We are delighted to announce that Ubuntu Theater Project's new Oakland home is in the FLAX Building.

Since its first summer festival in 2012, Ubuntu Theater Project has produced site-specific performances at locations throughout Oakland and the East Bay.

Executive Director, Michael Socrates Moran said “After being a site-specific theater last year and with a commitment to being a professional theater based in Oakland, California we are absolutely thrilled to partner with FLAX art and design to create our new artistic home. FLAX shares our values of connecting with the community and being a contributor to the culture of Oakland. Moreover, FLAX has been extraordinarily gracious and generous in expediting this process so we can use their space in time for the world premiere of DOWN HERE BELOW by Lisa Ramirez. It is ironic and wonderful that after the grueling process of being itinerant and without a home it’s a play about homelessness that lands us an artistic home. The space is a storage, loading dock space with great character and soul. A black box space has never felt right for Ubuntu’s values and aesthetic and in this intimate and unique 1,200 sq ft space the Ubuntu Theater Project has found an aesthetic match in the heart of Downtown Oakland.”

Howard Flax, President of FLAX, said “We are very excited about this new partnership. We have a luxurious amount of space and are inviting other organizations to join us and build a one-of-a-kind Oakland destination. Ubuntu Theater Project is the first, and wow, what a spark toward realizing our shared vision! The Flax Building is becoming the place for rich experiences and community gathering.”

About Ubuntu Theater Project

Ubuntu Theater Project is a collection of artists committed to creating compelling theatrical experiences that explore the human condition, are affordable to all, and unite diverse audiences. Founded in Oakland, California in 2012, Ubuntu is proud to offer year-long theater for Oakland and the Bay Area for the fourth year running. The word “Ubuntu” is from a Zulu Proverb: “I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours”—or “I am because we are.” Ubuntu Theater Project believes in fostering lasting and powerful human connections to increase collective human experience and understanding of one another. Artistic and Executive Director Michael Moran said, “We believe in creating theatrical experiences that invigorate and enlivens our interconnectedness as humans, something that is too often neglected.”

The First Show in the Flax Building:

DOWN HERE BELOW by Lisa Ramirez (2017’s TBA Award-winning TO THE BONE) from April 5–28.

Inspired by Maxim Gorky’s groundbreaking 1901 drama The Lower Depths, which offered an unflinching portrait of poverty in 20th-century Moscow, DOWN HERE BELOW unfolds in the center of a homeless encampment in Oakland, directed by Michael French, with a cast of 20 local artists.

Ubuntu’s 2019 Season centers on Moral Humans / Immoral Society, exploring the attempts of individuals to live ethical lives within social structures that contradict those values. Inspired by the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr, who argued that only individuals, not groups, can transcend privilege, the productions explore the struggle for moral choice amid war, prejudice, inequality, violence, marginalization, addiction, and hopelessness.

“All the shows in our 2019 season speak to this theme in different ways,” said Ubuntu Executive Director Michael Socrates Moran, “whether they are individuals caught in a system, individuals caught in oppression from a system, or individuals trying to transcend an institution and all that comes with it.”

Building on the company’s ongoing tradition of offering pay-what-you-can tickets at the door for every performance, Ubuntu continues its commitment to radical inclusivity by offering pay-what-you-can subscriptions for the 2019 Season.

Single tickets ($15-45) are now available to purchase  online, with pay-what-you-can tickets available at the door for each performance beginning 30 minutes before the show.

To subscribe, donate, or learn more, the public can call 510.646.1126 or visit  ubuntutheaterproject.com.