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Director Kevin Clarke. Courtesy of Shotgun Players<\/p>\nAs Berkeley\u2019s Shotgun Players embarks on a new season of theater, the 34-year-old company reflects on how artists can help give us voice in times of unrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur world is in the midst of an enormous reckoning. I know many of us, right now, are looking for ways to be accountable to ourselves and our communities,\u201d says Shotgun Players\u2019 Artistic Director Patrick Dooley. \u201cAs theater-makers, that means making art with epic themes, bold aesthetics and sweeping emotions. Yes, let\u2019s entertain, but let\u2019s also take huge, joyful, heroic risks!\u201d<\/p>\n
Director Kevin Clarke. Courtesy of Shotgun Players<\/p>\n
Shotgun Players\u2019 2026 season starts on March 21 with Edward Albee\u2019s award-winning tale, \u201cThe Goat or, Who is Sylvia?<\/a>\u201d, directed by longtime Shotgun core company member, Kevin Clarke. In this tragic story of love and taboo, Martin has it all \u2014 a successful architecture career, a loving wife, and a son \u2014 but he is secretly in love\u2026 with a goat.\u00a0<\/p>\n On May 23, Bess Wohl\u2019s \u201cContinuity<\/a>\u201d opens. The director of Shotgun Players\u2019 2025 \u2018Art,\u2019 Emilie Whelan, returns with this sharp-witted, fast-paced comedy about a movie director. On a Hollywood set for a movie about climate change, the chaotic soundstage mimics the real-world climate crisis. As the crew asks whether they can fix the climate catastrophe with movie magic, the director tries to keep her set \u2014 and herself \u2014 together.\u00a0<\/p>\n This summer local legend Michelle Talgarow, who directed Shotgun\u2019s Glickman Award-winning \u201cThirty-Six,\u201d returns starting July 26. She directs the shattering modern classic, \u201cIphigenia in Splott<\/a>\u201d by Gary Owen. Effie \u2014 short for Iphigenia \u2014 stumbles through life in the nowhere town of Splott, numbing her days with hookups and hangovers. Inspired by the Euripidean \u201cIphigenia in Aulis,\u201d this epic story is brutally honest, piercing, terrible and tender, sometimes all at the same time.<\/p>\n World-premiering on Sept. 26,\u00a0 \u201cThe Fall Show<\/a>\u201d by Erika Chong Shuch \u2014 also serving as choreographer \u2014 and Charles Mee explores love in the twilight of life. An elderly couple\u2019s unexpected romance unfolds against a maelstrom of movement and memory in an intimate examination of their relationship.<\/p>\n Capping the mainstage productions for the year, on Nov. 28 is an exploration of the life and legacy of maverick Russian theater artist Vsevolod Meyerhold. \u201cThe Death of Meyerhold<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a show that catapulted Shotgun Players into the local theater spotlight in the early 2000s \u2014 was written and directed by Mark Jackson. The story of Meyerhold in the early 20th century is surprisingly like the story unfolding today. A revolution is on the march across our country. We\u2019re told it\u2019s great \u2014 while artists and journalists are canceled for telling the truth. We\u2019re told it\u2019s about justice \u2014 while people are disappeared in plain sight. Where are we \u2014 Soviet Russia? Meyerhold\u2019s fight for freedom in turbulent times is our fight.<\/p>\n The Staged Reading Series<\/p>\n In addition to the productions, Shotgun presents three staged readings<\/a>. These are world-premiere adaptations of time-honored classics. The actors are given just enough staging and tech to get started, and then talent does the rest. Those who support the series with $50 get a glass of bubbly and a reserved premium seat at each reading.<\/p>\n It starts with \u201cElectra Becomes,\u201d written and directed by Chris Steele, April 20-22. Electra is raging against a system that disenfranchises her gender, against a family that gaslights her pain, against gods that play loud favorites and seem to have forgotten her.\u00a0<\/p>\n Running June 22-24, is an African-American retelling of Chekhov\u2019s \u201cThe Seagull,\u201d called \u201cThe Gull,\u201d by Tara Blau Smollen. Set in 1938 at a Black vacation community on Martha\u2019s Vineyard, \u201cThe Gull\u201d explores the sacrifices Black artists must make in the pursuit of success.\u00a0<\/p>\n August 24-26, AeJay Antonis Marquis returns after directing Shotgun Players\u2019 critically acclaimed 2025 production of \u201cThe Magnolia Ballet,\u201d to tell another story by Terry Guest. The newly commissioned \u201cHouse of Jules\u201d is adapted from \u201cMiss Julie\u201d by August Strindberg.\u00a0<\/p>\n Discussions and seminars<\/p>\n These thought-provoking tales of tragedy, humor, love and loss, alongside classic works that resonate with a modern timbre every night offers a chance to connect with neighbors, friends and fellow theatre lovers.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cNow is the time for big art; bold gestures and adventurous spirits to confront the daily madness that we\u2019re all exposed to,\u201d says Dooley. \u201cIt\u2019s also a time for connection and community \u2014 the kind that comes from shared ideas and space and laughter.\u201d<\/p>\n In that spirit, Shotgun Players will continue its post-show conversations, giving audiences a chance to unpack the themes of each production with a host. Another series, Let\u2019s Break It Down<\/a>, offers active ways to engage with each mainstage production, such as a sing-along or dance lesson.\u00a0<\/p>\n Returning for its second season, \u201cMiriam\u2019s Place\u201d<\/a> seminars explore the spirit of creativity, offering insights behind the curtain into theater production with industry professionals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Accessibility<\/p>\n Shotgun Players will continue to offer several accessibility features<\/a>, including video on demand performances, haptic tours, audio-described performances and ASL-interpreted shows at 2 p.m. Sunday matinee performances.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tickets and discounts<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769533327_324_hqdefault.jpg\")
\nErika Chong Shuch talks about \u201cThe Fall Show,\u201d which she co-wrote and choreographed. Courtesy of Shotgun Players <\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769533328_876_hqdefault.jpg\")
\nAejay Antonis Marquis talks about \u201cThe House of Jules,\u201d a staged reading at Shotgun Players\u2019 Ashby Stage in August. Courtesy of Shotgun Players<\/p>\n