Berkeley Repertory Theatre
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Berkeley, CA
Founded: 1968
Mission: Berkeley Repertory Theatre seeks to set a national standard for ambitious programming, engagement with its audiences and leadership within the community in which it resides.
Tags:
bay area, arts & culture, production, arts education, audience engagement, community leadership, theatre programming
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Susan Medak.
Susan Medak has served as Berkeley Rep’s managing director since 1990, leading the administration and operations of the Theatre. She is president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the management association that represents 75 of the nation’s largest nonprofit theatres. Medak has often served on program panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and chaired two panels for…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
19.05%
Total Revenue:
$14,014,156
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Website:
E-Mail:
info AT berkeleyrep.org
Phone:
510-647–2972
Facebook:
Address:
2025 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
Twitter:
Story:
Robert Hurwitt wrote this review of the Rep last year:
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is fast emerging as one of Broadway's most important "farm teams," and that's good news not only for the East Bay theater, but perhaps for Bay Area theater in general. In the past few years, the Rep has sent seven shows to Broadway and off-Broadway.
Asked how he explains the Rep's success, [Artistic Director Tony]Taccone offers a qualification: "Whatever I say is going to sound irrationally coherent."
The reasons he comes up with range from the company's adventurous programming and the flexibility provided by its second, larger stage, the 8-year-old Roda Theatre, to experience, "the whimsy of fate" and being in Berkeley with "a unique audience and staff that's excited by new ideas and new work."
Others cite a factor Taccone omits. "Tony's increasing presence as a director on the national scene" is a big part of it, playwright Tony Kushner says.
"Between Tony and Les, you've got two highly respected, major artistic leaders tied to the same regional theater," says Oskar Eustis, artistic director of New York's Public Theater, which co-commissioned "Passing Strange."
"I would be hard put to point to another company with that kind of artistic firepower, which makes for a really attractive place for people like me because I know I've got some really good eyes and real colleagues paying attention to the show out there," he says. (Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/10/16/MN6R1A2PO1.DTL)
Expert Reviews of Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Evidence of Impact Summary:
The Berkeley Repertory Theatre repeatedly produces high quality, ground-breaking work in theatre. This organization has raised the Bay Area's stature on the national theater scene and is seen as one of the top regional theaters in the country. They are a leader in the development of new work that reflects the diversity of the East Bay. Their educational programs in high schools make theater accessible to youth (and at-risk youth) and involve students in playwriting and acting. They have a very engaged and challenging audience that allows them to take risks in ways that other theatre companies of their budget size cannot.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Experts praise Berkeley Repertory Theatre for their exemplary, visionary artistic leadership team. It seems that BRT is general strong across the board from effective marketing and outreach, to a strong and engaged board, to solid financial and organizational management, to good use of space and facilities. They are creative and connected to their community. Their production and artistic work sets a high standard for the Bay Area.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Experts' main criticism of BRT is that they do not engage local artists more in their work. BRT should also do more to collaborate with other arts organizations in the area, try to gain more visibility among the local community, stress diversity in their outreach and new programs, and develop their audience participation and education programs more.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Impact |
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Berkeley Rep has, almost singlehandedly, raised the Bay Area's stature on the national theater scene. It has brought new audiences to its stages with a daring roster of plays and musicals. Finally, it has become one of the leading voices for new work in the region. | ||
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Berkeley Rep is an artistic and organizational leader in the theater field. On stage, Berkeley Rep productions out perform the productions of L.O.R.T. theaters with considerably larger budgets. A fecund house of ideas, Berkeley Rep produces consistently strong seasons which include an amazingly high percentage of well realized commissions. Their arts education programs serve a broad area quite effectively. | ||
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Berkeley Repertory Theatre produces challenging and innovative theater. They set the standard for Bay Area theater and their success at bringing local productions to New York for successful runs is commendable. | ||
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They support the creation of new work, educational and developmental programs. | ||
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Berkeley Rep has gained national recognition of their theatre work. | ||
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Berkeley Rep produces great art, has an international reputation, managed to reverse export work to NYC(!), and creates a nice mix of things bordering on experimental and more traditional each season. | ||
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Berkeley Rep has emerged as an important regional theater (perhaps more relevant these days than ACT across the Bay), taking the risk to premier new works (that frequently move on to New York), as well as reviving old ones. They anchor a lively arts district in downtown Berkeley and are active participants in the community. | ||
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Berkeley Repertory has been a leader in the development of new work that reflects the diversity of the East Bay. It's educational programs make it's theater accessible to youth. Their launching of new plays has had a tremendous impact on theater nationally. | ||
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With numerous productions transferring to Broadway and Off-Broadway, Berkley Rep is now considered one of the top regional theaters in the country. Unlike other theaters that are producing shows that transfer to New York, Berkeley Rep is doing it through risky, new work that pushes the boundary of what a play and musical can and should be. | ||
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They do the most innovative work in the country at the highest level of professionalism and artistry. They have excellent outreach with their audience. | ||
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By producing strong, new work, especially in the past several years (which is difficult in this economic climate), BRT has put itself and the Bay Area theatre scene on the national map, receiving several notices in the NY Times and other national press. It also produces a variety of new work, from hits like American Idiot to more financially risky new plays (Yellowjackets) and solo work. BRT is an example of a regional theatre that's forward-thinking in its art. | ||
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The Berkeley Repertory Theatre repeatedly produces high quality, ground-breaking work in theatre. In recent years, I have seen productions by Sarah Jones and Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis, MN and believe they produce the best main stage theatre work in the Bay Area. They also offer strong arts education programs for students and classroom teachers. | ||
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This theater company manages to be a leader by both producing commercially successful works (many of which go on to be produced on and off-Broadway), by commissioning new works, and by producing many new and often challenging new works. They also run a very effective schools program that seem to target at-risk youth (or at least often reaches at-risk youth) and involve high school students in playwriting and acting. | ||
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Berkeley Rep is a site of development and performance, engaging audiences in the process and providing multiple points of access throughout the incubation process. I have a high level of confidence in the work that is mounted there. | ||
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BRT does fantastic new work at a very high level for a regional theatre. | ||
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They are one of the most influential regional theaters in the nation, and a flat out leader in the area of new work and new forms regionally. They have a very engaged and challenging audience that allows them to take risks in ways that are the envy of nearly every other artistic director in their budget size. And they have a strong focus on the region in their programming: local artists, local stories, civic involvement. They are a more accessible theater than most their size-- it feels very democratic around there. They have also been able to impact the national field from their mission and programming--not just in the number of shows they've sent to Broadway, but in the variety of forms in which those projects have come. It makes an important case for diversity of aesthetic, in my view. It's not the same formulaic musical making the transfer each time. It's solo performances, ensemble work, straight plays, and form-busting musicals like Passing Strange. This is helping embolden other risk-averse artistic directors around the country. | ||
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They produce a high volume of truly outstanding plays, including many world premieres, partnerships and risky plays. They have exceptional and consistently high artistic quality, and produce interesting, thought-provoking work. | ||
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Berkeley Rep has repeatedly come to the forefront as a leader in innovative arts programming. They are on the cutting edge of the newest trends in theater and continue to bring something fresh to the table with each show. | ||
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Similar to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the location and building(s) of BRT created a destination that then spread to become the "arts district" in Berkeley. Now there's a jazz school, Aurora Theatre, Freight & Salvage, and many restaurants. And BRT has become quite adventurous under the direction of Tony Taccone. Original works are in each season, with high production values. A season subscriber certainly experiences a spectrum of content, authorship and direction that is an education in what is possible in theatre. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Visionary Leadership |
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Berkeley Rep is a textbook example of smart, daring leadership at every level. | ||
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Artistic Director, Tony Taccone, is an visionary leader who brings innovative new plays to the stage. The entire organization is very well-run. | ||
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They have great artistic leadership supported by a great organization/staff. | ||
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I am not familiar with the BR staff other than the Artistic Director and several educators. I observe the AD (and associates) to be very in touch with the field, in possession of solid skills and creativity, and connected to the community and 'the times.' | ||
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Their artistic leadership team of Tony Taccone, Les Waters, and Susie Medak is their biggest asset. | ||
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Tony Taccone and Les Waters are two of the best directors in the country. The fact that two great artists can work at the same theater together is a testament to their egos and their focus on great work. | ||
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They have excellent artistic vision and audience engagement, as well as a local-focus and citizenship as a cultural center. | ||
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They have had long-term and creative leadership. Their excellent facilities are in a great location (BART, parking) and there is attentive management of their financial resources. | ||
Strong All Around: Staff, Leadership, Operations, Marketing, Board |
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The artistic and managerial leadership are remarkable. Their marketing, development, and finance work are always well staffed. The board is very engaged. | ||
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They have strong artistic and executive leadership, a strong board, relatively stable finances, and they make good use of their facilities. | ||
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They have a strong staff, leadership, infrastructure, and board. | ||
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They have incredibly deep and effective leadership comprised of Tony Taccone (Artistic Director), Les Waters (Associate Artistic Director), and Susie Medak (Managing Director). The combined artistic perspectives of Taccone and Waters gives the organization a very broad aesthetic viewpoint. They have a very strong and deeply involved board of directors and deep ties to the community. They understand their audience and the complexities of the fiscal and political environment in which they operate. | ||
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They have excellent leadership, operations, finances, and marketing. This is a well funded organization with high level of savvy. | ||
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This is a strong company in all aspects: strong and bold artistic leadership, solid marketing, and excellent operations. | ||
National Reach |
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What a year they have had! Green Day took them all the way to Broadway in New York! | ||
They have a high level of professionalism with a nice balance of informality of spirit. |
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Professionalism with a nice balance of informality of spirit | ||
Great Marketing and Outreach |
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Their marketing and communications is excellent. BRT loyally supports local workers and actors and it has excellent artists on staff (Les Waters). Its commitment to being a "green" theatre company is especially noteworthy. | ||
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Berkeley Repertory has done a great job marketing their brand identity to Bay Area audiences. They have also demonstrated a commitment to arts education in Bay Area schools that is deeper and more substantive than peers their size. | ||
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Their leadership is solid, forthright, and dynamic. Also, their communications via the web are exemplary -- many layers of information are provided long before, and immediately before you attend a show, and I'm always keen to respond to post-performance surveys. I like the tone of the organization, across the board. | ||
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Their production and artistic work sets a high standard for the Bay Area. They have good outreach to the under-30 crowd. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Work with Local Artists More |
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I would like to see Berkeley Rep work more with local playwrights. | ||
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In recent years, they have hired more and more out-of-town actors and are at-risk of alienating local artists. They need to put more of an emphasis on hiring locals. | ||
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They are great at developing the best national artists. I wish they were better at nurturing local talent as well. They are building a third stage and perhaps this will be a place where local artists can have a place to develop. | ||
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BRT could have a more authentic commitment to local playwrights--it could better utilize its second space for development of new local work. | ||
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BRT should have more local collaboration with Bay Area artists and organizations. | ||
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They could become better collaborators with their colleagues. They could make more of an effort to participate in the field-- I rarely see them taking part in national conversations that are directly in their own interest (contract negotiations, local policy discussions, etc.). | ||
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They should reach out to the community more and their new play development is scarce. | ||
Gain More Local Recognition |
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Berkeley Rep's biggest challenge is in receiving recognition more widely in the San Francisco Bay Area as the artistic leader in theater. Candidly, far to many believe that ACT holds that position. There are few dimensions which would allow you to compare the two artistically. On stage, Berkeley Rep is simply superior. | ||
Build Endowment |
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They need to build their endowment to achieve long-term stability. | ||
Stress Diversity in Outreach and Work More |
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They should continue to reach out in ways that stress diversity. | ||
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I would love to see BRT do more Latino-specific work. | ||
More Audience Engagement and Education |
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It would be great if Berkeley Rep would take their arts education programming to the next level. Considering their resources, they could do more in the area of arts education and leadership. I would also like to see them market to a broader audience (younger, more culturally diverse). | ||
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They could perhaps do more with general audience education with pre- and post-performance audience dialogues or other opportunities for the public to meet the artists involved in a production. | ||
Be Thoughtful About How to Increase Audience Numbers |
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I'd love to see more 'works in progress' opportunities -- readings of new works, lower ticket prices for these (lower production costs). | ||
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With Aurora next door, BRT seems to be leaning more to "Marquee" shows--Carrie Fisher, Green Day, Rita Moreno. I think they are succeeding at getting more people in the door, but it sometimes feels a little like a "sell out." It reminds me a little of Michael Smuin's focus when he headed to the San Francisco Ballet. | ||
Leadership
Susan Medak
Managing Director
Managing Director
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
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