Press Release
For immediate release
May 2013
Press Release & Photographs can be downloaded at
http://tidestheatre.org/press

Mailing Address: 536 14th Street #5
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.399.1322
www.tidestheatre.org

Venue: Tides Theatre
533 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor at Powell
Contact: Susan Shay
susan@tidestheatre.org

A Tides Theatre & The Center for Investigative Reporting Collaboration

StoryWorks – Workshop Production

Changing the Way We Experience Journalism

By William Bivins & Jon Bernson

Based on the reporting of award-winning journalists Ryan Gabrielson & Mimi Chakarova

Directed by Jennifer Welch

Workshop Performances May 31 – June 15, 2013

San Francisco, CA (May 2013) – A groundbreaking artistic-journalistic collaboration, which seeks to artistically explore investigative reporting through performances developed in front of live audiences, by Tides Theatre (Jennifer Welch, Producing Artistic Director and Cary Cronholm Rose, Associate Artistic Director), an innovative artistic collective in San Francisco, and The Center for Investigative Reporting (Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair and Robert J. Rosenthal, Executive Director), which believes that journalism that moves people to action is an essential pillar of democracy.

This powerful, experimental project blends the art of theatre and the search for truth. We have commissioned artists, playwrights, actors and designers to discover what it means to delve into the deeper meaning of investigative stories that have resonated in California communities and bring these stories to life. The intention of this workshop production (that will evolve over the course of 9 performances) is to explore beyond the headlines and ask: What is the truth? Is it the same for everyone? How does the revelation of previously hidden information affect a community?

William Bivins’ piece is based on “Broken Shield” by Ryan Gabrielson, which was an 18-month investigation that uncovered systemic failures at the Office of Protective Services and prompted a criminal investigation, two new laws, staff retraining, policy changes and a management shake-up. Jon Bernson’s piece is based on “Her War” by Mimi Chakarova, which explored the lives of some of the 3,000 female veterans that are living on the streets of the United States (the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s homeless population) and the battles they face when their tours of duty are over.

The ensemble cast is made up of Sarah Moser, Paris Hunter Paul, Shirley Smallwood and Brian Trybom. Additional members of the creative team include Susan Shay (Assistant Director), Deborah Cichocki (Production Manager), Alicia Griffiths (Scenic Design), Claire Kendrick (Lighting Design).

Dates:  May 31 – June 15, 2013, Fridays at 8pm and Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm

Tickets:  $18 general admission $14 student/senior Available at www.tidestheatre.org

Audience Services:  415.399.1322  info@tidestheatre.org

William Bivins (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose productions include The Education of a Rake (Central Works), The Apotheosis of Pig Husbandry (SF Playhouse), The Position (PianoFight) and The Afterlife of the Mind (Virago Theatre Company), among others. His drama Ransom, Texas (Pacific Repertory Theatre) won the 2010 Hyperion Project Original Play Competition. His Biblical comedy Pulp Scripture (Original Sin/PianoFight) won the 2009 Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Original Script and grabbed eight SF Fringe Awards, including Best New Comedy. William was the most produced playwright of the 2009/2010 San Francisco Bay Area season, was one of twelve Bay area playwrights chosen for the 2008 Theatre Bay Area/TheatreWorks Playwrights Showcase, and has been a finalist for the Heideman Award in the National Ten-Minute Play Contest. He has participated in the Will Dunne Dramatic Writing Workshop since 2001, is a member of the Monday Night Playwrights Group and the Dramatists Guild. He lives in San Francisco.

Jon Bernson (Playwright/Sound Design) has scored more than a dozen plays and films, including his recent soundscape for Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and live soundtrack for John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. As a songwriter and recordist, he has released fifteen critically acclaimed albums under multiple names: Ray’s Vast Basement, Window Twins, THEMAYS and Exray’s, whose music was featured in David Fincher’s Academy-Award winning film, The Social Network. He is a contributor to Decoder Magazine, mostly in the form of Studio Apartment, his monthly column that captures musicians in their habitats. Bernson also founded the Urban Music Program at the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center in 1997, where he continues to teach audio creativity and electronic music to youth.

Mimi Chakarova (Her War) For the past decade, photographer and filmmaker Mimi Chakarova has covered global issues examining conflict, corruption and the sex trade. Her film “The Price of Sex”, a feature-length documentary on trafficking and corruption premiered this spring.  “Her War” tells the story of some of the 3,000 female veterans that are living on the streets of the United States (the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s homeless population) and the battles they face when their tours of duty are over.

Ryan Gabrielson (Broken Shield) covers public safety for California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting. He was a 2009-2010 investigative reporting fellow at UC Berkeley. Ryan’s work has received numerous national and state honors, including a Pulitzer Prize, George Polk Award and Sigma Delta Chi Award. “Broken Shield” was an 18-month investigation that uncovered systemic failures at the Office of Protective Services and prompted a criminal investigation, two new laws, staff retraining, policy changes and a management shake-up.

Jennifer Welch (Director) is the Producing Artistic Director of Tides Theatre, a founding member of Howells Transmitter Arts Collaborative and a contributor to Dramalist.com. Her directing credits include Waiting for Godot, The Little Foxes, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, The Grapes of Wrath, Glengarry Glen Ross, Buried Child, The Trip to Bountiful, A View from the Bridge, The Rose Tattoo, The Night of the Iguana, Lysistrata, The Real Inspector Hound and Killer Joe. She currently teaches acting classes in San Francisco and trained at the University of Kansas, American Conservatory Theater and the Jean Shelton Actors Lab.

Cary Cronholm Rose (Creative Director) is the Associate Artistic Director and Literary Manager of Tides Theatre. She was most recently the Assistant Director of Waiting for Godot and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche for Tides. Cary holds a B.A. from Kenyon College and is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf in Chicago and B.A.D.A.’s Midsummer in Oxford program. In Chicago, she worked with Second City, ImprovOlympic, The Chopin and the Steppenwolf Garage. Cary is a proud company member of Chicago’s Collaboraction Theater and a founding company member of Chicago’s Pine Box Theatre.

Susan Shay (Assistant Director) is the Director of Marketing & Communications for Tides Theatre. She has worked on and off stage in New York (Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons/After the Storm Foundation), Chicago, DC and San Francisco. Susan has contributed to new work development with Terrence McNally, Marisa Wegrzyn, Josh Tobiessen and Derek Goldman. As an actor, Susan was last seen as Lulie in Tides Theatre’s 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche and as Evelyn in the independent film “The Cedars”. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and a proud member of Actors’ Equity.

Phil Bronstein was named Executive Chair of the board of the Center for Investigative Reporting in April 2012, when the organization merged with The Bay Citizen, responsible for overall operations.  He was a member of the CIR board from 2006-2012, serving as chair beginning in 2011. Previously, Bronstein was editor-at-large and director of content development for Hearst Newspapers. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and editor-at-large of the San Francisco Chronicle, after serving as the newspaper’s editor from 2000-2008 and the editor of the San Francisco Examiner from 1991-2000. As a reporter, his specialized in investigative projects and was a foreign correspondent for eight years. Bronstein was a 1986 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his work in the Philippines. His career in San Francisco began as a reporter at public television station KQED. He is the former chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ International Committee and is currently on the advisory board of Litquake, the annual San Francisco literary festival.

Robert J. Rosenthal is an award-winning journalist, a Pulitzer Prize finalist in international reporting and has worked for some of the most respected newspapers in the country, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer and, most recently, the San Francisco Chronicle. Robert worked for 22 years at the Inquirer, starting as a reporter and eventually becoming executive editor in 1998. He became managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle in late 2002 before becoming Executive Director of the Center for Investigative Reporting in 2008.  Rosenthal was a Pulitzer Prize judge four times and has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

For press photos and more information about the show, visit http://tidestheatre.org/press

All photos by MDRP.NET

Tides Theatre, in its second season, is on a mission to challenge, inspire, and heal our community by creating visceral theater experiences that are bold and truthful. Located in the heart of the Union Square Theater District, Tides Theatre is committed to fostering a spirit of collaboration within both the artistic and greater Bay Area communities, through workshop productions, staged readings, live and ambient music events, and a curated film series (launching July 2013) in addition to a 3 production main stage season: The Little Foxes (January-February 2013), Sweet Bird of Youth (July-August 2013) and Gruesome Playground Injuries (October-November 2013).  www.tidestheatre.org

Investigative reporting is an essential pillar of a democratic society. For over three decades, The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has relentlessly pursued and revealed injustices that would otherwise remain hidden from the public. Today we’re upholding this legacy and looking forward, working at the forefront of journalistic innovation to tell the stories that make a difference and reach diverse audiences of all ages, across the aisle and worldwide. www.cironline.org

FOR CALENDAR EDITORS

WHAT:

A Tides Theatre & The Center for Investigative Reporting Collaboration: StoryWorks workshop production. Changing the way we experience journalism. This powerful, experimental project blends the art of theatre and the search for truth.

SHOWS:

5/31-6/15 at 8pm, Workshop Launch Party to follow the 5/31 performance. Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 2pm & 8pm

WHERE:

Tides Theatre

533 Sutter Street (2^nd Floor, between Powell & Mason)

TICKETS:

For tickets ($14-$18) or more information, the public may contact Tides Theatre at 415.399.1322 or www.tidestheatre.org

PRESS CONTACT: Susan Shay 415.567.7302 or susan@tidestheatre.org

The post StoryWorks Collaboration May 31-June 15, 2013 appeared first on Tides Theatre.

The Center for Investigative Reporting and Tides Theatre will be commissioning 2 playwrights for workshop productions in May/June 2013. The goal of this innovative project is to transform stories developed by C.I.R. journalists into live theater performances. These pieces will be bold, visceral and challenge audiences to see our world in new and compelling ways.

Submit a treatment of your idea and a sample of your writing

Tides Theatre and the Center For Investigative Reporting (C.I.R.) will be accepting ideas thru April 8th, 2013. We are eager to support the work of experienced writers who explore bold & challenging new forms in their writing. We will be awarding $3,500 to each playwright selected.

Submission Guidelines

Please read the following submission guidelines carefully before submitting your work.

1. In order to effectively manage the volume of submissions, treatments and scripts will only be accepted between March 23rd and April 8th, 2013. No exceptions.

2. Please submit a one page treatment. This page should be a creative approach to of one of the C.I.R. stories listed in the links below:

• The Shooter:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zimqQugVzVA
• Behind ‘The Shooter’ story: http://cironline.org/node/4140
• Her War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_bs9FD8a7Y
• Jennifer’s Room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCoE-DD42c8
• Van Ingraham: http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/video-manner-death-undetermined-14981
• The California Watch: http://californiawatch.org/broken-shield

3. All treatments & scripts must be submitted digitally to submissions@tidestheatre.org  Submissions should be attached to the email as a Word Document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

4. One script per playwright. This can be new or previously produced work. This script WILL NOT be considered for production but be read by the selection committee to gain an understanding of the playwrights voice.

5. We are looking for playwrights whose work employs:

• strong personal or biographical element
• dynamic and imaginative language
• innovative structures
• interesting staging

6. All submissions must be in a single document, with page numbers, the author’s name and email on each page. The document must contain a title page, with the script title, author’s name and contact information. Use standard script formatting.

7. A one page resume of the playwright.

Additional Information

* The selection committee includes:

• Jennifer Welch – Producing Artistic Director (Tides Theatre)
• Robert Rosenthal – Executive Director (Center for Investigative Reporting)
• Phil Bronstein – Executive Chair (Center for Investigative Reporting)
• Joaquin Alvarado – Chief Strategist (Center for Investigative Reporting)
• Cary Cronholm Rose – Associate Artistic Director (Tides Theatre)

* All playwrights will receive acknowledgment of receipt of submission within seven days

* Questions regarding the project can be sent to jennifer@tidestheatre.org

* Notifications about selections will be sent in the the last week of April 2013.

* If selected, you must be ready to workshop the commissioned one act Monday April 29 thru Thursday May 30, 2013. Playwrights with local housing only.

*There will be 9 workshop performances on the following dates:

Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 8pm & 2pm May 31st thru June 15th

The post REPORTING LIVE – Call for Playwrights appeared first on Tides Theatre.

Tides Theatre Opening at 533 Sutter Street

Contact: Jennifer Welch
415-336-3522 or jennifer@tidestheatre.org

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Tides Theatre Presents
Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Director: Jennifer Welch

Featuring: Amber Collins Crane, Sheila Collins, Sally Dana*, Leon Goertzen*,  Dashiell Hillman, Riley Krull, John Lowell, Aeron Macintyre* and Brian Trybom
Soundscape: Jon Bernson
Set Design: Alicia Griffiths
Light Design: Claire Kendrick

Location: Tides Theatre
533 Sutter Street
San Francisco, Ca. 94102

Dates:    January 18 – February 23  2013
Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sat 8pm
Tickets:  general $38
student/senior $26
groups $20
opening night $40**

Audience Services: 415-399-1322
Tickets available here

Tides Theatre Presents:

The Little Foxes

On January 18th Tides Theatre Company will open their new home with a bold interpretation of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes. Director Jennifer Welch takes a modern eye to the Hubbard Family and their insatiable hunger for wealth and dominance.

Lillian Hellman, one of the American theatre’s most provocative and masterful playwrights, continues to exert a captivating hold on American culture. The Little Foxes reveals Hellman’s unrivaled ability to create some of the meatiest roles in the modern canon. This unforgettable classic tells the story of the scheming Hubbards and their single-minded pursuit of wealth. In this family, the only thing that runs thicker than blood is cold, hard cash.

Tides Theatre makes 533 Sutter Street Their New Home

Tides Theatre is thrilled to announce that its second season will open in their very own theater at 533 Sutter Street! Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square Theater District, Tides will be taking over the 89 seat gem, previously occupied by SF Playhouse. The intimate environment, great sight lines, comfortable seating and excellent acoustics make the venue a perfect place for Tides to flourish. Jennifer Welch (Producing Artistic Director), Cary Cronholm Rose (Associate Artistic Director), and Susan Shay (Marketing Director) enjoyed a hugely successful first season, producing Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting For Godot’ and the West Coast premiere of the current Off-Broadway hit ‘Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche.’ Season two will launch on January 18th with a bold new interpretation of Lillian Hellman’s ‘The Little Foxes’.

Tides Theatre is on a mission to inspire, challenge, and heal our community by creating visceral theater experiences that are bold and truthful.

www.tidestheatre.org

LILLIAN HELLMAN  Writer Lillian Florence Hellman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1905 to a shoe salesman father but by 1932 she was in Hollywood and a reader for MGM. Her partner Dashiell Hammett, encouraged Hellman to write and the result was her first piece of professional theater, “The Children’s Hour,” which was not only a Broadway hit, but brought Hellman recognition as a playwright and lead to more works including “The Little Foxes.” Hellman continued to challenge herself throughout her life and in 1969 published “An Unfinished Woman”, the first of three memoirs detailing her social, political and artistic life. Helman received numerous honors before her 1984 death, some of which include two New York Drama Critics Circle Awards and an Academy Award nomination for best script for her screenplay adaptation of “The Little Foxes”.

Jennifer Welch is the Producing Artistic Director of Tides Theatre, a founding member of the Howells Transmitter Arts Collaborative and a contributor to Dramalist.com. Her directing credits include: The Grapes Of Wrath, Glengarry Glen Ross, Buried Child, The Trip To Bountiful, A View From The Bridge, The Rose Tattoo, The Night Of The Iguana, Lysistrata, The Real Inspector Hound and Killer Joe. She currently teaches acting classes in San Francisco and trained at the University of Kansas, A.C.T and the Jean Shelton Actors Lab.

Cary Cronholm Rose is the Associate Artistic Director and Literary Manager of Tides Theatre. She has a B.A. from Kenyon College. She is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf in Chicago and B.A.D.A’s Midsummer in Oxford program. In Chicago she has worked with Second City, Improv Olympic, The Chopin, and the Steppenwolf Garage. Cary is a proud company member of Chicago’s Collaboraction Theater and a founding company member of Chicago’s Pine Box Theatre.

* actors appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

**January 18th features an opening night celebration at 8pm with ticket prices at $40

Actress: Sally Dana*, AEA

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