Public Events
Performances of Tasha (October 19–21)
Performances of ‘Tasha
Thursday–Saturday, October 19–21
Durham Studio Theater, Dwinelle Hall
Written & Performed by Cat Brooks
Directed by Dr. Ayodele Nzinga
'Tasha is a one-woman show exploring the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna at the hands of law enforcement in Fairfax, Virginia in 2015. The play explores her life and murder from the point of view of several characters, including Natasha herself. "Natasha started talking so loudly I had to get up and write what she was saying," Brooks said of the script's genesis in 2015.
Content Warning: This show contains graphic images and language depicting the killing of a young Black woman. A non-shooting, replica firearm will be used onstage and will be pointed at the audience. It is a non-working, prop gun. It will be accompanied by the sounds of gunshots and screaming.
Healing Justice practitioners will be in the lobby during and after the performance to support anyone who feels the need for healing after experiencing the images and themes explored in this show. The healers will be available to talk to you about feelings that come up and to help you process the experience so you can go back out into the world.
All ticket proceeds go to the artists.
Conversation with Margo Hall (October 20)
Cat Brooks in Conversation with Margo Hall
Friday, October 20, 4pm–6pm
650 Social Sciences Building
Hosted by the Black Studies Collaboratory
Cat Brooks and longtime collaborator Margo Hall will discuss their community-centered artistic practices. Hall is an acclaimed actor and theater-maker, as well as a continuing lecturer in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley.
White Supremacy, Black Trauma & Healing Justice
White Supremacy, Black Trauma & Healing Justice
[POSTPONED]
Part of the workshop series Exploration of Forms
Cat Brooks and Alecia Harger will share how they utilize research, art, performance, and Healing Justice modalities to examine the role trauma plays in the lives of Black people in America, and explore what is necessary for the transmutation of that trauma into healing and action. The event will include an excerpt of Brooks’ one-woman show, ‘Tasha.
Class Visits for Students
Cat Brooks will visit the following TDPS classes to discuss her artistic practices and participate in open dialogue with students. UC Berkeley students are welcome to attend on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have questions or access needs, please email tdps@berkeley.edu at least one week in advance.
Fundamentals of Stage Directing
Instructor: Margo Hall
Tuesday, October 17, 2:10pm–4pm
Durham Studio Theater, Dwinelle Hall
Acts of Solidarity
Instructor: Chelsea Gregory
Thursday, October 19, 12:40pm–2pm
237 Cory Hall
About Cat Brooks
Cat Brooks has been confidently moving across stages and screens for 30 years. In addition to being a savvy and intelligent actor, she is funny and witty, vulnerable and strong—able to be both edgy and immediately relatable. A consummate performer and passionate speaker, Brooks has also made a name for herself as an activist and community leader, able to reach and inspire people with her powerful voice and strong, grounded presence.
Brooks played a central role in the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant and is the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project whose mission is to rapidly respond to—and eradicate—police terror in communities of color. APTP has successfully developed a model for first response to police violence that is currently being replicated across the state of California, and the country. Additionally APTP is a pioneer in developing alternative response models to community crisis and runs Mental Health First (MH1)—Oakland and Sacramento's only abolitionist non 9-1-1 response to mental health crisis, intimate partner violence and substance abuse.
Brooks trained at the Royal National Theater Studio in London. Notable roles include Lady Macbeth at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Ruth in Raisin in the Sun, and starring in the one-woman show ‘Tasha that she wrote about the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna. Brooks has been nominated for Best Featured Actress by the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics and ‘Tasha won Best of The SF Fringe in 2017.
Brooks also hosts the radio show Law & Disorder on KPFA, is a resident playwright and actress with The Lower Bottom Playaz in Oakland and 3Girls Theatre in San Francisco, is one of the Black Friday 14—a group of Black activists who locked down the West Oakland BART station on Black Friday in 2014, is a 2021-2024 Leading Edge Fellow, and was the runner-up in Oakland’s 2018 mayoral election, facing incumbent Libby Schaaf.
Learn more at CatBrooks.org
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