Z Space

Last updated
Z Space
Z Space Exterior.jpeg
Exterior view of Z Space
Address450 Florida Street
San Francisco, California
United States
Type Regional theater
Capacity 230 seats for main theater
Construction
Opened1971 as Project Artaud Theater
Reopened2009 as Z Space
Website
www.zspace.org

Z Space is a regional theater and performing arts company located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Z Space is one of the leading laboratories for developing new voices, new works, and new opportunities in the American theater. In addition to commissioning and producing its own works, Z Space also presents productions created by other organizations.

Contents

History

Z Space was founded in 1993 by David Dower, as the outgrowth of earlier theatrical productions staged by artists known as the Z Collective, and was known for a time as the Z Space Studio. [1] [2] Dower was succeeded in 2007 by Lisa Steindler, who currently serves as Z Space’s executive artistic director.

In its first 15 years, Z Space developed and produced artistic works that were staged in a variety of San Francisco Bay Area theaters. Throughout the 90s and early 00s, Z Space worked with such artists as Josh Kornbluth, Anne Galjour, Randall Wong, and Brian Thorstensen. In 2009, Z Space moved into its own full-time facility in San Francisco’s Mission district, situated at 450 Florida Street. [3] The 13,000-square-foot facility was originally constructed in the 1920s as a tooling factory for the American Can Company. [4] During World War II, the building was converted into military use, making airplane parts. [5] The building's interior was transformed into the Project Artaud Theater in 1971. [5] In 2013, Z Space expanded into Z Below (formerly The Traveling Jewish Theater), an 86-seat complement to the 230-seat warehouse above.

In 2013, Z Space received a three-year grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to sponsor a resident playwright, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. That grant was renewed in 2016, giving Peter a stable artistic home for another three years. Since Peter’s residency began, Z Space has produced three of his plays, The Totalitarians in 2014, A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry in 2016, and The Making of a Great Moment in 2017.

Other signature programs at Z Space include Word for Word, an in-house theater company that transforms works of literature verbatim to the stage, [6] and Youth Arts, Z Space's outreach to schools, which promotes literacy and engages students’ creativity.

Performances

Z Space’s performances span a variety of disciplines, including theater, dance, visual art, music and performance art. Through its Z Space New Works program, the organization develops unique works from initial concept to on-stage production; it also provides technical residencies in which artists can make use of the entire facility, including the stage, lights and sound system to test and develop their concepts. [7] [8]

Z Space has presented Bay Area premieres of internationally acclaimed performance ensembles The Wooster Group (2015), Elevator Repair Service (2014), Rude Mechs (2015), and Theatre Mitu (2015). Other notable presentations include works by Joe Goode Performance Group, [9] Killing My Lobster, [10] Big Art Group, [11] Mugwumpin, LEVYdance, The Killbanes, piece by piece productions, and The Paul Dresher Ensemble. [12]

In 2014, Z Space presented The Bengson's Hundred Days, [13] which they also commissioned, developed, and produced. In 2015, Composers, Inc. presented the premiere of Allen Shearer's opera Middlemarch in Spring at Z Space. [14] 2018 featured Kat Robichaud's A Very Merry Misfit Cabaret Holiday Special. 2019 had Kat Robichaud's Misfit Cabaret returning to Z space with "Lost in Z Space" a sci-fi musical variety show.

Accolades

During the past decade, productions originating at Z Space have won national recognition including the Helen Hayes Award and the Joseph Kesselring Prize. From 2001 through 2005, 15 productions developed by Z Space earned Critics Circle nominations. In 2005, The People’s Temple was awarded the Will Glickman Award for “Best New Play.” That work was developed during more than four years at Z Space; it premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. In 2007, American $uicide, by Mark Jackson, was nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for the annual ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, honoring new scripts produced outside New York City. [15]

Z Space's 2017 year garnered the organization title of "Best Performance Space" by Best of The Bay (of which they were also awarded for the 2016 year) and "Best Literary Remix" by San Francisco Magazine. [16] Also in 2017, The Town Hall Affair by The Wooster Group presented at Z Space was listed by KQED as part of "The Best Bay Area Theater of 2017." [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Opera</span> American opera company

The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experimental theatre</span> Genre of theater

Experimental theatre, inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular and, in general, the dominant ways of writing and producing plays. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream theatre world has adopted many forms that were once considered radical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Z</span> American singer

Pamela Z is an American composer, performer, and media artist best known for her solo works for voice with electronic processing. In performance, she combines various vocal sounds including operatic bel canto, experimental extended techniques and spoken word, with samples and sounds generated by manipulating found objects. Z's musical aesthetic is one of sonic accretion, and she typically processes her voice in real time through the software program Max on a MacBook Pro as a means of layering, looping, and altering her live vocal sound. Her performance work often includes video projections and special controllers with sensors that allow her to use physical gestures to manipulate the sound and projected media.

George Coates is an American theater director most notable for his work with George Coates Performance Works (GCPW), which he founded in 1977 in San Francisco, CA. The company produced over 20 multi-media live performances over a span of 25 years, winning a multitude of awards for its international performances, earning critical acclaim in Asia, Europe and South America and gaining North American attention at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. In the 1990s, he was the first to merge live performers within stage environments created by computer generated graphics in real time live theater. Coates became known as a pioneer of experimental live theater using stereographic projections and 3-D glasses populated by live actors and musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Cahill (pianist)</span> American pianist based in the Bay Area

Sarah Cahill is an American pianist based in the Bay Area. She has also worked as a writer on music and as a radio show host.

Lamplighters Music Theatre is a semi-professional musical theatre company based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1952 by Orva Hoskinson and Ann Pool MacNab, the Lamplighters specialize in light opera, particularly the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as such works as The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Of Thee I Sing, My Fair Lady, Candide, and A Little Night Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shotgun Players</span> Theatre group in Berkeley, California

The Shotgun Players is a California East Bay regional theatre group located in Berkeley, California. It runs 6 to 7 productions per season. Its main stage is the Ashby Stage located in the Lorin District near the Ashby BART station.

James Faerron is an American set designer.

David Gockley is an American opera company administrator. He served as general director of Houston Grand Opera from 1972 to 2005 and San Francisco Opera from 2006 to 2016. He is a student of Margaret Harshaw.

Erika Chong Shuch is an American theatrical performer, director, choreographer, and educator based in San Francisco, California. Her work has appeared on stages in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, DC, and Seoul, South Korea.

Jay Scheib is an American stage director, playwright and artist, noted for his contemporary productions of both classical and new plays and operas. Scheib is a Professor for Music and Theater Arts and director of the Program in Theater Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he teaches performance media, motion theater, media and methods, and introduction to directing. Scheib has been a regular guest professor at the Mozarteum, Thomas Bernhard Institut, Abteilung für Regie und Schauspiel in Salzburg, Austria, where he conducts an annual "viewpoints and composition" studio.

Niloufar Talebi is an author, literary translator, librettist, multidisciplinary artist, and producer. She was born in London to Iranian parents. Her work has been presented by, and/or performed at Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, American Lyric Theater, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Riverside Theatre, Royce Hall, ODC/Dance Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Intersection for the Arts, SOMArts Cultural Center, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Stanford University, and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Philip Skinner is an American bass-baritone who has sung leading roles in both North American and European opera houses. A veteran performer at San Francisco Opera, he made his debut there in 1985 and has gone on to sing over 35 roles with the company. In 2007, Skinner created the role of Edgar Ray Killen when San Francisco Opera staged the world premiere of the Philip Glass opera, Appomattox, and in 2015 he created the role of Casaubon in Allen Shearer's Middlemarch in Spring. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and received his master's degree from Indiana University, where he sang in the American premiere of Janáček's The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon.

Lisa Scola Prosek is an American composer and librettist. Among her compositions are two oratorios and seven operas. She is San Francisco Bay Area-based.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Playhouse</span> Non-profit theater company in California, U.S.

San Francisco Playhouse is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world and regional premieres.

Gary Palmer is an American choreographer of modern dance.

Naomie Kremer is an Israeli-born American artist living and working in Berkeley, CA, and Paris, France. Kremer works in paint, video, photography, digital projection, and stage design.

Claudia Stevens is an American musician, performance artist and librettist. Initially a pianist specializing in contemporary music, she is recognized for creating and performing widely an array of interdisciplinary solo performance works, and for her collaborations with composer Allen Shearer as librettist of twelve operas.

The African-American Shakespeare Company (AASC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional regional theatre company in San Francisco, California. Since its founding in 1994 Sherri Young has been its Executive Director and in 2009 L. Peter Callender joined as its Artistic Director.

References

  1. ↑ Wemette, Jonathan (2012), "Z Space 2011", Yale School of Drama: Management Case Study, 11 (44): 2–3
  2. ↑ Stein, Ruth (January 22, 1995), "Saving 'Grace': Z Space director David Dower molds new work for the Magic", San Francisco Chronicle/
  3. ↑ Veltman, Chloe (August 12, 2009). "A New Space for Z Space". ArtsJournalBlogs./
  4. ↑ Sidra Stich (2003). Art-SITES San Francisco: the indispensable guide to contemporary art-architecture-design . Art-SITES Press. p.  111. ISBN   978-1-931874-01-4 . Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 Felciano, Rita (November 1, 2002), "Dark Days for Theater Artaud", Dance Magazine/
  6. ↑ Potter, Julie (March 9, 2011), "Stories for big kids", San Francisco Bay Guardian/
  7. ↑ Wemette, Jonathan (2012), "Z Space 2011", Yale School of Drama: Management Case Study, 11 (44): 5–7
  8. ↑ Williams, Summer L. (2012-05-16). "Interview with Lisa Steindler by Jamie Gahlon". HowlRound. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
  9. ↑ Ulrich, Allan (June 16, 2012), "'When We Fall Apart' review", San Francisco Chronicle
  10. ↑ "The Collaboration Variations: KMLZ Holidaze". Theatrebayarea.org. 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
  11. ↑ "The Berkeley Graduate · Big Art Group: The People". Theberkeleygraduate.com. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
  12. ↑ Joshua Kosman, Chronicle Music Critic (2011-03-17). "Paul Dresher interview - 'Schick Machine' creator". SFGate. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
  13. ↑ "Hundred Days". Z SPACE. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  14. ↑ Kosman, Joshua, "Opera Review: 'Middlemarch in Spring' is a Sunny Romp,", San Francisco Chronicle , March 21, 2015
  15. ↑ "History". Z Space. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
  16. ↑ "The Best Places to Play in SF in 2017" . Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  17. ↑ "The Best Bay Area Theater of 2017". KQED Arts. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.