Event Listing - Theater
Thu Jun 26 - Sun Jul 20

Shotgun Players present the Jonathan Reinis Production of

Citizen Josh

Written and Performed by Josh Kornbluth


Tel. 510.841.6500
Website
$25
Tickets
Box Office: 510.841.6500

Location
Date and Time
The Ashby Stage
1901 Ashby Ave
Berkeley, CA 94703 map
cross street: MLK Jr. Way
district: Berkeley (West)

Thu Jun 26 (8pm)
Fri Jun 27 (8pm)
Sat Jun 28 (8pm)
Sun Jun 29 (5pm)
Thu Jul 3 (8pm)

Description
Celebrated monologist and public television host Josh Kornbluth’s highly acclaimed take on democracy, Citizen Josh, runs at The Ashby Stage from June 26 – July 20. Written and performed by Kornbluth with production design by Alex V. Nichols, Citizen Josh is presented by Tony Award-winning Berkeley Producer and resident Jonathan Reinis. Post-show talks with local personalities George Lakoff, Mayor Tom Bates, Loni Hancock and SF Chronicle Critic Robert Hurwitt among others, will augment the performances, and engage our audiences in larger conversations about politics and art in Berkeley.

Kornbluth says: “The current, convoluted primary season is bringing back all the feelings of anger, fear, and frustration that roiled me and everyone I know during the previous two presidential elections. It's so important for all of us to engage in our democracy at the local level. It's been a few years since the Free Speech Movement, but it seems to me that Berkeley is still the perfect place to start new conversations about how we can all work together to bring democracy to life.”

Inspiration for Citizen Josh came to Kornbluth after the election in 2004, when he came to the conclusion that perhaps, just perhaps, voting was not quite enough. As a father and a citizen, he wanted answers to several pertinent questions. How do I make the world a better place for our children? Where does power come from? Is democracy even possible today? Citizen Josh wove his Kornbluthian web of smart, funny, and moving autobiographical tales into a personal quest to engage the fundamentals of democracy.

Kornbluth, who will be making an appearance at Shotgun’s summer Gala on June 21st, says of the company: “I've always admired how creatively Shotgun addresses the great democratic task of today's theater: to bring the important stories to the people, and to bring the people to those stories. And as a member of Berkeley's Energy Commission, I'm also thrilled to be performing Citizen Josh—which deals, in part, with our struggle against global warming—at Shotgun's Ashby Stage, the country's first 100% solar-powered theater.”

Taking the title of his show to heart, Citizen Josh has since offered to help out with the climate change efforts in the City of Berkeley, at first as emcee for the Climate Action Kick-off event, after which Mayor Tom Bates appointed him to the City’s Energy Commission, which is to play a key role in the development of Berkeley’s greenhouse gas reduction plan.

Formerly the host of an interview program on KQED-TV, Kornbluth has been described by critics as an entertaining, wildly funny, and fascinating performer. He moved to San Francisco from New York in 1987 and two years later, he opened his first autobiographical monologue, Josh Kornbluth's Daily World, at Enrico Banducci's Hungry I in North Beach. Since then he has created and performed several more solo shows, including The Moisture Seekers, Red Diaper Baby, Haiku Tunnel, The Mathematics of Change, Ben Franklin: Unplugged, and Love & Taxes.


In 2001, a feature-film version of Haiku Tunnel, co-directed by Josh and his brother Jacob, was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and then released nationally by Sony Pictures Classics. In 2002 Josh collaborated with the San Francisco Mime Troupe on their summer show, Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan, and more recently a concert film of Red Diaper Baby, directed by Doug Pray, debuted on the Sundance Channel. A book titled Red Diaper Baby, collecting three of Josh's early monologues, has just come out in a second edition.

Director David Dower was instrumental in developing as well as directing Kornbluth’s two most recent shows, Love & Taxes and Ben Franklin: Unplugged, both of which enjoyed nationwide success, and was a contributor to his films Haiku Tunnel and Red Diaper Baby. As Founding Artistic Director of the Z Space Studio where he served for 16 years, Dower developed and directed over twenty world premiere works. He currently holds the position of Associate Artistic Director at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Since its formation in the basement of LaVal’s Pizza in 1992, The Shotgun Players have been on the move, first around Berkeley, and now as an active agent in the nonprofit theater community on a national level. From the beginning we’ve held to making bold, innovative theatre that is affordable to everyone. Artistic Director Patrick Dooley’s vision for the company (that is true to this day) is the concept of “breaking it down” – that is, breaking down theater to its is proud to announce that we are now the first 100% solar powered theatre in the country. We are a company essential elements: strong scripts; dedicated actors; eager, talented designers and directors. Shotgun Players have produced twenty-three new plays since 1992—including work by Adam Bock, Eisa Davis, Liz Duffy Adams, Marcus Gardley, Mark Jackson, Chris Jeffries and Banana Bag & Bodice—and the development of relevant new work is a focal point of each season. With plays like Citizen Josh, we continue to seek opportunities for audience members to respond to our work so that we are in fact creating a dialogue with everyone that sees our plays. Shotgun Players committed to making our community a better place to live.

Pay What You Can - $25. Previews June 26 & 27 are Pay-What-You-Can at the door for general seats. June 28 – July 20, Tickets are $20 for Thursdays and Sundays, $25 for Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations for all performances are strongly advised. For every performance there will be tickets released at the door. The waiting list for these tickets begins taking names one hour before the performance.