Freelancer Emily S. Mendel reviews Berkeley’s vibrant theater scene for Berkeleyside. As a native New Yorker (although now a 37-year East Bay resident), Emily grew up loving and studying theater, from Off Off to On Broadway, as her multi-volume Playbill collection attests. Ending her 30-year law practice has given Emily the time to indulge in her love of the arts and travel.
Miyoko Conley, a grad student at Cal, was selected to have her play performed at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival the weekends of July 16 and 25.
After months of being entertained through livestreaming, artists are eager to return to the stage, so pull up a seat, sit back and enjoy.
Playgoers drive into the parking lot of the Flax Art and Design store in downtown Oakland, watch through the windshields of their cars and listen through their FM radios.
Two women cook elaborate meals for each other: One fixes the Persian dishes her grandparents savored, while the other finally learns to love the Mexican cuisine of her roots.
The six-part series is patterned after the 1990 musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s 1931 experimental novel, ‘The Waves.’
Lisa Ramirez shines in this production that takes place in a parking lot in downtown Oakland. Yes, a parking lot! Or you can stream it.
Aurora Theatre Company, Those Women Productions, Oakland Theatre Project and TheatreFirst are working hard to stimulate and educate us, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Set in 1940 in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, the story revolves around Pecola Breedlove, a lonely 11-year-old-Black girl who is shamed by what she is told is her ugliness.
In this inventive production, written by Noelle Viñas for Zoom, a young gay Latina pastor tries to hold her congregation together through the coronavirus and a racial uprising.
Catch this remarkable and lively Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presentation, which touches on issues like freedom of expression and respect for sex workers, Saturday through Tuesday.
Lockdown be damned! The Berkeley theater group has forged ahead, renovating its stage and planning a new season designed to bridge the chasm between streaming and live theater.
The solo-performer tells a fascinating story about how his beloved stepfather’s Alzheimer diagnosis and the election of Donald Trump changed his life in surprisingly positive ways.
The three-part audio drama is a prime example of how to create an engaging theatrical experience despite the limits imposed by our Covid-ridden world.
The Berkeley theatre group, known for its creativity and progressive philosophy, has crafted a virtual season consisting of six world premiere plays and visual essays.
With serendipitous timing, ideally suited to a pandemic, OMCA has just opened the Dorothea Lange Digital Archive, a free, online experience showcasing the work of the world-renowned documentary photographer.
In this new one-person, 45-minute play, Lynne Kaufman uses an anthropological tempest as context to explore Margaret Mead’s reaction to her character assassination.
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