Founded in 2005 by Laura and Robert Lundy-Paine, Angela Dant, Eileen Meredith and Bruce Lundy, Virago Theatre Company set out to become the first professional theatre company centered in Alameda.  Virago’s founders dedicated themselves to giving the community of Alameda something it could only find in San Francisco and Berkeley – ambitious, provocative, and passionate professional theatre in its own back yard.  Virago’s first production was Threepenny Opera in early 2006, which was an immediate hit, selling out its run at MONART School of the Arts. Threepenny was so popular, Virago re-mounted the show for a crowd of 100 at Alameda’s Masonic Hall.  Staying true to its mission of developing works by local playwrights, the summer of 2006 saw Virago’s first New Play Reading Series, which helped us find works that would be fully produced by Virago in future seasons.

Virago Theatre Company incorporated in June 2007, and our first production of the 2007-2008 season coincided with the opening of a new arts center in Alameda, Rhythmix Cultural Works.  Virago became the first theater to perform a full production in the space. We performed a double-feature of one-act plays found during our 2006 staged reading series ;  The Death of Ayn Rand by John Byrd, and A Bed of My Own by Robert Hamm.  The company is committed to supporting new works and a collaborative rehearsal process, so directors and casts worked closely with both playwrights through conceptualizing, casting, rehearsing and staging these vibrant works.

In the fall of 2007 Alameda and East Bay audiences saw Virago’s most ambitious work to date. Mankind’s Last Hope, a post-apocalyptic workplace situation comedy set 50 years in the future, was realized through a tremendous cast and technical crew, including director Robert Lundy-Paine, Alameda playwright Dan Brodnitz, costume designer Lorene Eggett (also an Alamedan), and amazing make-up coordinators. Many thought this production, originally written as a situation comedy for a television audience, couldn’t be pulled off as a theatrical production – our audiences and theatre critics disagreed, and hailed it as inventive and hilarious.

Virago’s next production at Rhythmix Cultural Works, was the John Caird version of the Leonard Berstein savage comic opera Candide in February 2008.  Candide was directed by Laura Lundy-Paine with Musical Direction by David Manley and Choreography by Lisa Bush Finn.  Where Mankind’s Last Hope was technically ambitious, Candide was the most ambitious in terms of sheer size, with a cast of 17 playing nearly 60 roles in scenes that take place in 20 different settings, and a live pit band of five musicians.  Virago Theatre Company once again had a nearly sold out run, proving that Alameda is ready and hungry for the kind of provocative, ambitious, edgy theatre we provide.

Our 2008-2009 season began in July 2008 with our second staged reading series of new works called Visions and Voices: 2008 New Play Reading Series.  After reviewing over 60 script submissions, Virago chose three full-length plays and two one-acts for performance – Death in Van Nuys by Dan Pine, The Afterlife of the Mind by William Bivins, Shoot O’Malley Twice by Jon Brooks, and the one-acts The Edge and The Scratch, by Morgan Ludlow, and An Hour in Time, by VB Leghorn.  Over four weekends, Virago staged these readings at different venues around Alameda, including Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden, Frank Bette Center for the Arts, and Crosstown Community Center.  The Afterlife of the Mind will be fully produced in the 2009-2010 season with performances at The Ashby Stage in Berkeley and at StageWerx in San Francisco.

In the fall of 2008, Virago welcomed guest director, Rachel LePell, who directed Dream of a Common Language at Rhythmix Cultural Works, our fourth production there.  It was an exciting collaboration, and we look forward to working with Rachel again in the future.  The production contained male and female nudity, and was hailed as being “the most daring production to hit Alameda since the days of the Gold Rush.”  Our big find from the 2006 new play reading series, The Hermit Bird, will premiere in March 2006 at Bridgehead Studio.  Playwright John Byrd and Virago founder Robert Lundy-Paine worked closely since the summer of 2006 to expand the scope of Byrd’s original one-act play into a full-length gem.  Virago secured San Jose Stage Education Director Michael C. Storm to direct The Hermit Bird. Storm’s unsettling, dreamlike vision for the show promises an exceptional night at the theater.

In the summer of 2008, Virago began an actor’s training for children and adults called The Theatre Conservatory. The training is rigorous and multi-disciplined, offering classes in acting, stage combat, voice, movement, and acting Shakespeare. All instructors are professional working performers. Classes are offered throughout the year, and a summer intensive is offered for young actors ages 9-17.