368px) 100vw, 1368px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fran Astorga (Chayson) in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After meeting Brandon M.P. Roberts during a Palm Springs production of the Nathan Hall-penned kink opera \u003cem>Unbound\u003c/em> (which Gentes produced), the two quickly recognized kindred artistic inclinations, and began brainstorming ways to create their own theatrical experience in a warehouse club setting. With Gentes as playwright, lyricist and director, and Roberts as composer, sound designer and DJ, each brings their skills and passion to the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 810px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966745\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto.jpg 810w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaadi Erica Richardson rehearses with Brandon M.P. Roberts for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy TigerBear Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Featuring earnest but self-destructive indigenous club kid Chayson (played by W. Fran Astorga), \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em> kicks off in a nightclub, set to resemble the historic San Francisco queer establishment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956246/the-stud-san-francisco-lgbtq-bar-reopening\">The Stud\u003c/a>. As an immersive show, \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>’s audience members can walk around the space, dance with each other and perhaps even take part in the scene as Roberts spins tracks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what begins as a messy night out for Chayson becomes an unexpected jaunt to 1890 and then to 2090, thanks to some interference from Coyote (Dany Benitez). While traveling through time — a witness to both a Ghost Dance ritual and to a post-Earth migration — Chayson learns to value themselves better, and value the earth, not only physically but psychically. What starts out as mere desire to return to a familiar place becomes a deeper yearning to actively embrace it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966558\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-800x520.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1020x662.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1920x1247.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Christina Kruszewska, Skylar Rose Adams and Meg Crosby-Jolliffe in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The thing about the Ghost Dance is it happened historically at the moment where the frontier had so completely closed, that the fate of Natives was sealed from that point forward,” Gentes says. “So I guess I was sort of saying ‘How do we deal with accepting that we may lose \u003cem>this\u003c/em> planet and then go forward?’ Can the energies of hope and action be brought to life again through a theater piece? In a way, we’re modernizing the idea that was lurking at the bottom of the Ghost Dance as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the actual Ghost Dance will not be portrayed onstage out of respect for its cultural significance, almost every character in the piece does eventually express themselves through dance and song (it is a musical, after all), the creation process of which has been a journey unto itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the composer, Roberts has been creating the essential “sound palette” of the show. The task has involved raiding a collection of his father’s 1990s CDs, exploring ways of creating “the rhythms of the nightclub” with 19th century instruments and a sojourn in the desert for sonic and spiritual inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1289\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966559\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-800x516.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1020x657.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-768x495.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1536x990.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1920x1237.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fran Astorga and Justin P. Lopez in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m really trying to identify what these characters sound like. For some of the characters, what do they listen to, you know, when we’re up in a space station, what music do they choose to put on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Gentes has been realizing the not-so-subtle influence of the current political climate — and of climate change — on his characters, and on his own motivations for exploring their perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things I wanted to play with was this moment where the land back movement is strong and vocal…when we’re about to lose the entire planet, anyway,” he says. “I thought, what would it be like when we have to talk about land back, and we’re not on this planet anymore, as natives? And I realized that’s a really great question I would love to pursue for a long time to come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>GhostRave plays Oct. 17–27, 2024, at Magic Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://magictheatre.org/calendar/ghostrave\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>“They told the people they could dance a new world into being…”\u003cbr>\n— ‘Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions,’ by John Fire Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1889, the Ghost Dance movement spread among a number of Native American nations across the Western United States. Originating as far back as 1869 with the Northern Paiute, the Ghost (or Spirit) Dance was a ritual and belief system promising a future of land properly restored to its original inhabitants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ghost Dance was adopted by the Lakota in early 1890, and became central to their resistance movement. It was also used as a supposed justification, on the part of the United States Army, for the massacre at Wounded Knee. Despite the horror of that event, the Ghost Dance lived on, notably resurfacing during the 1970s AIM movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966561\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_030-1920x1277.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dany Benitez (Coyote) in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>More than 100 years from the rise of the Ghost Dance, an entirely new and electronic music-based dance movement emerged. House music has now made its way around the world, uniting ravers, club kids and musical innovators — a high-energy scene that playwright and producer Jerome Joseph Gentes cites as inspiration for his time-traveling, musical theatre workshop production \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>, playing Oct. 17–27 at Magic Theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A descendant of the Fort Belknap A’aninin and the Standing Rock Lakota, Gentes currently resides in Palm Springs. But it’s his time in the Bay Area in the 1990s that he draws upon for \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in the Bay Area, in the heyday of South of Market club life, Gentes says, “and I thought, wow…If we could just go back for one night. Wouldn’t it be great?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966562\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1368px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1368\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966562\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052.jpg 1368w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-800x1170.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-1020x1491.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-160x234.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-768x1123.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_052-1051x1536.jpg 1051w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1368px) 100vw, 1368px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fran Astorga (Chayson) in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After meeting Brandon M.P. Roberts during a Palm Springs production of the Nathan Hall-penned kink opera \u003cem>Unbound\u003c/em> (which Gentes produced), the two quickly recognized kindred artistic inclinations, and began brainstorming ways to create their own theatrical experience in a warehouse club setting. With Gentes as playwright, lyricist and director, and Roberts as composer, sound designer and DJ, each brings their skills and passion to the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 810px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966745\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto.jpg 810w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/ghostrave_newphoto-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yaadi Erica Richardson rehearses with Brandon M.P. Roberts for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy TigerBear Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Featuring earnest but self-destructive indigenous club kid Chayson (played by W. Fran Astorga), \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em> kicks off in a nightclub, set to resemble the historic San Francisco queer establishment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956246/the-stud-san-francisco-lgbtq-bar-reopening\">The Stud\u003c/a>. As an immersive show, \u003cem>GhostRave\u003c/em>’s audience members can walk around the space, dance with each other and perhaps even take part in the scene as Roberts spins tracks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what begins as a messy night out for Chayson becomes an unexpected jaunt to 1890 and then to 2090, thanks to some interference from Coyote (Dany Benitez). While traveling through time — a witness to both a Ghost Dance ritual and to a post-Earth migration — Chayson learns to value themselves better, and value the earth, not only physically but psychically. What starts out as mere desire to return to a familiar place becomes a deeper yearning to actively embrace it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966558\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-800x520.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1020x662.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_158-1920x1247.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Christina Kruszewska, Skylar Rose Adams and Meg Crosby-Jolliffe in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The thing about the Ghost Dance is it happened historically at the moment where the frontier had so completely closed, that the fate of Natives was sealed from that point forward,” Gentes says. “So I guess I was sort of saying ‘How do we deal with accepting that we may lose \u003cem>this\u003c/em> planet and then go forward?’ Can the energies of hope and action be brought to life again through a theater piece? In a way, we’re modernizing the idea that was lurking at the bottom of the Ghost Dance as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the actual Ghost Dance will not be portrayed onstage out of respect for its cultural significance, almost every character in the piece does eventually express themselves through dance and song (it is a musical, after all), the creation process of which has been a journey unto itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the composer, Roberts has been creating the essential “sound palette” of the show. The task has involved raiding a collection of his father’s 1990s CDs, exploring ways of creating “the rhythms of the nightclub” with 19th century instruments and a sojourn in the desert for sonic and spiritual inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13966559\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1289\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13966559\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-800x516.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1020x657.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-768x495.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1536x990.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/GhostRave_2024_152-1920x1237.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fran Astorga and Justin P. Lopez in a September rehearsal for ‘GhostRave.’ \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz Studio)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m really trying to identify what these characters sound like. For some of the characters, what do they listen to, you know, when we’re up in a space station, what music do they choose to put on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Gentes has been realizing the not-so-subtle influence of the current political climate — and of climate change — on his characters, and on his own motivations for exploring their perspectives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things I wanted to play with was this moment where the land back movement is strong and vocal…when we’re about to lose the entire planet, anyway,” he says. “I thought, what would it be like when we have to talk about land back, and we’re not on this planet anymore, as natives? And I realized that’s a really great question I would love to pursue for a long time to come.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>GhostRave plays Oct. 17–27, 2024, at Magic Theatre in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://magictheatre.org/calendar/ghostrave\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "the-living-earth-show-roar-shack-live-market-street-arts",
"title": "The Living Earth Show Dreams Up an Experimental Music Hub in SF",
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"headTitle": "The Living Earth Show Dreams Up an Experimental Music Hub in SF | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When I arrive at the Odd Fellows Building at 7th and Market Street in San Francisco, the ground floor space — formerly known as cocktail bar Mr. Smith’s — is getting ready for its next act as a nascent creative hub. Ladders, buckets, toolboxes, extension cords, cleaning supplies and half-drunk bottles of water are strewn about the room. A small collection of instruments in their cases are clustered in a corner near the front entrance, waiting to christen the space on opening night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the heart of the chaos, Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews — the experimental chamber music duo known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelivingearthshow.com/\">The Living Earth Show\u003c/a> (TLES) — greet me affably, as if they weren’t in the middle of building what may prove to be one of their biggest experiments to date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graduates of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, TLES has been creating and touring large-scale, interdisciplinary experimental works with a roster of boundary-pushing collaborators such as singer-technologist Pamela Z, Pulitzer-winning Diné composer Raven Chacon and poetry organization Youth Speaks. They’re so busy and artistically free-ranging that even in the middle of their remodel of 34 7th Street, they performed at Great American Music Hall as members of the raucous queer music collective \u003ca href=\"https://commandothebando.com/\">COMMANDO\u003c/a>, followed by a brief trip to Norway to present \u003ca href=\"https://www.ultima.no/en/tremble-staves\">\u003cem>Tremble Staves\u003c/em> \u003c/a>with Chacon at the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of its goal to revitalize the struggling downtown area, the city-funded \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketstreetarts.org/\">Market Street Arts\u003c/a> program tapped TLES to inhabit the space and curate a season of shows they’re calling \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelivingearthshow.com/roarshacklive\">Roar Shack Live!\u003c/a> The musicians are preparing to bring some of their touring works home to San Francisco, and perform them, salon-style, in an intimate venue reconfigured according to their imaginations. They will roughly present one show per month with a different collaborator and use a sliding scale, pay-what-you-can model for tickets. (Exact dates are under construction, but trans rights advocate and musician Honey Mahogany, experimental music luminary Terry Riley and rising composer Zachary James Watkins are among the seven featured artists.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TLES’ debut concert on Sept. 20, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-music-for-hard-times-tickets-995596986387\">Music for Hard Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will bring what originally started as an early pandemic project, composed and created via virtual modalities, to a physical space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows are excerpts of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1845px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1845\" height=\"1230\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2.jpg 1845w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1845px) 100vw, 1845px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews (left to right) of The Living Earth Show.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicole Gluckstern:\u003c/strong> So in regards to the series, you’re going to start off using \u003cem>Music for Hard Times\u003c/em>, which is a really interesting piece to kick off with because a lot of it is very contemplative, right? Dreamy and soothing, which I think was part of the mandate [when creating it]. So I’m curious to know how it’s going to be presented in this space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> So the music was created by Danny Clay. And the other wonderful San Francisco-based artist on it is Jon Fischer, who created an ambient film, and is working on creating projections [for the live show] that’ll go a variety of places to have ambiance and coziness be at the fore of the experience, as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By designing the projections, do you mean he’s going to create a new visual, or use the existing film?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> Kind of both. It’ll be certainly rooted in the film. Because that’s the piece, right? It’s not an accompaniment to the piece. It is the piece. So it’s elaborating on and expanding on that work. That is as integral to what the piece is as the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Travis Andrews:\u003c/strong> We started envisioning, what if there wasn’t a bad seat in the house? What if we had a main channel of video and images and geometries, and had two supplementary feeds? So if you’re one of the 53 people that come to these shows, you can always see like two of those channels. So [gestures to bar] putting scrim over this beautifully gilded mirror, have a channel there. [Gestures to makeshift stage near the front door.] One behind the performance space, which will be much more visible when the door is shut, and then having a third channel for the people that are behind the bar and at the bar on that wall [gestures to wall opposite bar].\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2375px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2375\" height=\"1755\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score.jpg 2375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-800x591.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1020x754.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-768x568.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1536x1135.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-2048x1513.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1920x1419.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2375px) 100vw, 2375px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The visual score for The Living Earth Show and Danny Clay’s ‘Music for Hard Times.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of The Living Earth Show)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> It was a piece that was made visually. So what’s subversive about Danny’s work is [it’s] designed to be as beautiful when played by virtuoso trained musicians as by his elementary school students. Which is an extremely subversive act in our traditional classical music that cherishes virtuosity über alles. There’s a very specific definition of what that means, and why, and what a score is. And Danny really does kind of flip that on his head, in the most beautiful and moral and humanistic way possible, and that has a very different context for a classically trained musician and a seven year old. But both are equally valid and lead to amazing places. So he made the entire piece that way, and we made hundreds and hundreds of samples. Me, Travis and Danny, and Danny compiled them into the album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1564682992/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I’d like to hear a little bit more about the Roar Shack Live! season. Maybe you can’t talk about specific performers. But I’m secretly hoping M. Lamar is on the list.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> He’s coming in February! He’s [possibly] the least “San Francisco-y” of our collaborators, but he has such a deep connection to the city. Right? SFAI alum, lived here, it’s in his work. And he’s a great example of someone we’ve worked with for years and years. We’re making our next piece, \u003cem>Machines and Other Intergalactic Technologies of the Spirit\u003c/em>. And in February we’re going to play that show at the Met Museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s kind of crazy that the infrastructure to do work like that in San Francisco doesn’t really exist. Like interdisciplinary work, at that scale, in that manner. So we’re gonna do it the week before, here. It felt really, really important to us that we could build it and present it here in a way that cost is not a barrier to entry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964453\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964453\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former cocktail bar Mr. Smith’s has been under construction as it prepares for its next incarnation as a music venue. \u003ccite>(Nicole Gluckstern)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’re helping to build out this space, so it supports your performance series. And then at the end of ten shows, are you no longer part of this space?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> We’d love to be, but you know, one season at a time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Travis Andrews:\u003c/strong> We can say that there’s nothing but desire to continue to do that. This is the first time we’ll have an entire hometown season in one venue, ever. And I think what I mean by I’d love to keep this place is to just have something like this [gestures] — which felt so out of reach until a couple of months ago — but it’s such like a grounding, lovely feeling. We’ve never had an opportunity like this before to invite people to just a stable, curated environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> Our overall mission, really, is to show what it means to make San Francisco a place where culture is created and not just consumed. In order for San Francisco to live the values that it says it wants, about using the arts to revitalize downtown, it needs to invest in infrastructure and ecosystem at every scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, work that exists in a development stage; work that exists uncompromisingly; a place for artists to try things they otherwise wouldn’t; and allow the art itself and the practice to scale with its audience. What’s really important for us is to find a way to model that infrastructure and model that piece of the ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve never turned a bar into a concert hall before, but it felt like a way to tell a story of place, and be part of space together in a way that a performance here will be very different from a performance anywhere else in the world. And that’s kind of exciting and special!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-music-for-hard-times-tickets-995596986387?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Music for Hard Times\u003c/a> on Sept. 20, The Living Earth Show performs with Zachary James Watkins for Roar Shack Live!: Double Wall on Oct. 20. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-double-wall-tickets-1014313548127?aff=erelexpmlt\">Tickets and details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When I arrive at the Odd Fellows Building at 7th and Market Street in San Francisco, the ground floor space — formerly known as cocktail bar Mr. Smith’s — is getting ready for its next act as a nascent creative hub. Ladders, buckets, toolboxes, extension cords, cleaning supplies and half-drunk bottles of water are strewn about the room. A small collection of instruments in their cases are clustered in a corner near the front entrance, waiting to christen the space on opening night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the heart of the chaos, Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews — the experimental chamber music duo known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelivingearthshow.com/\">The Living Earth Show\u003c/a> (TLES) — greet me affably, as if they weren’t in the middle of building what may prove to be one of their biggest experiments to date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graduates of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, TLES has been creating and touring large-scale, interdisciplinary experimental works with a roster of boundary-pushing collaborators such as singer-technologist Pamela Z, Pulitzer-winning Diné composer Raven Chacon and poetry organization Youth Speaks. They’re so busy and artistically free-ranging that even in the middle of their remodel of 34 7th Street, they performed at Great American Music Hall as members of the raucous queer music collective \u003ca href=\"https://commandothebando.com/\">COMMANDO\u003c/a>, followed by a brief trip to Norway to present \u003ca href=\"https://www.ultima.no/en/tremble-staves\">\u003cem>Tremble Staves\u003c/em> \u003c/a>with Chacon at the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of its goal to revitalize the struggling downtown area, the city-funded \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketstreetarts.org/\">Market Street Arts\u003c/a> program tapped TLES to inhabit the space and curate a season of shows they’re calling \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelivingearthshow.com/roarshacklive\">Roar Shack Live!\u003c/a> The musicians are preparing to bring some of their touring works home to San Francisco, and perform them, salon-style, in an intimate venue reconfigured according to their imaginations. They will roughly present one show per month with a different collaborator and use a sliding scale, pay-what-you-can model for tickets. (Exact dates are under construction, but trans rights advocate and musician Honey Mahogany, experimental music luminary Terry Riley and rising composer Zachary James Watkins are among the seven featured artists.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TLES’ debut concert on Sept. 20, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-music-for-hard-times-tickets-995596986387\">Music for Hard Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, will bring what originally started as an early pandemic project, composed and created via virtual modalities, to a physical space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What follows are excerpts of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1845px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1845\" height=\"1230\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2.jpg 1845w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/tles-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1845px) 100vw, 1845px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews (left to right) of The Living Earth Show.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicole Gluckstern:\u003c/strong> So in regards to the series, you’re going to start off using \u003cem>Music for Hard Times\u003c/em>, which is a really interesting piece to kick off with because a lot of it is very contemplative, right? Dreamy and soothing, which I think was part of the mandate [when creating it]. So I’m curious to know how it’s going to be presented in this space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> So the music was created by Danny Clay. And the other wonderful San Francisco-based artist on it is Jon Fischer, who created an ambient film, and is working on creating projections [for the live show] that’ll go a variety of places to have ambiance and coziness be at the fore of the experience, as much as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By designing the projections, do you mean he’s going to create a new visual, or use the existing film?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> Kind of both. It’ll be certainly rooted in the film. Because that’s the piece, right? It’s not an accompaniment to the piece. It is the piece. So it’s elaborating on and expanding on that work. That is as integral to what the piece is as the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Travis Andrews:\u003c/strong> We started envisioning, what if there wasn’t a bad seat in the house? What if we had a main channel of video and images and geometries, and had two supplementary feeds? So if you’re one of the 53 people that come to these shows, you can always see like two of those channels. So [gestures to bar] putting scrim over this beautifully gilded mirror, have a channel there. [Gestures to makeshift stage near the front door.] One behind the performance space, which will be much more visible when the door is shut, and then having a third channel for the people that are behind the bar and at the bar on that wall [gestures to wall opposite bar].\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2375px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2375\" height=\"1755\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score.jpg 2375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-800x591.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1020x754.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-768x568.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1536x1135.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-2048x1513.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/music-for-hard-times-score-1920x1419.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2375px) 100vw, 2375px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The visual score for The Living Earth Show and Danny Clay’s ‘Music for Hard Times.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of The Living Earth Show)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> It was a piece that was made visually. So what’s subversive about Danny’s work is [it’s] designed to be as beautiful when played by virtuoso trained musicians as by his elementary school students. Which is an extremely subversive act in our traditional classical music that cherishes virtuosity über alles. There’s a very specific definition of what that means, and why, and what a score is. And Danny really does kind of flip that on his head, in the most beautiful and moral and humanistic way possible, and that has a very different context for a classically trained musician and a seven year old. But both are equally valid and lead to amazing places. So he made the entire piece that way, and we made hundreds and hundreds of samples. Me, Travis and Danny, and Danny compiled them into the album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1564682992/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I’d like to hear a little bit more about the Roar Shack Live! season. Maybe you can’t talk about specific performers. But I’m secretly hoping M. Lamar is on the list.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> He’s coming in February! He’s [possibly] the least “San Francisco-y” of our collaborators, but he has such a deep connection to the city. Right? SFAI alum, lived here, it’s in his work. And he’s a great example of someone we’ve worked with for years and years. We’re making our next piece, \u003cem>Machines and Other Intergalactic Technologies of the Spirit\u003c/em>. And in February we’re going to play that show at the Met Museum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s kind of crazy that the infrastructure to do work like that in San Francisco doesn’t really exist. Like interdisciplinary work, at that scale, in that manner. So we’re gonna do it the week before, here. It felt really, really important to us that we could build it and present it here in a way that cost is not a barrier to entry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13964453\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13964453\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/TLES_7thStreet_UnderConstruction_photocredit_NicoleGluckstern-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former cocktail bar Mr. Smith’s has been under construction as it prepares for its next incarnation as a music venue. \u003ccite>(Nicole Gluckstern)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’re helping to build out this space, so it supports your performance series. And then at the end of ten shows, are you no longer part of this space?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> We’d love to be, but you know, one season at a time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Travis Andrews:\u003c/strong> We can say that there’s nothing but desire to continue to do that. This is the first time we’ll have an entire hometown season in one venue, ever. And I think what I mean by I’d love to keep this place is to just have something like this [gestures] — which felt so out of reach until a couple of months ago — but it’s such like a grounding, lovely feeling. We’ve never had an opportunity like this before to invite people to just a stable, curated environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Meyerson:\u003c/strong> Our overall mission, really, is to show what it means to make San Francisco a place where culture is created and not just consumed. In order for San Francisco to live the values that it says it wants, about using the arts to revitalize downtown, it needs to invest in infrastructure and ecosystem at every scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, work that exists in a development stage; work that exists uncompromisingly; a place for artists to try things they otherwise wouldn’t; and allow the art itself and the practice to scale with its audience. What’s really important for us is to find a way to model that infrastructure and model that piece of the ecosystem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve never turned a bar into a concert hall before, but it felt like a way to tell a story of place, and be part of space together in a way that a performance here will be very different from a performance anywhere else in the world. And that’s kind of exciting and special!\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-music-for-hard-times-tickets-995596986387?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Music for Hard Times\u003c/a> on Sept. 20, The Living Earth Show performs with Zachary James Watkins for Roar Shack Live!: Double Wall on Oct. 20. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roar-shack-live-double-wall-tickets-1014313548127?aff=erelexpmlt\">Tickets and details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "farewell-to-cutting-ball-theater-a-bastion-of-fearless-experimentation",
"title": "Farewell to Cutting Ball Theater, a Bastion of Fearless Experimentation",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Bay Area theatre world was dealt a major blow this week when San Francisco’s Cutting Ball Theater — a bastion of experimental work for the last 25 years — \u003ca href=\"https://cuttingball.com/\">announced that it would be closing its doors for good\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Cutting Ball ceases operations at the end of 2024, it will hardly be alone; several of its fellow Tenderloin-based theatres have closed in the last two years. But with Cutting Ball, the Bay Area loses something special: a deep commitment to experimentation, both in material presented and, in later years, in business structure, as the company shifted to a collectively run, non-hierarchical model.[aside postid='arts_13919459']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founded in 1999 by Princeton graduates and married couple Rob Melrose and Paige Rogers, Cutting Ball quickly established itself as a company that challenged the parameters of what small theatres could produce. Cutting Ball’s productions were thoughtfully designed, rigorously rehearsed, and frequently challenging in terms of subject matter and in style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A staple of Cutting Ball’s earlier seasons was the “Risk Is This… The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival,” a series of staged readings of cutting-edge works by mostly local playwrights. (Some of these became mainstage productions in later seasons, such as \u003cem>…and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi\u003c/em> by Marcus Gardley, and \u003cem>Tontlawald\u003c/em> by Eugenie Chan.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13853373\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeune%CC%81e-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13853373\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeune%CC%81e-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeunée Simon and chair in Cutting Ball Theater’s 2019 production of ‘La Ronde.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Issacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>New translations of classic works — frequently translated by Melrose himself — were also a mainstay. Audiences were treated to wild reimaginings of plays such as \u003cem>Pelléas and Mélisande\u003c/em> by Maurice Maeterlinck and \u003cem>Woyzeck\u003c/em> by Georg Büchner. The excitement of experimentation was only heightened by the space’s intimacy: At its maximum capacity, the room seated between 70 and 80 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January 2023, the company transitioned to a collective model in which everyone in the organization had an equal vote and equal say in how the company was run. While the shift was initially suggested by then-Artistic Director Ariel Craft (who stepped away from the company in 2022), it immediately made sense to company members: Education Director Cathryn Cooper says prior to the change, the core members were essentially already operating as heads of their own “piece of the pie,” and working in a self-directed manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, the company spent months on the transition, even engaging the services of a consultant in order to develop their operational approach. “It wasn’t just a whim,” says Cooper, adding, “It is disheartening to hear that people believe we’re in a financial struggle because of our collective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Steele, Cutting Ball’s curation director, agrees. “Institutionally, we’ve acknowledged the [traditional] model doesn’t work … if you ask any artistic director or executive director how many hours they work outside of their expected work hours, it’s a lot. That’s why we have so much burnout in this field. So it only makes sense to take that workload and spread it amongst the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steele and Cooper both say that, since the company split two board-allotted full-time executive salaries between seven collective members, the collective model of part-time workers didn’t increase overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888112\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888112\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg\" alt=\"a zoom screen showing nine people acting out a play\" width=\"1000\" height=\"552\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-800x442.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-768x424.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-672x372.jpg 672w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ensemble cast of Cutting Ball Theater’s ‘Utopia,’ by Charles Mee, in a virtual performance in 2020. Pandemic-related delays and postponements contributed to the company’s financial woes in recent years. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cutting Ball Theater)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other factors led to increased expenses, including persistent pandemic-related delays and postponements of shows. Cutting Ball also went to great lengths to pay guest artists more equitably, such as compensating actors for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sf-cutting-ball-theater-closure-18663641.php\">time spent running lines outside rehearsal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, insiders say \u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205270275\">the loss of grant money over the past few years\u003c/a> was the biggest contributor to Cutting Ball’s woes, as funding the company relied on for operational costs was greatly diminished. Specifically, major funders such as Grants for the Arts have moved away from providing “unrestricted” grant funding, which companies can use on quotidian expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is really funding the basic day-to-day work of making theater happen,” Steele says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coma Te, director of communications for the San Francisco Arts Commission, said the Cutting Ball Theater has received about $400,000 in grants from the City, including over $312,000 from the Grants for the Arts and $90,000 from the Arts Commission, over the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking on behalf of the mayor’s office, Te added that “transforming Downtown into a leading arts, culture, and nightlife destination is one of the key revitalization strategies laid out in Mayor Breed’s Roadmap to San Francisco’s future.” But the link included in Te’s email — Mayor Breed’s proposal for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news/mayor-breed-proposes-creation-first-downtown-entertainment-zone-and-announces-grants-support\">a downtown “entertainment zone”\u003c/a> — makes no mention of either the existing or the recently shuttered small theatre venues in the area. In December 2024, when Cutting Ball’s lease on their venue space, EXIT on Taylor, is up, the company will become the ninth theatre closure in the area since 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929122\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1503px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929122\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg\" alt=\"two people in brightly dressed clothing on stage\" width=\"1503\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg 1503w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1503px) 100vw, 1503px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) The burglar (Patricio Becerril) and Taki (Edna Raia) team up in fear of an even bigger threat — La Karen — in Cutting Ball Theater and IN THE MARGIN’s ‘Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine’ by W. Fran Astorga. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To many in the theatre community, leaving theatre out of the conversation about revitalization is a grave missetep. “Theatres are … economic cornerstones to the communities beyond their walls, bringing in investment through tourism, increased foot traffic, and community engagement,” said Art Quiñones, a spokesperson from the 50-year-old nonprofit Theatre Bay Area, in a statement, noting that each job in California’s performing arts scene \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.actorsequity.org/docs/Report%20on%20California%20Performing%20Arts.pdf\">brings in $13,287 in state and local tax revenue\u003c/a>. But “in San Francisco, skyrocketing costs and diminishing funding have kept small theatres in precarity. We need to ensure the theatres that are here can afford to stay.”[aside postid='arts_13928279']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Cooper and Steele say there is much to celebrate as they wrap up their tenures with the company. For Cooper, her work building the community and education arm of the company from scratch — serving Tenderloin youth via workshops and theatre enrichment cohorts — has been personally and professionally rewarding. In a larger or more traditionally-structured organization, she says, she’d never have had the freedom she had in developing these programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Steele, adapting and directing Karel Capek’s Rossum’s \u003cem>Universal Robots\u003c/em> on the mainstage to open this now-final season was an especially proud moment. “We had a really strong mix of established (theatre) veterans and people that were almost, if not truly, brand new to the stage,” recalls Steele. “And that dynamic was just so exciting and cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just having been a part of Cutting Ball’s story is an experience that both will treasure: a legacy of fearlessness over the course of a quarter-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t experiment, and we don’t take risks, we’ll never have anything worth it,” Steele says. “You have to risk in order to achieve.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Farewell to Cutting Ball Theater, a Bastion of Fearless Experimentation | KQED",
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"headline": "Farewell to Cutting Ball Theater, a Bastion of Fearless Experimentation",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Bay Area theatre world was dealt a major blow this week when San Francisco’s Cutting Ball Theater — a bastion of experimental work for the last 25 years — \u003ca href=\"https://cuttingball.com/\">announced that it would be closing its doors for good\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Cutting Ball ceases operations at the end of 2024, it will hardly be alone; several of its fellow Tenderloin-based theatres have closed in the last two years. But with Cutting Ball, the Bay Area loses something special: a deep commitment to experimentation, both in material presented and, in later years, in business structure, as the company shifted to a collectively run, non-hierarchical model.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founded in 1999 by Princeton graduates and married couple Rob Melrose and Paige Rogers, Cutting Ball quickly established itself as a company that challenged the parameters of what small theatres could produce. Cutting Ball’s productions were thoughtfully designed, rigorously rehearsed, and frequently challenging in terms of subject matter and in style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A staple of Cutting Ball’s earlier seasons was the “Risk Is This… The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival,” a series of staged readings of cutting-edge works by mostly local playwrights. (Some of these became mainstage productions in later seasons, such as \u003cem>…and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi\u003c/em> by Marcus Gardley, and \u003cem>Tontlawald\u003c/em> by Eugenie Chan.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13853373\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeune%CC%81e-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13853373\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeune%CC%81e-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Jeunée-Simon_credit_Cheshire-Issacs-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeunée Simon and chair in Cutting Ball Theater’s 2019 production of ‘La Ronde.’ \u003ccite>(Cheshire Issacs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>New translations of classic works — frequently translated by Melrose himself — were also a mainstay. Audiences were treated to wild reimaginings of plays such as \u003cem>Pelléas and Mélisande\u003c/em> by Maurice Maeterlinck and \u003cem>Woyzeck\u003c/em> by Georg Büchner. The excitement of experimentation was only heightened by the space’s intimacy: At its maximum capacity, the room seated between 70 and 80 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January 2023, the company transitioned to a collective model in which everyone in the organization had an equal vote and equal say in how the company was run. While the shift was initially suggested by then-Artistic Director Ariel Craft (who stepped away from the company in 2022), it immediately made sense to company members: Education Director Cathryn Cooper says prior to the change, the core members were essentially already operating as heads of their own “piece of the pie,” and working in a self-directed manner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, the company spent months on the transition, even engaging the services of a consultant in order to develop their operational approach. “It wasn’t just a whim,” says Cooper, adding, “It is disheartening to hear that people believe we’re in a financial struggle because of our collective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Steele, Cutting Ball’s curation director, agrees. “Institutionally, we’ve acknowledged the [traditional] model doesn’t work … if you ask any artistic director or executive director how many hours they work outside of their expected work hours, it’s a lot. That’s why we have so much burnout in this field. So it only makes sense to take that workload and spread it amongst the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steele and Cooper both say that, since the company split two board-allotted full-time executive salaries between seven collective members, the collective model of part-time workers didn’t increase overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13888112\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13888112\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg\" alt=\"a zoom screen showing nine people acting out a play\" width=\"1000\" height=\"552\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-800x442.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-768x424.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/utopia_ensemble_screenshot_credit_CuttingBallTheater-672x372.jpg 672w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ensemble cast of Cutting Ball Theater’s ‘Utopia,’ by Charles Mee, in a virtual performance in 2020. Pandemic-related delays and postponements contributed to the company’s financial woes in recent years. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cutting Ball Theater)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other factors led to increased expenses, including persistent pandemic-related delays and postponements of shows. Cutting Ball also went to great lengths to pay guest artists more equitably, such as compensating actors for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sf-cutting-ball-theater-closure-18663641.php\">time spent running lines outside rehearsal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, insiders say \u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205270275\">the loss of grant money over the past few years\u003c/a> was the biggest contributor to Cutting Ball’s woes, as funding the company relied on for operational costs was greatly diminished. Specifically, major funders such as Grants for the Arts have moved away from providing “unrestricted” grant funding, which companies can use on quotidian expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is really funding the basic day-to-day work of making theater happen,” Steele says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coma Te, director of communications for the San Francisco Arts Commission, said the Cutting Ball Theater has received about $400,000 in grants from the City, including over $312,000 from the Grants for the Arts and $90,000 from the Arts Commission, over the last five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking on behalf of the mayor’s office, Te added that “transforming Downtown into a leading arts, culture, and nightlife destination is one of the key revitalization strategies laid out in Mayor Breed’s Roadmap to San Francisco’s future.” But the link included in Te’s email — Mayor Breed’s proposal for \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news/mayor-breed-proposes-creation-first-downtown-entertainment-zone-and-announces-grants-support\">a downtown “entertainment zone”\u003c/a> — makes no mention of either the existing or the recently shuttered small theatre venues in the area. In December 2024, when Cutting Ball’s lease on their venue space, EXIT on Taylor, is up, the company will become the ninth theatre closure in the area since 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929122\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1503px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929122\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg\" alt=\"two people in brightly dressed clothing on stage\" width=\"1503\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_.jpg 1503w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Exhaustion.Arroyo.Press6_-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1503px) 100vw, 1503px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) The burglar (Patricio Becerril) and Taki (Edna Raia) team up in fear of an even bigger threat — La Karen — in Cutting Ball Theater and IN THE MARGIN’s ‘Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine’ by W. Fran Astorga. \u003ccite>(Ben Krantz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To many in the theatre community, leaving theatre out of the conversation about revitalization is a grave missetep. “Theatres are … economic cornerstones to the communities beyond their walls, bringing in investment through tourism, increased foot traffic, and community engagement,” said Art Quiñones, a spokesperson from the 50-year-old nonprofit Theatre Bay Area, in a statement, noting that each job in California’s performing arts scene \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.actorsequity.org/docs/Report%20on%20California%20Performing%20Arts.pdf\">brings in $13,287 in state and local tax revenue\u003c/a>. But “in San Francisco, skyrocketing costs and diminishing funding have kept small theatres in precarity. We need to ensure the theatres that are here can afford to stay.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Cooper and Steele say there is much to celebrate as they wrap up their tenures with the company. For Cooper, her work building the community and education arm of the company from scratch — serving Tenderloin youth via workshops and theatre enrichment cohorts — has been personally and professionally rewarding. In a larger or more traditionally-structured organization, she says, she’d never have had the freedom she had in developing these programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Steele, adapting and directing Karel Capek’s Rossum’s \u003cem>Universal Robots\u003c/em> on the mainstage to open this now-final season was an especially proud moment. “We had a really strong mix of established (theatre) veterans and people that were almost, if not truly, brand new to the stage,” recalls Steele. “And that dynamic was just so exciting and cool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just having been a part of Cutting Ball’s story is an experience that both will treasure: a legacy of fearlessness over the course of a quarter-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t experiment, and we don’t take risks, we’ll never have anything worth it,” Steele says. “You have to risk in order to achieve.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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},
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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},
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
},
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},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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}
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"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
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"source": "NPR"
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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