Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Connects Season 3: Episode 4: Casting Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn are joined by Director of Community Partnerships and Casting Director at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Jeffrey Lo; Chicago based theatre director and adapter, Lavina Jadhwani; and Bay Area casting director, director, and agent with Cast Images Talent Agency, Dena Martinez. We'll get to know our guests and learn about their experience as casting directors in the local and national theatre scene. We'll discuss some pitfalls and best practices of casting, and also examine casting through a racial justice lens.

Aurora Theatre Company stands in solidarity with Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders against racism, xenophobia, hate, and acts of anti-Asian violence. We cannot stay silent as the lives of our Asian American and Pacific Islander community members are endangered by the virus of white supremacy. We stand with you, unconditionally. Hate has no place on our stages. We encourage our community to learn about the historic harm and discrimination against Asians in the USA so that we know how to recognize and dismantle it. #stopasianhate

AURORA CONNECTS Season 3 Episode 4 | Casting: Pitfalls, Best Practices, and Racial Justice This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn are joined by Director Community Partnerships and Casting Director at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Jeffrey Lo; Chicago based theatre director and adapter, Lavina Jadhwani; and Bay Area casting director, director, and agent with Cast Images Talent Agency, Dena Martinez. We'll get to know our guests and learn about their experience as casting d...irectors in the local and national theatre scene. We'll discuss some pitfalls and best practices of casting, and also examine casting through a racial justice lens. Join us on our new day and time, Thursday (tomorrow) at 5 p.m.! WATCH: http://bit.ly/AuroraConnectsS3E4 **** INFO: auroratheatre.org/auroraconnects WATCH: youtube.com/auroratheatrecompany LISTEN: auroraconnects.buzzsprout.com #auroraconnects #auroratheatrecompany #thinkdeeperlaughlouder #berkeley #theatre #bayareatheater #bayareatheatre

We're so excited about our upcoming production of Toni Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE, directed by our very own Dawn Monique Williams! Adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond, and presented as an audio drama, BLUEST tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, who is obsessed with Shirley Temple and has a desire to have blue eyes. Diamond expertly translates the emotional depths of Black girlhood, the poisonous effects of racism, and the heartbreak of shame in Morrison's work. Celebrate...d for a profound and unrelenting vision, (The New Yorker) Morrison places three young Black girlsClaudia, Pecola, and Friedacenter stage as they strive to make sense of love, sisterhood, abuse, and hate. Toni Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE runs April 9 - May 21, 2021. Get tickets : tickets.auroratheatre.org

Join Aurora's Community Partner, Berkeley High School, for OUR MONOLOGUES! Last year, for the first time, OUR MONOLOGUES replaced Vagina Monologues at Berkeley High in an effort to be more inclusive and relevant to the BHS community. OUR MONOLOGUES is a student-run production based on original written submissions from community members, with an emphasis on stories that might otherwise go unheard. OUR MONOLOGUES focus on the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, identity, ...trauma, and more. ***** OUR MONOLOGUES directed by Risa Sundu & Rusma Kharel Saturday, March 13th at 6:00 pm Saturday, March 20th at 7:30 pm Admission is FREE through Youtube Livestream Connect: @ourmonologuesbhs More Information: ourmonologuesbhs.wordpress.com

Aurora Connects Season 3: Episode 3: Musical Theatre Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn are joined by director Barbara Damashek and actor Ed Gonzalez Moreno for a friendly discussion about musical theatre. After we get to know our guests, we'll discuss the origin of musical theatre and its evolution over time, and what we love or hate about musical theatre. We'll explore why musical theatre is so divisive, what makes some people love it and some people hate it, and we'll discuss why Aurora has generally avoided musicals.

It's not too late to join Aurora and our members on Saturday for the virtual reading of Kait Kerrigan's FATHER/DAUGHTER, which would have had its world premiere in our 2020/20201 season. M. Graham Smith directs. This reading is an exclusive Aurora member benefit. Enjoy this clip of playwright Kait and Graham discussing FATHER/DAUGHTER on an early episode of Aurora Connects, and sign up for your membership before the reading on Saturday at 5 p.m. PST. Get your membership at me...mbers.auroratheatre.org! *** SYNOPSIS: Two actors play both pairs of lovers in this structurally inventive play that asks how our relationships with our parents and children impact our romantic lives. In parallel stories told 23 years apart, Baldwin is Miranda’s 30-year-old divorced father who is trying to forge a new relationship with a beguiling woman, and Miranda is Baldwin’s 30-year-old daughter, who has found herself in her first serious relationship. What can we learn from the relationships we choose in order to repair the relationships we inherit?

To all who have served, Aurora says thank you! #HappyVeteransDay

We're so excited to welcome Carlos Aguirre and the Bay Area Theatre Cypher gang back to Aurora at the end of the month for the final, virtual, installment in the TELL TALE HEARTS: An Evening of Hip Hop Theatre saga. Check out this throwback clip from one of Carlos taking us thru his adaptaion of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart'' from one of very first TTH performances in December 2019. Get your tickets! $20 for the public | FREE for Aurora members... Get tix: members.auroratheatre.org/telltalehearts Memberships: members.auroratheatre.org *The Tell Tale Heart performance by Carlos Aguirre contains a composition by Cellista. Find out more about Cellista at www.cellista.net

AURORA CONNECTS Season 2 Episode 14: Music & Sound Design with Elton Bradman This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn are joined by sound designer for THE FLATS, Elton Bradman. We'll learn more about Elton, his background, how he got started in magic, and what continues to inspire him. We'll discuss some of his favorite shows he's worked on, and learn how the pandemic has affected his work. Join us Friday at 4 p.m.! ... WATCH: https://bit.ly/AuroraConnectsS2E14 **** INFO: auroratheatre.org/auroraconnects WATCH: youtube.com/auroratheatrecompany LISTEN: auroraconnects.buzzsprout.com #auroraconnects #auroratheatrecompany #thinkdeeperlaughlouder #berkeley #theatre #bayareatheater #bayareatheatre

Chad Jones of Theater Dogs said THE FLATS is "an intoxicating blend of tension, humor and substance," and we'd have to agree! All three episodes of Aurora's world premiere audio drama THE FLATS are now available on-demand. Join us for this brand new story that speaks directly to our present moment in all its complexity. http://www.theaterdogs.net//tension-is-high-in-auroras-au/

It's not too late to join Aurora and our members this evening for the next installment of A YEAR WITH AUGUST (AYWA), hosted by Associate Artistic Director Dawn Monique Williams. Tonight we'll be exploring Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON. AYWA is an exclusive Aurora member benefit. Enjoy this clip of last month's exploration of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, and sign up for your membership before the reading group starts tonight at 7 p.m. PST. MEMBERSHIPS: members.auroratheatre.org

Aurora Connects Season 2 Episode 13: Bitter Gertrude Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ AURORA CONNECTS Season 2 Episode 13: Bitter Gertrude... This week on AURORA CONNECTS, Josh and Dawn are joined by Melissa Hillman of arts and culture blog Bitter Gertrude. She is also a former Artistic Director of Impact Theatre, which Josh founded in the 1990s. We'll discuss Josh, Dawn, and Melissa's history at Impact Theatre and learn more about what made that company so special. We'll also learn more about Melissa's blog Bitter Gertrude and more about her work as a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. See more

SOUND ON In this clip, we learn about the end of a Berkeley cultural lodestone and the end of Leonard's relationship, as our three characters discover another way they're all connected. Join Brooke, Harmony, and Leonard in the final episode of THE FLATS! Episode Three drops TONIGHT at 5 pm.!!... *** Learn more about THE FLATS: auroratheatre.org/the-flats Learn about Aurora memberships: auroratheatre.org/memberships Get Tickets to THE FLATS: members.auroratheatre.org #AuroraTHEFLATS #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo

SOUND ON In this clip, Brooke talks a little about love and choices. We all have choices, don't we? Join Brooke, Harmony, and Leonard in the final episode of THE FLATS! Episode Three drops Friday at 5 pm. ... Stay tuned for more teaser clips! *** Learn more about THE FLATS: auroratheatre.org/the-flats Learn about Aurora memberships: auroratheatre.org/memberships Get Tickets to THE FLATS: members.auroratheatre.org #AuroraTHEFLATS #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo

AURORA CONNECTS Season 2 Episode 13: Bitter Gertrude This week on AURORA CONNECTS, Josh and Dawn are joined by Melissa Hillman of arts and culture blog Bitter Gertrude. She is also a former Artistic Director of Impact Theatre, which Josh founded in the 1990s. We'll discuss Josh, Dawn, and Melissa's history at Impact Theatre and learn more about what made that company so special. We'll also learn more about Melissa's blog Bitter Gertrude and more about her work as a diversity,... equity, and inclusion consultant. Join us Friday at 4 p.m.! WATCH: https://bit.ly/AuroraConnectsS2E13 **** INFO: auroratheatre.org/auroraconnects WATCH: youtube.com/auroratheatrecompany LISTEN: auroraconnects.buzzsprout.com #auroraconnects #auroratheatrecompany #thinkdeeperlaughlouder #berkeley #theatre #bayareatheater #bayareatheatre #bittergertrude

We are so EXCITED to announce that we'll be presenting... TELL TALE HEARTS: An Evening of Hip Hop Theatre Saturday, November 28 | 7 p.m. PST ... The Bay Area Theatre Cypher and Carlos Aguirre return to Aurora for the final iteration of TELL TALE HEARTS: An Evening of Hip Hop Theatre. Featuring an eclectic mixture of actors, rappers, poets, and hip hop theatre artists of all descriptions, the Bay Area Theatre Cypher is a freestyle rap collective joined on Aurora's virtual stage by Carlos Aguirre (AKA Infinite) for an evening of intelligent, politically-conscious, locally-sourced, community-minded rap, slam poetry, beatboxing, and hip-hop theatre. The performance will feature Aguirre's rap and beatbox adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart along with a unique blend of improvised freestyle rap and original compositions. Aurora Theatre Company is thrilled to present this performance that takes its stand at the crossroads of theatre, hip-hop, and community. Tickets: $20 | FREE for Aurora members members.auroratheatre.org//telltalehearts #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo

SOUND ON In this clip, while in the car, Harmony poses a rather heavy question that elicits an equally heavy answer from Leonard. Join Brooke, Harmony, and Leonard in the final episode of THE FLATS! Episode Three drops Friday at 5 pm. ... Stay tuned for more teaser clips! *** Learn more about THE FLATS: auroratheatre.org/the-flats Learn about Aurora memberships: auroratheatre.org/memberships Get Tickets to THE FLATS: members.auroratheatre.org #AuroraTHEFLATS #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo

Episode Two of THE FLATS is now available! In Episode One, we got to know the three residents of a Berkeley triplex as they navigated some serious interpersonal awkwardness and a doubly dangerous external threat. In Episode Two, the three ne ighbors take their impromptu shelter-in-place pod to a new level, and a new possibility for the future comes to light.... Join us for THE FLATS. *** Learn more about THE FLATS: auroratheatre.org/the-flats Learn about Aurora memberships: auroratheatre.org/memberships Get Tickets to THE FLATS: members.auroratheatre.org #AuroraTHEFLATS #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo

We are so EXCITED to announce that we'll be presenting... Christian Cagigal's SORTILEGIOS, A Virtual Magic Show Friday, December 4 | 7 p.m. PST ... Travel to the foggy outskirts of San Francisco as magician and Aurora Cabaret veteran Christian Cagigal ("one of the Bay Area's artistic treasures" SF Chronicle) invites you to an intimate evening of spells, stories, and strange happenings. Christian will reach through time and cyberspace to bring his humor and dark mysteries into your home. In Sortilegios the Spanish word for spells and charms the magic won’t only happen on your screen, it will happen in your minds and in your own hands! Join people from across the country as you enter Christian's enigmatic and interactive world. Tickets: $20 | FREE for Aurora members members.auroratheatre.org/sortilegios #AuroraTheatreCompany #AuroraTheatreCo