Berkeley Voice, April 9, 2004

COMMUNITY THEATER: JACK TUCKER

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO, a new theater company was born in Berkeley and christened with the unlikely name of Shotgun Players. Nomadic at first, as are many fledgling groups in this venue-challenged area, Shotgun put on plays in churches, dance studios, back rooms of print shops, and pizza parlor basements. Now it has found a home.

To celebrate its status as the new resident theater company of the 328-seat Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley, Shotgun is implementing a novel -- nay, revolutionary -- way it does business.

Free admission!
Using the successful model of the free outdoor summer show, each production this season will end with a pass-the-hat donation.

Typically, the whimsy-touched Shotgunners, even when they're dead-serious, have chosen to kick off the new no-ticket policy with -- what else? -- "The Miser" by Molière, translated by David Chambers and directed by Shotgun's founder Patrick Dooley.