Indigenous Performing Arts Residency
New works by Native voices
April 14 – 18, 2024
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The Arts Research Center and Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies with Alternative Theater Ensemble are proud to welcome Playwright and Berkeley Alum Drew Woodson for a residency at UC Berkeley, April 14 - 18, 2025. Woodson will spend the week developing a new play (From Above) in workshops with local Indigenous actors, give an Artist Talk in conversation with TDPS Professor Philip Gotanda, present a public reading of From Above, and visit classes in TDPS. Check out the program HERE.
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Co-presented by the University of California - Berkeley's Arts Research Center and the Department of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies, and with support from the Dean's Office of the Division of Arts & Humanities, the Department of Ethnic Studies, the Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues, the Native American Studies Program, the Puffin Foundation, and the California Arts Council.
When They Ask If We Were Real
Creative learning and collective making
Ensemble member Leah Sanginiti is directing When They Ask If We Were Real, a community-led performance project that amplifies cross-cultural inquiry and affirms humanity’s value as A.I. automates more and more artistic processes. Development workshops are being held in partnership with Berkeley Public Library, Dominican University, and local communities across the Bay Area.
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This project engages distinct communities and generations in a time when history’s repetition seems unfathomable. ATE ensemble member Leah Sanginiti gathered questions from participants in several different global positionalities.
“Why was I born here and not somewhere else?” (Indonesia)
“What if Earth had two moons? Would we have different myths?” (USA)
“Are we real?” (Kindergartener, Philippines)
Participants in these next workshops will work together to animate questions like these. While ATE facilitators will lead the process and the final performance, community members will determine the level of engagement in their storytelling.
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This project is made possible thanks to generous funding from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
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Collaborations: Seeking Joy Together with Berkeley Public Libraries
Blending joy and resistance
With a series of programming at Berkeley Public Libraries, ensemble members have facilitated potlucks, group walks, community art-making nights, and conversations around fostering curiosity and community organizing strategies in the current political reality.
Collaborations:
Cedars of Marin
Creating artistic community
This year marks ATE's second year of collaboration with Cedars of Marin on multiple projects that use the power of theater to heal, connect, and inspire. Ensemble members are excited to build upon last year’s Self Advocacy Projects utilizing techniques from Theater of the Oppressed with the support of the Raab Foundation, and will expand upon live animation & puppetry projects with the support of the Henson Foundation.