By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet Thursday October 22, 2009 On a mostly-bare set—a couple of chairs at skewed angles across the stage, a cabinet with a broadbrimmed hat and a cap on the shelves and clothing on hangers at the sides—two men pose, seeming to lurch together as Irish music strikes up to [...]

Two Black-box theatre companies use their resources wisely (excerpt) By Rachel Swan October 21, 2009 Oakland’s similarly small-scale, equally ambitious group TheatreFIRST began its season last week with Stones in His Pockets, Marie Jones’ comedy about two extras working on a Hollywood film set in Ireland. Stones is partly about the friendship that grows between [...]

By Angela Woodall October 20, 2009 The first few minutes of “Stones in His Pockets,” a dark comedy that runs through Nov. 8 at the new TheatreFIRST playhouse in downtown Oakland, can be a bit disconcerting. That is because two male actors morph into 15 characters between them with only the barest assistance from props [...]