Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland

The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic written in Sanskrit, the longest piece of prose ever written, which would take 12 days to perform if spoken non-stop. Playwright Geetha Reddy took on the challenge of dismantling this story into an hour and a half solo performance. And J Jha, with direction from Ubuntu Theater company founder Michael Socrates Moran, took on the task of recreating this piece. Continue reading “Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland”

Theater Review: From Ubuntu Theater Project, a Powerful Message About Humanity in Lisa Ramirez’s Down Here Below

Rolanda D. Bell as Blue in Down Here Below. (Photo courtesy of Jose Manuel Moctezuma, 2019.)

As the socioeconomic gap continues to grow in the Bay Area, the percentage of people struggling to survive rises. Food, shelter, safety… those on the margins become a statistic: A pity, a charity case, a series of photographs, a nuisance — their humanity stripped. We’re often told there’s one way to live, and that one way provides us with the material possessions needed to bring stability into our lives. Our identities are closely tied to societal milestones and to our relationships: mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband. Look under any social media bio and you’ll often see these monikers proudly displayed along with one’s location and chosen profession. So what happens when just the struggle to sleep or eat becomes a privilege, let alone the factors that bring stability to someone’s life? And, at the core of it all, what truly differentiates those who have, and those who have not? If we don’t meet certain milestones, are we no longer deemed acceptable to have basic human rights? Furthermore, what happens to the child whose mother can not afford daycare? Or the artist who cannot make art because they can no longer afford the space? How many of our rights will be stripped until the majority of us live on the margins? Continue reading “Theater Review: From Ubuntu Theater Project, a Powerful Message About Humanity in Lisa Ramirez’s Down Here Below

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet

R. to L. : Hamlet (Michael Moran), Horatio (Ogie Zulueta), and Claudius (Rolf Saxon) duke it out. Photo courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

At the Flight Deck in Oakland, on a raised plank in the middle of an oblong stage, sits Michael Moran’s Hamlet. Eerie vocalizations surround him as provided by a cast of thirty actors. The entire action takes place in this space in a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s popular tragedy about Denmark’s grieving prince. Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project Gets Ambitious with the Premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda’s New Play Pool of Unknown Wonders

L to R: Mergherita Ventura (Sophie), Peter Strielstra (Gorkys), and Sharon Shao (Karma). Photo Courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

Ubuntu Theater Project starts off it’s season collaborating with acclaimed Bay Area playwright Philip Kan Gotanda in the premiere of Pool of Unknown Wonders: Undertow of the Soul. It’s a conceptual piece: abstract and non-linear. Multiple characters play different roles in each other’s lives, so it can be a test of focus. As they overlap, the stories seem to intersect; it’s clear there’s one destination, but how they got on that bus is the mystery about to unfold. Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project Gets Ambitious with the Premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda’s New Play Pool of Unknown Wonders

Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero

Ubuntu Theater Project explores a fresh take on the American Dream in the West Coast premiere of Ed Cardona Jr.’s American Jornalero

Edited by Jessica Vaden

From L. to R.: Jose Rodriguez (Luis), Benoît Monin (Montezuma), Cristhian Ayvar (Marcelo), Juan J. Berumen (Michigan), and the phone that won’t stop ringing. Photos courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

On the corner of Hope and Haven stand six men, waiting. Four of them are jornaleros, day laborers, waiting for the work that may not come. Two are law-abiding, border protecting Minutemen, waiting to indict them with the charge of wanting a better life.

Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Project’s American Jornalero

Theater Review: Dance Of The Holy Ghosts at Oakland Peace Center, Ubuntu Theater Project, 3/23/18

Edited by Jessica Vaden

Dance of the Holy Ghosts returns to playwright’s native Oakland roots

Berwick Haynes (Oscar) with Viola’s famous sweet potato pie and Michael Curry (Marcus) with his precisely organized Crayolas™?. Photo courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

They say the brain only recalls the parts it wants to remember. And so it goes, memory is fragmented, and unreliable, as we come to learn in Ubuntu Theater Project’s production of Dance of the Holy Ghosts by Marcus Gardley.

Gardley is an Oakland native, and there’s something about seeing a play in the space that it’s intended for that really draws on the fragility that a memory play evokes. Walking through the doors of Oakland Peace Center, one immediately confronts a specific time and place which then colors the viewer’s experience. Bringing it all together, a complete choir of gospel singers open the show in this untraditional but very fitting setting. Continue reading “Theater Review: Dance Of The Holy Ghosts at Oakland Peace Center, Ubuntu Theater Project, 3/23/18″