(This column first appeared in the Benicia Herald on Sept. 16, 2011.) In 1969 I was an illustrator for the University of California, Berkeley at their Sanitary Engineering Research Lab at the Richmond Field Station, Richmond, California. It was the dawn of the Environmental Age, I had a great job, and I was a happy […]
‘Hamlet’ improv to continue through January at Shotgun
Shotgun Players of Berkeley had a crazy idea: put all the roles for William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” on pieces of paper and stuff them into a hat – no, make that a skull! Then just before each performance, the actors can pull their roles out of the skull. Random parts! The show has been a roaring […]
On the Stage: Boomers may relate best to Mamet’s ‘American Buffalo’
DIRECTOR BARBARA DAMASHEK WORKS WITH THREE STRONG ACTORS, all members of Actors’ Equity Association, in the Aurora Theatre production of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” a one-day window on the lives of two lonely old men and a young shop hand, each longing to find a way to score big and break free of their stagnant […]
Send Me Your Dreams: Convergence of dreamers
DEAR DREAMERS, I am excited to be attending the annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams this week. One of the most pragmatic features of the conference comprises the four hour-long sessions wherein attendees can work directly with leading researchers and practitioners in the “field of dreams.” I may join past […]
Review: Berkeley’s Central Works masters ‘Machiavelli’ prequel
A FEW YEARS AGO, CENTRAL WORKS OF BERKELEY wowed audiences with an original play, “Machiavelli: The Prince,” about how the infamous strategist influenced the pious duke, Lorenzo de Medici II of Italy, convincing him to embrace a severe political philosophy. Now, “Prince” playwright Gary Graves has created a prequel to the saga, “The Lion and […]