Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Links to assorted local theater & book venues
Bookwaves
Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) Excerpts from various sources, including KPFA, of Philip K. Dick discussing his career, his books, and his life, originally created as a memorial program by Richard Wollnsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson in the spring of 1982. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
When science fiction writer Philip K. Dick died of a stroke on March 2, 1982 at the age of 53, most of the literary world shrugged and the entertainment world barely took notice. The film Blade Runner, based on his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, was still a few months from its release.
Today, IMDb lists nearly fifty adaptations for film, TV and other media, which includes twelve feature films and a handful of television series, from Total Recall to A Scanner Darkly to Minority Report to The Man in the High Castle and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams.
The science fiction world, though, knew it had lost one of the all time greats. Between the time the KPFA show Probabilities started in the February of 1977 until Phil Dick’s death five years later, Dick Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson, and Richard Wolinsky never did get a chance to fully interview him for the program, though over the years they’d collected several excerpts to use in a two-part memorial program which was aired some time in the spring of 1982.
The show consisted of commentary and explanations from all three of us interspersed with these excerpts. As is pointed out a couple of times in the program, the sound quality of the excerpts is very uneven, and even with digital tweaking, some of it may be unintelligible. This is the two-part show that originally aired, minus a few musical segments along with an outro from part one, and intro and outro from part two. The program was never rebroadcast, and the cassette sat in a closet for the next forty years, until it was digitized, remastered and edited in 2023. Complete 47-minute recording.
Bookwaves
Alan Furst, historical spy novelist, discussing his career, in a short excerpt from an interview recorded in 2014 while he was on tour for Midnight in Europe. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Complete 41-minute interview.
Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links
Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.
Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival Lists of guests at the upcoming Book Festival, May 6-7, 2023, event calendar and links to previous events.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Calendar. On-line events only.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.
Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). See website for past streams.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Poor Yella Rednecks: Vietgone 2 by Qui Nguyen, March 30 – May 7, Strand.
Aurora Theatre Cyrano by Edmond Rostand, adapted by Josh Costello, April 7 – May 7.
Awesome Theatre Company. Check website for upcoming live shows and streaming.
Berkeley Rep English by Sanazz Toosi, March 31 – May 7, Peets Theatre.
Boxcar Theatre. See website for calendar listings.
Brava Theatre Center: See website for events.
BroadwaySF: The Book of Mormon, May 23 – June 13, Orpheum
Broadway San Jose: Riverdance, 25th Anniversary Show, May 12-14. 1776, May 6-21.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). No 2023 season scheduled. See website for events calendar.
Center Rep: In The Heights, May 27 – June 24.
Central Works The Dignity Circle a new scheme by Lauren Smerkanich June 24 – July 23.
Cinnabar Theatre. Tosca, June 9 – 25.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre To Master the Art by William Brown and Doug Frew, April 21 – May 21, 2023.
Curran Theater: Into The Woods, direct from Broadway, June 20-25, 2023.
Custom Made Theatre. Tiny Fires by Aimee Suzara, postponed to a later date in 2023.
Cutting Ball Theatre. Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine by W. Fran Astorga. April 13 – May 21.
42nd Street Moon. The Scottsboro Boys, May 4 – May 21, Gateway Theatre.
Golden Thread See website for ongoing special events.
Landmark Musical Theater. Hair, May 6 – June 4, at the Landmark, 533 Sutter, SF.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. In The Evening By The Moonlight by Traci Tolmaire, co-created and directed by Margo Hall, June 15 – July 2, Young Performers Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco.
Magic Theatre. The Ni¿¿er Lovers by Mark Anthony Thompson, May 3 -21. See website for other events at the Magic.
Marin Theatre Company Where Did We Sit On The Bus? by Brian Quijada, May 4 – 28,
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Locusts Have No King by C. Julian Jimenez, April 7 – May 14. The Confession of Lily Dare by Charles Busch, May 12 – June 11.
Oakland Theater Project. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, May 26 – June 18.
Pear Theater. Pear Slices 2023, Original short plays. April 20 – May 14.
PianoFight. Permanently closed as of March 18, 2023.
Presidio Theatre. See website for upcoming productions
Ray of Light: Spring Awakening In Concert, June 8-10, Victoria Theatre. Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, September 8 – October 1, Victoria Theatre. The Rocky Horror Show, Oasis Nightclub, October 6 – 31. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
San Francisco Playhouse. Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, May 4 – June 10, 2023.
SFBATCO See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: 40th Anniversary Celebration, June 26, 2023.
Shotgun Players. Triumph of Love by Pierre de Marivaux. Streaming on demand April 26 – May 7.
South Bay Musical Theatre: Singin’ In the Rain, May 13 – June 3.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Rhino Pericles by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by John Fisher, May 26 – 27. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand, New performances most Wednesdays.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, June 7 – July 2, 2023, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
Word for Word. See schedule for one-night readings and streaming performances.
Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season, starting February.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.
Playbill List of Streaming Theatre: Updated weekly, this is probably the best list you’ll find of national and international streaming plays and musicals. Each week has its own webpage, so scroll down.
National Theatrical Streaming: Upcoming plays from around the country.
Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.
If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]