This is exclusive footage from the first day of rehearsal for Luis Alfaro’s Bruja, which has its world premiere at Magic Theatre in June 2012. The first day of rehearsal is a chance for Magic staff, board members, and volunteers to hear the cast read the play aloud together for the first time, listen to what the production team has to say about the piece, and be part of the production’s exciting launch!

Learn more about the production and how to get your tickets HERE!

BRUJA Mural Design Competition

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED!

In celebration of the final production of our 45th season, the venerable new play hothouse, Magic Theatre seeks proposals for a mural that will complement the theatrical production and illuminate the world of BRUJA, a new play by Luis Alfaro.

Magic Theatre is located in San Francisco at Fort Mason (Building D, third floor). The dimensions of the lobby wall, where the mural will be installed, are approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet high.

Prize

The winner of this contest will enjoy a cash prize of $1000 dollars, an exclusive gallery style unveiling and celebration, honorable mention in the playbill for BRUJA, a dedicated press release, and complimentary tickets to opening night of the show.

Payment of the cash prize will be made in two installments: $250 upon completed and approved design proposal and another $750 upon completion of the project. Additional funds will be provided for supplies.

Background

Magic Theatre culminates the 2011-2012 season with a reimagined presentation of the MEDEA myth by the incomparable playwright Luis Alfaro. This updated version of the story, set in the modern day Mission District of San Francisco, transforms the classical tragedy and elevates our understanding of the tale as it describes the world we inhabit today. BRUJA is a contemporary story, so haunting and sensual it explodes one of the ancient myths most firmly embedded in our culture. It is a sizzling new look at a sorceress scorned.

In 2010, downtown Los Angeles (Pico-Union) native and MacArthur genius award- winner Luis Alfaro renovated the story of OEDIPUS. After an extended run at Magic, his resulting world premier, OEDIPUS el REY, went on to be one of the most successful adaptations of the decade, gaining productions across the country and earning tremendous critical acclaim including the coveted Will Glickman Award.

Mural for the 2010-2011 Season

To read more about Luis Alfaro and BRUJA, follow this link. For a copy of the BRUJA script, please contact Dori Jacob at dorij@magictheatre.org

2010 contest winners Tory Canby and Theo Knox created a lobby mural for OEDIPUS el REY. Following the success of the initial contest, Canby and Knox joined Magic once again to design our 2010-2011 season mural. To see images of the 2010-2011 season mural, follow this link.

The artwork of the mural for BRUJA should elevate the themes of the play in such a way as to create a visual feast of imagery for our patrons, actors, and staff alike. Itshould reflect the content of the story, but need not be a literal interpretation. Creative, imaginative artistic license is highly encouraged.

To Apply:

Please submit the following:

• Concept: a written explanation of your proposal (no more than a single typed page), illuminating your ideas and describing your creative impetus for the design of the mural.

• Design: a sketch of your concept, scaled so that we may gain an idea of how it will look in full size. Include a color palette.

• Materials: note that only paint may be used for the mural: the wall must be fully restorable at the end of the production. No textural or alternative materials are allowed.

• Anticipated Production Schedule: please submit a realistic timeline for your mural proposal with dates and as much information regarding the construction of the design as possible. The timeline should reflect the selection schedule outlined below. The completion date must be no later than June 3, 2012.

The winner of the contest will need to be available for installation work during office hours Monday-Friday. Specific scheduling will be determined after the final decision is made.

• Current resume, portfolio or list of completed projects

• References (two)

Submission: please submit a PDF file of your proposal electronically to dorij@magictheatre.org

OR send all requested materials to:

Magic Theatre

Attn: Dori Jacob

Landmark Building D

Fort Mason Center

San Francisco, CA 94123

Proposals must be received by 5:00 PM on May 11, 2012.

Schedule (UPDATED!):

Muralist selection: May 12, 2012

Final mural design submitted: May 16, 2012

Complete mural production: No later than June 3, 2012

Unveiling ceremony: June 5, 2012 prior to the evening performance

Enlightening glimpses of life in ‘Any Given Day’

By Jean Schiffman • April 13, 2012

Stacy Ross as Jackie

The clipped, repetitive banalities exchanged by the middle-aged couple in the first half of Scottish playwright Linda McLean’s “Any Given Day” recall, in some ways, the dialogue in the mid-20th-century plays of Eugene Ionesco or Harold Pinter.

“Jackie wouldn’t come in the dark,” says Bill.

“No no,” says Sadie. “She couldn’t come in the dark.”

“Don’t worry.”

“We couldn’t open the door in the dark.”

“No.”

“Not once it’s dark.”

But McLean, whose 2010 play is receiving its American premiere in this Magic Theatre production, has a voice that’s all her own.

In juxtaposing two sets of couples, she creates two distinct little worlds, both affected by the larger world that looms outside. This is a deeply empathetic glance at the way people struggle through life, and connect, under adverse circumstances.

Bill and Sadie, both mentally challenged to varying degrees, are awaiting the arrival of Bill’s niece, Jackie. Sadie (an appealingly playful and vulnerable Amy Kossow) is a mass of fears and anxieties, afraid to answer the telephone, let alone the door. When the more functional Bill (a hearty, affable Christopher McHale) leaves for a while, Sadie is dangerously alone in their council flat.

In the play’s second half, set in a pub (nicely contrasting sets by Michael Locher, but necessitating a too-lengthy set change), we meet nurse-turned-barmaid Jackie herself.

Played with wonderfully raw nervous energy by Stacy Ross, she’s about to head across town for her routine visit to Sadie and Bill. But she’s waylaid by the bartender, an equally lonely and needy soul (the gifted, emotionally transparent James Carpenter).

In a delicate scene — both funny and sad — the two reach out tentatively to each other.

The way McLean depicts the interplay of each couple — and the way director Jon Tracy guides them through their scenes, both physically and emotionally — has a lovely musicality to it. It helps that the actors have a good feeling for the Scottish brogue; the dialect coach is Deborah Sussel.

It should also be noted that Patrick Alparone, filling in at the last minute in a small role, rounds out the strong cast.

“Any Given Day” is the kind of delicate, realistic little play that works so well in the Magic’s intimate space, and McLean is the kind of playwright whose work we can hope to see more frequently on these shores.

Click here to read the review on the San Francisco Examiner website!

Any Given Day has been extended for THIS WEEK ONLY! Get  your tickets while you can!

Stones don’t bite in ‘Any Given Day’

By Clinton Stark • April 13, 2012

Have you ever experienced a moment — themoment — in your life when everything changes? Looking back at that particular sliver of time, perhaps you now realize the magnitude little actions can have on not only yourself, but also those around you. It could be a spontaneous decision, a happy (or not so happy) accident, or just fate doing its thing. Inflection points matter, but in Any Given Day, a Scottish play that premiered Stateside at Magic Theatre over the weekend, we are privy to their domino effect – parallel lives and all. There could be tiny resemblances here toSliding Doors, an indie flick starring Gwyneth Paltrow from a few years back.

And, yes, I will go there (any opportunity for a Mike Meyers is one no self-respecting Canadian should discount): if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap. Indeed. We get a marvelous gem of a production here featuring a stellar cast and dialog that absolutely doesn’t feel like… well, dialog. These four characters –unlikely pairs — converse in a way that can only be described as crackerjack.

“Who are you waving at?”

Sadie (Amy Kossow), a large woman with a learning disability who jumps at shadows, and friend Bill (Christopher McHale), a thunderbolt of positive energy, might be going stir crazy in a small Glasgow apartment. The jarring, disjointed wallpaper and dark stains around the door handle and buzzer could be clues Short bursts of conversation lilt from stones that might bite, and bread that may or may not be in the freezer, to death and tea. They pass the time, awaiting a visit from their favorite person.

“I”m having a good day and I don’t know what to do with it”

Meanwhile, somewhere across town, a bar owner (James Carpenter) and one of his employees (Stacy Ross) celebrate a “good day” after-hours with a nice bottle of Sancerre.

These seemingly abstract scenes share a connection. Its nature and consequence we learn is the central moment.

James Carpenter as Dave

Rain pelts, and thunder cracks. And I admit to almost jumping out of my seat once or twice. There’s some unexpected drama here, juxtaposed against the playful innocence of normal everyday life.

This is the great Jim Carpenter’s first time on the Magic stage, and those that follow Bay Area theater know he’s a stalwart icon. For that alone, this production is not to be missed. Funny how he can’t help but slip into a Shakespearean-inspired delivery here and there – that is one regal barman. Stacy Ross, Amy Kossow and Christopher McHale are equally impressive, and the chemistry is top drawer. On opening night, Patrick Alparone stepped in for Daniel Petzold to play the role of Boy. I don’t want to be crass, but what’s it like explaining that part to your friends? I drop some f-bombs, I whip this thing out… and then I chase…

A Magic Theatre trademark is their open set changes. I can’t recall ever seeing a curtain here- and it likely wouldn’t make sense anyway given the thrust configuration. Watching the stagehands change out the set in a bit of theatrical ballet is something I always enjoy watching. Such was the case again. There’s a rain effect here that is mind blowing – it sets our minds racing, our hearts pumping. The following darkness and quiet are welcome relief. It’s a good day, but it’s certainly not ordinary.

Click here to read the review on the Stark Insider website.

ONLY 7 PERFORMANCES LEFT! Don’t miss your chance to see the show that everyone’s talking about. Order your tickets here!

“Any Given Day” ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ! BANG!

April 12, 2012

After last night’s American Premiere of Linda McLean’s “Any Given Day,” which had absolutely blown us away — in fact, the audience never moved after the lights came back on, something we have never seen before at Magic Theatre — the playwrights, actors, creative team and critics all gathered in the theater bar. All of a sudden, the buzz was about “the secret question” — we’ll just say there is one relationship within the two-story play that is undefined. When we asked Linda McLean about it she just said: “It’s up to you. Take it however you want to.”

Amy Kossow as Sadie

The first half of the eighty-minute one act show features the astonishing Amy Kossow as Sadie and the equally brilliant Christopher McHale as Bill. Speaking in Scots dialect, these two characters are mentally challenged but amazingly communicative. Sadie’s laugh makes us smile. Her sadness hits us in the gut. Bill’s bantering with her shows a love that defies his words. But look out for the ending.

In the second half (separated by a total scene change camouflaged by Michael Locher’s inspired wall of water), Stacy Ross is spellbinding as Jackie, a mom teetering on the edge of self-control, who is working in a bar owned by Dave (James Carpenter). We watch through fifteen minutes, as this relationship begins to explain itself, and then all of a sudden we realize Jackie is — well, she’s Jackie! Jackie! Remember in the first part? Jackie? Holy mackerel!

When the stories fit together it is playwriting at its best. It is a plus that we never know exactly what happens. “Any Given Day” will have you on the edge of your seat. You won’t want to get up when the lights come on.

Click here to read the review on the SF Theater Blog!

Any Given Day has been extended to April 29th! Hurry up and get your tickets while they last!

BRUJA Mural Design Competition

In celebration of the final production of our 45th season, the venerable new play hothouse, Magic Theatre seeks proposals for a mural that will complement the theatrical production and illuminate the world of BRUJA, a new play by Luis Alfaro.

Magic Theatre is located in San Francisco at Fort Mason (Building D, third floor). The dimensions of the lobby wall, where the mural will be installed, are approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet high.

Prize

The winner of this contest will enjoy a cash prize of $1000 dollars, an exclusive gallery style unveiling and celebration, honorable mention in the playbill for BRUJA, a dedicated press release, and complimentary tickets to opening night of the show.

Payment of the cash prize will be made in two installments: $250 upon completed and approved design proposal and another $750 upon completion of the project. Additional funds will be provided for supplies.

Background

Magic Theatre culminates the 2011-2012 season with a reimagined presentation of the MEDEA myth by the incomparable playwright Luis Alfaro. This updated version of the story, set in the modern day Mission District of San Francisco, transforms the classical tragedy and elevates our understanding of the tale as it describes the world we inhabit today. BRUJA is a contemporary story, so haunting and sensual it explodes one of the ancient myths most firmly embedded in our culture. It is a sizzling new look at a sorceress scorned.

In 2010, downtown Los Angeles (Pico-Union) native and MacArthur genius award- winner Luis Alfaro renovated the story of OEDIPUS. After an extended run at Magic, his resulting world premier, OEDIPUS el REY, went on to be one of the most successful adaptations of the decade, gaining productions across the country and earning tremendous critical acclaim including the coveted Will Glickman Award.

Mural for the 2010-2011 Season

To read more about Luis Alfaro and BRUJA, follow this link. For a copy of the BRUJA script, please contact Dori Jacob at dorij@magictheatre.org

2010 contest winners Tory Canby and Theo Knox created a lobby mural for OEDIPUS el REY. Following the success of the initial contest, Canby and Knox joined Magic once again to design our 2010-2011 season mural. To see images of the 2010-2011 season mural, follow this link.

The artwork of the mural for BRUJA should elevate the themes of the play in such a way as to create a visual feast of imagery for our patrons, actors, and staff alike. Itshould reflect the content of the story, but need not be a literal interpretation. Creative, imaginative artistic license is highly encouraged.

To Apply:

Please submit the following:

• Concept: a written explanation of your proposal (no more than a single typed page), illuminating your ideas and describing your creative impetus for the design of the mural.

• Design: a sketch of your concept, scaled so that we may gain an idea of how it will look in full size. Include a color palette.

• Materials: note that only paint may be used for the mural: the wall must be fully restorable at the end of the production. No textural or alternative materials are allowed.

• Anticipated Production Schedule: please submit a realistic timeline for your mural proposal with dates and as much information regarding the construction of the design as possible. The timeline should reflect the selection schedule outlined below. The completion date must be no later than June 3, 2012.

The winner of the contest will need to be available for installation work during office hours Monday-Friday. Specific scheduling will be determined after the final decision is made.

• Current resume, portfolio or list of completed projects

• References (two)

Submission: please submit a PDF file of your proposal electronically to dorij@magictheatre.org

OR send all requested materials to:

Magic Theatre

Attn: Dori Jacob

Landmark Building D

Fort Mason Center

San Francisco, CA 94123

Proposals must be received by 5:00 PM on May 2, 2012.

Schedule:

Interviews (if needed): May 5, 2012

Muralist selection: May 7, 2012

Final mural design submitted: May 12, 2012

Complete mural production: No later than June 3, 2012

Unveiling ceremony: June 5, 2012 prior to the evening performance

‘Any Given Day’ review: Real lives elevated to art

By Robert Hurwitt • April 12, 2012    

It’s raining hard in Glasgow but it’s a special day for Sadie and Bill, the odd pair of shut-ins we meet in the first act of Linda McLean’s achingly poignant “Any Given Day,” which opened Wednesday at the Magic Theatre. Childlike and fearful of the outside world – not without reason – they’re awaiting a visit from Bill’s niece Jackie.

It’s a pretty ordinary day for Jackie (Stacy Ross) and Dave (James Carpenter) in the tavern where they work on the other side of the Scottish city. Until she gets a phone message. After that, the day starts looking pretty good.

Stacy Ross as Jackie and James Carpenter as Dave

It isn’t, I hope, a spoiler to say that some things don’t turn out well and others end on a deeply moving, ambiguous note. What’s important is that director Jon Tracy’s skillfully staged and sumptuously performed American premiere of this beautifully bifurcated 2010 drama is a special occasion for lovers of strikingly original character-driven theater.

The too-short run at the Magic is a terrific introduction to one of the more noteworthy British playwrights to emerge in the past decade. In “Day,” McLean is a gritty, fiercely empathetic realist of great skill. She elevates the ordinary, creating instantly recognizable people in spare but penetrating dialogue.

“Day” is essentially two interlocked plays – presented without intermission but with a long set change. The first act takes place amid the thrift-shop furnishings and mismatched wallpaper of Sadie and Bill’s flat. McLean never spells out their relationship. What matters is the degree to which they both depend on it. They’re developmentally disabled adults, pushed into precarious independent living by draconian health care cuts.

As Sadie, Amy Kossow’s expressive features provide a clear window into the extreme vulnerability, childish glee, painful half-memories, fears and flashes of anger, a little girl in the body of an overweight woman. Christopher McHale projects boyish delight in Bill’s somewhat more developed ability to solve problems, pay bills and, most of all, calm, care for and tease Sadie to elicit her delighted laughter.

Bay Area treasures James Carpenter and Stacy Ross deliver a master class in nuanced performance in the second playlet, set in the polished wood of Dave’s tavern. A whiff of possible romance is in the air, sparking deliciously varied degrees of interest, hope, anxiety, lust, battle-scarred wariness and brightly plain-spoken sex talk.

A message from her son sets off a roller coaster of emotions and ideas beneath the composure Ross’ Jackie tries to maintain. As Carpenter’s warily intrigued Dave rides the waves of her reactions, spare details of their past and present lives spice the dialogue.

There’s a shocking moment. There’s also a sharply rendered cameo by Patrick Alparone (a late replacement in the cast). But what’s most striking about “Day” is the way its rich blend of comedy and drama gets inside its characters, so that we’re never laughing at but with these people. The result is a play you may find hard to forget.

Read the review here on the SF Gate website.

Get your tickets before they’re gone! Click here to find out how!

We recently suffered the loss of Marilyn Shaw, a longtime literary committee member, Magic supporter, and friend. Magic staff, artists, and volunteers will miss her greatly.

Friends and family are holding a memorial celebration in Marilyn’s honor here at Magic Theatre in Fort Mason on Monday, May 7th at 7pm. There will be food, drinks, and a reading celebrating Marilyn’s life. We would love to have you join us and share your memories!

Marilyn N. Shaw (12/20/1922 to 3/29/2012)

Marilyn Shaw (photo by Bernie Weiner)

Marilyn Shaw, who devoted her working life to aiding non-profit community groups and to passionately supporting the arts, passed away at her San Francisco home in her sleep on March 29. She was born on December 20, 1922 in Fairfield, Iowa, to Orville Nott and Florence Lois Yount. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles to attend Los Angeles City College and University of California at Los Angeles where she earned a Liberal Arts degree in 1946. Marilyn started her professional career in the Public Relations group at the Los Angeles Community Chest then moved to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for three years, then returned to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, she again worked for Community Chest Los Angeles followed by the Pasadena Community Chest, the Pasadena newspaper, the Tournament of Roses committee, and again for the Los Angeles Community Chest. During her time in Los Angeles, she served as a volunteer usher for several theaters and that experienced evolved into a lifelong passion for the performing arts. She met and married her husband Ralph Theodore Shaw during her final employment with Los Angeles Community Chest. Marilyn and Ralph moved to Del Mar, north of San Diego, where they raised their sons Theodore R. L. Shaw and Christopher A. Shaw. Marilyn was extremely active; she started the school library in Del Mar, served on the Del Mar Union School District School Board, led efforts to expand Torrey Pines State Preserve through the purchase of the extension, was a leader in the effort to preserve Crest Canyon, and oversaw the final efforts to complete the theater building for La Jolla Playhouse, on the campus of UC San Diego. Subsequent to her husband’s death, Marilyn moved to San Francisco to follow her dream of encouraging and aiding the arts. In her 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, she aided a host of organizations with their public relations, served on boards of directors, took administrative posts, and ran fund-raising campaigns. Among music groups she aided were Pocket Opera, Mid-Summer Mozart, Paul Dresher Ensemble, and Left Coast Ensemble. In terms of drama groups, Marilyn was a vital cog in the original Eureka Theatre Company, and was on the literary committee of the Magic Theatre. She was most passionate about helping to develop new work for the theater. To this end, she was an energized supporter of Afro Solo, PlayBrokers, The Playwrights’ Lab, and the Playwrights Foundation. She loved to mentor and nourish local playwrights to develop their work by presenting staged readings with professional actors and directors, and getting audience feedback to the writers. For example, she served for years as the producing director of The Playwrights’ Lab, in Marin County, and founded the San Francisco company PlayBrokers. Several years ago, hundreds in the arts community in San Francisco honored her with “An Evening to Celebrate Marilyn Shaw.” She didn’t want that much attention focused on herself, protested the title and got them to change it to “An Evening Celebrating Marilyn Shaw and Her Artist Friends.” Throughout her life, Marilyn enjoyed art, music, reading, and traveling – especially to Russia, Europe, and the south Pacific. She was eternally curious and looking to make new friends. She had a positive and nurturing way that was endearing. She is survived by son Ted, his wife Sue Peerson, and their son Calvin, of San Diego; son Chris, his wife Andrea, and their daughters Christiana Candida (CC) and Deering Elizabeth (Desi), of Woodside. Her family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego or the Playwrights’ Lab in San Francisco.

You can read the obituary on the U-T San Diego website here.

This is exclusive footage from the first day of rehearsal for Linda McLean’s Any Given Day, which has its American premiere at Magic Theatre in March 2012. The first day of rehearsal is a chance for Magic staff, board members, and volunteers to hear the cast read the play aloud together for the first time, listen to what the production team has to say about the piece, and be part of the production’s exciting launch!

Previews for Any Given Day start on March 29th! Get your tickets here!