Berkeley Rep: Bulrusher by Berkeley Repertory Theatre

OCTOBER 2023

THE

BERKELEY REP MAGAZINE 2023/24 | ISSUE 2

BULRUSHER

BY EISA DAVIS | DIRECTED BY NICOLE A. WATSON A CO-PRODUCTION WITH McCARTER THEATRE CENTER

BY CHARLES DICKENS ADAPTED BY CAREY PERLOFF AND PAUL WALSH MUSIC BY KARL LUNDEBERG CHOREOGRAPHY BY VAL CANIPAROLI DIRECTED BY PETER J. KUO BASED ON THE ORIGINAL DIRECTION BY CAREY PERLOFF

“A HOLIDAY TREAT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!” —KGO RADIO

Jomar Tagatac (right) and the cast of A Christmas Carol 2022. Photo by Kevin Berne.

DECEMBER 6–24 | TONI REMBE THEATER TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT ACT-SF.ORG OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER

WELCOME TO BERKELEY REP! To ensure the best experience for everyone: While always encouraged, masks are required for audiences in our theatres on all Sundays (matinees and eve nings) and Tuesdays throughout our 2023/24 season. Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the theatre for Wednesday t h r o ug h S atu r d a y p e r f o r m an c e s only. Food is prohibited in the theatre during all performances. Courtesy reminder: To avoid disruption to everyone, please turn off your cell phones, beeping watches, and electronic devices, and refrain from unwrapping cellophane wrappers during the performance. For the comfort of all patrons, please avoid wearing strongly scented personal products. Photos: Photos may be taken in the theatre before and after the performance and during intermission. Photos and videos during the performance are strictly prohibited. Photos posted on social media must credit Berkeley Rep

BERKELEY REP MAGAZINE IN THIS ISSUE

10 6

Contents 5 A welcome from the Artistic and Managing Directors 6 Honoring Native American Heritage Month

and the show’s designers.

7 Supporting Theatregoers and Theatre-Makers of Tomorrow

Smoking and vaping: Berkeley Rep’s

8 Small Town, Big Stage

public spaces are smoke- and vape-free. One of the joys of live theatre is the c o l l e c t i ve ex p e r i e n c e . A u d i e n c e members respond to the show in many different ways. We invite you to join together and enjoy the show! If there is anything we can do to make your experience more enjoyable, please see a member of the house staff. Get closed captioning on your smartphone! Closed Captioning is available

10 Q&A: Eisa Davis 11 Boontling: A Glossary 12 Show Program: Bulrusher 14 The Artists 18 Donors 21 Staff, Board of Trustees, and Sustaining Advisors 22 Making Theatre

for the following performances: 10/28, 11/ 8 , and ever y matinee . Use your smartphone to scan this QR code:

Connect with us at berkeleyrep.org @berkeleyrep

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THE BERKELEY REP MAGAZINE | 2023/ 24 | ISSUE 2 The Berkeley Rep Magazine is published at least seven times per season.

EDITOR- IN - CHIEF

CONTRIBUTORS

CONTACT BERKELE Y REP

CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR

Ashley Lim David Mendizábal

Box Office: 510 647-2949 Groups (10+): 510 647-2918 Admin: 510 647-2900 School of Theatre: 510 647-2972 info@berkeleyrep.org

Karen McKevitt DC Scarpelli

e e n / r . r s , .

2023/24 | Issue 2

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4 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

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WELCOME

The notion of home

is at the heart of Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher. Who gets to claim a place as home? Where are we welcomed? Where do we make our lives and define ourselves, in relationship (and opposition) to those who surround us? It feels particularly important and poignant to share this gorgeous play here in Eisa’s hometown of Berkeley. While Eisa is no stranger to Berkeley Rep, having appeared in Passing Strange and written so lovingly of this city in our pandemic project Place/Settings, I am especially proud to have her writing present on our mainstage. I have always found Eisa to be a person of profound intellectual appetite, so it’s no surprise that the community of Boonville intrigued her — a place both permanent and liminal, with longstanding traditions (even a language!), but just 100 miles away from home. A place made of water that carries truths, if you hold the gift of sight. The isolated Boonville of Bulrusher is a place where evolution happens at a different pace — a complacency which is ruptured when Vera arrives from Alabama, bringing Jet Magazine and its history-making images of Emmett Till. Eisa is a playwright, a poet, a singer-songwriter, a film and television writer, and an actor. Her multifaceted artistic identity has shaped the specific complexity of Bulrusher. How wonderful to now see Eisa’s imagination brought to life by the talented Nicole A. Watson and the designers and actors with whom she has collaborated to bring the rivers and redwoods of Boonville into the Peet’s Theatre. Vera’s time in Boonville changes everyone she meets, in ways large and small. I hope that the artists and stories you encounter this season will leave their fingerprints on you in some way. Perhaps a line of text will linger in your head and make you take in the light off the water with fresh eyes. Give you a renewed appetite for a conversation with a stranger, or a new perspective on a relationship you have wrestled with. One of the greatest pleasures in coming together in the theatre is the way in which this shared experience may change how we impact each other. Welcome home to Berkeley Rep. I am so grateful to begin another season alongside you.

Regional theatres

like Berkeley Rep both introduce local audiences to prominent stories and artists on the national stage and uplift and share local stories and artists with the world. Berkeleynative Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher is the first of three California stories this season. Nestled within the redwoods and waterways of the small Mendocino County town of Boonville, Bulrusher delves into the complexities of identity, belonging, and a community on the cusp of change. Later this season, we also explore the legacy of San Francisco Bay’s Angel Island in The Far Country and California’s Central Valley in Mother Road. Berkeley Rep has long partnered with other organizations to magnify our work and support the work of others, and I want to highlight two of our collaborators on Bulrusher. The creation of this production of Bulrusher was shared with New Jersey’s McCarter Theatre Center. One of the ways theatres are navigating the pandemic recovery is through co-producing, which allows us to more efficiently utilize resources and share costs. Locally, we are also thrilled to be in dialogue with West Edge Opera (westedgeopera.org), which has commissioned an opera adaptation of Bulrusher set to premiere in 2024. You can learn more about their work and that of other local organizations and artists in our free, pre-show Community Salons on select Friday evenings in Michael’s Second Act bar. As we dive into the world of Bulrusher, we encourage you to consider the exciting experiences that await you throughout our upcoming season. Subscription packages are still available, if you don’t already have your tickets. Whether you’re a theatre aficionado, a weekend explorer, or someone looking to enrich your life with creative exploration and meaningful connections, choose from our numerous package options designed to suit your preferences and budget. Our lineup promises a diverse range of stories to entertain, challenge, and inspire you. Theatre also makes a wonderful gift, and we offer great options this time of year from gift certificates to specially priced ticket packages. Enjoy the show,

Warmly, Tom Parrish Managing Director

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director 2023/24 | ISSUE 2 | 5

IN DIALOGUE

HONORING NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH As you entered the courtyard for this performance of Bulrusher, you may have noticed a mural on the east-facing wall of our Medak Center. Commissioned by Berkeley Rep in close collaboration with Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the mural acknowledges the ancestral lands and traditions of the Muwekma Ohlone people and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan. Artist Cece Carpio invites viewers to observe a past, present, and future in the hands of indigenous youth. This mural is a call to support the regeneration of local land and to honor the native tribes that flourish here today. Berkeley Rep continues its relationship with Sogorea Te’, who, in collaboration with our In Dialogue initiative, presents a Native American Heritage Celebration and Community Salon on November 10 at our Addison Street campus. Featuring a performance by Desirae Harp, a singer from the Onacát.is (Mishewal Wappo) tribal nation, the event is free and open to the public.

Artist: Cece Carpio Assistant Artist: Shishi Madrid Apprentice: Kahalla Committee: Sunshine Deffner, Deja Gould, Inés Ixierda, Susie Medak, Johanna Pfaelzer Project Managers: Renée De Cossio, Zoe Mercer-Golden

Berkeley Repertory Theatre acknowledges and honors its presence on the unceded ancestral lands of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, now colonially known as Berkeley. The land from which we benefit continues to be a place of foremost importance to the Ohlone and all descendants of the Verona Band. Berkeley Rep is committed to actively pursuing our values as an antiracist institution. We are committed to living our values by promoting the history and culture of the Ohlone people and sustaining an ongoing relationship which supports the art, resources, and values of indigenous peoples and tribes. We are grateful to our friends at the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan for their support and guidance as we continue to educate ourselves and our community to uplift and support our indigenous communities.

6 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

The 2023/24 Teen Council cohort.

Supporting Theatregoers and Theatre-Makers of Tomorrow:

PHOTO: CALVIN NGU

Teen Council Uplifts Emerging Artists If you ever attend a Teen Night, Student Matinee, or any other occasion where our audience is full of teenagers, you’ll immediately feel the electric excitement in the air, their sense of awe, and their impetus to unapologetically exist in the moment. It’s as thrilling as it is inspiring. As the fall semester continues, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre enthusiastically welcomes our high school communities to another season of Teen Council programming. Teen Council, one of eight educational program branches of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, aims to cultivate the next generation of leaders, audience members, and theatre professionals by offering unique opportunities to engage with Berkeley Rep on a deeper level.

Each year, a cohort of 15 to 20 high school students is responsible for organizing and hosting events that serve over 500 Bay Area students annually. Such events include film festivals, arts advocacy events, original works showcases, and, of course, Teen Night, where students access a $10 ticket that comes with a complimentary meal and a preshow, teen-lead interview with an artist involved in each show. With these events, Teen Council members spark creativity and find meaningful connections amongst their peers in conversation with Berkeley Rep’s world-class artistry. Once a month, Teen Council members also interview a member of the Berkeley Rep staff to learn about their career trajectory, job responsibilities, and advice for younger artists, giving them

BY ASHLEY LIM

the opportunity to connect with theatre professionals across all departments, from technical to administration to artistic. “Teen Council and its leadership cohort are a core program of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. These student leaders embody the true essence of creativity, teamwork, and passion,” says Anthony Jackson, director of the School of Theatre. “We are so proud of the rich history of this program and the students who engage in School of Theatre programming.” If you see a group of high schoolers around the theatre, say hello! You may just be speaking to Berkeley Rep’s next change-maker. For more information, visit berkeleyrep.org/teencouncil

2023/24 | ISSUE 2 | 7

Eisa Davis’s Bulrusher is set in 1955 in Boonville, a small town located in southern Mendocino County in the Anderson Valley, approximately 115 miles north of San Francisco. In the 1890s, the residents created a language called Boontling, but today Boonville has a population of under 1,000 people, and the language is nearly extinct. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2007, Bulrusher is making a splashy revival in a co-production between McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, and Berkeley Rep. Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director, David Mendizábal, sat down with McCarter Theatre associate artistic director and the director of Bulrusher, Nicole A. Watson, to discuss the play’s use of Boontling, music, magic, and the task of bringing this small-town story to the big stage. David Mendizábal: Can you speak about the presence and use of Boontling in the play? NICOLE A. WATSON: A play that has regional jargon

or a new language such as Boontling requires an audience to listen differently to what the characters are saying and how they’re conveying their lived experience. Boontling is a language that this town created, on some level, to speak in front of people from other towns without them knowing what they were saying. That, to me, speaks about class and the ways in which small places that can be so isolated from the rest of the country have their own language. 8 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

Yes! Eisa shared with me that this play started out of her love for Northern California, out of a love of hikes she was taking, Rita Dove poems she was reading, and you really feel that in the play. Her love of language, poetry, and music. She has a playwright’s note in the script that says live guitar must be present. What a wonderful gift for the director to know there will be live music! What are some of the other artistic possibilities that you are excited to tackle with your cast and creative team?

Oh, all of it! Eisa’s play commands a sense of fluidity. Like a river, the play has a sense of motion. How do we capture the essence of all the places that Eisa has asked us to go to in one set, while also creating a space that allows the play to just keep moving? We’ve been inspired by the natural elements and spent a lot of time looking at photos of the redwoods, water, flowers, and bulrushes. And video of how light and water play off of one another. I’m also really excited to find ways to capture Bulrusher’s magic. Yes! How does Bulrusher ’s magic impact her story and the relationships she makes?

Bulrusher does have the ability to read people’s futures and at the same time is still trying to figure out her own future. People made fun of her for having this gift, in the way in which we sometimes can be ostracized for the very things that make us special. I think that’s also what’s driving her in the play. Why is my difference the thing that is called into question as opposed to the thing

PHOTO: LIAM ALEXANDER

big stage

SMALL TOWN,

There’s also a musicality to the language.

that should be celebrated? I think about that a lot in relationship to women, in relationship to women of color, in relationship to Black women, that the things that would be celebrated if we were someone else are the things that we are criticized for and how that works in our conversations about sense of self and identity. I just love that Bulrusher has a very centered relationship to place and to land that helps her move through the world and find her place in it. The land we are on is so significant, and I think Eisa has tied that keenly in Bulrusher’s magic. How does directing a bicoastal production shape how you approach telling this story?

I love that we get to do this production in Eisa’s hometown and share this story across the country. I think any play, especially this play, is an invitation to learn about a different place. California, Northern California, Anderson Valley are places unto themselves. And Bulrusher gives us the opportunity to excavate their history, people, and to dig deep into the cultures to really learn about this place and its people in a way that feels meaningful and rich. The play is set in 1955, and this production is happening in 2023. How do you believe Bulrusher aligns with our current cultural climate and what makes it resonate today?

As a Black immigrant woman, I think any story that centers Black female voices is significant, is timely, should not be ignored, and is worth our while to hear. The play is set in the early stages of the civil rights movement, but Bulrusher doesn’t know that much about the rest of the country and the history that we all know of that time. This highlights the ways in which we all can be hyper-focused on our own lives.

We can all be hyper-local, and yet what is happening outside our hometown can affect us and does require our attention. The play reminds us that we have a responsibility to know our neighbors, whether they’re 10 miles down the road or 10,000 miles, someplace else, we are all here. What do you hope audiences come away with after watching the show?

I hope people will say, “I didn’t know about this place, and I’m so curious to know more.” I also hope they remember what it was like when they were 18, wondering what their future will be like. How we think about our future, whether we look at it with gloom and doom or see it as a bright thing that we all need to work for to improve it for other people, is important. I hope that people leave the play and want to see more of Eisa’s work. I love it when a play invites you to say, “What else? What else is there? What other plays center Bla ck women? What other stories can we learn about California that I didn’t know about? What other tiny towns in America have stories that we should be telling?” Let’s go find those and do those and tell those. Director Nicole A. Watson

Q&A: Playwright

Eisa Davis What scents remind you of home in the Bay Area?

Where do you go to experience nature when you come back to the Bay?

Who is a poet you are finding inspiring now?

What is your favorite word in the English language?

What is your favorite word in Boontling?

When you think of Mendocino County and Boonville what are the first images that come to mind?

What do you read or listen to that gives you comfort or peace?

10 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

Boontling:

A GLOSSARY

airtight: “no problem.” Also: a sawmill

gorm: food

put in on: to court

applehead: girl, girlfriend

greeney: a fit, a temper tantrum

ricky chow: sexual intercourse

grizz: old bachelor

ridgy: backwoodsy

bahl: good barlow: pocketknife belhoon: a dollar bilchin: having sex with bloocher: one who chatters aimlessly or masturbates boarch: Chinese male booker tee: Black man bookers: Black people bow for: have sex with

(“bow” as in “violin bow”)

heisted: pregnant highgun: shotgun high shams: thick brush hobbin: dancing hoot: laugh horn and chiggle: food and drink (the verb “horn” means “to drink”)

ink-standy: tired

roger: storm rooje: cheat (pronounced like “rouge”)

rout: scold Schoolch: short for school teacher scottied: hungry shike: beat someone in a deal (rhymes with “like”)

silent seeker: quiet, unobtrusive seducer

jackers: young men who masturbate

burlap: have sex with

jape: drive

buzzchick: baseball

jenny: snitch

can-kicky: angry

jimhead: confused

chucks: dull or unruly children

Joe Mack: to beat someone up

cocked darley: habitually angry

jonnems: tall tales

comb’s gettin red: puberty

lews ’n larmers: gossip

cut cabbage: a Black woman, the feeling of her vagina

ling: Boontling lizzied: pregnant

tarp: pudendum of either sex

daming: womanizing

locked: married

teet lipped: angry

madges: prostitutes

that’s earth: that’s the truth

mink: woman (usually of easy

tidrey: a little bit

dish: cheat doolsey boo: sweet potato dove cooey: lonely

morals, well dressed enough to afford mink)

dubs: double

moldunes: breasts

ear settin: a lecture

moshe: automobile

fiddlers: delirium tremens (“the DTs”) flag’s out: menstruating

DESIGN RENDERINGS BY ANDREW BOYCE

heel scratchin: sex

Bulrusher: foundling, illegitimate child

dehigged: broke, without money

flattened: sick flories: biscuits Fourth of Jeel: Fourth of July geechin: penetration golden eagles: underwear (made from Golden Eagle brand flour sacks)

harp: talk

skee: whiskey somersettin: to become emotionally upset sneeble: Black person stringy hair and wrinkle socks: an unkempt woman sulled: angered

tongue-cuppy: nauseous, to vomit toobs: two bits, a quarter

(rhymes with “gauche”)

tuddish: mentally disabled

mossy: change the subject

(same vowels as “rubbish”)

Navarro: Bulrusher’s river; main waterway west to the ocean nonch harpin: dirty talk pearlin: raining pike: road Philo: a neighboring rival town (pronounced ”FY-low“)

tweed: child upper-cuttin: fist fight warblin: singing weese: infant wess: exaggerate whittlin: politicking yink: young man

SHOW PROGRAM: BULRUSHER

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE Johanna Pfaelzer, Artistic Director | Tom Parrish, Managing Director In a Co-Production with McCarter Theatre Center presents

BULRUSHER WRITTEN BY

EISA DAVIS DIRECTED BY

NICOLE A. WATSON

SCENIC DESIGN

COSTUME DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

SOUND DESIGN & ADDITIONAL COMPOSITIONS

LAWRENCE E. MOTEN III

VALERIE ST. PIERRE SMITH

SHERRICE MOJGANI

KATE MARVIN

PROJECTION DESIGN

HAIR, WIGS, AND MAKEUP DESIGN

KATHERINE FREER

TOMMY KURZMAN

ORIGINAL MUSIC

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR

DRAMATURG

CASTING

EISA DAVIS

PALOMA McGREGOR

FAYE M. PRICE

THE TELSEY OFFICE DESTINY LILLY, CSA

FIGHT & INTIMACY COORDINATOR

DIALECT & VOCAL COACH

ROCÍO MENDEZ

NATHAN C. CROCKER

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

ELISA GUTHERTZ*

CHRISTINA HOGAN*

Bulrusher is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. Bulrusher received its world premiere in 2006 at Urban Stages/Playwrights’ Preview Productions in New York Frances Hill, Artistic Director; Sonia Koslova, Managing Director It was directed by Leah. C. Gardiner

October 27-December 3, 2023 Peet's Theatre THIS SHOW HAS A 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION

12 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

SHOW PROGRAM: BULRUSHER

CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Vera

Cyndii Johnson*

Boy

Rob Kellogg*

Schoolch

Jamie LaVerdiere*

Madame

Shyla Lefner*

Bulrusher

Jordan Tyson*

Logger

Jeorge Bennett Watson*

UNDERSTUDIES Bulrusher, Vera

Jamella Cross*

Madame

Kyla Tucaya García*

Logger

David Everett Moore*

Boy, Schoolch

Brennan Pickman-Thoon*

*Indicates a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States This theatre operates under agreements with the League of Resident Theatres, Actors’ Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States), the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and United Scenic Artists.

The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists

SEASON SPONSORS

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller Jack & Betty Schafer The Strauch Kulhanjian Family Gail & Arne Wagner

SPONSORS

Robin & Rich Edwards

2023/24 | ISSUE 2 | 13

SHOW PROGRAM: BULRUSHER

THE ARTISTS

Cyndii Johnson Vera

Broadway: Trouble in Mind. Off-Broadway: What to Send Up When It Goes Down (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: Clyde’s (Berkley Rep, Huntington Theatre Company); Confederates and Peter and the Starcatcher (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); BLKS (Woolly Mammoth); How We Got On (Cleveland Play House); Remix 38 and The Christians (Humana Festival); The Mountaintop and Our Town (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Rob Kellogg Boy

Off-Broadway/regional: Hansol Jung’s Romeo and Juliet, Red Light Winter, Spring Awakening, Twelfth Night, and Amputees. Television: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Uncoupled, and FBI. Training: LAMDA, Boston University (BFA). robkellogg.com Jamie LaVerdiere Schoolch

Jamie LaVerdiere made his Broadway debut starring opposite Nathan Lane in The Producers as Matthew Broderick’s understudy. Additional Broadway credits: The Pirate Queen and Motown. Tours: Urinetown, Motown, A Chorus Line. Other NYC credits: Grand Hotel; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Closer Than Ever; Rothschild and Sons; This Side of Paradise; Gold Rush; Roadside; Dogman; Cam Jansen. Favorite roles: Sancho in Man of La Mancha, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and John Adams in 1776 for which he won the CT Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Jamie lives in Maplewood, NJ with his wife, child, and dog. Shyla Lefner Madame

Shyla Lefner is an actor, writer, and comedian based out of Los Angeles. Recent credits include Between Two Knees (McCarter, Seattle Rep, Yale Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Manahatta (Yale Rep); The Cymbeline Project, Alice

14 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

in Wonderland, Henry V, The Way the Mountain Moved (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Door You Never Saw Before (Geffen Playhouse TYA); and Fairly Traceable, Off the Rails, The Frybread Queen (Native Voices at the Autry). Readings and workshops: Sovereignty (TFANA); Wonderland (Dramatists Guild); (w)holeness (OSF); Ackia: The Complete Epic (Idyllwild Native Arts Festival); Ungipamsuuka: My Story, Our Voices Will Be Heard (La Jolla Playhouse). Some film credits include Lies & Alibis, Whatever It Takes, Grace, and Woo. @shylalefner Jordan Tyson Bulrusher

Jordan Tyson’s work can be seen in the Netflix series The Chair and film Vampires vs. The Bronx. Recently she performed in the world premiere productions of Lempicka musical at La Jolla Playhouse and The Notebook musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. She’s also working on her debut EP. jordantyson.com @curlybroad

Jeorge Bennett Watson Logger

Off-Broadway: …what the end will be (Roundabout), Romeo & Juliet (MAD Company), Powerhouse (Manhattan Repertory Theatre), Superhero (Sheen Center), Babette’s Feast (Theatre at St. Clement). Regional: Coriolanus/Timon of Athens (Utah Shakespeare Festival), The Purists (Huntington), A Human Being, of a Sort (Williamstown), The Royale (Merrimack), The Piano Lesson and The Great White Hope (Arena Stage), The Bluest Eye (Theater Alliance), Topdog/Underdog (Studio Theatre), Jitney (Studio Theater), Stop Kiss (Woolly Mammoth). TV: Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Organized Crime, FBI: Most Wanted, For Life, Luke Cage, Shameless, Justified, and The Wire, among others. Jamella Cross U/S Bulrusher/Vera

Jamella Cross is an Oakland-based actor that has worked with theatre companies like Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Magic Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Marin Shakespeare Company, Oakland Theater Project, Virago Theatre, San Francisco Mime Troupe, and SF Playhouse. Her website is jamellacross.com if you have any interest in collaborating! She

is so excited to support such a beautiful cast and she hopes you enjoy the production. (she/they/her) Kyla Tucaya García U/S Madame

Kyla Tucaya García is a poet, actor, director, and artivist based in unceded Tongva land. She believes stories are medicine and fuses her voice, art, and activism to make the ancestors proud. Recent TV/film: NBC’s New Amsterdam, Spirit Rangers on Netflix, The Exchange on Amazon. Fun facts: Kyla originated the role of Sarah Ridge Polson in Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty at Arena Stage where she performed for Gloria Steinem and Ruth Bader Ginsberg; she’s an award-winning storyteller who has narrated over 300 audiobooks and is currently starring in The Space Within alongside Jessica Chastain on Audible. (she/her/tiya) David Everett Moore U/S Logger

David Everett Moore is a longtime Bay Area actor whose many local credits include work with Aurora Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival (eight seasons), African-American Shakespeare Company (five seasons), and Marin Theatre Company where he originated the role of Mr. Darcy in Lauren Gunderson’s The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. Regional credits include work with Capital Stage Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (two seasons). Selected favorites: We Are Proud to Present… (Just Theater), Safe House (Aurora), An Octoroon (Capital Stage), Inked Baby (Crowded Fire). David is a longtime Resident Artist of the SF Shakespeare Festival and a proud graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his BA in Theater and Performance Studies. Brennan Pickman-Thoon U/S Boy/Schoolch

Brennan Pickman-Thoon is thrilled to be back at Berkeley Rep! Some favorite credits include Metamorphoses, The Good Book (Berkeley Rep, u/s), Mother of the Maid (Marin Theatre Company), Home, Boys Go to Jupiter (Word For Word), The Gentleman

g n y e e

, r e d r f f e k e g e , , d a

staff for their dedication and care. Eisa lives in Brooklyn, NY. Caller (NCTC), Timon of Athens (Cutting Ball Theater), and Hamlet (Marin Shakespeare Company). Pickman-Thoon is an A.C.T. Young Conservatory faculty member and a teaching artist with Berkeley Rep and SFArtsED. He won the 2019 SFBATCC Award for Actor in a Principal Role and is a member of AEA. For more, please visit brennanpickmanthoon.com Eisa Davis Playwright

Eisa Davis is an award-winning writer, composer, and performer. Along with her 13 full-length stageworks, which include Bulrusher, Angela’s Mixtape, Mushroom, and The History of Light, she has written for television and recorded two albums of original music. A multivolume series of her plays is forthcoming from 53rd State Press/TCG. Notable performance work includes Kindred, Mare of Easttown, The Wire, Kings, The Essentialisn’t, the musical of The Secret Life of Bees and Passing Strange, which began at Berkeley Rep. She is thrilled to be back home with this play, and thanks Nicole, Johanna, David, Sarah, Paula, and the cast, designers, crew and staff for their dedication and care. Eisa lives in Brooklyn, NY. Nicole A. Watson

Nicole A. Watson Director

Nicole A. Watson is the HGB Bold Associate Artistic Director at McCarter Theatre Center and former AAD at Round House Theatre. Select credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky (Guthrie), Passing (McCarter/ Bard at the Gate), School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play (Helen Hayes winner Best Ensemble, Best Supporting Artist). The world premieres of A Wind in the Door (Kennedy Center), The West End (Cincinnati Playhouse), it’s not a trip it’s a journey (Round House). She is a New Georges Affiliated Artist, SDC member, and a Drama League, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and Women’s Project Directors Lab alum. BA: History, Yale. MA: NYU Gallatin.

Making the Difference Between a Good Sale and a Great One.

Lawrence E. Moten III Scenic Design

Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits (Circle in the Square). Regional: Bulrusher (McCarter), Sir John in Love (Bard Music Festival), Faust (Wolf Trap Opera), Once Upon a Bridge (American Players), Twelfth Night (Old Globe), Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (Alley Theatre), Blues for an Alabama Sky (McCarter, Guthrie), Appropriate and The Little Foxes (South Coast Rep), Christmas in Connecticut

Director

Andrea Gordon 510.421.6818 andrea@andreagordon.com DRE 01233563

Lawrence E. Moten III Scenic Design

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01527235.

2023/24 | ISSUE 2 | 15

SHOW PROGRAM: BULRUSHER

THE ARTISTS

(Goodspeed Musicals), Requiem (InSeries Opera), This Little Light of Mine (Santa Fe Opera), Patience (2ST Uptown), Much Ado About Nothing (Commonwealth Shakespeare), Fairview (Wilma), it’s not a trip, it’s a journey and We declare you a terrorist… (Round House), Gem of the Ocean (Portland Center Stage), and Trouble in Mind (The Old Globe). Lecturer: Princeton University. Member: USA 829 & Wingspace Theatrical Design. motendesigns.com; IG: @motendesigns

Valerie St. Pierre Smith Costume Design

Aanii, ndinaawamagaanadog! Valerie nindizhinikaaz, White Earth ndoonjibaa, Migizi ndoodem. Mischief maker, scholar, author, healer, and multidisciplinary artisan, Valerie’s live performance design highlights include The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Sea World: San Diego, the National Museum of the American Indian, and Pilobolus Dance Theatre. Her multidisciplinary creative practice includes fiber arts, sewing, painting, and costume/fashion design, and is inspired by the craft and artistic traditions of her Anishnaabe heritage. A bit of a unicorn, Valerie’s creative research and scholarly work focuses on appropriation, inspiration, representation, and decolonization in western design practices. As a mixed blood Anishnaabe-kwe, healer, and artisan, her work explores and reflects her experiences at the confluence of healing, social justice, traditional Anishinaabe teachings, and the power of identity. Sherrice Mojgani Lighting Design

Sherrice Mojgani recently designed Blues for an Alabama Sky (McCarter); The High Ground, The Heiress, and Two Trains Running (Arena Stage); A Raisin in the Sun, Murder on the Orient Express, A Few Good Men, and Sweat (Pittsburgh Public Theatre); Tiny Beautiful Things, The Folks at Home, and The Garden (Baltimore Center Stage); Spunk, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and The Scottsboro Boys (Signature Theatre Company); Trouble in Mind, What You Are, and Skeleton Crew (The Old Globe). Sherrice is an associate professor at George Mason University in northern Virginia. She holds a BA in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz and an MFA in Lighting Design from UC San Diego. smojgani.com 16 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

Kate Marvin Sound Design & Additional Compositions

Kate Marvin is a New York-based sound designer and composer for theatre, film, and puppetry. She specializes in making music using found sounds and everyday objects. Recent designs: Wolf Play at MCC Theater (originally at Soho Rep in collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater), The Best We Could (MTC), Dial M for Murder (Westport Country Playhouse), Sense & Sensibility (Northern Stage), Bloodmeal (Theater in Quarantine), The Memory Trade (Handmade Puppet Dreams), Chimpanzee (HERE, The Barbican, Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes), Three Sisters (Two River Theater), as well as projects with Target Margin Theater, La MaMa, 59E59, Playwrights Horizons, and more. Kate is an associate artist with Target Margin and a member of USA829. MFA, Yale School of Drama. katemarvinsound.com

Katherine Freer Projection Design

Katherine is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, organizer, and educator whose artistic practice lives at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and civic engagement. Frequent collaborators include Ping Chong, Ty Defoe, Kamilah Forbes, Steve H. Broadnax III, Lux Haac, Porsche McGovern, Liza Jessie Peterson, Talvin Wilks, and Tamila Woodard. She is a proud member of Wingspace Theatrical Design and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829. Katherine is a core collaborator in All My Relations Collective and director of the MFA in Integrated Media at University of Texas at Austin. Tommy Kurzman Hair, Wigs, and Makeup Design

Broadway: The Cottage, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Pictures from Home, The Collaboration, Macbeth, Mrs. Doubtfire, All My Sons, True West, St. Joan, My Fair Lady, Little Foxes, Long Day’s Journey, Bright Star, The King & I, and Fiddler on the Roof. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors, the Roundabout, MCC, The Atlantic, The New Group, The Public, MTC, NWS. Regional: McCarter, The Huntington, The MUNY, Geva Theatre, Arena Stage, MSM. Opera: OTSL, Santa Fe. Associate hair designer on over 15 Broadway productions. @TommyKurzmanWigs Paloma McGregor Movement Director

NYC: Refuge Plays (NYTW); Call and Response and Hamlet (The Public Theater’s

Mobile Unit); brownsville song (b-side for tray) (LCT3). Regional: Jazz (world premiere), Marley (world premiere), Pride and Prejudice, A Civil War Christmas (Center Stage); The House that Will Not Stand (world premiere, Yale Rep/Berkeley Rep); Blood Dazzler (world premiere, Harlem Stage); Building a Better Fishtrap (world premiere, BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance). Awards: New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award, Soros Arts Fellowship, Dance/USA Fellowship to Artists, Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Institute Fellowship. Faye M. Price Dramaturg

Faye is the former co-artistic producing director and co-center director of Pillsbury House + Theatre in Minneapolis. She has performed on many national stages and was a founding acting company member of both Mixed Blood Theater and Penumbra Theatre where she remains a company member. Faye directed the world premiere of Nina Simone: Four Women at Park Square Theatre and most recently The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963 at the Kennedy Center. Awarded the very first August Wilson Fellowship to study dramaturgy and literary criticism, she received her graduate degree from the University of Minnesota. Faye was the recipient of the 2021 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. The Telsey Office, Destiny Lilly, CSA Casting

With offices in both New York and Los Angeles, The Telsey Office casts for theatre, film, televisions, and commercials. The Telsey Office is dedicated to creating safe, equitable, and anti-racist spaces through collaboration, artistry, heart, accountability, and advocacy. thetelseyoffice.com Rocío Mendez Fight & Intimacy Coordinator

Member of Unkle Dave’s Fight-House and proud New Yorker committed to building confidence in brown and black girls through storytelling. Broadway: POTUS, Ain’t No Mo. The Metropolitan Opera: Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Eurydice, Rigoletto, Rodelinda, Lucia. Off-Broadway/ regional: How To Defend Yourself, On Sugarland (NYTW); The Bandaged Place (Roundabout); Your Own Personal Exegesis (LCT3); The Harder They Come, Merry Wives, Romeo y Julieta (Public Theater); Black No

Nathan C. Crocker Dialect & Vocal Coach

Nathan is a freelance voice, text, and dialect coach based out of Los Angeles. He has worked at many theatre companies around the country, such as McCarter, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, Keen Company, and Chautauqua Theatre Company, just to name a few. Nathan is also currently teaching dialects for University of San Diego’s MFA Acting program. He is a certified KnightThompson Speechwork and Fitzmaurice Voicework teacher. Elisa Guthertz Stage Manager

Elisa Guthertz has been a stage manager in the San Francisco Bay Area for 30 years. Her Berkeley Rep credits include English; the ripple, the wave that carried me home; and Sanctuary City (also at Arena Stage). Some of her many shows at American Conservatory Theater include The Headlands, Fefu and Her Friends, Toni Stone, Testmatch, Seascape, Sweat, and A Thousand Splendid Suns (also at The Old Globe and Theatre Calgary). Other credits: Big Love at Long Wharf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and BAM; The Good Body with Eve Ensler at ACT and the Booth Theater on Broadway; and The Vagina Monologues with Eve Ensler at Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco. Christina Hogan Assistant Stage Manager

Christina Hogan returns to Berkeley Rep after working on POTUS, English, Sanctuary City, and It Can’t Happen Here. Other theatre credits include The Headlands, Fefu and Her Friends, Gloria, Top Girls, and Men on Boats (American Conservatory Theater); August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, Pass Over, and Georgiana and Kitty (Marin Theatre Company); Lear (Cal Shakes); Josephine’s Feast, In Old Age, and The Baltimore Waltz (Magic Theatre); and The Road to Mecca and Ripped (Z Space). Hogan has a BA in theatre arts from Saint Mary’s College of California. (she/her)

Johanna Pfaelzer Artistic Director

Johanna joined Berkeley Rep in 2019 as its fourth artistic director, following 12 years as artistic director of New York Stage and Film (NYSAF), a New York City-based developer of new works for theatre, film, and television. Johanna is proud to have developed work by notable established and early career writers like Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Goddess by Saheem Ali, Michael Thurber, and Jocelyn Bioh; The Humans by Stephen Karam; Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell; The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe; The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar; A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac; The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu; The Great Leap by Lauren Yee; Doubt by John Patrick Shanley; The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses; The Jacksonian by Beth Henley; and Green Day’s American Idiot. Johanna previously served as associate artistic director of American Conservatory Theater and is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Program. She lives in Berkeley with her husband, Russell Champa, and their son, Jasper. Tom Parrish Managing Director

Tom has served as a theatre leader and arts administrator for over 20 years, with experience in organizations ranging from multi-venue performing arts centers to major Tony Award-winning theatre companies. Prior to Berkeley Rep, he served as executive director of Trinity Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre and as associate managing director/general manager of San Diego Repertory Theatre. His work has been recognized with a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Producer and “Forty Under 40” recognition in Providence, Rochester, the Merrimack Valley, and San Diego. He received his MBA/MA in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University; BA in Theater Arts and Economics from Case Western Reserve University; attended the Commercial Theater Institute, National Theater Institute, and Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management; and is certified in Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Northwestern University. He and his husband live in Berkeley.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION CREDITS DANIEL ALLEN | DANIELLE DELAFUENTE ASSOCIATE SCENIC DESIGNERS LIZA JAMES ASSOCIATE COSTUME DESIGNER SAMANTHA WEISNER ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER ALEXIS ATTALLA ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER DESNE WHARTON ASSOCIATE PROJECTION DESIGNER LOUIS BLACHMAN (BRET C. HARTE ARTISTIC FELLOW) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SOPHIE LYND (LIGHTING FELLOW) ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER BELLE ALATORRE (HARRY WEININGER SOUND FELLOW) ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNER DAVE MAIER LOCAL FIGHT CONSULTANT STEVEN GUTIERREZ, THE TELSEY OFFICE CASTING ASSISTANT ANTHONY LOPEZ (STAGE MANAGEMENT FELLOW) TECH REHEARSAL PRODUCTION ASSISTANT MILO BLUE | SIOBHÁN SLATER DECK CREW EMILY MILLS | ELIZA OAKLEY WARDROBE CREW SUSAN STONE WIG CREW DESIREE ALCOCER LIGHT BOARD PROGRAMMER/OPERATOR ANGELA DON SOUND BOARD OPERATOR ADAM CLAY | CARL MARTIN | SEAN MILLER MAGGIE WENTWORTH | LAUREL CAPPS (SCENIC CONSTRUCTION FELLOW) SCENE SHOP KENZIE BRADLEY | NEENA HOLZMAN E WAYMAN-MURDOCK (SCENIC ART FELLOW) SCENIC ART BRITTANY WATKINS | KATIE OWEN (PROPS FELLOW) PROPS AMY ABAD | TIFFANY HERNANDEZ ALBERTO SHY BANIANI | LAUREN CHANG | BRITTANY COBB RICHARD FONG | ELLE GHINI | JACK GRABLE A. CHRIS HARTZELL | JASON JOO | MICHAEL KESSELL CALEB KNOPP | CHARLIE MEJIA | ZOYA NANALE RILEY RICHARDSON | TAYLOR RIVERS | C. SWAN-STREEPY MATTHEW SYKES | BEN VISINI | KIRA WEFERS LIGHTING COURTNEY JEAN | CAMILLE RASSWEILER SOUND KAYLA BADIA (PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT FELLOW) ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER FAITH ELDER (COMPANY MANAGEMENT FELLOW) ASSISTANT COMPANY MANAGER MEDICAL CONSULTATION FOR BERKELEY REP PROVIDED BY AGI E. BAN DC, JOHN CARRIGG MD, CINDY J. CHANG MD, CHRISTINA COREY MD, NEIL CLAVERIA PT, PATRICIA I. COMMER DPT, KATHY FANG MD PHD, STEVEN FUGARO MD, OLIVIA LANG MD, ALLEN LING PT, LIZ NGUYEN, DPT, CHRISTINA S. WILMER OD, AND KATHERINE C. YUNG, MD EISA DAVIS WOULD LIKE TO THANK: FANIA DAVIS, ANGELA Y. DAVIS, DANIEL T. DENVER, NICOLE ARI PARKER, SAMUEL JORDAN, ROBERT GEARY, NEW DRAMATISTS, CAVE CANEM, VALERIE CURTIS-NEWTON, ALL THE ACTORS AND DIRECTORS AND DESIGNERS AND THEATRES AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE GIVEN THIS PLAY LIFE, NICOLE A. WATSON, ADRIENNE KENNEDY, AND PAULA VOGEL. 17

SHOW PROGRAM: BULRUSHER

More (The New Group); NOIR (The Alley Theater); Vietgone, The Royale (Geva Theater Center); The Wolves (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Secret Life of Bees (Atlantic Theater Company). Rocío is also the resident intimacy director at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and an award-winning actor. rociomendez.com

DONORS

THANK YOU to our supporters! We thank the many organizations, companies, and individuals who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic, artistic,education, education,and andcommunity communityengagement engagement programs. programs. We gratefully recognize these supporters of Berkeley Rep who made their gifts between September 1, 2022 and August 3, 2023.

Institutional Funders FOUNDATION

Anonymous (3) The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation The California Wellness Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation JEC Foundation Koret Foundation Laurents/Hatcher Foundation

Civic Foundation, Inc.

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

Davis/Dauray Family Fund

The Maurer Family Foundation

The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.

The Bernard Osher Foundation

Edgerton Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

The Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Philanthropic Fund

Taube Philanthropies

PUBLIC FUNDING

Alameda County Arts Commission ARTSFUND Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Commission California Arts Council National Endowment for the Arts State of California

Woodlawn Foundation

Corporate & Hospitality Sponsors SEASON SPONSORS

SPONSORS

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

Andrea Gordon Real Estate Bayer Donkey & Goat Winery

BluesCruise.com Boichik Bagels

EXECUTIVE SPONSORS

Mechanics Bank Wealth Management

Boichik Bagels BluesCruise.com

First Republic Foundation

Semifreddi’s Wells Fargo Foundation

BENEFACTOR SPONSORS

Gallagher Risk Management Services

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Heroic Italian

Armanino LLP

Kermit Lynch

Aurora Catering

Lucia’s Berkeley

Bank of Marin

Picante

Comal

Residence Inn Downtown Berkeley

Hugh Groman Catering

Revival Bar + Kitchen

The Morrison & Foerster Foundation

The Resilience Campaign Berkeley Repertory Theatre gratefully recognizes the following contributors for their transformational contributions to The Resilience Campaign that support the Theatre’s future. California Wellness Foundation

Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer

Jack & Betty Schafer

Stephen & Susan Chamberlin

Marcia Grand

Pat & Merrill Shanks

Robin & Rich Edwards

Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau

Michael & Sue Steinberg

David & Vicki Fleishhacker

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise

The Strauch Kulhanjian Family

Kerry Francis & John Jimerson

The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson

Jill & Steve Fugaro

Sandra & Ross McCandless

Gail & Arne Wagner

Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff

Gisele & Kenneth F. Miller

Linda & Steve Wolan

18 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

We thank the many individuals in our community who help Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provoking, and thrilling theatre and bring arts education to thousands of people every year. We gratefully recognize our donors at the Champion level and above, who made their gifts between September 1, 2022 and August 7, 2023. We also express our deep gratitude to all of the Friends of Berkeley Rep that we are unable to recognize here due to space limitations.

Sponsors Circle SEASON SPONSORS

Anonymous Barbara Bass Bakar Kerry Francis & John Jimerson Marcia Grand Mary Ruth Quinn & Scott Shenker Allan Smith/Peet's Coffee Michael & Sue Steinberg EXECUTIVE SPONSORS

Anonymous Anne & Anuj Dhanda Bill Falik & Diana Cohen

Scott & Sherry Haber Melanie Maier Sandra & Ross McCandless Pat & Merrill Shanks Christopher Doane & Neal Shorstein, MD Jean & Michael Strunsky Steven & Linda Wolan SPONSORS

Shelley & Jonathan Bagg David & Vicki Cox Christina Crowley Robin & Rich Edwards Jill & Steve Fugaro Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff Melinda Haag & Chuck Fanning Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Ms. Wendy E. Jordan Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Jack Klingelhofer Susan & Moses Libitzky Ed Messerly & Sudha Pennathur Jack & Valerie Rowe

Chris & Mike Rupp, Descendant Cellars Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

Anonymous Edith Barschi & Robert Jackson Lynne Carmichael Cindy J. Chang, MD & Christopher Hudson Narsai & Venus David William T. Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards David & Vicki Fleishhacker Steven Goldin Dr. Daniel F. Goodman Elise Haas Earl & Bonnie Hamlin Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Fred Karren, in memory of Beth Karren Sy Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton Suzanne LaFetra Collier

Dugan & Philippe Lamoise Eileen & Hank Lewis Ali Long, In Honor of T. Dixon Long Helen M. Marcus, in memory of David J. Williamson Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas Erin McCune Martin & Margi Cellucci McNair Juan Oldham & Deborah Morgan Tom Parrish & Steve Dow Johanna Pfaelzer & Russell Champa Gary & Noni Robinson Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Cynthia & William Schaff Sarah E. Shaver Audrey & Bob Sockolov Salomon Strategic Development Susan West Wendy Williams

Artistic Directors Circle PARTNER Anonymous (4) Edward D. Baker Italo & Susan Calpestri Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton Karen & David Crommie Richard DeNatale & Craig Latker Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards Merle & Michael Fajans Cynthia A. Farner Linda Jo Fitz Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi Rico & Maya Green Karen Grove & Julian Cortella Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen The Jackson Family Foundation Duke & Daisy Kiehn Peggy Kivel Randy Laroche & David Laudon Joel Linzner & Teresa Picchi Rosa Luevano & Charles Marston Elsie Mallonee Marymor Family Fund Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Pure Dana Fund

Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey Emily Shanks Shirlen Fund, in memory of Shirley & Philip Schild Ed & Ellen Smith Deborah & Bob Van Nest Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor Sheila Wishek BENEFACTOR Anonymous Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery Eric Allman & Kirk McKusick George & Marcia Argyris Michelle L. Barbour Ashvini Bhave & Kishore Bopardikar Becky & Jeff Bleich Broitman-Basri Foundation Ronnie Caplane Constance Crawford Dr. Jim Cuthbertson Barbara & Tim Daniels Richard & Anita Davis Ilana DeBare & Sam Schuchat

Bill DeHart Corinne & Mike Doyle Linda Drucker Sandra & Ken Eggers William & Susan Epstein Jerry Falk The Flatows Dean Francis Sharon & Tom Francis Herb & Marianne Friedman Mio & Johni Good Mary Graves Robert & Judith Greber Migsy & Jim Hamasaki Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky Tamra C. Hege Ruth Hennigar Thomas & Elizabeth Henry Elaine Hitchcock Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger Marilyn & Michael Jensen-Akula Bill & Lisa Kelly Dana Kirkland Stephen F. Kispersky Michael H. Kossman Jane & Mike Larkin, in memory of Lynn & Gerald Ungar

Jay & Eileen Love Susanna & Brad Marshland Rebecca Martinez Henning Mathew & Michelle Deane Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Susie Medak & Greg Murphy Stephanie Mendel Andy & June Monach Muriel Mora Pam & Mitch Nichter Carol J. Ormond Janet & Clyde Ostler Sandi & Dick Pantages Barbara L. Peterson Richard A. Rubin & H. Marcia Smolens Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland Jeane & Roger Samuelsen Jon and NoraLee Sedmak David & Lori Simpson Karen Stevenson & Bill McClave Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young Henry Timnick Larry Vales Kimberly Webb & Richard Rossi Beth Weissman Patricia & Jeffrey Williams Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter

2023/24 | ISSUE 2 | 19

DONORS

Friends of Berkeley Rep CHAMPION

ADVOCATE

Anonymous (5) • Michael Barnett and Judith Bloomberg • Don

Anonymous (13) • Philip Arca & Sherry Smith • Berit Ashla & Aron Cramer • Anne M. Baele • Linda & Mike Baker • Celia Bakke

& Gerry Beers • Caroline Beverstock • Eric Brink & Gayle

Deborah Barrera & John Steinbuch • Patti Bittenbender • John Brennan & Stephanie McKown • Cathy Bristow • Tracy Brown

Vassar • Jon Carr • Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny • Donald

& Greg Holland • Jane V. Buerger • Fran Burgess • Robert & Margaret Cant • Bruce Carlton • Laura Chenel • John Clawson &

& Dava Freed • Sally Freedman • Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard

Teri Behm • Barbara & Rodgin Cohen • Bart Connally • Pam & Mike Crane • Lynne Dal Poggetto • Harry & Susan Dennis

Slyter • Anne & Peter Griffes • Henry L. Hecht • Alan Karras &

Jacqueline Desoer • Dr. Donald J. Dodelson • Adrienne M. Edens • Ben & Mary Feinberg • Martin & Barbara Fishman • Mary

David Schulz • Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes • Woof Kurtzman

& Stan Friedman • Chris R. Frostad • Ellen Geringer & Chris Tarp • Jane Gottesman & Geoffrey Biddle • Karen Greig & Mike

& Liz Hertz • Shirley Langlois • Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott

Frank • Don & Becky Grether • Ellen Haddock • Al Hoffman & David Shepherd • Rick Hoskins & Lynne Frame • Barbara & Peter

McKinney • Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis • Ellen & Barry

Jensen • May Johnston • Jeanne Killian • Robert Kinosian • Susan Kolb • The Komoroske Family • Andrea & Kenneth Krueger

Levine • Marcia C. Linn • Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel • Lois &

Susan Carol Ledford • Jennifer S. Lindsay • Steve & Judy Lipson • Paulette Lueke & Robert McCully • Gerry & Kathy MacClelland

Gary Marcus, in memory of Ruth Weiland, Mose & Selma

Paul Mariano & Suzanne Chapot • M. Mathews & K. Soriano • Christopher McKenzie & Manuela Albuquerque • Steven &

Marcus • Geri Monheimer • Jane Neilson • Shanna O'Hare &

Patrece Mills • Judy Minor • Ron Nakayama • Thomas Nelson • Judy Ogle • Patti Oji Haas • Judith & Richard Oken • Geraldine

John Davis • Judy O'Young, MD & Gregg Hauser • Bob &

Paddock • Lynne Parode & Sterling Lim • Tina & Thomas Parrish • Regina Phelps • Susie & Eric Poncelet • Kathleen Quenneville

MaryJane Pauley • Teresa L. Remillard • John & Jody Roberts

& Diane Allen • Daniel & Barbara Radin • Elizabeth Raffin • Lisa Regul & Rand Hawkins • Orna Resnekov & David Tennenhouse

Mitzi K. Sales • Dorothy Saxe • Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry

Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley • Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth • Gretchen Saeger • Dan Scharlin

Posner • Amrita Singhal & Michael Tubach • Suzanne Slyman

& Sara Katz • Helen Schulak • Teddy & Bruce Schwab • Deborah Sedberry & Jeff Klingman • Jacob Sevart • Steve & Susan

Cherida Collins Smith • Lisa Salomon • Valerie Sopher • Henry

Shortell • Christine Silver • Betsy Smith • George & Camilla Smith • Linda Snyder • Monroe W. Strickberger • Ragesh Tangri

Spencer & Nicky Cass • Gary & Jana Stein • Trevor & Anne-

& Daralyn Durie • Fred & Kathleen Taylor • Ruthann Taylor • John & Christine Telischak • Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller

Marie Strohman • Sam Test • William van Dyk & Margi Sullivan

Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita • Sarah Van Roo • Liz Varnhagen • Marcia & David Vastine • Rhona & Harvey Weinstein • Peter

Brian Watt & Daisy Nguyen • Jonathan & Kiyo Weiss

Wiley • H. Leabah Winter

The Michael Leibert Society Berkeley Rep gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who have generously provided for the theatre in their estate plans: Anonymous (9) Norman Abramson & David Beery* Sam Ambler Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan Ken & Joni Avery Nancy Axelrod Edie Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Susan & Barry Baskin Linda Brandenburger Broitman-Basri Family Bruce Carlton & Richard G. McCall* Victoria Carter* Stephen K. Cassidy Paula Champagne & David Watson Terin Christensen Sofia Close Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor Narsai & Venus David M. Laina Dicker Thalia Dorwick Robin & Rich Edwards Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards Bill & Susan Epstein William Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards Bill Falik & Diana Cohen Dr. Stephen E. Follansbee & Dr. Richard A. Wolitz Kerry Francis Dr. Harvey & Deana Freedman Joseph & Antonia Friedman Paul T. Friedman Laura K. Fujii David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson* Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter Mary & Nicholas* Graves Elizabeth Greene Sheldon & Judy Greene Don & Becky Grether Richard & Lois Halliday

Barry* & Micheline Handon Julie & Paul Harkness Linda & Bob Harris Fred Hartwick Ruth Hennigar Daria Hepps Douglas J. Hill* Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley Hoskins/Frame Family Trust Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Robin C. Johnson Janice Kelly & Carlos Kaslow Bonnie McPherson Killip Lynn Eve Komaromi Nancy Kornfield Michael H. Kossman Woof Kurtzman Scott & Kathy Law Jim Lillienthal* Dot Lofstrom Helen M. Marcus Dale* & Don Marshall Rebecca Martinez Sarah McArthur LeValley Sandra & Ross McCandless Suzanne & Charles McCulloch John G. McGehee Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Ruth Medak Susie Medak & Greg Murphy Stephanie Mendel Toni Mester Shirley & Joe Nedham Jane & Bill Neilson Pam & Mitch Nichter Sharon Ott Fr. David Pace Amy Pearl Parodi Barbara L. Peterson Regina Phelps Margaret Phillips

Marjorie Randolph Gregg Richardson Bonnie Ring Living Trust David Rovno, M.D. Tracie E. Rowson Deborah Dashow Ruth Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. Emily Shanks Kevin Shoemaker Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits Valerie Sopher Michael & Sue Steinberg Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart Jean Strunsky Mary, Andrew & Duncan Susskind Jim Tibbs & Philip Anderson Henry Timnick Guy Tiphane Dana Tom & Nancy Kawakita Phillip & Melody Trapp Janis Kate Turner Gail & Arne Wagner Barry & Holly Walter Weil Family Trust - Weil Family Susan West Steven & Linda Wolan The Woolfson Blumenfeld Living Trust Karen & Henry Work Anders Yang, JD Martin & Margaret Zankel *deceased

GIFTS RECEIVED BY BERKELEY REP

Estate of Suzanne Adams Estate of Pat Angell, in memory of theater architect Gene Angell Estate of Nina Auerbach Estate of Helen C. Barber Estate of Fritzi Benesch Estate of Carole B. Berg Estate of Nelly Berteaux Estate of Jill Bryans Estate of Paula Carrell Estate of Nancy Croley Estate of John & Carol Field Estate of Ralph Garrow Estate of Audrey J. Lasson Estate of Zandra Faye LeDuff Estate of Ines R. Lewandowitz Estate of John E. & Helen A. Manning Estate of Richard Markell Estate of Sumner & Hermine Marshall Estate of Margaret D. & Winton McKibben Estate of Robert S. Newton, in honor of John T. & Jean Knox Estate of Sheldeen G. Osborne Estate of Timothy A. Patterson Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez Estate of Margaret Purvine Estate of Guy T. Roberts, Jr. Estate of Leigh & Ivy Robinson Estate of Stephen C. Schaefer, in honor of Jean and Jack Knox Estate of Peter Sloss Estate of Harry Weininger Estate of Grace Williams

As of August 2023. Berkeley Rep makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these listings. If there is an error or you would like to adjust your listing, please call 510 647-2905.

MAKE YOUR GIFT | berkeleyrep.org/give 510-647-2905 20 | THE BERKELE Y REP MAGA ZINE

ADMINISTRATION

Jared Hammond FINANCE DIRECTOR

William T. Espey PRESIDENT

BOX OFFICE SUPERVISOR

Bruce Golden

PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR

BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE

VICE PRESIDENT

Alanna McFall

MaryBeth Cavanaugh

Juan Oldham

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Jennifer Light

ASSOCIATE CASTING DIRECTOR & ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE

David Mendizábal ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Todd Almond · Christina Anderson Rafael Casal · Daveed Diggs Dipika Guha · Richard Montoya Nico Muhly · Lisa Peterson Sarah Ruhl · Tori Sampson Jack Thorne · Joe Waechter ARTISTS UNDER COMMISSION

BOOKKEEPER

DIRECTOR OF CLASSES AND SUMMER PROGRAMS

Katie Riemann

Si Mon’ Emmett

ASSOCIATE FINANCE DIRECTOR

CURRICULUM AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS MANAGER

Modesta Tamayo

Anthony Jackson

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND DIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT

Marcela Chacón INDIVIDUAL GIVING MANAGER

Laura Fichtenberg ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

GENERAL AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Elaina Guyett

Sara Danielsen

Ari Lipsky

GENERAL MANAGER

Kali Grau ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION MANAGER

Audrey Hoo DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION

Peter Orkiszewski COMPANY MANAGER

Kelly Kelley

STEWARDSHIP AND EVENTS MANAGER DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF THEATRE

Ashley Lim CLASSES AND COMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR

Dylan Russell

Cassidy Milano DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Julia Englehorn

Lindsey Abbott

Eleanor Maples · Josh Matthews Carolyn McClandish · Patricia Miller Brennan Pickman-Thoon · Hans Probst

James McGregor HEAD STAGE TECHNICIAN PROPERTIES

Voleine Amilcar DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Beatriz Hernandez MARKETING ASSOCIATE

Amelia Burke-Holt

Kevin Kopjak, Prismatic Communications

ASSOCIATE PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT

Lisa Mei Ling Fong

Karen McKevitt

PROPERTIES ARTISAN

COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR

Jillian A. Green

Calvin Ngu

PROPERTIES SUPERVISOR SCENE SHOP

Patrick Keene

VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA CONTENT CREATOR

Heather Orth ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Aus De Los Santos · Joyful Simpson Samuel Tomfohr TEACHING ARTISTS

Matty Bloom · Joy Lancaster Selma Meyerowitz

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DOCENTS

OPERATIONS

Matt Rohner · Jim Smith

Destiny Askin

Eloise Biddle-Gottesman Kelsey Dougherty · Maelle Griffin Lalima Gluesenkamp · Harper Iles Oxford Lewis · Maya Madsen Jaina Manning · Nakayla Moore Chance Newby · Billie Nolfi-Makau Eghosa Otokiti · Blue Pascopella Amy Perez-Soto · Zoe Poyeton-Wolf Arunima Stroller · Tessa Rosen Kailamae Sands · Bree Shennum Jay Trauner

Grant Vocks

Christina Cone WEB AND DATABASE SPECIALIST

DRAFTSPERSON

Theresa Drumgoole · Wendi Lau · Sophie Li

SCENIC ART

FACILITIES ASSISTANTS

Lisa Lázár

Adam Johnson

CHARGE SCENIC ARTIST

FACILITIES MANAGER

COSTUMES

Mark Morrisette

TEEN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

FACILITIES DIRECTOR

2023/24 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS

Amanda Williams O’Steen

Belle Alatorre

Barbara Blair WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

Kiara Montgomery RESIDENT DESIGN ASSOCIATE

Star Rabinowitz DRAPER

Maggi Yule COSTUME DIRECTOR ELECTRICS

Desiree Alcocer PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

Kenneth Coté SENIOR PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

Frederick C. Geffken LIGHTING SUPERVISOR

Sarina Renteria ASSOCIATE LIGHTING SUPERVISOR SOUND AND VIDEO

Angela Don SENIOR SOUND ENGINEER

Lane Elms SOUND AND VIDEO SUPERVISOR

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Nicole Peña BUILDING MANAGER

Jesus Rodriguez BUILDING TECHNICIAN

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT FELLOW

Gabrielle Bañuelos COSTUMES FELLOW

Louis Blachman BRET C. HARTE ARTISTIC FELLOW

PATRON SERVICES

Laurel Capps

PATRON EXPERIENCE REPRESENTATIVES

Derik Cowan DIRECTOR OF TICKETING AND SALES

Chase Nichter ASSOCIATE SOUND AND VIDEO SUPERVISOR

BOX OFFICE AGENTS

SOUND ENGINEER

Kayla Badia

BUILDING ENGINEER

pan ellington · Joelle Joyner-Wong Alanna McFall · Aya Newman Em Parker · Dom Refuerzo Christy Spence

Akari Izumi

HARRY WEININGER SOUND FELLOW

Thomas Tran

Emma Allen-Landwehr Alicia Battle · Megan Bedig Steven Cole · Matthew Hayden Latasha Hayes · Armando Herrera Caitlyn Lee · Jennifer Light Maura Oliverira · Angela Phung Tuesday Ray · Anna Riggin Alana Scott · Debra Selman Sloane Sim · Anna Vorobyev

CHAIR OF THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

Susan Chamberlin Christopher Doane Sandra Eggers Chuck Fanning Steven Goldin Jonathan C. Logan Melanie Maier Sandra R. McCandless Anne Nemer Dhanda Tom Parrish Johanna Pfaelzer Leonard X Rosenberg Alfredo Silva Allan Smith Sherry Smith Brian Watt Rena Bransten Diana Cohen Robin Edwards William Falik David Fleishhacker Paul T. Friedman Karen Galatz David Hoffman Richard F. Hoskins Dugan Lamoise Helen Meyer Peter Pervere Marjorie Randolph Patricia Sakai Jack Schafer William Schaff Richard M. Shapiro Michael Steinberg Roger A. Strauch Jean Z. Strunsky Michael S. Strunsky Gail Wagner Felicia Woytak Martin Zankel

SCENIC CARPENTERS

HEAD CARPENTER

Henning Mathew

BOARD MEMBERS

DC Scarpelli

CRM PROJECT MANAGER

CHAIR OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

Ted Bagaman · Michelle Barbour Beth Cohen · Miles Drawdy Alice Galoob · Randi Helly Muriel Kaplan · Ellen Kaufman Jim Krampf · Richard Lingua Mark Liss · Judith O’Rourke Thomas Sponsler · Susan Wansewicz Linda Williams

August Lewallen · Zach Wziontka

Read Tuddenham

SECRETARY

DOCENT CO-CHAIRS

SCENE SHOP SUPERVISOR

CO-TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

Scott Haber

Steven C. Wolan

Bobby August, Jr. · Erica Blue Diana Brown · Rebecca Castelli Yari Cervas · Janel Chanté

Julian López-Morillas · Dave Maier

ASSOCIATE STAGE SUPERVISOR

TREASURER

CHAIR OF THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Emily Shanks

INTERIM EDUCATION ASSOCIATE

INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS MANAGER

Gabriel Holman

VICE PRESIDENT

Jill Fugaro

Kelsey Scott

PHILANTHROPY OFFICER

Sudha Pennathur

Elizabeth Woolford

lu-Hui Chua · Jiwon Chung Robin Dolan · Jim Edgar Deborah Eubanks · Joshua Feltman Nancy Gold · Gary Graves Marvin Greene · William Hodgson Katya Landau · Jasmine Lew

Andrew Maguire

VICE PRESIDENT

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

STAGE OPERATIONS STAGE SUPERVISOR

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Gianna Francesca Vescio

Tom Parrish

Karina Fox

PATRON SERVICES SUPERVISORS FRONT OF HOUSE DIRECTOR

Kate Horton

Johanna Pfaelzer

ARTISTIC

Maddi Gjovik · Nina Gorham

SCENIC CONSTRUCTION FELLOW

Rebecca Chan PETER F. SLOSS ARTISTIC FELLOW

Rodrick Edwards DEVELOPMENT/MARKETING FELLOW

Faith Elder COMPANY MANAGEMENT FELLOW

Anthony Lopez STAGE MANAGEMENT FELLOW

Sophie Lynd LIGHTING FELLOW

Katie Owen PROPERTIES FELLOW

E. Wayman-Murdock SCENIC ART FELLOW

STAFF & BOARD

BERKELEY REP STAFF

SUSTAINING ADVISORS

Helen C. Barber A. George Battle Carole B. Berg Robert W. Burt Shih-Tso Chen Narsai M. David Thalia Dorwick, PhD Nicholas M. Graves Richard F. Hoskins Jean Knox Robert M. Oliver Stewart Owen Marjorie Randolph Harlan M. Richter Richard A. Rubin Emily Shanks Edwin C. Shiver Roger A. Strauch Gail Wagner Martin Zankel PAST PRESIDENTS FOUNDING DIRECTOR

Michael W. Leibert PRODUCING DIRECTOR, 1968–83

MAKING THE ATRE

To truly understand the world of Bulrusher, Director Nicole A. Watson and Scenic Designer Lawrence E.

Lawrence E. Moten III and Nicole A. Watson in front of the redwoods at Hendy Woods. Inset: Jordan Tyson in front of the redwoods on the set of Bulrusher. Photo: T Charles Erickson

Moten III visited Boonville, Hendy Woods, and the Mendocino coast last spring. “It was my first time experiencing the redwoods, which was amazing,” said Lawrence. “You can look at photos, but until you’re standing in front of something that large, you don’t understand the breadth and scale of it. It was eye-opening experience to understand the poetic beauty of the Northern California landscape.” Said Nicole, “There was something about being at the water and being at Hendy Woods where you’re like no, this tree was here in 1955. That’s not new. That building in town might be new, but my experience of this land right here, that’s constant in some way. You sort of feel time differently, and land and space a bit differently.” Bulrusher is a kind of love letter to Northern California, and we hope you see the awe the artists experienced upon vis-

PHOTOS: CALVIN NGU

iting this special place.

LEAVE A LEGACY

OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE Members of the Michael Leibert Society are dedicated supporters who have included Berkeley Repertory Theatre in their estate plans. These gifts help to secure the Theatre’s future and ensure that for generations to come, Berkeley Rep will be creating ambitious theatre that entertains and challenges its audiences.

For more information, please contact Andrew Maguire, Philanthropy Officer at 510-647-2904 or amaguire@berkeleyrep.org.

HARRY CLARKE

BY DAVID CALE

THE VINEYARD THEATRE PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY LEIGH SILVERMAN FEATURING BILLY CRUDUP

NOV 15-DEC 23, 2023 | RODA THEATRE Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Crudup (Coast of Utopia, No Man’s Land, The Morning Show, Almost Famous) returns to Berkeley Rep in a tour-de-force solo performance helmed by Obie Award-winning director Leigh Silverman (Suffs, Violet, Soft Power, In the Wake). This wickedly funny thriller by Obie Award-winning writer David Cale features the exploits of Philip, an awkward Midwestern man leading an outrageous double life as the cocky Londoner Harry Clarke. He moves to New York City and, posing as the seductive Harry, charms his way into a wealthy family. Soon his impetuous and dangerous behavior threatens to unravel more than his persona. Reprising his acclaimed performance, Crudup has “the time of his life in a sly role terrifically suited to his gifts,” says The New York Times.

35 CLASSES 22 TEACHING ARTISTS REP 1 BERKELEY COMMUNITY

Fall Classes for all ages, levels, and abilities now open for registration at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre

berkeleyrep.org/classes

// 2023–24 Season

BAY AREA PREMIERE

Urban Bush Women Hair & Other Stories The formidable Brooklynbased performance ensemble Urban Bush Women visits with Hair & Other Stories, a full-length dance-theater work exploring race, identity, and concepts of beauty through the lens of Black women’s hair.

“The Urban Bush Women are committed, triplethreat performers who dance, sing, and act with a sometimes searing sense of truthfulness”

Matthew Whitaker There is a playful spirit of curiosity and exploration in jazz pianist’s Matthew Whitaker’s approach to the keyboard, whether he is tackling bebop, electric fusion, R&B, or Latin rhythms as part of his omnivorous approach to jazz.

“It is astounding. The fleetness of finger, the touch and taste, the grit and grime when he needs it, the lightness and airiness when it’s called upon—Whitaker has it all” —Downbeat

Cécile McLorin Salvant Vocalist and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant sings selections from her latest release, Mélusine, featuring a mix of original songs and interpretations of French-language repertoire that dates as far back as the 12th century, inspired by the story of a dragon woman from European folk legend.

“Salvant, regularly and rightly, is considered one of the greatest jazz singers of her generation” —Rolling Stone

—The New York Times

Dec 1–3

Dec 8

Jan 25

Z E L L E R B A C H P L AY H O U S E

ZELLERBACH HALL

John Malkovich in

WEST COAST PREMIERE

The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer In Michael Sturminger’s absurd and macabre production, multiple Academy Award nominee John Malkovich seduces, shocks, and appalls as the slithering real-life serial killer Jack Unterweger— back from the dead to plug his new autobiography.

“Malkovich is captivating as the smarmy, clearly deranged madman, embodying the role with extra relish” —This Week in NY

Taylor Mac & Matt Ray’s Bark of Millions

A Parade Trance Extravaganza for the Living Library of the Deviant Theme Taylor Mac visits with an epic four-hour rock opera meditation on queerness. Featuring 54 original songs— one song per year since the Stonewall uprising—this West Coast Premiere is inspired by queer antecedents throughout world history and is performed by a diverse cast of 13 ensemble members and a band of 11 musicians.

“Taylor Mac uses his many talents to get us to listen, think and feel. The effect is heartening, vital and liberating.”

Nathalie Joachim Ki moun ou ye (Who are you?) The composer, flutist, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim invokes music, movement, and memory to explore personal history and the healing power of the voice. Performed in both English and Haitian Kreyòl, Ki moun ou ye travels deeper into the Haitian heritage introduced on Joachim’s Grammy-nominated Fanm d’Ayiti, and is set on the remote Caribbean farmland where her family has lived for generations.

—The London Times

Feb 3

Feb 23–25

Mar 7

ZELLERBACH HALL

Z E L L E R B A C H P L AY H O U S E

calperformances.org | 510.642.9988

Berkeley Rep: Bulrusher

Articles inside

Boontling: A Glossary

Q&A: Playwright Eisa Davis

Small Town, Big Stage

Welcome