Veteran solo performer Mark Kenward, lauded as a commanding storyteller by the SF Weekly and an astonishing word-slinger by the Contra Costa Times, returns to the stage with his most ambitious work yet: a sweeping epic played in two parts. Nantucket is a haunting yet hilarious memoir about his years growing up on the fabled island of Nantucket.
It occurred in an instant. At 16, Mark witnessed something that would alter his life. On a gray winter's day, on an island thirty miles out to sea, his mother committed a violent act that would shatter his family and shock the local community. Thirty years later, Kenward, who has been praised by the Victoria Times Colonist as a compelling storyteller able to serve up life's dramatic moments, and arrange them meaningfully as a fiction writer mightâ€, has shaped his family's story into a riveting drama.
Despite the serious nature of the main story, Nantucket is one of the funniest plays to arrive in the Bay Area in quite some time. Kenward, who was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for comic timing (that) is as sharp as his punch lines are well honedâ€, uses his comedic talents to great effect in Nantucket. His performance is loaded with laugh-out-loud stories of moving from Normal, Illinois to an island far from Normal, playing football for the high school Whalers, and enduring two years with his mother as his high school English teacher. Throughout the show he drops in wry takes on the history and culture of an isolated community that loves gossip and tragedy.
Mark Kenward is the creator of seven full-length solo shows. The San Francisco Examiner called him “a warm, wonderful storyteller who establishes an instant rapport with his audience. He has performed his work in over thirty cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and several runs at The Marsh (San Francisco's premiere venue for solo performance). Past shows include Riding From Normal, The Yoga of Moby-Dick, and Towles Hill. He is also an award winning director of several successful solo shows, including Kurt Bodden's runaway hit Steve Seabrook: Better Than You (currently in the midst of a 4-month extended run at The Marsh).
In the tradition of successful dramas such as Angels in America and Nicholas Nickleby, Kenward tells his tale in two parts. Nantucket is more than just the story of a family that moves to an island and their ensuing tragedy. It is also a meditation on an iconic resort where the summers are beautiful but the winters can be terribly gray and challenging for the psyche. Part One: Great Attempts on a Small Island, directed by solo performer Rebecca Fisher, is a fast-paced ride full of big laughs and haunting vignettes that stands on its own as a powerful monologue about the danger of following one's dreams to a place of escape. So jump aboard the boat, and take a journey to a place far from normal.
show less
It occurred in an instant. At 16, Mark witnessed something that would alter his life. On a gray winter's day, on an island thirty miles out to sea, his mother committed a violent act that would shatter his family and shock the local community. Thirty years later, Kenward, who has been praised by the Victoria Times Colonist as a compelling storyteller able to serve up life's dramatic moments, and arrange them meaningfully as a fiction writer mightâ€, has shaped his family's story into a riveting drama.
Despite the serious nature of the main story, Nantucket is one of the funniest plays to arrive in the Bay Area in quite some time. Kenward, who was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for comic timing (that) is as sharp as his punch lines are well honedâ€, uses his comedic talents to great effect in Nantucket. His performance is loaded with laugh-out-loud stories of moving from Normal, Illinois to an island far from Normal, playing football for the high school Whalers, and enduring two years with his mother as his high school English teacher. Throughout the show he drops in wry takes on the history and culture of an isolated community that loves gossip and tragedy.
Mark Kenward is the creator of seven full-length solo shows. The San Francisco Examiner called him “a warm, wonderful storyteller who establishes an instant rapport with his audience. He has performed his work in over thirty cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and several runs at The Marsh (San Francisco's premiere venue for solo performance). Past shows include Riding From Normal, The Yoga of Moby-Dick, and Towles Hill. He is also an award winning director of several successful solo shows, including Kurt Bodden's runaway hit Steve Seabrook: Better Than You (currently in the midst of a 4-month extended run at The Marsh).
In the tradition of successful dramas such as Angels in America and Nicholas Nickleby, Kenward tells his tale in two parts. Nantucket is more than just the story of a family that moves to an island and their ensuing tragedy. It is also a meditation on an iconic resort where the summers are beautiful but the winters can be terribly gray and challenging for the psyche. Part One: Great Attempts on a Small Island, directed by solo performer Rebecca Fisher, is a fast-paced ride full of big laughs and haunting vignettes that stands on its own as a powerful monologue about the danger of following one's dreams to a place of escape. So jump aboard the boat, and take a journey to a place far from normal.
Veteran solo performer Mark Kenward, lauded as a commanding storyteller by the SF Weekly and an astonishing word-slinger by the Contra Costa Times, returns to the stage with his most ambitious work yet: a sweeping epic played in two parts. Nantucket is a haunting yet hilarious memoir about his years growing up on the fabled island of Nantucket.
It occurred in an instant. At 16, Mark witnessed something that would alter his life. On a gray winter's day, on an island thirty miles out to sea, his mother committed a violent act that would shatter his family and shock the local community. Thirty years later, Kenward, who has been praised by the Victoria Times Colonist as a compelling storyteller able to serve up life's dramatic moments, and arrange them meaningfully as a fiction writer mightâ€, has shaped his family's story into a riveting drama.
Despite the serious nature of the main story, Nantucket is one of the funniest plays to arrive in the Bay Area in quite some time. Kenward, who was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for comic timing (that) is as sharp as his punch lines are well honedâ€, uses his comedic talents to great effect in Nantucket. His performance is loaded with laugh-out-loud stories of moving from Normal, Illinois to an island far from Normal, playing football for the high school Whalers, and enduring two years with his mother as his high school English teacher. Throughout the show he drops in wry takes on the history and culture of an isolated community that loves gossip and tragedy.
Mark Kenward is the creator of seven full-length solo shows. The San Francisco Examiner called him “a warm, wonderful storyteller who establishes an instant rapport with his audience. He has performed his work in over thirty cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and several runs at The Marsh (San Francisco's premiere venue for solo performance). Past shows include Riding From Normal, The Yoga of Moby-Dick, and Towles Hill. He is also an award winning director of several successful solo shows, including Kurt Bodden's runaway hit Steve Seabrook: Better Than You (currently in the midst of a 4-month extended run at The Marsh).
In the tradition of successful dramas such as Angels in America and Nicholas Nickleby, Kenward tells his tale in two parts. Nantucket is more than just the story of a family that moves to an island and their ensuing tragedy. It is also a meditation on an iconic resort where the summers are beautiful but the winters can be terribly gray and challenging for the psyche. Part One: Great Attempts on a Small Island, directed by solo performer Rebecca Fisher, is a fast-paced ride full of big laughs and haunting vignettes that stands on its own as a powerful monologue about the danger of following one's dreams to a place of escape. So jump aboard the boat, and take a journey to a place far from normal.
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It occurred in an instant. At 16, Mark witnessed something that would alter his life. On a gray winter's day, on an island thirty miles out to sea, his mother committed a violent act that would shatter his family and shock the local community. Thirty years later, Kenward, who has been praised by the Victoria Times Colonist as a compelling storyteller able to serve up life's dramatic moments, and arrange them meaningfully as a fiction writer mightâ€, has shaped his family's story into a riveting drama.
Despite the serious nature of the main story, Nantucket is one of the funniest plays to arrive in the Bay Area in quite some time. Kenward, who was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for comic timing (that) is as sharp as his punch lines are well honedâ€, uses his comedic talents to great effect in Nantucket. His performance is loaded with laugh-out-loud stories of moving from Normal, Illinois to an island far from Normal, playing football for the high school Whalers, and enduring two years with his mother as his high school English teacher. Throughout the show he drops in wry takes on the history and culture of an isolated community that loves gossip and tragedy.
Mark Kenward is the creator of seven full-length solo shows. The San Francisco Examiner called him “a warm, wonderful storyteller who establishes an instant rapport with his audience. He has performed his work in over thirty cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives in Washington, DC, and several runs at The Marsh (San Francisco's premiere venue for solo performance). Past shows include Riding From Normal, The Yoga of Moby-Dick, and Towles Hill. He is also an award winning director of several successful solo shows, including Kurt Bodden's runaway hit Steve Seabrook: Better Than You (currently in the midst of a 4-month extended run at The Marsh).
In the tradition of successful dramas such as Angels in America and Nicholas Nickleby, Kenward tells his tale in two parts. Nantucket is more than just the story of a family that moves to an island and their ensuing tragedy. It is also a meditation on an iconic resort where the summers are beautiful but the winters can be terribly gray and challenging for the psyche. Part One: Great Attempts on a Small Island, directed by solo performer Rebecca Fisher, is a fast-paced ride full of big laughs and haunting vignettes that stands on its own as a powerful monologue about the danger of following one's dreams to a place of escape. So jump aboard the boat, and take a journey to a place far from normal.
show less
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526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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