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KUDZU 2012: a gentrification tale

Written by Tracy Baxter
Directed by Cat Brooks
March 1-3, 2024
FRI & SAT 8PM | SAT & SUN 3 PM

A staged reading of the stinging little dark comedy that could! "KUDZU 2012: a gentrification tale" plays four shows only at BAM House, home of Black creatives in downtown Oakland.  Tickets | Program | Photos

Witness what happens to a weed-smoking, spades-playing, fish-fry having Black family when a people-curating, smoothie-chugging, row-row-row boating tech exec blows into the Town with his gentrification app.

Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door. http://tinyurl.com/3fayr85t

“Very local, very timely, very funny!” — Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival

With Ali-David Abdullah, Luchan Baker, Paul Bisesi, Natalie Ford, Jacinta Kaumbulu, Missa Perron, Leon David Sykes & Jeff Trescott

A co-production of Actors Ensemble and BAM House. Part of the Rep Series at BAM House.

BAM House is at 1540 Broadway Avenue in downtown Oakland, only one block away from the 12th Street Oakland BART Station. Now the home of Black creatives, it has long been a center of theater in Oakland, formerly the Flight Deck as operated by Ragged Wing and the Oakland location of Piano Fight.


KUDZU 2012: a gentrification tale
By Tracy Baxter
Directed by Cat Brooks


Cast and Crew
Melbert/June…………………………………... Ali-David Abdullah
Melbert Sr.…….……………………………..………Luchan Baker
Zach Connor/Caleb/Changemaker..…………………. Paul Bisesi
Tamika Warfield……………………………………….Natalie Ford
Angela Warfield/Miss Mabry…………………. Jacinta Kaumbulu
Kayleigh/Mayor/Changemaker…………………..…Missa Perron
Charlton “Jolly Cholly” Oliver/Clark Davd……Leon DNas Sykes
Sally…………………………………………………….Jeff Trescott
Assistant to Cat Brooks………………….…………Nikki Coombs
Sound Technician………………….……………..….Stanley Hunt
Light Technician/Stage Management…………….. Kenitra Love
Assistance with Sound Design………...…Hannah Rachel Gerry
Producer/Graphic Designer……………...……...….Tracy Baxter
Co-Producer……………………………………...Jerome Solberg

A co-production with BAMHouse, the home of Black Creatives in Oakland. Actors Ensemble and BAMHouse thank Bay Area Women’s Theater Festival for its support. Thanks to Cat Brooks for providing some rehearsal space for this production. Thanks to Ruth Giron Wong, Kevin Karplus, Lisa Wang, Jeff Trescott. Martha Luehrmann, Jay Manley, Jerome Solberg, Matthew Campbell, Jennifer Halsing, Kathleen A Shiring, Eugene S. Bardach, Christine Sheppard, Charlotte von der Hude, Tom and Jan Vargo, and all those who have supported Actors Ensemble over the past year.

Thank You

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is delighted to acknowledge the Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Civic Arts Commission's support in the form of a grant of $8,000.00 awarded in 2017. Also, a thank you to Theatre Bay Area for a grant of $2,500.00.

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Actors Ensemble of Berkeley - P.O. Box 663 - Berkeley - California - 94701 ¦ Our Answering Service: (510) 649-5999 ¦

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID #946139640, since 04-1967