David Sedaris to Take the Stage at Berkeley Rep; Workshops New Stories 6/14 - 6/20

Next June, NPR humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris will take the stage at Berkeley Repertory Theatre to workshop stories from his upcoming book in front of a live audience. The author of wildly popular works such as Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Sedaris will appear nightly on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage from June 14 through June 20, 2010, with a special matinee at 2 PM that Sunday. Participate in the creation of the next hilarious and heartwarming work from this beloved author! Tickets for this workshop are $35 - half-price for anyone under 30 years of age. Following an exclusive presale period for Berkeley Rep's donors and subscribers, seats go on sale to the public today.

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America's preeminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition. "Sedaris's droll assessment of the mundane and the eccentrics who inhabit the world's crevices make him one of the greatest humorists writing today," declares the Chicago Tribune. "Sedaris ain't the preeminent humorist of his generation by accident," adds Entertainment Weekly. "He's smart, he's caustic, he's mordant, and, somehow, he's... well, nice," asserts the Toronto Globe and Mail. "Sedaris has hit upon the narrative equivalent of Pepsi, or the PlayStation, or oxygen, or the haircut: something that others in the world might actually want and find useful."

David Sedaris is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as four collections of personal essays: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, each of which became a bestseller. There are a total of seven million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages. He was also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. Sedaris' pieces appear regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in The Best American Essays. He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name "The Talent Family" and have written half-a-dozen plays which have been produced at The Drama Department, La Mama Experimental Theatre Company, and Lincoln Center in New York City, as well as at theatres nationwide. Their scripts include The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service; Incident at Cobbler's Knob; One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award; Stitches; and Stump the Host. David's original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album, and his most recent recording is David Sedaris: Live For Your Listening Pleasure (November 2009).

Born in a storefront, Berkeley Rep has moved to the forefront of American theatre - and is still telling unforgettable stories. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed more than 300 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 52 world premieres. In the last four years alone, Berkeley Rep has helped send four shows to Broadway: Bridge & Tunnel, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange, and Wishful Drinking. Founded in 1968, the Theatre quickly earned respect for presenting the finest plays with top-flight actors. In 1980, with the support of the local community, Berkeley Rep built the 400-seat Thrust Stage where its reputation steadily grew over the next two decades. It gained renown for an adventurous combination of work, presenting important new dramatic voices alongside refreshing adaptations of seldom-seen classics. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. The company celebrated by unveiling a 600-seat proscenium stage in 2001, the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre. It also opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a permanent home for its long tradition of outreach and education programs. The addition of these two buildings transformed a single stage into a vital and versatile performing arts complex, the linchpin of a bustling downtown arts district which has helped revitalize Berkeley. The Theatre now welcomes an annual audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students, and hosts dozens of community groups, thanks to 1,000 volunteers and more than 400 artists, artisans, and administrators.

Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage is located at 2025 Addison Street, near bus lines, bike routes, and parking lots - and only half a block from BART. For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix - or visit berkeleyrep.org.

 

 

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