Flashback

Under the scorching sun at Petaluma Adobe, We Players built a play in the dusty streets of our Wild West Verona...

Have you met Romeo?

Meet the gallant Mohammad Shehata!

Q) How has working with We Players changed your perspective of theater, or of the world at large?
A) We Players emphasizes all of those things which make theatre unique and separate from any other form of art or entertainment. I’m reminded of the great potential for intimacy and awe in theatre which can only come from the kind of communion that We Players aims so clearly to establish.

Q) Describe We Players in four words.
A) Community. Brave. Mysterious. Now.

Q) Any funny or memorable We Players moments, anecdotes, quotes/metaphors you'd like to share?
A) We went to dinner as our characters one night, and were given special missions to accomplish while at dinner. One of my tasks was to be in disguise, so I put on a Russian accent. It made no sense but it was crazy fun. It was like a version of Romeo and Juliet put on by 5 year olds who just stole and devoured Mama’s cookie batter. That’s what we get up to in rehearsal… what the hell are we doing?

Q) Tell us about some new favorite of yours, whether it's a lunch dish, a singer, movie, color, or something else entirely. What is it about this new thing that's rocking your world?
A) I’ve seen the film A Separation (written and directed by Asghar Farhadi) about 8 times now. Talk about flawless filmmaking. I require all of you to view it. You’ll be reminded of what it’s like to be nourished in every way a story caught on camera is supposed to nourish you.

All photos by Lauren Matley

Lana Richards- Production Spotlight

Meet Lana Richards, Production Assistant and Intern.

Prior to joining We Players, Lana just wrapped up a semester at the National Theater Institute in Waterford, CT, where she studied directing 15 hours a day, 7 days a week for three months. She-Ra is real!
 

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Q) Describe We Players in four words…
A)Sensory, curious, personal, expansive

Q) How has working with We Players changed your perspective of theater, or of the world at large?
A) As a theater-maker and a human being, working with We Players has encouraged me to think about space in multi-dimensional and emotional ways. We Players lets you ask questions of the space just as you ask questions of the play–and in turn, ask yourself how you belong in the play, the space, this world, and beyond.

Q) Any funny or memorable We Players moments, anecdotes, quotes/metaphors you’d like to share?
A) The Petaluma Adobe is home to three lovely sheep named Barbara, Princess, and Frida. Maya and I like to greet them in the morning, and whenever we say, “Good morning ladies!” they usually turn to stare at us, and then they pee a little bit. It’s one of life’s little miracles.

Q) Tell us a little sumthin’ about you:
A) I just finished up a semester at the National Theater Institute in Waterford, CT… It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done and certainly the most rewarding.

Q) What is it about this new thing that’s rocking your world?
A) Earlier this summer I read 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write by Sarah Ruhl. It’s been influencing the way I think about theater and life in general, and I have no doubt I’ll read it again soon!

a life long love affair...

“The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet”

This is the show that began my love affair with Shakespeare... I played Juliet my freshman year of high school. Changed everything. Sports turned into iambic pentameter in an instant.

Flash forward! Spring of 2000, freshman year in college, We Players is born with a beautiful, ragtag array of friends in all the roles - actors-cum-doctors, engineers, scientists, social anthropologists in training - playing all the parts in, you guessed it, Romeo & Juliet.

It was set sprawling across the campus from the student union, through pedestrian thoroughfares, under archways, across courtyards, and finally arriving at a collection of iconic sculptures - Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais. We bit our thumbs and brawled in the cafeteria at high noon, were married in front of the stunning facade of Stanford’s Memorial Church, fought to the death in the center of the quad and were buried, by way of red ribbons that tied the dead bodies to the sculptures. The audience followed along, growing bigger, a great parade, and the fire-eyed fury and soaring love story of Juliet and her Romeo swept us along throughout the landscape. The concept and practice of We Players - this transforming of public space into immersive performance venues - was ignited.

Zoom into the future once more! Here we are, the summer of 2016. 16 years since the first We Players’ performance, our patchwork garb now converted to costumes dyed with the native plants of the land, our homemade cookies transformed into fine organic cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, our shopping cart full of props is now become a team of talented designers and devoted production crew members, our studious friends respectfully replaced with some of the finest actors in the Bay Area, and our impromptu takeover of public spaces grown into a unique and very special partnership with both our State and National Parks. 

It is with great honor, humility, and joy that I share this production with you, dear audience members! This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The works are as vital and relevant as they ever have been. It has been a great pleasure to delve back into this familiar story to be nothing less than astonished with the multitude of new perspectives and discoveries packed into this year’s exploration of it. 

Of course, this is always one of the great joys of the rehearsal process: the discovery, the breathing of life into it, the responses to what the actors bring, the questions asked, and then even more questions, the flashes of insight, and then back on the trail, searching again…

I hope that when you join us on this performance adventure - at this historic adobe, immersed in this stunning slice of northern California landscape - that you will be rewarded for paying attention, that your senses will be activated, and that you will find something in the story and the place to carry with you in the years to follow.

-Ava Roy
Artistic Director

Actor Spotlight: Rush Rehm

Here's Romeo & Juliet actor spotlight #3!

Rush is an actor, the artistic director of Stanford Repertory Theater, a professor of Theater & Performance Studies and Classics at Stanford, and a published author in the areas of Greek tragedy and contemporary politics (phew!)-you’ll meet Rush in Romeo & Juliet as Friar Laurence.

 Q: Describe We Players in four words.
 A: Fun, Intimate, Engaged, Ava! 

 Q:How has working with We Players changed your perspective of theater, or of the world at large?
 A: I’ve lived too long and seen too many things for anything in the theater to change my view of the world. As for the theater, there are many ways to make it, and many of them are valid, rewarding, and effective. We Players is one such way.

 Q: What’s your hometown? How has it shaped you? 
A: No hometown, I traveled as a child. I like Greece, Paris (duh), Australia, New Zealand, Cuba, Berlin, London, Istanbul, I could go on. 

 Q: What would you be if you weren’t an actor? 
A: Few people (me included) are just “an actor.” What /who else would I be? Depends on the day. 

 Q: Tell us about some new favorite of yours, whether it’s a lunch dish, a singer, movie, color, or something else entirely. What is it about this new thing that’s rocking your world? 
 A:  Joseph Conrad. 

Photos by Tina Case Photography

Actor Spotlight: Libby Oberlin

Drum roll, please! Here’s our Romeo & Juliet Actor Spotlight #2! 
Meet Libby Kelly Oberlin as CAPULET (Lord and Lady) 

Q: Describe We Players in four words. 
A: Profound, extraordinary, meaningful, purposeful 

 Q: How has working with We Players changed your perspective of theater, or of the world at large?
 A: Shakespeare got it right when he said, “All the world’s a stage” and We Players takes that quite literally. Working with We really makes you realize that art can and _is_ happening all around us- and it does not have to be confined to a theater. I’ve worked on non-traditional stages and locations but the thought, research, and care that We puts into deriving meaning from a place is quite special. The place becomes another character, another player, and a real means of inspiration.

Q: Any funny or memorable We Players moments, anecdotes, quotes/metaphors you’d like to share? 
A: I think I’m going to get away with it this time so don’t tell Ava or Brooke but, in the past two shows that I’ve performed with We I’ve had the “pleasure” of wearing a flesh colored unitard, known as the nuditard. When in the nuditard during rehearsals, I’d sometimes wear a sweatshirt to keep warm. Park goers always did a double take when they saw me, as it looked like I forgot to put on my pants. Memorable, for sure! 

 Q: What’s your hometown? How has it shaped you? 
A: I grew up in Springfield Massachusetts, the birth place of basketball. No, I’m not a good basketball player but I definitely jammed and broke a number of fingers when I played as a kid. Most Springfield residents I know have an incredible knowledge of and mental repertoire of 90’s R&B songs, myself included. Mary J Blige was/is everything!! 

 Q: If you weren’t an actor, what would you be, and why?
 A: I’ve always known I would be an actor. Since I was seven years old. In addition to acting, I’m also a theater teacher. I can’t get enough! 

 Q: Tell us about some new favorite of yours, whether it’s a lunch dish, a singer, movie, color, or something else entirely. What is it about this new thing that’s rocking your world? 
A: As of 3 years ago, my new favorite person is my daughter Maeve. She’s the coolest!     

 

Photos by Tina Case and Jim Norrena 

Actor Spotlight: Courtney Walsh


We can’t believe week two of rehearsals at Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park is coming to a close. As we learn more and more about each other as fellow cast members of Romeo & Juliet, we will share those insights with you here in our Actor Spotlights!

Meet Courtney Walsh, our Mercutio!

Photo: Lauren Matley

Photo: Lauren Matley

 

WE: Describe We Players in four words…

CW: Adventurous, smart, committed, fun.

WE: How has working with We Players changed your perspective of theater, or of the world at large?

CW: Performance outside the black box removes inhibition. No room for self-consciousness at play or at large.

WE: Any funny or memorable We Players moments, anecdotes, quotes/metaphors you’d like to share?

CW: You can have a whole conversation between two people using just my character’s name:
Mercuti-YO!
Mercuti-you-HO!
Mercuti-WHOA!
Mercuti-GO.
Mercuti-NO!!
…Etc :)

WE: Tell us a little sumthin’ about you:

CW: I have four children, ages 12-23, and have been married 25 years. I have a horse and do competitive dressage. I also took several years off of acting to be a lawyer representing abused children. I have argued in the California Supreme Court.

WE: What is it about this new thing that’s rocking your world?

CW: Girls never get to sword fight - but now I do!

Our 2016 Season is Here!

In 2016, We Players is celebrating Shakespeare 400,
the NPS Centennial, and our own Sweet Sixteen!

Our season of stunning site-integrated theatre is full of love,
masquerade balls, sword fights, gorgeous poetry and – of course –
fantastically beautiful California landscapes.

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Shakespeare 400: Performance companies and publishers the world over are honoring 400 years of Shakespeare’s legacy.

We Players Sweet Sixteen

We Players has been staging large-scale, site-integrated experiences of classical plays
since the first production in 2000 at Stanford University.
That first We Players show?  A roving Romeo & Juliet which moved from Tressider Student Union throughout the campus courtyards and pedestrian thoroughfares to Memorial Church, The Quad, and ultimately arriving at a collection of Rodin sculptures, “the Burghers of Calais.”

We Players cycles back and digs deeper into the play that began it all, celebrating 16 years of creating stunning works of site-integrated theatre in spectacular and historically charged locations, with Romeo & Juliet performances, inspired special events, and parties throughout 2016!

Mask Making Salons: presentation + hands on mask making workshop; March – April
Sword Fights & Sandwiches: performance, workshop, social gathering; May & June
The Capulet Ball: elegant masquerade ball and performance; May & June
Romeo & Juliet: full scale production at Petaluma Adobe; August & September
Romeo & Juliet: full scale production adapted for Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA; October

~~ More details below ~~

COMING UP!!!!!

7th Annual GALA

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On the Vernal Equinox: Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 6:30pm

Intrigue will flow from every corner of one of our favorite indoor spaces!
Savor potions prepared by our underground Franciscan Friars; send secret messages to your lovers and esteemed friends via our cupid courier service; visit the Apothecary’s Lounge to stimulate your five senses; and outbid your frenemies at the silent auction – featuring new and special treasures to thrill and delight.

Romeo & Juliet

by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ava Roy
Produced by Lauren D. Chavez and Ava Roy
Original Score by Charlie Gurke

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Continuing nearly 10 years of unprecedented partnerships with the National Park Service and California State Parks,  We Players once again integrates a classic story into the environs
of a national historic landmark.

This summer, journey to wine country to experience this beloved story of star-crossed lovers set into the historic Rancho Petaluma and surrounding grounds.

We Players, in partnership with California State Parks presents:
Romeo & Juliet
at Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
Sonoma County, CA
August 12 – September 25, 2016

* * * *

Later in the fall, head south to Saratoga
to experience the play adapted for the stunning mansion
and grounds of the illustrious Villa Montalvo!

We Players in partnership with Montalvo Arts Center presents:
Romeo & Juliet
at Villa Montalvo
Saratoga, CA
October 6 – 16, 2016

In Residence at Montalvo Arts Center
We’ve received an astounding invitation from the Montalvo Arts Center to workshop our upcoming production of Romeo & Juliet this April. This residency is as part of the Lucas Arts Residency Program and Montalvo’s 75 year history of supporting artists and the artistic process. We love you, Montalvo!

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“We Players actors have the ability to draw power out of their
surroundings, channeling it into spectacular, immersive experiences”
– SF Weekly “Best of the Bay” 2015 awards

We Players connects people with place through site-integrated theatre.
Support for the nonprofit arts and education organization is provided by
Grants for the Arts/ General Fund Portion of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund,
The Fleishhacker Foundation, Fort Mason Center Presents, Kenneth Rainin Foundation,
The San Francisco Foundation, The Zellerbach Family Foundation and generous individual contributors.
Our 2016 Romeo & Juliet season will be developed while in residence
at the Lucas Artist Residency Program, Montalvo Arts Center.