Breed or Bust
Digital Press Packet Page
ABOUT THE SHOW
Blending masterful storytelling, standup and dark humor, Joyful Raven takes you on a subversive and hilarious romp through the treacherous terrain of her breeding decisions. Bold and brazen she blazes a fire through the taboos of abortion and the unexplored nuances often left out of the conversation about women’s reproductive choices. Walking the tightrope between comedy and tragedy this multi award winning show is fresh off a critically acclaimed run at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe. With the last tock’s of her biological clock ticking, Raven wrestles with her choices, the father of her abortions, and the complex relationship between womanhood and motherhood. Should she surrender to the role of weird aunty OR should she start a GoFundMe to freeze her geriatric eggs? Come for the laughs and stay for the sex education… in case you forgot how babies were made.
TRAILER
PRESS PHOTOS
CREATIVE TEAM
Joyful Raven
Writer/Performer
Joyful Raven (Pursuit of Happyness) is an award winning actor, director, and “story midwife” known for her powerful and thought-provoking solo shows. Born into an iconic political theater family, she has been devising theater for over 20 years. Her last solo comedy Tales of a Sexual Tomboy was dubbed “…one of the funniest shows now on display on Bay Area stages,” by the SF Chronicle, won Best of the Fringe at the San Francisco International Fringe Festival 2016 and enjoyed an Off-Broadway run in 2017. Her current show, Breed or Bust is hot off a critically acclaimed run at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland where it was nominated for an Offey. ★★★★★ “Joyful Raven’s masterful approach to storytelling and exquisite performance skills elevate her work to another level.” - Theatre Weekly Uk. The show was also nominated for Best Comedy at the 2022 Hollywood International Fringe Festival, received a producers Encore award and a gold Medal by Tv-olution.She has directed and mentored hundreds of storytellers, co-founded the award-winning theater company Rococo Risqué, and co-authored 4 plays for the Prize of Hope-winning company Human Nature. Joyful studied theater at Sarah Lawrence College in NY and holds an MFA in dramatic art from UC Davis. She teaches regular storytelling and solo theater classes at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater and her own studio in Oakland, CA.
Jael Weisman
Director/Developer
Jael Weisman, a founding member of the Dell’Arte Players Co. and a multi-Obie-winning director, is a trailblazer in actor-based theater, directing acclaimed productions like “Whiteman Meets Bigfoot,” “Performance Anxiety,” and “Mad Love.” With Dell’Arte, his works have toured extensively in South America and Europe, earning him numerous Dramalogue Awards for Directing. Noteworthy projects include “The Dragon Lady’s Revenge,” which traveled to New York and was awarded an Obie, the American premiere of “Red Noses” at the San Diego Repertory Co., “Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend” at the Adelaide Festival, and “Mermaid Meat” for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with luminaries like Carlo Mazzone-Clementi and Joe Chaikin and worked with renowned Bay Area performance artists including Jeff Raz and Brenda Wong Aoki. In his early career, he worked with The San Francisco Mime Troupe, directing among other things “The Dragon Lady’s Revenge,” which was awarded an Obie. Weisman holds a BA from Reed College and an MFA from Carnegie Tech.
PAST PERFORMANCES
7/16/22
Bolinas, CA
