Dumb old joke, I know.* But I wanted to do a little bit of catching up in the midst of all the Publications Managin' I've been doing**, what with the Gala web page and the Gala program and the summer camps brochure all gestating away...
And speaking of gestating, our old friend Joe Stillwater came by yesterday with his lovely new daughter, Mena, and beautiful baby mama, Laura. Joe used to work at the Cal Shakes box office here in Berkeley, up at the theater in Orinda and, eventually, doing audio-visual stuff for 2006's production of Merchant of Venice. I also happen to know Joe from outside of Cal Shakes--via friends in common, I've known him ever since I moved to Oakland in 2001. Nice guy. Good photographer. Excellent dancer.
Anyway, yesterday Joe dropped by a new, high-quality cut of our video tour of the Bruns. If you haven't watched it, you definitely should--our Artistic Director's disembodied head is a real treat. Joe also brought by his new baby, as mentioned above, and that brought work to a standstill in the Bullpen for a good ten minutes or so... I'd have taken pictures to put up here, but I was too busy going "coo-coo...coo-coo!" I'm not sure why Marilyn didn't take video--maybe she, too, was caught up in the whirlwind of cute? I'm sure she'd never admit it, though.
And in other gestatory news, our favorite sweet young thangs, the Cal Shakes Intern corps., have their own blog now! Please take a moment to check out what they're doing with all that pesky youthful exuberance.
* The punchline is "Ketchup!" Totally sucks, I know. Sorry.
**Oh, yeah--I got a promotion at the end of lat year... I'm now Publications Manager. But I still coordinate, too. How can one not?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Series of Encouraging Events
Yesterday some of the Cal Shakes staff had the pleasure of enjoying a "brown-bag lunch" with Joel Sass, the director of Pericles, to be the first production of our 08 season. Although it was BYOBBL*, there were other rewards.
When the 2008 season was announced last September, the selection of opener Pericles caused quite a bit of confusion. I, for one, thought it was by Ovid or Aeschylus. (Heaven forgive me--I went to public schools.) Platoon Captain Susie assured me it was one of Shakespeare's lesser-known comedies. Having recently acquired the charming Tales from Shakespeare at a yard sale, I plowed through Pericles, Prince of Tyre, hoping to start brainstorming themes for the next season.
Well, Charles and Mary Lamb's take on the tale (a narrative retelling for early 20th-century schoolchildren) is no comedy--if anything, it's a relentless tragedy with an inappropriately joyful denoument. Even less comedic is the grown-up version, bookended as it is with incest and prostitution. That's why they call it one of the "problems plays," I thought--not a romance, not a history, not a comedy. When I described the plot to the Bullpen, Paul remarked that it sounded like a Lemony Snicket book** with a happy ending; in fact, when we were about to start putting together the season brochure a few months later, and still didn't have a theme for the season as a whole, I actually spent some time looking for synonyms for A Series of Unfortunate Events.
But finally, at lunch this week, the issue was clarified significantly by Joel Sass. Comparing Pericles to the fairy tales he took refuge in as a child, the director--who first rose to prominence in his home city of Minneapolis with a live take on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls--originally mounted the show at the Guthrie Theater, eagerly accepting the challenge of using only eight actors to portray the story's many characters. Not only was he used to that with his own small company, Mary Worth, but Sass found the play uniquely suited to a small cast, as there are just three main characters whose lives we follow, often without one another, and surrounded by a shifting sea of new personalities.
And as for Susie's assertion that Pericles is a comedy? There is great humor in this tale--humor that's necessary to its charm. "In the most preposterous stories," Sass insists, "there is truth." But this truth can be hard to see, which is why these kinds of Shakespeare stories are not often performed. "The problem plays," explained Sass, "lend themselves to imaginative treatment because there's less baggage and expectation." It's true--everyone knows what happens in Romeo and Juliet and in Macbeth. But who knows what happens to Pericles when he flees Tyre? And who knows what, exactly, the happy ending will be?
"This was written at a time when people were hungry for miracles," says Sass. "And when does that go out of style?"
Also stylish is adventuresome, comic-book-style storytelling, which Pericles can certainly profit from--the director insists this tale must be told with "velocity." My affection for comics has already been documented in this blog, and I've pitched the idea of having Pericles plot synopsis be done in illustrated strip form, running along the bottom of the program's dramaturgy pages. (Wish me luck with that one.) But, according to Sass, the play is literary, too, and seriously meta, with many characters reading letters and telling stories aloud to one another and to the audience--"It's a nakedly self-acknowledging piece."
And lest you think that you'll see the same show that audiences saw in Minneapolis some years back, fear not. As always, our unique outdoor venue will present both inspiration and challenge; Sass plans on taking the pieces that comprised the original score composed for the Guthrie production, and reshaping it to best reflect our rolling land and open sky. And the director's mighty impressed by our local talent, telling the folks assembled at lunch that he plans to use very few, if any, visiting actors: "I believe in sustainable agriculture."
And so, as today's auditions wind down for the day (I just saw some of our Associate Artists leaving the building) I can feel the excitement build... never mind Lemony Snicket. Bring on the Sass.
*Lunch was not provided.
**For comparison, I present the opening to the fifth book in the "Unfortunate Events" series, The Austere Academy:
"Dear Reader,
If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire arc intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don't. For the Baudelaires, school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives.
Truth be told, within the chapters that make up this dreadful story, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E., and the metric system."
When the 2008 season was announced last September, the selection of opener Pericles caused quite a bit of confusion. I, for one, thought it was by Ovid or Aeschylus. (Heaven forgive me--I went to public schools.) Platoon Captain Susie assured me it was one of Shakespeare's lesser-known comedies. Having recently acquired the charming Tales from Shakespeare at a yard sale, I plowed through Pericles, Prince of Tyre, hoping to start brainstorming themes for the next season.
Well, Charles and Mary Lamb's take on the tale (a narrative retelling for early 20th-century schoolchildren) is no comedy--if anything, it's a relentless tragedy with an inappropriately joyful denoument. Even less comedic is the grown-up version, bookended as it is with incest and prostitution. That's why they call it one of the "problems plays," I thought--not a romance, not a history, not a comedy. When I described the plot to the Bullpen, Paul remarked that it sounded like a Lemony Snicket book** with a happy ending; in fact, when we were about to start putting together the season brochure a few months later, and still didn't have a theme for the season as a whole, I actually spent some time looking for synonyms for A Series of Unfortunate Events.
But finally, at lunch this week, the issue was clarified significantly by Joel Sass. Comparing Pericles to the fairy tales he took refuge in as a child, the director--who first rose to prominence in his home city of Minneapolis with a live take on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls--originally mounted the show at the Guthrie Theater, eagerly accepting the challenge of using only eight actors to portray the story's many characters. Not only was he used to that with his own small company, Mary Worth, but Sass found the play uniquely suited to a small cast, as there are just three main characters whose lives we follow, often without one another, and surrounded by a shifting sea of new personalities.
And as for Susie's assertion that Pericles is a comedy? There is great humor in this tale--humor that's necessary to its charm. "In the most preposterous stories," Sass insists, "there is truth." But this truth can be hard to see, which is why these kinds of Shakespeare stories are not often performed. "The problem plays," explained Sass, "lend themselves to imaginative treatment because there's less baggage and expectation." It's true--everyone knows what happens in Romeo and Juliet and in Macbeth. But who knows what happens to Pericles when he flees Tyre? And who knows what, exactly, the happy ending will be?
"This was written at a time when people were hungry for miracles," says Sass. "And when does that go out of style?"
Also stylish is adventuresome, comic-book-style storytelling, which Pericles can certainly profit from--the director insists this tale must be told with "velocity." My affection for comics has already been documented in this blog, and I've pitched the idea of having Pericles plot synopsis be done in illustrated strip form, running along the bottom of the program's dramaturgy pages. (Wish me luck with that one.) But, according to Sass, the play is literary, too, and seriously meta, with many characters reading letters and telling stories aloud to one another and to the audience--"It's a nakedly self-acknowledging piece."
And lest you think that you'll see the same show that audiences saw in Minneapolis some years back, fear not. As always, our unique outdoor venue will present both inspiration and challenge; Sass plans on taking the pieces that comprised the original score composed for the Guthrie production, and reshaping it to best reflect our rolling land and open sky. And the director's mighty impressed by our local talent, telling the folks assembled at lunch that he plans to use very few, if any, visiting actors: "I believe in sustainable agriculture."
And so, as today's auditions wind down for the day (I just saw some of our Associate Artists leaving the building) I can feel the excitement build... never mind Lemony Snicket. Bring on the Sass.
*Lunch was not provided.
**For comparison, I present the opening to the fifth book in the "Unfortunate Events" series, The Austere Academy:
"Dear Reader,
If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire arc intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don't. For the Baudelaires, school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives.
Truth be told, within the chapters that make up this dreadful story, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E., and the metric system."
Friday, January 4, 2008
Rained on but not reined in.
Happy new year! Yes, it's 2008, and with the first workweek (well, three workdays, anyway) of the year has come the first donderstorm of '08, as well. Our building's a bit vulnerable to the elements, so we all came in today prepared to pack up our desks and electronics in preparation for this weekend's Operation Moldy Carpet Replacement. (Or, as Jean-Paul, who is coordinating much of this effort, is calling it, "OPERATION ENDURING-CONCRETE.") But since the rain started in earnest last night, this morning we walked into a bit of a ... situation.
This alien environment is the Green Room--at least for this photo, aptly named. I have no idea how it was made to look like an aquarium. Oh, yeah...FLOODWATERS.
This is the view of the front hall from the Green Room door.
This is Emily mopping up the water left over from the first round of mopping.
And this is Paul looking like Paddington Bear, taking direction from our fearless leader Debbie.
I'm gonna go now, before I get electrocuted. But see what I risk for you, breaders?
This alien environment is the Green Room--at least for this photo, aptly named. I have no idea how it was made to look like an aquarium. Oh, yeah...FLOODWATERS.
This is the view of the front hall from the Green Room door.
This is Emily mopping up the water left over from the first round of mopping.
And this is Paul looking like Paddington Bear, taking direction from our fearless leader Debbie.
I'm gonna go now, before I get electrocuted. But see what I risk for you, breaders?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Rocket Fuel for the Office Set
Today is the last full day of business here at Cal Shakes. And in case you fear we may be getting detrimentally holidazed too early, rest easy--there's enough sugar in the Bullpen to propel my 1983 Volvo sedan straight to the moons of Jupiter.
There is:
Homemade guava and blackberry fruit jellies
A tray containing peppermint bark, nut and raisin bark, and truffles
Homemade burfis
Russel Stover marshmallow and caramel Santas
Brownies
Elizabeth had to take our everyday basket of drugstore candy (currently containing Hersheys miniatures, Rolos, and mini Reese's cups) and stash it somewhere to make room for this dulcet bounty.
It's 12:08 now. By 3pm we should be doing jumping jacks in the parking lot, en masse.
There is:
Homemade guava and blackberry fruit jellies
A tray containing peppermint bark, nut and raisin bark, and truffles
Homemade burfis
Russel Stover marshmallow and caramel Santas
Brownies
Elizabeth had to take our everyday basket of drugstore candy (currently containing Hersheys miniatures, Rolos, and mini Reese's cups) and stash it somewhere to make room for this dulcet bounty.
It's 12:08 now. By 3pm we should be doing jumping jacks in the parking lot, en masse.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Q: Do you know what the worst thing about going on vacation is?
A: The two weeks leading up to the vacation.
Carmalita Shreve is an Equity actor who travelled here today from Vallejo; she auditioned with the Duchess of York's cursing monlogue from Richard III.
This is Mary Mims, another Equity member who performed a cursing monologue from RIII—this time Queen Margaret's. Mary came all the way from Portland to audition and to visit friends, but she didn't drive, as she's never learned. In fact, Mary thinks that "the automobile is the second-worst invention of our time." The first? "Gunpowder."
Jackson Davis has two last names. His name(s) is/are also an intersection in San Francisco, but sadly, not where he lives. This Equity actor's from the South Bay, and he performed two monlogues today: one form Richard II and one as Tregorin from The Seagull. He recently did a show at Marin Theatre Company.
And finally, the only truly local actor I spoke to today, and also the only non-AEA: Natanya Silverman, who performed one of Viola's monologues from Twelfth Night.
SIGH.
We have been busier than a one-armed paperhanger with a case of the hives around here ... we sent the winter/spring classes brochure off to the printer, changed the name of the gala (it's now Gateway to India—lovely, no?) and secured wine of many colors for it (thank you, Wente Vineyards!), almost finished the season brochure, put up next season's production calendar online ... all while participating in the festive espionage that is the Secret Santa. Oh! And attending two (count'em, 2!) holiday parties, one with the board and one without*, and even starting auditions for next season.
It's awesome--every time you go into the kitchenette to rinse out your coffee mug, there's a man or woman pacing the Plank Stage and making strange noises, performing some strange hybrid of acting warm-up exercise and actual physical exercise (have I mentioned that the green room is as cold as a tomb this time of year?).
Here's a few of today's auditoners, accompanied by pictures of them making faces appropriate to their monologues:
Carmalita Shreve is an Equity actor who travelled here today from Vallejo; she auditioned with the Duchess of York's cursing monlogue from Richard III.
This is Mary Mims, another Equity member who performed a cursing monologue from RIII—this time Queen Margaret's. Mary came all the way from Portland to audition and to visit friends, but she didn't drive, as she's never learned. In fact, Mary thinks that "the automobile is the second-worst invention of our time." The first? "Gunpowder."
Jackson Davis has two last names. His name(s) is/are also an intersection in San Francisco, but sadly, not where he lives. This Equity actor's from the South Bay, and he performed two monlogues today: one form Richard II and one as Tregorin from The Seagull. He recently did a show at Marin Theatre Company.
And finally, the only truly local actor I spoke to today, and also the only non-AEA: Natanya Silverman, who performed one of Viola's monologues from Twelfth Night.Friday, December 7, 2007
Cal Shakes' Favorite Sweet Young Things
Oh, how we love our interns around here. They dress up like zombies and space cowboys for our silly Shindigs, answer the audition hotline, teach us old folks about the Awkward Turtle and T.M.I. Turkey, and generally are the Scotch™ tape that that binds this nonprofit arts organization together.
I even heard a rumor that at least one of them actually reads this blog.
So of COURSE it's my great pleasure to point out that, this coming Monday, the Cal Shakes Intern Company will be reimagining a classic of their own:
Come see the interns of Cal Shakes as
Rough 'n Ready Players
performing
SAVAGE/LOVE written by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin
performing
SAVAGE/LOVE written by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin
FREE ADMISSION
Three shows only.
Date: 12/10/2007
Times: 5:30, 7, and 8:30 PM
Date: 12/10/2007
Times: 5:30, 7, and 8:30 PM
Location: Oakopolis Creativity Center
447 25th St. Oakland, CA94612 in between Broadway and Telegraph
447 25th St. Oakland, CA94612 in between Broadway and Telegraph
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Classes and Cuddly Things
So, the winter/spring classes page is live--we've got new pictures and new classes for grown-ups and kiddies alike. There's a teen class wherein they do selected scenes from Romeo and Juliet, but with some serious fight choreography. There's the adult improv class that I'm going to be taking. There's a comedy workshop for middle schoolers. There's a Literary Society wherein students sift through the texts of each of 2008 season's productions, spending two weeks on the dramaturgy of each.
I'm happy the page is live, and that the brochures for both those classes and the 2008 season will soon skip off to the printer, and not just because we've been working on them so hard for so long. (Seriously, you try finding photos that represent plays whose staging and costuming direction is barely a glimmer in their respective directors' eyes--this morning I spend an hour looking for medium shots of the Kennedys giving speeches.) It's because we're hurrying them off to the printer so we all can toddle home for the holiday break. And then when we come back, it's not long till classes start, the gala happens, and winter slides into spring. And the the spring classes happen, and then ... it's Cal Shakes season time again.
And in the meantime, today we've got the winter's first rainstorm. But I'm wearing a cuddly turtleneck, and I can easily imagine the sun of the Bruns on my face.
I'm happy the page is live, and that the brochures for both those classes and the 2008 season will soon skip off to the printer, and not just because we've been working on them so hard for so long. (Seriously, you try finding photos that represent plays whose staging and costuming direction is barely a glimmer in their respective directors' eyes--this morning I spend an hour looking for medium shots of the Kennedys giving speeches.) It's because we're hurrying them off to the printer so we all can toddle home for the holiday break. And then when we come back, it's not long till classes start, the gala happens, and winter slides into spring. And the the spring classes happen, and then ... it's Cal Shakes season time again.
And in the meantime, today we've got the winter's first rainstorm. But I'm wearing a cuddly turtleneck, and I can easily imagine the sun of the Bruns on my face.
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