Author: Alfredo Casuso

 media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Dezart Performs Announces 15th Season in Palm Springs 

Drama Desk and Obie Award Winning Plays Highlight 2022/2023 Season

1 July 2022 – Palm Springs: After two years of COVID-enforced creative scheduling, the award-winning Dezart Performs (www.dezartperforms.org) leaps back with its first four-play season since 2019 at the Pearl McManus Theater at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club. The 15th Anniversary Season opens with the 2019 Tony-nominated drama CHOIR BOY (October 28 – November 6), followed by the dark comedy A BRIGHT NEW BOISE (January 13 – 22, 2023), the 2011 Obie Award winner for playwriting. The season continues with the critically-acclaimed comedy with perhaps theatre’s longest title ever, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY (March 3 – 12). The season closes out with the acclaimed new buddy comedy THE GARBOLOGISTS (April 14 – 23).

“We’ve got drama, comedy, sex, music, nudity, The Rapture and New York City trash truck workers,” laughs Dezart Performs founding artistic director Michael Shaw. “Our 15th and first truly post COVID season has a lot of variety and a lot of laughs and emotional stimulation.”

A drama with music, CHOIR BOY by Tarell Alvin McCraney (October 28 – November 6) is a moving story of sexuality, race, hope, gospel music, and a young gay man finding his voice. This coming-of-age story follows a group of young Black students at Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, a highly respected institution dedicated to helping its students grow into “strong, ethical Black men.” But what happens when young student Pharus does not fit the mold for a typical “Drew man.” Pharus is different from his peers, and his effeminate nature constantly sets him apart. Though he may be the leader and most talented member of Drew’s renowned gospel choir, he struggles to gain their acceptance and respect.Content Advisory: This play contains nudity.

In the dark comedy A BRIGHT NEW BOISE (January 13 – 22) by Samuel D. Hunter, we find ourselves in the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho. Will, who has fled his rural hometown after a scandal at his Evangelical church, comes to the Hobby Lobby, not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex, his brooding teenage son, whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. Alex works there along with Leroy, his adopted brother and protector, and Anna, a hapless young woman who reads bland fiction but hopes for dramatic endings. As their manager, foul-mouthed Pauline, tries ceaselessly to find order (and profit) in the chaos of small business, these lost souls of the Hobby Lobby confront an unyielding world through the beige-tinted impossibility of modern faith.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY (March 3 – 12)— despite the title — is a comedy by Halley Feiffer. A foul-mouthed twenty-something comedian and a middle-aged man embroiled in a nasty divorce are brought together unexpectedly when their cancer-stricken mothers become roommates in the hospital. Together, this unlikely duo must negotiate some of life’s biggest challenges…while making some of the world’s most inappropriate jokes. Can these two very lost people learn to laugh through their pain and lean on each other, when all they really want to do is run away? Content Advisory: This production contains profanity, sexual language, and simulated sex.

THE GARBOLOGISTS (April 14 – 23), the new comedy-drama by Lindsay Joelle, chronicles a white conservative New York City sanitation worker and a Black Ivy-educated single mother, thrown together in the cab of a NYC garbage truck, working for the Dept. of Sanitation. They spend their shifts bickering, one-upping each other, and practicing the secret art of mongo: hunting for treasure in the trash. But as their lives become increasingly entwined, they discover some things are easier to toss than others. Honoring our essential workers, THE GARBOLOGISTS is a hopeful story about finding common ground in uncommon times.

Subscriptions will go on sale for existing season subscribers on July 26; new season subscriptions will be available starting August 16; single show tickets go on sale September 13. 

All performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club) 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Ticket prices are $39 – $50. Beginning August 16, subscription sales will be available online at www.dezartperforms.org, or by calling (760) 322-0179. Showtimes are Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 7:30pm; Sundays at 2pm.

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

15th Dezart Performs’ Season Listing

CHOIR BOY
October 28 – November 6, 2022
Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Drama with music

2019 Tony nominee for Best Play 

2019 Drama Desk winner for Outstanding Music in a Play

“… the choral music is rich and rousing.” – New York Stage Review

“[CHOIR BOY] registers with potency, examining its themes with a mixture of poignancy and humor…it soars.” – The New York Post

“CHOIR BOY is a drama so infused with emotion that it can’t help breaking into song.” 

– Hartford Courant

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A BRIGHT NEW BOISE
January 13 – 22, 2023
Written by Samuel D. Hunter
Dark comedy

2011 Obie Award winner for Playwriting

2011 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Play

“[Samuel D. Hunter] is one of the finest playwrights at work today.” – The Wall Street Journal 

“… the playwright brings humanity and humility to his repressed characters as they struggle to connect and find a means of self-expression.” – Theatermania

“Hunter’s sense of place is richer and more peculiar than any other American playwright working today.” – The New York Times

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A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY
March 3 – 12, 2023
Written by Halley Feiffer
Comedy 

“[A FUNNY THING HAPPENED…is] a play that is as deeply felt as its name is long. – The New York Times 

“The play is as defiantly unconventional as its title, but it is also satisfying in traditional ways.” – The Los Angeles Times

“Feiffer again demonstrates a talent for crafting caustically sharp comic dialogue.” – The Hollywood Reporter

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THE GARBOLOGISTS
April 14 – 23, 2023
Written by Lindsay Joelle
New comedy/drama

“THE GARBOLOGISTS takes us on a ride of sadness, joy, anger, disbelief, and understanding.” –Grid Magazine

“Lindsay Joelle’s finely crafted play is laced with wit and wisdom.” – Broadway World

“[THE GARBOLOGISTS] is delightfully intimate, surprising, and profound, filled with sometimes unexpected laughter and even tears..” – onStage Pittsburgh

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Media contact: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry .com 

Union Square Celebrates Make Music Day with Dgiin

Free Event brings Global Day of Music to San Francisco

WHAT: Union Square Alliance in partnership with French Consulate General in San Francisco is bringing to the Union Square Park stage the French Band, Dgiin, in celebration of Make Music Day, a global event taking place in over 1,000 cities around the world.  Dgiin’s music blends French, English and Spanish, with wild rhythms, improvisations and influences from Django to New Orleans to hot jazz  and French chanson.  Make Music Day is a day of music open to all in the streets, businesses, parks, and wherever people feel like playing or listening. Union Square Alliance joins other events worldwide as communities come together in celebration of music and the countless benefits that making music brings. 

WHO:  Union Square Alliance in partnership with French Consulate General in San Francisco presents the French Band, Dgiin 

WHEN: Make Music Day, Tuesday, June 21, 4-6pm

WHERE: Union Square Park, 333 Post Street, San Francisco

WHY: Union Square in partnership with French Consulate General in San Francisco celebrates Make Music Day, giving community members of all ages, creeds, and musical persuasions the chance to experience the joy of making music together. Union Square  Alliance is committed to bringing music to the park through its Saturday Music Series, that will continue to run through Summer 2022.

By establishing one specific day each year, June 21, to celebrate music, Union Square Alliance in partnership with French Consulate General in San Francisco encourages both amateur and professional music making and empowers individuals to seek out ways to celebrate music in their community.

WHAT ELSE: For more information about Union Square Summer Music Series, please contact Eva Schouten at Eva@unionsquarealliance.com

Union Square Alliance:

Stacy Jed

Director of Marketing and Events

stacy@unionsquarealliance.com

About the Union Square Alliance:
The Union Square Alliance serves members and creates a high-quality visitor experience by managing and activating public spaces, attracting new investment, and advocating for the district’s future success. Union Square is the vibrant heart of San Francisco and an international destination where visitors come to enjoy exceptional retail experiences, luxury hotels, world-class cultural institutions, and great public spaces found only in the City by the Bay.  A lively 27-block community surrounding Union Square Park in the heart of San Francisco makes up the Union Square Alliance. It is generally bordered on the north by Bush Street, on the east by Kearny Street, on the south by Market Street and on the west Taylor Street. For more information on the Alliance, go to www.visitunionsquaresf.com

About Make Music Day: 

Held annually on June 21, Make Music Day is part of the international Fête de la Musique, taking place in 1,000 cities across 120 countries. The daylong, musical free-for-all celebrates music in all its forms, encouraging people to band together and play in free public concerts. This year, more than 100 U.S. cities are organizing Make Music Day celebrations, encompassing thousands of concerts nationwide. Make Music Day is presented by the NAMM Foundation, and coordinated by the Make Music Alliance. For more information, please visit www.makemusicday.org.

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Media Contact: DP&A, Inc. / David Perry (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

Hotel Council of San Francisco Announces New President & CEO Alex Bastian 

15 June 2022— San Francisco, CA: The Board of Directors for the Hotel Council of San Francisco (www.hotelcouncilsf.org) today announced that Alex Bastian has been selected as its new President & CEO, replacing Kevin Carroll who is retiring after a decade long tenure. Bastian comes to the position from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office where he has served as a Special Advisor since January 2021, following 11 years with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in his native city. He assumes the new role at the Hotel Council on July 18.

“Alex brings to this position the passion and love of a returning San Franciscan,” said Amy Arbuckle, Board Chair for the Council. “His many years in San Francisco cultivated deep connections across the City that will serve him, and us, well during the coming years of revitalization and renewal for our industry.”

“The Hotel Council represents the hospitality and broader tourism industry, an industry that has been significantly impacted and hard hit due to the pandemic. I’m so excited to join the Hotel Council at this pivotal moment in history,” said Bastian. “As someone who was born and raised in San Francisco, I know first-hand that the City has so much to offer and is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I know for a fact that it will become one of the top tourist destinations worldwide once again.”

Bastian is a native San Franciscan. He received a BA from the University of California Los Angeles and his law degree from the University of San Francisco. From 2010 to 2021, he worked for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, including over 4 years as Deputy Chief of Staff. Immediately prior to this new position with the Hotel Council, Bastian served as a Special Advisor to the Los Angeles District Attorney where he was responsible for providing guidance and direction in the development of internal and external messages and media strategies. He supported the District Attorney in handling complex tasks and provided leadership in the development of policy and legal strategies. Bastian is a Board Member of the Armenian Bar Association and speaks five languages (English, Spanish, Armenian, French and Russian).

The Hotel Council of San Francisco is a non-profit membership-based organization advocating for the economic and social vitality of the hospitality industry in San Francisco. With a membership roster of over 200 hotels, allied members, and partner organizations, the Council is dedicated to protecting the San Francisco hospitality industry and connecting its members to support its growth and success.

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media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com     

Theatre Bay Area Announces New Executive Director
Sean Fenton of Oakland Tapped to Lead Esteemed Nonprofit

www.theatrebayarea.org

13 June 2022 – San Francisco, CA: Following an extensive search and interview process over the last few months, the esteemed nonprofit Theatre Bay Area (www.theatrebayarea.org) – known colloquially as TBA — has selected Oakland resident Sean Fenton as its new Executive Director. Fenton began his new appointment June 15. The national search process was led by ALJP Consulting and its senior consultant Leandro A. Zaneti. The firm is known for its commitment to values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and robust community involvement.  ALJP’s process incorporated the anti-racist practices that TBA is building into its organizational fabric and leadership.

“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to serve, especially during this time of immense change. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the arts community particularly hard, and the challenges facing theatre companies and individual artists are many,” said Fenton.  “But this community is tenacious and endlessly supportive of each other. We will come together. And with sustainability and growth in mind, and equity, diversity, and inclusion at the center of our values, I am confident the Bay Area theatre community will emerge stronger than ever.”

“As we begin this new chapter of TBA, we are confident Sean will drive forward our commitment to racial justice and advancement of the Bay Area theatre community,” says Theatre Bay Area Board President Dr. Anne W. Smith. “Staff, board, and community members have been inspired by Sean’s deep passion for the theatre in the Bay Area, as well as his excellent ability to listen deeply, respond authentically, and build productive relationships.”

A graduate of Stanford University with a BA in Cultural and Social Anthropology, Fenton has been a member of the Bay Area theatre community since 1998. Over the last two decades as an arts professional, he has worn many hats — as an actor, director, educator, administrator, and researcher/consultant. He has worked at theatres throughout the Bay Area, including TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, Crowded Fire Theater, 42nd Street Moon, and Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company. His extensive experience in educational theatre and theatre for young audiences includes work at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, and TYA/USA. And as a director and manager for the Intrinsic Impact program at WolfBrown, Fenton provided audience research services to arts organizations across the continent, including Arts Club Theatre Company, Center Theatre Group, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Silk Road Rising, and more.

“All these experiences give Sean insight into the unique challenges and opportunities present in this region of California,” Smith noted. “We were impressed by his intensive knowledge of the field, fearless commitment to racial justice, and collaborative spirit.”

The search process, which included extensive interviews, dialogue, meetings, and surveys with community members was funded in part by contributions from the Hewlett Foundation and the Brad Erickson Fund for the Future, established by TBA’s outgoing Executive Director, Brad Erickson.

“I’m thrilled by this choice,” said Erickson, who led TBA since 2003 before retiring in 2021. “Sean is the right person, at just the right time.” 

Founded in 1976, Theatre Bay Area’s mission is to unite, strengthen, promote, and advance the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of its conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good, critical to a healthy and truly democratic society, and invaluable as a source of personal enrichment and growth. TBA is committed to embodying and advancing the values of community, inclusion, service, impact, and organizational sustainability. To live out these values, TBA is committed to advancing the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion both within its own organization and in the larger field.

“For too long, the theatre sector has fallen short of being inclusive for all, despite even the best intentions,” said Fenton. “But this TBA team and community are ready for change. Let’s actively center historically marginalized voices, make amends with each other, and come together to build a more just and equitable theatre. Theatre Bay Area is for everyone.”

About ALJP Consulting:
ALJP Consulting is a Black-owned, mission-driven firm that employs planning and search services to address the contemporary challenges of nonprofit organizations in the arts and culture sector. ALJP centers the values of anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion in its work with organizations and candidates. In addition to New York Theater Workshop, ALJP Consulting has serviced numerous other arts and culture organizations nation-wide, including The American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, New York Theatre Workshop, Center Theatre Group, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and more. Visit aljpconsulting.com for more information.