Andrea Gordon takes the helm as Director of Play Reading and Production at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Photo by Jessamyn Picton, 2024.
Acclaimed theatre writer, director and producer Andrea Gordon is presenting a six-part series of monthly play readings with her company Rainbow Zebra Productions at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Titled the ‘Reading Series Extravaganza’, every performance will feature a piece of new writing and local actors, with casting by Liam Vincent.
Curious to know more about this ambitious and community-minded project, Spinning Platters recently sat down with Andrea Gordon for an interview.
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”
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“
Lady Enid (Dana Lewenthal) passes out from fear as the Vampire (Alicia von Kugelgen) lurks over her planning their next move (photo courtesy of Marian Bliss, 2019).
The Mysteries of Irma Vep is a classic gothic tale filled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and suspicious family members. The show centers around Lord Edgar Hillcrest and his new wife, Lady Enid Hillcrest, who has arrived at the estate and struggles to fit in. The ominous presence of Edgar’s late wife Irma Vep hovers over them, in more ways than one. Late night shenanigans lead to the exposure of supernatural elements, and lead both characters on a journey to discover who, what, when, and how. Continue reading “Theater Review: Last Weekend to Catch Irma Vep at the Danville Village Theatre”
Charlie (James Carpenter) and Nancy (Ellen McLaughlin) face the unknown in Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize (1975) winning play. Photo courtesy of Kevin Berne, 2019.
In Call of the Wild by Jack London, there’s a line that repeats several times, said to be a universal law, the law of life, that is, “Eat or Be Eaten.” In the subsequent passages, London sets up a horrific narrative that is often true: what separates “man” from other species that are deemed eatable, and, of these species, many will eat man; then is man truly of any value? Because of this need for survival, there’s so much fear that permeates our condition. What’s actually real, and what isn’t? In Edward Albee’s Seascape, two couples face these demons head on. One is of the human form and the other alien, but ultimately, we wonder, whose world is it?Continue reading “Theater Review: An Ode to Love and the Human Condition: A.C.T. Presents Edward Albee’s Seascape“
Danielle Altizio (Polly) and Conor Devoe (Bobby) dance to save the town. Photo Courtesy of Jonathan White, 2018.
New York City banker Bobby Child (Conor Devoe) has a dream — dancing dreams — but his parents just aren’t having it. Neither is his fiancée, Irene (Morgan Peters), who’s wondering why they’ve been engaged for five years without wedding bells… and she’s understandably at her wit’s end. His parents’ plan is to send him to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose a rundown theater. His plan is to dance for the acclaimed artistic director Bela Zangler (Tony Michaels), but one quick mishap during an impromptu audition and he’s on the first train to Deadrock.Continue reading “Theater Review: Bay Area Musicals presents Crazy for You — A Delightfully Charming Gershwin Classic”
From l. to r.: Silda (Sally Hogarty), Trip (Micah Watterson), Brooke (Emily Keyishian), Lyman (Christian Phillips), and Polly (Christine Macomber). Photo by Marian Bliss, 2018.
Writer Brooke Wyeth (Emily Keyishian) has come home after a long hiatus to reveal her new novel to her family. Settled in Palm Springs, with conservative values, the Wyeths harbor a plethora of family secrets. It’s all water under the bridge as they go through the motions of their daily lives, secluded in an affluent neighborhood where they appear indestructible. Brooke’s novel threatens to shatter this peaceful image. And so the drama unfolds, as each member fights to keep their secrets under wraps.Continue reading “Theater Review: Danville Village Theatre Presents Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities“
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“
The Mahabharata
