Opera Piccola (“Small Works”)                                Stagebridge Senior Theatre

 

 

PRESS RELEASE                                                                 For more information:

Now-May 1st, 2005                                                                       Alannah Kern (510) 444-4755 

 

Being Something :  Living “Young” and Growing “Old” in Oakland

Stagebridge and Opera Piccola present world premiere of play set in Oakland

 

Two of Oakland’s most celebrated theatre companies are joining forces to stage a bold new play about the dynamics of being young and growing old in Oakland. Stagebridge Senior Theatre Company and Opera Piccola (“Small Works”) present the world premiere of Being Something: Living “Young” and Growing “Old” in Oakland which premieres at the Oakland Metro on April 22nd.   The play with music, song and dance sheds light on the unexpected chemistry between the generations.  It combines a cast of teenagers and senior citizens, who express the hopes, dreams, and daily struggles of contemporary urban life.  The play is directed by award winning stage director Ellen Sebastian Chang and written by nationally known playwright, Anne Galjour and others.  Both women are being honored next month as “San Francisco Treasures” by The Marsh Theatre.  Other contributors include playwrights Robert Henry Johnson, Erin Blackwell, Tom Swift and Eugenie Chan.  The play previews Thursday, April 21, and opens Friday, April 22 through Sunday, May 1st. at the Oakland Metro, corner of 2nd and Broadway in Jack London Square.  Thursdays are pay as you can performances.  Evenings: 8pm.  Sunday Matinees: 3pm.  Tickets are $15.  Tickets online at www.stagebridge.org or call Stagebridge: (510) 444-4755. 

 

“What value is a life?” asks an Appraiser at an estate sale in the first scene.  As the characters pick through the household objects they begin to answer this question.  An Asian grandfather and his African American step granddaughter clash when her mother dies.  An old woman conjures the spirits of Oakland’s past. And a 12-year old girl creates a dreamlike myth in which she dies and becomes a star in the sky.  The scenes are bound together by a clown-like figure who plays the “spirit of Oakland.”  The play has been developed from video interviews with young and old residents of Oakland, group improvisations, and artistic collaboration among the director, actors, playwrights, composer and choreographer.

 

Being Something is the first collaboration between the two theater companies. Stagebridge is the nation’s oldest senior theatre company based in Oakland since 1978.  Company members range in age from 55-100.  Stagebridge trains older adults in theatre and storytelling, creates original plays about aging; tours the community with workshops and performances; and runs a nationally known storytelling-literacy program in the Oakland schools.  Opera Piccola (Small Works), founded in 1989, is known for its numerous works based on multicultural folk tales and its educational programs in Oakland Public Schools.  It is a 25 member multi-racial troupe of young adults and teens.  They present over 150 free or low-cost performances to under-served families and young audiences in community theaters, schools, libraries, senior centers and parks.  The premiere heralds their ‘Urban Myths’ series of new works.  Together the two companies combine expertise in acting, storytelling, music and dance.

 

Biographies:

Award-winning director, Ellen Sebastian Chang is well-known to Bay area audiences as a director, writer and performer.  In 2004, she staged the West Coast premiere of the critically acclaimed Philip Glass opera “Ahknaten”.  Ms. Sebastian-Chang teaches play creation with Young Audiences of the Bay Area, California Shakespeare Educational Program and the Berkeley Repertory School of Theater.  She was co-founder and Artistic Director of Life on the Water, an internationally known presenting organization.  Her collaborators have included Aya de Leon, Asian American Theater, Culture Clash, 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors, Whoopi Goldberg, Anne Galjour and others.  Ms. Sebastian Chang will be honored in the Marsh Theatre “San Francisco Treasure Series” on Wednesday, March 16th at 8pm.  She will showcase an original work and excerpts from Being Something.

 

Dramaturge/writer Anne Galjour, nationally recognized playwright and performing artist, is well-known for her plays steeped in the traditions of French-speaking Louisiana.  Alligator Tales premiered at Berkeley Rep before touring nationally.  The Louisiana born playwright is also known for Okra, in which she collaborated with Ellen Sebastian Chang.  The play was commissioned by Seattle Rep and premiered at Z Space in San Francisco.  Anne Galjour teaches playwriting at San Francisco State University.  Her work has been performed at BRAVA Theater Center, Aurora Theatre and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, among others.  Ms. Galjour will be honored in the Marsh Theater “San Francisco Treasure Series” on Wednesday, June 22nd at 8pm.  She will perform her newest work Stars At Night.

 

Other contributors are Bay area maverick playwright, choreographer, teacher and multi-talented dancer Robert Henry Johnson; who joins forces with playwrights Erin Blackwell, Eugenie Chan and Tom Blackwell.  Playwright Erin Blackwell is a published playwright and runs a 10-Minute Play Clinic at Off-Market Theatre in San Francisco.  Eugenie Chan’s award-winning plays include Rancho Grande, Novell-aah! Tour Cino, Willy Gee (a screenplay) and Snakewoman (a libretto).  Tom Swift is best-known for his plays My Name is Yin and I, Martha (now titled, The Marthamenides) which received a stage reading at Theater Rhinoceros in 2004.  Choreographer is Naomi Bragin, Artistic Director of DREAM Dance Company and Destiny Arts Youth Center in Oakland.  Music and sound production is by award winning composer Stephen Duffy. 

      

The play features veteran Stagebridge Senior Theater actors, Jay Chee, 58; Isabel Ferguson, 88; and Tim Hannon, 67.  The senior actors are joined by Opera Piccola youth actors Kenneth Foreman, 13, and La’Sharae Williams, 14, of Carter Middle School; Oakland, and Tia Hicks, 15, graduate of Carter.  Physical theatre artist Jane Chen, rounds out the cast.  All are current or former Oakland residents.

 

Being Something is made possible by grants from the City of Oakland Cultural Arts and Marketing, East Bay Community Foundation, and Zellerbach Family Fund.