Theatergoing 2011

Today, I went to the theater for the first time in 2012 (saw The Wild Bride at Berkeley Rep) so it is high time I post my 2011 theatergoing list and put the old year to rest!

(My 2010 list, for comparison)

FULL PRODUCTIONS

1. Short Attention Span Shorts, by John Ashworth at San Francisco Theater Pub
2. Bone to Pick & Diadem, by Eugenie Chan at Cutting Ball
3. The Matter of Things by Christine Bonansea and Wake-up Call by Leigh Shaw at the Women on the Way Festival
4. Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris at ACT
5. What We're Up Against, by Theresa Rebeck at Magic Theatre
6. Hermes by Bennett Fisher, produced by No Nude Men
7. Bay One-Acts, Program Two, by various local writers
8. Lady Grey (in ever lower light) and Other Plays, by Will Eno, at Cutting Ball
9. Bay One-Acts, Program One, by various local writers
10. Ruined, by Lynn Nottage, at Berkeley Rep
11. Beardo, by Jason Craig and Dave Malloy, at Shotgun Players
12. M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, at Custom Made Theatre
13. The Lily's Revenge, by Taylor Mac, at Magic Theatre (seen twice-- follow-up post here)
14. The Cripple of Inishmaan, by Martin McDonagh, produced by the Druid Theater at Cal Performances
15. The Boar's Head, adapted from Shakespeare, at San Francisco Theater Pub
16. Edenites, by Stuart Bousel, produced by No Nude Men
17. Juno en Victoria, by Stuart Bousel, produced by Wily West
18. Tales of the City: A New Musical by Jeff Whitty and Jake Shears, at ACT
19. Act One, Scene Two: Machine of Death, by Ryan North, David Malki! and Un-Scripted Theater
20. Salty Towers, by Bryce Alleman, Dana Constance, and Kathy Hicks, produced by Thunderbird Theatre
21. Act One, Scene Two: Kids and Dolls, by Diana Di Costanzo and Un-Scripted Theater
22. Act One, Scene Two: Manifestation, by Marissa Skudlarek and Un-Scripted Theater
23. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Lost My Virginity, by Aileen Clark with John Caldon, produced by Ann Marie Productions
24. Twelfth Night, by Shakespeare, produced by AtmosTheatre
25. Peaches en Regalia, by Steve Lyons, produced by Wily West
26. Pint-Sized Plays 2011, by various local writers, at San Francisco Theater Pub
27. The Nature Line, by J. C. Lee, produced by Sleepwalkers Theatre
28. 2012: The Musical, by San Francisco Mime Troupe
29. Exit Pursued by a Bear, by Lauren Gunderson, produced by Crowded Fire
30. Why We Have a Body, by Claire Chafee, at Magic Theatre
31. Phaedra, by Adam Bock, at Shotgun Players
32. Devil of a Time, by Bennett Fisher, Kai Morrison and Sara Briendel, at San Francisco Theater Pub
33. Annapurna, by Sharr White, at Magic Theatre
34. Pelleas and Melisande, by Maurice Maeterlinck, at Cutting Ball
35. How to Love, by Megan Cohen, produced by Performers Under Stress
36. Ladies in Waiting, by Claire Rice, Alison Luterman and Hilde Susan Jaegtnes, produced by No Nude Men
37. San Francisco One-Minute Plays Festival, by various local writers
38. Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, by Tony Kushner, at Portland Playhouse

STAGED READINGS

1. The Braggart Soldier, by Plautus, at Cutting Ball's Hidden Classics
2. Personal Politics, readings of historical speeches, at San Francisco Theater Pub
3. The Dragon, by Evgeny Shvarts, at Theater Pub
4. The False Suitor, by Marivaux, at Cutting Ball's Hidden Classics
5. Congresswomen, by Aristophanes, at Theater Pub
6. Madame Ho, by Eugenie Chan, at Cutting Ball's Risk is This
7. Ozma of Oz, by Rob Melrose and ZONK, at Cutting Ball's Risk is This 
8. The Insect Play, by Karl and Josef Capek, at Cutting Ball's Hidden Classics
9. Joyce's Voice, adapted from James Joyce by Megan Cohen, at San Francisco Theater Pub
10. The Hanging Odes, adapted by Kate Jopson, at San Francisco Theater Pub
11. Remaking Pussycat, by William Bivins, at SF Playhouse
12. Ludlow Fair and Home Free, by Lanford Wilson, at Theater Pub
13. Heracles and the Things He's Killed, by Bryce Alleman, Dana Constance, Kathy Hicks, Sang Kim and Kai Morrison, at the San Francisco Olympians Festival
14. Joe Ryan by Megan Cohen, Dog Days by Claire Rice, and Scorpio by Seanan Palmero, at the Olympians Festival
15. Perseus by Bryce Duzan, Pegasus by Daniel Heath, Andromeda Bound by Helen Noakes, Cassiopeia by Christian Simonson, and Cepheus by Kirk Shimano, at the Olympians Festival
16. Walking the Starry Path, by Evelyn Jean Pine, at the Olympians Festival
17. Chronus, by Bennett Fisher, at the Olympians Festival
18. Hyperion to a Satyr by Stuart Bousel, Eos by Kendra Arimoto, and Nyx by David Duman, at the Olympians Festival
19. October 2011 PlayGround (topic: "Icon"), by various local writers
20. Gemini, or Jim and I, or the Comedy of Veras, by Tom Darter, at the Olympians Festival
21. Hesperus is Phosphorus by Claire Rice, Eosphorus by Sean Kelly, Too Near the Sun by Jeremy Cole, Hard Pack by Lise Catherine Miller, Zephyrus by Neil Higgins, and Phaethon by Ashley Cowan, at the Olympians Festival
22. Pleiades, by Marissa Skudlarek, at the Olympians Festival
23. Selene, or Someone Like the Moon, by Nirmala Nataraj, at the Olympians Festival
24. Elara and Himalia by Alison Luterman, Leda by Kirk Shimano, Io by Christian Simonson, Europa by Claire Rice, Callisto by Seanan Palmero, Ganymede by Neil Higgins, and Metis by Maria Leigh, at the Olympians Festival
25. You're Going to Bleed, by M. R. Fall, at the Olympians Festival
26. Customs, by Brian Markley, at Theater Pub
27. A Super Special Theater Pub Christmas, at Theater Pub

In addition, I saw a few things that don't fit in these categories: L'etoile, a French opera performed by the Opera Academy of California; Roughin' It, a combination of picnic, oyster feast, and theater performances produced by PianoFight Productions; and Left Coast Leaning at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a showcase for West Coast dance and theater artists.

My own name appeared on several of the above programs: I acted in Congresswomen; wrote Manifestation, Pleiades, and two One-Minute Plays; served as associate producer for the Olympians Festival; and provided some script assistance on Customs.

I'm not creating a top-ten list this year, but if I did, The Lily's Revenge would be at the top. Is it ungrateful of me to put that as my #1 theater experience of 2011, and not the Olympians Festival?  Well, my participation in Olympians taught me a lot, and in terms of the time and energy I devoted to it, it dominated my year.  But the lessons I learned from Olympians were practical lessons about being a better playwright and theater-maker.  The Festival kept me busy sometimes late into the night, but it did not haunt my dreams. The Lily's Revenge, though, hit me on a subconscious level, leaving me "humbled, confused, awed, moved, and inspired."  At odd moments, still, I will find myself recalling and contemplating it, so that the blossom does not wilt, so that the seeds it planted within me may have a chance to germinate and flower.