San Francisco Theatre Scene (tm)

Advice to the Young Artist: Make the Most of Every OpportunityPart 8 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (5.6M)Part 8 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (3M)Part 8 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

Learning Directing Techniques Teaching ChildrenPart 7 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (5.6M)Part 7 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.8M)Part 7 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.8M)

Central Works Theater Ensemble of Berkeley is referenced in this segment.San FranciscoBay Area Theatre: A Portrait of Myopia and Its ConsequencesPart 6 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (4.9M)Part 6 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.5M)Part 6 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

In this segment two performing arts companies are referenced; Word for Word and Thick Description, as is The Bay Area Playwrights' Festival. Also referenced is the children's book, The Wind in the Willows.The Future: Hosting and RegionalismPart 5 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.1M)Part 5 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.6M)Part 5 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.9M)

In this segment, Gee talks more about breaking out of stereotypes. He talks about producing Thorton Wilder's The Long Christmas Dinner. He also references August Strindberg, Henrik Ibsen, Noh Theatre and Suzan-Lori Parks 365 Days/365 Plays.Breaking Out Of StereotypesPart 4 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (10M)Part 4 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (5.1M)Part 4 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (3.1M)

In part three, Gee starts by explaining the impetus for starting the Oakland Public Theatre. Next he tackles the thorny issue of ethnicity in theatre in the Bay Area. He mentions Shotgun Players, California Shakespeare Company and African American Shakespeare Company.Part 3 Ethnicity and TheatrePart 3 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (8.8M)Part 3 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.5M)Part 3 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.8M)

Introducing other authors whose works will be read during the performances, Gee explains their relationship to Wright. Gee references Richard Wright's, Black Boy and Native Son, James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son, Chester Himes an author, Ollie Harrington, a cartoonist, and Harrington's book of essays titled Why I Left America.Part 2--Richard Wright: Audience and MessagePart 2 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.8M)Part 1 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (5M)Part 1 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (3.1M)

Norman Gee, is the originator, artistic director and producer of Oakland Public Theatre in Oakland, California. As an Oakland actor and director he saw a need for a theatre whose mission was to serve the people of Oakland. Hence he created Oakland Public Theatre many of whose productions are performed in public spaces such as colleges and libraries. In honor of Richard Wright's hundredth birthday, he and Richard Talaveras, a local playwright, have initiated the Richard Wright Centennial Project, a series of ten readings that include Richard Wright's as well as other African American writers whose lives intersected Wright's life. The third reading of the series was performed at the San Francisco Public Library on Sunday, December 16, 2007. The series continues through the Spring and Summer 2008 at various locations.In the first part of the interview, Gee discusses the project, providing background about its origins and it's parameters which includes a brief introduction to James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It

Part 8 - The Future (3:10)In this segment, O'Keefe discusses The Marsh as a venue for reaching varied audiences.Part 8 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (1.1M)Part 8 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.2M)Part 8 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (4.4M)

Part 7 - Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" as a Performance (11:33)In this segment of the interview, O'Keefe explicates Whitman's famous poem as he discusses the process of bringing "Song of Myself" to the stage. O'Keefe, like one of his mentors, John Cage, has found inspiration from America's revolutionary poet, Walt Whitman.Part 7 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (4.1M)Part 7 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (8.1M)Part 7 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (16.1M)

Part 6 - Theatre as a Mind Altering Experience (6:35)In this section O'Keefe discusses the foundations of his body of work. In it, he references the Christo Running Fence, an art installation in Marin and Sonoma counties from 1972-1976. He also references the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko.Part 6 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.1M)Part 6 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.6M)Part 6 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.3M)

Part 5 -The Politics of Theatre (6:35)In this section, O'Keefe describes how theatre in the Bay Area has become driven by market forces rather than creativity. Among other topics John Lion's contribution to San Francisco theatre is discussed in this section.Part 5 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (9.1M)Part 5 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.6M)Part 5 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.3M)

Part 4 Experimental Theatre vs. Straight Theatre- (6:08)In this section O'Keefe discusses experimental theatre's takeover and demise. The Kitchen as well as P.S. 122 is mentioned as are performance artists; Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Karen Finley, and others.Part 4 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (8.5M)Part 4 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (4.3M)Part 4 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.2M)

Part 3 - Music's Connection to Theatre--the language of poetry (4:09)In this section, O'Keefe makes references to Homer's ODYSSEY and ILIAD.Part 3 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (5.8M)Part 3 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.9M)Part 3 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

John O'Keefe, playwright, director and solo performer, is one the originators of The Blake Street Hawkeyes in Berkeley, California. He was one of the leaders of experimental theatre in the Bay Area in the early 1970's and has continued leading ever since. He recently performed Walt Whitman's Song of Myself first at the Public Theatre in NYC and during the summer of 2007 at The Marsh in San Francisco where he will continue performing it in September 2007. In the first part of the interview, O'keefe talks about his origins in theatre at The Iowa Theatre Lab. He references music innovators such as John Cage, Luciano Berio and Karlhainz Shtockhausen as well as theatre innovator Jerzy Grotowski, a Polish theatre director and major innovator of 20th century theatre.Part 1 - Growing Up in the MidWest (4:51)Part 1 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (6.7M)Part 1 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (3.4M)Part 1 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.7M) In the second part of the interview, O'Keefe cont

Part 6 - Acting and Directing Applied to Interpersonal Communication (4:14)Part 6 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (3.9M)Part 6 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.0M)Part 6 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

Part 5 - Directing (5:26)Part 5 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (5.0M)Part 5 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.6M)Part 5 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.9M)

Part 4 - Improvisation and Developing Acting Proficiency (4:11)Part 4 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (3.9M)Part 4 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.0M)Part 4 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

Part 3 - In this segment Donna Davis discusses the lineage of the acting that she teaches. Mentioned in this segment are Konstantin Stanislavski, originator of the Moscow Art Theater and the method, a synynom for the then revolutionary techniques used to teach realistic acting and Sanford Meisner, a member of the Group Theatre who started his own acting school. (4:19)Part 3 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (4.0M)Part 3 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (2.0M)Part 3 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (1.5M)

Donna Davis, actor, director and acting instructor, working in Berkeley California, teaches Stanislavsky's acting method as interpreted by Maria Ouspenskaya and Richard Boleslavsky , both of whom started and ran The American Laboratory Theatre in the early 20th century. Ms. Davis talks about her acting workshops in these segments.Part 2 - Working Against Type and Character Development (6:18)Part 2 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (5.9M)Part 2 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (3.0M)Part 2 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.2M)Part 1 - Overview of Acting Workshops (6:49)Part 1 - Very Close to CD-Quality MPEG-4 (Broadband) (6.3M)Part 1 - High Quality MPEG-4 (ISDN) (3.2M)Part 1 - Highest Quality MPEG-4 available for Dial_up (2.4M)