Goat Hall Productions, a Bay Area company that specializes in producing new operas, just finished a run of one of the genre's biggest chestnuts, The Marriage of Figaro. The 1786 Mozart/Da Ponte opera's broad social satire, fluid plot and hummable music make it a constant presence on big and small stages alike. It's been -- or is in the process of being -- produced by no less than four different Bay Area companies in recent weeks including Sacramento Opera (February 27 - March 3), Santa Clara Mission City Opera (February 20 - March 1) and … [Read more...]

A long stroll along the water from Santa Monica to Venice Beach in Los Angeles is the perfect way to catch a bit of recession-worthy theatre. Last weekend, impressive jugglers and break dancers were out in the sun showing passers by and lingerers their skills, all for the price of whatever people felt like tossing into a hat.Elsewhere on the waterfront, a different sort of "performance" was going on, undertaken by people with no interest in passing a hat, but equal amounts of exhibitionism.It was fascinating to see how the Los Angeles gymnasts … [Read more...]

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's drive to bring in new audiences through a series of concerts involving artists from different musical backgrounds appears to be paying off. At least, if last Saturday evening's soiree at Disney Hall devoted to the music of the French electronica artist, M83 (real name: Anthony Gonzalez, pictured) is anything to go by, Los Angeles concert goers are thrilled at the unusual collaborations and are packing the concert hall in droves.The venue was almost completely full with young hipster types -- skinny men sporting … [Read more...]

The Berkeley-based theatre company Central Works has an unusual way of creating new productions. By the time the season brochure comes out, the plays on the roster generally haven't been written yet. I asked Christopher Chen (pictured left) author of the company's current show, The Window Age (which I discussed here last week) to contribute today's blog post about his experiences of the Central Works Method. He kindly agreed to share his thoughts with us today. Take it away Chris...At first glance, there is nothing about Central Works or their … [Read more...]

In other news, I am heading down south for a few days to check out the M83 / Los Angeles Philharmonic concert at Disney Hall among other things. As a result, lies like truth will probably be on hiatus until next Thursday. Until then... … [Read more...]

Christopher Chen's new play The Window Age, which I caught last night under the auspices of Central Works Theatre Company at the hallowed Berkeley City Club, takes the viewer into the inner reaches of the human psyche. Inspired by members of the Bloomsbury Group like Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey as well as other fin-de-siecle luminaries of art and the subconscious such as Pablo Picasso and Sigmund Freud, the drama offers us an unusual view of the many layers that underpin so-called concrete reality.The drama tells the story of a downbeat … [Read more...]

With the arts being a tough sell to funders and policymakers of late, it's been gratifying to hear that the NEA is now hard at work soliciting grant applications. Only a few weeks ago, things looked extremely hazardous for the national arts funding body, what with the Coburn amendment threatening $50 million in federal stimulus package funds from going to the arts.If the Coburn amendment was finally defeated, it was largely thanks to the efforts of arts advocates across the country in making a strong case for the social impact that the arts … [Read more...]

An American writer friend of mine based in Berlin runs what he calls a "Stammtisch". This German term isn't easily translated into English, but what it literally means is "regular's table" or "regular get-together" or "standing agreement to get together at the same table on regular occasions."In the most traditional sense, a Stammtisch is a table in a bar or restaurant which is reserved for the same guests at the same time every day or every week. There is usually a sign on the table saying "Stammtisch". In the most traditional German beer … [Read more...]

We've all been to those dreaded events -- you know what I'm talking about. The evenings where you stand around in a gallery or theatre with a glass of cheap wine in your hands and a cube of rubbery, orange cheese, smiling and trying to look interested as some old windbag rambles on at you about their appreciation for Avant Garde Theatre or the summer they spent doing life drawing classes in Florence.Things need not be that way. I attended a reception for a group of theatre artists over the weekend that for me pretty much epitomizes the right … [Read more...]

Last night, a group of about 25 Bay Area theatre community people got together at the Exit Theatre in San Francisco for the latest in an ongoing series of Theatre Salons. Organized by theatre director Mark Jackson, actress Beth Wilmurt, director John Wilkins, producer Kimball Wilkins, theatre critic Rob Avila and yours truly, the Salons aim to bring folks from disparate corners of the local performing arts landscape for wine, food and discussion on a topic of pressing cultural interest of the founding committee's choice.On this occasion, we … [Read more...]