Laurie Anderson returns to Cal Performances with Dirtday! Photo: Lucie Jansch When Cal Performances presents musician-storyteller Laurie Anderson’s Dirtday!, the third part of a trilogy and co-commissioning project begun in 2002, one thing is certain: she won’t be “put in a bin”. “I try not to label myself,” she says, while seeking words to define […]
Lou Fancher
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Barry McGee’s urban art takes over Berkeley Art Museum
Installations by Barry McGee at the Berkeley Art Museum through Dec 9. Photo: Sibila Savage Installations by Barry McGee at the Berkeley Art Museum through Dec 9. Photo: Sibila Savage The savage, often red-hued work of San Francisco artist Barry McGee, presented in a mid-career survey exhibition by the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive […]
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Truffaldino Says No: Zany mishmash of desire and defiance
Ally Johnson as Isabella in the Shotgun Players/Playground premiere of “Truffaldino Says No”. Photo: Jessica Palopoli Ally Johnson as Isabella in the Shotgun Players/Playground premiere of “Truffaldino Says No”. Photo: Jessica Palopoli Truffaldino Says No, presented by Shotgun Players in a joint production with PlayGround, a Berkeley Rep playwriting laboratory, barrels into the story of […]
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The Great Divide: Fighting Big Energy, now and then
Dinner at the Stockmanns: Louisa Frasconi, Heather Robison, Samuel Berston, Michaela Greeley, Scott McCloud, Scott Phillips. Photo: Pak Han The process of Hydraulic Fracturing, or “fracking” — extracting gas or petroleum from rock layers by boring deeply underground and pumping water, sand and other chemicals into fissures — is making news headlines. It also forms […]
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Anatol: Wit, whimsy, self-preoccupation of cad about town
Annie (Delia MacDougall), center, breaks up with Anatol (Mike Ryan), left, as Max (Tim Kniffin), right, looks on in “Anatol”. Photo: David Allen Annie (Delia MacDougall), center, breaks up with Anatol (Mike Ryan), left, as Max (Tim Kniffin), right, looks on in “Anatol”. Photo: David Allen Time stands still — or at least repeats itself […]
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Alvin Ailey’s artistic director: Expanding dancers’ prowess
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performing "Revelations". Photo: Andrew Eccles The mighty ship that is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater docked at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall this week for a residency that begins tomorrow, March 13, and runs through March 18. The company’s Artistic Director, Robert Battle, stands as the captain of an organization that […]
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Bill T. Jones and “Story/Time”: Anything might happen
John Cage, best known for his chance-related compositions, is the inspiration behind "Story/Time", a new work by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company performing in Berkeley on Thursday and Friday this week. Photo: Paul B. Goode On Friday and Saturday, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company will present “Story/Time” at Zellerbach Hall courtesy of […]
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Shotgun’s God’s Plot is terrific end for 20th season
(L tio R): Will Hand, Juliana Lustenader, Josh Pollock (Banjo), Anthony Nemirovsky. Photo by Pak Han./Shotgun Players. Director Mark Jackson may not have set out to deliver a message when he wrote God’s Plot, Shotgun Players’ 20th Anniversary season ender, but his world premiere play, ringing forth with the weight of Paul Revere and enough […]
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Trey McIntyre: Earning recognition from a base in Boise
Trey McIntyre of The Trey McIntyre Project. Photo: Basil Childers Trey McIntyre is bringing his Boise-based dance company to Cal Performances’ Zellerbach Hall on November 18th and, along with it, a paradox. The Trey McIntyre Project (TMP) began as a pick-up company in 2004. During summer months, the towering dance maker (at 6’6” tall, he’s […]
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The Soldier’s Tale: A Stravinsky classic reimagined
In “The Soldier’s Tale”, opening at The Aurora on Nov. 11th, the Narrator (l, L. Peter Callender) advises the Soldier (c, puppeteered by Muriel Maffre) during a card game with the Devil (r, Joan Mankin) In “The Soldier’s Tale”, opening at The Aurora on Nov. 11th, the Narrator (l, L. Peter Callender) advises the Soldier […]
