September–October 2019
THE GREAT WAVE PAGE 23
PLUS Introducing artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer Berkeley Rep premieres: where are they now? Francis Turnly: scribe and shepherd
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.
100 Bay Place, Oakland, CA 94610 www.covia.org/st-pauls-towers A not-for-profit community owned and operated by Covia. License No. 011400627 COA# 327
WELCOME TO BERKELEY REP! To ensure the best experience for everyone: 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. Smoking/Vaping: Berkeley Rep’s public spaces are smoke- and vape-free. 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!
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 Google Play app. Share with us @berkeleyrep
15
IN THIS ISSUE From the artistic director · 5 From the managing director · 6
12
A few questions for Johanna Pfaelzer · 9 Waves of change: Introducing Berkeley Rep’s new board president · 11 You saw them first, and now... · 12
FEATURES Writing political waves with Francis Turnly · 15 The simmering tensions between Japan and Korea · 19 19
BERKELEY REP PRESENTS The Great Wave · 23 Who’s Who · 24
THE BERKELEY REP MAGAZINE 2019–20 · ISSUE 1
CONTRIBUTORS
The Berkeley Rep Magazine is published at least seven times per season.
Foundation, corporate, and in-kind sponsors · 30
For local advertising inquiries, please contact Pamela Webster at 510 590-7091 or pwebster@ berkeleyrep.org.
Individual donors to the Annual Fund · 31
Editor Karen McKevitt Graphic Designers Cheshire Isaacs Haly Roy Writers Maddie Gaw Sarah Rose Leonard Karen McKevitt
Michael Leibert Society · 32
ABOUT BERKELEY REP Staff, board of trustees, and sustaining advisors · 33
On the cover Yurié Collins, Sharon Omi, and Jo Mei in The Great Wave
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 3
September/October 2019 | Volume 52, No. 1
Trust is Earned
Serving our community for 52 years
PAUL HEPPNER President MIKE HATHAWAY Senior Vice President KAJSA PUCKETT Vice President, Sales & Marketing GENAY GENEREUX Accounting & Office Manager
Production SUSAN PETERSON Vice President, Production JENNIFER SUGDEN Assistant Production Manager ANA ALVIRA, STEVIE VANBRONKHORST Production Artists and Graphic Designers
1960 Mountain Blvd. Oakland, CA 94611 510.339.0400
3070 Claremont Ave. Berkeley, CA 94705 510.652.2133
100 Grand Ave. #112 Oakland, CA 94612 510.339.4200
VISIT GRUBBCO.COM & FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Sales MARILYN KALLINS, TERRI REED San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives DEVIN BANNON, BRIEANNA HANSEN, AMELIA HEPPNER, ANN MANNING Seattle Area Account Executives CAROL YIP Sales Coordinator Marketing SHAUN SWICK Senior Designer & Digital Lead CIARA CAYA Marketing Coordinator Encore Media Group 425 North 85th Street • Seattle, WA 98103 800.308.2898 • 206.443.0445 info@encoremediagroup.com encoremediagroup.com Encore Arts Programs and Encore Stages are published monthly by Encore Media Group to serve performing arts events in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Seattle Area. All rights reserved. ©2019 Encore Media Group. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited.
4 · 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 1
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Family. Identity. Politics. Home. Perhaps it’s no surprise that those topics have been at the forefront of my mind this year, as I have straddled time zones and cities, bringing to a close my tenure as artistic director of New York Stage and Film, and anticipating a new life for myself and my family here in Berkeley. I am so pleased and proud to launch this next moment in the storied history of Berkeley Rep with Francis Turnly’s beautiful play, under the direction of Mark Wing-Davey. Of course I wanted the first show of this first season to be politically astute, emotionally transporting, and of sweeping theatricality. No expectations...! But The Great Wave is all those things, and so much more. This production, like so much of our work, is the result of a series of conversations many years in the making. In this case, it started with Nina Steiger, the senior dramaturg at the National Theatre and a dear friend who was one of my first calls as I began to program this season. She sent me Francis’ play and I found myself reading it like a page-turner or a thriller, a rare delight when you read as many scripts as I do! Next with Francis himself, a selfdescribed Japanese Ulsterman, for whom the opportunity to have a second production of this play (previously seen only in London) was worth leaving his sheep farm in Northern Ireland! And then with Mark Wing-Davey, whose seminal production of Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest was one of the first shows I saw when I moved to nyc in 1991, and became one of the benchmarks of artistry against which I have measured other works ever since. What a delight to learn that a director I had so long admired had such a long history here at Berkeley Rep. And of course the next crucial phase of conversation is with you, our audience. It is my hope that this play will give us the opportunity to reflect, together and separately, on what it is to be part of a family, to be a citizen of a nation, to be separated from home, and to long to find your way back. I am so excited and grateful to be back in Berkeley, a community I love, in a theatre I have admired for decades. Theatre in general, and Berkeley Rep in particular, feels to me like the perfect container for these vital discussions. Artists like Francis and Mark, and the other extraordinary writers, directors, actors, designers, composers, and technicians who will join us over the course of this season, allow us access to worlds not our own, to explore and empathize with characters whose perspectives and experiences may be similar to ours, or wildly different, give us the tools to examine our reactions, and the context to engage with each other in a deep and rigorous way. Looking forward to all of it! Warmly,
Johanna Pfaelzer
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 5
S E A S O N
MOMIX
Viva MOMIX! Viva MOMIX! bursts off the stage with a collection of acts from the company’s most visually spectacular shows, including Botanica (about the seasons), Lunar Sea (the moon), and Opus Cactus (the landscape of the American Southwest).
Oct 26 & 27
ZELLERBACH HALL
Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra La Bayadère
Valery Gergiev, artistic director The story of forbidden love and shocking betrayal radiates with colorful characters, opulent sets, and vibrant costumes, performed with the unmatched refinement, dramatic poise, and flawless technique that defines this centuries-old cultural institution.
Oct 30–Nov 3
ZELLERBACH HALL
Video Games Live with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Hosted by Tommy Tallarico Featuring Jason Paige, original Pokémon television program theme song singer
The interactive show features the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra performing live arrangements of video game music hits, synchronized to dazzling video footage, spectacular light displays, and theatrical special effects.
Nov 17
So, this is a new beginning! After working for the past year on selecting plays for her first season, Johanna has finally arrived in Berkeley, in person. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her over the course of this last year. This season is unequivocally hers. It reflects the value she places on good, human, resonant stories, well told. As I absorb the national and international news these days, I think that more than ever all of us need to hear, see, and connect through these deeply human stories. These stories help reflect and foster awareness of the multitudes of lives and worlds that make up our community. These stories can give us insights that help us both understand each other and know ourselves better. That, after all, is the great and timeless value of art. As we start our 2019–20 season, I’ve thought about all the many ways you, as theatre lovers, can take full advantage of the many opportunities to experience these stories more fully. Arrive an hour before the Tuesday and Thursday evening shows and the Sunday matinees and let a docent give you an insightful presentation on the play. Stay for the post-show discussions (after all matinees). Figure out how you feel about a show by talking it through with other smart, thoughtful audience members. Participate in a lively Q&A session with the artists after select Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights. Try out GalaPro, the newest technology that delivers personal closed captioning right on your smartphone. It’s free, easy, and available for every Berkeley Rep subscription show. Become a subscriber and be a part of the conversation. If you are a subscriber but haven’t signed up for all seven shows, you might want to think about doing so. Don’t miss a single one. And remember that subscription prices are crazy low! Get on the mailing list for The Ground Floor at berkeleyrep.org/ groundfloor to receive notice of readings and workshops at our center for the creation and development of new work. See new plays and musicals from the ground up. Become a donor. Your donations help us offer ticket prices that are way below the cost of a Broadway show. And without donations from our loyal supporters, we would be hard pressed to maintain our nationally admired new play programs. Besides, donors get special opportunities to go behind the scenes and see the varied ways in which plays are made. Consider taking a class at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. Whether you want to dabble in acting, movement, voice, devising, and more or want to refine your skills, we have a program for you. With classes for adults as well as for youth and teens, everyone is welcome. In other words, I hope you will think of this visit as just a beginning. See you ’round — real soon, I hope. Best regards,
ZELLERBACH HALL
Season Sponsor:
calperformances.org 6 · 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 1
Susie Medak
FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Cal Performances
2019/20
My legacy. My partner. You have dreams. Goals you want to achieve during your lifetime and a legacy you want to leave behind. The Private Bank can help. Our highly specialized and experienced wealth strategists can help you navigate the complexities of estate planning and deliver the customized solutions you need to ensure your wealth is transferred according to your wishes. Take the first step in ensuring the preservation of your wealth for your lifetime and future generations. To learn more, please visit unionbank.com/theprivatebank or contact: Vartan Shahijanian Private Wealth Advisor vartan.shahijanian@unionbank.com 415-705-7258
Wills, trusts, foundations, and wealth planning strategies have legal, tax, accounting, and other implications. Clients should consult a legal or tax advisor.
©2019 MUFG Union Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Union Bank is a registered trademark and brand name of MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
J O
OUR STORIES. OUR THEATRE. YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. Text BACKSTAGE to 71777 berkeleyrep.org/give
BE A DONOR. BE A REP.
JHNA ON A FEW QUESTIONS FOR JOHANNA PFAELZER BY K AREN MCKEVIT T
For the past year Johanna has taken on the enormous task of planning her inaugural season at Berkeley Rep while finishing her last season as artistic director of New York Stage and Film (nysaf), which produces its season during the summer. We caught up with her by phone a few weeks in advance of her official move to the Bay Area with her husband, lighting designer Russell H. Champa, and their son, Jasper. CO NTIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 9
Top to bottom Johanna Pfaelzer at the design presentation for The Great Wave with director Mark Wing-Davey P H OTO S BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
What excites you about this season’s collection of plays? I always want a season to contain artists who are coming at this task of theatrical storytelling from really different perspectives, whether that means from different moments in their career, different moments in their evolution as artists, different cultural perspectives, different backgrounds, and also really different styles of storytelling. The season has, I hope, a real sense of theatrical scope. Each of these projects has a different kind of storytelling vernacular. They’re each told in different theatrical idioms, but the range of narratives in this season feels like what I think a Berkeley Rep season can and should be. We’ll all learn a lot more by the end of this season about what the next few years of Berkeley Rep can contain for all of us together, but this felt like a great collection of works to begin to test out what the conversation could be between me, the staff, this audience, and this community as a whole. What excites you about being at Berkeley Rep and the Bay Area? What I know of Berkeley Rep audiences and Berkeley as a community is that it’s a place of great intellectual rigor. It’s a place of creative thinkers, of people who are forward looking, who are demanding things of themselves and their community and thinking about what it is to be a community in a really rigorous way. It feels like a special place to use the tool of theatre to further those questions. Was theatre always part of your life? You know, it really wasn’t. My mom did street theatre in Berkeley during the Watergate years. So I have great memories of my parents and their friends running around with Richard Nixon masks on, through the streets of Berkeley. But no, I don’t come from a theatre family. My stepfamily is full of visual artists. My stepmother, Coille Hooven, is a well-known ceramic artist. My stepsister, Molly, now runs her mom’s business. My stepbrother Matthew was originally a painter and is now a design-build contractor. But there isn’t a big tradition of performing arts. I stumbled into ballet as a kid in Berkeley, and that was my passion until high school, and it was that that led me into the theatre. How did you get into producing? I trained as an actor in college and then I spent a year at Actors Theatre of Louisville as a member of the apprentice company where you had acting classes during the day, and alongside the performing opportunities, you also had the responsibility to work in the shops and other administrative departments. So in addition to the acting training, we also got a crash course in the overall administration of a theatre at large. When I moved to New York I got involved with a theatre company called Zena Group, which was formed by 30 alums of the atl program, and which developed and produced new work. Over a period of years, as we curated series, as we fundraised, as we both performed in but also produced the work, as we figured out how to reach an audience and what to do with an audience once they were in our building, I came to realize that those aspects felt as creatively engaging to me as performing did. Acting didn’t give me the same kind of agency over myself as a creative artist that I needed. Many regional theatres across the country have recently seen changes in their artistic leadership. Up until this point, many of the artistic directors at these theatres were also directors. And now we’re starting to see creative producers like you step into the artistic director leadership role. For you, what is a creative producer? It’s interesting to me that it’s a sea change that is now happening regionally, because it has been happening in New York over the last decade or two. When you look at a number of the institutional theatres in New York like Lincoln Center, Roundabout, mcc, Playwrights Horizons, the Vineyard Theater — those are all run by creative producers, by non-directing artistic directors. I think what it has meant — for them and for me — is that we have the ability to broadly serve artists throughout a season. There aren’t particular projects that I attach to; I expect to
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 1
Gail Wagner P H OTO BY L I S A K E AT I N G
be of service to the creative team in any project that’s in our building and to be able to lend another pair of eyes. I think the creative part of it for me comes first in the curation of the work, of course, and then in helping to build the team from that. Whether it’s a project initiated first by a playwright or a director, I help to pair them with the creative partner who’s really going to stimulate this particular production. I like to think deeply about the design team that comes in to support that vision, and the cast that’s going to be the most illuminating for that playwright and director in that particular moment in a play’s life. Then I get to figure out how to communicate the intentions of the play more broadly, to be an advocate for that play to an audience, to a community, to colleagues in the field. I think it means I can work in an in-depth way with that creative team throughout their process. As they refine the play in the company of an audience I think I can serve as a proxy for that audience in some ways to articulate what the experience of receiving that play is and help them refine that process. What do you think the differences will be between your role at nysaf and at Berkeley Rep? Some of the overall tasks are not that different. But because nysaf is entirely developmental in nature, the work is by definition unfinished when we encounter it, and that is different in Berkeley. nysaf is designed to be of service to the artists while they’re in process; it thinks first about the artistic community as the constituents and then, in a more secondary way, about the audience. That paradigm shifts at Berkeley Rep where the task of the work on the stages is to engage an audience. Part of what is so exciting to me in coming to Berkeley Rep is the notion of being in production year-round. nysaf’s primary producing season really only lasts for two months, so an enormous amount of work is done really quickly. Being able to take that volume of projects and spread it out over a year is going to enable me to approach each one in greater depth and with more attention, and I’m really looking forward to that. One of the things I’m interested in for my own creative development is, what is it to be able to take a more in-depth and measured approach to the work, to be able to be supportive of an artist or creative team over a longer period of time, to get to watch that work transform in front of an audience over more weeks, and to see the impact of that both on the community and on the piece itself. What theatrical shows have you seen that rocked your world? So many! I remember seeing the original company of Evita. I remember seeing Dreamgirls on Broadway with my grandparents and that experience you have when a show literally stops in the middle of an act so the audience can express their gratitude for a performer was something I don’t think I had ever experienced before. Things of more recent vintage that have just blown my head off include Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars, Steven Hoggett and John Tiffany’s production of Black Watch — things that really challenge what the relationship between an audience and a narrative can be. What other artistic genres inspire you? For me the great palate cleanser when I’ve been way too immersed in theatre is dance. It’s the place that enables me to totally short-circuit an intellectual response to a piece of art and to engage with it on a really visceral emotional level. The Alvin Ailey company is always the one that can tear my heart open the quickest.
WAVES OF CHANGE
Introducing Berkeley Rep’s new board president BY MADDIE GAW
WHILE ALL THE BUZZ
has been about Johanna Pfaelzer taking the reins as artistic director, it’s not the only leadership transition during Berkeley Rep’s 2019–20 season. Gail Wagner, a recently retired oncologist from Kaiser Permanente, begins her term as president of the board of trustees as the Theatre writes its next chapter. It seems fitting that the new president, who will lead the board during a time of seminal change, is someone who has been there for all the previous ones. “Berkeley Rep and I grew up together,” says Gail, who first visited when she and her husband Arne were students, near the beginning of founding Artistic Director Michael Leibert’s tenure. “I first started seeing plays at Berkeley Rep in 1972 when it was at a tiny storefront theatre on College Avenue,” she says. Gail and Arne became subscribers in 1984, the same year Sharon Ott was selected as Berkeley Rep’s next artistic director, and they continued their relationship with the Theatre as subscribers and donors. Gail then took her commitment to Berkeley Rep one step further by joining the board of trustees seven years ago. “Berkeley Rep is now one of the foremost regional theatres in the country, and I’m honored to be president of its board of trustees,” says Gail. “I can give back to the Theatre that has entertained and challenged me for so many years.” She continues, “Johanna is a very warm, creative, lively person, and I’m so excited to be working with her as she starts her adventure with Berkeley Rep.” The board president may not be as visible to the public as the artistic and managing directors, but is equally vital to running the Theatre. A nonprofit arts organization is really led by a triumvirate that, here, includes Johanna, who sets the artistic vision for Berkeley Rep’s programming, managing director Susan Medak, who is responsible for the administration of the Theatre, and Gail, who leads the board of trustees, which has policy and fundraising responsibilities. Gail is succeeding Stewart Owen, who had the herculean task of leading the search for Berkeley Rep’s next artistic director during the last years of his term. Like Gail, Stewart highlights Johanna’s “warmth and character” as something the entire transition task force was drawn to. Stewart is also proud that in Johanna, they found someone “with deep roots in Berkeley and the Bay Area” who “gets the particular nature of this community where we have rich diversity, strong political opinions, and a very well-educated audience.” The relationship between Berkeley Rep and its audience clearly sparked something in Gail many years ago, and will hopefully continue to spark something in the audiences of today who may become the trustees of tomorrow. 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 1
L AU R EL W R E AT H BY A L I C E N O I R / T H E N O U N P R O J EC T
Top to bottom Natalie Venetia Belcon and Charles Browning in Fairview; Heidi Schreck in What the Constitution Means to Me (photo courtesy of Alessandra Mello); Caliaf St. Aubyn in Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations; John Leguizamo in Latin History for Morons; Jennifer Lim in Aubergine; Samantha Barks in Amélie, A New Musical. All photos courtesy of Kevin Berne except as noted.
FAIRVIEW
Premiere production 2018. Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play exploring the damaging effects of the white gaze received an encore run off Broadway, landed on the New York Times “Best Theatre of 2018,” and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It receives its UK premiere at the Young Vic in November.
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME
West Coast premiere 2018. Heidi Schreck’s personal examination of our country’s supreme document returned to New York for an off-Broadway run followed by an extended Broadway run. It received two Tony nominations and won the Obie Award for Best New American Play.
YOU SAW THEM FIRST, AND NOW... BY K AREN MCKEVIT T
At Berkeley Rep, you’re the first to see the shows that people across the nation will be talking about tomorrow. These recent shows — most of which were developed in The Ground Floor — sparked conversations across the country and around the world.
AIN’T TOO PROUD — THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS Premiered 2017. Went to Broadway and earned 12 Tony nominations, winning a Tony Award for choreography. No need to beg: Its national tour launches July 2020.
LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS
Premiered 2016. John Leguizamo’s solo show, directed by Tony Taccone, went on to Broadway and helped John earn a Special Tony Award. It’s schooling audiences on a national tour through October 20.
AUBERGINE
Premiered 2016. Julia Cho’s meditation on family, forgiveness, and the things that nourish us became an audience favorite in Berkeley and later received an off-Broadway run. Its most recent production was at San Diego Rep earlier this year.
AMÉLIE
Premiered 2015. A charming musical based on the Academy Award-nominated film, Amélie traveled from Berkeley to Broadway, and has recently seen productions in Japan, the UK, Finland, and Germany. (What’s up, France?)
1 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 1
SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES AND SINGLE TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
R O F S U JOIN
Dianne Wiest in the Yale Repertory Theatre production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days P H OTO BY J OA N M A R C U S
Suzan-Lori Parks
WHITE NOISE
Culture Clash (Herbert Siguenza, Richard Montoya, and Ric Salinas)
Jocelyn Bioh
TH E N EW YO RK HIT COM E S TO B E RKELEY!
BY SUZ AN-LORI PARKS DIREC TED BY JAKI BR ADLEY M AIN SEASON · PEET ’ S THEATRE SEP 26–NOV 10, 2019
BECKY NURSE OF SALEM BY SAR AH RUHL DIREC TED BY ANNE K AUFFM AN M AIN SEASON · PEET ’ S THEATRE DEC 12, 2019–JAN 26, 2020
CULTURE CLASH (STILL) IN AMERICA
WRIT TEN AND PERFORMED BY CULTURE CL ASH RICHARD MONTOYA , RIC ARDO SALINAS, AND HERBERT SIGUENZ A DIREC TED BY LISA PETERSON M AIN SEASON · PEET ’ S THEATRE FEB 20–APR 5, 2020
SCHOOL GIRLS
IN FEC TIOUS COM E DY WITH TE ETH!
OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY
Lisa Peterson
John Gallagher, Jr.
Sarah Ruhl
E XC LU S IV E LY FO R YO U
HAPPY DAYS
BY SA MUEL BECKET T DIREC TED BY JA MES BUNDY WITH DIANNE WIEST LIMITED SEASON · RODA THEATRE M AY 26–JUL 5, 2020
SWEPT AWAY
WO RLD PREM IE RE MUSIC AL!
BOOK BY JOHN LOGAN MUSIC & LYRIC S BY THE AVET T BROTHERS MUSIC ARR ANGEMENTS & ORCHESTR ATIONS BY CHRIS MILLER & BRIAN USIFER DIREC TED BY MICHAEL M AYER LIMITED SEASON · PEET ’ S THEATRE JUN 14–JUL 26, 2020
PLUS A SPECIAL NONSUBSCRIPTION EVENT
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
BOOK, MUSIC , AND LYRIC S BY PIGPEN THEATRE CO. BASED ON THE NOVEL BY K ATE DIC A MILLO AND THE UNIVERSAL PIC TURES ANIM ATED FILM DIREC TED BY M ARC BRUNI AND PIGPEN THEATRE CO. SPECIAL PRESENTATION · RODA THEATRE NOV 21, 2019–JAN 5, 2020
YOUR TICKET TO THE GREAT WAVE UNLOCKS A TON OF GREAT PERKS! ADD JUST 2 MORE SHOWS TO BECOME A SUBSCRIBER! YOU'LL GET...
DISCOUNTED PRICES GUARANTEED SEATS FREE TICKET EXCHANGES BENEFITS FOR FRIENDS DISCOUNTS ON CLASSES AND SO MUCH MORE
AVAILABLE ONLY BY PHONE CALL 510 647-2949 USE CODE GWSUB
BY JOCELYN BIOH DIREC TED BY AWOYE TIMPO M AIN SEASON · RODA THEATRE M AR 19–M AY 3, 2020
BE A SUBSCRIBER. BE A REP.
The Avett Brothers
SEASON SPONSORS
1 4 · 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 1
WRITING POLITICAL WAVES WITH FRANCIS TURNLY BY SAR AH ROSE LEONARD
Francis Turnly, a playwright of Japanese and Northern Irish descent, is a sheep farmer in rural Northern Ireland. Yes, you read that right. The farm has been in his family since the 1800s, and when asked why he still farms though his playwriting career has taken off he says, “A farmer wants to keep it up so it stays in the family. If you lose it, you lose several generations.” He came to playwriting via writing for bbc drama on the radio. At the suggestion of the bbc, he adapted one of his radio dramas into a play. He balances farming with writing nowadays, and Berkeley Rep’s production of The Great Wave marks his first North American production. CO NTIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E
H O K U S A I ’ S T H E G R E AT WAV E O FF K A N AG AWA (P U B L I C D O M A I N) ; S H EEP BY CO R E Y H A R M O N/ F L I C K R (C R E AT I V E CO M M O N S)
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 5
“In Japanese schools, people don’t talk a lot about certain things Japan did during World War II and the occupation of Korea. In North Korea, the people aren’t told the exact truth about history either, so there are parallels between both countries not telling their people everything.”
FRANCIS TURNLY
CO NTIN U E D FROM PRE VIOUS PAG E
His house is located in rural Northern Ireland, where he has a weak internet signal. Literary Manager Sarah Rose Leonard failed many times to reach him and was ever so happy when he finally got through to her. Below are excerpts from their conversation. Note: The play is inspired by real events. We did our best not to give away any spoilers. How did you decide what to keep factual and what to imagine? I tried to stay within the timeline as close as possible, but I took dramatic license sometimes. I would push the action forward six months or push it backwards a year to maintain forward momentum, but the actual main events are pretty much as they happened. I didn’t want to base any characters on an exact family unit so I just imagined two sisters. The Tetsuo character is an amalgamation of different characters that I came across in my research. I thought it would be easier to just have one person representing lots of different people. So for instance, there were two journalists but I just combined them into one person and then made up a backstory. How did you begin your research process? I went to a couple of talks at an organization in London called Asia House, where lots of East Asian creatives come to meet. Now and again, North Koreans would come and tell people about their experiences. I got relatives in Japan to translate documents that weren’t available here so I guess that was the starting point…it’s probably 50 percent research and 50 percent creating characters based on actual events. I didn’t grow up in Japan, so I didn’t have any personal connection to it, although my mother did. She mentioned that for a lot of Japanese people, the events the play is based on were always in the back of their mind, especially in coastal areas where these events were happening. The Japanese occupation of Korea, and the subsequent tensions between the countries, underlies much of the plot. How did that history contribute to your thinking? In Japanese schools, people don’t talk a lot about certain things Japan did during World War II and the occupation of Korea. Even today, a lot of Japanese people don’t actually know what took place, they just learned the edited version. In North 1 6 · 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 1
Korea, the people aren’t told the exact truth about history either, so there are parallels between both countries not telling their people everything. Your heritage is Japanese and Northern Irish. How did your family come to settle in Northern Ireland? My father traveled to Japan and that’s where he met my mother. They got married and she came back to live in Ireland. At the start there weren’t very many Japanese people in Ireland — even to this day there’s still not very many Japanese people there. Northern Ireland has its own set of cultural circumstances. Do you think those politics have made their way into The Great Wave? There are similarities. In Northern Ireland during The Troubles we had the Disappeared, when quite a lot of people were taken by various organizations and their bodies were never found. That notion parallels the events in the play. It absolutely does. How does your identity factor into your writing? I’m more interested in writing about Japanese characters and history onstage, whereas for radio or television I tend to gravitate toward writing Irish stories or Northern Irish stories. I haven’t gotten to where I’ve combined them both but maybe one day… In the UK and in Ireland it takes a long time to get a play on — typically three or four years — but with radio it’s very quick. A radio play can go up in four months, six months, and they’re more willing to take an Irish play or a British drama as opposed to a Japanese story. But I would like one day to maybe adapt The Great Wave to a feature film. Does the title relate to the famous print entitled The Great Wave? Yes, the art inspired me to write the play in part. I wanted to have the sea onstage as the personification of the way the two families are affected by political waves as well as literal waves. The actual full title of the woodblock print is The Great Wave off Kanagawa, which was the original title of the play until a Japanese person pointed out to me that Kanagawa isn’t actually opposite North Korea. So the title had to change slightly.
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 7
M A P CO U R T E S Y O F F R EE V EC TO R M A P S .CO M O C E A N BY M . R O B ER T M A R K S/ F L I C K R (C R E AT I V E CO M M O N S)
CHINA
N O RTH KO RE A
SOUTH KO RE A
1 8 · 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 1
THE SIMMERING TENSIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND KOREA BY SAR AH ROSE LEONARD
The Great Wave takes place on the island of Japan, on the Korean Peninsula, and in the sea between them. While the play spans from 1979 to 2003, earlier history of Japan and Korea reveals layers hidden beneath the action of the drama itself. In 1910, the Empire of Japan annexed Korea, which was then one united country not yet split into North and South. The subsequent period of colonial rule devastated Korea’s cultural legacy — a great source of pride for its people — and enforced Japanese customs and rules. The occupation ended in 1945, after Japan lost much of its power when World War II ended. Tensions between the countries remain, even decades later.
JAPAN
CO NTIN U E D O N N E X T PAG E
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 1 9
JAPAN AND KOREA
CO NTIN U E D FROM PRE VIOUS PAG E
Japan was at the height of its imperial power when it annexed Korea in 1910. It had taken over Manchuria (part of China), some islands in the South Pacific, and Taiwan, after winning wars against superpowers China and Russia. Japan grew its colonial influence in reaction to Western countries flexing their muscles: Southeast Asia fell under French rule, Russia moved into China, and the United States expanded its territory throughout the 1800s. After witnessing these takeovers, Japan set its sights on Korea. This made sense strategically: Korea served as the entryway for China and Russia to reach Japan. One politician described the land as “the dagger pointing at the heart of Japan.” The colonizers crafted a sense of national superiority to justify their defensive hold on Korea. During the time of the occupation, the Japanese concept of Kokutai — meaning strong national identity — reigned supreme. Kokutai created a sense of patriotism and encouraged sacrifice on behalf of the country. Japan upheld its own traditions as superior, yet it also sent mixed messages to its colonies: it spread the belief that Koreans were inferior to Japanese citizens, but could become Japanese. The Japanese government did this to create a unified people under the Japanese Emperor; for Koreans, it was cultural genocide. The Japanese government used multiple tactics to convince the population that Koreans were primitive com-
2 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 1
pared to the Japanese. The notion seeped into textbooks, museums, movies, business dealings, and even Koreans’ own perceptions of themselves. Japanese officials forbade the speaking of Korean in school. They issued an edict to make films in Japanese. They sought to wipe out historical memory: it became a crime to teach history from non-approved texts, and authorities burned over 200,000 Korean historical documents. Shinto shrines originally intended for Japanese families became places of forced worship for Koreans. Some people worked around the Shinto edict by visiting the shrines but neglecting to pray, while others hastily adopted this new religion out of fear. Japanese officials destroyed many Korean cultural artifacts, and the objects and structures they did preserve were used to demonstrate the purported superiority of Japan as a civilization. One of the most powerful symbols of Korean sovereignty was the royal palace in Seoul, built in 1395 during the Joseon dynasty. The Japanese government tore down over a third of the palace’s buildings and turned the remaining structures into tourist attractions. The colonizers also transformed the land itself: they chopped down forests and planted non-native species, rendering a landscape familiar to Koreans almost unrecognizable. Nearly 100,000 Japanese families moved into homes in Korea on land the government gave to them.
Left Demonstrators during the March 1st Movement (public domain photo from Wikimedia Commons) Right Korean “comfort women” after the end of World War II (public domain photo by US Army Sergeant A. E. Lemon from Wikimedia Commons)
One of the most lasting changes from the occupation was the eradication of Korean names. In 1939, more than 80 percent of Koreans complied with a name-change ordinance by the Japanese government. Though lawmakers tried to market the new policy to take a Japanese name as “voluntary,” it was of obvious benefit to change one’s name. Low-level officials forced people to switch their family names if they wanted to register to get married, apply for work, get a ration card, buy or sell land, or go to school. Koreans lined up outside government offices and police stations to change their names amidst widespread anguish. In a series that covered 60 major events in Korea’s history, The Korea Times reported that “many of the elderly, in befuddled resistance, refused to choose and had names selected for them.” The article goes on to state that many Koreans submitted their new names for registration wearing black armbands and afterwards went to pray at their ancestral tombs. A new generation of nationalists came into being in the wake of this misery. The official resistance movement began on March 1, 1919 when approximately two million Koreans participated in more than 1,500 demonstrations. The Japanese military massacred thousands of these protesters. Incited by the violence, activists formed the Korean Independence Movement. Exiled leaders established the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and an official Liberation Army in China. Koreans successfully pushed back at their oppressors: after the first decade of occupation Japanese officials loosened their rules. Workers received the same wages as Japanese workers, the ban on Korean newspapers was lifted, and laws interfering with traditional customs were altered. However, as WWII approached, lawmakers tightened their grip once again. Nearly 725,000 Koreans were engaged in forced labor in Japan over the course of the occupation. The pain of this brutality lingers most potently in the legacy of women and girls forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers fighting in WWII. These women and girls, euphemistically called “comfort women,” lived at “comfort stations” — essentially brothels — in Japanese-occupied China. Military brothels expanded widely after the Rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops massacred residents in the Chinese city of Nanking over a period of six weeks. During this rampage, Japanese soldiers raped between 20,000 and 80,000 Chinese women. This incident horrified the world, and the Japanese military reacted to the outrage by expanding its “comfort stations” in an attempt to prevent future incidents of rape. The thought was that a steady and isolated group of prostitutes would satisfy the soldiers’ sexual appetites. But these women were brought to the brothels by force, most of them from colonized Korea or parts of China. The subject of “comfort women” remains tender in Japan and its once-occupied countries. In July of this year, a trade spat over chemicals used to make cell phones erupted between Japan and South Korea. At its root is the issue of forced labor during WWII, including the subject of “comfort women.”
An estimated 90 percent of “comfort women” did not survive the war. Records of the women’s imprisonment are scarce, as most were destroyed by Japanese officials. The women who survived became societal outcasts, and many died of sexually transmitted infections or committed suicide. Today, Japan argues that it made amends via a monetary settlement in the 1965 accord that re-established diplomatic relations between the two countries, but South Korean courts and popular opinion don’t see it that way. After WWII ended, the U.S. and Russia captured the Korean Peninsula and ended Japanese rule. The two allied countries divided Korea: the south went to the U.S. and the north to Russia. What was supposed to be a temporary state of affairs became permanent after the Korean War (1950–1953) devastated the country and left it divided. South Korea remained allied with the U.S. and the United Nations, becoming a democratic nation, while North Korea maintained ties with Russia and China, becoming a communist dictatorship. The South aimed to mend the wounds of the Japanese occupation, while the North froze relations entirely, cutting itself off from the outside world. Because of the war, Koreans were made to choose between South or North Korean citizenships, and those living in Japan were recognized as permanent residents of Japan. We all know where to find news about North Korea these days, but it’s a little trickier to find evidence of the tension between South Korea and Japan. You inevitably have to thumb (or scroll) to the back pages of a newspaper, sub-sectioned under “Asia,” but you’re actually more likely to find reporting about this ever-simmering-on-a-low-boil conflict in the financial section. Arguments arise between ambassadors, or trade disputes erupt. Since the 1950s, Japan has formally apologized for its war crimes nearly every year. Ongoing controversy persists regarding whether these statements are enough. Yet one player remains completely silent on these tensions: North Korea. They pretty much ignore Japan. Except for a notable incident…which you’ll learn about in The Great Wave.
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 1
WHITE NOISE BY SUZAN-LORI PARKS DIRECTED BY JAKI BRADLEY PEET’S THEATRE · STARTS SEP 26 CALL 510 647-2949 · CLICK BERKELEYREP.ORG
BERKELEY REP 2019–20. BE A REP.
SEASON SPONSORS
JOHANNA PFAELZER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SUSAN MEDAK, MANAGING DIRECTOR
PRESENTS THE AMERICAN PREMIERE OF
THE GREAT WAVE BY
CAST
FRANCIS TURNLY
Tetsuo Julian Cihi* Reiko Yurié Collins*
DIREC TED BY
MARK WING-DAVEY
Kum-Chol Stephen Hu* Jung Sun/Soldier Two Cindy Im* Official Paul Juhn*
SEP TEM B ER 12– OC TOB ER 27, 2019 RODA THE ATRE · M AIN SE A SON
Hanako Jo Mei* Jiro Paul Nakauchi*
This show has a 15-minute intermission.
Hana Grace Chan Ng
The Great Wave is made possible thanks to the generous support of
Etsuko Sharon Omi* Takeshi/Soldier One David Shih*
SEASON SPONSORS Bruce Golden & Michelle Mercer Jack & Betty Schafer Michael & Sue Steinberg The Strauch Kulhanjian Family
PRODUCTION STAFF Scenic Design Chika Shimizu
BERKELEY REP PRESENTS
BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE
Costume Design Meg Neville Lighting Design Lap Chi Chu Sound Design Bray Poor
LE A D S P O N S O R S Kelli & Steffan Tomlinson
Video Design Tara Knight Dramaturg Sarah Rose Leonard
SPONSORS Mechanics Bank Wealth Management Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Cindy & David Trummer Wendy Williams
Casting Amy Potozkin, CSA Jillian Cimini, CSA Andrew Femenella, CSA Production Stage Manager Michael Suenkel* Assistant Stage Manager Hsiu-I Chiquita Lu* *Indicates a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Great Wave was first produced by the National Theatre and the Kiln Theatre (London) March 2018.
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.
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 3
WHO’S WHO
Julian Cihi
Cindy Im
Paul Nakauchi
Julian is making his Berkeley Rep debut. He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan before moving to the U.S. to attend Brown University (BA) and later nyu Tisch Grad Acting (mfa). Theatre credits include Doctor Zhivago (Broadway), Romeo and Juliet (Classic Stage Company), A Month in the Country (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Wild Goose Dreams (La Jolla Playhouse). Julian has also performed in several musicals in Japan, including Rent and a musical adaptation of As You Like It, all in Japanese. He most recently appeared in the second season of Amazon Prime’s original TV series The Tick as a villain named Edgelord.
Cindy’s credits include Vietgone, The Orphan of Zhao, Stuck Elevator (American Conservatory Theater); Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, Julius Caesar, Great Expectations, The Winter’s Tale (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Marin Theatre Company); The Orphan of Zhao (La Jolla Playhouse); The World of Extreme Happiness (Manhattan Theatre Club); Twelfth Night (Cal Shakes); The World of Extreme Happiness (Goodman Theatre); Measure for Measure (Seattle Shakespeare Company); and 11 Septembre 2001 (Theatre Dijon Bourgogne/redcat). Film/television credits include Manifest (nbc) and Tigertail (Netflix). Cindy is a tcg Fox Acting Fellow, rhe Foundation Fellow, and holds an mfa in Acting from CalArts.
Paul is excited to be making his Berkeley Rep debut. Broadway: The King & I at Lincoln Center. Off Broadway: Long Day’s Journey into Night at Mint Theater, Chu Chem at Ritz Theatre. London: The King & I at the Palladium. National tour: Miss Saigon. Regional credits: Sunday in the Park with George at the Guthrie Theater, Allegiance at The Old Globe, Mikado, Inc at Paper Mill Playhouse. He has appeared in the films The Great Raid, Dark Metropolis, and Death Note. TV credits include ER, The Young and the Restless, and Deadbeat. He has voiced numerous characters for games, animated features, and TV, including Carmen Sandiego, which has been nominated for this year’s Emmy for best children’s programming.
Paul Juhn
HANA
TETSUO
Yurié Collins R E I KO
Yurié is honored to lend voice to the untold stories of people from her home country. Born and raised in Wakayama Japan, Yurié is currently based in New York City. She has appeared on stage with the Flea Theatre, 600 Highwaymen, Witness Immersive, and on screen for TV shows such as Bull (cbs), Gotham (fox), and Orange Is the New Black (Netflix). Yurié also organizes with social and climate justice groups, and is passionate about combining acting and activism.
Stephen Hu KUM-CHOL
Stephen is thrilled to be returning to the Bay Area with his Berkeley Rep debut. New York credits include F.O.B. (Sheen Center) and Puzzle the Will (Davenport Theatre). Select regional credits include Hamlet (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Macbeth (Theatricum Botanicum), Ching Chong Chinaman (Artists at Play), and Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (The Old Globe). His last appearance in the Bay was for Vietgone at American Conservatory Theater, for which he received the Best Featured Actor SF Theatre Critics Circle Award. He was recently seen on TV in The Good Fight. mfa, The Old Globe/usd.
24 · 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 1
J U N G S U N/ S O L D I E R T W O
OFFICIAL
Paul last appeared at Berkeley Rep in 2007 in after the quake. Theatre credits include Henry VI (National Asian American Theatre Company); the world premiere of Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, Merry Wives of Windsor, The Winter’s Tale, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, Antony and Cleopatra (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Good Person of Szechwan (The Public Theater); Sides: The Fear Is Real (Ma-Yi Theater); White Chocolate (The Culture Project). Film and TV credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Quantico, Salt, The Americans, 30 Rock, Person of Interest, Works of ART. He is a founding member of both Mr. Miyagi’s Theatre Company and Suffolk Street Films. Paul received his mfa from ucsd.
Jo Mei
H A N A KO
This is Jo’s Berkeley Rep debut. Theatre credits include We Are Among Us (City Theatre, Pittsburgh), Babette’s Feast (off Broadway/Portland Stage), Fingersmith (American Repertory Theater), World of Extreme Happiness (Manhattan Theatre Club), King of Hell’s Palace (Goodman Theatre), You for Me for You (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). TV credits include Crashing (hbo), Nicki (Freeform), Bones (fox), and The Good Wife (cbs). Jo stars in and co-wrote the award-winning film A Picture of You; other film credits include Who We Are Now, Adult World, and The Grief of Others. Jo is a graduate of The Juilliard School’s Drama Division. @jotomato
JIRO
Grace Chan Ng Grace is thrilled to return to the Bay Area for her stage debut at Berkeley Rep, where she previously partook in The Ground Floor summer workshop of F*ck Miss Saigon. Recent regional credits include Dry Land and The Black Rider (Shotgun Players), You for Me for You (Crowded Fire), Hair (Bay Area Musicals), Fiddler on the Roof (Berkeley Playhouse), Life Is a Dream (Cutting Ball Theater), and the world premiere of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Bay Area Children’s Theatre), winner of three Theatre Bay Area Awards. Grace is a graduate of San Francisco State University.
Sharon Omi E T S U KO
Sharon is thrilled to be back at Berkeley Rep. Before leaving for LA many years ago, she performed here in The Good Person of Szechuan, Top Girls at The Eureka Theater Co., Uncle Vanya at American Conservatory Theater, Tea at The Asian American Theater Co., among many others. She has worked at South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, East West Players, Playwright’s Arena, and Odyssey Theatre. Recent TV work includes The Resident, Forever, The First, How to Get Away with Murder, and Criminal Minds. She starred in the indie film Eat with Me for which she won a best actress award from the Out On Film Festival in Atlanta. Los Angeles theatre favorites include And the Soul Shall Dance, Blood Wedding, Innocent When You Dream, and Tales of Clamor.
This is Dave’s Berkeley Rep debut. His theatre credits include the National Asian American Theatre Company (naatco) productions of Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts, Awake and Sing!, and [veil widow conspiracy]; KPOP (Ars Nova); Somebody’s Daughter (Second Stage Theater); Tiger Style! (La Jolla Playhouse); Bike America (Ma-Yi Theater Company); Crane Story (The Playwrights Realm). He has appeared on television in Billions, The Path, City on a Hill, Blindspot, Elementary, Madam Secretary, The Blacklist, and in the films Mr. Sushi, Eighth Grade, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Saving Face. Dave works with Only Make Believe performing for children in hospitals and care facilities.
Francis Turnly P L AY W R I G H T
Francis is a playwright and screenwriter. He was a winner of a Channel 4 playwright bursary in 2015 and as a result was Writer in Residence at the Tricycle Theatre which culminated in him winning the Catherine Johnson Best Play Award in 2016. His play, The Great Wave, was co-produced by the National Theatre and the Tricycle in 2018. He is developing several projects for screen, including a feature film with Element
Films/Film4 and has TV commissions with Balloon, Brightstar, and Bryncoed. Francis is Japanese/Northern Irish and is often inspired by stories from both countries.
Proud to Support Berkeley Rep
Mark Wing-Davey DIREC TOR
Mark first came to prominence in the United States in 1992 with his celebrated production of Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest at New York Theatre Workshop. Since then he has worked extensively in New York for Labyrinth Theater Company, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, and The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. The Great Wave is his sixth show at Berkeley Rep: after Mad Forest made its West Coast premiere here, he also staged The Beaux’ Stratagem, The Life of Galileo, the world premiere of Naomi Iizuka’s 36 Views, and Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He directed an acclaimed Angels in America at American Conservatory Theater, and directed Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play at the Goodman, at Yale Rep, and for Epic Theater Ensemble. His other credits include productions of new writing and classic plays at theatres across the U.S., as well as shows at the Edinburgh Festival, London’s National and Royal Court Theatres, and musicals in the West End and Australia. He is an Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Chair of its Graduate Acting Program. He will be directing The Vagrant Trilogy by Mona Mansour at The Public Theater in Spring 2020.
Personal attention thoughtful litigation final resolution Our goal is to preserve our client’s dignity and humanity.
L A W
TA K E S H I/ S O L D I E R O N E
F A M I LY
David Shih
FA M I LY L AW G R O U P, P. C .
575 Market Street, Suite 4000 San Francisco, CA 94105 415.834.1120 www.sflg.com
Proudly serving Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, Alameda, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Oakland and Piedmont
Extraordinary Performance. Lorri Rosenberg Arazi Anna Bahnson Norah Brower Carla Buffington Jackie Care Maria Cavallo-Merrion Carla Della Zoppa Leslie Easterday Gini Erck
Jennie A. Flanigan Wendy Gardner Ferrari Toni Hanna Nancy Hinkley Sharon Ho Dan Joy Jetta Martin Tracy McBride
Denise Milburn Jeffrey Neidleman Jodi Nishimura Nancy Noman Sandy Patel-Hilferty Perry Riani Ira & Carol Serkes Diane Verducci
compass.com 1625 Shattuck Avenue | Berkeley | 510.982.4400 1900 Mountain Boulevard | Oakland | 510.339.6460 1414 Park Avenue | Alameda | 510.254.3831
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 5
WHO’S WHO
Chika Shimizu
Bray Poor
Chika is a New York-based scenic and projection designer. Her design credits include Awake (The Barrow Group), Hunky Boys Go Ding-Dong (Adult Swim Network), Another Dream (world premiere, Tribeca Film Festival), The Winning Side (Epic Theatre Ensemble), The Naturalists (Pond Theatre Company), Vietgone (TheatreSquared), Buyer and Cellar (Bucks County Playhouse), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Yale Rep, Connecticut Critics Circle Award nomination), Romulus The Great (Yangtze Rep), False Stars (Corkscrew Theater Festival), The Seagull (Access Theater), Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will, The Visit (Yale School of Drama). She is a recipient of Donald and Zorca Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design. mfa in Design from Yale School of Drama. chikashimizu.com
Bray’s Berkeley Rep credits include Dear Elizabeth, Red, Eurydice, For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday, Changes of Heart (as an actor). Broadway: True West, The Glass Menagerie, The Real Thing, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), American Plan. His sound and music have been heard in regional theatres all over the country and Europe. In New York, he has worked in numerous off-Broadway theatres, most recently at Second Stage on Bess Wohl’s Make Believe directed by Michael Greif. He’s been nominated several times for Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Awards and won Obie Awards for Annie Baker’s John as well as for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design.
SCENIC DESIGNER
Meg Neville
COSTUME DESIGNER
Meg’s Berkeley Rep productions include Imaginary Comforts; It Can’t Happen Here; Hand to God; One Man, Two Guvnors; Party People; Macbeth; Pericles; The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide…; Ghost Light; Eurydice. Regional credits include The Great Leap and Heisenberg at American Conservatory Theater, The Music Man at Arizona Theater Company, Blithe Spirit and The Cocoanuts at the Guthrie Theater, and Taming of the Shrew, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and The Cocoanuts at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as well as shows at California Shakespeare Theater, the Magic Theatre, Joe Goode Performance Group, Marin Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Center Stage Baltimore, Second Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Atlantic Theater Company, bam, New York Stage and Film. She resides in Marin with her family. megneville.com
Lap Chi Chu
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Lap has designed Ruined and Emotional Creature at Berkeley Rep. He has also recently designed the world premieres of Lynn Nottage’s Mlima’s Tale and Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves. His other lighting designs can be seen at Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theater. Lap’s awards include the Lucille Lortel, 2018 Obie for Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Angstrom Award for Career Achievement in Lighting Design, Ovation Award, and multiple Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards. He is also the head of lighting design at California Institute of the Arts. lapchichu.com
26 · 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 1
SOUND DESIGNER
Tara Knight
nominations for The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures; One Man, Two Guvnors; and An Octoroon.
Jillian Cimini, CSA CASTING
Select credits: Almost Famous, Bat Out of Hell, The Ferryman, Usual Girls, Apologia, American Girl Live, Travesties, Bobbie Clearly, Time and the Conways, 1984, Groundhog Day, Fun Home, Matilda the Musical, Cabaret, Kingdom Come, Brooklynite, What’s It All About?, Peter and the Starcatcher, Here’s Hoover, The Book of Mormon, American Idiot, Spring Awakening, and Jerusalem.
Andrew Femenella, CSA CASTING
Tara is delighted to be designing at Berkeley Rep for the first time. Previous projection design credits include Hollywood! (Craig Noel Award nomination for Outstanding Projection Design) and A Dram of Drummhicit at La Jolla Playhouse, Amazons and Their Men and Ballast at San Diego’s lgbtq Diversionary Theater, and The Floating World at the San Diego Art Museum (Emmy Award). Her award-winning short animations and dance films have screened at festivals in New York, Ottawa, Montreal, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Helsinki, London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Zagreb, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, and most recently at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France.
Select credits: High Maintenance (hbo/Vimeo); Life Sucks (Wheelhouse Theater Company); Rinse, Repeat (John Gould Rubin/Signature Theatre); The Ferryman (Broadway, infant casting); Olay LIVE! The Road to Glow (New World Stages); David Bowie’s Lazarus (New York Theatre Workshop); Cloud Nine (Atlantic Theater); New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater (2014–16 and 2019 seasons). As casting associate: Russian Doll (Netflix), Stranger Things (Netflix), Red Oaks (Amazon), Glee (fox), Hamilton (The Public Theater/workshops), Rent (New World Stages), Sister Act (Broadway). Languages: English, asl (American Sign Language), Spanish. Advocate for #DeafTalent and queer people playing queer people. andrewfemenella.com
Amy Potozkin
Michael Suenkel
VIDEO DESIGNER
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
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 and Artios
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.
Hsiu-I Chiquita Lu
A S S I S TA N T S TAG E M A N AG E R
Hsiu-I Chiquita Lu is delighted to make her debut at Berkeley Rep. Originally from Taiwan — on the other side of the Pacific Ocean — Hsiu-I is a freelance stage manager who works internationally. Her Great Wave happened five years ago when she moved to the U.S. and pursued her career in San Diego. Favorite past productions include Men on Boats at Playwrights Horizons,
Hollywood at La Jolla Playhouse, Taiwan Season: 038 in Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Cikawasay with Kuo Shin Chuang Pancah Dance Theatre. She earned her mfa from University of California, San Diego.
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.
9 P 2 AY! E 0-S T O D
G 3 TS AU T I C K E T GE
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 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.
“EXIT STRATEGY challenges and inspires, questioning what’s worth fighting for and how to lead that fight.” —DC METRO THEATRE ARTS
By IKE HOLTER Directed by JOSH COSTELLO
AURORATHEATRE.ORG 510.843.4822 2081 ADDISON STREET DOWNTOWN BERKELEY
Theresa Von Klug
G E N E R A L M A N AG E R
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, 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 7
WHO’S WHO
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 state-of-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.
Audrey Hoo
P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R
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 a mfa in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Madeleine Oldham
D R A M AT U R G/ 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.
2 8 · 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 1
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 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.
The Bernard Osher Foundation LEAD SPONSOR
The Bernard Osher Foundation, supporting higher education and the arts, was founded in 1977 by Bernard Osher, a respected businessman and community leader. The Foundation provides scholarship funding at colleges and universities across the nation, with a recent emphasis on assisting reentry students. In addition, the Foundation supports a national network of lifelong learning institutes for seasoned adults on the campuses of 124 institutions of higher education. The Foundation also benefits programs in integrative medicine at six universities in the United States and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Finally, an array of performing arts organizations, museums, and select educational programs in the San Francisco Bay Area and the State of Maine receive Foundation grants. Barbro Osher, Honorary Consul General of Sweden in California, chairs the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Felicia Woytak & Steve Rasmussen SPONSORS
Felicia and Steve believe that high-quality programs in the arts and education are essential to a vibrant community. They are strong supporters of Berkeley Rep because of its outstanding contribution to the production of thought-provoking and risk-taking theatre, as well as its enormous contributions to arts education at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and in Bay Area schools. Felicia is a member of Berkeley Rep’s board of trustees. She is a real-estate investor/developer and together with her husband, Steve Rasmussen, owns Palisades Vineyard and Veeder Ridge, two vineyards in Napa Valley. She also sits on the Board of the Calistoga Winegrowers. Steve is a national and international consultant in mathematics education and curriculum development.
Mechanics Bank Wealth Management SPONSOR
For more than a century, Mechanics Bank has been committed to helping people build prosperous communities as a trusted financial partner, forging lasting relationships through teamwork, respect, and integrity. The Bank, headquartered in the East Bay, offers personal banking, business banking, trust, and wealth management services throughout California. For more information, please visit mechanicsbank.com.
BART
Peet’s Coffee
Wells Fargo
Bay Area Rapid Transit (bart) is the backbone of the Bay Area transit network and serves more than 100 million passengers annually. bart’s all-electric trains make it one of the greenest and most energy-efficient transit systems in the world. Visit bart.gov/bartable to learn more about great destinations and events that are easy to get to on bart (like Berkeley Rep!). At bart.gov/bartable, you can find discounts, enter sweepstakes offering fantastic prizes, and find unique and exciting things to do just a bart ride away. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for bartable This Week, a free, weekly email filled with the latest and greatest bartable fun!
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 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.
SEASON SPONSOR
SEASON SPONSOR
SEASON SPONSOR
Additional staff Artistic consultant Sango Tajima Assistant director Emi Lirman Assistant lighting designer Jake Maize Assistant projection designer/ video programmer Anthony Jannuzzi Costume shop Kathleen Crowley · Alea Gonzales · Sophie Hood — Crafts Deck crew Bradley Hopper · Isaac Jacobs · Kourtney Snow Props Erin Gallagher · Zoe Gopnik-McManus · Noah Kramer · Sofie Miller · Garner Takahashi Morris · Andrew Thiels · Samantha Visbal Scene shop Quinnton Barringer · Jennifer Costley · Bradley Hopper · Isaac Jacobs · Carl Martin · Sean Miller · Henry Perkins · Zach Wziontka Scenic artists Chrissy Curl · Lassen Hines · Serena Yau Wardrobe Claire Griffith Wigs and makeup design Lindsay Sair Additional scenery provided by Hamilton Scenic Specialty Inc. Additional lighting equipment provided by Felix Lighting. Video Equipment provided by 4Wall Entertainment LA. 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.
CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
TAKE ON THE STAGE REGISTER NOW FOR FALL CLASSES!
BERKELEYREP.ORG/CLASSES 510 647-2972
BE A STUDENT. BE A REP. 2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · T H E B E R K E L E Y R E P M AG A Z I N E · 2 9
THANKS TO OUR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
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 April 2018 and July 2019.
FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS 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 National Endowment for the Arts The Bernard Osher Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust The Tournesol Project Woodlawn Foundation S
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 $5,0 0 0 –9,9 9 9 Anonymous (2) The Reva and David Logan Foundation Kenneth Rainin Foundation Reinhold Foundation
S
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 jec Foundation Miranda Lux Foundation S Ramsay Family Foundation S
CORPORATE SPONSORS SEASON SPONSORS
E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
American Express
SPONSORS The Andreason Group at Morgan Stanley Charles Schwab + Co., Inc. Mechanics Bank Wealth Management The Morrison & Foerster Foundation S
PE R FO R M A N CE S P O N S O R S Bayer S BluesCruise.com 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.
CO R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S Armanino llp AT&T Deloitte hdr Remodeling S McCutcheon Construction Panoramic Interests Schoenberg Family Law Group ubs
IN-KIND SPONSORS E XECU TIV E S P O N S O R S
SPONSORS Farella Braun + Martell llp Hugh Groman Catering Latham & Watkins llp Mayer Brown llp Rhoades Planning Group Semifreddi’s
Hotel Shattuck Plaza is the official hotel of Berkeley Rep.
PA R T N E R S Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen Ann’s Catering Aurora Catering Autumn Press Babette at bampfa Barco Bobby G’s Pizzeria Cancun Sabor Mexicano César Comal
Donkey & Goat Winery Eureka! Fonda Gather Restaurant Hafner Vineyard La Note ocho Candy Picante Platano Salvadoran Cuisine Revival Bar + Kitchen zino
MATCHING GIFTS The following companies have matched their employees’ contributions to Berkeley Rep. Please contact your company’s HR office to find out if your company matches gifts. Accenture · Adobe Systems Inc. · Apple · Applied Materials · Autodesk Inc. · Bank of America · Chevron Corporation · Clorox · Dolby · Electronic Arts Outreach · Farallon Capital Mangement · Fremont Group Foundation · Gap Foundation · Genentech · GE Foundation · Google · ibm Corporation · Intel Corporation · John & Maria Goldman Foundation · Johnson & Johnson · Kresge Foundation · Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Levi Strauss & Co. · Microsoft · Morrison & Foerster · norcal Mutual Insurance Company · Oracle Corporation · Pixar Animation Studios · Salesforce · S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation · Shell Oil · Sidley Austin llp, San Francisco · Union Bank, The Private Bank · Varian Medical System · visa u.s.a., Inc. · The Walt Disney Company · Workday
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 1
LEGEND
Ground Floor donor
S
School of Theatre donor
K
in-kind gift
M
matching gift
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 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 Barbara Bass Bakar S Susan Chamberlin Bill Falik & Diana Cohen Kerry Francis & John Jimerson Wayne Jordan & Quinn Delaney Jean & Michael Strunsky Gail & Arne Wagner
SPONSORS Anonymous Edward D. Baker 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 Paul Haahr & Susan Karp Scott & Sherry Haber Jerry & Julie Kline Jack Klingelhofer Michael H. Kossman Suzanne LaFetra Collier Ken Lamb Sandra & Ross McCandless Ed Messerly & Sudha Pennathur S Pam & Mitch Nichter Marjorie Randolph Leonard X & Arlene B. Rosenberg Patricia Sakai & Richard Shapiro Ed & Liliane Schneider Laura & Nicholas Severino M Stephen & Cindy Snow Barry Lawson Williams & Lalita Tademy Linda & Steven Wolan Felicia Woytak & Steven Rasmussen
A S S O CIAT E S P O N S O R S Anonymous Shelley & Jonathan Bagg Edith Barschi Neil & Gene Barth Valerie Barth Michelle Branch & Dale Cook Ben Brown & Louise Rankin Brook & Shawn Byers Lynne Carmichael 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 Steven Goldin Ms. Wendy E. Jordan Fred Karren, in memory of Beth Karren Seymour Kaufman & Kerstin Edgerton Rosalind & Sung-Hou Kim Eileen & Hank Lewis S Susan & Moses Libitzky Helen M. Marcus in memory of David J. Williamson Steven & Patrece Mills M Dugan Moore & Philippe Lamoise Peter Pervere & Georgia Cassel
Barbara L. Peterson Gary & Noni Robinson 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 Ed Brakeman Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton 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 Lynda & Dr. J. Pearce Hurley Kathleen & Chris Jackson Barbara E. Jones, in memory of William E. Jones Duke & Daisy Kiehn Dixon Long Peter & Melanie Maier Dale & Don Marshall Sumner & Hermine Marshall Charles Marston & Rosa Luevano Pure Dana Fund Sue Reinhold & Deborah Newbrun David S. H. Rosenthal & Vicky Reich Jaimie Sanford & Ted Storey Beth & David Sawi Linda & Nathan Schultz Ed & Ellen Smith Audrey & Bob Sockolov Sheila Wishek
B E N E FAC TO R S Anonymous (4) Norman Abramson, in memory of David Beery Anne M. Baele Linda & Mike Baker Michelle L. Barbour BluesCruise.com Broitman-Basri Foundation Don & Carol Anne Brown Tracy Brown & Greg Holland Italo & Susan Calpestri Ronnie Caplane Terrence & Deborah Carlin K Leslie Chatham & Sunny St. Pierre Betsey & Ken Cheitlin Barbara & Rodgin Cohen Julie & Darren Cooke Karen & David Crommie Dr. Jim Cuthbertson Barbara & Tim Daniels David Deutscher Corinne & Mike Doyle James Emery & P. Irving 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 Garrett Gruener & Amy Slater Migsy & Jim Hamasaki Bob & Linda Harris Vera & David Hartford Dan & Shawna Hartman Brotsky
Ruth Hennigar Bonnie & Tom Herman Richard N. Hill & Nancy Lundeen Elaine Hitchcock Bill Hofmann & Robbie Welling M James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen, in honor of Rita Moreno Paula Hughmanick & Steven Berger Bill & Lisa Kelly Stephen F. Kispersky Wanda Kownacki Woof Kurtzman & Liz Hertz 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 Rebecca Martinez Henning Mathew & Michelle Deane M Erin McCune Miles & Mary Ellen McKey Kirk McKusick & Eric Allman Susan Medak & Greg Murphy, in honor of Lynn Eve Komaromi Stephanie Mendel Toby Mickelson & Donald Brody Andy & June Monach Ronald Morrison Jerry Mosher Carol J. Ormond Linda & Gregory Orr Janet & Clyde Ostler Judy O’Young, MD & Gregg Hauser
We are pleased to recognize first-time donors to Berkeley Rep, whose names appear in italics.
Sandi & Dick Pantages Mary Ann Peoples, in memory of Lou Peoples Malcolm & Ann Plant Linda & Eric Protiva Teresa L. Remillard M Bill Reuter & Ruth Major Audrey & Paul Richards Sheli & Burt Rosenberg, in honor of Len & Arlene Rosenberg Joe Ruck & Donna Ito Monica Salusky & John K. Sutherland Jeane & Roger Samuelsen Jackie Schmidt-Posner & Barry Posner Valerie Sopher Sally & Joel Spivack Karen Stevenson & Bill McClave Deborah Taylor Barrera Alison Teeman & Michael Yovino-Young Beth Weissman Elizabeth Werter & Henry Trevor Patricia & Jeffrey Williams Sam & Joyce Zanze Mark Zitter & Jessica Nutik Zitter Jane & Mark Zuercher
THANKS TO OUR INDIVIDUAL DONORS
We thank the many individuals in our community who help Berkeley Rep produce adventurous, thought-provoking, and thrilling theatre and bring arts education to thousands of young people every year. We gratefully recognize these donors to Berkeley Rep, who made their gifts between April 2018 and July 2019. To make your gift and join this distinguished group, visit berkeleyrep.org/give or call 510 647-2906.
2 0 1 9 –2 0 · I S S U E 1 · 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 INDIVIDUAL DONORS
CH A M PIO N S
Anonymous (5) · George & Marcia Argyris, in honor of Tony Taccone · Martha & Bruce Atwater · Naomi Auerbach & Ted Landau · Leslie & Jack Batson · Lois A. Battuello · Stephanie Beach · Don & Gerry Beers M · Caroline Beverstock · Naomi Black M · Marc Blakeman M · Linda Brandenburger · Eric Brink & Gayle Vassar M · Lea Chang · Terin Christensen · Richard & Linnea Christiani · Robert Council & Ann Parks-Council · John & Izzie Crane M · Lori & Michael Crowley · Francine & Beppe Di Palma · Susan English & Michael Kalkstein · Paul Feigenbaum & Judy Kemeny · Ben & Mary Feinberg · Martin & Barbara Fishman · Patrick Flannery · James & Jessica Fleming · Dean Francis · Donald & Dava Freed · Chris R. Frostad M · Kelli M. Frostad · Mrs. Gale K. Gottlieb · Mary & Nicholas Graves · Anne & Peter Griffes · 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 · Kevin & Claudine Lally · Helen E. Land · Sherrill Lavagnino & Scott McKinney · Andrew Leavitt & Catherine Lewis · Glennis Lees &
Michael Glazeski · Ellen & Barry Levine · Jennifer S. Lindsay · Mark & Roberta Linsky · Jay & Eileen Love · Lois & Gary Marcus, in memory of Ruth Weiland, Mose & Selma Marcus · Charlotte & Adolph Martinelli · 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 · Piermaria Oddone & Barbara Saarni Oddone · Judith & Richard Oken · Lynette Pang & Michael Man · Gerane Wharton Park · Bob & MaryJane Pauley · David & Mary Ramos · Helen Richardson · John & Jody Roberts · The Rockridge Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation · Galen Rosenberg & Denise Barnett · Boyard & Anne Rowe · Dace P. Rutland · Lisa Salomon · Dan Scharlin & Sara Katz, in honor of Tony Taccone · Dr. David Schulz M · Teddy & Bruce Schwab · Andrew & Marva Seidl · Brenda Buckhold Shank, M.D., Ph.D. · Beryl & Ivor Silver · Amrita Singhal & Michael Tubach · Cherida Collins Smith · 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 (13) · Abbey Alkon & Jonathan Leonard · Dr. & Mrs. Francis Barham · Richard & Kathi Berman · James A. Biondi · Steve Bischoff · Patti Bittenbender · Bob & Barbara Brandriff · Peter Brock · Don Campbell & Family · Robert & Margaret Cant · Laura Chenel · Ciara Cox & Margaret Wu · Pam & Mike Crane · Jill & Evan Custer · Kathleen Damron · Bill DeHart · Harry & Susan Dennis · Kathy Down & Greg Kelly · Nancy Drooker & Alix Sabin · Linda Drucker · Burton Peek Edwards · Sue J. Estey · Brigitte & Louis Fisher · David Gaskin & Phillip McPherson · Karl & Kathleen Geier · Linda Joy Graham · Rico & Maya Green · Sheldon & Judy Greene, in honor of Tony Taccone · Don & Becky Grether · Irene & Robert Hepps · Howard Hertz & Jean Krois · Peter Hobe & Christina Crowley · Jeff Hoel · Al Hoffman & David Shepherd · Mr. & Mrs. Harold M. Isbell · Mr. & Mrs. C. D. Jensen · Anne & Douglas Jensen · Ann L. Johnson · Corrina Jones · Reese & Margaret Jones · Claudia & Daly Jordan-Koch · Kaarel Kaljot · Helmut H. Kapczynski & Colleen Neff · Beth & Tim Kientzle M · Susan Kolb · Ken & Monica Kulander · Carol P. LaPlant · Barbara & Thomas Lasinski · Marcia C. Linn · Tom Lockard & Alix Marduel · Jane & Bob Lurie · Gerry & Kathy
MacClelland · Bruce Maigatter & Pamela Partlow · Naomi & Bruce Mann · Sue & Phil Marineau · M. Mathews & K. Soriano · Karen & John McGuinn · Brian McRee · Jeff Miner · Aki & Emi Nakao · Ron Nakayama · Judy Ogle · Suzette S. Olson · Brian D. Parsons · Bob & Toni Peckham, in honor of Robert M. Peckham, Jr. · Regina Phelps & Dave Kieffer · James F. Pine M · F. Anthony Placzek · Roxann R. Preston · Kathleen Quenneville & Diane Allen · Danielle Rebischung · Mrs. William C. Robison · Deborah Dashow Ruth, in memory of Leo P. Ruth · Barbara Sahm & Steven Winkel · Mitzi Sales & John Argue · Dorothy R. Saxe · Joyce Schnobrich · Sarah E. Shaver · Steve & Susan Shortell · Arlene & Matthew Sirott · Carra Sleight · Suzanne Slyman · Jerry & Dick Smallwood · George & Camilla Smith · Sigrid Snider · Nancy E. Thomas · Karen Tiedemann & Geoff Piller · Rick Trautner · Mike & Ellen Turbow · Mr. Leon Van Steen · Lisa Wade · Louise & Larry Walker · Mr. & Mrs. William Webster · Robert T. Weston · Moe & Becky Wright · Stan Zaks
We gratefully recognize the following donors whose contributions were received from April 21, 2019 to August 6, 2019 S U PP O R T E R S
Anonymous (22) · Laurence Anderson · Rose Marie Avery · Jack & Carmen Aydelott · Lisa Bailey · Steven Beckendorf · David Beckman · Len & MA Benson · Gail Berger · Jurg & Christel Bieri · James & Elizabeth Branson · Alice Breakstone & Debbie Goldberg · John H. Buckman · Ann Buechner · Fran Burgess · Paula Champagne & David Watson · Ed & Lisa Chilton · Salvatore Compagno · Jim & Jeanette Cottle · Sheila Cullen · Alain Dangerfield K · Roberta D’Anneo & Scot Terry · Robert & Loni Dantzler · Pat & Steve Davis · Cecilia Delury & Vince Jacobs · Kathy & Leonard Duffy · Meredith & Harry Endsley M · Roger & Margaret England · Alan Entine · Michael Evanhoe · Betty & Ken Fehring · Karin Fetherston · Sheilah & Harry Fish · William & Andrea Foley · Natalie Forrest & Douglas Sprague · Nancy H. Francis, in honor of Kerry Francis · Michael & Sabina Frank · Thomas & Gail Frost · Susanne Gallagher · Dr. Garwood Gee & Ms. Kathleen Fong · Paul Gill & Stephanie D’Arnall · Diana Graham & Jack Zimmermann · Karen Greig & Mike Frank · Carl Grimm · Marcia & Joseph Grossman · Glenn & Ann Hammonds Jr. · Paula Hawthorn & Michael Ubell · Bill & Judy Hein · Lisa Herrinton · Marie F. Hogan & Douglas A. Lutgen · John & Elise Holmgren M · Rosalie Holtz · Alex Ingersoll & Martin Tannenbaum · Roxy Jones · Pauline Jue · Patricia Kaplan · Andy Kivel & Susan Goldstein · Regina Lackner, in memory of Ruth Eis · Laurence & Ruth Lange · Marit Lash · Joan & Gary Lawrence · David & Mari Lee · Claire & Brett Levay-Young · Susan B. Levine & Jim Lauer · Annette C. Lipkin, in memory of Paul Lipkin · Steve & Judy Lipson · Liz Long · Paul & Robin Ludmer, in honor of Ronni, Michael & Georgia Minnis · Samantha & Laurence Lyons · Mary A. Mackey · Betty Marx & Joseph Cisper · Caroline McCall & Eric Martin · John & Linda McClain · Ben McClinton & Karen Rosenbaum · Yvonne & Jack McCredie · Daniel McDonald · Robert McDowell · Christopher McKenzie & Manuela Albuquerque · Ralph & Melinda Mendelson · Carol Mimura & Jeremy Thorner · Susanna Morin-Groom · Yael & Gavriel Moses · Ronald & Irene Nakasone, in honor of Tony Taccone · Joseph & Berna Neumiller · Marlowe Ng & Sharon Ulrich · Wendy Niles · Nancy Park, in honor of Tony Taccone · David Pasta, in memory of Gloria J.A. Guth · Lewis Perry · Charles & Linda Phillips · Wendy Polivka & Evan Painter · Susie & Eric Poncelet · Laurel & Gerald Przybylski · Chuck & Kati Quibell · Marc A. Rieffel · Dr. Lynn Robertson · John & Kyoko Robinson · Deborah Romer & William Tucker · L. M. Rubinoff · Bobbie Saunders · Ron & Esther Schroeder · Helen Schulak · James Scillian · Kathleen Slobin, in memory of Margaret Scott · Louise Shalit · Emily Shanks · Barbara Slotnik & Steve Kerns · Betsy Smith · Lee Sparling & Lloyd Ramos M · Beverly Stevens · Ruthann Taylor · Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Terdiman · Paula Trauner & Bruce Trauner · Harry Ugol · Dorothy Walker · Ginny & Philip Warnes · Keith R. Weed & Julia Molander · Joanne Westendorf & Sandy Wilbourn · Dick White · Jefferson & Sarah Wilbur · Karen Williams & Dr. Dan Null · Evie & Gordon Wozniak · Susan York · Philip & Kathryn Zimmerman
CO N T RIB U TO R S
Anonymous (27) · Ida & Myles Abbott · Joseph & Esther Adler, in honor of Stan Zaks & Vivian Calderon Zaks · Paula & Art Alm · Mark & Bonnie Andersen · Nina Aoni · Nina Barton · Barbara Bernstein · Jeffry & Diane Bernstein, in honor of Tony Taccone · Susan Blair · Dr. Craig & Arlynn Bloom · Judith L. Bloom · Ayako Boswell · Mary Bourguignon
& Richard Wood · Carol Bowen · Julian & Elizabeth Brandes · Barbara & Ray Breslau · Thomas & Lori Breunig · Francis Brooks · Steven & Alison Burke · Lee & George Burnett · Douglas Bury · Katherine Byrne · Melissa Cadwallader & William E. Kramer · Robert P. Camm & Susan Pearson · Jules Campbell · Dr. & Mrs. Michael Cassidy · Greg & Barbara Ciapponi · Carol & Orlo Clark · Geoffrey Clarke · Barbara Clayton & Marc Nelson · Gene & Ann Clements · Jean Conger · Joan Conger · Joe & Leonardo Connell · Ruth Conroy · Catherine Corison · Rollin & Pamela Coville · Thomas & Suellen Cox · Rich Craig · Ian & Cheryl Crane · Chris & Lynn Crook · Mr. & Mrs. Dermott Cullen · Jerry Current · Jennifer & Allan Daly · Faith Darling & Cory Couture · Mr. & Mrs. Stefan Dasho · Marc Davis & Nancy Turak · Jerome Dean · Ann & Dave Del Simone · Richard A. Denton · Mary Bailin Dolven · Richard & Lynn Dupell K · Philip & Susan Durfee · Dorothy & Theodore Edlin · Richard & Barbara Fikes · S. Floore, in memory of Leslie Thayer O’Hara · Costanza Foran · Walt French & Virginia Yang · Ken Frucht · Lisa Fry · Robert & Linda Garb · Loretta D. Garcia · Sanford Garfinkel · Judith E. Garvens · Helen & Paul Gerken, in honor of Don & Dale Marshall · Bernadette Geuy · Denise Gillen · Deborah Gilman · Gregory Giska · Dr. Ellen Gold · Dr. & Mrs. Arnold Goldschlager · William Goldstein · Barbara Gordon · Prof. & Mrs. Nelson H. Graburn · Scott & Shirlee Graff · Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Grossberg · Alex Gunst · Ervin & Lee Hafter · Eric & Elaine Hahn · George & Mary Hake M · Robin Halprin & Abbas Khaligh · William & Luisa Hansen · Chuck & Susie Hanson · Jeffrey & Meg Hargreaves · Henry L. Hecht · David Hendricks · Laurin Herr & Trisha Gorman-Herr · Thomas Hird · Miranda Holmes · Page & Joseph R. Holmes · Judy Hubbell · Dr. & Mrs. Nicholas Hyde · Steven Jacobsohn · Marty & Ellen Jaffe · Elizabeth James · John Jay & Scott MIller, in honor of Tony Taccone · Leonard Johnson · Randy Jones · Robert & Kathleen Kaiser · Gerald Kaminski · Joyce Keil · Joanne Kelly · Marlene & Ilan Keret · Mary Ann Kiely · Eva Klein · Lawrence & Carolyn Klein · Ron & JoAnn Koopman · Janet Kranzberg · Maria & David Laforge · Thomas S. Lakritz · Pamela Lampkin & Bob Zipkin, in honor of Tony Taccone · Nancy Larson · Dr. Welton Lee · Maureen K. Lenahan · Hank Levy · Eva Lieberman · Ann L. Livingston & Nobby Akiha · Cynthia Lloyd · Lynn & Penny Lockhart, in honor of Sam & Edie Karas · Fred Lonsdale · Linda & Steve Lustig · Martin & Ruth Malkin · Michael & Loxie Manchester · Ruth Manlove · Judith Marcellini · Jan Marcus · Ana Maria Martel · Miriam Maxwell · Kevin McCarty · John G. McGehee · David & Wendy McGrath · Beatrice McIntosh · Katherine McKenzie · Alison McLean · Jack McPhail · Phyllis Menefee · Steve Merlo · Karin Meyer & John Woodfill · Karen Miller · Margaret Mitchell · Jackie Moch · Nancy Montague · Mary & Dennis Montali · Silvia & Wayne Montoya · Mike & Sharon Morris · Elena Moser & Janet Linder · Linda L. Murray & Carl Schemmerling · Patricia Murray · Kerry Newkirk · Edward P. Noonan Jr, in honor of Tony Taccone · Chas Ogle · Lester Olmstead-Rose · Susan & Paul Opsvig · Roy & Susan Otis · Amy Palke · Chris Panero · Richard Patenaude · Grateful Patron · John R. Petrovsky · Anthony & Sarah Petru · Joellen & Leslie Piskitel · Harry Pollack & Joanne Backman · Barbara Porter · Steven Potter · Russell & Joni Pratt · William & Joan Pridgen · Danilo Purlia & Catherine Kuss · Lynne D. Raider · Katherine Randolph · Naomi Rayman · Dave Richanbach · Sandra Ried · Donald A. Riley & Carolyn Serrao · Geraldine Riordan · Susan Robertson · Craig F. Robieson · Ms. Mary Rudser · Kay Vinson Ruhland · Ilze Savelis · Craig Schmid · Peter Schmitz · Richard J. Schoofs · Darlene Schumacher · Cynthia Sears ·
George & Linda Sensabaugh · Brenda Senturia · Arvind Sharma · Renee Simi · Holly M. Singh · Tim & Lucy Smallsreed · Marian Snow · Patricia Speier · Susanne Stoffel & Michael Coan · Emily & Arnold Stoper · Cecilia Storr & Mark Chaitkin · Joseph Sturkey · Susie Sutch · Suzanne & Svend Svendsen · Renee Swayne · Christine Telischak · Jason Thomas & Marco Aurelio · Marsha G. Torkelson · Grace Ulp · Deborah & Bob Van Nest · Maureen Vavra · Ann l. Vercoutere · Carol Verity · John & Helene Vilett · Patricia Walsh, in honor of Tony Taccone · Peter Weiser & John Hudson · Linda Whitehand · Pam Whitman · Karen & Stephen Wiel · Alice Wilkins · Andrew T. & Linda V. Williams · Bill & Barbara Williams, in honor of Tony Taccone · Clare Willis · Ann Willoughby · Jennifer Winch · Marjorie Yasueda & Dale Knutsen · Lee Yearley & Sally Gressens
FRIE N D S
Anonymous (24) · Denise Abrams & David Harrington · Renee S. Acosta · Charles & Joyce Anderson · Gary & Kay Anderson · Susan & Jerry Angel · Jeff Angell & Joan King-Angell · JoAnne Appel · Mr. & Mrs. Louis Armstrong-Dangles · Jerry & Seda Arnold · Barbara August · Paul Axelrod · Werner Bachmann · Catherine Bailey & Jack Telian · Jeffrey & Karen Banks · Diana Barclay · Barbara Barer · Michael & Della Barnett · Lynn Baskett · Gale Bataille · Phillip Batson · Joan Baylie & James Mullins · Carolyn Beasley · Brian & Mary Bechtel · Sandra Bernard · Xanthe Berry · Elaine Binger · Tom & Terri Bishop · Carl Blaha · Emily Blanck · Reverend Kevin Blattel · Rosemary & Robert Blaylock · Moorea Brega · Carol L. Brosgart, M.D. & Joseph Gross · Howard Brownstein & Janna Ullrey · Cherilyn Brunetti · Edward & Joan Callaway · Franchesca Callejo · Sue & Darrell Cannon · Mr. & Mrs. John L. Cardoza · Tesa Carlsen · Heidi Cavagnolo · Jan Chernoff & Isabel Wade · Laura Newman Chick · Leslay Choy · Mary L. Clark · Sally Clarke · Sofia Close · June & Michael Cohen · Carolyn & Phil Cowan · Chris Cowen · Judith Craig · Sandy Curtis, in honor of Tony Taccone · Sheila l. Dalton · Dawn & Phil Daro · Barbara Gross Davis · Rosemary De Sanna · Teresa DeLillo · Diane Dew · The Dillons · top dog, in honor of Freedom · Steve Doherty · Joe Douglass · Mona Dreicer · Kimberly Duir · Helene Edelman · George Eeds · Elyse Eidman-Aadahl · David Eimerl, in memory of Geoffrey · Nancy Ellenbogen & Joel Lurie · Charleen Elste · Linda Biewer Elstob · David & Catherine Epstein · Paul & Danice Fagin, in honor of Tony Taccone · David Fankushen · Caryll Farrer · Tom Ferrell & Meg Vasey · Monica & David Finigan · Christine Frick · Kevin Gahagan · Mary Glaeser · Judith & Alex Glass · Lita Gloor-Little & David Little · Deborah Glupczynski · Mrs. Jesse Goldberg · Arthur & Carol Goldman · Gayle & Steve Goldman · Rosalie Gonzales · Jeffrey & Sandra Granett · Ann Green · Bill & Chris Green · Elizabeth Greenberg · Joan Grossman · Valerie Gutwirth · Cheryl Guyer & Marty Kahn · Christina Halsey · Randall Ham & Linda Wilford · Linda Headrick, in honor of Ann Brannen · Claire J. Heinzelman · Lucille L. Held · Austin & Lynne Henderson · John L. Herbert · Rick & Jocelynn Herrick Stone · Dr. Robert R. Herrick · Jane Hicks · Douglas Hill & Jae Scharlin · Susan L. Hill · Christine Hills · Sheila & Ned Himmel · Elizabeth Hoffmann · Karen & Robert Holtermann · Ms. Rae Holzman & Mr. Paul Juarez · Wilma S. Horwitz · Donald Bruce Hunter · Jane E. Hunter · Linda Infelise · Rebecca Jacofsky · Roger Jaeckel · Carl & Carolyn Janson · Susan Jenny · Beth Jordan & Andy Schwartz · Sheila Kahan · Roy Kaplan, in memory of Barbara Kaplan · Elizabeth Kaplan · Mae Lee Kelley · Pat & Chris
Kenber · Judith Kennedy · Lindy Khan & Amiram Givon · Janet King & Tom Corlett · Stuart P Klitsner · Greg Knell, in honor of Tony Taccone · Deborah Kochan · Jean M. & Dan Kohanski · Kirston Koths, in honor of Tony Taccone · DawnMarie Kotsonis, in honor of Tony Taccone · Marty Krasney · Joel H. Kreisberg · Debie Krueger, in memory of Alex Maffei, in honor of Tony Taccone · Joy Lancaster, in honor of Tony Taccone · Deirdre Lasher · Lannon Leiman & Frederick Seil · Ben Lenail & Laurie Yoler · Helen & Dell Levay · Ken & Judy Linhares · Trudy Lionel · Hon. Christopher Longaker · Nancy Lumer · Diana Lyster · Gail MacGowan · Kathryn MacLaury · Patricia Manley · Josephine Maxon · Toni Mayer & Alan Lazere · Ms. Jean McClellan · Mary McConnell & Don Nimura · Suzanne & Charles McCulloch · Nancy McDevitt · Linda McKay · Mr. & Mrs. Joe C. McKenzie · Jeanne McKinney · Douglas & Mary McWilliams · Patricia & John Mengel · Margaret & John Meuris · Blythe Mickelson · Patrick & Jane Miller · Peg Miller · Harry Mixon Esq · Bruce Mock · Robert Moench · George Moore · Thomas C. Moore · Will & Sally Moore · Phyllis Morrison · Ellen Moyer · Shirley Negrin · Deborah Nelson · Sora Lei Newman · Beverly Nidick · Erica Nietfeld · Wendy & Craig Nishizaki · Peter Nussbaum & Aleta Wallace · Hazel Olbrich · Susan Olney · Sara Olsen & Paul Mittenberger · Jim Olson · Lawrence Organ · Christina Orth, in honor of Tony Taccone · James O’Toole · Michelle Parker · Ruth A. Pease · Joan & Allen Perlof · Suzanne Pettigrew, in honor of Tony Taccone · Kathleen S. Pierce · Margaret Plageman · Gail Pogoriler · Gary & Jean Pokorny · Bradford Pollock · Susan Pontious · Kate Pope · Fred & Judy Porta · Dixie Lee Post & Dave Shaw · Claire Potstada · Don & Virginia Poulton · Darlene Pratt · Belinda Presser · Sheldon & Catherine Ramsay · Ann Rarden · Kim Regan · Rudolph Reich · Joan Reinhardt-Reiss & Mark D. Reiss, M.D. · Nancy Rhoda · Davis Riemer & Louise Rothman-Riemer · Margaret Rienzi · The Rev. Dr. Bonnie Ring · Bette Roberts-Collins · Rodman S. Rogers · Ronald Rogness · Jane Rokita · Jeffery & Kersti Rose · Lorraine Rose-Lerman · Alex G. Ross · John Rostkowski · Phyllis & David Rothman · Sylvia Roye · Daniel & Gail Rubinfeld · Mark & Judi Sachs · June & Bob Safran · Gayna Sanders · Patricia & Clifford Saunders · Bobbi Schear & Jim Reed · Danny Scher · Jan Schmuckler & Jim Martin · Melissa Schoen · Roland & Aase Schoen · Kenneth Schott · Lawrence I. Schwartz · Karen Scott · Gail Scruggs · Irene S. Scully · Selma Seligman · Marcia Settel · Geri Shanteau · Susan Sherk · Michael Sherman · Lee & Mary Shilman · Marian Shostrom · Bonnie Siegel · Claudette Sigg · John Simonds · Neil Sitzman · William & Martha Slavin · Karen R. Smith · William Lonon Smith · Sharon Smith-Silva · Nancy Solomon · Lydia Stack · Doug & Kristen Stanton · Rita Steele · Annie Stenzel · Marc Sternberger · Barbara Sternfeld · Galyn Susman · Ying Mei Tcheou · Carolyn & Elliot Tertes · Bill & Sandy Threlfall · Fern Tiger · Veronica Tincher · Suzanne Titus-Johnson · Thomas & Laurel Trent, in honor of George Allen & Clara Smith · Calvin C. Tucker · Ms. Sheila Valorose · Stephen Van Meter · Nancy Vandell · Marcia & David Vastine · Boris A. Veytsman · Sissel Waage · Patrice Wagner & J. Chris Kidney · Edwin A. Waite · Buddy & Jodi Warner · Marilyn & John Watson · Mrs. James Weinberger · William Weisman · Judie Wexler · Marilyn Willats · Marlene & Steve Wilson · Wilma Wool · Ruth Wrentmore · Louise Yokoi · Hildred Yost · Elliott Zeller & Kim Lee Brae · Al Zemsky Special thanks to Marjorie Randolph for establishing The Marjorie Randolph Professional Development Fund, which supports the Berkeley Rep staff.
The Michael Leibert Society welcomes new member Anders Yang, JD and acknowledges the receipt of a gift from the Estate of Audrey J. Lasson. 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. 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 1
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 Assistant Master Electrician Sarina Renteria Production Electrician Kenneth Coté
PRODUCTION Production Manager Audrey Hoo Associate Production Manager Zoey Russo
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 Master Carpenter Jamaica Montgomery-Glenn Carpenters Patrick Keene · Read Tuddenham
SCENIC ART Charge Scenic Artist Lisa Lázár
COSTUMES Costume Director Maggi Yule Tailor Kathy Kellner Griffith Draper Star Rabinowitz First Hand Janet Conery Wardrobe Supervisor Barbara Blair
SOUND & VIDEO Sound & Video Supervisor Lane Elms Sound Engineer Angela Don 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 Tessitura User Interaction Administrator Destiny Askin
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 · Alexandra Josefski Development Database Coordinator Jane Voytek
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Director of Marketing and Communications Peter Yonka Director of Public Relations Tim Etheridge Communications & Digital Content Director Karen McKevitt Senior Marketing Manager Seth Macari Webmaster Christina Cone Video & Multimedia Producer Benjamin Michel Program Advertising Pamela Webster Front of House Director Kelly Kelley Front of House Manager Debra Selman
House Managers Elizabeth Anne Bertolino · Dalia Garcia · Aleta George · Matisse Michalski · Angelica Phung · Tuesday Ray · Debra Selman Lead Concessionaires Molly Conway · Nina Gorham · Johnny Lloyd · Nichelle Pete Concessionaires April Ancheta · Herman Angulo · Jessica Bates · Nicole Bruno · Si Mon’ Emmett · Lorenz Gonzales · Michelle Hernandez · Julian Islas · Mikayla McLaurin · James Oh · Win Wallace · Marissa Wolden Ticket Services Manager Dora Daniels Box Office Supervisor Julie Gotsch Subscription Manager Laurie Barnes Box Office Lead Alina Whatley Box Office Agents Oliver Kampman · Victoria Phelps · Timothy Quirus · Alina Whatley
OPERATIONS Facilities Director Mark Morrisette Facilities Manager Ashley Mills Building Engineer Thomas Tran Building Technician Kevin Pan Facilities Assistants Lemont Adams · Theresa Drumgoole · Sophie Li · Guy Nado · Jesus Rodriguez · LeRoy Thomas
Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer
Managing Director Susan Medak
General Manager Theresa Von Klug
Teaching Artists Miriam Ani · Nicole Apostol Bruno · Michael Curry · Shannon Davis · Adrian Gebhart · Maya Herbsman · Clara Kamunde · Rebecca Longfellow · Dave Maier · Carla Pantoja · Bryan Quinn · Radhika Rao · Lindsey Schmeltzer · Adam Smith · Teddy Spencer · Zoe SwensonGraham · Joshua Waterstone · Elena Wright · Noelle Viñas · Alejandra Wahl 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 The Great Wave Docents Rebecca Woolis, Lead Docent Richard Lingua, Assistant Lead Michelle Barbour · Jodi Grigas · Jim Krampf · Thomas Sponsler · Linda Williams
2019–20 BERKELEY REP FELLOWSHIPS
Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow Nailah Harper-Malveaux Company Management Fellow Reagan O’Malley Costume Fellow Anthony Fiore Development Fellow BERKELEY REP SCHOOL OF THEATRE Samuel Levit Director of the School of Theatre Education Fellow Rachel Hull Zandra Starks Associate Director Graphic Design Fellow MaryBeth Cavanaugh Haly Roy Program Manager, Training and Harry Weininger Sound Fellow Community Programs Jaime Tippett Anthony Jackson Lighting/Electrics Fellow Education Communications and Hannah Solomon Partnerships Manager Marcela Chacón Marketing/Digital Communications Fellow Data and Tessitura Analyst Katherine Gunn Katie Riemann Community Programs Administrator Peter F. Sloss Literary/ Dramaturgy Fellow Modesta Tamayo Charlie Dubach-Reinhold Education Youth Associate Production Management Fellow Si Mon’ Emmett Kali Grau Faculty Properties Fellow Bobby August Jr. · Erica Blue · Del Hanson Jon Burnett · Rebecca Castelli · Scenic Art Fellow Eugenie Chan · Iu-Hui Chua · Samantha (Sam) Welsing Jiwon Chung · Sally Clawson · Deborah Eubanks · Susan Garner · Scenic Construction Fellow Christine Germain · Nancy Gold · Kathryn Bosch Gary Graves · Marvin Greene · Stage Management Fellow Susan-Jane Harrison · Gendell Elizabeth Kamla Hing-Hernández · Melissa Hillman · William Hodgson · Andrew Hurteau · Anthony Jackson · Kasey Klem · Krista Knight · Julian López-Morillas · Dave Maier · Reid McCann · Patricia Miller · Alex Moggridge · Edward Morgan · Jack Nicolaus · Slater Penney · Greg Pierotti · Lisa Anne Porter · Diane Rachel · Rolf Saxon · Elyse Shafarman · Arje Shaw · Joyful Simpson · Cleavon Smith · M. Graham Smith · Elizabeth Vega · James Wagner · Dan Wolf
BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Gail Wagner Vice Presidents Bruce Golden Stewart Owen Felicia Woytak Treasurer Henning Mathew Secretary Leonard X Rosenberg Chair, Governance Committee Michelle Branch Chair, Audit Committee Kerry L. Francis Board Members Berit Ashla Carrie Avery Edward D. Baker David Cox Anne Nemer Dhanda Robin Edwards Jill Fugaro Karen Galatz Steven Goldin Scott Haber Casey Keller 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 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 1 · 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
PLAY’S THE THING
Actors always need to warm up, but there are different ways to do it. During rehearsals for The Great Wave, the cast — and anyone else in the room at the time — performed South Korean morning exercises (with a YouTube video for guidance) and played spirited rounds of Koosh Ball volleyball.
In rehearsal Tuesday, August 27, 2019: Jo Mei, Paul Juhn (throwing), Cindy Im, and Julian Cihi P H OTO BY C H E S H I R E I S A AC S
3 4 · 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 1
We Mastered Our Craft in Berkeley too. Peet’s Coffee welcomes Berkeley Rep’s artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer in her inaugural season.
Care when you need it most. Days, evenings, weekends and holidays.
Urgent Care at the Berkeley Outpatient Center Near San Pablo & Ashby Ave.