The Crucible’s Fire Arts Festival July 20, 2009
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Because a picture is worth a thousand words…
…and being there is worth a few thousand more words, the word “awesomeness” is going to have to suffice for this blog post.
For more info on the Crucible, click here, and for the rest of my fiery set, click here.
The Window Age March 3, 2009
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Last weekend, I saw a nifty little play The Window Age. The play began with a tension filled scene between a married couple and their guest, and then telescoped into the subconscious levels that inform the scene. Very well done.
With this play, Central Works officially makes my list of theater companies to keep an eye on. (If you’re wondering, the list in its entirety is Banana Bag and Bodice, Shotgun Players and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.)
Performing Arts: Delinquent November 17, 2008
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Beginning in the late 70s, the State of California moved away from a correctional philosophy of rehabilitation towards one emphasizing “getting tough on crime.” Since then, mandatory sentences and the infamous three strikes law have sent entirely too many people to jail, creating a financial and social justice nightmare. For a little background, you can read news articles here and here.
Keith Hennessy’s Delinquent focuses on the juvenile offender, personalizing them and exploring their experiences while also delving into how society views and defines them. Each of the young artists on the stage have themselves been ensnared in the juvenile justice system. You can get a little flavor of the performance in this interview with the director.
The performance left me thinking – I clearly remember my fear of my fellow students who later became fixtures in the justice system and my relief when they disappeared from school. I also hear of the awful home lives of too many of my mother’s middle school students – many live with addicted and/or violent parents, one boy’s parents had pimped him out for a little extra cash.
Clearly, the needs of these students are greater than can be met in a classroom setting, but just as clearly, the juvenile justice system as it stands today fails all of us just as badly.
Crucible Video April 23, 2008
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I found a promo video featuring footage from last year’s Romeo and Juliet production. Click here to watch.
This Firebird is Badass. April 20, 2008
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7 sins April 12, 2008
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It just feels good to spend an hour laughing. Go see the show if you’re in town!
Four Breaths March 15, 2008
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Corpus Christi – a gay Jesus play March 10, 2008
Posted by Sarah in Performing Arts, San Francisco, Texas, Theatre.add a comment
I might not say this is great theatre in some vaulted literary tradition, but there wasn’t a single dry eye in the house as the lights dimmed and the performance ended.
Corpus Christi is a passion play set in 1950′s Corpus Christi, a city in South Texas. I grew up near there and will simply offer this link to any who doubt that the area is indeed conservative and religious. Naturally, I’ve wanted to see the play since it opened to protests and death threats in New York ten years ago.
Today’s performance in San Francisco was an entirely different affair – the Grace Cathedral hosted two performances of the play. The combination of homosexuality and Christianity is not a particularly volatile mix here, as evidenced by the number gay Christian churches and outreach programs.
Obviously, I live in a bubble. People in the queer community face discrimination and death every day, and every member of the audience was just as aware of that fact as I was – just last month a gay teen was killed in Oxnard, CA.
No wonder that the torture and crucifixion of a gay man touched a raw spot in all of our hearts. No wonder that audience member after audience member thanked the cast for speaking the message an all inclusive love. As the director said, this is a story that needs to be told.
I wish the cast and crew good luck at the International Gay Theater Festival in Dublin.
