Teen Perspective: GOOD GOODS

Teens Anya Richkind and Alona Bach weigh in on Crowded Fire's production of Good Goods, a haunting new play by Christina Anderson. [SPOILER ALERT!]

Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Stacey and Armando McClain as Wire in Good Goods; photo by Pak Han.

We walked towards the theater, realizing that we knew hardly anything about Good Goods, the play ahead of us. Maybe it’s about punny yet reliable products? Anya thought to herself, and hopefully didn’t say out loud.

Now, I can safely say there was no way we could’ve know what we were getting ourselves into. Good Goods cleverly lures the audience into a hammock of security, before seamlessly capsizing the hammock entirely.

Though the entire play takes place in a general store in a small Black town, the brilliant Christina Anderson (selected by American Theatre Magazine as one of 15 up-and-coming artists "whose work will be transforming America's stages for decades to come") takes each audience member on a journey of longing, nostalgia, and eventually accepting the often latent truth.

Lauren Spencer in Good Goods;
photo by Pak Han.

Anderson’s strength lies in the complexity of the interpersonal relationships she builds. Stacey Good (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen, alluring in his controlled quietness) returns from his life on the road, followed quickly by Patricia (a powerful Mollena Williams). The terms “ex-lovers” or “confused divorcees” do not begin to capture the subtlety of Stacey’s relationship with Patricia, his partner in his stand-up comedy routine and the woman with whom he has traveled for the last ten years. Anderson blurs the line between familiarity and love, leaving the audience to decipher who has true feelings for whom - that is, if anyone sincerely does care about anyone else.

Just when the tapestry of interpersonal relationships appears to be weaving itself towards completion, Anderson masterfully injects an element that changes the entire scheme: what if one person is no longer herself? When Sunny (a dynamic Lauren Spencer), the initially sweet, bright-eyed girl from another town, begins speaking as a rough-tongued member of the recently deceased, the entire foundation of the town -- shrouded in legend and mystique -- is brought into question.

Anderson skillfully juxtaposes the violence of Sunny’s possession with the tenderness between lovers-to-be, leaving audience members with the same simultaneous longing and paralysis that the characters feel. Ultimately, Good Goods is a story of accepting what is true, instead of what is familiar or expected.

SEE FOR YOURSELF: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays. Through June 23. $8 with your 8Rate pass. Boxcar Playhouse, 505 Natoma St., S.F. (415) 255-7846. www.crowdedfire.org.

Exciting News!

Have you heard the buzz about our 8Rate program? We're organizing $8 rush tickets for teens at as many Bay Area theaters as we possibly can. That means that any seats still available on the day of the performance can be bought by teens (ages 13-19) for $8 (less than a movie ticket) -- all that you have to do is show up to the box office with your 8Rate pass, an ID that shows age, and $8 in cash. Sounds easy? That's because it is.

Now for the news: we're incredibly excited to announce that we've got two more theaters on board for this program: Pear Avenue Theatre and TheatreFIRST!

PEAR AVENUE THEATRE
"We present stunning, beautifully acted productions of new works, classics, and contemporary plays in an intimate setting."
Where? The Pear Avenue Theatre (1220 Pear Avenue, Mountain View, CA)
Box Office Number: 650-254-1148
What's Up Next: A Moon for the Misbegotten


THEATREFIRST

"Committed to bringing you the best in professional theater in an intimate space at affordable prices."
Where? Berkeley City Club (2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, CA)
Box Office Number: 510-436-5085
What's Up Next: Oleanna

Thanks so much to the staff of Pear Avenue Theatre and TheatreFIRST -- we're looking forward to seeing your shows!

Our updated list of current participating theaters:
Pear Avenue Theatre
TheatreFIRST
Custom Made Theatre Co.
Crowded Fire Theater (details still in progress)

Are you a teen? Get your 8Rate pass here!
Are you a theater? Sign on for our 8Rate program here!

Introducing 8Rate

As part of our initiative to make theater more accessible to Bay Area teens, we've just introduced a new program called 8Rate. Here's the run-down:

What is 8Rate?
8Rate is program where teens can get rush tickets for shows at a flat rate of $8 -- that's less than most movie tickets, which we think is pretty cool.

How does the 8Rate program work?
1) Pick a show at any participating theater (current list of theaters here).
2) On the night that you want to see the show, arrive at the theater no later than 15 minutes to show-time (the earlier you arrive, the higher your chance of getting in).
3) Show your UP NEXT MEMBERSHIP CARD at the box office and ask if there any rush tickets available. (Don't have one? Get one here.)
4) If there are seats available, you can buy a ticket for $8 (cash only).

The Theaters
Even though we just introduced the 8Rate program, here's a list of super-awesome and very generous theaters who've already signed on (more to come soon!):
Custom Made Theatre Co.
Crowded Fire Theatre (limited participation)
plus a few more in the works...

If your theater wants to participate the 8Rate program, let us know!

59 Shows of 2011

A Bay Area Teen Theater-Goer Reflects on Her 2011 Show-Going

This year, I tried something new – I made an Excel spreadsheet of all the shows I went to see. The purpose of the list was to try to deter me from spending too much on theater-going (last year, I may have gone a little overboard money-wise, and my parents may have been a bit mad, which may have ended up badly for all parties involved, except the theaters). Looking over the spreadsheet at the end of this year, I wanted to share some statistics from the list, not because I feel I'm representative of teen theater-goers (I'm not, at all), but because I want people -- most importantly, other teens; but also theaters, arts administrators, and older ladies in the audience who give me withering glances when I take a seat next to them because they're afraid I'll text and chew gum loudly for the duration of the show (no exaggeration; these glances happen with frequency) -- to know that there are indeed teens who go see theater and enjoy it very much. In this overview, I'm going to leave off the money section, because despite the spreadsheet plan, I still spent way too much on show-going to admit publicly – so I suppose my spreadsheet failed in that respect. However, it did allow me to keep track of every single show I saw this year, and that not only allows me to share some (possibly interesting) statistics, but also share some of my excitement about Bay Area theater with other teens. So here goes!

Some assorted observations/notes:

- At most of the shows, I was conspicuously the youngest person in the audience (unless a younger sibling or friend came with).

- Most of the shows I saw were in venues easily accessible by public transit (bus, BART, Muni).

- This list doesn't count any show that I was part of.

- Readings are wonderful inventions.

- Most importantly: the Bay Area has some DARN awesome theater going on.

Of Dice and Men (Impact Theatre). Photo
by Cheshire Isaacs.

Here are some 2011 stats:

Total Shows Seen: 59

Non-Youth Productions: 50 
School (elementary, middle school, high school, and college) Productions: 4 
Other Youth Productions: 5 
Shows Seen More than Once: 4 (each counted only once in "Total Shows Seen") 
Readings: 13 
Shows Seen via #NewPlay TV Livestream: 2 
Shows Seen at "Big Name" Theaters: 6

Non-Musicals: 44

Musicals: 15

New Works: 26

Subscriptions to Theater Companies: 2 (PlayGround and Shotgun Players)

Farthest Traveled: Twelfth Night (Hebrew translation) – Khan Theater – Jerusalem, Israel

Shows Seen for Free: 22 (from comps, ushering, discounts for students, etc. – and just plain and wonderful free theater)

Average Cost per Ticket: $8.49

New Theaters Patronized: 12

Total Theaters Patronized: 27

Favorite Two New-for-Me Theater Companies: TheatreFIRST and Marin Theatre Company

Favorite Two Already-Known-to-Me Theater Companies: PlayGround and Shotgun Players (hence the subscriptions), with Crowded Fire close behind

Most Discouraging Teen Theater-Going Moment: getting handed the “Teen Discount Ticket” with my name on it from a box office person (who I didn't know) before giving them my name, and being told that they knew who I was because “How many teens do you think are coming to see this show?”

Most Encouraging Teen Theater-Going Moment: going to see The Verona Project at Cal Shakes with 10 other teenagers just in our group!

I thought this statistic was interesting:

Number of shows seen where I knew no one in the cast: 6
(I'll work on this for next year...)

Looking back and looking forward...

The Companion Piece (Z Space). Photo
by Pak Han.

Top Five 2011 Productions I Most Wish I Could See Again

1) The Companion Piece (Z Space)

2) Seven: A Documentary Play (TheatreFIRST reading)

3) Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter (TheatreFIRST)

4) The Verona Project (Cal Shakes)

5) Blackbird (The Aluminous Collective)

3 Top “I Missed This Show” Regrets
1) The Lily's Revenge (Magic Theater)
2) Pelleas and Melisande (Cutting Ball)
3) A Delicate Balance (Aurora Theatre Co.)

Top 6 Plays from 2010 that I'm Still Thinking About
(Is it cheating to include this category? I figure I spent enough time thinking about these shows this year that I had to mention them somewhere.)
1) Safe House (SF Playhouse, Sandbox Series)
2) God's Ear (Shotgun Players)
3) Hamlet on Alcatraz (We Players)
4) Forever Never Comes (Crowded Fire)
5) Tennessee Williams in Rep (Cat, Glass, Streetcar) (Boxcar Theatre)
6) Salt Plays: Part 1 and 2 (Shotgun Players)

5 Shows I'm Looking Forward to Next Year
1) Anything at Shotgun (especially Tom Waits' musical adaptation of Woyzeck)
2) Little Brother (Custom Made Theater Co.)
3) The Hundred Flowers Project (Crowded Fire)
4) Future Motive Power (Mugwumpin)
5) Sam Shepard in Rep (Boxcar Theatre)

 That was 2011. Can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

If you have questions about any of the stats above or want to see stats for a different catergory, I'd be happy to share -- just drop a comment below!

Focusing In on REGGIE WHITE

Introducing one of our two 2011-2012 Focus Actors -- Reggie White! Reggie is an actor, singer, and dancer around the Bay Area and a company member at Impact Theatre and PlayGround. We asked Reggie a few questions about his experiences in the theater, and here's what he told us:

NAME: Reggie D. White

HOMETOWN: Upland, CA

 

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE: A Christmas pageant at my school in 2nd grade. It was....interesting.

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE: "Exit, Pursued By A Bear" at Crowded Fire Theatre Company in 2011. From the script to the production team, to the cast, everything about the whole experience was EXACTLY the reason that I got involved in theatre in the first place. We loved what we did, and the audience loved watching us do it.

BEST TEENAGE MEMORY: High School Graduation. I've always been a nerd, and accomplishing a huge goal like that, even though it was never really in doubt, was just a huge moment of pride. I knew that once I finished high school, even though I didn't know much about the world, or life, or myself, for that matter I somehow had a feeling  that I could make it as a grown-up in the world. 

WHAT KIND OF THEATER EXCITES YOU?: I love new works. It's so great to see plays that no one's seen/heard before. There's something very special about seeing something brand new. It's like getting a new toy for your birthday. 

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? In addition to the scattered readings, here and there, I'm playing Rooster in a production of Annie at Berkeley Playhouse. I'm really excited about being the bad guy. They have all the fun sometimes :)

Andrea Snow, Reggie D. White, Erin Gilley, and Patrick Jones in
Exit, Pursued By A Bear (Photo by Dave Nowakowski)

To learn more about Up Next's Focus Actor program, visit our website: www.upnextteens.org