My one-woman-show “Born Again in Berkeley” was not my idea. I was in the middle of writing another solo show “Confessions of a White Mexican“, when my solo performance teacher started asking me questions about my Christian faith. It was 2018, the midterm elections were coming up, and Donald Trump had been president for almost two years. (As I type this, I can’t believe it is happening AGAIN). Anyway….
My teacher was putting together a festival called “Times Unseen” and wanted to know if I would write a piece about how my Christian faith ties into my politics.
Times Unseen chronicles the effect of political change. Because we are in new political territory and because politics, for better or worse, are about promises of a changed future. Times are as yet unseen.
So, I put a pin in “Confessions of a White Mexican” and with fear and in trepidation, agreed to write about what it was like to be a born-again Christian in Berkeley, if and only if my teacher would keep the audience members from throwing tomatoes at me.
Being a born-again Christian in the San Francisco Bay Area is not popular. It’s not mainstream, it’s not cultural, and it’s painted with the most negative of brushes. People hear “born-again” and assume the worst stereotype. Unrelatable, unintellectual, religious extremist, judgmental, close-minded and worst of all……..Republican.
Yes, that’s right. It’s practically against the law to be a Republican in the San Francisco/Berkeley/Oakland area. I call this area the Bay Area trifecta- they are sister cities with the most liberal of politics. But as you travel to the outskirts and into suburbia, (Marin, the Peninsula, Contra Costa County, etc.,) the politics become more conservative. Although not too much more, you will still be in the minority, but you won’t be arrested. Although you may be pulled over, questioned, then let off with a warning. They may just write you a ticket and tell you to keep your conservative views to yourself. In the name of tolerance and all.
But I get it. Especially in the rise of Trump, how extreme and polarized politics have gotten. When I was a teenager, I remember that “being a Republican” simply meant you wanted smaller government and lower taxes. I don’t recall much talk about what side of the abortion issue you were on. In fact, one Baby Boomer told me that back in her youth, being an evangelical Christian didn’t mean you were by default, a Republican. The merging of faith and conservatism rose up with Ronald Regan and up to that point, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, was the one known Christian in politics. But everything changed in the 1980s, and in the white conservative American Christian church’s quest for power through dominionism, true and authentic evangelism has been bypassed. Why love your neighbor when you can pursue a seat of power instead? Some will say they are showing love for their neighbor by running for office, but I would argue it’s easier for some to pursue political gain than it is to actually feed the poor.
Hey, I am no saint. Yes, I may contribute financially once a month to certain charities, but am I doing the groundwork? I mean that’s just so uncomfortable, isn’t it? Can’t I just write a check? (Although, does anyone write checks anymore?) We are so distracted with capitalism in this country.
So why on earth would I agree to write a solo show that makes people in the SF Bay Area uncomfortable? This goes against my phlegmatic nature. I want everyone to get along and controversy does not energize me. All I can say is I prayed about it and as long as I sensed God’s favor was in it, I would do it. But it hasn’t been easy. I spent a lot of time doing research on some old political campaigns of my past. I used to attend a church that was involved in city politics; it got pretty ugly, and I had tucked those memories away. But then, all of a sudden, there I was, at the GLBT Historical Society Archives Building in San Francisco, in pursuit of historical accuracy, digging through boxes trying to recall what exactly my old church had gotten mixed up in. It was so many years ago and I needed to jog my memory. I put together a 45-minute script for the 2018 Times Unseen Festival at the Marsh Theatre in San Francisco, and the show went alright. But I could tell after the initial performance, the story wasn’t done. So, I continued to work on the script and came up with a 60-minute version which I performed at a few SF Bay Area suburban churches followed by the Rogue Fringe Festival in Fresno in 2022. I got one decent review at the festival, but still, it felt like it wasn’t done. I applied for the San Francisco Fringe Festival five years in a row, but never got in. So, I kept tweaking the script and then made my official Berkeley debut last year. Performance wise, I think it went well, but what I was not banking on were all the feedback emails I received afterwards. Now mind you, I did not ask for feedback from the Berkeley crowd, but I took it as a good sign.
“I will be thinking about your show for days.”
“That kind of discussion is precious, and I feel the need for it in my life, so I imagine others might too.”
“I was very touched by the underlying message in your show that Christianity is about love and that is what you are striving for.“
And yet, I have not performed the entire show since November 2023.
As scary as writing and performing the show has been, the hardest part has been getting people to come out and see the show in the first place. It used to be that whatever theatre you performed at; the venues were the ones who were in charge of getting an audience and had a loyal following of subscribers. There wasn’t so much pressure on the actors to do promotional work, but with social media- the expectations have shifted. I am not famous, or an influencer. I have never gone viral and only have a modest following. I still work a full-time job so my energy level in regard to promotion is limited. I send out emails and tell my friends and post on all the socials, but I can’t force people to care. So, now, on November 23rd & 24th I will be performing “Born Again in Berkeley” one last time (actually twice, one evening show and one matinee), before putting it away for a while. Solo Performance is a lonely business and unless you have a draw, it’s just not worth the work if no one will see what you have done. Don’t worry, I will continue to perform solo pieces in 2025, but on less controversial and more lighthearted topics. That is unless someone sees one of my upcoming final shows and invites me to perform it again at a venue that will help me promote. Then I will resurrect the show! Pun intended.
But for now, please join me one last time for the 2024 grand finale of “Born Again in Berkeley” on November 23rd & 24th in San Leandro. Come out and see the show that one reviewer in Fresno called “an intimate look at one woman’s journey of widening one’s mindset and acceptance as walls of intolerance and ignorance are torn down.“
Shows will be held at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro.
Shows are Saturdays at 7 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. Schedule is subject to change.
Seating is General Admission.
Questions? Contact info@bestofsfsolo.com
Tickets: $40 at the door only. (let me know if this causes a financial hardship for you- we can work something out).
Theresa Donahoe 