Although theaters remain closed and some artists lament the lack of work, others are focusing on the bright side and discovering new ways to create. One such artist is the multitalented Kimberly Ridgeway. By day, this dynamo is the senior program specialist in AC Transit’s Americans with Disabilities Act compliance department. By night, she is a writer, director, theater administrator and performer. I’m not sure she ever sleeps!
I had the opportunity to experience her creativity firsthand in 2017, when the two of us were cast in “The Savannah Sipping Society” at Alameda’s Altarena Playhouse. Ridgeway was busy enough then but, since the pandemic hit, she has been in overdrive with 27 projects (seven of which she wrote) to her credit thus far. She also finds time to be the director of new works for Dragon Productions Theatre Company and the company administrator for Oakland Theater Project.“While the pandemic doesn’t give us the chance to be face-to-face and feel that energy from our audience, it does allow us to take on more projects and do things we might not have been able to do before and to work with people all over the country,” Ridgeway said.
And the world too. Ridgeway talks about working with a writer in New Zealand and having the woman from whom one of the characters was modeled watching the finished production from her home in Iceland.
“Going forward, I hope we can continue some of the streaming of productions. It’s exciting to know a production I’m doing at Contra Costa Civic Theatre in El Cerrito is being seen around the world. It would be nice to keep those audiences,” she said.
Ridgeway noted that one theater she has worked with is receiving higher donations for its online readings than it did when readings were held at the theater before the pandemic.
“Before they were limited by the size of the space, but that’s not the case online.”
The busy artist’s upcoming projects include three short plays she has written: “The Stop,” produced by Fantasy Theatre Factory in Miami (bayareane.ws/3pyXr8C), with a live in-person performance Feb. 19 and streaming performances through March 18; “Soul Mates” presented by Dragon Productions Theatre Company on Feb. 21 and “The Contract” on March 21, also presented by Dragon (bayareane.ws/36peRgw).
“The Stop,” loosely based on Ridgeway’s experience, deals with a black woman pulled over by the police and all the fears she has about what could happen.
“I remember when the policewoman was following my car — just wanting to get home alive and having this horrible feeling that might not happen because someone had a preconceived notion about me based on my hue,” said Ridgeway.
Ridgeway goes from exploring anxiety about the police to hair in a project she’s directing for Three Willows Theatre Company (threewillowstheatre.org) entitled “Comb Your Hair (or You’ll Look Like a Slave)” by Jalisa Leelee Jackson. Comprising 13 vignettes, it tells of young Black women navigating American society. The show streams Feb. 19-20.
“It has been an amazing experience working with Three Willows. They are a 100% virtual online theater and are so supportive,” said Ridgeway. “I also have an amazing cast from around the country — L.A., Chicago, Texas and the Bay Area.”
Unique storytelling: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) offers a musical about two people who were perfect for each other — at least for a brief moment in time.
“The Last Five Years” by Jason Robert Brown uses a unique form of storytelling in which Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order beginning at the end of the marriage while Jamie’s story is told in chronological order starting when the couple first met. According to director Marilyn Langbehn, the characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.
This intimate musical features Annika Bergman as Cathy and Sterling Liska as Jamie. Filmed under strict COVID-19 protocols, the show runs Feb. 12-15 as video on demand. Greg Zema is music director. Go to ccct.org for tickets.
San Francisco: For the past 25 years, San Francisco’s Word for Word Performing Arts Company has presented wonderfully creative short stories by hundreds of different writers including Amy Tan, Tobias Wolff and James Baldwin. Instead of adapting a script, the clever company uses every word of text in dynamic ways that preserves the beauty of the original prose. Refusing to let the pandemic stifle its creativity, Word for Word will present a new audio drama podcast of Helen Oyeyemi’s “Books & Roses” beginning Feb. 14. The three-part series will continue Feb. 21 and Feb. 28.
The intriguing story tells of a baby girl found in a chapel of Spain’s Catalonia region and raised by monks. She was found with a golden chain around her neck that had a small key on it. As the young girl called Montserrat grows, she forgets about the key until one fateful day. To enjoy this delightful tale, go to zspace.org/pod.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
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January 30, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Curtain Calls: Multitalented Bay Area artist finds COVID’s silver lining - East Bay Times
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