BAKERSFIELD MIST

BAKERSFIELD MIST

BAKERSFIELD MIST by Stephen Sachs

Maude Gutman, an unemployed bartender living in a trailer park in the California desert, believes the painting she bought at a thrift store for three dollars as a gag, is really an undiscovered Jackson Pollock painting worth millions.

Is it the find of the century or a clever forgery? When eminent New York art historian and expert Lionel Percy arrives at Maude’s trailer to evaluate the painting, the two embark on a fiery debate over class, truth, and what we personally perceive as valuable. Inspired by true events, Bakersfield Mist is a lively and entertaining comedy/drama about the meaning of art and what or who is authentic.

Performance dates and venues are being decided for 2024.

So please check back to this page to see more information.

Once we know more we will provide the links on how to book on this page.

In the meantime please check out our latest review and scroll down to see more about the show. 

In English for ages 16+

Reviews:

“Provocative, fast-paced and cleverly funny” DC Theater Arts

“Sachs’s short, smart play is a battle of wits in which Yankee earthiness
and directness run up against English diffidence and decorum.” New York Times

“Humor, realism and the theory of art collide. A totally engrossing two-hander,
is a funny, thought provoking mystery about authenticity and what makes art.” Chicago Critic

For actors bios click here

Photo by Marius Steffen

Kathleen
Renish

as

“Maude Gutman”

Photo by Lars Henning Schroeder

James
Bunyon

as

“Lionel Percy”

Photo by Marius Steffen

Rebecca Gadsby – Director

Beck Gadsby is an award-winning Theatre Director based in the UK but working worldwide. She has directed almost 70 stage productions ranging from new writing studio shows to regional theatre, with a string of 5-star reviews along the way. In fact, her almost 70 productions have never earned less than 4 stars in national and local press.

Her 2011 production of Sense & Sensibility was filmed by the BBC and used in their documentary, The Many Lovers of Austen and she directed the UK’s largest open air theatre event in 2015 at Chatsworth House (Pride & Prejudice) to three-thousand people.

For the past 5 years, Rebecca has been undertaking ground-breaking research into the use of technology in theatre, which earned her a grant from Innovate UK to create the world’s first theatre design app, Inside Theatre. Her app featured as Apple’s ‘top 10’ educational apps in 2020 and she has recently been named ‘100 ones to watch’ by the Creative Industries Council.

www.RebeccaGadsby.com

Stephen Sachs – Author

Stephen Sachs is an award-winning playwright and director and the co-Artistic Director of the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, which he co-founded in 1990. As playwright and director, Sachs has won every theatre award in Los Angeles. He was recently honored by the Los Angeles City Council for “his visionary contributions to the cultural life of Los Angeles.”

He is the author of seventeen produced plays, including his Deaf/Hearing love story, Arrival & Departure (Critic’s Choice, LA Times), Bakersfield Mist (2012 Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play) which received a 3-month run on London’s West End starring Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid and is now being produced in regional theatres across the country and translated into other languages and being performed worldwide.

Georg Kreuter

Backdrop Design / Poster Trailer & Sign Design / 3D Set Design

Iain Court

Sound Design

Phil Bonney

Fight Director

Horizont Theater

Thank you for the creative support!

Vinya Cameron - Web n'Art Agency

Website & Poster / Postcard Design / Artwork Consultant

Marius Steffen

Set & Rehearsal Photography

Damir Basic

Videographer (Interview)

Restaurant PALANTA

Liquor bottles for the BAKERSFIELD MIST set

Tim Prythero

Minature Retro Trailer – A special thanks to Tim, who is an Albuquerque miniature reproduction artist,
for allowing us to use the image of his retro trailer for our poster & postcards.

Lutz P. Mrutzek - Stage Carpenter

Stage furniture – small kitchen counter, flower stands and small oval table

 

STARTING A THEATER ENSEMBLE DURING A PANDEMIC???

As the world closed down, businesses shut their doors to the public and family and friends were kept in their household bubbles.

Creativity sprung into action with the launch of a website, filming under controlled conditions and a virtual educational outreach project for young people. These events laid the foundation of Cologne’s resident, English theater ensemble;

etc-english theater cologne,

with support from NRW cultural grants. We proudly present our first live show, BAKERSFIELD MIST by Stephen Sachs, a hilarious and thought-provoking comedy-drama that asks vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic.

Rehearsal photo by Marius Steffen

Rehearsal photos by Marius Steffen

Performance photos by Marius Steffen

Old Time Radio Show

Old Time Radio Show

 
Throughout the 20th century, in the US one of the dominant forms of mass media and entertainment was Radio Shows: Drama, Comedy, Mystery and Horror, as well as news and information, all presented in a purely audio format. The introduction of television is considered to be the death knell of this medium, but the works live on.

 

This genre trailer we call – Old Time Radio Show / Comedy. It’s an example of a show in the Old Time Radio Show format from the 20’s – 50’s. The actors read from the script, performed the roles and sometimes even made any appropriate sound effects. There was announcer at the beginning and end that announced the show and also the show’s main sponsor.
 
etc-english theater cologne, will be offering Old Time Radio Shows to Cologne audiences to introduce them to this very traditional American form of early entertainment.
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