Marisela Trevino Orta’s blog. Marisela is teaching a bilingual playwriting class for MTC at San Rafael High, and will be writing a play for the Nu Werkz series based on her experiences with these students.
…we’re focusing on dialog in class today. My main goal is to get them to understand how to write theatre [...]

We have had question-and-answer sessions after every performance, led by a staff member at the theatre and including one or more of the actors.  Never have I been a part of talkbacks where they have been so well attended, and with such thoughtful participants.  Certainly the parallels in our show to our contemporary society resonate [...]

With the craziness of running a show through its first weekend, I’m just now getting around to updating the blog.  Opening night went very well, although the usual jitters of having press present and increased expectations were certainly an obstacle to overcome.  In a way it’s always a relief to get through opening and onto [...]

Anthony Veneziale writes about his experience teaching a drama class for MTC at MLK Academy in Marin City:
Kim brought up the fact that she thought it was important to have some continuity between weeks so we always start with a writing exercise — just to settle everyone and get them focused after physical education. [...]

SF Chronicle review of The Good German
Much of this is cleverly constructed, and director Kent Nicholson choreographs the emotional clashes to emphasize the ethical subtext in this West Coast premiere.
Article in the Guardian on the state of theatre
(recommended by Matthew)
The most depressing response I encounter when I’m chatting someone up and I ask [...]

Last night was MTC’s Teachers’ Night Out event; we invited school teachers from all over Marin County to a free performance of The Good German. Before the show, we met in the Lieberman Theatre for food, wine, and a talk with stage manager Risa Aratyr.
After an introduction from MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis, Risa [...]

Marin Theatre Company has the luxury of an extended preview process; we did five previews last week, and had a small audience for our final dress rehearsal.  Many theatres in the Bay Area don’t do six shows a week, and we had six before we even open our show.
The audiences have taught us a lot [...]

I am very excited to be able to announce the 2007-2008 Marin Theatre Company Season! We have a tremendous line-up of plays for next season and you will not want to miss a single production. We have 5 plays in our 230-seat Boyer Theatre and I am delighted to add 2 plays in [...]

Theatre Bay Area Magazine article about how MTC hung actor Rod Gnapp in our recent production of Frozen.
Tied off and secretly hooked on, Gnapp kicks away the folding chair he was standing on, lets go of the bar, drops suddenly and quickly stifles his impulse to grab the bar.
IJ article about the recent immigration raids [...]

The firsts come fast and furious at this point in the rehearsal process.  And it’s still a rehearsal, even though we’re adding audience.  We have the luxury of almost a full week of previews before next Tuesday’s opening, so we get to gauge audience reaction and tailor the show appropriately.  How far can we go [...]