Berkeley Rep Announced Two Additional Hosts For Fran Lebowitz In Conversation

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that writer and Chancellor's Professor of English and Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley Mark Danner and Director and Chief Curator of the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Lawrence Rinder will join author and playwright Daniel Handler as hosts of the upcoming Fran Lebowitz in Conversation series.

As previously announced, in three separate events, cultural icon Lebowitz will hold court for unique off-the-cuff conversations sharing her insights and experiences on literature, politics & money, and nostalgia (Warhol, New York, and arts & culture in the '70s and '80s).

On Friday, February 2 at 8pm, Lebowitz will discuss a wide range of topics surrounding literature with author and playwright Daniel Handler; on Saturday, February 3 at 8pm she'll talk about politics & money with Mark Danner; and on Sunday, February 4 at 2pm Lebowitz will reminisce about nostalgia (Warhol, New York, and arts & culture) with Lawrence Rinder.

Tickets for the events are $50 online at berkeleyrep.org or by phone, 510 647-2949. While tickets are available for the February 2 event with Daniel Handler, the events on February 3 and 4 are nearly sold out and have very limited availability.

ABOUT MARK DANNER

Mark Danner is a writer and reporter who for three decades has written on politics and foreign affairs, focusing on war and conflict. He has covered Central America, Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq and the Middle East, among many other stories. Danner is Chancellor's Professor of English and Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley and James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College. Among his books are The Massacre at El Mozote, Torture and Truth, The Secret Way to War, Stripping Bare the Body: Politics Violence War and the recently published Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War. Danner was a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker and is frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. His work has appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Aperture, and many other newspapers and magazines. He has co-written and helped produce two hour-long documentaries for ABC News program Peter Jennings Reporting, and his work has received, among other honors, a National Magazine Award, three Overseas Press Awards, the Carey McWilliams Award and an Emmy. In 1999 Danner was named a MacArthur Fellow. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Century Association, and a resident curator at the Telluride Film Festival. He speaks and lectures widely on foreign policy and America's role in the world.

ABOUT DANIEL HANDLER

Daniel Handler is the author of six novels, including Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, and, most recently, All The Dirty Parts. As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for numerous books for children, including the 13-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events, the four-volume All The Wrong Questions, and The Composer Is Dead, which was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and then adapted for Berkeley Rep in 2010. Other collaborations include a series of books with artist Maira Kalman for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and serving as an adjunct accordionist for the Magnetic Fields. His books have sold more than 70 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages, and have been adapted for film, stage, and television. He lives in San Francisco with the illustrator Lisa Brown, to whom he is married and with whom he has collaborated on several books and one son.

ABOUT LAWRENCE RINDER

Lawrence Rinder is director and chief curator of the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), a position he has held since 2008. His curatorial contributions while serving as BAMPFA director include organizing Architecture of Life in 2016; The Possible in 2014 (with David Wilson); the first mid-career survey of Barry McGee in 2012 (with Dena Beard); and In a Different Light (with Nayland Blake). He has held positions at the Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he was chief curator of the 2002 Biennial and organized exhibitions including The American Effect: Global Perspectives on the United States, 1990-2003 and Tim Hawkinson, He was the founding director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at California College of the Arts, San Francisco, where he also served as dean. His writing on art has appeared in nest, Artforum, The Village Voice, Fillip, Atlantica, and Flash Art, among other publications. Art Life, a collection of his essays, was published by Gregory R. Miller in 2005. He has also published poetry, fiction, and a play, co-authored with Kevin Killian.

ABOUT BERKELEY REP

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its core values of imagination and excellence, as well as its educated and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. In four decades, four million people have enjoyed nearly 400 shows at Berkeley Rep. These shows have gone on to win five Tony Awards, seven Obie Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, one Grammy Award, and many other honors. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. Its bustling facilities - which include the 400-seat Peet's Theatre, the 600-seat Roda Theatre, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, and a spacious campus in West Berkeley - are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org