Chekhov's WARD Comes to Berkeley City Club's Central Works 18' Season

Central Works 2018 season closes with a tale of madness, alienation and moral responsibility- Chekhov's WARD 6, adapted by Gary Graves opening Saturday Oct 13 running through Nov 11 (previews Oct 11 & 12) at the historic Berkeley City Club.

"I love Chekhov's sensibility, his language, his understanding of human psychology, and his unique sense of humor," remarks director/adaptor Gary Graves. "So often in Chekhov's works, the humor derives from the lack of self-knowledge in the characters. They just don't see how self-serving or hypocritical they are. But we see it..." Graves also sees many parallels of this aspect of public life in America today.

Central Works' world premiere #61, Chekhov's WARD 6, is adapted by Gary Graves from a story by the master of page and stage Anton Chekhov. Ward 6 is the ward for the insane in a provincial hospital in the backwoods of the Russian countryside. Through the "rantings" of a ward patient, the hospital's director Andrei Ragin is awakened to the suffering and corruption that surrounds him. Dr. Ragin's colleagues in the hospital become alarmed by his unconventional relationship with an inmate and they undertake a radical course of treatment for the doctor. World Premiere #61 and a Central Works Method Play, Chekhov's WARD 6 is inspired by the master storyteller himself.

Chekhov's WARD 6 is the third novella by Anton Chekhov developed and presented by Central Works. The first was the story,The Duel, was developed in 2004, followed by An Anonymous Story in 2010. This trilogy of "new Chekhov plays" have all been written by Gary Graves and also included actor Richard Frederick who, along the with other ensemble members, participated extensively in the development of the scripts as part of the Central Works Method of new play creation.

Directed by Gary Graves, Chekhov's WARD 6 features a cast that includes Ed Berkeley, Richard Frederick, Carolina Morones, Adam Roy, Louel Señores and Don Wood. With stage management by Alandra Hileman, the costume design is by Tammy Berlin, prop design by Debbie Shelley and sound design by Gregory Scharpen. Chekhov's WARD 6 is a Central Works Method Play, developed in collaboration with Ed Berkeley, Richard Frederick, Carolina Morones, Adam Roy, Louel Señores, Don Wood and Jan Zvaifler.

Gary Graves (playwright/director) has been a resident playwright and company co-director at Central Works since 1998. He has been a part of developing 61 world premiere productions with the company, many of which he has either written and/or directed. Titles of plays he has written include: Palace Wreckers, Edward King, Project Ahab, Dracula Inquest, Red Virgin, Richard the First (a trilogy), Machiavelli's The Prince, The Grand Inquisitor, Chekhov's The Duel, Mata Hari, and Penelope's Odyssey. He also leads the Central Works Writers Workshop, and he teaches playwriting regularly at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater.

Ed Berkeley (ensemble) is a Bay Area based film and stage actor originally from the East Coast. For the past four years, Berkeley has been in numerous productions within the Bay Area theater scene. Credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Colossal with San Francisco Playhouse, Timon of Athens and Phaedre with Cutting Ball Theatre, In Love and Warcraft with Custom Made Theatre Company, and Participants with TheatreFirst.

Richard Frederick* (ensemble) Central Works shows: Chekhov's The Duel, Machiavelli's The Prince, An Anonymous Story, Window Age and Embassy. Other Bay Area credits: Theatreworks, SF Playhouse, CenterRep, American Conservatory Theatre, 42nd Street Moon, TheatreFirst, among others. Regionally at Ford's Theatre (DC), Hangar Theatre (NY), Casa Manana (TX), Theatre Three (TX), and Dallas Children's Theatre (TX). Mr. Frederick holds an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre at George Washington University.

*Member AEA

Carolina Morones (ensemble) is an actor, teaching artist and community producer focused on theater that empowers through poetry, movement and action. This summer she played the role of Beatrice in Shakespeare in Detroit's Much Ado Para Nada and is currently playing Sally in Bay Area Children's Theatre bilingual adaptation, The Cat in the Hat / El Gato Ensombrerado. She returns to the Bay Area after 7 seasons in residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Adam Roy (ensemble) returns to Central Works after playing Marcus "The Bookkeeper" in last season's production of Years in the Hundreds. Recent credits include Children's Fairyland, OASIS, Golden Thread Productions, PlayGround, Stagebridge, AlterTheater, The Breadbox and Marin Shakespeare Company. Adam is a graduate of Clown Conservatory at SF Circus Center, where he works as circus arts coach, youth director and resident human cartoon.

Louel Señores (ensemble) is an actor and occasional stage manager, recent acting credits include: Universal Robots (Quantum Dragon Theatre), The Human Ear (Anton's Well), and Hedge (PlayGround SF). Recent SM credits include Ageless (Quantum Dragon Theatre), Abominable (Symmetry), and Best of PlayGround 20 (PlayGround SF). He is a company member of Berkeley Interactive Theater, where he has been a scriptwriter for nearly 10 years.

Don Wood (ensemble) This marks Don's first time with Central Works though he previously worked in the CW Theater playing Byron in Sam Shepard's Ages of the Moon with Anton's Well Theatre Co. Other recent shows include The Janitor in Dry Land at Shotgun Players, The King in Exit the King at Exit Theatre, and yes, The Janitor in In the Event of Moon Disaster with Mugwumpin at Z Below.

For more than 27 years Central Works has filled a special niche for theater artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, producing more new plays by local playwrights than any other company in the region. "The New Play Theater" utilizes three basic strategies: some are developed in the Central Works Writers Workshop, some are products of the Central Works Method, and some come to the company fully developed.

Central Works Method plays bring together writer, actors and director at the very outset of the playwriting process. In a supportive workshop environment, group research and collective brainstorming contribute to the entire development of the script.

The Central Works Writers Workshop is an ongoing commissioning program established in 2012. Twice a year, in 12-week sessions, 8 local playwrights are selected to develop projects through informal readings and carefully directed discussions. For more information, visit our website: www.centralworks.org

Central Works is also a member of the National New Play Network (NNPN), and has participated in two Rolling World Premieres over the past two seasons.