Hurray for Shotgun Players in Berkeley, California! The company is producing an entire season of plays by women this year including 6 mainstage shows and 6 staged readings. Also, they have announced their commitment to gender parity in all future seasons! Hurray!
It is so refreshing to see a company of this stature take a stand and do the right thing about the gender gap in local theatre. Even though the Bay Area is known as a bastion of progressive values, the sad truth is that fewer than one in three of the plays produced here are written by women. While other theatre companies are still making excuses about why they can’t have 50% women playwrights, Shotgun Players is demonstrating that all it really takes is the commitment.
Some companies have claimed that they can’t find enough scripts by women that deserve production. But Shotgun Players reports that when they announced their intention to do an all-women season on their mainstage, they were deluged with so many great scripts that they decided to add the series of 6 staged readings.
LET’S SHOW OUR SUPPORT!
Shotgun Players is well-known in the Bay Area for their adventurous programming and artistic excellence. With their bold season announcement they have shown that they have the heart and the vision to change the conversation about gender parity in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Now it is up to us as audience members and supporters to make this season a smashing success so that others will want to follow their example.
BUY TICKETS! SEND DONATIONS!
WomenArts urges all of our readers in the Bay Area to buy as many tickets as you can to Shotgun Players this season. If you can afford it, please consider subscribing.
If you don’t live here, but you want to see more women on stages across the country, please consider sending them a donation or a letter of support to show that you believe in what they are doing.
Shotgun’s season opens this evening with a pay-what-you-can preview of Antigonick, Canadian poet Anne Carson’s irreverent adaptation of Sophocles’ classic story of a young woman standing up to the patriarchy. Director Mark Jackson has worked with choreographer Hope Mohr to create a 75-minute, streamlined, deeply physical production that draws together a talented cast with backgrounds in theater, dance, performance art, and drag. Rami Margron will play Antigone. Kevin Clarke will play Kreon. You can watch a video trailer on Vimeo.
GET TICKETS:
Shotgun Players presents Anne Carson’s Antigonick
Dates: March 19 – April 19
Venue: Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703
Tickets: Pay What You Can Previews March 19 – 25; March 26 – April 19 $20 – $30;
$5 rush tickets for anyone 25 or younger for any performance.
Box Office: Call 510-841-6500 or Buy Online
Purchase Tickets, Subscribe or Donate Online: www.ShotgunPlayers.org
SHOTGUN PLAYERS – 2015 MAINSTAGE SEASON
Antigonick by Anne Carson, co-directed by Mark Jackson & Hope Mohr
March 19 – April 26, 2015. Opening Night Thursday, March 26th.
Anne Carson, world renowned poet and recipient of the Guggenheim and MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, has taken our breath away with this sparkling new adaptation of the Antigone myth. Long time Shotgun artist Mark Jackson joins forces with choreographer Hope Mohr to co-direct this epic struggle between the forces of law and the ties that bind.
Heart Shaped Nebula by Marisela Treviño Orta, directed by Desdemona Chiang
dramaturgy by Nakissa Etemad
May 21 – June 21, 2015. Opening Night Thursday, May 28th.
On the anniversary of a tragic accident, Miqueo travels to the desert town of Tonopah, known for having the darkest skies with an abundance of stars. He has come to let go of his grief, but the Universe seems to have other plans. In comes Amara, a rebellious teenager who is more than she appears to be. With an aura of magical realism, Heart Shaped Nebula, explores the mysteries of the universe and the human heart.
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
July 2 – August 2, 2015. Opening Night, Friday, July 10th.
A season celebrating plays by women must include Churchill. Marlene is out to celebrate her big promotion at work. And she’s earned it. It’s a just reward for years of dedicated service at the Top Girls Employment Agency. If she’s had to make sacrifices along the way, they’ve been worth it. Dancing through history, Churchill’s timeless masterpiece Top Girls asks all the right questions about the struggle to “have it all.”
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Erika Chong Shuch
August 20 – September 20, 2015. Opening Night, Thursday, August 27th.
On the day Eurydice is to marry her true love Orpheus, a misstep sends her to the surreal depths of the Underworld. There she has a surprising reunion and must decide whether to follow Orpheus back to the land of the living. This tenderhearted comedy, love story solidified Ms. Ruhl as one of the most important new voices in American theatre. “Rhapsodically beautiful – an inexpressibly moving theatrical fable about love, loss and the pleasures and pains of memory.” – The New York Times
The Rover by Aphra Behn, directed by M. Graham Smith
October 15 – November 15, 2015. Opening Night, Thursday, October 22nd.
Written in 1677, Aphra Behn’s The Rover explores three traditional roles for women: nun, wife, or prostitute. The play was scandalous. Why? Because the three central female characters all strive for another role entirely: that of a lover. Set in Naples during the Carnival masquerade, The Rover is a comic romp with an edge. The men are in for a surprise when the women take charge of seduction.
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, directed by Patrick Dooley
December 4, 2015 – January 11, 2016. Opening Night, Friday, December 11th.
In the midst of a terrible snowstorm, Mollie and Giles Ralston open Monkswell Manor, a remote guesthouse. While they struggle to manage their first day of business, a policeman arrives to investigate a grisly murder. Comedy and chaos ensue, and then – MURDER! Who did it? The mysterious Mr. Paravicini? The odd Miss Casewell? The nervous Christopher Wren? See if you can figure it out! When this mystery debuted in 1952, Christie hoped it would run at least eight months. Little did she know it would become the longest running show in history.
SHOTGUN PLAYERS – 2015 STAGED READING SERIES
The Ohio State Murders, by Adrienne Kennedy. April 27 & April 28.
The (Curious Case of The) Watson Intelligence, by Madeline George. June 8 & June 9.
Bethany, by Laura Marks. August 8 & August 9.
Letters from Cuba, By Maria Irene Fornes. September 21 & September 22.
TBD. November 9 & November 10.
The Children’s Hour, By Lillian Hellman. January 18 & 19.