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!

A Teen's Perspective: Monday Night PlayGround

Monday Night PlayGround has to be one of my favorite Bay Area theater events. Ever. Luckily for me, it happens almost every month.

Here's how it works: at the beginning of each season, PlayGround selects a group of 36 local playwrights for their Writer's Pool. Each month, from October through March, the writers receive a phrase or word as a prompt (some of my favorites in the past have been topics like “It Gets Better”, Vaudeville, Kingdom of Number, and Origin Story). Then, the writers have less than five days to write an original 10-page play based on the prompt. And THEN, from all of the 10-page scripts submitted, six are chosen to be performed as staged readings (which basically means that, among other things, the actors will hold scripts as they act). On Monday of the performance, actors and directors gather with the playwrights at Berkeley Rep and have a mere 90 minutes to stage, rehearse, and tech their show. Crazy. But that's part of what makes it so exciting. (For a more in-depth description of the process, look here.)

After this whirlwind of a process, what we get to see as an audience is a very mixed bag of plays. You get funny ones, serious ones, deep ones, playful ones, political ones. Sometimes there's one play in particular that blows you away, and sometimes there are a few. And you never know what to expect...

This month's topic was “pipe dream”, in a partnership with the Eugene O'Neill Foundation, and it gave rise to a hugely diverse and thought-provoking group of plays. Here's a very brief overview of the six “pipe dream” plays:

You Eat What You Kill, by Cleavon Smith, was voted the People's Choice favorite of the night and can be read about here.

Siren, by Daniel Heath, was about a painter, his wife, a surfer...and a mermaid.

The Heartbreak Horse, by Lucia Jacobs, was based on the true story of a horse called Clever Hans.

My Time Has Come, by Jonathan Spector, started as a hilariously melodramatic play-within-a-play, but was then disrupted to reveal the true characters of the people on (and off) stage.

Wasting Away, by Mercedes Segesvary, was about the bleak life of three...er...“waste”-shovelers in the sewers.

The Occupants, by Ignacio Zulueta, was a play about (what else?) the Occupy movement.

And, in addition to the six plays based off of the “pipe dream” prompt, we got to see an excerpt from one of the plays that PlayGround commissioned this year – Drive Thru – Open till Midnite or Later, by Mandy Hodge Rizvi.

The Monday Night PlayGrounds are cast from the same actor pool each time, so you get to see a lot of familiar faces playing very different roles – sometimes even in the same night. Last Monday night, for example, actor Patrick Russell played a small-town teenage boy in Drive Thru – Open till Midnite or Later, and later played the horse, Clever Hans, in Lucia Jacob's The Heartbreak Horse. Mick Mize (who played one of the sewage-shovelers in Wasting Away) has also played a wide variety characters in past Monday Night PlayGrounds, not just limited to humans – I still remember his hilarious performance as an old lady's dog in Leah Halper's No More, Too Late, Adieu last November. And both of Up Next's Focus Actors, Elena Wright and Reggie White, are also part of the PlayGround actor pool and appear frequently in the Monday Night PlayGrounds (this past Monday Night, Reggie appeared as Jamie in Cleavon Smith's You Eat What You Kill, and Elena played Cassandra in Ignacio Zulueta's The Occupants).

Though the entire night was enjoyable, and all six plays (and the commission) well written, acted, and directed, the audience's favorite part? “Mick Mize's expression when his nose plug fell in the poo”.

Next Monday Night PlayGround is on Monday, December 19th, with a topic TBA. It costs $10 for students ($15 for general) and will take place at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. Pre-show talk begins at 7:10pm; show begins at 8pm. More info at www.playground-sf.org

Like the PlayGround on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to hear more directly about their process and performances!

Focusing In on ELENA WRIGHT

Elena Wright

Introducing the second of our two 2011-2012 Focus Actors -- Elena Wright! Elena is a Bay Area actress and company member of PlayGround. You may have seen her as Thuria in The Verona Project at Cal Shakes or Athena in Salt Plays Parts I & II at Shotgun Players. We asked Elena a few questions about her experiences in the theater, and here's what she told us: 

NAME: birth name - Elana Wright, equity name - Elena Wright, it causes lots of confusion...

HOMETOWN: Wareham, MA

FIRST THEATER EXPERIENCE: playing Eve in a church play when i was 4. i still remember how much i loved having a part and getting to hold my favorite stuffed cat while onstage.

Elena in Salt Plays Part II: Of the Earth (photo by Pak Han)

FAVORITE THEATER EXPERIENCE: being in Oleanna in college. it was a two person show and the other cast member was my teacher. i learned so much by working with someone who was so committed and professional. The subject matter was incredibly intense, and every night the audience would audibly react to the ending. That was one of the first times I realized how powerful theatre could be, and that i could be a part of something that moves people.

BEST TEENAGE MEMORY: Meeting my best friend. Growing up, i had always felt a little out of place and unique, and it wasn't until freshman year of high school that i met someone who taught me that you don't have to be like everyone else, and in fact, being yourself is way more fun. 19 years later, she's still my best friend.

WHAT KIND OF THEATER EXCITES YOU? Good theatre. Of all kinds. Theatre that requires risk and passion, which can mean anything from new works to Shakespeare, contemporary dramas to farce, classic award winners to experimental physical theatre.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT FOR YOU? The season of Playground, where I'm a company member. And looking for the next gig, which is what a professional actor spends the majority of their time doing....

Elena as Una in Blackbird (photo by Pak Han)

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROJECT YOU JUST FINISHED? I just closed Blackbird, which is another two-character play with an intense theme. What was interesting about it for me was realizing how much harder acting can get the more you do it and the more you know about how to do it well. When I did Oleanna, I was a very young and inexperienced actor. I used my intuition most of the time, and "felt" my way through it, but in Blackbird, I used equal amounts of skill and sensing. This actually turned out to be much harder, since sometimes, those two things cancel each other out, and are hard to do at the same time. It proved to me that the more you know, the more you have reason to stay humble.

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

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