The Wednesday Club

April 25–28 | Zellerbach Playhouse

Background image: A prismatic rainbow of color projects on two outstretched arms against a dark gray background.
Image credit:
Photo by Cottonbro Studio

Written & Directed by Joe Goode

Music Direction & Composition by Ben Juodvalkis

What do a gay cowboy, a slam poetry genius, a revolutionary poet, a naturalist, a couple of starry-eyed lovers, and a doomsayer have in common? They all want to experiment with the theatrical form as members of the Wednesday Club, a group of LGBTQ+ drama nerds (and their allies) who get together to test out their theatrical innovations every Wednesday evening in a church basement.

Based on songs from the repertoire of the Joe Goode Performance Group, this 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 trust and belonging.

Estimated Runtime:

90 minutes, no intermission

Showtimes:

  • Thursday, April 25 at 8pm (preview performance)
  • Friday, April 26 at 8pm (opening night)
  • Saturday, April 27 at 2pm (post-show alumni reception)
  • Saturday, April 27 at 8pm
  • Sunday, April 28 at 2pm

Special Event:

Saturday, April 27

Following the 2pm matinée performance, Berkeley alumni are invited to a post-show reception and fireside chat with director Joe Goode at Alumni House.

Professor Joe Goode

About the Writer/Director

Joe Goode is a choreographer, writer, and director widely known as an innovator in the field of dance for his willingness to collide movement with spoken word, song, and visual imagery. He was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, and the United States Artists Glover Fellowship in 2008. In 2006 Goode directed the opera Transformations for the San Francisco Opera Center. His play Body Familiar, commissioned by the Magic Theatre in 2003, was met with critical acclaim. The Joe Goode Performance Group, formed in 1986, tours regularly throughout the United States, and has toured internationally to Canada, Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Goode is known as a master teacher; his summer workshops in “felt performance” attract participants from around the world, and the company’s teaching residencies on tour are hugely popular. He is a member of the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies.