Daily May 19-30 Noon
Jewels in the Square

Union Square
FREE

Presented by MJM Management and SFIAF

Come to Union Square for free site specific shows and outdoor sneak previews of performances by various local and international artists performing as part of SFIAF. The performances include participants in SFIAF's MASH Program. This year's MASH artists are Aura Fischbeck Dance, Dance/Theater Shannon, FACT/SF, Ishika Seth & Dancers, Iu-Hui Chua, Kelly Bowker & Dancers and Nguyen Dance Company.

For a full calendar of SFIAF Jewels in the Square Performances go here

For more information on individual MASH artists go here

To apply to be in MASH 2011 go here

Thur. - Sat. May 20-22. 8:00pm
DEREVO (Russia)
Harlekin (2009, U.S. Premiere)
Cowell Theatre, Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason Center
$25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.
Go Here for Information on discount tickets.
BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Presented by SFIAF

One day, when I was crossing customs, in the form field "Occupation" I wrote "Harlequin." The customs officer asked me what it meant. I answered: "this is what I have been doing for many years in the theatre."

"You should write 'Actor,'" he said. I apologized. He smiled. Going away from his desk I could feel his glare on my back. And I suddenly realized that I was walking differently. Lighter, snappier . . . as if I was 300 years younger.

(Anton Adasinsky, artistic director, DEREVO)

ARTIST INFORMATION  |  ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Fri. May 21, 7:00pm, Sun. May 23 8:30pm
foolsFURY (U.S.A.)
The Unheard of World / Le Monde Inouï (Work-in-Progress)
Southside Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center
$15 General Admission, $12 in advance

Presented by foolsFURY

The Unheard of World is the American premiere of a play for all ages by celebrated French playwright Fabrice Melquiot. A strange city among the roots of trees is home to the spirit of every person who has ever lived. Eighty million souls, scrambling for space! It is story of the meeting between a sad little girl half-swallowed by a bear, and a little boy who refused to ever be born. It is a uniquely magical place in which Melquiot delves into themes of death, longing, loss and love. Full of great poetic imagery, and a fantastical humor that will intrigue audience members of all ages, this is foolsFURY's second premiere of Melquiot's work, following their acclaimed production of The Devil on All Sides (Le Diable en Partage) which toured San Francisco and New York in 2007. Translated by foolsFURY ensemble member Michelle Haner.

Sat. May 22 7:00pm, Sun. May 23 4:00pm & 6:30pm
Al Khareef Theatre Troupe (Syria, West Coast debut)
The Solitary (U.S. Premiere)
Southside Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center

BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Presented by SFIAF & Golden Thread Productions in association with the Arab Cultural & Community Center & Thick Description

Al Khareef Theatre Troupe brings its award-winning play to the Bay Area. The Solitary is a fascinating piece of theatre that is as simple as it is profound. Situated in a single room it is the story of a political prisoner in solitary confinement and his relationship with his gaoler-the only person with whom he has any personal contact. From this simple idea Ramez Alaswad and Nawar Bulbul weave a subtle and complex story that mines the nature of power dynamics and personal relationships, evokes political intrigues and, by extension, comments on the growing rifts that exist in many Arab societies through the emergence of highly educated urban populations and governments still run on graft and cronyism.

The Al-Khareef Theatre Troupe performance of "The Solitary" on Friday May 21 at 9:00pm will now be a dress rehearsal. The public is welcome to attend, but tickets are no longer on sale. Patrons who have already purchased tickets to Friday's performance may either have their tickets refunded or switch them to a different performance.

ARTIST INFORMATION  |  ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Thu.-Sat. May 27-29 8:00pm
Sunny Drake (Australia)
Other-wise (U.S. Premiere of New Version)
The Garage, 975 Howard Street
$25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.
Go Here for Information on discount tickets.
BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Presented by the Queer Cultural Center and The Garage's AIRspace program

A gutsy convention-defying one-person show weaving theatre, magical animation, movement, comedy and multimedia, Other-wise is a letter to Sunny's family come to life on the stage, exposing his emotions and experiences as a transgender person. Animated creatures whisk us into worlds of magic as Sunny explores boy tits, being honest with one's family, learning to fly and getting comfortable with contradictions and not knowing. As funny as it is moving, Other-wise is a testament to the courage it takes to be true to oneself. Warning: you will only understand this show if you are human and born on planet earth.

ARTIST INFORMATION  |  ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Fri. May 28 7:00pm, Sat. May 29 4:00pm
ShadowLight Productions (U.S.A. & China)
The Good-for-Nothing Lover: Concert Reading with Shadows
Cowell Theatre, Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason Center
$25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.
Go Here for Information on discount tickets.
BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Presented by ShadowLight Productions

Inspired by the beloved folk song cycle from the Ming Dynasty (16th century China) translated in the late fifties by beat poets C. H. Kwock and Vincent McHugh, the project pays homage to both the Beat Era and the Ming Dynasty utilizing, for example, a stand up bass and a guo-qin (Chinese fretless zither), modern and traditional dances, calligraphy and action painting, as well as singing and spoken word in Chinese and English. In contrast to ShadowLight's previous linear narrative-based works with projection screens, this production will experiment with a non-linear, movement and sound-based storytelling structure. In this new format, The Good-for-Nothing Lover will examine an archetypal state of love and human relations, which are as true today as when the words were first written centuries ago.

ARTIST INFORMATION  |  ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Fri.-Mon. May 28-31, 7:00pm Fri.-Sat. 4:30pm Sat.-Mon. 2:00pm Mon. (The Sunday May 30 4:30pm show has been cancelled, due to Golden Gate Park access being restricted.)
Antenna Theater (U.S.A)
The Magic Bus (World Premiere)
Geary St & Union Square
$25 general admission only. No senior or student rates.
BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Presented by Antenna Theater, MJM Management & SFIAF

Sausalito's Antenna Theater will literally hit the streets with a travelling show aboard a renovated 20th Century bus that evokes the era and politics of the Summer of Love and Kesey's Merry Pranksters. The Magic Bus is a veeeery tripppy thick twisted mix of interviews, R&R, image and lights projected while the bus rumbles through Frisco-destination: Further.

ARTIST INFORMATION

Saturday May 29 7:00pm.
Keith Hennessy / Circo Zero (U.S.A.)
Almost Nothing, Almost Everything
Southside Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center
$25 General Admission, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.
Go Here for Information on discount tickets.
BOX-OFFICE: 800-838-3006
Shared bill with Company Prototype Status
Presented by Keith Hennessy and SFIAF

Keith Hennessy comes to SFIAF to improvise: to invent a performance from almost nothing, accessing almost everything. Curious about histories of moving bodies and bodily movement, Hennessy's improvisations are a dynamic mash-up of Judson, body art, stand up, Ridiculous, Modern, lecture, and ritual (where Ridiculous means, among other things, subversive camp, and ritual is about how a group of people experience magic and/or death together). He might go off on a political rant, he might take questions from the audience, and he'll probably change costumes and be naked. Hennessy's all-improv concerts are rarely presented in the Bay Area but have been recently featured and praised in New York at Dance Theatre Workshop, in Mexico at the Prisma Foru, and in Germany at Ponderosa.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES