August 29, 2024: Bay Area Theatre: Josh Costello – Naomi Iizuka

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Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Bay Area Theatre Interviews

Josh Costello, the Artistic Director of Aurora Theatre in Berkeley since 2019, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Before taking on the role of Artistic Director at Aurora, Josh Costello was the founding Artistic Director of Impact Theatre and Artistic Director of Explanded Programs at Marin Theatre Company. He directed several plays at Aurora prior to becoming Artistic Director, and was Director of “Eureka Day,” which is opening on Broadway in a few months.

In this interview, he discusses the impact of the pandemic on Aurora’s finances (and the finances of all local theatres), along with a look at the upcoming season and other topics. Recorded August 22. 2024 in the KPFA studios.

Photos: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.

Naomi Iizuka, playwright and screenwriter, “translator” of Shakespeare’s Richard II, at the Magic Theatre through September 15, 2024, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky,

Noted playwright Naomi Iizuka discusses her translation and adaptation of Shakespeare’s history play, Richard II, a play written in verse, into a theatrical piece in which the language is comprehensible to a modern audience while maintaining the essence of the story, the characterization, and the poetry.

While known for plays such as Good Kids and Polaroid Stories, she has also worked in the writers’ rooms of several television shows, including Bosch: Legacy, The Terror, and The Sympathizer. She teaches drama and playwrighting at UC San Diego. Complete 42 minute Interview.

Naomi Iizuka Wikipedia Page.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar.
BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. The Imaginary Invalid. Free Moliere in the Park, August 24 – Sept. 8. John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre. See website for specific days and times, and for staged readings at LaVal’s Subterranean Theater.
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). See website for upcoming readings.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Noel Coward’s Private Lives, September 12 – October 6, Toni Rembe Theatre.
Aurora Theatre Fallen Angels by Noel Coward, October 19 – November 17. Eureka Day staged reading to celebrate Broadway debut, September 23, 2024.
Awesome Theatre Company. Por La Noche (By Night), October 11 – 26, 2024. See website for information.
Berkeley Rep. Mexodus, September 13 – October 20, Peet’s Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows.
Boxcar Theatre. New Years Eve at the Speakeasy, Jan. 1, 2025. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre.
Brava Theatre Center: New Roots Theatre Festival, November 14-17. See calendar for current and upcoming productions.
BroadwaySF: Wicked, August 28 -October 13, Orpheum. See website for events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Disney’s Frozen, August 21 – September 1.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). As You Like it, September 12 – 29.
Center Rep: Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring September 8 -29. Lesher Center for the Arts.
Central Works The Contest by Gary Graves, Oct. 19 – Nov. 17.
Cinnabar Theatre. Oklahoma! Sept 13 – 29, Warren Theatre, Sonoma State University.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22.
Curran Theater: See website for special events..
Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation.
Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for information and notice of a final production.
42^nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions.
Golden Thread 11 Reflections: San Francisco, October 4-5, Brava Theatre Center. See website for other events.
Hillbarn Theatre: Wait Until Dark, October 17 – November 3.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body by Lisa B. Thompson, directed by Margo Hall. September 19 – October 6, 2024. Fort Mason.
Lower Bottom Playaz See website for upcoming productions.
Magic Theatre. Richard II by William Shakespeare, translated by Naomi Iizuka. August 21 – September 8. See website for other events.
Marin Theatre Company Yaga by by Kat Sandler, October 10 – November 3, 2024.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, September 20 – October 20. My Brother’s Gift, based on the writings of Eva Geiringer Schloss and the poetry and paintings of Heinz Geiringer, every Sunday in October at 1 pm.
Oakland Theater Project. Angels in America, Parts I & II, September 27 – October 26, Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael.
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Pear Theater. Once On This Island, September 13 – October 13, 2024.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Legally Blonde, September 7-29, 2024, Victoria Theatre. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
San Francisco Playhouse. Evita, June 27-September 7. 2024.
SFBATCO. Ten Year Turn-Up, September 20, Verdi Club, SF. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: See website for upcoming schedule.
Shotgun Players. Choir Boy by Tarrell Alvin McCraney. September 24 – October 20.
South Bay Musical Theatre: No, No Nanette, Sept 28 – Oct. 19. Saratoga Civic Theater.
Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming productions.
Theatre Rhino Fallin written and directed by John Fisher, August 29 – September 15. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. King James by Rajiv Joseph, October 9 – November 3, 2024.
Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [e-mail]

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