The UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) will present five dynamic productions in its 2023/2024 Season, offering an exciting array of theatrical genres and dance forms. With mentorship from faculty, staff, and professional guests artists, students will gain firsthand experience as performers, choreographers, stage managers, designers, assistant directors, scenic artists, light and sound board operators, wardrobe crew, and deck crew.
The season opens in November with Charles Mee's Wintertime, "a masterpiece of explosive theatricality and comedic structure" according to director Christopher Herold, who also serves as a continuing lecturer and the coordinator of the TDPS acting program. "[The play] explores the joy, pathos, absurdity, anguish, delight, and, ultimately, vast power of love—with its capacity to both save and destroy us."
December brings the annual Fall Choreography Showcase, two evenings of student-created solos and duets that draw on a broad range of choreographic styles, influences, and ideas. Faculty director Joe Goode will advise choreographers as they collaborate with student dancers and designers to create their pieces.
The celebration of dance continues in February with Berkeley Dance Project 2024, an evening-length concert of new pieces choreographed by TDPS faculty members Iu-Hui Chua (a former member of Anna Halprin's Sea Ranch Collective) and Lisa Wymore (co-director of Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts), as well as guest artist Sila Poe Charukesnant (a member of Tribe Dance Crew). The concert will also feature student-made pieces selected from the Fall Choreography Showcase and from submissions by campus dance clubs.
In March, guest artist Karina Gutiérrez directs The River Bride, Marisela Treviño Orta's captivating fable about two sisters who must choose between desire and loyalty after a mysterious man emerges from the Amazon River. Student-designed costumes and lighting will transport audiences to a remote Brazilian fishing village and lend the production a sense of magical realism.
The season concludes in April with The Wednesday Club, an intimate musical written and directed by Joe Goode, with music direction by longtime TDPS collaborator Ben Juodvalkis. Based on songs from the repertoire of the Joe Goode Performance Group, the piece follows a group of "drama nerds" who meet weekly in a church basement to test our their theatrical innovations. According to Goode, "the piece looks at the sometimes painful process of collaboration and the wisdom that can be gleaned from listening and slogging through the rough stuff to arrive at a place of equanimity and trust."
The season's productions will be accompanied by three student-directed workshops, developmental works focusing on performance and process, that culminate in free public performances. Undergraduate student Cristina Miller will direct the season's first workshop in October: Caryl Churchill's adaptation of A Dream Play by August Strindberg. Lilea Alvarez and Rebekah Joy will direct workshops (to be announced) in the spring semester.
Visit the 2023/24 Season page for production details and showtimes. Tickets for each production go on sale three months in advance at tickets.berkeley.edu and are available at the door of the designated venue beginning one hour before each performance. Discounts are available for students, seniors, UC Berkeley employees, and for online purchases of 10+ tickets. For more information, email tdpsboxoffice@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-8827.