DAOR - Jean Wilcox Scholarship
Award Ceremony
Saturday, May 10
2:00 p.m.
Stanley Dollar Clubhouse
Free
The Drama Association of Rossmoor will present the 2025 Jean Wilcox Scholarship for Theater Arts to Olivia Friedenreich, a senior in the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS) at the University of California Berkeley.Friedenrich, whose concentration is directing, will receive the scholarship at an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m. at the Stanley Dollar Clubhouse.
The scholarship is given annually to a college student who has shown great potential in the theater arts and wishes to pursue further training. This is the fourth award in partnership with the UCBerkeley TDPS programs and the 13th since the scholarship program was established. It is funded by the proceeds of DAOR’s Naked Stage productions. This year’s scholarship amount is $4,000.
Friedenrich recently completed her senior capstone, directing the first act of “Top Girls” by Caryl Churchill. She is one of only four students selected each year to direct a TDPS Workshop production. Previously at TDPS, she served as assistant director or dramaturg for a number of shows. Outside the department she has directed Antonio Caldara’s “The Card Game” for the Handel Opera Project in the summer of 2023 and “Outside Mullinger” by John Patrick Stanley for a student theater group last spring.
“The production of “Outside Mullinger” is one of the best productions I have seen at UCBerkeley,” said Laxmi Kumaran, undergraduate academic advisor and continuing lecturer. “Olivia is deeply interested in the nature of human relationships and how human connection can be presented on stage. She likes to engage with works that ask big questions about life and allow the audience to form their own answer.”
At the ceremony, Friedenrich will present a short monolog and talk about her directing process and the kinds of plays she is drawn to. Speakers will include Kumaran; Gay White, president of DAOR; and Jean Wilcox, a founder of DAOR and for whom the scholarship is named. David Wilcox is chairman of the DAOR Scholarship Committee. A jazzy Power Point presentation will feature highlights from DAOR’s history and some of the past recipients of the scholarship. Refreshments will be available.
“Attendees at these scholarship award events have always been captivated by the joyousness and entertainment values of the occasion, said White. “Our board and membership believe that awarding this scholarship to a deserving college student studying theater arts is one of the most important things it does.”
Award Ceremony
Saturday, May 10
2:00 p.m.
Stanley Dollar Clubhouse
Free
The Drama Association of Rossmoor will present the 2025 Jean Wilcox Scholarship for Theater Arts to Olivia Friedenreich, a senior in the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS) at the University of California Berkeley.Friedenrich, whose concentration is directing, will receive the scholarship at an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m. at the Stanley Dollar Clubhouse.
The scholarship is given annually to a college student who has shown great potential in the theater arts and wishes to pursue further training. This is the fourth award in partnership with the UCBerkeley TDPS programs and the 13th since the scholarship program was established. It is funded by the proceeds of DAOR’s Naked Stage productions. This year’s scholarship amount is $4,000.
Friedenrich recently completed her senior capstone, directing the first act of “Top Girls” by Caryl Churchill. She is one of only four students selected each year to direct a TDPS Workshop production. Previously at TDPS, she served as assistant director or dramaturg for a number of shows. Outside the department she has directed Antonio Caldara’s “The Card Game” for the Handel Opera Project in the summer of 2023 and “Outside Mullinger” by John Patrick Stanley for a student theater group last spring.
“The production of “Outside Mullinger” is one of the best productions I have seen at UCBerkeley,” said Laxmi Kumaran, undergraduate academic advisor and continuing lecturer. “Olivia is deeply interested in the nature of human relationships and how human connection can be presented on stage. She likes to engage with works that ask big questions about life and allow the audience to form their own answer.”
At the ceremony, Friedenrich will present a short monolog and talk about her directing process and the kinds of plays she is drawn to. Speakers will include Kumaran; Gay White, president of DAOR; and Jean Wilcox, a founder of DAOR and for whom the scholarship is named. David Wilcox is chairman of the DAOR Scholarship Committee. A jazzy Power Point presentation will feature highlights from DAOR’s history and some of the past recipients of the scholarship. Refreshments will be available.
“Attendees at these scholarship award events have always been captivated by the joyousness and entertainment values of the occasion, said White. “Our board and membership believe that awarding this scholarship to a deserving college student studying theater arts is one of the most important things it does.”
Curtain Up!
"Based on a True Story ... three short plays" by Rod McFadden
Friday, May 17, 2 p.m.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Admission is free
The plays are “Curt and Laura: A story of Love and Big Numbers” based on two Bay Area high school students who made a historic discovery in mathematics in the late 1970s; “Of Men and Machines” which shows the amazing accomplishments of Alan Turing who helped the Allies win WWII while also laying the groundwork for the modern computer; and “An Improvident and Extravagant Exercise of Power”, the story of a young woman whose personal needs get her caught up in one of the most significant legal and political issues of the 20th century.
The three plays will be performed by Mar Jennings, Gay White, Ann McCullough, Linda Kelp, Ed Kimak, Kevin O’Byrne, Joe Costella and Rod McFadden. The plays will be directed by Ed Kimak, Linda Kelp and Rod McFadden.
Rod McFadden began writing plays in 2009. Since then, his plays have received over 100 productions by independent theaters throughout the country. He has received awards in national playwriting competitions. His short play, “One Monkey More or Less” was chosen for publication in the Smith and Kraus anthology, “Best 10-Minute Plays of 2015”.
McFadden, also an experienced actor and director, has been seen by Rossmoor audiences in DAOR productions of “Sylvia”, “Silent Sky”, “Proof”, and “Our Town”. He has taught DAOR classes in playwriting, acting, and play analysis. He has also been a guest lecturer for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
"Based on a True Story ... three short plays" by Rod McFadden
Friday, May 17, 2 p.m.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Admission is free
The plays are “Curt and Laura: A story of Love and Big Numbers” based on two Bay Area high school students who made a historic discovery in mathematics in the late 1970s; “Of Men and Machines” which shows the amazing accomplishments of Alan Turing who helped the Allies win WWII while also laying the groundwork for the modern computer; and “An Improvident and Extravagant Exercise of Power”, the story of a young woman whose personal needs get her caught up in one of the most significant legal and political issues of the 20th century.
The three plays will be performed by Mar Jennings, Gay White, Ann McCullough, Linda Kelp, Ed Kimak, Kevin O’Byrne, Joe Costella and Rod McFadden. The plays will be directed by Ed Kimak, Linda Kelp and Rod McFadden.
Rod McFadden began writing plays in 2009. Since then, his plays have received over 100 productions by independent theaters throughout the country. He has received awards in national playwriting competitions. His short play, “One Monkey More or Less” was chosen for publication in the Smith and Kraus anthology, “Best 10-Minute Plays of 2015”.
McFadden, also an experienced actor and director, has been seen by Rossmoor audiences in DAOR productions of “Sylvia”, “Silent Sky”, “Proof”, and “Our Town”. He has taught DAOR classes in playwriting, acting, and play analysis. He has also been a guest lecturer for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Berkeley Rep Docent Talk
Wednesday, April 9
10:30 a.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Free
The Docent will talk about Berkeley Rep’s production of HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman, and by special arrangement with Tectonic Theater Project, Brian & Dayna Lee, and Sonia Friedman Productions.
In 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and ignited a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of these historical photographs — what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity.
This production runs from April 5 to May 11 at the Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley CA 94704.
For information on the Docent Program, call Diana Insolio at 203-530-1891.
Wednesday, April 9
10:30 a.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Free
The Docent will talk about Berkeley Rep’s production of HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, conceived and directed by Moisés Kaufman, and by special arrangement with Tectonic Theater Project, Brian & Dayna Lee, and Sonia Friedman Productions.
In 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and ignited a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of these historical photographs — what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and our own humanity.
This production runs from April 5 to May 11 at the Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley CA 94704.
For information on the Docent Program, call Diana Insolio at 203-530-1891.
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