2019 Season
“Mother Courage and Her Children is not an easy play to watch, but it is essential to do so” —Christine Okon, Theater and Such
“When [Wilma] Bonet’s Mother Courage confronts each of her dead children’s bodies for the first time, you get a glimpse of the soul she’s had to extinguish to survive” —Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
“The best part of Ubuntu’s production is how the cast feels like it’s battling to survive the play, our expectations of what theater is, and yes, one of the most brutal and devastating wars in modern history... The aftertaste is sharp and alive”
John Wilkins, A Free Audience
“War is for the politicians, but what about the common folk? Aren't we safer dumb and quiet—or, will complacency kill us?”
Tyler Jeffreys, Theatrius
Mother Courage and Her Children
February 8–March 3, 2019
by Bertolt Brecht
translated by Tony Kushner
directed by Emilie Whelan
Considered by many to be the greatest play of the 20th century, Bertolt Brecht's music-infused drama, translated by Tony Kushner, explores the mechanisms that perpetuate war through the experiences of one embattled woman and her family, directed by Emilie Whelan (A Streetcar Named Desire, Waiting for Lefty).
Amid the scarcity of war, Mother Courage earns her nickname by breaking through a line of cannon fire to save a cart of bread.
Determined to profit from the conflict, she battles her way through year after year of an endless war as violence, manipulation, death—and spoils—accumulate around her.
Brecht’s hugely theatrical masterpiece unearths the true cost of conflict—and asks whether cycles of violence can ever be broken.
CAST
Mother Courage Wilma Bonet*
Eiliff Kenny Scott
Swiss Cheese Kevin Rebultan
Kattrin Rolanda D. Bell
The Chaplain Shane Fahy
The Cook John Mercer
Yvette Kimba Daniels
Ensemble J Jha
Ensemble Regina Morones
Ensemble Dominick Palamenti
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
Photo by Jose Manuel Moctezuma
“A rousing re-imagining of Maxim Gorky’s ‘The Lower Depths’... An unsentimental and sharp depiction of an Oakland homeless encampment... a society sketched before us with exacting detail and vibrant life.”
John Wilkins, The Free Audience
“The hour-long show uses a 20-person ensemble… the stereotype-defying threads weaving together to show just how wide the Bay Area’s housing crisis ranges — and how deep run its human costs”
Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
★★★★★
“Passion, commitment, and execution… an incredible night of theater!”Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm
“Lisa Ramirez inspires compassion, reconnecting to our shared humanity... carefully constructed and compelling”
Jennifer Charron, Theatrius
“The Bay Area has the third-largest homeless population in the United States, with nearly 70% of the region's homeless living unsheltered… Down Here Below suggests the bigger picture of our shared humanity is well within our view”
Nicole Gluckstern, KQED
CAST:
Michael Aldrete Cop / Developer
Olive Ball Rat Head
Rolanda D. Bell Blue
Jean Cary Maggie
Kimberly Daniels Mama Gwen
Abdulrahim Harara Goldilox
Champagne Hughes Abbey
Indigo Jackson Rain
J Jha Zig-Zag
Guillermo Labarca Aldrich
Dorian Lockett* Jones
John Mercer 12 Step
Alf Muller Storm
William Oliver III Little Bit
Arielle Powell Shorty
Kevin Rebultan FM
Leo Shaffer Cop/Clearing Crew
Matt Standley GI Joe
Lucy Urbano Teeny
Margherita Ventura Chicken Little
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
This production was supported by The Fleishhacker Foundation.
This production was supported by the Oakland City Council and funded by the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.
DOWN HERE BELOW
April 5–May 5, 2019
by Lisa Ramirez
directed by Michael Frenchinspired by Maxim Gorky’s The Lower Depths
Following the TBA Award–winning TO THE BONE (2017), Associate Artist Lisa Ramirez offers a fresh take on Maxim Gorky’s groundbreaking 1901 drama The Lower Depths, re-locating his unflinching portrait of poverty in 20th-century Russia to a homeless encampment in modern-day Oakland.
At the Village of Radical Acceptance, residents undertake the daily struggle for food, sleep, safety, and stability under the maternal watch of Mama Gwen. But as the layers of their world unfold, the city around them is closing in.
Ubuntu Associate Artist Michael French directs this striking new play, full of heart and humanity, which asks us to consider what is at stake in one of the most divisive economic realities of the Bay Area—and what is essential for survival.
Dear Ubuntu Community,
In an effort to connect with and support the 9,000+ unhoused people living in Oakland, we are partnering Down Here Below with the East Oakland Collective - an organization addressing the immediate needs of unhoused populations across Oakland, as well as advocating and organizing on behalf of the unhoused in Deep East Oakland.
How to Help:
Donate directly to The East Oakland Collective.
Monetary donations can be made on their website: http://www.eastoaklandcollective.com/
Helpful non-monetary donations include:
Men's socks, blankets, clean beanies, hygiene products, Nutri-Grain Bars, and bottled water.
Other opportunities: Participate in East Oakland Collective's "Feed the Hood" program, a bi-monthly event for community members with large scale opportunities to donate money, goods and time to provide food and necessities to homeless populations across Oakland.
Daily choice: to treat our city's unhoused citizens with dignity and respect. Include homeless folks in your vision of "neighborhood" and "community."
Check out this pamphlet for more ways to be a good ally to our unhoused neighbors.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
-Curated by Indigo Jackson on behalf of Ubuntu Theater Project and the DOWN HERE BELOW cast and creative team.
“Jones makes each change in subject and shift and tone as natural and inevitable as a law of physics… [He] has an inborn kingliness of manner that he dispenses benevolently to Wilson’s subject matter and his audience alike.”
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
“Wonderfully entertaining and enthrallingly told, and often tremendously funny… [Jones] proves a compelling raconteur as Wilson, with a forceful personality and wry humor.”
—Sam Hurwitt, Marin Independent Journal
CAST
August Wilson Steven Anthony Jones*
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers
How I Learned What I Learned
CO-PRODUCTION WITH
LORRAINE HANSBERRY THEATRE &
MARIN THEATRE COMPANY
April 30–May 5, 2018
by August Wilson
directed by Margo Hall
In this one-man piece, legendary American playwright August Wilson revisits his life as a young black man growing up in Pittsburgh’s Hill District; a neighborhood that later serves as inspiration for his acclaimed American Century Cycle of plays. Through powerful anecdotes and lessons-learned, Wilson imparts his first encounters with love, friendship, music, racism and violence—experiences that profoundly shape him, and his writing.
“We all know the plays of August Wilson but many of us, especially the younger generation, don’t know much about the man himself. This play allows us to be in a room with him. His gift of storytelling, sense of humor and his love of history are expressed in an intimate night at the theater.”
—Margo Hall, Director
“Inventive staging and inspired casting… Ubuntu once again takes a familiar play, strips it to its core, and exposes a powerful modern meaning!”
Theatrius
“Lovely and lively… Active and realistic fight scenes, contemporary dress, and very affordable ticket prices… a wonderful way to introduce young people to the wonders of Shakespearean drama!”
Berkeleyside
CAST:
Michael Aldrete Montague
Nathaniel Andalis Tybalt
Kieran Beccia Ensemble
Sarah Camacho Juliet
Jamella Cross Ensemble
Michael Curry Mercutio
Chachi Delgado Romeo
Carla Gallardo Ensemble
Champagne Hughes Prince
Benoît Monin Lord Capulet
William Oliver III Friar Lawrence
Kevin Rebultan Benvolio
Margherita Ventura Lady Capulet
Emilie Whelan Nurse
ROMEO AND JULIET
May 17 - June 9, 2019
by William Shakespeare
directed by Susannah Martin
In a world of violence, what does it cost to choose love?
The Capulet and Montague families are caught in a decades-long feud—and their children are caught in the crucible of adolescence.
As societal expectations clash with youthful rebellion, stakes that started high soon become deadly.
Directed by Susannah Martin, Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy asks incisive questions about the consequences of entrenched power, inherited expectations, and cycles of retribution.
Photo by Scott Tsuchitani
“Searing… powerful enough to crack the cement floor and walls of a back room at The FLAX building in Oakland.”
Lou Fancher, East Bay Express
“Poetic, eloquent, passionate, deeply heartfelt and heartbreaking... a vital and direct force for good.”
Sam Hurwitt, East Bay Times
“Your default picture of a person who is sold for sex melts away. In its place is an infant cradled in someone’s arms — or one that at least ought to be."
Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
52 LETTERS
AUGUST 2-25, 2019
written and performed by Regina Evans
vocals by Rashida Chase
We are proud to present a new performance series of the award-winning 52 Letters, highlighting the local realities of human trafficking, written and performed by Regina Evans (Regina’s Door), with vocals by Rashida Chase.
California is the U.S. state most affected by human trafficking —and Oakland is a national hub for underage sex trafficking. In 52 Letters (Winner, Best of SF Fringe Festival 2013), Oakland artist and activist Regina Evans combines poetry and Negro spirituals into a deeply moving experience that brings to light the realities of young Americans caught in modern-day slavery.
52 Letters is not a traditional play. It is a ritual of truth. A ceremony of awareness. A prayer of activation on behalf of the beloved children caught in sex trafficking. They are somebody’s baby. They are somebody’s child. And they are ours to love.
SUPPORTED BY
City of Oakland Cultural Fund
JKW Foundation
RHE Foundation
LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
OCTOBER 4-NOVEMBER 3, 2019
by Eugene O’Neill
directed by Michael Socrates Moran
Widely considered his finest work, Eugene O’Neill’s Tony- and Pulitzer–winning drama follows the Tyrones—a family shaped by addiction, resentment, and regret—through a single day in August as years of secrets begin to emerge.
Moving through the fractures in a family’s history, from racial alienation to economic insecurity to dreams deferred, Ubuntu Artistic Director Michael Moran helms a dreamlike production that conjures the ghosts of America’s pain, and the genesis of the opioid crisis facing the country today.
Cast:
Victor Talmadge* (James Tyrone)
Cathleen Riddley* (Mary Tyrone)
Jose Rodriguez (Jamie Tyrone)
Kevin Rebultan (Edmund Tyrone)
Alexander Kort (Cellist/Ensemble)
*Actors Equity
“Haunting… intimate… heartbreaking… an emotionally resonant portrayal of a family simmering with resentment and denial and casual cruelty, but also with wounded, resigned love.”
Sam Hurwitt, Mercury News
“As the opioid epidemic sweeps across the United States, our gut-wrenching familiarity with addiction and loss is everywhere. Ubuntu boldly thrusts Eugene O’Neill into 2019, with a powerhouse cast and inventive staging... a rare opportunity to see a smart, courageous, and contemporary play about our addictions.”
Jordan Freed, Theatrius
STAFF PICK: Lou Fancher, East Bay Express
Trailer by Adam Elder
“Wonderfully dynamic! J Jha [is] a performer of tremendous exuberance and magnetic energy... a cheeky, touching and thoroughly engaging alternate telling of a great work that contains multitudes.“
—Sam Hurwitt, Mercury News
“By stripping The Mahābhārata to a bare-bones, one-person show, Geetha Reddy and Ubuntu Theater Project showcase the true heart of an oral tradition—with the potential to transform its audience, its teller, and the story itself.”
—Nicole Gluckstern, KQED
“Magnificent! A fresh take on old stories that everyone can appreciate.”
—Tanvi Agrawal, Theatrius
“Brilliantly adapted by Geetha Reddy and directed by Michael Socrates Moran… after hearing it, you do feel more alive.”
—Kiki Posts
MAHĀBHĀRATA
NOV 15—DEC 15, 2019
by Geetha Reddy
a new one-person play featuring J Jha
The Mahābhārata is the great Indian epic. Dating from around 800 BCE, with 100,000 verses and a cast of thousands, it is told anew to each generation of Indian children in a version that speaks to the time in which they are living.
Often, tales of triumphant warriors emerge. But what of the tantalizing histories woven among the battles? What of the boundaries broken, the pathways blazed? And what does India’s ancient epic have to say to Americans of Indian descent?
Playwright Geetha Reddy (Far, Far Better Things) offers a bold new retelling of the ancient text, featuring Ubuntu Company Member J Jha (Pool of Unknown Wonders; Hamlet; Down Here Below) in a one-person excavation that explores the epic for a new generation.
This fresh World Premiere examines the nature of conflict, betrayal, and victory through a contemporary lens—but what will the Aunties say?
LOCATION:
The FLAX Building
1501 Martin Luther King Jr Way
Oakland, CA
World Premiere Trailer
Trailer by Adam Elder