Aurora Theatre Company Announces OLGA: A FAREWELL CONCERT

Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company announces a special limited engagement,OLGA: a farewell concert, a devised piece created by Beth Wilmurt (The Letters, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale,Jack Goes Boating, Bosoms and Neglect, and Salome.) and Her Band, commissioned by Aurora as part of the company'sOriginate + Generate (O+G) new works initiative to promote the creation of forward-looking theater. During the process of O+G new work development, audiences are invited to attend presentations as the works are being created. For two weeks this December, Aurora hosts the first sharing of Wilmurt's O+G project in its current form, a music concert with shot glasses and soldiers. OLGA: a farewell concert plays a limited run in the company's Second Stage and cabaret performance space, Harry's UpStage (Friday, December 1, 8pm; Saturday, December 2, 8pm; Sunday, December 3, 2pm, 7pm; Wednesday, December 6, 7pm; Thursday, December 7, 8 pm; Friday, December 8, 8pm; Saturday, December 9, 8pm; Sunday, December 10, 2pm). Tickets (General Admission $28, $25 subscribers; Reserved Seating $35, $30 for subscribers) on sale to subscribers July 25 and to the general public on August 1.

You are cordially invited to the home of Olga Sergeyevna Prozorova for an evening of sweet hellos, stirring songs, and bitter farewells. Soldiers encouraged. For the past year, with support from Aurora Theatre Company's Originate + Generate grant, Bay Area favorite Beth Wilmurt has been developing a theatrical music performance centered around the notable eldest sister from Anton Chekhov's play, Three Sisters, exploring the enigmatic character's mind and imagination through songs. In OLGA: a farewell concert themes of longing, aging, love and loss intermingle with bursts of joy and celebration. Featuring a band of collaborators, the piece incorporates live music, mischief, and mayhem, with an eclectic assemblage of songs. "Throughout my time in the theater I have been drawn more than once to the cabaret form," said Beth Wilmurt. "Inspiration usually starts with a character or idea in my head that can only be realized through song. For quite a while now I have had one of these characters with me; having lived with her for a long time both on and off stage, I am ready to bring her out."

Continued Wilmurt, "My hope is to express the unconventional intentions of the piece. That it's not quite a cabaret or concert, nor a play. It's a hybrid. It's also still in development and these performances will be a sharing of the work in progress, though I've intentionally omitted the phrase 'work in progress' and the word 'development' because of what they conjure. It will be a finished evening of work. But as such it is a means of testing out the material in its current form with the intention to continue to develop it into a fuller piece."

"Aurora Theatre Company inaugurated the Global Age Project new play initiative and festival when I first became Artistic Director of Aurora," said Tom Ross. "With Originate + Generate, we are now focusing primarily on developing new work for the Aurora stages, with an emphasis on supporting local theater makers as is our mission. We are thrilled that one of our first commissioned O+G artists is Beth Wilmurt, who has appeared on the Aurora stage several times as an actor. We look forward to this new phase of collaboration and ushering work for the stage into fruition and watching it grow."

Beth Wilmurt has been making theater, performing, and teaching throughout the Bay Area and beyond for the past 25 years. She has appeared in over 60 plays, musicals, dance pieces, and cabarets, including The Letters, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Jack Goes Boating, Salome, and Bosoms and Neglect at Aurora Theatre Company. Recent Bay Area theater credits include New Electric Ballroom and Woyzeck at The Shotgun Players, of which she is a company member, and Beauty Queen of Leenane at Marin Theatre Company. Other past performance highlights include The Companion Piece, which she conceived and performed for Z Space; Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness, which she directed for The Shotgun Players; and Yes Yes to Moscow, a dance-theater piece based on Chekhov's Three Sisters that premiered at Deutsches Theater Berlin in Germany. She recently completed a residency with Deborah Slater Dance Theater to create a new performance piece called TEN.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 26th season in September with the Bay Area Premiere of Rebecca Gilman'sLUNA GALE, directed by Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross. Darryl V. Jones makes his Aurora directing debut in November with the Bay Area Premiere of Marco Ramirez's THE ROYALE followed by a revival of George Bernard Shaw's classic, WIDOWERS' HOUSES, directed by Joy Carlin in January. Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER, helmed by Barbara Damashek, will be staged in March followed by the World Premiere of Jonathan Spector's EUREKA DAY in April, directed by Josh Costello. Closing the season is the Bay Area Premiere of Sarah Burgess' off-Broadway hit DRY POWDER directed by Jennifer King in June.

Voted Best Theater Company in 2012 by SF Weekly, Aurora Theatre Company continues to offer challenging, literate, intelligent stage works to the Bay Area, each year increasing its reputation for top-notch theater. Located in the heart of the Downtown Berkeley Arts District, Aurora Theatre Company, declared "one of the best regional theaters around" by7x7 magazine, has been called "one of the most important regional theaters in the area" and "a must-see midsize company" by the San Francisco Chronicle, while The Wall Street Journal has "nothing but praise for the Aurora." TheContra Costa Times stated "perfection is probably an unattainable ideal in a medium as fluid as live performance, but the Aurora Theatre comes luminously close," while the San Jose Mercury News affirmed Aurora Theatre Company is "arguably the finest small theater in the Bay Area," and the Oakland Tribune stated "it's all about choices, and if you value good theater, choose the Aurora."

For tickets or more information about Aurora Theatre Company, call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

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