FEBRUARY—APRIL 2020
(STILL) IN AMERICA
PAGE 21
PLUS
Culture Clash on being chroniclers, clowns, and collaborators · New artist housing · Citizen Rep takes action
Engaging and eclectic in the East Bay. Oakland is the gateway to the East Bay with a little bit of everything to offer, and St. Paul’s Towers gives you easy access to it all. An artistic, activist, and intellectual Life Plan Community, St. Paul’s Towers is known for convenient services, welcome comforts and security for the future. With classes, exhibits, lectures, restaurants, shops and public transportation within walking distance, St. Paul’s Towers is urban community living at its best. Get to know us and learn more about moving to St. Paul’s Towers. For information, or to schedule a visit, call 510.891.8542.
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WELCOME TO BERKELEY REP! To ensure the best experience for everyone:
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Food and drink: Beverages in cans, cartons, or plastic cups with lids are welcome in the house. Food is prohibited. Phones that make noise during the performance are disruptive to everyone. Ensure phones and electronic devices are turned off during the performance. Photography: Audience members may take photos in the theatre before and after the performance, and during intermission. Photos and video during the performance are not permitted. Photos posted on social media must credit the show’s designers. Late seating is not guaranteed. If you arrive late, the house manager will provide instructions about seating. If you leave during the performance, you will be reseated at an appropriate break.
IN THIS ISSUE
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From the artistic director · 5
Smoking/Vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free.
From the managing director · 6
One of the joys of live theatre is the collective experience. Remember that people respond in different ways, and we invite you to join with other audience members and enjoy the show!
“A building of exuberant repose:” Berkeley Rep breaks ground on artist housing · 10
Citizen Rep takes action · 8
FEATURES Culture Clash (Still) in America origin story · 12
CONNECT WITH BERKELEY REP Box Office: 510 647-2949 Groups (10+): 510 647-2918 Admin: 510 647-2900 School of Theatre: 510 647-2972 Click berkeleyrep.org Email info@berkeleyrep.org We’re mobile! Download our free iPhone or Android app. Share with us @berkeleyrep
Chronicling comics: Investigating American lives with Culture Clash · 12 “Equal-opportunity offenders:” Getting to know Culture Clash · 16 Culture Clash in an East Bay context & Telegraph Avenue rhyme · 18
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BERKELEY REP PRESENTS Culture Clash (Still) in America · 21 Who’s Who · 22
THE BERKELEY REP MAGAZINE 2019–20 · ISSUE 4
The Berkeley Rep Magazine is published at least seven times per season.
CONTRIBUTORS Foundation, corporate, and in-kind sponsors · 29 Individual donors to the Annual Fund · 30
For local advertising inquiries, please contact Pamela Webster at 510 590-7091 or pwebster@ berkeleyrep.org.
Michael Leibert Society · 32
Editor Karen McKevitt
ABOUT BERKELEY REP
Graphic Designers Cheshire Isaacs Haly Roy
Staff, board of trustees, and sustaining advisors · 33
Writers Katie Craddock Charlie Dubach-Reinhold Sarah Rose Leonard Karen McKevitt Richard Montoya 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3
February—April 2020 | Volume 15, No. 5
Trust is Earned
Serving our community for 53 years
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Production SUSAN PETERSON Vice President, Production JENNIFER SUGDEN Assistant Production Manager ANA ALVIRA, STEVIE VAN BRONKHORST Production Artists and Graphic Designers
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Proud to Support Berkeley Rep
F A M I LY
back to the Bay! As I was programming this season, my first at this beautiful theatre, I wanted to make sure the work we are sharing together includes artists like Jocelyn Bioh, Suzan-Lori Parks, and The Avett Brothers, who are new to Berkeley Rep (and in the case of the Avetts, new to theatre entirely!). It was equally important to me to honor the deep relationships that Berkeley Rep has forged over the last 50 years with artists including Mark Wing-Davey, Michael Mayer, and Sarah Ruhl. Lisa Peterson is part of that grand extended family, but also someone with whom I have had the privilege of collaborating many times during my decades at New York Stage and Film. She was one of the people I reached out to as I was planning this first season, and she told me of the work Culture Clash was doing to update their seminal piece Culture Clash in AmeriCCa for these complicated times. It’s no surprise, really, that we turn to our clowns to help us make sense of the world as it spins ever more rapidly in ways we struggle to understand. Sixteenth-century Italians had commedia dell’arte’s Arlecchino and Pantalone sending up their societal and political structures; Lear had his Fool to illuminate for him the absurdities of his behavior; and we have Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah and Tina Fey to whom we turn for escape, information, and entertainment. Culture Clash sits within that grand tradition of satirists whose work allows us to see ourselves, our community, our country in new ways. And while Richard and Ric and Herbert are lauded all over the country, they also are so specifically Californian, their work born from the histories and the people of the Central Valley, the East Bay, the Mission District. They have been making work all along this coast for decades, and I am proud to welcome them back to Berkeley Rep. Buckle up!!
FA M I LY L AW G R O U P, P. C .
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CONNECT
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
WHAT A DELIGHT to welcome Culture Clash
Find us everywhere @berkeleyrep
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 5
MEET US AT THE BAR Join us for signature cocktails, wines, craft beer, and delectable treats. Open before the show and during intermission.
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weeks before he and his colleagues, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza, officially returned to Berkeley with Culture Clash (Still) in America, an update of Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, which we premiered in 2002. The world is certainly a different place than it was 18 years ago. Our relationship to our neighbors on the Southern border has taken a profound turn. Our national policy has moved increasingly toward isolationism with a particular antipathy to immigrants from the South. Ironically (or not!) here in California, the percentage of residents identifying as Latinx has continued to grow. When I first arrived here from Chicago, one of the aspects of living in California that was so new and so fascinating to me was this state’s relationship to our Mexican and southern neighbors. Of course there were simply more Latinx people here than in any of the Midwestern cities where I’d previously resided. That in itself was an education. But what was also such an enormous education was the recognition of how long this constituency had lived on this land. When I went to school in the Midwest there wasn’t a lot of discussion about how California had been part of Mexico at one time, so meeting people whose families had been Californians since before California was a state was one of the eye-opening experiences of my slow but steady conversion from being a Midwestern girl to a committed Californian. I got this education, full bore, and it came almost upon my arrival, from Richard, Ric, and Herbert. Then artistic director, Sharon Ott, had commissioned what was at the time a young, iconoclastic band of enfant terribles to create a piece specifically to tour to Bay Area schools. I suppose it speaks to whom we’ve always been that 30 years ago we were commissioning work by early career artists exploring new forms and new narratives. In this case we were also creating that work for school-age kids. So it was with real fascination that I heard Richard reflect on how his politics, his sense of himself as an artist, and his sense of the artist’s role and responsibilities has changed over time. That sense of evolution only enhances the joy of having them back on our stages. It is a great pleasure to allow our longtime audiences to revisit Culture Clash’s early work, seen through a new lens, and to introduce new audiences to this iconic company. Enjoy! Best regards,
Susie Medak
FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
RICHARD MONTOYA CAME TO VISIT with us
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SOMETIMES, THE CONTENT OF OUR PLAYS SPURS US TO BAY AREA EXPERTS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE WORK
CITIZEN REP TAKES ACTION BY K ATIE CR ADDOCK
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While Berkeley Rep loves to entertain, we’ve also striven to make art that, as our mission states, “provokes civic engagement.” Indeed, our artists, staff, and audiences have a rich history of taking action. In 2018, we formed an internal committee — dubbed Citizen Rep — to build on this track record by investigating opportunities for civic engagement on behalf of the Theatre. From partnering with experts and activists in our community, to registering voters in our lobby, to supporting our staff’s volunteer efforts, to raising funds in times of crisis or around an issue central to a production, Citizen Rep explores ways for Berkeley Rep to engage creatively with our community offstage.
FORGE OR DEEPEN A RELATIONSHIP WITH INTERSECTS WITH THE ISSUES ON STAGE.” Often, our activities are inspired by our plays’ direct or implicit calls to action. The second act of Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field directly engaged audiences in facilitated reflections on the school-to-prison pipeline and asked them to be agents of change in their government, schools, and communities. In the fall of 2016, we produced a new adaptation of It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis’ novel about the ascent of a demagogue who becomes president of the United States by promising to return the country to greatness. During the run, we held voter registration at our open house and co-hosted free outdoor screenings of the presidential debates with our neighbors at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. That same fall, during rehearsals for Jeff Augustin’s play The Last Tiger in Haiti, Hurricane Matthew struck parts of Haiti and left massive destruction in its path. After every performance the cast, with the help of Berkeley Rep’s volunteer ushers, invited audience members to make donations to aid those affected by the hurricane. By the end of the run, donations to two Haitian organizations totaled $92,000. Sometimes, the content of our plays spurs us to forge or deepen a relationship with Bay Area people and organizations whose work intersects with the issues on stage. When we produced Lisa Loomer’s play Roe, centered on the inception of Roe v. Wade and the history of American abortion rights, we invited local women’s health experts to co-moderate our nightly post-show discussions alongside Berkeley Rep staff. For Julia Cho’s Office Hour, which addressed gun violence in schools, we co-moderated discussions with experts from the Brady Campaign, Berkeley Media Studies Group, Hope and Heal Fund, and Speak for Safety. We also shared information about days of action during the run, including the enough School Walkout and March for Our Lives. Given the Bay Area’s critical role in lgbtqia+ history and activism, we were thrilled to partner with and highlight the work of many local nonprofits during our production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. We also hosted a free panel on aids activism and displayed panels of the aids Memorial Quilt in our lobby. During the run of Kiss My Aztec!, which playfully depicted and reimagined Aztec history to celebrate Latinx resilience and culture, our cast was compelled to act in response to the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s southern borders and ice detention centers. For two weeks, they raised funds at curtain call to support raices, which provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees; and Border Angels, which works for humane immigration reform and a reduction in fatalities along the U.S.-Mexico border. As we put the finishing touches on this issue of The Berkeley Rep Magazine, Citizen Rep is hard at work forging partnerships with local organizations and individuals for Culture Clash (Still) in America. See the sidebar for information about some of these partners, and discover more about our additional partners on our social media channels and our display in the lobby. At the same time, Citizen Rep is developing ways to engage in the primary and general 2020 election processes. Berkeley Rep’s full-time employees may take two paid days per year to participate in a volunteer activity; several members of our staff regularly volunteer to help with voter registration and poll watching. Citizen Rep is sharing information about California’s primary process and local elections with our full staff. In this moment, we’re hearing from audience members, staff, and artists alike that it’s easy to feel isolated and overwhelmed by the issues facing our community, country, and world. While theatre certainly can’t solve everything, we can offer a place to gather together, to collectively think and feel — and sometimes, to learn about opportunities for concrete action.
Throughout the performances of Culture Clash (Still) in America, Berkeley Rep has partnered with four local service organizations. Join us in amplifying the work they do. EAST BAY SANCTUARY COVENANT EA ST BAY SANC TUARY COVENANT
Founded in 1982 and based in Berkeley, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant provides legal services, community organizing, and transformative education to support low-income immigrants and people fleeing violence and persecution. ebsc programs address the legal and social barriers that immigrants face and connect the broader community with the immigrant experience. eastbaysanctuary.com
LA CLÍNIC A
La Clínica was founded in 1971 to address health barriers and create better lives for the underserved. It was founded on the tenets of fighting systematic racism and healing racial inequalities. Today, La Clínica continues to be the community’s first choice for providing multilingual, accessible, comprehensive health care services in the Bay Area, no matter a patient’s income level or insurance status. Find us on Facebook and Twitter! Look for La Clínica de La Raza. secure.qgiv.com/for/laclinica
LA PEÑA CULTUR AL CENTER
La Peña is a vibrant nonprofit community cultural center with a global vision that has promoted social justice, arts participation, and intercultural understanding since 1975. As an internationally recognized gathering place, we support a multitude of cultural traditions, support progressive movements, and keep alive peoples’ cultures through community events, performances, and classes rooted in Latin American cultural traditions and beyond. lapena.org
OA SIS LEGAL SERVICES
Oasis Legal Services proudly provides quality legal immigration services to under-represented low-income groups with a focus on lgbtqia+ communities. oasislegalservices.org
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“A BUILDING OF EXUBERANT 1 0 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4
BERKELEY REP IS LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH THIS PROJECT” MANAGING DIRECTOR SUSIE MEDAK
BEYOND THOSE CONSTRUCTION WALLS just down the street
from Berkeley Rep’s theatres, an innovative new project is brewing: artist housing. Berkeley Rep is one of the first companies in the city to undertake a workforce housing project, and the city of Berkeley is one of the first cities in the nation to develop artist housing in collaboration with a leading regional theatre. “Berkeley Rep is looking to the future with this project,” says Managing Director Susie Medak. “The rental units we currently utilize have nearly tripled in cost over the past decade. This variable expense is a challenge to our long-term stability, and we committed ourselves to containing these costs.” In addition to the 45 apartment units that will house visiting artists as well as the 15 young professionals in Berkeley Rep’s season-long fellowship program, the seven-floor building will include classroom and showcase space for the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, 500 square feet of terrace space for events, balconies, bike parking, and a video marquee. “This isn’t a run of the mill building,” says architect Jorge de Quesada. “It’s not just an apartment building. It’s actually combining many different kinds of uses. That’s what makes it exciting.” This project was a long time coming. Berkeley Rep built what’s now called the Peet’s Theatre in the early 1980s, and we completed the Roda Theatre in 2001. We were finally able to activate the remaining undeveloped property to the west of the Roda when Signature Bank, a supporter of New York theatre that recently commenced operations in San Francisco, committed to financing the project. Jorge and his team at De Quesada Architects, Inc. created the first design plans in 2017, long before the new brightly col-
REPOSE”
lots of glass with orange pops of color, embraces the excitement of theatre and works in harmony with the eye-catching garage across the street. “They said the new design was ‘a building of exuberant repose,’” says Sarah Williams, who was the project’s manager and Berkeley Rep’s associate managing director until she started her new position as managing director of California Shakespeare Theater last September. The building is designed to be leed Gold certified, and the furnished apartments will include full kitchens, bike parking, air conditioning, and efficient filtered ventilation systems. Because more and more of our visiting artists have young children, the apartments have been designed with families and flexibility in mind. Five units boast two bedrooms, and Murphy beds allow artists to transform their apartments and create more floor space. “Artist housing is linked to Berkeley Rep’s commitment to providing art of the highest caliber,” says Sarah. “We want to create a living space where artists could work and create the best art for our stage — where they could also make a home away from home.” What’s more, other local nonprofits can benefit from Berkeley Rep’s new building. “We’ll have a few apartment units that other companies — like Aurora Theatre, Freight & Salvage, and organizations in Oakland — can rent on a shortterm basis,” says Susie. “We’ve made space at our theatres and at our Harrison Street campus available for public use for many years, and we’re pleased to be able to do the same with our new building.” From the start, the City of Berkeley, its staff, and its Office of Economic Development have thrown their full support
BERKELEY REP BREAKS GROUND ON ARTIST HOUSING
ored Center Street Garage, which sits directly across the street from what will be Berkeley Rep’s new building, was completed. Wary of creating something too flashy at the time, the team opted for a design that blended into the aesthetic of Addison Street. That is, it frankly looked a bit utilitarian. Berkeley’s Design Review Committee sent us back to the drawing board. The new design, with its dynamic video screens,
BY K AREN MCKEVIT T
behind the project, which is expected to be completed in early 2021. “The need to develop artist housing is essential for the sustainability of Berkeley’s world-renowned cultural arts community,” says Mayor Jesse Arreguín. Our block of Addison Street is already a thriving, dynamic cultural ecosystem, and Berkeley Rep’s new building will further enhance the importance of the arts district in downtown Berkeley.
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A C I R E M A N I ) L L I T (S THE ORIGIN STORY BERKELEY REP’S PREVIOUS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Tony Taccone first en-
countered Culture Clash in San Francisco in the 1980s, when he was the artistic director at the Eureka Theatre Company. The Latino group had just begun to grow their Bay Area fame as sketch comedians, and when Taccone cast Ricardo Salinas and Richard Montoya in Eureka Theatre’s The Roosters in 1987, a collaboration began. When Taccone joined Berkeley Rep as associate artistic director, he and then Artistic Director Sharon Ott commissioned Culture Clash in 1990 to create The Yo, Frankie! Show, a satirical children’s show that toured Northern California schools. By the late 1990s, Culture Clash was traveling the country. They had transformed their comedy shows from collections of standup and sketches into three-act plays. One such play was their take on Aristophanes’ The Birds. This “postmodern funk-punk fun” adaptation, produced by Berkeley Rep in 1998, satirized Berkeley culture and featured a four-piece band in place of a Greek chorus. Their swashbuckling Zorro in Hell, based on the legendary masked vigilante who defends the oppressed in Spanish California, played here in 2006. Along with these reworkings of classic myths and tales, Culture Clash produced site-specific plays based on interviews. Their documentary theatre career exploded in the late 1990s with plays based on communities across the country, including SF’s Mission District; Washington, D.C.; and Miami. In 2001, they compiled the various characters and storylines from each of these site-specific pieces into a big mashup performance they called Culture Clash in AmeriCCa. Produced by Berkeley Rep in 2002, Culture Clash in AmeriCCa brought what the Clasheros call “social archaeology” — an unearthing of the diverse cultural experiences they encountered across the country — into a multilayered comedic play that resonated strongly with audiences. Fast forward nearly 20 years. The strands of Berkeley Rep’s past with Culture Clash and our love for longtime Berkeley Rep director Lisa Peterson wove together at the perfect time to produce Culture Clash (Still) in America. This show, grown from Culture Clash in AmeriCCa and reworked to reflect our world today, played at South Coast Rep late last year. The Clasheros return to Berkeley with a script that integrates their insider Bay Area knowledge and responds to our ever-changing current political climate. Culture Clash, as always, stirs up the wackiness that is America, filters it through their fantastic sense of humor, and makes some noise.
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CHRO
INVESTIGATING The three members of Culture Clash — Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza — spoke with, over, and around each other during their interview with Literary Fellow Charlie DubachReinhold. They had recently sent us a new draft of Culture Clash (Still) in America, and were two months away from being back in the room with their director, Lisa Peterson. Below are excerpts from their conversation. For the long-form version of this interview, listen to the Berkeley Rep podcast Repisodes, available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
LISTEN TO THESE FEATURES AND HEAR EXTENDED INTERVIEWS ON REPISODES: THE BERKELEY REP PODCAST AT SOUNDCLOUD.COM/BERKELEYREP
BY CHARLIE DUBACH-REINHOLD
ONICLING COMICS AMERICAN LIVES WITH CULTURE CLASH Hi! This is Charlie calling from Berkeley Rep! I have some questions about Culture Clash (Still) in America and your creative process in general, does that sound — Richard Montoya: Horrible! — like what you’re prepared for? RM: Sounds horrible! Herbert Siguenza: You know what I say? I say that’s malarkey. Malarkey. Great! So, Culture Clash (Still) in America has (Still) stuck right in the middle. Because it’s a re-thinking of Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, which was at Berkeley Rep nearly 20 years ago now. Can you talk about what inspired the original piece and why you’re revisiting it this year? RM: Enthusiastic, chipper Charlie. This is Montoya. What was the goddamn question again? Ah, I remember. A couple years before Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, we were taking our plays around the country. Sometime between going to Miami and the Lower East Side of New York it became clear to us that we needed to record the stories of the amazing people that we were meeting. It wasn’t an overnight decision. Prior to this kind of site-specific work — which Anna Deavere Smith and Danny Hoch were also doing right at the same time — our work was about our Chicano identity and Latino existence in the urban centers of America. Those shows were popular, got us all over the country. But while we were in these cultural hot spots, we thought, “We’ve gotta turn the camera and the recorders around to the people that we’re talking to.” And the gambit worked because people had something fascinating to say. They were boiling cauldrons of culture — and different cultures, in Miami, y’know, we met gentile Anglo-South people. We met African Americans from the Deep South, we met Jewish Americans, we met Cubans, we met Dominicans and Venezuelans, and so our head was really swimming with authentic voices, and we thought, “That’s the show.” There was something really alive in that relationship between Culture Clash and the people we were interviewing. We worked really hard to interview cops, border patrol agents — not just the CO NTIN U E D
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WE’RE LIKE JAZZ MUSICIANS, THE THREE OF US. WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 35 YEARS AND, Y’KNOW, I CAN SEE WHAT HERBERT’S GONNA DO, WHAT RICHARD’S GONNA BE.” RICARDO SALINAS
border crosser, but the border patrol agent. Sheriffs, doctors, lawyers, homeless people, transgender people, the gay and lesbian community in San Francisco. It allowed us access to a part of the American culture I don’t think we would have got to as fast. HS: The original Culture Clash in AmeriCCa was a compilation of different characters that we pulled from the different site-specific plays like Radio Mambo, Anthems, Mission Magic Mystery Tour, and Bordertown. Then, it wasn’t about one specific city anymore, it was about America in general. Tony [Taccone, Berkeley Rep’s previous artistic director] helped us put that show together. Ricardo Salinas: What’s great about doing this work now is we’ve actually aged into some of the monologues. We’re now more mature, we’re better actors also! To have these plays directed by Taccone and now Lisa Peterson is just really fine-tuning our work as actors. We’re like jazz musicians, the three of us. We’ve been together for 35 years and, y’know, I can see what Herbert’s gonna do, what Richard’s gonna be. We’re also putting the lens on each other. We’re interviewing, and as we’re portraying these characters we have a Culture Clash member onstage, a chronicler. Because that’s what we’re doing — we’re chronicling, we’re doing storytelling, the oldest art form. And for us to be working with Lisa Peterson is just a gift. HS: We have a 20-year record with Lisa. RS: So when we’re gonna be looking at our characters that we’ve done before, or that we’re revisiting, or re-editing, it’s just brand new. It’s a brand-new piece. How exactly does your collaboration work with Lisa? RM: It starts with the writing. We have a certain language with Lisa. She has a way of helping us shape the work. The trick is to get the script up on its feet and start shaping it live with her. Back to the whole idea of (Still), that word “still” is about us as Culture Clash. That word is about three chroniclers that are still out there doing the job. It’s not that we wanted to make characters out of ourselves, but y’know, dammit, we were there and we drag all that equipment with us through the night. And the only way to talk to people is by sitting down across from them. Also, Trump’s America
has very much impacted (Still). The show always was about voices in the margin, and with a lot of immigrant stories tied in, but that’s even more centralized now. And so this atmosphere — this moment that this country’s in right now — is very much impacting the work. We and Lisa are both living this life that, yes we’re artists, but there’s a responsibility to be an American citizen, so 25 years later we’re back in the streets, we’re back marching, we’re marching with our sisters, we’re marching with our immigrants, so we’re not taking this lightly and we’re not taking it quietly. HS: Still here. Still here. A lot of those stories are pretty serious, and you might even call some of the stories tragic, so why the comedic bent of the show? HS: The stories stay serious, but we contrast them with other characters that have a lot more humor. The dark is dark, we don’t make fun of that. And then we know that some characters are much lighter. But even the light characters in our play have something to say, it’s not like they’re just frivolous. There’s a pain, or there’s a tragedy under it, or loneliness. Something underneath the laughter. RS: I just wanted to go back a bit to Lisa Peterson. We’re three Latino actors and writers, and being a Latino in this theatre world is, y’know, you only get so many chances to get on the big stage. Yet, Lisa sees us as almost like a blank canvas, y’know? We can get into roles that are not ethnically specific to who we are — we are portraying
THE STORIES STAY SERIOUS, BUT WE CONTRAST THEM WITH OTHER CHARACTERS THAT HAVE A LOT MORE HUMOR. BUT EVEN THE LIGHT CHARACTERS IN OUR PLAY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.” HERBERT SIGUENZA
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BOOPADABOOPADABOOPADABOOP.” RICHARD MONTOYA other ethnicities and other genders, even. And so for us to work with Lisa, she sees us as shapeshifters. We’re not just coming in as Latinos into a theatre — you get pigeonholed or you get stereotyped — it’s just really rewarding for us to be seen on par with anybody else who’s onstage. HS: Yeah, and the kids that are in cages look a lot like our kids, y’know? And it’s very hard to be onstage and doing a musical at this point, y’know? It doesn’t seem responsible at all. RM: Unless it’s Kiss My Aztec! That deserves to be onstage. Teacher’s pet. Boopadaboopadaboopadaboop. Yes it does! RM: I want to go back to something that you asked, Charlie. Our comedy is never a matter of turning a dramatic monologue funny. The humor is much more in the tension of sitting across from someone who’s deadly serious about something, but there’s a cultural misunderstanding. The awkwardness — what are these three guys doing in the home of a Haitian man, why are we in the prison talking to people. There’s funny situations that arise out of that. We are comedic opportunists, looking for the opportunity where we’re in the darkness and a little shred of light comes in and it completely impacts the evening. Comedy has to be performed because you know right then and there if it’s working or if it’s not. Drama, we can go the whole night — How was it? Oh it was wonderful. Or, it was dreadful. Comedy? No. It lets you know, on the spot, if it’s working or not. You’re all living in LA, in California. What draws you here? HS: We’re not the young bucks that used to go around the country staying at Motel 6 sharing a room with triple bunk beds, y’know? But we did that. I mean, we’ve been to Texas, New York — you name it, we’ve been there — check out our trajectory. Just recently, though, California — it’s a hotbed. We’re leading sometimes the dialogue that’s going around the country. So I think we’re at the right spot. RS: Coming to Berkeley Rep is an honor because it’s a theatre that has pushed the envelope in the regional scene and in the greater scope of American theatre. And we’re glad to be part of that history.
RM: We originally started in the Mission District of San Francisco, so coming to Berkeley Rep is gonna be a great homecoming. There’s a lotta places that know our work, and a lotta new folks that have never seen us. I think people are going to respond to this kind of blue collar theatre that celebrates the worker and also celebrates the interview subjects. It celebrates the country that we know is better than our current state. We don’t have to be caging children at the fucking border. This is not the America that we foresaw. We thought we saw the worst of it, and here we are now with policies, and a vitriol, and a xenophobia, focused squarely at our people. It’s time to replant that flag for people in the Bay Area to see our kind of theatre again. I’ve worked very closely with Campo Santo in the Bay, I’m excited to be near and around them, we just did the 60th anniversary for the Mime Troupe, y’know, all of our heroes are there. RS: We do still bring in a new audience no matter where we play, and we love grooving with the subscribers who we love! We used to make fun of subscribers saying they were too old, and what do they know, but they’ve got years and years of theatre knowledge that surprises us, whether they’re conservative or whether they’re liberal. And it’s gonna be comedy ultimately as a way to spoon-feed some of these heavy subject matters. It’s a great night of theatre for folks. They usually leave thinking and laughing. RM: We were in Chicago, not long ago, and we did a version of this, and the audience was packed with African-American and Latino kids, and mixed in with them was the graduate theatre class of DePaul University. To have both those groups side-by-side vibing and feeling with lots of tears and lots of laughter. The most important thing is not that they see three actors and writers, but what they see in this show is something that they could easily do. They could go record with their iPhones: their grandmother, their grandfather, their moms, their people, their preacher, the cops on the street — they can go record and make a show in the same way that we made a show. That’s very empowering. That’s why I said the word “blue collar.” Those are the moments. HS: It’s important to develop a new audience. The audience is the teacher. 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 5
“EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY BY SAR AH ROSE LEONARD
THE CULTURE CLASH STORY BEGINS
with René Yañez, the curator of the Galería de la Raza in San Francisco. Yañez, one of the first people to introduce the contemporary concept of Mexico’s Day of the Dead to the U.S., thrived on supporting Latino and Chicano artists of all genres in his space. In 1984, Yañez gathered actors/writers Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas, Herbert Siguenza, Marga Gomez, Monica Palacios, and the late José Antonio Burciaga to form the comedy troupe now known as Culture Clash. The group bonded over a shared sense of humor — something they all felt was lacking in the performance art scene at the time. Referring to that period of time, Montoya said, “Even in Chicano literature, there is a humor that goes back to a very Mexican sensibility of life and death and irony.” The comedy troupe, originally called Comedy Fiesta, performed shows together until the late 1980s, when Gomez, Palacios, and Burciaga left the group to explore other interests. The remaining three members are still going strong. Herbert Siguenza, born in San Francisco of Salvadorian descent, saw a lot of circus in El Salvador that influenced his work with Culture Clash. He graduated from California College of Arts and Crafts with a degree in art, printmaking, and silk-screening. After serving as the art director at La Raza Graphics Center — a hub for community political posters — he moved into theatre, sparked by the famed Luis Valdez play Zoot Suit. He said, “It was just another tool, another way of
A SELECTED TIMELINE OF WORKS THE MISSION (1988)
The plot of The Mission involves “three vatos from the Mission on a mission,” who try to get into Hollywood by kidnapping Julio Iglesias. The play also folds in commentary on the treatment and victimization of California’s indigenous peoples by the Spanish mission system.
A BOWL OF BEINGS (1991)
A meditation on a violent incident in Ricardo Salinas’ life. On September 7, 1989, Salinas was shot while trying to break up a fight, sustaining near-fatal injuries, and remained in intensive care for five days. Later adapted for a 1992 episode of pbs’s Great Performances series.
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expressing or communicating to the people. When Culture Clash happened…I found my place because I was about to be myself, my bicultural self, and it just felt right, very natural and very organic, because we were able to be ourselves…the good and the bad.” Siguenza has since become the playwright-in-residence at San Diego Repertory Theatre and served as cultural consultant and voice actor for the Pixar film Coco. Ricardo Salinas, born El Salvador, grew up in San Francisco in the Mission District and graduated from SF State. Though his degrees are in broadcasting and communication, he stumbled into theatre as well. He said, “I was doing teatro and it was all kinds of angry, political theatre — sometimes a little bit too dogmatic.” He rapped in Spanish and English, did breakdancing, and honed his skills as an actor in his early days as a performer. One incident comes up again and again in profiles on Salinas: in 1989 he saw a kid being beaten up outside his house, ran for help, was hit by bullets from a sawed-off shotgun, and landed in the hospital where he lay comatose for three days. This incident informed his writing and acting choices: he has subsequently acted in plays that tackle the topics of gang violence and immigration, and has written skits about both topics for Culture Clash as well. Richard Montoya, born in San Diego, moved north with his family as a child, living in Oakland, Marysville, Lincoln, and other small towns. Eventually his family settled in Sacramen-
*selections from these shows made their way into Culture Clash (Still) in America
S.O.S— COMEDY FOR THESE URGENT TIMES (1992)
A comedy written in response to the Los Angeles Riots and treatment of Rodney King. C ARPA CLA SH (1993)
A tribute to ufw leader Cesar Chavez that uses the Mexican tradition of the carpa — a vaudevillian tent show — to tell its story.
CULTURE CLA SH UNPLUGGED (1994)
A potpourri of vaudeville sketches, circus clowning, and stand-up comedy in which the members play roles that range from Los Angeles gumshoes to Che Guevara. *R ADIO M A MBO: CULTURE CLA SH INVADES MIA MI (1994)
A collection of interviews of approximately 70 Miami residents about urban renewal, crimes, hurricanes, and immigration, as well as where to get a plate of arroz con pollo served by a six-foot-tall drag queen.
*BORDERTOWN (1998)
Explores the San Diego-Tijuana region, based upon interviews conducted with more than 100 people from both sides of the border and from every walk of life. Interviewees include rightwing talk-show host and former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, Sheriff Bill Kolender, Filipino and Ugandan immigrants, Navy personnel, a high school counselor, a border guard, punk rockers, homeless children, and factory workers.
OFFENDERS” to, where his father, José Montoya, co-founded an artistic collective called the Royal Chicano Air Force (rcaf) in 1969. The collective expressed the goals of the Chicano civil rights and labor organizing movement of the United Farm Workers. rcaf painted murals, printed silkscreens, performed theatre, and disseminated photography — all of it bicultural/bilingual, available to the public, and inherently participatory. Greatly influenced by his father’s work, Montoya said, “I remember as a child, when the first Delano-to-Sacramento farmworker march landed in — I believe it was ’66 or ’67 — my mom and a lot of the women would cook for the masses. There were like five to ten thousand farmworkers, camped out in parks. I remember like three o’clock in the morning, I was helping peel potatoes or something, and everybody was camped out like Zapata’s army, except about every five hundredth person, you’d see a light, a flashlight or a lantern, and a kind of slumped-over body that wasn’t sleeping, and I asked my mom, ‘Who are those people?’ She goes, ‘Those are the people who are writing about what’s happening right now. Those are the people that are documenting what’s going on.’ That burned an image in my head that one day I wanted to be one of those people.” Culture Clash creates theatre collaboratively, since they are all writers and performers. Inspired by the comedy of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Charlie Chaplin, and the Mexican comedian Cantinflas, their sense of humor equally offended and tickled audiences. When they started out performing at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley or at The Public Theater in New York audiences would boo at their political incorrectness. They shot out jokes about Frida Kahlo and Che Guevara — sacred figures to many — and countered the narrative that only projecting positive images would help Latino people “get ahead.” Montoya said, “We’re very interested in the notion that our people as a whole can advance…it means exploring dysfunction, it means exploring all those little dark secrets that we’ve tucked away for so long.” This approach developed in contrast with the serious sensibility many took when it came to representation of Latino people in the U.S. The Clasheros (as they are also known) purposefully shook up assumptions by playing characters from
THE BIRDS (1998)
An adaptation of Aristophanes’ The Birds for South Coast Rep and Berkeley Rep. As episodic as a TV sitcom, The Birds is about two people from “the greatest nation on Earth” who set out to find what they’re missing on Earth by entering the celestial, seemingly uncomplicated realm of birds.
NUYORIC AN STORIES (1999)
Explores the lives of several well-known Nuyoricans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and Chicanos from the past 30 years. *MISSION M AGIC MYSTERY TOUR (2001)
A mourning and remembering of the neighborhood from which Culture Clash sprang. In this show, they recall the Mission District of the past, where Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, and the Brown Buffalo once met up, and the Mission of today, filled with hipsters, addicts, and mariachis.
GETTING TO KNOW CULTURE CLASH all walks of life, many derived from real-life interviews they conducted across the country. These interviews and jokes come together to create a kind of performance collage. History, journalism, music, and poetry filter through a distinctly Chicano point of view — what performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña describes as “reverse anthropology.” Layering is inherent to the group’s work: even as the actors play a character, they are always simultaneously performing themselves. Scholar Antonia Nakano Glenn argues that “Montoya, Salinas and Siguenza have continued to play the roles of activist clowns, resisting, subverting and hijacking the very productions that they write and perform…. They enact familiar performative signatures: Richard is acerbic and lewd, and recites spoken word poetry; Ric is sweet and earnest, and does rap and a variety of dances, from breakdancing to salsa; Herbert is more serious, and is known for his comical impersonations.” Something Culture Clash is known for is breaking the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience. Even though their venues have grown — they’ve even aired an snlstyle Latino sketch comedy TV show — the Clasheros maintain an authenticity in how they talk to their audiences. This style follows in the footsteps of their theatrical forebears: commedia dell’arte, San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino. That artist-audience connection informs how the material changes from night to night. Part of what makes Culture Clash’s work stand out is recognizing where it sits within the theatrical landscape. When they first traveled throughout the regional theatre circuit, they broke ground as some of the first Latino artists to play at those theatres. Happily, they became forbears to a whole new wave of Latino playwrights and comedians. But the Clasheros never rest on their laurels. Their prolific work is relentlessly obsessed with America and how different cultures literally clash. Who lives in the margins of this society? What do they have to say? Where are their struggles and conflicts? By bringing voices from their travels into the room with us, and layering their own strong personalities into the work, they hold the very complicated country that is America in their hands.
*ANTHEMS: CULTURE CLA SH IN THE DISTRIC T (2002)
This DC-focused show takes a look at the city in the aftermath of 9/11. Characters include a Jordanian cabbie, a local electric company worker, postal employees, patrons of a fundraising event at the zoo, a newly arrived Salvadorian waiter who’s struck by the populace he encounters (“Where are the gringos?”), and even the much-beloved former parking lot attendant at Arena Stage, where the show premiered.
CHAVEZ R AVINE (2003)
An interview-based look at the controversial history of Chavez Ravine, the immigrant community that once existed on the site that is now Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. ZORRO IN HELL (2006)
A Berkeley Rep premiere, this play uses Zorro’s legend to explore homeland security in the Wild West — when Anglo Americans struggled with Mexican immigration, Indian gambling, and a governor born on foreign soil.
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N I H S A L C E R U CULT G E L E T &
BY RICHARD MONTOYA\CULTURE CLASH at Berkeley Rep 2020
ent housat this governm ile ic m do r fo s iversity of those anxiou e packed with un er w uts ct ec lle oj te pr in e s, h, Armenian, writer ing leviathan. Th , Russian, Jewis es of our Chicano iv s, ct io lle ar co th y lo pp y et American, and students, pre-hi tential cafe soci merican, Asian po A , ts an is ic of tiv ll ex fa ac M , e , ts th an in -war housals, art studen African Americ legraph Avenue sted in this post socialist Te xi -e on e co s th et an ic om po fr er d a m an gallery rats, d unto Havan every kind of A echoes of co-op ople’s & Fidel descende our forebears arrived in ith its inherent he w t C le en i-me Pe hi rim W . pe 59 ex s 19 ing s anybody? Min y rock star en of sh rd s ld bu ga e fie al lik er un g tt m in the bi ople’s Park! jungles look romance! Com ts before the Pe el in a hot er sharpened in ec ng w oj hu llo pr a fo ’s s le ng ill yi B op rr I Berkeley ca with their G Parks in the pe ves, time trav yet emboldened eater. transport oursel nue and the Bay Area Th d ul fic ci co e Pa w e If th the San Joaquin in legraph Ave rvice to country on infaerkeley rhaps back to Te pe ing dedicated se Chicano poets who hung out b tu more genteel B A l ue d? ig fin M e e w m ith sa w ld y ry ou Cit s living next to The ve in ’59 what w of all ethnicitie ets in New York re es d st ili n un m de fo fa Si st re st ti fir Ea s en 0 ’7 so find a certai mous Lower perhaps with Poets in the early ents. We may al e suburban an ud ic st or d uy an N s e et th Piñero and streets. artists and po l to drift up th these East Bay a; it’s ssness, a refusa bedroom metropolises le st re an ic er their swagger on ood-rooted in our creative dn m A py northeast ues to This lit fact is bl aries to the slee work and contin n ut ib ow tr r ou of y so antholog amento! ie’s and a ds tonight. It al baked into the of Tracy or Sacr crossing Telegraph near Robb see on the boar ill d w u an Bame yo s in to uff el d st Va I see Los auhaus an “La literary tim B yield good of ng rt si so us a sc e sh di t la th ture C suey join of the Hells tian clowns on provides for Cul notorious chop d with members poets and Brech ary Beats as le r ng ou ta ts ce pu on at th ey r over a stolen gend landscape ba” where th d Oakland charte e time as the le s an m y ou sa ar m e fa br th Li in at y e le th ks ues printed Berke same bloc Angels from c: Mexico City Bl ua th Beach to the ro or n. N Ke ee ck om tw Ja fr be d by le in they How book written y happening and house part these 1959! José Mon. 59 19 in rn every café, bar, bo in — wait for it — d storytelling emanating from ers were nd ou g -f ry rin co an ve d s sh is an ie la th at ento Two C The stor East Bay mitos d ureate of Sacram ctive, packed la an s et et po ud re y lo st ar y h nd it toya, lege Force colle very Berkele verberate w yal Chicano Air t continue to re d our scholarship now lled into en ro en om d m c an ifi vy ec master of the Ro he sp C s, our poems, an ld ily into a green College hoes in our play the early ccac crew that wou his growing fam ge of Arts & Crafts (ccac) on ec le iftke ol dr Li C t . ia er uc rn tr ev ns the Califo more than Emeryville to co forward to a, . of ill ar V es ye n or ry ba sh te ve e Es at th g cludin Avenue th embark on can be traced his compadres in rrez opened a tiny es whose roots ur pt gh weathered ul Soon several of sc To d so oo ue w and wood thou as, and Q s at el ie Se rn or e O st re e ph Th th al e , R th t, an Roy Scot christened Burning M legraph Avenue in 1984, er time. so a part-time al , ya to on art gallery on Te chly burnish ov ture Clash founder established M . ri od ho d or te hb ve ig the e co g ne René Yañez, Cul stigator of the first U.S. Day of er in the bustlin his family into th hood ed ov m h, ig in H nd hbor noted teacher at Oakla Projects in the Fruitvale neig Godfather, and es ng m si na ou e H th d ld Lockwoo g lists he that time waitin of Oaktown — at
WE CAN PLACE SEVERAL
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T X E T N O C Y A B T AN EAS E M Y H R E U N E V A GRAPH , but dience occurred au t en er ff di -in though imes badge of pride A gigs for a somet ! ña Pe La ld ou om w ’d fr thers & ess, the Chilean Bro e were never 86 a Kahlo awaren w o, id N Fr . of en r s. be ie to rr ve va ca l ld ha ary ntia really, like Dead and prim oneering existe e probably shou of Berkeley was ción w pi t r os ou m , of s th us nk 60 ith ra e w e th tient Nueva Can arrive and join th ering of good folks observing oSisters were pa up and discover ow gr th pr ent to ga e th nt us , r ce pe fo re d ou a an At ey waite Americ Contin anew Mime Tr th e o th sc ci on an , ile Fr 59 n ex 19 Sa ue in e n t tr e cry anniversary of th ory and archival footage bega and to know wha Víctor Jara y Los Chilenos!” w e os st th hi iva El and the lives of jected film strip meant. “Que V e e familiar faces th im s M ar e and giving. t again! ye th e ye of th ils e h ic ro throug cial just as Chile been generous so s & ay t w ar al s to ay B s ha s ter all, st de ra Ea Berkeley it seem ce born in and of The West, af committed com llide with our own: Legendary ve gi s an er te m co st rit n rn ro Troupe began to as Montoya’s Mime Troupe po s have carried w Ours is a weste ue en av e th on uí aq ust be lines Printmaker Mal those telegraph nce the 1800s. Our Maestras m ace, and pride. pl e, os irp us m pu of pe e nary filmd si us another sens es of Jack Wicker, the Mime Trou The and spoken wor The fierce poetas and revolutio orpi, of ps ell! tistic director I caught glim rtillo, Lucha C bowed too as w er, and original ar etime after Peter here: Lourdes Po landa López ay pl us rn ht ho ug t ta an ho eg m w cian, el makers screen so seminal artist Yo Kan ered across the Sharon LockCervantes, and ed ee m D a na rn Farm as he flick e ect too to Philip Lo nu sp gé Re in . g ek nd un re ge C yo le a e on si re s ar hé Lacy! Coyote and befo ho lived on a boathouse on Mis erican whose Cal classe a, Donald & LoEs ns of Latinx oy w m r ed A B h ke is rt ic Ir W be ss r. Ro la M , -c ng ratio wood. Gotanda le cloth of worki ked at Bethlehem inspire new gene ho ay w B e th st Ea om e fr th t May was cu rents wor ission whose pa istory buff who aided us our sense of s and artists! er kids from the M rit H w ia rn us our empathy, rro in rly Califo ve Zo ea ga rly an u ea rses and as yo , w an r nd ck fo la Ja Oak Steel. , and text t of labor for nu ec ng sp so re o, d an an pi ns ith io immeasurably w erkeley Rep and Mr. Taccone. purpose. Your un rd workers inspires us! at the B a r ya an fo ip ve us our p nt sh ho Sa d s ks an lo or ar w rs Hell teache land you both ga re. And arcia or C ak G O r y r ei rr he Je th , d ot ic ar M iv C y/ he If you ever equal measu the Berkeley Sister Berkele ercedes Sosa at e the green puffs of d of ourselves in al sons, back to M an y or or e, st tr hi ea r Th ou abov Greek prodig sense of East Bay of her ices soaring high ectories. e vo e collabth d to an s rn ff tu ri re ar guit d traj so this Rep with longtim ason y an s le ie ke or er st B r to ila ck m ck tu se , ba later on Shat clouds carried si r the inaugural Addison Street er and decades we Lisa Peterson fo ley Rep or ke ct er B re t di A d ! A few streets ov d studios of kpfa Radio where ty an orator r and du no ho th ol a e bo in th is ol d m er M lz d co edic Avenue we foun y jams with Miguel “Gavilan” of Johanna Pfae street ritual, an , le rc d ci l an ia er on rid ed m w m re roniclers st Lo cut our first co we continue a ce eate but now in our role as ch Bajita, the olde a nd O g La un r yo fo a a cr t om the met and Chuy Varel locura we did no refully dipped fr le had e U.S. Here we ca th s in n er ke at ow ta w sh e ad o er he di w y op by us as we social justice ra will humbly carr Telegraph Ave. Where our Pe was as bemused ho w on ti e an nc Fr ue el nfl ha Mic cool co de gorgeousness! ... et los Chilenos m e by his majestic w gathered before ck tu at wn Sh paying t es rli ea r ou A bit further do of some l Center, where La Peña Cultura
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“PLAYFUL AND PIQUANT...CHARMING COMEDY OF ADOLESCENT ANGST” WASHINGTON POST
BY JOCELYN BIOH DIRECTED BY AWOYE TIMPO RODA THEATRE · STARTS MAR 19
SEASON SPONSORS
PRESENTS
CULTURE CLASH (STILL) IN AMERICA WRIT TEN AND PERFOR MED BY
CAST
CULTURE CLASH
Richard Montoya Ricardo Salinas Herbert Siguenza
RICHARD MONTOYA, RICARDO SALINAS, AND HERBERT SIGUENZA
PRODUCTION STAFF Scenic Design Christopher Acebo
DIREC TED BY
LISA PETERSON FEB RUARY 20 –APRIL 5, 2020 PEE T ’ S THE ATRE · M AIN SE A SON
Costume Design Carolyn Mazuca Lighting and Projection Design Tom Ontiveros Composer and Sound Design Paul James Prendergast
BERKELEY REP PRESENTS
BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE
JOHANNA PFAELZER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR · SUSAN MEDAK, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Stage Manager Dani Bae
This show is performed without an intermission. The actors and stage manager are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Culture Clash (Still) in America is made possible thanks to the generous support of SEASON SPONSORS Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family
Affiliations The director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union. The Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designers in lort Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists Local usa-829, iatse.
A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Gary & Noni Robinson William & Cynthia Schaff Ted Storey & Jaimie Sanford Special thanks to the Partners of Culture Clash (Still) in America
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WHO’S WHO
CULTURE CLASH
W R I T E R S/ P E R F O R M E R S
Culture Clash has previously appeared at Berkeley Rep’s larger stages in The Birds, the world premiere of Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, and the world premiere of Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell. 2019 marks their 35th anniversary as a vital American theatre company with works ranging from satire to social realism and drama, with adaptations of Aristophanes’ The Birds, Peace, and Frogs aka Sapo to co-writing Frank Loesser’s long-lost musical, Señor Discretion Himself, based on a story by the late Budd Schulberg. In 2007 Water & Power won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award, and in 2016 they received a Best Production of the Year Ovation Award for their critically acclaimed play Chavez Ravine, remounted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. In collaboration with the Long Beach Opera, Culture Clash premiered a remixed, reimagined, and refreshed adaptation of Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell, based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2017). In the spring of 2018, Culture Clash premiered Bordertown Now at the Pasadena Playhouse and remounted Culture Clash (Still) in America at the South Coast Rep in now blue Orange County! Founded in 1984 on May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) in San Francisco’s historic Mission District, Culture Clash is Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza. This prolific group’s plays include American Night: The Ballad of Juan José (2010) for Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Ore.). This play was selected to launch osf’s “American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle,” along with other writers David Henry Hwang, SuzanLori Parks, Naomi Wallace, and Robert Schenkkan. Their work has been produced by the nation’s leading theatres including the Mark Taper Forum, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company (Boston), Alley Theatre (Houston), South Coast Repertory, and Seattle Repertory Theatre, to name a few. Culture Clash’s site-specific theatre work weaves personal narratives culled from interviews bringing voices in from the margins of the U.S. to create an ongoing dramatic American tapestry. Culture Clash has three books of compilations: Culture Clash: Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy, Culture Clash in AmeriCCa, and Oh Wild West: The California Plays with tcg Books and several books by Samuel French for Montoya’s three solo plays: Water & Power; American Night; and Palestine, New Mexico.
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New works include films based on their plays and a Broadway musical on the life of Ritchie Valens with music by Los Lobos and directed by Tony Taccone! Culture Clash (Still) in America marks their return to the Bay from which they were creatively born and caps a long and fruitful relationship with director Lisa Peterson and her team of amazing designers. Los Clasheros look forward to more years of making critical noise and infusing their work with social justice and searing satire. Which was the original intent on a corner in San Francisco’s Mission District with curator René Yañez in 1984! Órale!
LISA PETERSON DIREC TOR
Lisa, formerly Berkeley Rep’s associate director, returns to the Theatre, where she directed The Good Book (also co-written with Denis O’Hare), Office Hour, Watch on the Rhine, It Can’t Happen Here, Madwoman in the Volvo, An Iliad (also co-written with Denis O’Hare), Mother Courage, The Fall, and Antony & Cleopatra. She directed Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap at American Conservatory Theater last year. At Center Theatre Group, she recently directed Lynn Nottage’s Sweat as well as Culture Clash’s Chavez Ravine (2015 Ovation Award, Best Production), Palestine, New Mexico, and Water & Power, among other plays. She co-wrote and directed An Iliad with Denis O’Hare (Broad Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, Obie and Lucille Lortel awards). A two-time Obie Award–winner, she has directed world premieres by Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Naomi Wallace, Chay Yew, Luis Alfaro, Fernanda Coppel, David Henry Hwang, Stephen Belber, Jose Rivera, Ellen McLaughlin, Marlane Meyer, Philip Kan Gotanda, Lisa Ramirez, John Belluso, Caryl Churchill, Janusz Glowacki, Cheryl West, and many others at theatres including New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, Vineyard Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, Guthrie Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, the Alley, and McCarter Theatre Center. She was associate director at La Jolla Playhouse for three years and resident director at Mark Taper Forum for 10 years. She is currently working on a new version of her musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, music by David Bucknam and Adam Gwon (premiered at nytw 1990 and New York Stage and Film 2018); The Song of Rome with Denis O’Hare, commission for the McCarter Theater; and The Idea of Order with composer Todd Almond, commissioned by Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, and Seattle Rep.
CHRISTOPHER ACEBO
SCENIC DESIGNER
Christopher returns to Berkeley Rep where he previously designed Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell. On Broadway, he designed All the Way (2014 Tony Award, Best Play). His regional credits include Oregon Shake-
speare Festival (associate artistic director for 13 seasons) with world premieres of All the Way, Equivocation, Head Over Heels, Fingersmith, Mojada, and more than 30 other productions; The Clean House (Lincoln Center Theatre); Throne of Blood (Brooklyn Academy of Music); Zoot Suit, Electricidad, Chavez Ravine, Water & Power, and Living Out (Center Theatre Group); West Side Story (Guthrie Theater); and The Year to Come and Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell (La Jolla Playhouse). He has designed for Goodman Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, South Coast Rep, Denver Center Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and Arizona Theater Company, among others. He is on the Oregon Arts Commission and has served on the board of Theatre Communications Group. He earned his mfa from UC San Diego. acebocreative.com
CAROLYN MAZUCA
COSTUME DESIGNER
Carolyn is a freelance costume designer based in Los Angeles. Her designs have most recently decorated productions of Mojada: A Madea in Los Angeles at St. Louis Repertory, Mother Road at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Culture Clash (Still) in America at South Coast Repertory, and Early Birds at Atwater Village Theatre. Carolyn is the costume designer for upcoming productions of Mother Road at Arena Stage and Everything That Never Happened at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Carolyn also pursues costume work in the film and TV industry, working on productions such as Kids Baking Championship, My Dinner with Hervé, and Coop and Cami Ask the World. Most recently, Carolyn is the costume designer of What?, a black and white silent film where a deaf actor, sick of agreeing to increasingly humiliating tasks just to get a role, decides to take matters into his own hands. Carolyn can’t wait to see what amazing future projects await her! carolynmazuca.com
TOM ONTIVEROS
LIGHTING AND PROJEC TION DESIGNER
Tom’s off-Broadway credits include The Exonerated (The Culture Project) and Tune in Festival (Park Avenue Armory). His other New York credits include Happy Days (The Flea Theater), Patience, Fortitude and Other Antidepressants (intar Theatre), Nada Que Declarar (Danspace Project), and Veils, Vestiges and the Aesthetics of Hidden Things (Ontological-Hysteric Theater). His regional theatre credits include The Constant Wife (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Off the Rails (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Native Gardens (Pasadena Playhouse); Underneath the Lintel (Geffen Playhouse); They Don’t Talk Back, Guards at the Taj (La Jolla Playhouse); Vicuña (Center Theatre Group); and My Old Lady, Visions of Kerouac (Marin Theatre Company). His Los Angeles credits include Figaro ¡90210! (LA Opera); Vietgone, Animals Out of Paper (East West Players); and Café Vida, Seed, West Hollywood Musical (Corner-
stone Theater Company). His awards include The Exonerated (Lucille Lortel Award, Unique Theatrical Experience), My Barking Dog (Los Angeles Drama Critics, Best Lighting Design), The House in Scarsdale (nominated, Best Projection Design, LA Drama Critics), Shiv (nominated, Best Projection Design, StageRaw), and Completeness (nominated, Best Lighting, Ovation Award). He is an assistant professor of design at the University of La Verne.
PAUL JAMES PRENDERGAST
COMPOSER AND SOUND DESIGNER
Paul returns to Berkeley Rep, where he previously composed music and designed sound for It Can’t Happen Here, Roe, and Watch on the Rhine. His productions with Culture Clash include Water & Power; Palestine, New Mexico; and Chavez Ravine. On Broadway, he received a Drama Desk nomination for All The Way. His regional theatre credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival (25 productions), La Jolla Playhouse, Guthrie Theater, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Geffen Playhouse, People’s Light, Hartford Stage, California Shakespeare Theater, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Alley Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, and Arizona Theater Company. Paul is a former ensemble member of Cornerstone Theater Company. His theme park credits include Universal Studios, Disney, and Knott’s Berry Farm. His museums credits include J. Paul Getty, Geffen Contemporary, Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, and Autry National Center. His dance credits include Diavolo Dance Theatre, Momix, and Parsons Dance. His honors include a Grammy Award nomination, Broadway World, Ovation, Drama-Logue, Garland, Gregory, Footlight, and Gypsy awards. His work as a singer/songwriter has been featured in films, on recordings, and in music venues nationwide.
DANI BAE
S TAG E M A N AG E R
Dani is thrilled to be working at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Local credits include Testmatch, Her Portmanteau, Heisenberg, The Birthday Party, and A Thousand Splendid Suns (American Conservatory Theater); The Year of Magical Thinking, Detroit ’67, and Dry Powder (Aurora Theatre Company). Other SM credits include A Thousand Splendid Suns (Arena Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre), Urinetown: The Musical (American Theatre of Actors), and the Bard Music Festival (Bard SummerScape). She has a bfa in stage management from Syracuse University.
JOHANNA PFAELZER
ARTISTIC DIREC TOR
Johanna is delighted to join Berkeley Rep, and honored to serve as its fourth artistic director. She recently spent 12 years as the artistic director of New York Stage and Film (nysaf), a New York City–based organization dedicated to the development of new works for theatre, film, and television. nysaf is known for providing a rigorous and nurturing environment for writers, directors,
and other artists to realize work that has gone on to production at the highest levels of the profession. Notable works that were developed under Johanna’s leadership include the 2016 Tony Award winners Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and The Humans by Stephen Karam, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, Junk and The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music by Taylor Mac, Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, The Great Leap by Lauren Yee, John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer- and Tony Award–winning Doubt, The Fortress of Solitude by Michael Friedman and Itamar Moses, The Jacksonian by Beth Henley, and Green Day’s American Idiot.
SUSAN MEDAK
M A N AG I N G D I R E C T O R
Susan has served as Berkeley Rep’s managing director since 1990, leading the administration and operations of the Theatre. She has served as president of the League of Resident Theatres (lort) and treasurer of Theatre Communications Group (tcg), organizations that represent the interests of nonprofit theatres across the nation. Susan chaired panels for the Massachusetts Arts Council and has also served on program panels for Arts Midwest, the Joyce Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Closer to home, she is the founding chair of the Berkeley Arts in Education Steering Committee for Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Cultural Trust, and served on the board of the Downtown Berkeley Association. Susan serves on the faculty of Yale School of Drama
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2019/20 S E A S O N
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Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch Palermo Palermo
The late Pina Bausch’s 1989 masterpiece observes—through a series of vignettes by turns somber and surreal—the daily rituals of a people capable of both resonant beauty and chilling brutality.
Apr 24–26
and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Mont Blanc Ladies’ Literary Guild and Trekking Society. She was awarded the 2012 Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal by the Berkeley Community Fund and the 2017 Visionary Leadership Award by tcg. During her time in Berkeley, Susan has been instrumental in the construction of the Roda Theatre, the Nevo Education Center, the renovation of the Peet’s Theatre, and in the acquisition of the Harrison Street campus. She also worked with three consecutive mayors to help create Berkeley’s Downtown Arts District.
Theresa is excited to begin her fifth season at Berkeley Rep. Previously, she had over 20 years of experience in the New York not-for-profit performing arts sector where she has planned and executed events for dance, theatre, music, television, and film. Her previous positions include the interim general manager for The Public Theater; general manager/line producer for Theatre for a New Audience, where she opened its new stateof-the-art theatre in Brooklyn and filmed a major motion picture of the inaugural production of Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, released June 2015; production manager at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and New York City Center, including the famous Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert; and field representative/lead negotiator for the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. She holds a MS in Labor Relations and Human Resources Management from Baruch College.
ZE L L E RBAC H HAL L
AUDREY HOO
P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R
Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha
Audrey fell in love with the wild people and power of storytelling in theatre when she was 18 and has never looked back. With over 20 years of experience in production management, Audrey has worked with a wide range of international artists across all performance arts genres such as Paul Simon, Elaine Stritch, William Kentridge, Sam Mendes, Catherine Martin, and Bill T. Jones, and with institutions such as bam, Esplanade Singapore, La Jolla Playhouse, and American Conservatory Theater. Always loving a new story to tell and another “impossible” technical puzzle to solve, Audrey is grateful to be part of the Berkeley Rep family and is particularly proud to work alongside the immensely talented and dedicated production staff and artisans. Audrey holds an mfa in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Volcano Theatre Company with the Moveable Beast Collective Weyni Mengesha, stage director Scott Joplin’s story of black female empowerment is resurrected by the Volcano Theatre Company, bringing his work to vivid life in this reimagined and fully staged production set to new orchestrations that fuse classical and folk sounds with gospel and ragtime.
May 2–3
Z E LL E RBAC H HAL L
Jad Abumrad
AMY POTOZKIN
The host and creator of public radio’s wildly popular Radiolab and Dolly Parton’s America podcast, digs deep into some of his favorite topics in a talk that combines his signature wit and infectious sense of curiosity.
May 9
D I R E C T O R O F C A S T I N G/ A R T I S T I C A S S O C I AT E
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Amy begins her 30th season with Berkeley Rep. Through the years she has also had the pleasure of casting plays for act (Seattle), Arizona Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, B Street Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Marin Theatre Company, the Marsh, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Social Impact Productions Inc., and Traveling Jewish Theatre. She worked on various independent films, including Conceiving Ada, starring Tilda Swinton; The 8th Year of the Emergency by Maureen Towey;
Haiku Tunnel and Love & Taxes, both by Josh Kornbluth; and Beyond Redemption by Britta Sjogren. Amy received her mfa from Brandeis University, where she was also an artist in residence. She has been an audition coach to hundreds of actors and a presentation/communication coach to many businesspeople. She taught acting at Mills College and audition technique at Berkeley Rep’s School of Theatre, and has led workshops at numerous other venues in the Bay Area. Amy is a member of csa, the Casting Society of America, and received an Artios Award for Excellence in Casting for Angels in America.
MADELEINE OLDHAM
R E S I D E N T D R A M AT U R G/ D I R E C T O R , T H E G R O U N D F LO O R
Madeleine is the director of The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work and the Theatre’s resident dramaturg. She oversees commissioning and new play development, and dramaturged the world premiere productions of Fairview, Aubergine, The House that will not Stand, Passing Strange, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), among others. As literary manager and associate dramaturg at Center Stage in Baltimore, she produced the First Look reading series and headed up its young audience initiative. Before moving to Baltimore, she was the literary manager at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where she oversaw an extensive commissioning program. She also acted as assistant and interim literary manager at Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Madeleine served for four years on the executive committee of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and has also worked with act (Seattle), Austin Scriptworks, Crowded Fire, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Kennedy Center, New Dramatists, Playwrights Center, and Portland Center Stage.
MICHAEL SUENKEL
P R O D U C T I O N S TAG E M A N AG E R
Michael began his association with Berkeley Rep as the stage management intern for the 1984–85 season and is now in his 26th season as production stage manager. He has also worked with the Huntington Theatre (Boston), The Public Theater and New Victory Theatre (New York), La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, and many others. Internationally he has stage managed shows in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Among his favorite Berkeley Rep productions are Angels in America, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Eurydice, Endgame, The Beaux’ Stratagem, and Mad Forest.
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BRUCE GOLDEN & MICHELLE MERCER SEASON SPONSORS
Michelle and Bruce have been ardent supporters of Berkeley Rep since 1993, when they moved with two young children in tow to Berkeley. Their favorite evenings at Berkeley Rep were usually the discussion nights, where often friends would join them for an early dinner, an evening of great theatre, followed by a lively discussion with members of the cast. Over the past 25+ years, Michelle and Bruce have recognized Berkeley Rep’s almost singular role in the 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 5
Additional staff Assistant director Alice Glass
Production assistant Julia Formanic
Associate video design and video programmer Haley Miller
Project manager — props Andrew Thiels
Sound Courtney Jean Cecilia Pappalardo Stage carpenter Kourtney Snow
Props Katelyn Fitt Erin Gallagher Zoe Gopnik-McManus Garner Takahashi Morris
Assistant scenic design Rick Anderson Deck crew Bradley Hopper
Wardrobe Eric Hiro Anna Slotterback “I’m in Heaven” poem written by Richard Talavera
Scene shop Jennifer Costley Brad Hopper Carl Martin Sean Miller Henry Perkins Kourtney Snow Zach Wziontka
Electrics Tait Adams Desiree Alcocer Richard Fong Ann Christine Hartzell Jacqueline Holm Bradley Hopper Jacob Joseph Camille Kelly Mi Le Kathleen Parsons Melissa Ramirez Minerva Ramirez Orly Raveh Chloe Schweizer Kourtney Snow Caitlin Steinmann Matthew James Sykes Joshua van Eyken
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, Brenton Dowdy DPT, Kathy Fang MD PhD, Steven Fugaro MD, Whitney R. Johnson DDS, Olivia Lang MD, Allen Ling PT, and Christina S. Wilmer OD.
Scenic art Kristen Augustyn Nathaniel J. Bice Andrew Brown Nate Card Isaac Fines Lassen Hines Chris Jee Julie Ann Silverman
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Bay Area in promoting courageous new works and nurturing innovative, diverse playwrights. According to Michelle and Bruce, “There’s never been a more vital time in our lives when the power of theatre to transform, compel, inspire, and energize has been more necessary. We are honored to be Season Sponsors, and especially proud to do so during Johanna Pfaelzer’s first year as artistic director.”
JACK & BETTY SCHAFER
SEASON SPONSORS
Betty and Jack are proud to support Berkeley Rep. Jack is a sustaining advisor of the Theatre, having served on the board for many years, and is now on the board of San Francisco Opera. He is an emeritus board chair of the San Francisco Art Institute and the Oxbow School. In San Francisco, Betty is involved with Wise Aging, a program for adults addressing the challenges of growing older. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren.
MICHAEL & SUE STEINBERG SEASON SPONSORS
Michael and Sue have been interested in the arts since they met and enjoy music, ballet, and live theatre. Michael, who recently retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s West, served on Berkeley Rep’s board of trustees from 1999 to 2006 and currently serves on the board of directors of the Jewish Museum. Sue serves on the board of the World of Children. The Steinbergs have always enjoyed regional theatre and are delighted to sponsor Berkeley Rep this season.
THE STRAUCH KULHANJIAN FAMILY SEASON SPONSORS
Roger Strauch has served on the Berkeley Rep board of trustees for the last 22 years and as an executive officer, including president. He is chair of The Roda Group (rodagroup.com), a high technology venture development company based in Berkeley. Roda incubated the search engine Ask.com, now located in Oakland and Cool systems (gameready.com), a medical technology company recently acquired by Avanos Medical. He is currently on the board of three cleantech companies, including a carbon capture company, Inventys (inventysinc. com), in which Roda is a major investor. Roger has served on the board of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute for 20 years and as an executive officer, including chair. He leads the Mosse Art Restitution Project which searches for family art illegally confiscated during Germany’s Third Reich. He is a board member of the Northside Center, a mental health services agency based in Harlem, NY and a member of UC Berkeley Engineering Dean’s college advisory board. His wife, Julie Kulhanjian, is an attending physician at Benioff ucsf Children’s Hospital, Oakland. They have three adult children.
ALONZO KING BALLET GRACE April 10-19, 2020
8 performances only at YBCA http://www.cityboxoffice.com/LINES “Astonishing originality” The New York Times Proud Home Season Sponsor
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SEASON SPONSOR
Bay Area Rapid Transit (bart) is the backbone of the Bay Area transit network and serves more than 100 million passengers annually. bart’s
Maya Harr | Alonzo King LINES Ballet | ®Photo by RJ Muna
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Who couldn’t use a little more drama? Be a Rep. Share the gift of live theatre. berkeleyrep.org/giftcert
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PEET’S COFFEE
SEASON SPONSOR
Peet’s Coffee is proud to be the exclusive coffee of Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the namesake of Berkeley Rep’s state-of-the-art Peet’s Theatre. In 1966, Alfred Peet opened his first store on Vine and Walnut in Berkeley and Peet’s has been committed to the community ever since. Supporting Berkeley Rep’s high artistic standards and diverse programming is an extension of this mission. As the pioneer of the craft coffee movement in America, Peet’s is dedicated to smallbatch roasting, superior quality beans, freshness, and a darker roasting style that produces a rich, flavorful cup. Peet’s is locally roasted in the first leed® Gold certified roaster in the nation.
WELLS FARGO
SEASON SPONSOR
Wells Fargo is proud to support the award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre as a season sponsor for the last 14 years because of its dedication to artistic excellence and community engagement. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. The bank is committed to building better every day to meet our customers’ financial goals. For more information, please visit wellsfargo.com.
FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS G IF T S O F $2 5,0 0 0 –49,9 9 9 Anonymous The Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Philanthropic Fund Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Walter & Elise Haas Fund S
G IF T S O F $ 10 0,0 0 0 A N D A B OV E The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The Shubert Foundation G IF T S O F $50,0 0 0 –9 9,9 9 9 Edgerton Foundation Jonathan Logan Family Foundation S Koret Foundation S The Bernard Osher Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Woodlawn Foundation S
G IF T S O F $5,0 0 0 –9,9 9 9 Anonymous (2) The Reva and David Logan Foundation Kenneth Rainin Foundation Reinhold Foundation G IF T S O F $ 1,0 0 0 –4,9 9 9 Joyce & William Brantman Foundation Civic Foundation S Davis/Dauray Family Fund Karl & Alice Ruppenthal Foundation for the Arts rhe Charitable Foundation S
G IF T S O F $ 10,0 0 0 –24,9 9 9 Berkeley Civic Arts Program California Arts Council S jec Foundation Miranda Lux Foundation S Ramsay Family Foundation S
CORPORATE SPONSORS SEASON SPONSORS
SPONSORS The Andreason Group at Morgan Stanley Charles Schwab + Co., Inc. Mechanics Bank Wealth Management CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S Armanino llp Deloitte hdr Remodeling S The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Panoramic Interests Schoenberg Family Law Group
E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
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We are grateful for the many companies that matched their employees’ contributions to Berkeley Rep. Find out if your company matches gifts and amplify your impact.
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PE R FO R M A N CE S P O N S O R S Bayer S BluesCruise.com First Republic Bank S Gallagher Risk Management Services Is your company a corporate sponsor? Berkeley Rep’s Corporate Partnership program offers excellent opportunities to network, entertain clients, reward employees, increase visibility, and support the arts and arts education in the community. For details visit berkeleyrep.org/ support or call Daria Hepps at 510 647-2904.
IN-KIND SPONSORS E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
Hotel Shattuck Plaza is the official hotel of Berkeley Rep.
SPONSORS Aurora Catering Farella Braun + Martell llp Hugh Groman Catering Latham & Watkins llp Mayer Brown llp Revival Bar + Kitchen Rhoades Planning Group
PA R T N E R S Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen Ann’s Catering Autumn Press Babette at bampfa Bobby G’s Pizzeria César Comal Copain Wines Donkey & Goat Winery Drake’s Brewing Company
Eureka! Fonda Gather Restaurant Hafner Vineyard La Note ocho Candy Picante Semifreddi’s zino
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THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
WE THANK THE MANY
institutional partners who enrich our community by championing Berkeley Rep’s artistic and community outreach programs. We gratefully recognize these donors to Berkeley Rep, who made their gifts between October 2018 and December 2019.
SPECIAL PROJECTS SUPPORTERS We gratefully recognize the generous individuals and institutions who supported a variety of special projects, including The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work, from October 2018 to December 2019. LE A D S U PP O R T E R S Barbara Bass Bakar Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Louise L. Gund Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Peet’s Coffee Michael & Sue Steinberg
LEGEND
S
School of Theatre donor
S U PP O R T E R S Anonymous Edgerton Foundation Kerry Francis & John Jimerson Suzanne LaFetra Collier National Endowment for the Arts Stewart & Rachelle Owen Cynthia & William Schaff Jean & Michael Strunsky Sheila Taccone The Tournesol Project Gail & Arne Wagner Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen CO N T RIB U TO R S Anonymous (2) Shelley & Jonathan Bagg Robin & Rich Edwards Linda Jo Fitz
K
in-kind gift
M
matching gift
David & Vicki Fleishhacker Jill & Steve Fugaro Ruth Hennigar Jack Klingelhofer Dugan & Philippe Lamoise Sandra & Ross McCandless Susan Medak & Gregory Murphy Steven & Patrece Mills Jane & Bill Neilson Shanna O’Hare & John Davis Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Marjorie Randolph David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman Patricia & Merrill Shanks Robert L. Sockolov and Audrey Sockolov Foundation Barry Lawson Williams & Lalita Tademy Linda & Steven Wolan
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THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
We thank the generous individuals in our community who help Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provoking, and thrilling theatre and bring arts education to thousands of young people every year. We gratefully recognize these donors to Berkeley Rep, who made their gifts between October 2018 and December 2019. To make your gift and join this distinguished group, visit berkeleyrep.org/give or call 510 647-2906.
SPONSOR CIRCLE SEASON SPONSORS Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family LE A D S P O N S O R S Barbara Bass Bakar S Frances Hellman & Warren Breslau Casey Keller / Peet’s Coffee Ken & Gisele Miller S Stewart & Rachelle Owen Mary Ruth Quinn & Scott Shenker Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S Anonymous Edward D. Baker Susan Chamberlin Lauren Edgerton Bill Falik & Diana Cohen Kerry Francis & John Jimerson Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Jean & Michael Strunsky Gail & Arne Wagner
SPONSORS Maria Cardamone & Paul Matthews David & Vicki Cox Anne & Anuj Dhanda Robin & Rich Edwards David & Vicki Fleishhacker Paul Friedman & Diane Manley Jill & Steve Fugaro Karen Galatz & Jon Wellinghoff Richard Grand Foundation Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Scott & Sherry Haber Rick Hoskins & Lynne Frame Jerry & Julie Kline Jack Klingelhofer Michael H. Kossman Suzanne LaFetra Collier Ken Lamb Sandra & Ross McCandless Marianne Mills Pam & Mitch Nichter Norman & Janet Pease Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg Sheli & Burt Rosenberg, in honor of Len & Arlene Rosenberg Jack & Valerie Rowe Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Ed & Liliane Schneider Laura & Nicholas Severino M Stephen & Cindy Snow
Linda & Steven Wolan Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S Anonymous (2) Shelley & Jonathan Bagg Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Valerie Barth Michelle Branch & Dale Cook Rena Bransten Brook & Shawn Byers Lynne Carmichael Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton Cindy Chang, MD & Christopher Hudson K John Dains Paul Daniels, in honor of Peter Yonka Narsai & Venus David K Cynthia A. Farner Tracy & Mark Ferron Kevin & Noelle Gibbs M Steven Goldin Melinda Haag & Chuck Fanning Ms. Wendy E. Jordan Fred Karren, in memory of Beth Karren Seymour Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim
Leonard Merrill Kurz Dugan & Philippe Lamoise Eileen & Hank Lewis S Susan & Moses Libitzky Helen M. Marcus in memory of David J. Williamson Phyra McCandless & Angelos Kottas Martin & Janis McNair Susan Medak & Greg Murphy, in honor of Lynn Eve Komaromi Ed Messerly & Sudha Pennathur S Steven & Patrece Mills M Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel Barbara L. Peterson Gary & Noni Robinson Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey Joan Sarnat & David Hoffman Cynthia & William Schaff Pat & Merrill Shanks Shirlen Fund, in memory of Shirley & Philip Schild Vickie Soulier Foundation Lisa Taylor Dave & Cindy Trummer M Susan West S Wendy Williams Martin & Margaret Zankel
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE PA R T N E R S Anonymous Tarang & Hirni Amin Berit Ashla & Aron Cramer Judy Avery Ed Brakeman Italo & Susan Calpestri Constance Crawford Thomas W. Edwards & Rebecca Parlette-Edwards William Espey & Margaret Hart Edwards Nancy & Jerry Falk Lily Fan Karen Grove & Julian Cortella Ms. Teresa Burns Gunther & Dr. Andrew Gunther Richard & Lois Halliday K Earl & Bonnie Hamlin Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen, in honor of Rita Moreno Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Kathleen & Chris Jackson Duke & Daisy Kiehn Tony Kushner Dixon Long Peter & Melanie Maier Dale & Don Marshall Sumner & Hermine Marshall Charles Marston & Rosa Luevano Helen & John Meyer Pure Dana Fund Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Beth & David Sawi Emily Shanks Ed & Ellen Smith Audrey & Bob Sockolov Sheila Wishek Barbara & Howard Wollner
3 0 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4
B E N E FAC TO R S Anonymous (4) Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery Martha & Bruce Atwater Nina Auerbach Anne M. Baele Linda & Mike Baker Michelle L. Barbour Eugene Borstel & Sandy Silva Re Re Boylan & Jeff Freedman Broitman-Basri Foundation Ben Brown & Louise Rankin Don & Carol Anne Brown Tracy Brown & Greg Holland Ronnie Caplane Terrence & Deborah Carlin K Leslie Chatham & Sunny St. Pierre Betsey & Ken Cheitlin Barbara & Rodgin Cohen Julie & Darren Cooke Karen & David Crommie Ed Cullen & Ann O’Connor Dr. Jim Cuthbertson Barbara & Tim Daniels Corinne & Mike Doyle James Emery & P. Irving Bill & Susan Epstein Merle & Michael Fajans Lisa & Dave Finer Thomas & Sharon Francis Lisa Franzel & Rod Mickels Herb & Marianne Friedman Mary & Stan Friedman Dennis & Susan Johann Gilardi Daniel & Hilary B. Goldstine Nelson Goodman Mary & Nicholas Graves Robert & Judith Greber Garrett Gruener & Amy Slater Migsy & Jim Hamasaki Bob & Linda Harris
Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky Ruth Hennigar Bonnie & Tom Herman Elaine Hitchcock Deirdre & Chris Hockett Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling M Hilary & Tom Hoynes Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger Marilyn & Michael Jensen-Akula Barbara E. Jones, in memory of William E. Jones Bill & Lisa Kelly Stephen F. Kispersky Jean Knox, in memory of John T. Knox Wanda Kownacki Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz Kevin & Claudine Lally Jane & Mike Larkin, in memory of Lynn & Gerald Ungar Randy Laroche & David Laudon Louise Laufersweiler & Warren Sharp Nancy & George Leitmann, in memory of Helen Barber Sidne Long & Hank Delevati Elsie Mallonee Henning Mathew & Michelle Deane M Erin McCune Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Kirk McKusick & Eric Allman Stephanie Mendel Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody Andy & June Monach Ronald Morrison Jerry Mosher Barbara & Michael Novogradac Carol J. Ormond Linda & Gregory Orr Janet & Clyde Ostler Sandi & Dick Pantages
Malcolm & Ann Plant Linda & Eric Protiva Teresa L. Remillard M Bill Reuter & Ruth Major Audrey & Paul Richards, in honor of Barbara Peterson Carla & David Riemer Joe Ruck & Donna Ito Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland Jeane & Roger Samuelsen Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz Danny Scher Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner Linda & Nathan Schultz Sarah E. Shaver Neal Shorstein, MD & Christopher Doane Sally & Joel Spivack Karen Stevenson & Bill McClave Deborah Taylor Barrera Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young Beth Weissman Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor Patricia & Jeffrey Williams William C. Wilson II Sam & Joyce Zanze Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter Jane & Mark Zuercher
Marcia C. Linn · Mark & Roberta Linsky · Jay & Eileen Love · Gerry & Kathy MacClelland · Lois & Gary Marcus, in memory of Ruth Weiland, Mose & Selma Marcus · Charlotte & Adolph Martinelli · Rebecca Martinez · Janet & Michael McCutcheon · Joanne Medak & Peter Katsaros · Ruth Medak · Dan Miller · Geri Monheimer, in honor of Tony Taccone · Scott Montgomery & Marc Rand · Brian & Britt-Marie Morris · Daniel Murphy · Jane & Bill Neilson · Piermaria Oddone & Barbara Saarni Oddone · Judith & Richard Oken · Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser · Lynette Pang & Michael Man · Bob & MaryJane Pauley · David & Mary Ramos · Maxine Risley, in memory of James Risley · John & Jody Roberts · The Rockridge Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation · Galen Rosenberg & Denise Barnett · Boyard & Anne Rowe · Dace P. Rutland · Lisa Salomon · Dr. David Schulz M · Teddy & Bruce Schwab · Andrew & Marva Seidl · Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. · Kim Silva · Beryl & Ivor Silver · David & Lori Simpson · Amrita Singhal & Michael Tubach · Cherida Collins Smith · Alice & Scott So · Henry Spencer & Nicky Cass · Gary & Jana Stein · Monroe W. Strickberger · Susan Terris · Sam Test · Henry Timnick · William van Dyk & Margi Sullivan · Sarah Van Roo · Robert & Sheila Weisblatt · Wendy Willrich · Charles Wolfram & Peter Wolfram · Sally Woolsey
A DVO C AT E S
Anonymous (15) · Abbey Alkon & Jonathan Leonard · Dr. & Mrs. Francis Barham · Richard & Kathi Berman · James A. Biondi · Steve Bischoff · Beverly Blatt & David Filipek · Peter Brock · Jerome & Marguerite Buttrick · Robert & Margaret Cant · Lea Chang · Laura Chenel · Ciara Cox & Margaret Wu · Pam & Mike Crane · Jill & Evan Custer · Kathleen Damron · Harry & Susan Dennis · Carol DiFilippo · Kathy Down & Greg Kelly · Burton Peek Edwards · Roger & Jane Emanuel · Alan Entine · Sue J. Estey · Ben & Mary Feinberg · Linda Jo Fitz · Daniel Friedland & Azlynda Alim M · David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson · Karl & Kathleen Geier · Linda Joy Graham · Pamela & Tim Gray · Rico & Maya Green · Sheldon & Judy Greene · Don & Becky Grether · Irene & Robert Hepps · Howard Hertz & Jean Krois · Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley · Jeff Hoel · Mr. & Mrs. Harold M. Isbell · Anne & Douglas Jensen · Mr. & Mrs. C. D. Jensen · Peter & Barbara Jensen · Bill Jetton · Ann L. Johnson · Corrina Jones · Margaret & Reese Jones · Claudia & Daly Jordan-Koch · Kaarel Kaljot · Beth & Tim Kientzle M · Peggy Kivel · Susan Kolb · Ken & Monica Kulander · Deborah Lewis & Martin H. Myers · Marcia C. Linn · Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel · Richard Lonergan & Marilyn Manning · Jane & Bob Lurie · Bruce Maigatter & Pamela Partlow · Naomi & Bruce Mann · Sue & Phil Marineau · M. Mathews & K. Soriano · Karen & John McGuinn · Brian McRee ·
Barbara Meislin & Stuart Kaplan · Diane C. Miller · Jeff Miner · Daryoush Mortazavi & Caroline Razavi · Patricia Motzkin & Richard Feldman · Aki & Emi Nakao · Ron Nakayama · Kelly Nelson K · Luella Noles & Jeung Hyung · Judy Ogle · Suzette S. Olson · Gerane Wharton Park · Brian D. Parsons · Lauri Paul & Mark Hamilton · Bob & Toni Peckham, in honor of Robert M. Peckham, Jr. · Jack & Charmaine Pesso · Regina Phelps · James F. Pine M · F. Anthony Placzek · Russell & Joni Pratt · Roxann R. Preston · Kathleen Quenneville & Diane Allen · Leslie & Mark Ragsdale · Danielle Rebischung · Carla & David Riemer · Todd & Susan Ringoen · Mrs. William C. Robison · Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth · Mitzi Sales & John Argue · Paul & Patti Sax · Dorothy R. Saxe · Dale & Liz Schenk · Joyce Schnobrich · Libby Seifel & Pierre Capeder · Jacob Sevart · Steve & Susan Shortell · Carra Sleight · Suzanne Slyman · Jerry & Dick Smallwood · George & Camilla Smith · Sigrid Snider · Valerie Sopher · LJ Strunsky & James Steinle · Gary Sullivan & Timothy Lynn · Drew & Margo Tammen · Fred & Kathleen Taylor · Nancy E. Thomas · Pate & Judy Thomson · Rick Trautner · Mike & Ellen Turbow · Larry Vales M · Mr. Leon Van Steen · Lisa Wade · Louise & Larry Walker · Mr. & Mrs. William Webster · Robert T. Weston · Peter Wiley · Ron & Anita Wornick · Stan Zaks
We gratefully recognize the following donors whose contributions were received from October 30, 2019 to January 12, 2020.
S U PP O R T E R S
Anonymous (6) · Anonymous, in memory of Hank Streitfeld · Terry Pink Alexander & John Blaustein, in honor of Susie Medak · Celia Bakke · Ann Batman · M. Warton & S. Benting · Peter Benvenutti & Lise Pearlman · Barbara Benware · Patti Bittenbender · Bob & Barbara Brandriff · Kate & Monroe Bridges M · Christopher Cain · Deborah L. Churchill · Joan & Edward Conger · Jim & Jeanette Cottle · Lori & Michael Crowley · Drs. Nancy Ebbert & Adam Rochmes · Michael Ehrenzweig & Josh Bettenhausen · Gini Erck & David Petta · Anthony Fisher · Brigitte & Louis Fisher · Lauren Friedman · Kevin Gahagan · Judith E. Garvens · Marlyn Gershuny · Lucia & John Gilbert · Gregory Giska · Jane Gottesman & Geoffrey Biddle · Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Hagerty · Jeannene Hansen · Alan Harper & Carol Baird · Fran Hildebrand · Leslie & George Hume · Marisita & Tu Jarvis · Helmut H. Kapczynski & Colleen Neff · Muriel Kaplan & Bob Sturm · Janice Kelly & Carlos Kaslow · Andy Kivel & Susan Goldstein · Jennifer Kuenster & George Miers · Barbara & Thomas Lasinski · Annette C. Lipkin, in memory of Paul Lipkin · Dottie Lofstrom & Robin Johnson · Hon. Christopher Longaker · Jeffrey & Christiane Maier, in memory of Paul Maier · Marie Singer McEnnis · Marvin & Neva Moskowitz · Marlowe Ng & Sharon Ulrich · Lewis Perry · Ray Riess · Mary Rooney-Zarri & Philip Zarri · William Kendall Rothaus · Thomas Scheibe · Emily Sexton · Arlene & Matthew Sirott · Louis & Bonnie Spiesberger · Robert & Naomi Stamper · Trevor and Anne-Marie Strohman · Jane & Jay Taber · Ruthann Taylor · Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Terdiman · Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller · Sandra & Bill Weber · Rhona & Harvey Weinstein · Dick & Beany Wezelman · Mark Whatley & Danuta Zaroda · H. Leabah Winter · Moe & Becky Wright · Sandra Yuen & Lawrence Shore
CO N T RIB U TO R S
Anonymous (18) · Catherine Bailey & Jack Telian · Todd & Diane Baker · Barbara Beck · Robert & Wendy Bergman · Adriane & Barry Bosworth · Andrew A. Bouman · Christopher R. Bowen · Karen Bowen & Beth Gerstein · Esta Brand · Carole L. Bremer · Cathy Bristow · Melody Burns · Denys Carrillo · Chris & Martie Conner · Nancy N. Conover · Tim and Sandy Cremin · Dennis T. De Domenico & Sandra Brod · Jacqueline Desoer · Debashis Dhar & Devyani Biswas · Nancy Drooker & Alix Sabin · Mary Eichbauer & Greg Gartrell · Mrs. Robert Force · Tom & Gail Frost · Ellen Geringer & Chris Tarp · David Gibson M · Bonnie Goldsmith & Allan Griffin · Paul Goldstein & Dena Mossar · Gail Gordon & Jack Joseph · Gene Gottfried · Bonnie Grossman · Cecille Gunst · Debbie Smith & Lucas Guttentag · Paul & Julie Harkness · Alexa Hauser · Richard L. Hay · Geoffrey & Marin-Shawn Haynes · Bill & Judy Hein · Mary & Craig Henderson · Carolyn Higgins, in memory of Douglas Higgins · Eric, Justin & Gavin Hughes & Priscilla Wanerus · Ralph Pais & Gayl Huston · Polly & Greg Ikonen · Helene & Steve Jaffe · Jane Kaplan · Catherine Karrass · Kate & Kevin Kelly · Philippa Kelly & Paul Dresher · Deborah & David Kirshman · Nancy Kornfield · Carol P. LaPlant · David Lesnini · Eva Liebermann · Harvey & Wendy Leiderman · Jennifer Little M · Mr. & Mrs. J. F. Longinotti · Amy Lyons M · Joseph Marcellino · Betty Marx & Joseph Cisper · Toni Mayer & Alan Lazere · Suzanne McCombs · Winton & Margaret D. McKibben · Mark & Marjorie Medress · John & Rosemary Merchant · Richard Miller · Carol Mimura & Jeremy Thorner · Mary & Stephen Mizroch · Marie A. Moran · Gregg & Ruth Morris · Barbara Mowry · Katherine K. Murphy · Jim & Marcia Nybakken · Charles Olson & Yoko Watanabe · Carol O’Neill · Perrtula Family · Charles & Linda Phillips · Mark J. Powers &
Albert E. Moreno · Arthur Reingold & Gail Bolan · Marc A. Rieffel · John Rosenberg & Diane Gerstler · David Rovno, M.D. · Lael R. Rubin · Thomas Savignano & Peter Benson · Barbara & Jerry Schauffler · Carol Shen · Marsha Silberstein · Joshua & Ruth Simon · Madeleine Sloane · Anne & Robert Spears · Nancy Spero & Norm Brand · Richard Stanley & Barbara Cohen · Kathy Steel · Bernard R. Tagholm, in memory of Juniper Marley Allen · Paula Trauner & Bruce Trauner · Marcia & David Vastine · Bill Whitmer · Sherie Yazman · Martha & Sheldon Zedeck · Philip & Kathryn Zimmerman
FRIE N D S Anonymous (16) · Bob & Karen Abra · Barbara Armentrout · Dale Barnes & Ellen Rosenstein, in honor of Kerry Francis & John Jimerson · Erica Baum · Jim & Donna Beasley · Herb & Dorrie Behrstock · Law Offices Laureen Bethards · Lucia Blakeslee · Gun Bolin · Aida Brenneis · Jennifer Bretan · Diane Brett · Virginia L. Brown · Mary Callahan & Cliff Weingus · Edward Callaway · Barbara Cannella · G. Cho · Gary and Helene Class · Jeanne Clinton · Renate & Robert Coombs · Susan David · Teresa DeLillo · Michelle Edwards · W. Bart & Helen Elmer · Ann Felldin · Catherine Fox · Eric Freidenberg · Don Fujino M · Jeannette Gape · David Gettman · Paul Giorsetto · Harold & Gail Glassberg · Robert Goldberg · Christine & David Goldin · Candice Goldman · Barry & Erica Goode · Barbara Goodman · Alison Gopnik & Alby Raysmith · Deborah J. Gordon · Eleanor Hanauer, in honor of Beulah & Leonard Hanauer · K. O’Mohundro & N. Handelnan · Chuck & Susie Hanson · Juliet Hart · Mary Hawker & Doug Fraser · Tamra C. Hege · Carol & Tony Henning · Donald E. Hershman, DPM · Amy Hiestand · Estie Sid Hudes · George Jen · Eric Kahler K · Rachel Kahn-Hut · Gary
We are pleased to recognize first-time donors to Berkeley Rep, whose names appear in italics.
Kelson · Nina C. Kindblad · Karin Kinzel · Ms. Marjorie Kirk · Eva Klein · Gregory S. Knell · Bruce Koch · Neil & Peggy Kostick · Judith Lamberti · Mimi Lou · Joe Magruder · Martin & Ruth Malkin · Susanna & Brad Marshland · Edith Mendez · Phyllis Menefee · Spencer & Roberta Michels · Sarah Miers · Jamie Miller, in memory of Helene Sabin · Carrol Mills, in memory of Stan Eremia · Stephanie Mooers · Peggy & John Mooney · Theresa Nelson & Barney Smits · Glen Nethercut & Gabriel Quinto · David & Patsy Newhouse · Sora Lei Newman · Judith Norberg · Audrey Pedrin · Rosemarie A. Petitpas · Barbara & Daniel Radin · Charleen Raines · Joe & Ann Ranish · Gregg Richardson · Helen Richardson · Donald A. Riley & Carolyn Serrao · Ed & Irene Rimer · Christina Rogers · Ronald Rogness · Karen Rosenberg · Marjorie Roth · Tracie Eileen Rowson · Allen and Ellen Rubin · M. Ryce · Gordon Sakaue · Carolyn Sanders · Maxine Sattizahn · Jane & Alan Schoenfeld · Diane Schreiber & Bryan McElderry · Deborah A. Shiba · Sharon Silva · Anne Smith · Nicholas Smith · Peter & Ann Smith · Sylvia Smith · Alice Steiner · Dr. & Mrs. Pavel Svihra · Carol Takaki · Michael & Katherine Taylor · Dale Underwood · Luke & Virginia Vania · Barbara Vaughan · Henry & Susan Veit · Gretchen vonDuering · Helen & Rick Walker · Catherine Warren · Louis Weckstein & Karin Denevi · Linda Whitehand · Paula Whitton · Hazel Willacy · Patricia A. Wood · Ms. Virginia Yee · Danita Yocom & Ray Chavira
THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
CH A M PIO N S
Anonymous (6 ) · George & Marcia Argyris · Naomi Auerbach & Ted Landau · Leslie & Jack Batson · David & Stephanie Beach · Don & Gerry Beers M · Caroline Beverstock · Naomi Black M · Marc Blakeman M · Linda Brandenburger · Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar M · Don Campbell & Family M · John Carr · Terin Christensen · Richard & Linnea Christiani · Andrea Clay & Collin Smikle · Robert Council & Ann Parks-Council · John & Izzie Crane M · Lori & Michael Crowley · Richard & Anita Davis · Bill DeHart · David Deutscher · Francine & Beppe Di Palma · Karen & David Dolder · Linda Drucker · Susan English & Michael Kalkstein · Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny · Ben & Mary Feinberg · Ann & Shawn Fischer Hecht · Martin & Barbara Fishman · James & Jessica Fleming · Dean Francis · Donald & Dava Freed · Chris R. Frostad M · Kelli M. Frostad · Marjorie Ginsburg & Howard Slyter · Mrs. Gale K. Gottlieb · Anne & Peter Griffes · Vera & David Hartford · Thomas & Elizabeth Henry · Christina Herdell, in memory of Vaughn & Ardis Herdell · Don & Janice Holve · The Hornthal Family, in honor of Susie Medak · Christopher Killian & Carole Ungvarsky · Lynn Eve Komaromi, in honor of the Berkeley Rep Staff · Janet Kornegay & Dan Sykes · Susilpa Lakireddy · Helen E. Land · Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney · Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis · Glennis Lees & Michael Glazeski · Ellen & Barry Levine · Jennifer S. Lindsay ·
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3 1
THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
Members of this Society, which is named in honor of Founding Director Michael W. Leibert, have designated Berkeley Rep in their estate plans. Unless the donor specifies otherwise, planned gifts become a part of Berkeley Rep’s board-designated endowment funds, where they will provide the financial stability that enables Berkeley Rep to maintain the highest standards of artistic excellence, support new work, and serve the community with innovative education and outreach programs, year after year. For more information on becoming a member, visit our website at berkeleyrep.org/mls or contact Daria Hepps at 510 647-2904 or dhepps@berkeleyrep.org.
Sustaining members as of January 2020:
Anonymous (8) Norman Abramson & David Beery Sam Ambler Carl W. Arnoult & Aurora Pan Ken & Joni Avery Nancy Axelrod Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Susan & Barry Baskin Linda Brandenburger Broitman-Basri Family Bruce Carlton & Richard G. McCall Stephen K. Cassidy Paula Champagne & David Watson Terin Christensen Sofia Close Christina Crowley Andrew Daly & Jody Taylor Narsai & Venus David M. Laina Dicker Thalia Dorwick Rich & Robin 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 3 2 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4
“If you believe high quality, thoughtprovoking, and entertaining theatre is an important element of the community, your legacy donation to Berkeley Rep can make a difference.” — BARBAR A PE TE R SO N
“My estate gift leaves a personal commitment to the theater and our community for many years to come.” — MICHAE L KO S SM AN
Dr. John Frykman 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 Julie & Paul Harkness Linda & Bob Harris Fred Hartwick Ruth Hennigar Daria Hepps Douglas J. Hill Hoskins/Frame Family Trust Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Robin C. Johnson Janice Kelly & D. Carlos Kaslow Bonnie McPherson Killip Lynn Eve Komaromi Michael H. Kossman Scott & Kathy Law Dot Lofstrom Helen M. Marcus Dale & Don Marshall Sumner & Hermine Marshall Rebecca Martinez Sarah McArthur LeValley Suzanne & Charles McCulloch John G. McGehee Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Margaret D. & Winton McKibben Ruth Medak Susan Medak & Greg Murphy
Stephanie Mendel Toni Mester Shirley & Joe Nedham Theresa Nelson & Bernard Smits Pam & Mitch Nichter Sheldeen G. Osborne Sharon Ott Amy Pearl Parodi Barbara L. Peterson Regina Phelps Margaret Phillips Marjorie Randolph Gregg Richardson Bonnie Ring Living Trust Tom Roberts David Rovno Tracie E. Rowson Deborah Dashow Ruth Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Brenda Buckhold Shank,M.D., Ph.D. Emily Shanks Kevin Shoemaker Valerie Sopher Michael & Sue Steinberg Dr. Douglas & Anne Stewart Jean Strunsky Mary, Andrew & Duncan Susskind Henry Timnick Guy Tiphane Phillip & Melody Trapp Janis Kate Turner Gail & Arne Wagner Dorothy Walker Barry & Holly Walter Weil Family Trust — Weil Family
Susan West Karen & Henry Work Anders Yang, JD Martin & Margaret Zankel
Gifts received by Berkeley Rep:
Anonymous Estate of Suzanne Adams Estate of Helen 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 Carol & John Field Estate of Rudolph Glauser 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 Timothy A. Patterson Estate of Gladys Perez-Mendez Estate of Margaret Purvine 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
STAFF AND BOARD ARTISTIC
ELECTRICS
Director of Casting & Artistic Associate Amy Potozkin Director, The Ground Floor/ Resident Dramaturg Madeleine Oldham Literary Manager Sarah Rose Leonard Artistic Associate Katie Craddock Artists under Commission Todd Almond · Christina Anderson · Lisa Peterson · Sarah Ruhl · Tori Sampson · Joe Waechter
Master Electrician Frederick C. Geffken Associate Master Electrician Sarina Renteria Production Electrician Kenneth Coté
PRODUCTION Production Manager Audrey Hoo Associate Production Manager Zoey Russo Company Manager Morgan Steele
STAGE MANAGEMENT Production Stage Manager Michael Suenkel Stage Managers Lisa Iacucci · Kelly Montgomery · Libby Unsworth · Chris Waters Assistant Stage Managers Chiquita Lu · Sofie Miller · Megan McClintock · Leslie M. Radin Production Assistants Tait Adams · James McGregor · Sofie Miller
STAGE OPERATIONS Stage Supervisor Julia Englehorn
PROPERTIES Properties Supervisor Jillian A. Green Associate Properties Supervisor Amelia Burke-Holt Props Artisan Dara Ly
SCENE SHOP Technical Director Jim Smith Associate Technical Director Matt Rohner Shop Foreman Sam McKnight Draftsperson Jamaica Montgomery-Glenn Carpenters Patrick Keene · Read Tuddenham
SOUND & VIDEO Sound & Video Supervisor Lane Elms Sound Engineers Angela Don Michael Kelly Associate Sound & Video Supervisor Chase Nichter
ADMINISTRATION Finance Director Jared Hammond Associate General Manager Amanda Williams O’Steen Executive Assistant Kate Horton Bookkeeper Kristine Taylor Associate Finance Director Eric Ipsen Payroll Administrator Katie Riemann CRM Project Manager Destiny Askin Yale Management Fellow Eliza Orleans
DEVELOPMENT Director of Development Lynn Eve Komaromi Associate Director of Development Daria Hepps Director of Individual Giving Laura Fichtenberg Stewardship Officer Woof Kurtzman Institutional Giving Manager Julie McCormick Special Events Manager Abbey Bay McSweeney Individual Giving Manager Kelsey Scott Grant & Communications Coordinator Maddie Gaw Development Coordinators Nina Feliciano · Alix Josefski Development Database Coordinator Jane Voytek
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Senior Marketing Manager Seth Macari Communications & Digital Content Director Karen McKevitt COSTUMES Director of Public Relations Tim Etheridge Costume Director Maggi Yule Audience Development & Resident Costume Design Associate Group Sales Manager Arielle Rubin Cody Von Ruden Webmaster Tailor Christina Cone Kathy Kellner Griffith Video & Multimedia Producer Draper Benjamin Michel Star Rabinowitz Program Advertising First Hand Pamela Webster Janet Conery Front of House Director Wardrobe Supervisor Kelly Kelley Barbara Blair
SCENIC ART
Charge Scenic Artist Lisa Lázár
Front of House Manager Debra Selman House Managers Megan Bedig · Jerry Chirip · Maggie Collette · Aleta George · Aaron Higareda · Matisse Michalski · Angela Phung · Tuesday Ray · Sienna Sherman Front of House Bar Manager Phoenyx Butts Senior Lead Bar Nina Gorham Lead Bartenders Matthew Canter · Johnny Lloyd · Nichelle Pete Bartenders Lupe Henderson · Leigh Nelson Lead Concessionaires Matthew Canter · Johnny Lloyd · Nichelle Pete Concessionaires Si Mon’ Emmett · Natalia Gurevich · Michelle Hernandez · Evan Lester · James Oh · Veronica Perez-Westbrook · Marissa Wolden GalaPro Operators/Pushers Tyler Miller · Madeline Rostami GalaPro Pusher Jessica Bates Ticket Services Manager Dora Daniels Box Office Supervisor Julie Gotsch Subscription Manager Laurie Barnes Box Office Lead Alina Whatley Box Office Agents Chelbi Dickens · Topher Hester · Oliver Kampman · Victoria Phelps · Timothy Quirus · Alina Whatley
Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer
General Manager Theresa Von Klug
Adrian Gebhart · Christine Germain · Nancy Gold · Michaela (Mickey) Goldhaber · Gary Graves · Marvin Greene · Susan-Jane Harrison · Richard Hayes · Maya Herbsman · Gendell Hing-Hernández · Joan Howard · Andrew Hurteau · Kasey Klemm · Krista Knight · Rebecca Longworth · Julian López-Morillas · Dave Maier · Alex Moggridge · Colum Parke Morgan · Edward Morgan · Ariela Morgenstern · Jonathan Moscone · Joe Orrach · Slater Penney · Lisa Anne Porter · Alyson Rutter · Remi Sandri · Rolf Saxon · Elyse Shafarman · Joyful Simpson · Cleavon Smith · M. Graham Smith · Gabriel Vergez · James Wagner · Joshua Waterstone · Dan Wolf Teen Core Council Milo Bailey · Simon Bhuller-Riordan · Fidela Bisseret Martinez · Eleanor Boes · Bianca Carmango · Lilly-Karin Dandenell · Scarlette De Beauvior · Dina Fukunaga · Maera Klein · Malia Lee · Tatiana Lira · Grace Nelligan Zohar Naaman · Alex Pansino · Roan Pearl · Madeleine Riskin-Kutz · Jade Rogers · Avelina Rivezzo-Weber · Sarah Schecter Docent Co-Chairs Matty Bloom, Content Joy Lancaster, Recruitment Selma Meyerowitz, Off-Sites and Procedures Culture Clash (Still) in America Docents Michelle Barbour, Lead Docent Ellen Kaufman, Assistant Lead Randi Helly · Muriel Kaplan · Dee Kursh · Thomas Sponsler · Joan Sullivan · Catherine Warren
2019–20 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS
Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow Nailah Harper-Malveaux Facilities Director Company Management Fellow Mark Morrisette Reagan O’Malley Facilities Manager Costume Fellow Ashley Mills Anthony Fiore Building Engineer Development Fellow Thomas Tran Samuel Levit Building Technician Education Fellow Kevin Pan Zandra Starks Facilities Assistants Graphic Design Fellow Lemont Adams · Theresa Drumgoole · Haly Roy Sophie Li · Guy Nado · Jesus Rodriguez · Harry Weininger Sound Fellow LeRoy Thomas Jamie Tippett Lighting/Electrics Fellow BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE Hannah Solomon Director of the School of Theatre Marketing/Digital Rachel Hull Communications Fellow Katherine Gunn Associate Director MaryBeth Cavanaugh Peter F. Sloss Literary/ Dramaturgy Fellow Associate Director Charlie Dubach-Reinhold Anthony Jackson Production Management Fellow Education Communications and Kali Grau Partnerships Manager Marcela Chacón Properties Fellow Del Hanson Data and Tessitura Analyst Katie Riemann Scenic Art Fellow Community Programs Administrator Samantha (Sam) Welsing Modesta Tamayo Scenic Construction Fellow Kathryn Bosch Education Youth Associate Si Mon’ Emmett Stage Management Fellow Elizabeth Kamla Faculty and Teaching Artists Christine Adaire · Miriam Ani · Bobby August, Jr. · Erica Blue · Larry Bogad · Martha Brigham · Millie Brooks · Ron Campbell · Rebecca Castelli · Paul Cello · Jiwon Chung · Sally Clawson · Michael Curry · Shannon R. Davis · Lura Dolas · Jim Edgar · Si Mon’ Emmett · Deborah Eubanks · Anthony Fusco · Hannah Gaff · Nina Galin · Zoe Galvez ·
OPERATIONS
Managing Director Susan Medak
BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Gail Wagner Vice Presidents Bruce Golden Stewart Owen Felicia Woytak Treasurer Henning Mathew Secretary Leonard X Rosenberg Chair, Governance Committee Stewart Owen Chair, Audit Committee Kerry L. Francis Board Members Berit Ashla Carrie Avery Edward D. Baker David Cox Anne Nemer Dhanda Lauren Edgerton Robin Edwards Chuck Fanning Jill Fugaro Karen Galatz Steven Goldin Scott Haber Michael Kossman Jonathan C. Logan Sandra R. McCandless Susan Medak Sudha Pennathur Johanna Pfaelzer Laura Severino Richard Shapiro Roger Strauch Jean Z. Strunsky Kelli Tomlinson Steven C. Wolan Past Presidents 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 Edwin C. Shiver Roger Strauch Martin Zankel Sustaining Advisors Rena Bransten Diana Cohen William T. Espey William Falik David Fleishhacker Paul T. Friedman Nicholas M. Graves David Hoffman Richard F. Hoskins Dale Rogers Marshall Helen Meyer Dugan Moore Peter Pervere Marjorie Randolph Patricia Sakai Jack Schafer William Schaff Emily Shanks Michael Steinberg Michael Strunsky Martin Zankel
Founding Director
Michael W. Leibert Producing Director, 1968–83
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 4 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3 3
MAKING THEATRE
FELLOWSHIP OF THE TEXTURING
Berkeley Rep has a robust fellowship program in which 15 intrepid individuals spend a season sharpening their skills in all aspects of the theatre (you can see the current list of fellows on the previous page). Here, scenic art fellow Sam Welsing adds texture to boards that will eventually become part of the set you’re seeing at this performance.
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C E L E B R AT E T H E T R A N S F O R M AT I V E P O W E R O F T H E AT R E
BERKELEY REP’S
SATUR DAY, APRI L 1 8 , 2020 TH E R I TZ- C A R LTON , SAN FRA N C I SCO Join us as we pay tribute to actor, writer, and teacher ANNA DEAVERE SMITH for her many creative achievements and the tremendous influence she has had on the American theatre. Founded up the street from Berkeley Rep in 1966, PEET ’S COFFEE has shared the Theatre’s values of excellence in craft, innovation, and community. We’re delighted to celebrate the impact they’ve made in Berkeley and beyond for over 50 years. Make your reservation today for the party of the season. BERKELEY REP’S OVATION is a night to celebrate artistic excellence, bold imagination, and ambitious theatremaking. It’s also an evening when we honor those in our artistic and philanthropic communities who have shaped the landscape of the Bay Area and beyond. TICKETS START AT $750 PER PERSON
RSVP
Proceeds from OVATION support the work of Berkeley Rep, from its productions to its comprehensive arts education programs, which serve thousands of Bay Area students each year.
Nina Feliciano at 510 647-2901 or concierge@berkeleyrep.org, or visit berkeleyrep.org/ovation
PHOTO BY M ARCEL A CHACÓN
BE THE ACT YOU WISH TO SEE
SUMMER THEATRE INTENSIVE PERFORM AT BERKELEY REP!
SUMMER THEATRE INTENSIVE SESSION 1
JUNE 15–JULY 10 MONDAY–FRIDAY, 9AM–3PM ENTERING GRADES 6–8
SESSION 2
JULY 14–AUGUST 7 MONDAY–FRIDAY, 9AM–4PM ENTERING GRADES 9–12
FILMMAKING & ACTING INTENSIVE JUNE 29–JULY 17 I MONDAY–FRIDAY, 5–8PM ENTERING GRADES 9–12
REGISTER NOW AT BERKELEYREP.ORG/CLASSES OR CALL 510 647-2996
NEW! DESIGN/TECH INTENSIVE JULY 27–JULY 31 I MONDAY–FRIDAY, 5–7PM ENTERING GRADES 9–12
