May 29, 2025: J.K. Fowler/The Bay Area Book Festival – Joan Baez

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   The 11th Annual Bay Area Book Festival J.K. Fowler, Executive Director of the Bay Area Book Festival in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing this year’s festival, Saturday May 31st and Sunday June 1st throughout the City of Berkeley. The focus of this year’s Festival is Changing the Narrative, with looks at activism, resistance, responding to backlash, writing for social change and more. Guests include Mia Birdsong, Prentiss Hemphill. Viet Thanh Nguyen, Greg Sarris and over a hundred other writers, publishers and editors. The venues include the Berkeley Library, Freight & Salvage, The Marsh, the Brower Center, the Hotel Shattuck, and three outdoor stages, including one at Berkeley’s BART Plaza. J.K. Fowler founded Nomadic Press, sat on Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Commission, and works on several community projects.   Joan Baez Joan Baez, legendary singer, songwriter and activist, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded while on remote tour for her book of poetry, “When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance.” Recorded April 26, 2024 via zencastr. Joan Baez is an internationally renowned singer, songwriter and activist who burst on the folk music scene as a teenager in the late 1950s. She has two autobiographies, Daybreak, along with And A Voice to Sing With. There are over thirty albums, including her now classic “Diamonds and Rust”from 1975, she has appeared in numerous documentaries about music and activism, won the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and is the subject of a recent documentary, Joan Baez, I Am A Noise, which is on Hulu and can be rented on several apps. Photos courtesy Joan Baez. Complete Interview.   Review of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” at San Francisco Playhouse through June 21, 2025. Review of “Yellow Face” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through June 14, 2025.   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler’s Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Co-Founders. a world premiere hip-hop musical May 29 – July 6, Strand. Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi, Sept 18 – Oct 19, Toni Rembe Theatre. Aurora Theatre  The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner, with Marga Gomez, July 12 – August 10.  Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. The Aves by Jihae Park, through June 8, 2025, Peets Theatre. The Big Reveal Live Show written and performed by Sasha Velour, June 4 – 15, Roda Theatre. Who’s With Me. written and performed by W. Kamau Bell, June 17-22, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Parade,  May 20 – June 8, Orpheum. A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, June 3-22, Golden Gate. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Moulin Rouge!, The Musical. July 8-13. See website for other events. Center Rep: Happy Pleasant Valley, June 1- 29. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. Golden Thread  Oriental, or 1001 Ways to Tie Yourself In Knots by Evren Odcikin June 7-8, Potrero Stage. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Murder for Two, a musical comedy, October 9 – November 2, 2025. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, May 29 – June 22. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. Aztlan by Luis Alfaro, World Premiere, June 25 – July 13. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, June 13 – July 13, Forest Meadows Amphitheatre. See website for other events. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) To My Girls by JC Lee, through June 8. Pride Cabaret, June 6-21.  Ride the Cyclone, the musical, July 11 – August 15. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project. Les Blancs (The Whites) by Lorraine Hansberry, July 11 – 27. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Pear Slices, May 23 – June 8. Constellations by Nick Payne, June 27 – July 20.See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. See web page for information on summer camps. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens. May 1-June 21. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.  The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space. San Jose Stage Company: Sweet Charity,  June 4 – 29.. Shotgun Players.  Yellowface by David Henry Hwang, May 10 – June 14. South Bay Musical Theatre:  Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming events and producctions. Theatre Rhino  Doodler by John Fisher, May 31 – July 6, The Marsh, San Francisco. The Laramie Project, June 19-29.. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean  Jimmy Dean, A New Musical, June  18 – July 13. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAMPFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post May 29, 2025: J.K. Fowler/The Bay Area Book Festival – Joan Baez appeared first on KPFA.