History

Indra’s Net Theater

Bringing Science to life in the Theater

Founded June 2012 by Alexandra Frappier (Managing Director) and Bruce Coughran (Artistic Director)

May 2013

Copenhagen

by Michael Frayn

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Osher Studio, Berkeley Premiere (included panel discussion, special guests, pre-show talks)

Cast: Robert Ernst, Michael Cassidy, Karol Strempke

October 2013 – Staged Reading

In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer

by Heinar Kipphardt

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: BUFF Fellowship Hall, Berkeley

(Followed by Panel discussion)

Cast: James Carpenter, Galen Murphy-Hoffman, Michael Cassidy, George Maguire, Chad Deverman, Robert Ernst, Dixon Phillips, Ross Turner, Dave Sikula, Daniel Bakken, Bob Lane, Kurt Johnson, Rob Seitelman, Garth McCardle

December 2013

QED

By Peter Parnell

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, Bay Area

Premiere (included special guests, pre-show talks)

Cast: Jeff Garrett, Kendra Oberhauser

TBA Award Nomination: Jeff Garrett, Best Performance in a Play

April 2014

QED 

By Peter Parnell

(co-produced with Theatre@Liberty)

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Berkeley (included special guests, pre-show talks)

Cast: Jeff Garrett, Britt Lauer

April 2014 – Staged Reading

Delicate Particle Logic

by Jennifer Blackmer

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club, Berkeley

Cast: Linda Ayers-Fredrick, Jan Zwaifler, Michael Cassidy, Chad Deverman Jeff Garrett

May 2014 – Staged Reading 

The Secret of Life

by Bruce Coughran

Directed by George Maguire

Venue: Berkeley City Club, Berkeley

Cast: Laura Lowry, Soren Santos, Lucas Hutton, Aaron Wilton, David Ewing, Damion Matthews

September 2014 – Staged Reading 

Copenhagen

by Michael Frayn (excerpt)

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Eugene O’Neill Festival, Danville

Cast: Rolf Saxon, Molly Noble, Michael Cassidy

October 2014 – World Premiere

Delicate Particle Logic

by Jennifer Blackmer

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Osher Studio, Berkeley

(included special guests, pre-show talks)

Cast: Teressa Byrne Foss, Janet Heller, Michael Cassidy, Jeff Garrett, Darek Burkowski,

5 TBA Award Nominations – Best Performance by an actor in a Play (Teressa Byrne Foss); Best World Premiere Play; Best Sound; Best Direction of a Play; Best Original Music; Broadway World Award Nomination – Teressa Byrne Foss, Best Actress in a Play

December 2015 – World Premiere

The Secret of Life

by Bruce Coughran

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Cast: Laura Lowry, Sam Tillis, Alan Coyne, Matt Weimer, Robert Shryock, Luke Brady

4 Bay Area Theater Critic’s Circle Award Nominations – Best Performance by an Actor in a Play (Laura Lowry); Best World Premiere Play; Best Overall Production(East Bay); Best Overall Production (Whole Bay Area)

December 2016 


Darwin in Malibu 

by Chrispin Whittell

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Cast: George Killingsworth, Leandra Ramm, Robert Ernst, Stuart Hall

Musician: Hal Hughes

December 2017

Partition

By Ira Hauptman

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Cast: Heren Patel, Alan Coyne, Avanthika Srinavasan, David Boyll, Marco Aponte, Aparna Krishnamoorthy

Musicians: Natarajan Srinavasan

3 Bay Area Theater Critic’s Circle Award Nominations – Best Costume Design (Lisa Claybaugh); Best Overall Production (East Bay); Best Overall Production (Whole Bay Area)

December 2018 – World Premiere

A Time for Hawking 

by Bruce Coughran,

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Cast: Alan Coyne, Adrian Deane, Tirumari Jhoti

Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award – Best Overall Production (East Bay) Theaters under 100 seats.

BATCC Awards nominations – Best Actress in a Play (Adrian Deane), Best Actor in a Play (Alan Coyne), Best Overall Production (Whole Bay Area)

November 2019 – Staged Reading

Farm Hall 

by David C. Cassidy,

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Bridge Church, Berkeley

Cast: Aaron Wilton, Teressa Byrne Foss, Lucas Hatton, Ryan Mardesich, Christian Haines, Michael Barr, Alan Coyne, Adrian Deane

December 2019 – U.S. Premiere

Copenhagen (2018 version) 

by Michael Frayn,

Directed by Bruce Coughran

Venue: Berkeley City Club

Cast: Nancy Carlin, Aaron Wilton, Robert Ernst

Winner of three BATCC Awards – Best Actress in a Play (Nancy Carlin), Best Overall Production (East Bay), Best Overall Production (Whole Bay Area). Also nominated for Best Ensemble.

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Awards and Award Nominations

Indra’s Net Theater was honored with the 2020 Annette Lust Award from the San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle.

Copenhagen (2019) won the Award for Best Overall Production in the Entire Bay Area (under 100 seats), Best Overall Production in the East Bay, and Best Principal Actress in a Play (under 100 seats) for Nancy Carlin.

A Time for Hawking was chosen as the Best Overall Production in the East Bay (Theaters under 100 seats) for 2018 by the Bay Area Critics Circle. 

In our short 6-year history, Indra’s Net Theater has received a total of 15 BATCC Award Nominations, 6 TBA Award nominations, one Broadway World Nomination, and a “Top-10 productions in the Bay Area” listing for 2017.  

The City of Berkeley proclaimed Indra’s Net Theater an outstanding contribution to the cultural community of Berkeley in 2018.

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Financial Support has been given by the following institutions:

  • Zellerbach Family Foundation
  • City of Berkeley Civic Arts Grant
  • County of Alameda ArtsFund Grants
  • Actors Equity Foundation Grants – Mechanics Bank
  • Indra’s Net Theater is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas.