About Theater Dogs

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Chad Jones has covered theater in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1992. Before becoming the theater critic for the Bay Area News Group-East Bay, a chain of daily newspapers that included the Oakland Tribune, the Tri-Valley Herald, the Marin Independent Journal and the San Mateo County Times, he was chief theater writer for the Bay Area Reporter. Chad was with the Bay Area News Group for more than 10 years.

Chad is a fifth-generation Nevadan and a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno. He was a long-time member of the American Theatre Critics Association and served for nearly two decades on the Glickman committee, which awards a cash prize for the best play to debut in the Bay Area. For three years he was the San Francisco correspondent for the London-based magazine Plays International.

He created Theater Dogs in 2006.

As a freelance writer, his work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wired magazine, Theatre Bay Area magazine, the Sacramento Bee, the Palo Alto Weekly and the Nob Hill Gazette.

After spending a year as the communications manager for Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chad is now the executive director of the San Francisco Arts Education Project, a 54-year-old nonprofit that pairs professional visual and performing arts artists with students in San Francisco public schools, after-school/weekend programs, an arts summer camp, a musical theater company and a gallery/workshop at freeCodeCamp.

Contact: theaterdogs [at] gmail.com

22 thoughts on “About Theater Dogs

  1. Hey Chad: Is there a way to contact you that’s not through your old work email? Thanks!

  2. Sorry to read about your departure from the Bay Area News Group, but given what is going on these days, it probably is a wise decision.

    Although I did not have a chance to meet you, I enjoyed our relationship via email. And I enjoyed your column in print and on the Web. You covered stuff that is being ignored these days.

    Will you still welcome releases and tidbits? If so, where might I send them?

  3. My AHA moment? Now I know why I’m so fond of you. It isn’t
    your writing or your kindness, your wicked sense of humor, or even
    your dazzling green eyes. It must be this: I, too, am a fifth
    generation Nevadan. But wait, that’s just my ego who identifies with
    being a fifth generation Nevadan, right? No matter who I am,
    the good news is that Chad Jones’Theater Dogs has a web presence and can be accessed globally, whether you live in Lovelock or Liverpool, Bariloche or Benin City. How divine!

  4. I was sad (though not surprised) to get a bounce when I sent you the word about the upcoming Woodminster Summer Musicals season, the 42nd, as you know! I’m very happy to find you here, and will visit frequently as I work in cyberspace.

  5. Chad:

    All the best for your new incarnation.

    How can I reach you? I have all the info on EVIL DEAD at the Willows Cabaret.

    Rgds,

    Gary Carr

  6. Hi Chad! Wondering how best to contact you directly – the only email address I have is (of course!) no longer operational…I want to be sure to keep in touch as we gear up for our summer shows. Thanks!

    Lisa Tromovitch
    Shakespeare’s Associates

  7. Our readers noticed today that you reviewed the OSF productions for the SF Chronicle. Several gave explanations on this. I informed our lurkers to go to this website to check out this excellent theatre site. I don’t think our people back East gives your site a little plug. This is up on all that chat–west coast which gets about 90% of our hits nationwide.

  8. Chad: I came upon this Web site by accident and I am so glad to see you still active in theater reviewing. Thank you for the kind mention in your last Theater dogs blog. I thought of you a lot while I was in New York, and I can’t believe MediaNews let you go and others stay, but what can I say? It’s MediaNews. Drop me an e-mail if you’re so inclined. I am back in the Bay Area.

  9. Hi Chad,
    Hope you are well. I saw your Mom at a Sophie Milman show in Fallon, she said you were coming to visit. Well Carol Pallesen left a message on my phone looking for your phone number, she was cleaning out her office and came upon your name and wanted to give you a call but your phone number was incorrect. So I looked you up on the Web and ended up here. I love your website, am confused about mentions in the blog about being let go ?? Anyway could you email me with your correct phone number and I will give it to Carol. She does not believe in computers.
    Lots of love, Donna Marie

  10. Hi, Chad –

    I was in your breakout session on Monday at the TBA conference and really enjoyed what you and the rest of the panel had to say. I didn’t get a chance to snag you afterwards, but wanted to extend you an invitation to the opening of Death of a Salesman this weekend.

    Would you be willing to pass on your preferred contact info so that I can get you the press release, etc.?

    Thanks for all your work and I look forward to being in touch.

    Best,
    Josy Miller
    Artistic Director
    Hapgood Theatre Company

  11. Chad,
    Like everyone else here, I am clamoring for contact. I’d love to be able to get in touch about fabulous events that come up – one in particular on an immediate basis.

    Adam Gopnick once said that Anthony Lane was the only writer at the New Yorker who was allowed to operate as if he were participating in a witness protection program – no emails, phone calls, untoward meetings. While this is nothing like that, trying to find you is proving to be a mysterious thing indeed.

  12. Chad,
    I would like permission to put an article you wrote in 2004 that mentions the Rosen Method on a Rosen Journal website (www.rosenjournal.org) and can’t find a way to contact you besides this site!

    Please email me~
    Thanks,
    Marjorie Huebner
    Rosen Journal Archive editor
    Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner

  13. FARMINGTON — The UMF Concert Band, comprised of University of Maine at Farmington students, community members and local high school students, will perform its fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Nordica Auditorium at UMF’s Merrill Hall.

  14. Hi Chad! I would love to be able to contact you with press releases of upcoming shows we are doing PR for. If you are interested, we could get you some comp tickets for these shows, if you would be able to write something about them on your blog? Let me know your thoughts on this.

  15. Hey Chad,
    Connema tells me you publish his posts. Please consider mine. The following will be published this Thursday in Bay Times in a shorter version. You can also find it at my Web site now. I also publish reviews.

    Theatre – Hot Tickets-05-14-09. doc

    Hot Tickets
    Compiled by
    Albert Goodwyn

    Up by Dirt: A new dance piece explores perceptions of faith through the intangible, what we hold as real, and what binds our need to control. Plays May 14 (through May 15) at The Garage, 975 Howard St., SF. Tix ($10 – $20) phone (415) 885-4006 or visit http://pustheatre.org.

    You, Nero: In a new comedy from local writer Amy Freed, not only does Nero fiddle while Rome burns, he fills the Colosseum with an incendiary mix of sex and decadence. The egotistical emperor commands a washed-up scribe to create an extravagant show that flatters his regime. But to stage the script he must survive the real spectacle at the palace, where his mother, his mistress and an entourage of eunuchs play an elaborate game of deceit and seduction. Sharon Ott directs this smart and sassy show, and Freed lets loose the tigers on a crumbling empire obsessed with shallow celebrities, violent sports and sensational entertainment. When Rome unravels like it’s reality TV, everyone wants to get in the emperor’s new clothes. This world premiere opens May 15 (through June 28) at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. Tix ($13.50 – $71) phone (510) 647-2949 or visit http://www.berkeleyrep.org.

    King Xerxes: In a private home on Potrero Hil, San Francisco’s Queerly Operatic LGBT opera club hosts monthly DVD nights, frequently showing operas with gender-bending content. This feature is Serse (King Xerxes), a baroque masterpiece by Handel that features two “trouser roles” (women wooing women while dressed as men), a famous aria sung to a tree (yes, really!), and beautiful heart-stopping music from start to finish. Potluck-style dinner beforehand gives time to socialize, and the chocolate dessert breaks out at intermission. Everyone is welcome, both men and women, from opera newbees to opera die-hards at the club. This free event takes place Sat. May 16 at 5:00 pm. Attendance is limited due to space restrictions; RSVP required at http://www.QueerlyOperatic.org.

    Mr. Marmalade: In Custom Made’s savage black comedy about growing up in these difficult times, a 4-year-old girl with an active imagination has difficulties with her older imaginary friend, neglectful mother and forgetful babysitter. Her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade loves to come for tea parties and to play house. Unfortunately, he also drinks, has a cocaine addiction and a collection of pornography and dildos, not to mention the fact that he beats up his personal assistant. Complications ensue when her real best friend, a 5-year-old, makes the youngest suicide attempt in the history of New Jersey. Opens May 15 (through June 13) at Custom Stage @ Off Market, 965 Mission St., SF. Tix ($10 – $25) phone (800) 838-3006 or go to http://www.custommade.org.

    Queer Queens of Qomedy: This all-lesbian comedy revue makes its San Francisco debut. Whatever your sexual, religious or political persuasion, the Queer Queens are sure to make you laugh. They play once only 4 pm May 17 at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St., SF. Tix ($40) phone (866) 468-3399 or visit http://queerqueensofqomedy.com.

    McPuzo & Trotsky: As part of Climate’s Music Box Series, Heinrich McPuzo on trumpet violin (an early 20th Century vaudeville instrument) and vocals, along with Sid Trotsky on vocals and banjo play wandering minstrels of 1921. This thoroughly original revue is untainted by the base and vulgar leitmotifs leaned upon by others who purvey themselves as “Artists.” Since 1917 McPuzo and Trotsky have been writing fine songs that satirize and amuse. Plays once only Wed. May 20 at Climate Theater, 285 Ninth St., SF. Tix ($7 – $15) phone (415) 704-3260 or go to http://www.climatetheater.com.

    That’s What She Said! New Conservatory presents the return of their two-woman hit show that aims to make the world smile – one dyke at a time. Vocalist Amy Turner and Kathryn Lounsbery, pianist and vocalist, write original songs that celebrate the quirks and stereotypes in lesbian culture. Their musical collaboration has churned out songs in just about every style of music: jazz, rap, folk, disco, light opera, and even pornography. The show will offer many new songs mixed with old favorites. Opens in previews May 20 (opening night May 23; runs through May 31) at The New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Ave., SF. Tix ($20 – $28) phone (415) 861-8972 or online at http://www.nctcsf.org.

    Faust Part 1: For Shotgun Players, Mark Jackson adapts Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragicomedy of how the bored Dr. Faust finds renewed life in his “love” for a young commoner. Opens May 20 (through June 21) at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Tix ($18 – $25) phone (510) 841-6500 x303 or go to http://www.shotgunplayers.org.

    Four Evenings in Hell: Or Is It Heaven? Goat Hall Productions presents the ninth Fresh Voices IX Festival in ten one-act or excerpted chamber operas and six dramatic song cycles exploring themes of “Rash Acts and Their Consequences: Murder, Mayhem, Deceit” and “Yearning to Touch Someone: Dead or Alive!” The program features works by several Bay Area composers, such as Greg Bartholomew’s Razumov, Siskind and Steinberg’s The Sailor-Boy and the Falcon and Mark Alburger’s Sex and Delilah, along with songs such as Friedman and Norton’s I Do Not Love Thee Three Ways. The mixed programs open May 22 (through May 29) at Community Music Center, 544 Capp St., SF. Tix ($10 – $25; cabaret table or general seating available) phone (415) 289-6877 or visit http://www.goathall.org.

    Kamikaze Heart: Tim Barsky, Shannon Gaines and Urban Circus Art Shows present a dance work fairy tale told through a hybrid performance style, combining traditional circus arts and newer urban dance forms. Plays through May 31 at Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th St., SF. Tix ($14 – $25) phone (415) 665-2276 or go to http://www.acrosports.org.

    Wreckage: In Crowded Fire’s world premiere, two boys emerge from the sea and become engulfed in a world of savage longing. Plays through June 6 at Boxcar Playhouse, 505 Natoma St., SF. Tix ($12.50 – $25) phone (415) 255-7846 or go to http://www.crowdedfire.org

    Impact Briefs: Puberty: Impact Theatre’s 9th collection of comic ten-minute plays examines those awkward teenage years. The plays focus on puberty and all of the hilarious memories that word conjures. In this show, no uncomfortable stone will remain unturned, from “the talk” to nocturnal emissions. Plays through June 6 at La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. Tix ($12 – $20) phone (510) 464-4468 or go to http://www.impacttheatre.com.

  16. I think the theater is great. I am sorry, though, that due to being poor, mostly because of a disability, I rarely see good or great theater. Actually, my story is interesting, because I have experienced a lot related to what I have and who I am. I am the adopted daughter of a mother who graduated from Cornell University in 1956. She truly was a maverick who earned her way into that elite institution.

    I live in Berkeley, California and have a fiancee, but it is difficult living together as we both struggle with our employment-challenged lives. I did complete college, though, and I am proud of my education.

    There is a show about mental illness coming out on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Unfortunately, I have heard that it is a mediocre show, but this is typical that the mentally ill get short shrift due to the misinformation spread about it/them.

    I am happy to find time to read your blog, though, and I intend to, but I would also appreciate your taking time to read my blog, as well.

    Thank you so much for your time.

    Stephanie J. Golden, B.S.W., M.S.R.C.

  17. Somehow found my way to your 2007 review of Tammy Grimes at the Plush Room, and just wanted to let you know she was at the Q&A following yesterday’s matinee of of the Mufti’s production of HIGH SPIRITS. I don’t know what she was like 2 years ago, but she’s a very large woman now. Her face, though, looks lovely, more relaxed than photos I’ve seen where, maybe, the cosmetic work looked too new, too tight. None of it mattered: she was warm and witty and quite clearly didn’t want to gossip, but nevertheless recalled that Louise Troy vocalized so much before a show that when she got on stage had no voice and then blamed some chemical inherent in the stage floor.

    Alfredo (in NY)

  18. Chad! Good to see your blog byline — always fun to see an old ANG colleague online. Ran across your blog post on Saugatuck — my new hometown. Took job as editor of a resort town daily paper (about size of san mateo times) last fall. Next time you’re in town — look me up. Would be great to catch up with old BATCC chum. I live just to the left of the Saugatuck lake bridge in your Saugatuck photo post.

    Pamela Fisher

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