BERKELEY, REP.: Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced the 18 projects that will be developed as part of the summer residency lab at the Ground Floor, the theatre’s new works program. The resident artists include Lileana Blain-Cruz, Mia Chung, Lisa Peterson, and UNIVERSES, and each of the 18 projects will receive a one- to four-week residency at the theatre in June.
“The Ground Floor began as an experiment, and in just a few short years has nestled itself squarely at the heart of our organization,” said Madeleine Oldham, director of Ground Floor, in a statement. “We are delighted to celebrate the fifth anniversary of this dynamic program with such an eclectic group of wildly talented and curious artists who will make work with us this summer.”
Intimacy, from director Lileana Blain-Cruz and playwright Susan Soon He Stanton, is inspired by a psychological study featured in a New York Times article, “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love.”
Bloken English, by Mia Chung, is about translation and English as the dominant lingua franca.
Truest, by Megan Cohen, is a surreal Sam-Shepard-meets-Thelma-and-Louise drama in which two sisters pursue a uniquely twisted American Dream.
Flowers are Sleeping, by Eisa Davis, is an exploration of the black female body through the lens of music and popular representations.
The Meaning of Ants in My Kitchen, by Erin Edens, is an exploration of loss.
The Art of Gaman, from Dipika Guha and Maxine Hong Kingston, is about Japanese internment camps on the West Coast.
Iron Shoes—a collaboration between Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, members of the Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project, stage director/choreographer Erika Chong Shuch, composer Janet Kutulas, and librettist Michelle Carter—is a neofeminist, futuristic folk opera based on Slavic fairy tales.
The Bottomless Bowl by Josh Kornbluth is an autobiographical monologue based on Kornbluth’s experience as a volunteer caregiver at the Zen Hospice Project in San
Francisco.
Squares, by Mallory Catlett, Aaron Landsman, Jim Findlay, and photographer Paul
Shambroom, is a multimedia project based on a collection of 583 found snapshots, all processed at a single lab in Minnesota in 1976.
Josh Lefkowitz’s Poetry Project is based on Lefkowitz’s experience composing a poem a day for five years and counting.
Keep Your Forks, from writer James Magruder and actor Danny Scheie, is about a gay divorcee starting over at 50.
The Idea of Order, from director Lisa Peterson and composer Todd Almond, is inspired by the life and work of the poet Wallace Stevens.
Cottoned Like Candy, by Tori Sampson, is about the value of the body versus the soul.
My Father the Speeding Bullet—from playwright Jen Silverman, Pig Iron cofounder Dito Van Reigersberg, director Mike Donahue, scenic designer Dane Laffrey, and musician Max Vernon—is a play with songs about Anaïs Nin’s relationship with her concert pianist father.
Eddie and Dave: A Fictionalized Tale of Van Halen—from writer Amy Staats, director Margot Bordelon, and dramaturg/performer Megan Hill—is about the on-again, off-again relationship about Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth.
The August Wilson Poetry Project, from UNIVERSES, uses Wilson’s poetry to examine the power of legacy.
The Untitled Hockey Project, by Joe Waechter, is about high school hockey.
Untitled Cambodia Pop Play, from playwright Lauren Yee and director Benjamin Kamine, is a dark comedy about a Cambodian rock band that reunites during the Khmer Rouge regime.
