Friday, October 24, 2008

FRIENDS by Kobo Abe!

Brava Theater Center inaugurates its Second Stage! FRIENDS by Kobo Abe is the first play in its new Shout Out Loud series.


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b195/anthemsalgado/IMG_8523_1.jpg
Pictured: Anthem Salgado as the Man, the surprise target of a bizarre family's affection.
Photo: Nate Keck.



Brava Theater
Preview: November 5, 2008
Run: November 6-21, 2008
2781 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Tickets: $10-$35, 415-641-7657
http://brava.org

Individualism and privacy versus collectivism and shared living. FRIENDS is the story of a man whose home is invaded by a family of strangers who insist on saving him from loneliness. "We are here to help," the family declares, beginning the journey into this dark comedy written by Kobo Abe (1967). This adaptation of FRIENDS is directed by Brava Theater Center's new Artistic Director, Raelle Myrick-Hodges.

The cast includes: Alanna Coby, Anthem Salgado, Brant Rotnem, Cec Levinson, Cynthia Brinkman, Daegan Palermo, Garth Petal, Gilberto Esqueda, Heidi Wolff, Jayne Deely, Khamara Pettus, Laurie Smith, and Liz Anderson.

ABOUT KOBO ABE: Kobo Abe is a Tokyo-born Japanese writer. Although Abe trained as a doctor, he never practiced medicine. Poet, novelist, and dramatist, Abe's surreal and often nightmarish explorations of the individual in contemporary society earned him comparisons to Kafka and his influence extended well beyond Japan, particularly with the success of Woman in the Dunes at the Cannes Film Festival. His play Friends won the Tanizaki Prize, one of Japan's most sought-after literary awards.

ABOUT RAELLE MYRICK-HODGES: Raelle has worked with such notables as director George C. Wolfe, and actors Meryl Streep and Mos Def among many others. She attended the Ealing College of Humanities in London and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Raelle produced plays and a series of political satire vignettes in San Francisco, and co-founded Azuka Theater in Philidelphia. Raelle was awarded a two-year grant, the NEA/TCG Career Development Award for Directing. As an Independence Foundation Awardee, she developed a new work, “An Artist’s Workshop.” She was (with creator Alden Moore) nominated for "Outstanding New Play” for this piece. Raelle has also directed the works of Naomi Iizuka (Polaroid Stories) and Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog; In the Blood).

ABOUT ANTHEM SALGADO: Anthem Salgado is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. He has performed his original solo-theater creations on the stages of Asian Art Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Intersection for the Arts. Salgado has presented his spoken word throughout the Bay Area, New York, Honolulu, and Manila. As a literary artist, his fiction appears in the anthology, Field of Mirrors, and in the book, I Saw My Ex at a Party. He is a resident teaching artist for Brava Theater and also serves as a board member to Mind Power Collective, a network of educators focusing on social justice and youth empowerment. Salgado was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to attend Ateneo de Davao University in the Philippines to expand on his skills as a teacher. Anthem Salgado was elected Young Leader for his work as an artist and active community member by national organization for American theatre, Theatre Communications Group.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Job opportunities from Casey Baltes

Hello all,
A few more opportunities for you ...

1.The School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San Diego State University is currently searching for a new faculty member for the position of Head of Acting. I wanted to let you know about this exciting leadership position in hopes that you will post this job announcement. We are looking for a solid educator who has experience in theatre as well as television and film.
The School of Theatre, Television, and Film (TTF) was established to create a community of artists in related fields and to build a cross-disciplinary curriculum for students. The primary goal of TTF is to provide superior undergraduate and graduate educations for a diverse body of students seeking careers in all areas of live theatre and the moving image arts.The Theatre program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree. On the graduate level, the Theatre program offers the Master of Arts degree as well as the Master of Fine Arts degrees in Musical Theatre and Design and Technical Theatre. The Television and Film program offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Television, Film, and Digital Media Production. On the graduate level, a Master of Arts degree in TFM is currently offered and an MFA is anticipated in the near future.The School seeks to strengthen the relationship between the disciplines of the moving image arts and live theatre through faculty whose specialties allow them to move easily between both areas of the School and a curriculum that is steadily increasing the number of interdisciplinary courses.More details about the position are available at http://theatre.sdsu.edu/

2. THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP (www.tcg.org), the national organization for the American not-for-profit theatre is searching for an ASSOCIATE in ARTISTIC PROGRAMS. The position is available immediately. Artistic Programs is responsible for administering TCG’s grant programs which award approximately $3 million annually, as well as artist related convenings, forums and special projects.The Associate will work closely with the Director to administer the MetLife/TCG A-ha! Program: Think It, Do It, a new grant program encouraging theatres to find creative solutions to current challenges. Candidates must be interested in researching/documenting innovations, technology and trends that will impact the theatre field. The Associate will also administer the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship Program and maintain updates on grant website pages.Responsibilities include coordinating the application process; selection and panel review; reporting; and recipient convenings. Candidates should have excellent communication and organizational skills, and be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, familiarity with MicroEdge GIFTS, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Contribute or Dreamweaver, a plus. Ability to multi-task, work independently and collaboratively, and attention to detail are essential. Position is full-time with benefits package.

Submit cover letter, resume and salary requirements by email, fax or mail to Casey Baltes, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, Theatre Communications Group, 520 Eighth Ave., 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-41156, fax 212-609-5901, cbaltes @ tcg. org. No phone calls please. EOE.