Berkeley Repertory Theatre to Give Away 3,000 Tickets to EMOTIONAL CREATURE

Today, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that it's giving away 3,000 free tickets for the world premiere of Eve Ensler's Emotional Creature in June. The Tony Award-winning theatre will deliver the free tickets to fellow nonprofit organizations and to government agencies that serve key constituencies, including at-risk youth, teens and young adults of both genders, and abuse victims of all ages, with priority given to groups that serve women and girls.

To request tickets, to nominate a worthy charity, or to discover other ways to become an Emotional Creature activist, visit berkeleyrep.org/ECaccess. Ticket requests must be received by Friday, May 11.

"Eve Ensler epitomizes how art can make a direct and meaningful impact on our world, and Berkeley Rep is thrilled to debut her new play," said Susan Medak, the Theatre's managing director. "In order to bring this show to the stage and offer so many free tickets to the community, we need to raise $300,000. Please help us make this vision a reality.

Berkeley Rep has convened a taskforce to coordinate this effort, which is comprised of community leaders, production sponsors, and representatives from relevant nonprofits. The group includes Shani Ahearn, senior director of individual gifts at United Way of the Bay; Linda Boessenecker, CEO of Girls Inc of Alameda County; Elka Chamberlain, development director at Oakland Leaf Foundation; Martha Ehmann Conte, board member of Berkeley Rep; Wanda Kownacki, community leader; Marianne Lonsdale, community leader; Emma Mayerson, program director at Alliance for Girls; Hillary Reinis, theatre producer; Gina Rivera Spagnoli, president and CEO of Kinetic Search Inc.; Deborah Taylor, Broadway theatre producer; Mindy Uhrlaub, community leader; and Stacy Leier-Valentine, principal consultant with the Consumer Financial Service Corporation. 

Eve Ensler is the author of The Vagina Monologues, which has been translated into 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries, including sold-out runs off Broadway and on London's West End. Her experience performing that show inspired her to create V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Her other work includes plays such as The Good Body andHere, the memoir Insecure at Last, and the anthology A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer, co-edited with Mollie Doyle. 

Ensler's latest effort to empower people is based on her bestselling novel I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World. Staged by Obie Award-winning director Jo Bonney, this powerful new play is made up of original monologues, irresistible songs, and music about and for girls. Placing their stories squarely center stage, it gives full expression to their secret voices and innermost thoughts, highlighting the diversity and commonality of the issues they face. Emotional Creature is a call, a reckoning, an education, an act of empowerment for girls, and an illumination for parents and for us all. It debuts in Berkeley this June following its successful workshops in Johannesburg and Paris. Known for launching high-profile projects such as American Idiot and Passing Strange, Berkeley Rep is the perfect place to begin this journey.

Emotional Creature will play only 36 performances at Berkeley Rep, beginning on June 14 and running through July 15. The lead producers of this show are Wayne Jordan and Quinn Delaney, Marjorie Randolph, and Jack and Betty Schafer; the executive producer is the Strauch Kulhanjian Family. Tickets start at $29 – half that for anyone under 30 years of age. To purchase seats, or for more information, call (510) 647-2949 or just click berkeleyrep.org.

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