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Send in the clowns: Pi: The Physical Comedy Troupe is one of the many acts performing on the busy bill at the San Francisco Theater Festival on Sunday.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The San Francisco Theater Festival is a smorgasbord of live performance unlike any other. In the span of just one day, more than 100 acts are set to deliver a truly comprehensive sampling of what the Bay Area’s theater community has to offer. Whether it’s family-friendly theatrics from magician Brian Scott or a snippet of “The Rocky Horror Show” from the folks at Ray of Light
Theater, the free fifth annual event is certain to have something for new and old theatergoers alike.
The festival, which begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Sunday at Yerba Buena Gardens, is designed to showcase a number of performers is bite-sized portions; each performance runs no longer than 30 minutes, allowing audiences to take in a variety of shows throughout the day.
“Sometimes theater has an intensity to it,” says producer Bill Schwartz. “You go in with this sense that you paid a lot of money and are wondering if you’re even going to enjoy what you’re about to see. In this setting, there’s a real light attitude about theater. If you’re not enjoying a show, you can quietly move on and experience something else.”
Considering that the festival boasts 85 shows on 11 stages, audiences would be hard pressed to not happen upon a performance that may potentially stir their interests, Schwartz says.
Essentially, that’s the motivation behind the festival — to showcase a diverse range of acts in an accessible environment as a means of reaching out to those who may not normally seek out live theater for entertainment.
Still, with so many performances to catch in roughly six hours, Schwartz admits that the task of choosing personal picks for the day can be a little daunting.
“If you’re a little bit more tightly wound, like myself, you could find yourself in a state of panic. You’ll have a feeling of ‘what am I missing?’ because there’s just so much to see. You have to make choices, and this is a good test for people who have decision-making problems,” he says.
Performances of particular note at this year’s San Francisco Theater Festival include:
“Sisyphus Syndrome”: A provocative jazz opera by poet and playwright Amiri Baraka.
“One Damn Man”: Aleshia Brevard and Gina Grahame present a two-woman story of gender change.
Pi: The Physical Comedy Troupe: The clowns of Pi “examine life through a lens of wonder” using mime technique, acrobatics and puppetry.
IF YOU GO
San Francisco Theater Festival
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday
Where: Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission and Third streets, San Francisco
Admission: Free
Contact: (415) 291-8655, www.sftheaterfestival.org
Comments from Examiner Readers
8:22 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Performer gets risqué in new act"
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8:36 PM MST on Thu., May. 15, 2008
re: "Theater: Hillbarn closes season with Elton John’s ‘Aida’"
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6:07 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008
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8:00 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 17, 2008
re: "Review: 'High School Musical' sticks to the status quo"
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10:40 AM MST on Sat., Oct. 6, 2007
re: "Review: 'Heartbreak' at Berkeley Rep"
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12:15 PM MST on Sun., Sep. 9, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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5:18 AM MST on Sat., Sep. 8, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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2:23 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 20, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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11:14 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 6, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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9:27 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 6, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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9:09 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 6, 2007
re: "A ‘Macbeth’ in the Macbuff"
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6:47 PM MST on Wed., Jun. 20, 2007
re: "Eye of the beholder at the heart of ‘Fat Pig”"
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2:03 PM MST on Wed., Jun. 13, 2007
re: "A trifle of a ‘Tempest’"
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10:45 AM MST on Wed., May. 30, 2007
re: "A harrowing choice at Theater J"
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9:33 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 23, 2007
re: "Shakespeare’s bloodiest"
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9:27 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 23, 2007
re: "Shaking up Shakespeare"
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9:23 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 23, 2007
re: "Shaking up Shakespeare"
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Bessica said:
The government should get out of marriage entirely. Straight or gay, we need good family law to protect children, we need contracts for interdependent relationships. Marriage is an important institution. Rename the legal part something else for EVERYONE. Many GLBT on the site **bisexualmingle c o m** want the same-sex marriage.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I thought it was a great production and both Alexa Ortega and Adam Barry were absolutely fantastic.
17 agree | 11 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The Government Inspector: Quite poorly done. Actors unprepared. Line delivery mishaps. Overpriced. Prop failure at the end. It reminded me of sequels such as Oceans v11 - v13, where a group of well known actors use their names to draw a crowd and sell tickets. Uk. The result is a mediocre performance, in part because of too many cooks -- and some of these cooks, e.g. Geoff Hoyle are really good. Hopefully this review will save someone else the time and money.
17 agree | 12 disagree
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Parkside Poulegene said:
Re: High School Musical I just took my daughter Sharmuta to this show and we had to leave early! When we got home I took away all her "High School Musical" CD's and tee-shirts. If she even mentions the show again she's grounded for a month, and that goes for her other mother too. This show is really racist, homophobic and pro-Zionist and pro-Bush-Terror. There's too many white people in it. This show needs to be shut down and outlawed.
13 agree | 13 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Thank you for the first honest review that I have read on this production. The length of Act two was tortuous to sit through.
386 agree | 333 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I bet the scene where Macbeth and Macduff are branishing their CLAYMORES is a hoot!
301 agree | 315 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Playing naked? Not really - the main character's body is covered by fur! As the reader before wrote the actor playing Macbeth is extremely hairy. It is quite strange to see how hairy a mans body can be... His body hair was the most impressing thing of the whole play.
325 agree | 294 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Bloody, Bold, Resolute, and Naked - AND HAIRY!!! I read an article that all actors were not allowed to shave any body hair three months before the play started to look "naturally". So it is impressive how hairy the actor playing Macbeth is - he has a furry chest and even a quite hairy back and bushy pubic hairs. It is very unusual today to see such a hairy actor fully nude, because normally an actor shaves at least his back hairs doing a nude scene on stage or in a movie... So big compliments to Daniel Eichner for presenting us his great furry body fully nude!
354 agree | 309 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Good review... one of the few critics able to articulate some of the problems with this show. I left at intermission and the lighting was troublesome. sometimes I wonder what the other critics are thinking --- if you are still curious fgo on Saturday afternoons when the tickets are "pay what you can."
389 agree | 347 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Munch claims "there is no denying" that the nudity in WSC's "Macbeth" "does little to enhance or elevate Shakespeare’s Scottish play." Well, the critics at www.PotomacStages.com and www.DCTheatreScene.com have taken the opposite view. Potomac Stages, in fact, wrote: "in no uncertain terms that this is a quality production that presents "the Scottish play" in a new and very effective light (or is that a new and very effective darkness?)." DC Theatre Scene wrote: "The actors’ nudity provides an extra dimension to their presentations...By being physically naked, these actors become emotionally naked as well. This production of Macbeth is a great gift to those who have the will to receive it. We are unlikely to see anything like it in the foreseeable future." So it seems the only thing there is no denying is that Munch doesn't speak for everyone.
406 agree | 315 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Tonight's performance of "Macbeth" started at 8:05 pm and was done precisely at 10:30. I'm not the best at math, but that seems like under 2 and half hours...not over 3 hours, which the critic claims the play to be.
392 agree | 357 disagree
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JaimeK said:
Shame Fat Pig wasn't given an actual review on the acting. There were some pretty phenomenal performances. Especially Erin Riley as Helen and Courtney Ryan as Jeannie. Very VERY good show.
518 agree | 406 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Closes in 4 days
450 agree | 401 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Why review it a few days before it closes and not mention its closing in the review?
442 agree | 431 disagree
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EdnBetty said:
We just returned from Titus Andronicus, the play that Kenneth Tynan called "the worst play Marlowe ever wrote". We expected gore and got it! Tsoutsouvas was also great, but Valerie Leonard was vamping it over the top. And that voice set my teeth on edge!
746 agree | 481 disagree
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Reader said:
Yes, "She Stoops to Comedy" at Woolly Mammoth is a treat!
546 agree | 465 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Oh, we just a-DORed this show!
573 agree | 458 disagree
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