The best is yet to come for 2023
As summer advances and fall beckons, the East Bay reverberates with theater, opera and more dates to calendar now. Here are just a few.
Theater
Oakland Theatre Project: Gary, A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Honestly, Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus is a blood-soaked horror show. Blackbirds aren’t what gets baked in a pie in that play. But OTP’s staging of the 2019 Broadway success is a “darkly comic” view of the aftermath, in which two servants have to clean up—and in the process ruminate on—“power, privilege, death, survival, and the role of art in shaping the world.” Sept. 1–24, oaklandtheaterproject.org
Berkeley Rep: POTUS
The Rep’s first show of the new season is subtitled, Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. OK, best title of 2023. A “gleefully feminist satire” about the savvy women around a clueless Commander in Chief who manages to create a global crisis. Any similarity to known politicians is … intentional. Sept. 16–Oct. 22, berkeleyrep.org
Opera
West Edge Opera: Erwartung/Expectation • 1924
Those who like “ultra-expressionistic” opera rather than mere classical repeats might revel in this production by always-adventurous WEO—in German with English surtitles, nonetheless. This one-act is partnered with Stravinsky’s The Nightingale, based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale and in Russian with English surtitles. July 29, Aug. 4 & 6. westedgeopera.org
Other
CalPerformances: The Triplets of Belleville Cine-Concert
The deliciously wacky 2003 film’s music was one of its delights. In two performances, composer Benoît Charest will lead his eight-piece orchestra in a live version of his Oscar-nominated score as the movie is screened. Sure to sell out. Oct. 21–22. calperformances.org
—Janis Hashe
Now here -Nowhere
In his forthcoming performance, Now here -Nowhere, Berkeley-based artist and housing advocate Victor Mavedzenge invites the East Bay to go deeper with the term DEIB—Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging—and consider what it truly means to authentically and wholeheartedly be a part of creating a collective, more inclusive, more equitable world where everyone belongs.
Mavedzenge, a Zimbabwean-American, is on a mission to ignite change one brushstroke at a time as he shares his unique lived experience from the lens and brushstrokes of a bi-continental, bi-national artist who also happens to be the dad of two biracial children and a project manager at an East Bay organization serving unhoused people. Through visual art, spoken word, film, poetry and his own narrative as a man of many dualities, Mavedzenge invites the audiences he engages with to reflect on their own roles in fostering a more inclusive society while pondering the abstract messaging of his art that grapple with the injustices of the world while leaving space for hope and agency.
Mavedzenge weaves together a tapestry of colors, sounds and emotions in vivid and sometimes abstract paintings and sculptures that breathe life into the stories of marginalized communities, including those of the unhoused population he serves in his day job, those whose lives have been prematurely punctuated by injustice and others whose paths have intersected with his.
The event will take place on Sunday, July 16 from 4–8pm at Ne Ndoro & Bay Tuck Shop/Vumba Mts Kitchen at 971 Marina Way South, Unit E, in Richmond. Participants of the boutique art experience can also take a gander at Zimbabwean goods, fabrics and comfort foods. For more information about Madevzenge’s work, art and forthcoming appearances, visit www.madevzenge.com.
Dr. Cornel West campaigns
The world has watched Dr. Cornel West standing on the frontlines speaking truth to power in the aftermath of George Perry Floyd’s death and in the face of many acts of injustice across the country. We’ve read his work as he’s authored Living and Loving Out Loud, Race Matters, Democracy Matters and more. Last presidential election, West stood by the side of Bernie Sanders, asking the world to lean in and to vote—not from a place of calculated fear, but rather from a place of love, hope and speculative imagination about the kind of country we could have if healthcare was a universal right and if people came before profits.
In a CNN interview, when asked to respond to a tweet that called him out for putting his hat in the ring for the 2024 election and said he should step aside unless he’s trying to make Trump the winner, West called out the dangers in the United States’ binary political system. “It’s not this or that, tweedle dee or tweedle dum,” West said. He called Trump a neo-fascist catastrophe and Biden a neo-liberal disaster.
West pointed out that important points of contention have been left out by both the Democrats and the Republicans. Mass incarceration, the presence of 800 U.S. military bases around the world, the state of affairs in the West Bank and the perspective of Palestinans, and the struggles of the poor and working class who have to choose between food and medical care are some of the issues West wants to put square in the center of his platform while running for president. West launched his bid for 2024 president as a member of the People’s Party and recently changed to the more established Green Party.
He is quoted as saying, “We have to recognize that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, unless there is love, patience, persistence. Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public. You can’t lead the people if you don’t love the people.’ In that spirit, West hopes to move people toward love and justice and away from fear and despair as they cast their ballots for the next election—implying that change is more possible when we vote for what we believe in than simply voting against what we fear.
Dashing Through the Snow
Buckle up and get ready: Ludacris, Lil Rel Howery and Teyonah Parris are going to be Dashing Through the Snow this holiday season, along with Gina Brillon, Mary Lynn Raiskub, Ravi Patel, Marcus Lewis, Madison Sky Validum and Sebastian Sozzi. The Disney Plus film, directed by Tim Story and produced by John Jacobs and written by Scott Rosenberg, is centered around the story of a divorced social worker for the Atlanta police department who hates Christmas because of a terrible childhood memory. When his Christmas Eve with his daughter is interrupted by a call, the social worker bumps into a local politician before encountering a man who helps him discover the joy and magic of Christmas.
This film with a refreshingly diverse cast of characters promises the possibility of a reprieve from the chaos of the holiday season and offers an element of relatability as many folks are forced to navigate the tensions, residual trauma and trying family dynamics along with the jolliness—or sometimes instead of it—during the holiday season. For those who are a little overwhelmed by the holiday season and for those who live for it, it sounds like Dashing Through the Snow has something for everyone. Comedian and actress Gina Brillon beamed as she shared the news of her role as a sidekick to one of the main characters in the film during her comedy gig at Lesher Center for the Arts last week, and encouraged people to show up and see it. And with such a relatable storyline plot presented as a fantasy film and an all-star cast representing a diverse bouquet of identities, why not see it?
Yes-and-Wine third Sundays
These days, it’s difficult to go out for a few drinks and a good time without dropping quite a bit of money. In a world where many adult outings center around food and drinks and a whole lot of conversation, followed by extra rounds of drinks and/or desserts, we can end up eating and drinking more than we need to, spending more than we planned and feeling not-so-hot by the time we call it a night. What if, instead of going through all of that, one could partake in an adult version of an experience that comes complete with improv exercises, gentle instruction, lots of laughs and two drinks of any type—alcoholic or non, for just $30 … or whatever participants have the capacity to pay?
The iconic Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette offers Yes-and-Wine from 7–9pm the third Sunday of every month. No need to fret about showing up alone because many attendees do, and any initial nervousness and trepidation usually quickly turns into laughter. For more information, visit the adult education tab of www.townhalltheatre.com.
Artivism in Alameda
Art is a vast and universal term that encompasses many forms and genres. Some of it is visual and abstract and moves us to appreciate, invites us to contemplate or nudges us to consider or reimagine something. Some of it can be found on canvases, some can be worn, some can be listened to, danced to or watched. For those of us who love art in its various forms but don’t vibe with the traditional museum setting because it’s financially prohibitive, too far off the beaten path, too quiet for our tastes or not conducive to our furry friends that increasingly travel alongside us, Studio 23 may be the space to gravitate towards.
The studio and showroom are tucked away in a parking lot like hidden gems. But when the space, which has now been in existence for just over a decade, opens its doors for events, it blossoms to life bringing together talented East Bay artists, artisans and community members. During Studio 23’s 10-year Anniversary event, hundreds of people filled the pavement that connects the studio and display spaces to browse, listen to the words and stories of artists, partake in free refreshments or pay what they were comfortable with for a glass of wine. As the evening went on, the lot transformed into a dance floor with live music.
The 10-year anniversary celebration may have already passed, but if the past is any indication of the future, Studio 23 is a space, a place and a community not to be missed. It takes to heart the concept of radical hospitality, being intentionally inclusive of people from all walks of life and truly meeting people where they are. The space offers sip-and-paint gatherings, informal classes and an assortment of innovative events. For more information, visit studio23gallery.com.
Joy-in-Motion
The world might be a little bit better if everyone of every age group, body type and ability had a way to drop their inhibitions and dance. Yet sometimes the rigor of a traditional dance school can be a little too much, and tuition can make the art of dance a little bit inaccessible. Justin Cole and Linda Craig, dance instructors who had experienced such studios, put their heads together nearly a decade ago to begin conceptualizing a dance space and instruction that might bring the joy of dance and movement to people from all walks of life. The pair put the roots for Joy-in-Motion smack dab in the middle of Lamorinda and in doing so now serve dancers from Oakland to Concord and everywhere in between.
Just down Hwy 24 and five miles beyond the Orinda exit lies the post office-turned-dance studio equipped with lounge areas, books, and study and dance spaces. There, children try their hand at contemporary dance, jazz dance or ballet, or work on hip-hop routines or tap dance. Adults get their groove on, too, in hip-hop, jazz dance or yoga classes. Each May the dancers gather for a performance.
Those looking for a dance experience that offers more heart, soul and flexibility than a rigorous dance school and pushes dancers beyond what is offered in corporate-style studios may want to check this one-of-a-kind dance studio out. As a bonus, it offers flexible payment plans and options for discounted tuition to ensure accessibility.
For more information, visit www.joyinmotiondance.org.
—Sharon K. Sobotta
