Theatre Lunatico Premieres CONVOY 31000

Artistic Director Tina Taylor and the Theatre Lunatico ensemble present Convoy 31000: an original devised production exploring the histories of women who fought fascism in the French Resistance during World War II. Convoy 31000 opens on Friday, November 1, and runs through November 24 at La Val's Subterranean Theater in Berkeley. Advance tickets ($15-25) are available at convoy31000.brownpapertickets.com or can be purchased at the door subject to availability.

Convoy 31000 is the story of 230 women of the French Resistance who were arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Only 49 survived. Incorporating narrative forms - poetry, music, song, and movement - the Lunatico ensemble shines a light on these overlooked female heroes of WWII. The show was developed through a series of workshop rehearsals with Lunatico artists who immersed themselves in research about the French Resistance. Artists chose their own characters based on the true human stories they found most personally compelling; those stories were then presented to the group, who improvised scenes around those characters. Director Taylor then drew from these rehearsals, as well as from the artists themselves, to craft the final script.

"Theatre Lunatico is committed to changing the dynamic between director and actor, and to empower performers to have greater ownership in the creative process," said Taylor. "We are telling the stories of women who made their own choices, chose what risks they would take - it seemed only sensible to approach the creative process with that same spirit. This is a multi-layered approach, with the central focus on actor-chosen characters. The Theatre Lunatico ensemble is the key to our rehearsal approach, to our collective creation, and - ultimately - to the audience's experience of the final work."

The ensemble for Convoy 31000 includes Maria Grazia Affinito*, Asha Alvarez, Michael Barr*, Deborah Cortez, Nash Hascall, Kenneth Matiss, Shawn Oda, Gwyneth Richards*, Lauri Smith, and Nicole Thordsen (*denotes member of Actor's Equity Association - An Equity Approved Project). Design team includes Gideon Jones (scenic), Nancy Maher (costumes), Kevin Droese (sound), Rob Bradshaw (lighting), Andrea Weber (fight choreography), Madge Grahn (stage manager), Tina Taylor (director), and Cathy Wilmoth (producer).

Theatre Lunatico is a Berkeley-based, ensemble physical theatre company. The company produces raw, intimate, immediate theatre with the aim of developing a deeper, inherently memorable experience with audiences. Creating compelling, thoughtful, passionate, and innovative works, Theatre Lunatico strives to create connection in a time of deepening disconnect. More information is available at www.TheatreLunatico.org.

Photo Credit: Eileen Fisher