WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT LOVE
Written & Performed by Steve Budd
Directed by Mark Kenward
Sound/Lightboard Operators: Alexa Almira & Aaron Aguilar
Moves to San Francisco!
July 19 – August 18 | San Francisco
Thursdays at 8pm | Saturdays at 5pm
Sunday, August 12 at 2pm
Best of Fringe: 2016 San Francisco Fringe Festival
Theatre Bay Area Recommended Production
“Steve Budd has a mittful of talent and it was on grand, big-hearted display for every moment of this show. A heartfelt, crowdpleasing gem. ” –Kevin R, The Visitorium
“What They Said About Love was funny, poignant, thoughtful, and revealing about the search for love. It was an amazing performance.” –Richard Connema, TalkinBroadway.com
“Steve not only transports, he then transforms himself and you through his docustyle solo show about love.” –Don Reed, Solo Show/Producer/Director/Playwright
“A hilarious take on how people fall in love!” — East Bay Express
“Budd is a skilled actor who controls the stage with grace.” –Berkeleyside
“In hilarious fashion, Budd captures the physical and vocal nuances of more than a dozen Bay Area characters” –Joint Forces Journal
“Budd’s versatility is entirely commendable.” –Daily Cal
“What They Said About Love will make you question your own love decisions, reflect on how not one relationship is the same, and realize that the circumstances that shape how people fall in love and stay in love are always a work in progress.” — East Bay Express
“Truly a jaw-dropping audience experience” –Joint Forces Journal
“Innovative! . . . Evokes laughter, introspection” –Theatrius
Show Description
Steve Budd wonders why other people can and he can’t–tie the knot, that is. So he asked couples about the push and pull of love—what keeps them from pulling apart despite annoying the heck out of each other. Meet a New Age couple that swears they met before they met, a pair of Metal Heads who thought it would be a hoot to get married on 6-6-06, and more. Satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies about how others look for love—and, in some cases, find it. This is documentary theater at its best, a la Anna Deavere Smith. Steve Budd brings 12 characters to life, using their words from hours of interviews, and weaves in the story of his own search for a life partner. The piece was directed by Mark Kenward, and developed with the help of David Ford at The Marsh, with additional assistance from John Coppola and Slater Penney. Skye Pelicrow served as script consultant.
Talkbacks:
Saturday, July 21: Steve Gets Shrunk: Live Therapy Session with Steve Budd & Psychotherapist Dr. Barbara Anderson.
Thursday, July 26: Talkback with Relationship Experts Kimi Avary & Carol Jones
Saturday, July 28: The making of What They Said About Love: Talkback with Steve Budd and director David Ford
Thursday, August 2: Fundraiser for NIAD Art Center in Richmond, which helps artists with disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art. 20% of the proceeds from that night will be donated.
Saturday, August 4: Is love in your stars? Lecture and Q&A with Astrologer David young. Having studied astrology for over 40 years, David Young is still blown away by the accuracy, the amount of psychological information, and the direct guidance contained in the birth chart.
Thursday, August 9: We’ve got your number: Enneagram expert Beatrice Chestnut Sheds Light on Why We Do–and Don’t–Connect.
Saturday, August 18: Talk-Back and Q&A with Relationship Guru, Bhavani Suriyan. She will share ‘Three Steps to Deepen Your Love Connection’.
Artist Biography
Steve Budd is an actor, writer, storyteller, standup comic, and solo performer. He has performed at many Bay Area venues, including The Marsh, The San Francisco Fringe Festival, Tell It On Tuesday, T.M.I., Busting Out, The Shout, The Vent, and Solo Sundays. He’s also acted with many local theater companies, including the San Francisco Playhouse, Custom Made, the New Conservatory, Impact, and Marin Shakespeare. He’s performed in L.A., Boston, and Israel. His extensive on-camera work includes industrials, commercials, independent films, and a web series. He’d like to give big thanks to David Ford for all the help developing this piece—as well as to the many interviewees who so graciously donated their time and stories. He lives in Oakland. Find out more at stevebudd.net.
Mark Kenward (Director), a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Nominee and two-time selection for the Best of San Francisco Solo Series, has performed his work in over 40 cities throughout the US and Canada, including a reception for The House of Representatives and several runs at The Marsh. He is the creator and performer of eight solo shows, receiving kudos as “a commanding storyteller” and “a master of the craft.” Kenward is the director of over 30 full-length solo shows, including several that have had runs at The Marsh: David Kleinberg’s Hey, Hey, LBJ!, Kurt Bodden’s Steve Seabrook: Better Than You, Howard Petrick’s Rambo: The Missing Years, Houston Robertson’s Victory for the Recycled Virgin, and Jill Vice’s A Fatal Step. Other directing credits include Wayne Harris’s Tyrone ‘Short Leg’ Johnson and Some White Boys, David Caggiano’s Jurassic Ark, and Jeremy Greco’s Keeping Up with the Jorgensons, all three of which won “Best of SF Fringe” honors.