In November 2002, the Pulitzer prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks sat down and committed to writing a play a day for the next 365 days. The world premiere of this play cycle will be performed as a yearlong national festival simultaneously in major cities and communities around the country. From November 13, 2006 to November 12, 2007, over 600 theaters in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, Washington D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, the Carolinas, Mississippi River towns, and university campuses will create the largest theater collaboration in U.S. History. And TheatreFIRST is proud to be a participant in this extraordinary event.
We are meeting the challenge, as you would expect, in a unique way. Responding to the author’s creativity under a deadline, we have posed a similar challenge to 16 of the Bay Area’s best – not to say most intrepid – actors. With less than 2 hours’ rehearsal, they will create and perform versions of seven short plays – and then the audience will get to contribute to the process of creation.
The seven plays are witty, moving, funny, surreal, intense, and bizarre. And each one of them is a little gem of theatre. Come and see these talented actors, led by Artistic Director Clive Chafer, present these exquisite miniatures – and then we’ll all work together to create new and different versions of the pieces. This will be a unique experience of spontaneous theatrical creation. DON’T MISS IT!
This event is FREE. We will be asking for donations at the end of the evening. Seating is limited. PLEASE LET US KNOW YOU ARE COMING BY CALLING 510 436 5085 TO RESERVE A SEAT.
365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan Lori-Parks
at Temescal Arts – 48th and Telegraph, north Oakland
(next door to Lanesplitter Pizza Pub)
8pm – Friday June 15th
Featuring: Casey Bastiaans, Megan Briggs, Noah Butler*, Lauren Grace*, Tim Hendrixson*, Mary Knoll*, Amy Kossow*, Sylvia Kratins, Adrienne Krug, Austin Ku*, Terry Lamb*, Karen Marek*, Eryka Raines*, Sandra Schlechter, Tom Reilly, Patricia Silver*
Two Staged Readings
As part of our ongoing process of evaluating scripts for possible performance, we will be presenting staged readings of two plays on Sunday June 17th and Monday June 18th at 469 9th Street (just 2 doors down from where we performed this season) on the second floor. Both readings will be followed by an audience discussion. These events are free, donations will be gratefully accepted!
Sunday, June 17th – 7pm
The Women of Lockerbie
by Deborah Brevoort
directed by Marilyn Langbehn
In 1988, when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, the media put the focus on the victims and their families. But what went largely uncovered was the incredible story of the residents of the small town on which the tragedy rained down. This extraordinary play is inspired by real events that followed the disaster. But instead of being a painful trudge through history, this is a brilliant and beautiful work of creativity springing from the events of December 21, 1988. Using the style and structure of Greek drama, Brevoort has found a way to capture the immense emotional dimensions of the story. The result is compelling and cathartic.
This event is FREE. We will be asking for donations at the end of the evening. There will be a brief post-show discussion to evaluate the play for a full production in TheatreFIRST’s next season.
The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort
at 469 9th St., in Old Oakland (2 doors down from our old space)
7pm – Sunday, June 17th
Featuring: Brendan Godfrey*, Lauren Grace*, Kelly Ground, Scarlett Hepworth, Lindsey Murray, Lynne Soffer*, Michael Barr*
Monday, June 18th – 7:30pm
The Clearing
by Helen Edmundson
directed by Clive Chafer
“Oliver Cromwell is justly regarded in Ireland as a symbol of historical racial persecution as potent as Adolf Hitler…” This powerful, award-winning drama is a passionate and poetic account of the devastating effects of Cromwell’s Irish policy on one small farming community, bringing its conflicts within touching distance of the present. A terrific tale of love, betrayal, and heroism.
This event is FREE. We will be asking for donations at the end of the evening. There will be a brief post-show discussion to evaluate the play for a full production in TheatreFIRST’s next season.
The Clearing by Helen Edmundson
at 469 9th St., in Old Oakland (2 doors down from our old space)
7:30pm – Monday, June 18th
Featuring: Larkin Boero, Chloë Bronzan, David Collins, Danielle Levin*, John Mercer. Robert Parsons*, Edwin Richards
Come be a part of the excitement. Theatre is alive at TheatreFIRST!
See you there!
(*Members, Actors’ Equity Association)