Wow. I just finished an inspiring conversation with Bay Area Theater royalty, the incomparable Margo Hall. As an actress, she had made her presence felt on every major Bay Area stage from the rough and tumble Intersection for the Arts in the Mission to the big houses at ACT, BRep, and Cal Shakes. She's taught and mentored hundreds of theatre artists and directed over two dozen plays. Perhaps more importantly, she has shown many emerging theater artists how hustle, hard work, and a big heart can cut a path to a gratifying and successful career. As you can imagine, Margo is a spectacular storyteller. She recounted adventures and anecdotes from her beginnings in Detroit, Michigan, to her first professional gigs at Arena Stage in DC, and on to her decision to pull up stakes and move to the Bay Area, which, fortunately for all of us, became her home. You're in for a real treat.

This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the Shotgun Studios on Friday, May 1st.

As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected].

https://www.margohall.com/

So, this is something a little different.

I just had the pleasure of being interviewed by Richard Wolinsky. Most folks in the Bay Area will know him from his 50+ years at KPFA, Berkeley's flagship public radio station. He recently reviewed our production of Edward Albee's The Goat, closing on Sunday, May 3rd, and he wanted the opportunity to spend some time discussing the history of Shotgun Players and all the other plays we've got coming up in our 2026 season.

It was an honor to be in conversation with someone who has interviewed such legends as Gore Vidal, Joyce Carol Oates, Norman Mailer, Salman Rushdie, E.L. Doctorow, and many others. I encourage you to check out the show notes to read more about his work and also explore his extensive archives, where you can hear his recent interviews with some of the many artists and writers who have contributed to our dynamic Bay Area Arts scene. Enjoy!

https://kpfa.org/area941/program/radio-wolinsky/

https://kpfa.org/area941/program/bay-area-theater/

http://www.richardwolinsky.com/Wolinsky.html

Jon Tracy is one of the most prolific theater artists in the Bay Area. By sheer force of will and a determined, workmanlike approach, he has carved out a career that has put his prodigious skills to work in nearly every mid-sized theatre in town. Remarkably, he is also that rare breed of theater maker who spends more time listening than talking when he's in a room. He epitomizes the expression, "speak softly but carry a big stick." Or, in his case, VISION. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze some time into his busy schedule, so he could share some of his remarkable journey and what continues to motivate his relentless, tenacious creativity.

This conversation was recorded at the Shotgun Studios on Tuesday morning, March 7th.

As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected]. If you're so inclined, we'd appreciate any opportunity you have to spread the word on these conversations with other local theater makers and fans who might enjoy them.

https://www.marinshakespeare.org/

https://jontracyplays.com/

Joy Carlin is the closest thing the Bay Area has to theatre royalty. She has held leadership positions in our two flagship organizations, as interim Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep and as the Associate Artistic Director at ACT. She has also acted and directed in nearly every other mid-sized to large theatre company around.

Throughout this time, she's also made it a priority to attend shows and stay engaged with every level of Bay Area theatre: from the smallest back room black boxes to the biggest houses. She's the most accessible legend you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing. Joy welcomed me to her home in North Berkeley a few days before her 94th birthday so we could reminisce about her storied career and where she sees our theatre today.

For those who would like to learn more, I'm also attaching a video link to a 2021 presentation she made at the Berkeley Club as part of their Arts and Culture Series. For now, I welcome you to enjoy this conversation.

This episode was recorded on March 19th. Local dramaturg and educator, Philippa Kelly and her two dogs were also there.

We're so grateful to our sponsors: Roses on Adeline, a wonderful restaurant and watering hole in South Berkeley. They serve delicious food and cocktails before or after any performance. Thanks also to Scott Leverette, a longtime Berkeley resident, Sotheby's realtor, and friend of the theatre who has been offering buyers and sellers quality service for over thirty years.

As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected]

Arts and Culture Lectures at the Berkeley City Club, July 7th, 2021: My Life in the Theater: Spotlight on Joy Carlin

American Theater Magazine: The Prime of Ms. Joy Carlin - https://www.americantheatre.org/2018/09/12/the-prime-of-ms-joy-carlin/

Philippa Kelly: Author, Dramaturg, Educator https://philippakellysite.wordpress.com/

After dabbling in theater for years as an artist and administrator, Lily Janiak finally found her calling: crrrritic. After a few short stints at the SF Weekly and SF Bay Times, 10 years ago this spring, she stepped onto the biggest stage for theater criticism in Northern California: the San Francisco Chronicle. In our most recent Spotlight, Lily generously pulled back the curtain on the unique pleasures and pressures of her position. She also cracked quite a few jokes.

This episode was recorded in front of a live, packed audience at the Shotgun Studios on Friday, March 13th. I hope you'll enjoy hearing this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected]

Marin Theatre's Artistic Director, Lance Gardner, is a busy man. In the last couple of months, he has directed and starred in back-to-back productions. If our Bay Area theater scene is going to continue its resurgence, we'll need more visionaries like Lance in leadership positions. I'll be interviewing many interesting folks in the coming months, but I have to say it's been a real treat to interview fellow artistic directors Michael Moran and Lance Gardner in consecutive events. I was fascinated to learn from and appreciate their distinct paths to establishing their careers and finding success.

This episode of Spotlight was recorded in front of a live audience at the Shotgun Studios on February 6th. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome at [email protected]

Marin Theatre: https://www.marintheatre.org/

Oakland Theatre Project: https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/

Patrick Dooley talks to playwright Adam Bock and director Mary Ann Rodgers about childhood theatre companies, writing process, and Shotgun's upcoming production of Bock's play A Small Fire.

Leigh Rondon-Davis talks to Babes in Ho-lland playwright Deneen Reynolds-Knott about Riot Grrrl, starting college, and the Black experience in predominately white environments.

Deneen's "Babes" playlist!

Check out Shoebox Picnic Road Side at Alabama Shakes if you're in Montgomery!

Leigh Rondon-Davis talks about spectacle, spite, and HGTV with Dream Hou$e playwright Eliana Pipes and director Karina Gutiérrez.

Music:

Welcome to the Show" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/