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SF Chronicle lists “Witch Hunt” among 2019’s defining moments in Bay Area theater

Posted on December 15, 2019
by Audrey Ronningen
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Lily Janiak cites Witch Hunt as a production that changed Bay Area theatre in 2019, listed alongside shows from companies including Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, and San Francisco Playhouse.

The article describes Witch Hunt as part of a conscious shift in Bay Area productions’ approach to historical narratives. Numerous companies, including Those Women Productions reckoned with history’s tendency to be dictated solely by those in power, instead focusing on the historical perspectives that have, as a result, been erased.

“The way we perceive ourselves and others in the world comes in large part from the histories we’ve absorbed, but history’s victors have traditionally shaped those stories to justify their positions. Local theater this year has worked to right that imbalance, mapping the obscure and putting the marginalized at the center of historical narratives.”

Renee Rogoff as Tituba, in Witch Hunt

“In Those Women Productions’ “Witch Hunt,” the white girls and women of the Salem witch trials took a backseat to Tituba, the Native American woman who was the first accused of witchcraft. A mother to a hero became the protagonist in “Mother of the Maid,” at Marin Theatre Company, and Asian and Asian American stories got told from within in Magic Theatre’s “The Chinese Lady,” and the Marsh’s “The Box Without a Bottom,” instead of from a white gaze, with its tendency to whitewash or exoticize.”

Read the complete story: Moments that defined Bay Area theater in 2019

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Those Women in the SF Chronicle: “Tituba was a slave, then a witch, then a caricature. Now, in ‘Witch Hunt,’ she’s a human.”

Posted on December 8, 2019
by Audrey Ronningen
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Lily Janiak spoke with the team of Witch Hunt, including director Elizabeth Vega, playwright Carol S. Lashof, and actor Renee Rogoff for a Datebook feature in the SF Chronicle.

In the article, Lashof describes how the most well-known fictional account of the Salem witch panic, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, served as a “‘source of provocation'” rather than inspiration for Witch Hunt, which explores that same era in American history. Through research, Lashof learned that Miller’s classic admonishment of the McCarthy era grossly misrepresented many of its female characters. From there, she was inspired to tell the story of one of these real-life figures in our nation’s history: Tituba, an Indigenous woman from South America and slave to the Parrish family, who provided the first false confession to witchcraft. Further, Witch Hunt reveals additional layers to the era as one defined by the Purtian community’s rampant distrust and fear of Indians – putting people like Tituba and her husband John at increased risk for persecution and scapegoating.

Carol S. Lashof, playwright of Witch Hunt.

In bringing Tituba’s story to the stage through Witch Hunt, Lashof, Vega, and Rogoff felt a special responsibility to present her life in a respectful and honest way, as past accounts have consistently failed to do so. For many Americans, the only knowledge they have of Tituba is from The Crucible, which portrays her, as Vega states, as a “‘1950s mammy'” who practiced black magic and intentionally led Puritan girls astray. Instead, “‘Witch Hunt’ gives Tituba hopes and fears, virtues and flaws. It gives her goals, and it makes her strategic in pursuit of them. In short, it makes Tituba a person,” writes Janiak.

Actors Steven Flores, as John, Tituba’s husband, and Renee Rogoff, as Tituba, in Witch Hunt.

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Witch Hunt Playwright Carol S. Lashof Interviewed in 48Hills

Posted on November 25, 2019
by Audrey Ronningen
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Carol S. Lashof, cofounder of Those Women Productions and the playwright behind Witch Hunt, speaks with Emily Wilson of Bay Area publication 48Hills. They discuss the history of Those Women Productions, as well as Lashof’s process of researching and writing Witch Hunt, a new drama that examines the Salem witch panic from the perspectives of the real-life figures whose stories have been historically overlooked.

“’We were frustrated trying to get our stories made, so rather than rant and rave we started making our own theater.’”

“‘We keep talking about witch hunts, and every time I pick up the paper, the president is complaining about witch hunts, and we’re arguing about whose truths get to be heard,” Lashof said. “Then in a deeper way the United States government and some people living here are demonizing folks they think don’t belong. Tituba, even though she’d been Christianized and assimilated, would never be accepted into Christian culture and there are clear parallels to what’s happening now with immigrants.’” 

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Theatrius’ Reviews: “‘Witch Hunt’ Works Magic”

Posted on November 25, 2019
by Audrey Ronningen
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Those Women are in the press! Theatrius reviewed Those Women Production’s latest fully staged show, the new drama Witch Hunt, which focuses on the origins and untold stories behind the Salem witch panic.

“The question of how to tell an unrecorded story plagues artists and historians alike. At Salem’s notorious trials, Tituba was the first to confess to practicing witchcraft—but we know little else about her. In Arthur Miller’s classic “The Crucible,” she appears as a victim of the pilgrims’ manipulation, but Lashof portrays her as the master of her own fate.” – Fritz Mad’Laine, Theatrius

“For decades, Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ has defined the Salem Witch Trials. Miller’s 50s play uses accusations of “witchcraft” to fight McCarthyism. But Miller centers his story on John Proctor, a wealthy white landowner. In ‘Witch Hunt,’ Carol Lashof smartly focuses on the actual victims: women, particularly indigenous women.” – Jordan Freed, Theatrius

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“It was really exciting to get to tell this story as a new story”: The Team of Witch Hunt Interviewed on Bay Area Radio

Posted on November 25, 2019
by Audrey Ronningen
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Those Women Production’s latest staged production, Witch Hunt, presents a completely new look at a seemingly well-known era in American history: the Salem witch panic. Playwright Carol S. Lashof’s new drama explores the origins of the infamous era and uncovers its ties to our present moment in history, told from the perspective of Tituba, a captive indigenous woman who was the first to be accused of witchcraft.

“Most of what’s in the popular culture [on the Salem witch panic] is a gross distortion of the historical record.” – Playwright Carol S. Lashof on research and motivation for writing Witch Hunt, on KALW

Lashof, director Elizabeth Vega, and cast members Renee Rogoff and Sofia Angelopoulos share their thoughts on bringing this work to the stage, in interviews with local radio stations KPFA, KPOO, and KALW.

“You think about how much you think you know…I was mind-blown as to [Tituba’s] story…It’s the story of a woman who is ripped away from her home in the most violent and traumatic way…but you also see the strength of the human spirit through her…she finds the joy and the value in the very little that she has, and she’s willing to do anything to protect it.” – Actress Renee Rogoff on playing Tituba, on KPOO

“[Carol and I] have the same feeling that we want our audiences to take away. And her job is to convey that feeling on the page, and my job is to stand that feeling up and put it into action.” – Director Elizabeth Vega on collaboration with Lashof, on KPFA

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Those Women Productions Announces the World Premiere of WITCH HUNT

Posted on July 8, 2019
by Carol Lashof
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Those Women Productions presents the world premiere of Carol S. Lashof’s Witch Hunt, a new drama that explores the origins of the Salem witch panic and compels us to consider the ties between that infamous era and our present moment in history. Witch Hunt begins preview performances on July 12, opens on Friday, July 19, and runs through August 4 at La Val’s Subterranean Theater in Berkeley. Those Women Productions practices “Radical Hospitality”: the suggested price for tickets is $30 but all tickets for all shows are choose your own price with no minimum. Advance tickets are available at witchhunt.brownpapertickets.com or can be purchased at the door subject to availability.

“I make plays to change the stories we believe in, because it’s the best way I know to change the world we live in,” said playwright Lashof. “When I began research for this project, I was shocked to discover how much of what I thought I knew about the witch trials and Puritan New England turned out to be made up out of a tissue of myth, prejudice, and outright lies. Girls dancing naked in the woods? In February? During one of the coldest winters in New England history? Not likely.”

Read more at Broadway World San Francisco: https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Those-Women-Productions-Announces-the-World-Premiere-of-WITCH-HUNT-20190611

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“It’s all connected.”

Posted on August 24, 2018
by Carol Lashof
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“Everything that happens along the border, it’s all connected,” says playwright Marisela Orta about writing Woman on Fire.

In conjunction with the West Coast premiere of Woman on Fire, the playwright talked to theatre critic Lily Janiak of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Q: The initial impulse for “Woman on Fire” came long before recent news broke about children getting separated from their families at our borders. Do you think that adds a different dimension to the play?

A: Everything that happens along the border, it’s all connected. … The border is something that we have to grapple with as a society: how we treat this border versus how we treat, say, the border with Canada, but also the U.S.’ relationship to Latin America and how it’s destabilized those countries. We often forget how we’ve created the crisis that’s created refugees coming north. We need those reminders.

Read the rest of Lily Janiak’s interview here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/In-Woman-on-Fire-playwright-Orta-brings-13171974.php

Ciclady Rodriguez as Paola in Woman on Fire

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SHIFTING SPACES: a trio of bold new plays

Posted on February 5, 2018
by Carol Lashof

THOSE WOMEN PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS SHIFTING SPACES

MARCH 23-APRIL 8, 2018

 Coming this spring to the Live Oak Theater in Berkeley, Those Women Productions presents Shifting Spaces, a trio of new one-act plays about individuals fighting to claim their full human identities. The program includes the world premieres of They/Them by Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko and vessels by Kim Yaged, as well as the west coast premiere of Revelation by Shirley Barrie.

These three plays reflect a wide spectrum of feminist perspectives. Each tells a unique story in a bold and captivating voice. Stylistically very different, they all feature characters who fight passionately for and believe courageously in their right to be themselves.

When & Where:

Shifting Spaces will preview on March 23 and open on Saturday, March 24, 2018 (press opening); it plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through April 8 (no performance on Easter Sunday, April 1) at the Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.

Tickets:

Those Women Productions is committed to making theater accessible to audiences regardless of ability to pay. All shows are “choose your own price” with prices ranging from $00.00 to $35.00. All seating is General Admission.

Tickets are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets:

https://shiftingspaces.brownpapertickets.com/

and at the door beginning one-half hour before performances.

 

The plays of Shifting Spaces are:

  • vessels (World Premiere)

It’s Germany—1944. Are you a bitch or a whore? Is she your lover, friend, sister, acquaintance, colleague, or occasion for sin?

Commissioned for the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, this poetic drama reveals the little-known stories of lesbians in Nazi Germany, written by Kim Yaged, directed by Those Women Productions’ Artistic Director Elizabeth Vega.

Cast

12-17 … Elliot Stanley

25-54 … Jean Cary

AGED … GiGi Anber

  •  They/Them (World Premiere)

On the eve of surgery, Sam comes home to pack and to fight for his mother’s love.

A high-stakes, lyrical encounter between an African-American mother and her transgender son, by Bay Area playwright Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko, directed by Those Women Productions’ Associate Artist Norman Patrick Johnson.

Cast

SAM … Gabby Momah

MOM … Jasmine Williams

CHOCOLATE … Troy Rockett

Understudy for SAM … Jennifer McNeal (playing the role of SAM on March 30)

  • Revelation (West Coast Premiere)

It’s judgment day, and John finds himself buried next to Mary. She claims to recognize him, but she is nothing like any woman John has ever known.

 A darkly comic tour through changing gender roles and social expectations, by Canadian playwright Shirley Barrie, directed by Those Women Productions’ Associate Artist Lily Tung Crystal.

Cast

MARY … Jeannie Barroga

JOHN … Lijesh Krishnan

 

The Production & Design Team is:

CO-PRODUCERS … Carol Lashof & Elizabeth Vega

STAGE MANAGER … Aurelia Moulin

PROPS DESIGNER … Lindsay Krumbein

COSTUME DESIGNER … Lindsay Krumbein

SCENIC DESIGNER … Celeste Martore

SOUND DESIGNER … Samuel Raskin

LIGHTING DESIGNER … Bert van Aalsburg

 

Performance schedule:

Friday, March 23: 8 PM (Preview)

Saturday, March 24: 8 PM (Press Opening)

Sunday, March 25: 2 PM

 

Friday, March 30: 8 PM

Saturday, March 31: 8 PM

 

Friday, April 6: 8 PM

Saturday, April 7: 8 PM

Sunday, April 8: 2 PM

 

This production is made possible by the generous support of the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission and Civic Arts Program, the Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grants Program,  the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the generous donations of many individual supporters. Those Women Productions is a Fractured Atlas sponsored project.

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Thank you for coming to ESCAPE VELOCITY!

 March 8, 2017

 

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ESCAPE VELOCITY: Feb 17-25 at TAC in Oakland

Posted on December 20, 2016
by Adrian
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PATRIARCHY WEIGHING YOU DOWN?

MAKE A BREAK FOR IT!

Shapeshifters, time-travelers, and rebellious women take the stage in:

ESCAPE VELOCITY

A collection of fantastical new short plays by Victoria Chong Der, Carol S. Lashof, Genevieve Jessee, and Madeline Puccioni.

Directed by Norman Patrick Johnson and Elizabeth Vega.

Performed by Lijesh Krishnan, Brianna Rodriguez, J. Adan Ruiz, Brittany Sims, Julie Ann Valdez, and Loralee Windsor.

Production team:  Bert van Aalsburg*, Laura Cox, JJ Hersh, William Newton, and Samuel Raskin.

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association.

tickets & more information: http://escapevelocity.brownpapertickets.com/

All shows are choose your own price. Suggested price: $25, no minimum.

Tickets available in advance via Brown Paper Tickets or at the door, beginning 45 minutes before each show (cash or checks only at the door).

 

WHERE: Temescal Art Center, 511 48th Street, just off Telegraph Avenue in North Oakland.

 

WHEN: February 17-25, 2017

Friday, February 17: 8 pm (Opening)

Saturday, February 18: 4 pm & 8 pm

Friday, February 24: 8 pm

Saturday, February 25: 4pm** & 8 pm

**This performance will benefit Girls Inc. of Alameda County, inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

 

 

 

 

 

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In The Press

  • ESCAPE VELOCITY is recommended by Lily Janiak at SFGate to all those who want to “rocket away from sexism.”
  • “Shakespeare would have been proud to see his work take on new life in MARGARET OF ANJOU,” says The Daily Californian.
  • Lily Janiak of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles Artistic Director Libby Vega: ““There can be a tendency to say, ‘If their stories were interesting, we would know them already.’” But, Vega continues, “just because the story’s not being told doesn’t mean the story’s not there.'”
  • About MARGARET OF ANJOU, Sam Hurwitt of The Mercury News writes: “the experiment of creating the illusion of a Shakespeare play all about Margaret is a success.”
  • Berkeleyside features Those Women Productions: “Carol Lashof and Libby Vega aren’t ashamed to reveal their infatuations with the “dead white guys” who populate the Western Canon.”
  • BEST OF THE EAST BAY: On the occasion of our first birthday in 2015, The East Bay Express named us “Best Year-Old Theater Company.”
  • Theater critic Sam Hurwitt described our production of IN PLAIN SIGHT as “a provocative mix of voices and perspectives on these classic tales that may inspire the viewer to look back at the originals with new eyes.”
  • The Dramatist Magazine lauds Those Women for joining the fight for gender parity, “turn[ing] patriarchy on its ear.”
  • Our production of DISCLOSURE was highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle’s feature on the “hot SF scene” at PianoFight.
  • About our inaugural production in 2014, the Daily Californian wrote: “JUST DESERTS is offering something surprisingly new, and drawing a new audience. It is absolutely worth seeing, with or without a grasp of Greek mythology. This play works on multiple levels, and satisfies as diverse an audience as it attracts.”
  • JUST DESERTS was also an Editor’s Pick of Theatre Bay Area Magazine, where critic Lily Janiak wrote, “Lashof ingeniously channels both what many treasure about Greek mythology–its pitting of evenly matched foes in debates that dig deeper and deeper as combatants seem to be going in circles–while also skewering its misogyny.”

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PO Box 11393 | Piedmont, CA 94611

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