One more chance to see O Best Beloved on Tour!

GallerySeptember 9, 2014September 21, 2014directorebeccer Leave a comment

Coming up at 2pm this Saturday, September 13 at the Parker Street Odditorium (2310 Parker Street, Berkeley) — the final performance of the O Best Beloved 2014 Tour!

Kolokolo bird in the Wait-a-Bit thorn bush. Noe Valley, August 24. Photo by Tim Guydish.

Elly and the Giraffe at Noe Valley, August 24. Photo by Tim Guydish.

Samuel Peaches’ Peripatetic Players get serious about a song in Noe Valley on August 24. Photo by Tim Guydish.

During our tour, we’ve played to almost 1,000 people, paused for the BART to go by, chased after dogs running under the stage, shared our playing space with a Yak, performed for at least three princesses, paraded with kids from 2 to 82, and been gifted more cake than anyone could possibly eat. The FluxWagon has both gained and lost a couple of deedles (ask us for the story on that one, as well as what “deedles” are), drawn delighted crowds wherever we’ve unfolded her, hosted a concert, and traveled more miles than we can count.

We hope you’ll join us for Saturday’s performance, and please stay in touch — we won’t be performing soon, but you never know where we might appear next!

The many faces of The Professor, PhD

GalleryAugust 13, 2014directorebeccer Leave a comment

The Professor, PhD pretty much knows it all — or thinks s/he does. Our ensemble can’t quite decide who has the final say on how the world began… and everyone has a different idea of who The Professor is. Who’s your favorite?

Catch The Professor expounding and expostulating at any of our 2014 Tour performances around the Bay Area.

This weekend: San Francisco’s Precita Park on 8/16 at 2pm, and Pleasanton’s Centennial Park on 8/17 at 5pm!

Thumper on book helps fact-check Samuel Peaches and Blueberry Starshine

Thumper makes sure that the stories are accurate to Mr. Kipling’s originals

Meekins is always a little shocked.

Blueberry Starshine as The Professor, PhD

Blueberry Starshine can tell you all about the fauna of the turbid Amazon.

Samuel Peaches takes us to the plains of Africa

Princess Gwen (Marlene Yarosh) as The Professor, PhD

Princess Gwen tells us how the Whale got his throat.

And will anyone ever let Arby-Darby wear the Professorial pith helmet?

Arby-Darby lobbies the audience

FluxWagon Update, vol. 1

GalleryAugust 10, 2014directorebeccer 1 Comment

Fluxxie is looking all grown up these days. But not so long ago, she was a lot of wood, metal, and raw materials. Here’s some step-by-step photos from FluxWagon-In-Progress!

First the metal structures were cleaned, painted & primed

Once Fluxxie came home from metalworking at The Gate, her metal structures were cleaned, painted & primed…

…while the wooden walls got a few coats of circus-wagon red. “Red Licorice” was too lipstick-y, so we settled on “Heirloom Red.”

Here's Megan attaching wooden walls to the metal structure

Next, the wooden walls were to the metal structure – here’s Megan drilling in some awesome self-tapping screws. Note the step units at the top of the frame – you’ll see more of those in our next installments!

The walls all will all fold down to become floors, so they get a layer of pretty-looking floorboards, too.

Here’s Gus and Joan on a short break from finishing walls, building stairs, and a million other details.

A side wall, ready for decor.

Next it’s time for painting…

…and stenciling!

Want to see FluxWagon in all her glory? Come on out to a show! Next stop: Precita Park, San Francisco on August 16 at 2pm; then Pleasanton August 17 at 5pm.

Here’s our full tour schedule.

…And stay tuned for the next installment in our gripping new series, FluxWagon-In-Progress!

A taste of Tour 2014 – “The Beginning of the Armadillos”

GalleryJuly 29, 2014July 29, 2014directorebeccer Leave a comment

Photos from one of our new stories, “The Beginning of the Armadillos,” by the phenomenal Serena Morelli. Here’s a link to the original story by Mr. Kipling.

Our first performance is this Sunday, August 3 at Cayuga Playground, San Francisco!

Check out our full 2014 Tour Schedule.

Blueberry Starshine (Sam Jackson) as the Professor

Thumper (Joan Howard) plays Painted Jaguar, about to surprise the two Armadillos — played by Samuel Peaches (Casey Robbins) and Arby-Darby (Juliana Frick)

Blueberry Starshine also plays Mama Jaguar and Meekins and Princess Gwen are her Jaguar Posse

Rawr! Meekins, Blueberry and Princess Gwen as the Jaguars

Samuel Peaches and Arby-Darby as the Hedgehog and Tortoise, hatching a plan to surprise Painted Jaguar

FluxWagon: Born in FIRE

GalleryMay 29, 2014June 21, 2014directorebeccer 1 Comment

Joan and our dear friend Gus are busy this month, welding FluxWagon’s metal skeleton together at The Gate in San Leandro. It’s exciting to see FluxWagon being born — in sparks and plasma!

You know what they say… measure twice, cut once.

Joan and Gus at work assembling FluxWagon’s structural skeleton.

Gus is aglow in sparks as he works on one of FluxWagon’s stage panels.

Baby Fluxie: FluxWagon in progress

GalleryMay 24, 2014May 30, 2014directorebeccer Leave a comment

FluxWagon is being born!

In an arts/industrial space in San Leandro called The Gate, FluxWagon is under construction to become our mobile stage for the summer tour of O Best Beloved. Baby Fluxie (her prenatal name) currently looks like a utility trailer, the framing of one wall, and a lot of metal sticks. Her neighbors, apparently, are a great many pianos. Seems appropriate.

Thanks to help from Gustavo Alonso, Joan is cutting and welding to her heart’s content. Gus is also an actor and artist who creates metalwork at The Gate with the bEEcHARGE arts collective.