Brava’s 25th Anniversary Season Announced

Brava Theater is proud to announce its 2011-2012 theatrical season for a discussion of what feminism and multi-culturism means in the 21st century. Layered with a season of four premieres, Unveiled by Rohina Malik, New Fire written and directed by Cherrie Moraga, 52 Man Pick Up conceived by Desiree Burch and Boys that Pray by performance artist/ethnomusicologist D'Lo.
We continue our varied special events with the delectable Kitchen Series back for its third season, two educational performances by our Glass to Diamonds youth class, Brava's new music series, Sally's Nights of Music celebrating women songwriters/performers, and a celebration of DR. Martin Luther King on MLK day.

For 25 years, Brava Theater has championed traditional and innovative avenues for female artists and practitioners to be nurtured and supported. What has been the guiding essence of Brava has been its inherent commitment to balancing theater arts with female playwrights, directors, stage managers, and designers in a professional atmosphere. "My hope is to represent the Bay Area all over the world. We want all peoples to feel welcome at Brava, no matter what their gender, race, sexual orientation or age" says artistic director Raelle Myrick-Hodges. For its 25th year, the company has programmed music, theater, comedy and special events that are to celebrate Brava's diversity.

The Theatrical Season
Unveiled, written by Rohina Malik (September 7-18, 2011), is the depiction of five Muslim women that have two things in common: they wear the hijab (scarf and veil) and they live in the West. The storytelling of Malik takes the audience from Chicago to Dallas to Atlanta to London back to Chicago. Filled with moments of stark honesty, Unveiled takes us on an exhilarating journey through lives in a post 9/11 ‘freedom of religion' rhetoric and confronts the myths and truths of being Muslim; but, more so, being Muslim in the west. On this tenth year commemoration of the catastrophic bombings of September 11, 2001, Brava is dedicated to bring this West Coast premiere to San Francisco. Brava's Artistic Director Raelle Myrick-Hodges directs this piece after a directing hiatus since the Regional Premiere of The Beebo Brinker Chronicles in February 2010. "I have been busy cultivating Brava's artist company, but I am happy to be back to direct Unveiled and welcome Rohina to the Bay Area to work with all the incredibly talented artists we have living here". When considering the 9/11 10-year mark and the presentation of a ‘pro-Muslim play', and now after the death of Asama Bin Ladan, and during the touch off of the sensitive pre-election time, Raelle states she "prefers for Brava to participate in the discussion than to presume there is no discussion." She adds, "Plus, the play is fantastic. This reimaging is a great homage to the loves lost in 9/11 and a call to understanding, for those who have suffered far beyond that fall morning." A "terrific show... intellectually engrossing work of theater", Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune. "It's creating understanding one step at a time", Rabbi Brant Rosen.

New Fire: 3 Elementos de Consciencia , written by Cherrie Moraga, designed by Celia Herrera Rodriguez (October 12-30, 2011). In celebration of its 25th year, Brava produces the World Premiere of New Fire: 3 Elements of Consciencia written & directed by award-winning writer Cherrie Moraga with Visual Design by artist Celia Hererra Rodriguez. This new work is classic Moraga with an espousal of the importance of remembrance matched with the urgency of moving towards the future. As the playwright explains it, "This piece has emerged into a contemporary story, set within a mythic indigenous world view. It is about a change of mind, a change of heart, about finding the road back to the being whole." Choreographer Alleluia Panis has been on the project since its inception at Intersection for the Arts in 2009 and will continue as a lead artist for the World Premiere. The work revolves around the theme of women separated from their children and how ancestral origin changes through forced migration and violence. "When you come to see the work of Cherrie Moraga you come to discover a new world which also includes real soul searching in the process...but, this work has the upper hand in its cathartic celebration. I feel blessed to be a part of this theatrical process that has begun so organically." Says Raelle Myrick-Hodges. Cherrie Moraga was one of the founding artists at Brava and helped develop the beginnings of the company by creating plays such as, Heroes and Saints, Watsonville, and Shadow of a Man. New Fire is an avant-garde telling of a myth sprinkled with stunning visual conception of the myth character La Semilla Caminante. Indigenous musicians and intimate storytelling fill it with haunting lyricism. The 2011 Workshops for the fall premiere, including a full indigenous ceremony (Jornada), have been an exhilarating experience for the Brava staff & company working with these two artists. "Though Brava has changed over the past twenty-five years, our commitment to women artists has not. Having Ms. Moraga back through these doors is a great history lesson." Says company member, Nicole Julien.

52-Man Pick Up, written and performed by Desiree Burch (February 14-March 3, 2012). The game as described on Wikipedia starts: "The first player asks the second player if he or she would like to play "52 Pickup" and if the second player agrees, the first throws the entire deck of playing cards onto the floor. The second player, who must be new to the game to fall for this practical joke, is then instructed to pick up all the cards, upon which the "game" ends." ...But what if that is how a young women delved into her own sexuality. In a deck of cards, we get to meet ‘Desiree' and her '52' experiences that have made her the funny, strong person she is today. With no gender agenda, just great storytelling (and amazing costumes), Desiree will introduce us to her habits in love, while involving her audience in an idiosyncratic look into their own behavior. A show filled with spectacle, laughter and a statement, 52 Man Pick Up gives us a glimpse of the other side of lust that may not be such a deadly sin. The Wall Street Journal has stated Desiree Burch is "not to be missed". Burch ventures into her first theatrical work with 52 Man Pick Up, which tells the experience of a young women who humorously comes to terms with her ‘virginity' by picking up 52 men in a short lived ‘love style'. Set for the irony of Valentine's Day, Brava produces this Regional Premiere in celebration of Black History Month. "Honestly, it was two birds with one stone" Artistic Director Raelle Myrick Hodges laughs, "An African-American women discussing love - Black History month and Valentine's Day rolled into one. I guarantee you will laugh and laugh and laugh. I did." Myrick-Hodges discovered Ms. Burch during the New Orleans Fringe Festival last season in a private bar not far from the French quarter. "I never get this enthusiastic about a new artist so quickly. However, I never get to see a contemporary take on sex, race and gender in a fashion that is so filled with joy either. I feel lucky to have Desiree at Brava for this 25th anniversary season. She is a complement to our programming. "Hilarious" - NY Daily News.

Boys That Pray written by D'Lo (June 13-30) - We are excited to have D'Lo back for the world premiere of Boys That Pray. Boys that Pray gives voice to masculine women and folks of color who identify with or who have experienced the transgendered community in their gender presentation. The play tackles issues of masculine voices within the feminist movement and the lives of those who live in the margin of the LGBTQ community. A soul-filled piece on surviving, being examples of surviving and maintaining sanity in a world where boys that pray are prey to intolerance and close-mindedness. This piece is dedicated to the unspoken emotion attached to the forgotten bodies in this battle to live wholly in society. "...never strays far from a laugh, but the reality of a simmering racial, gender, and cultural diaspora is also ready to emerge at any moment" Richard Dodds about Ramble-Ations at Brava in 2009. Mike Ward of the Bay Times has commented about D'Lo's Ramble-Ations "one of the most remarkable one-man shows to hit the Bay Area in ages...D'Lo's humor, pathos, and d'lightful d'meanor keep the audience engaged at all times."

Special Events

Our most popular series the Kitchen Series, now in its third year in collaboration with Precarious Theater, will continue in the 2011-2012 season. As a sold-out series for the past two years, the concept is simple, but magical. Only 50 can enter. Only 6 hours for rehearsal. Food is served before, during and after the show (included in the ticket price and often sponsored by a local restaurant). Wine must be poured. And everyone gathers on the main stage in a circle and the reading begins. The readings range from a new, old, charming, sexy, scary, or confusing play. The Kitchen Series is an interactive yet non-intrusive live art staged readings of classic and contemporary plays. This two-year consecutively sold out series combines our love of good food with our joy for storytelling. The audience has the rare opportunity to experience being on the stage, engaging with some of the Bay Area's most talented actors, while also having the chance to hear the essence of a production - the play itself. Intimate. Engaging. Satisfying. The Kitchen Series brings an audience on the inside of the theatrical process. "When a series sells out over and over again, you have to trust it is something that a part of our community needs." Says Brava's Managing Director Hetal Patel. "The food is good and the acting is good and the whole experience is so good. It was the highlight of my stay in San Francisco!' stated Olaga Steiner visiting Brava on her last night before returning to Amsterdam. This upcoming series is sure to entice, delight and have you in the middle of the drama. Dates and Playwrights to be announced July 2011.

Brava's educational program has refined its mission to committing itself to displaced youth interested in pursuing theater arts that unfortunately have no resources to do so. With our award-winning programs Glass to Diamonds and San Francisco Running Crew, our young artists perform new works they write in conjunction with established writers to create a unique youth oriented experience unparallel to any other outreach programs. Many of our youth from these two programs continue in the arts as professional actors, writers and teachers. And the work created each season is professional, provocative and inspiring. In the 2011-2012 Season Glass to Diamonds will be performed November 30 and December 1. Brava encourages the journalistic community to consider a new look at arts education during a time when youth are not given the opportunities to express themselves creatively. Though not a night of critique, we guarantee that it is an adventure into the future of theater and its seedling theater artists.

Sally's Nights of Music - in celebration of Brava's 25th anniversary and its support of female musicians since its inception, the company presents its inaugural contemporary music series, Sally's Nights of Music, presented throughout the upcoming season. The music series is to include bands lead by female artists. The line-up includes acts such as the Fishtank Ensemble, Kelly McFarling, and much more. "Brava has wanted to program a music series for a very long time. It is part of the legacy of Brava," says Managing Director and Program Coordinator for the series, Hetal Patel. "We wished to get this series on its feet for at least two years, but with the economy and the lack of non-profit funding, we had to hunker down and spend time deciding on who we are as a company. Theater. Education. Music. Community. That is who we are and this music series is a representation of that." Sally's Night of Music will begin on August 25, with the Fishtank Ensamble and will continue throughout the season. The full list of bands and dates will be announced in July.

Gateway Series - Through surveys Brava Theater has discovered that there is a disconnect for many working class and displaced members of our community when it comes to ‘theater' being a part of their lives. The Gateway Series is to encourage engagement in the arts while also respecting that not all people wish to ‘see all that arty stuff all the time' (a direct quote from one of our surveys). In joyous response to this disconnect, the Gateway Series will present free community events during the season that allow Brava's surrounding community to visit Brava for an few evening throughout the year. Programming in this series includes MLK Celebration that bring poets, writers and musicians together for one night only to mark the Civil Rights Movement in America; StoryTime Studios, a toddler program to improve reading skills that allow parents, guardians and caregivers to participate while also seeing classic children's theater as a reflection of themselves; films from, about and for the surrounding community; and Neighborhood Nights for holiday gatherings with music and theater artists creating these events.

To post a comment, you must register and login.