What could be more intimate than a night out at the theater? The velvet curtains. The low lights. The bodies wedged up against each other in seats that squeak like the beds in an hourly motel.
The Bay Area performing arts scene has all of the the above in abundance, and much much more to offer besides. Visit KQED Arts every Monday for your guide to some of the most intriguing local happenings in theater, dance, comedy, opera, spoken word, circus, musicals, performance art and cabaret. I’ll show you mine, if you…
Friday, Nov. 13 – Sunday, Nov. 15: This Year is Different: An Absurdist Musical About Self-Help at Counterpulse, San Francisco. “I have never met anyone before who wants to become a shittier person,” writes choreographer and Counterpulse resident artist Liz Tenuto in her blog detailing the rehearsal process for her new musical/performance art piece. In an effort inspired by Tenuto’s desire, as she puts it, to dedicate a year of her life “to making choices that make me a better person,” she brings her surrealist sensibility to exploring why people are so obsessed with self-improvement.
Saturday, Nov. 14: Bhakthi: A Dance Drama in English at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. On the list of “Most Fascinating Conversations Ever to have Taken Place in the History of the World,” the one that occurred on July 14, 1930 between Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore must rank right near the top. The legendary meeting in Berlin between the German scientist and the Indian philosopher covered everything from poetry to particle physics, and is now the subject of a vibrant movement-based theatrical extravaganza featuring a cast of classical Indian dancers and whirligig visuals.
Now through Nov. 15: Bootstrap Theater Foundation’s Arctic Requiem: The Story of Luke Cole and Kivalina at Z Space Below. This prescient new drama by Sharmon J. Hilfinger and Joan McMillen tinged with original live piano and cello music, tells the engrossing “David vs. Goliath” story of the members of the Inupiat Eskimo community in Alaska and their fight against big industry to save their ancient way of life. The late San Francisco environmental lawyer, Luke Cole, stepped in to defend the Inupiat, and, after a long struggle, the community eventually became among the first climate change refugees in the United States.