BrickaBrack is about a year and a half now... our little baby can walk! We have invited a bunch of new company members to join us, making us a real ensemble. The new BrickaBrack company members are: costume designer Antonia Gunnarson, actor Alex Lydon, actor Gloria McDonald, graphic designer Adriel Socrates, actor and choreographer Maura Tang, and actor and director Anthony Williams. See short bios on everyone here. Official press release excerpt below. Today we announced auditions for our next project, never fall so heavily again. We'll cast in September for the fall workshop. Until then, lots of fundraising and preparations to do, including our first ever Gala, which we're planning for the end of September. More details soon. Thanks for reading! GG BRICKABRACK ANNOUNCES NEW COMPANY MEMBERS Five Young Artists to Join Creative Ensemble for 2013-14 Season Oakland, CA. July 22, 2013. BrickaBrack, the award-winning company behind Stalking Christopher Walken and Duck Duck Octopus, is excited to announce the creation of new company member positions. BrickaBrack's Artistic Director Gabriel Grilli says, "We’re a multidisciplinary ensemble that aims to create new work through the collaborative talents of a diverse group. Bringing these artists on board as company members will expand the creative core from which we generate ideas and actualize projects. I’m so thrilled to embrace these wonderful people as official members of the BrickaBrack team, and to create with them on an ongoing basis.” Company members will work with BrickaBrack over the next year in the creation of new artistic projects, expanding fundraising and marketing efforts, and exploring additional opportunities to partner with the Oakland community.
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Duck Duck Octopus closes Friday April 12 Don't wait to get tickets - we've been selling out each night! Did you know DDO changes every single week? If you've seen it before, you should consider come seeing it again - we've switched out more than 10 original pieces for brand new ones since opening night! Rave reviews from our fans include...
"Such a fantastic evening. It was funny, thoughtful, weird (my favorite part) and really a blast to have experienced. I might be forced to go again I liked it so much." "this show is AMAZING" "This production is so much fun; please go see for yourself, non-stop laughter mixed with thought-provoking dialogue" "LOVED IT! Smiles, laughter, dance, bananas, Barry Gibb and even silence in a jam packed super fun evening" "Seriously folks see this show!" Duck Duck Octopus opens Friday March 8! (Catch the inside scoop straight from the cast below...) At this weekly extravaganza, you receive a menu of 30 short acts from which you "order" the show...Duck Duck Octopus is a madcap fire drill with a shot of theatre, an infusion of song & dance, a dollop of comedy, a spoonful of audience participation, and a sprinkling of performance art. We dash to perform all 30 of these acts, as ordered, in just 60 minutes -- if we succeed, everyone gets a prize, as it’s a bit of a game show, too! What have test audiences said about the show?
Actor Spotlights: |
Cast member Maura Tang has an MFA in Acting and has been instrumental in creating some of our movement based pieces... and some awesome faces, too! | Test Audiences agreed, "You just have to see the show. Don't ask me about it just see it." Cast member Alex Lydon agrees that DDO is beyond words. |
BrickaBrack presents new 60 Minute Audience-Interactive Show
Oakland, CA. February 8, 2013. BrickaBrack, the award-winning creators of Stalking Christopher Walken, announced the premiere of a new ensemble-created show, Duck Duck Octopus, at the Temescal Arts Center. The piece will play Friday evenings at 9pm from March 8th - April 12th.
At this hour-long audience-interactive show, attendees receive a menu of thirty short acts from which they "order" the performance. BrickaBrack's ensemble of actor/dancers attempts to perform all thirty of these acts, as requested by the audience, in just sixty minutes. The show's menu consists of a combination of theatre, song, dance, comedy, and performance art style short pieces (averaging two minutes each), all geared towards involving and engaging the audience.
Gabriel Grilli, BrickaBrack's Artistic Director and the creator/director of Duck Duck Octopus, says, "I've seen a bunch of shows like this in the Bay Area that were audience interactive, fun, party-like shows, and audiences love them, but the ones I've seen have lacked content and truth. So I thought, why not create one that has the same crackerjack energy, but with more focused writing and direction? That's what we're trying to do with DDO."
An interesting twist is that the company adds from 1-6 new acts to the performance menu each week, depending on what an audience member rolls on a six-sided die at the end of each show. Even the ticket purchase give you a choice: You can buy advanced tickets for $15, or show up at the door and pay $9 plus the roll of a die ($10 - $15). Grilli says this is all part of a plan to engage the audience, "I can't stand shows where they tell you to sit back and relax. If you want to sit back and relax, stay in your living room. We're making theatre for people who want to be on the edge of their seats -- yell, laugh, cry, respond, do whatever. I think people in Oakland are hungry for something like this."
Duck Duck Octopus runs one hour without intermission. Performance dates & times are Fridays at 9pm: March 8th, 15th, 22nd and April 5th & 12th at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. (at Telegraph), Oakland 94609 -- in the vibrant Temescal neighborhood), with a special March 29th San Francisco show at Shotwell Studios (3252-A 19th St. at Shotwell).
Duck Duck Octopus features Grilli’s writing, as well as the work of writer/performers Steve Budd, Alexander Lydon, Gloria McDonald, LeAnna Sharp, Isabel Siragusa, and Maura Tang.
Brickabrack was founded in February 2012 as a collaborative theatre ensemble that presents original stories about extraordinary people.
For tickets, go to www.brickabracktheatre.org.
Want to meet some of the creative collaborators on Stalking Christopher Walken? Here's Hector Zavala and Katie Wong, our choreographers!
Hector's intense performance style keeps the actors working hard and looking incredible. He always seeks to find extremes in our performers where they haven't gone before.
Katie hails from New York City and has the most infectious smile that puts everyone at ease in rehearsal. Her dance background is extensive, covering multiple genres - many of which you will see in the show!
- Lindsey
Hector's intense performance style keeps the actors working hard and looking incredible. He always seeks to find extremes in our performers where they haven't gone before.
Katie hails from New York City and has the most infectious smile that puts everyone at ease in rehearsal. Her dance background is extensive, covering multiple genres - many of which you will see in the show!
- Lindsey
Here we are, two weeks away from our opening performance... and we are so excited! The cast, crew, and creative team have been terrific thus far.
We have a designers' run-through coming up on Monday and it is going to be an absolutely electric night. All of our creative and production team will be watching a rough run of the show and tweaking ideas, sharing creative insights, and most importantly, seeing all the hard work that has been done in rehearsal to make their collective vision come to life. We'll have puppets, break dancing, animal impressions, death scenes, comedy, music, and so much more to share with the collaborators who have been working with us on this journey.
Thanks to all our backers old and new, great and small, because you are also part of the reason rehearsals and meetings have been going so well. Your support fuels us and reminds us that there are many other people out there who love a good story and an entertaining night at the theatre. If you haven't bought tickets already, I'd love to remind you that we would absolutely love to see you at the show, running September 8-15.
- Lindsey
We have a designers' run-through coming up on Monday and it is going to be an absolutely electric night. All of our creative and production team will be watching a rough run of the show and tweaking ideas, sharing creative insights, and most importantly, seeing all the hard work that has been done in rehearsal to make their collective vision come to life. We'll have puppets, break dancing, animal impressions, death scenes, comedy, music, and so much more to share with the collaborators who have been working with us on this journey.
Thanks to all our backers old and new, great and small, because you are also part of the reason rehearsals and meetings have been going so well. Your support fuels us and reminds us that there are many other people out there who love a good story and an entertaining night at the theatre. If you haven't bought tickets already, I'd love to remind you that we would absolutely love to see you at the show, running September 8-15.
- Lindsey
We have launched our SCW Kickstarter!!
Stalking Christopher Walken - A comic jaunt into the mind of renowned actor and cultural phenomenon Christopher Walken.
Have you ever wondered what, exactly, is going on in Chris' head? This dance theatre dream sheds light on the dark corners of his psyche… and reveals what really happened to Natalie Wood.
Stalking Christopher Walken - A comic jaunt into the mind of renowned actor and cultural phenomenon Christopher Walken.
Have you ever wondered what, exactly, is going on in Chris' head? This dance theatre dream sheds light on the dark corners of his psyche… and reveals what really happened to Natalie Wood.
Chris' body of work is legendary, and the genesis of this piece was an exploration of his peculiar magnetic character. Our project aims to encompass his energy by being funny, intense, quirky, revelatory, disturbing, explosive, and of course, packed with dance, since Chris has been a dancer since his childhood!
We're looking for your financial support in order to develop this piece for presentation in the San Francisco Fringe festival. The money we raise will be used to pay for our rehearsal space, as well as for costumes, properties, and other materials used in the production. This funding will afford us the resources to fully bring the visual and kinetic world of Chris' dreams to life.
We're looking for your financial support in order to develop this piece for presentation in the San Francisco Fringe festival. The money we raise will be used to pay for our rehearsal space, as well as for costumes, properties, and other materials used in the production. This funding will afford us the resources to fully bring the visual and kinetic world of Chris' dreams to life.
"Over 10 years ago, after working with him in NY, I found myself asking 'Who is Chris? What makes him tick? What is the difference between his public and private life?' And as a result, I discovered his connection to Natalie Wood, and his role in her death in 1981," says writer/director Gabriel Grilli. Inspired by the 2011 re-opening of the investigation into Natalie's death, with the authorities re-classifying the cause of her drowning, Grilli felt compelled to complete this piece (initially workshopped 10 years ago) with a focus on Chris' relationship with Natalie, and what actually happened that night she died off the coast of Catalina Island.
Stalking Christopher Walken is a dance theatre dream that takes place inside Chris' mind. It is based on the idea that this horrible event which happened 30 years ago, Natalie's drowning, has been haunting Chris since then.
This project is the first from our new company BrickaBrack, a group of artists focused on the development of original, multidisciplinary theatre. The company is headed by Bay Area artist Gabriel Grilli, a writer/director/performer with over 20 years of experience in theatre around the country and internationally. We are excited to be collaborating with an amazing group: performers Gabby Battista, Sonia Decker, Alex Lydon, Jonathan Suguitan, Katie Tandy and Shay Wisniewski, choreographers Hector Zavala & Katie Wong, lighting & scenic designer Jon Lowe, costume designer Antonia Gunnerson, sound designer Hannah Birch Carl, and puppet artist Elizabeth Fazzio.
We can't wait to bring this story of Chris' dreams and the mystery of Natalie Wood to audiences in the Bay Area and we hope to fund this production with your financial support. Our plan is that once the project is completed, we can tour the piece around the country for audiences in other locales.
A donation from you in any amount will help us realize our vision for the piece, giving us the finances to develop it fully and pay for many of the artists' contributions. Thank you for reading, and we hope you can come see our show in the Fringe Festival this September!
Stalking Christopher Walken is a dance theatre dream that takes place inside Chris' mind. It is based on the idea that this horrible event which happened 30 years ago, Natalie's drowning, has been haunting Chris since then.
This project is the first from our new company BrickaBrack, a group of artists focused on the development of original, multidisciplinary theatre. The company is headed by Bay Area artist Gabriel Grilli, a writer/director/performer with over 20 years of experience in theatre around the country and internationally. We are excited to be collaborating with an amazing group: performers Gabby Battista, Sonia Decker, Alex Lydon, Jonathan Suguitan, Katie Tandy and Shay Wisniewski, choreographers Hector Zavala & Katie Wong, lighting & scenic designer Jon Lowe, costume designer Antonia Gunnerson, sound designer Hannah Birch Carl, and puppet artist Elizabeth Fazzio.
We can't wait to bring this story of Chris' dreams and the mystery of Natalie Wood to audiences in the Bay Area and we hope to fund this production with your financial support. Our plan is that once the project is completed, we can tour the piece around the country for audiences in other locales.
A donation from you in any amount will help us realize our vision for the piece, giving us the finances to develop it fully and pay for many of the artists' contributions. Thank you for reading, and we hope you can come see our show in the Fringe Festival this September!
Hi, I'm Gabriel, otherwise known as GG. I'm the Artistic Director of this here company.
We've been thinking a blog could be a great way for the company to have dialogues with our friends, peers, and audiences about the work we are doing and the backstage goings-on, beyond the occasional tweet or fb update.
So, here we go... Thank you for joining us :)
We've been thinking a blog could be a great way for the company to have dialogues with our friends, peers, and audiences about the work we are doing and the backstage goings-on, beyond the occasional tweet or fb update.
So, here we go... Thank you for joining us :)
BB Blog
Musings by the BrickaBrack Ensemble
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