Conceived, Crafted, and Directed by Tim Bond Musical Direction by William Liberatore Video Production by Stephen Muterspaugh
On-Demand link available December 28 through 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, January 3rd
Ring in the holiday season with Simple Gifts, a joyful, multicultural celebration of beloved holiday songs and traditions from many diverse backgrounds. This virtual World Premiere features a bounty of Bay Area theatre veterans, who will share beautiful music, meaningful memories, and take audiences on a journey through a variety of winter celebrations, including Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, Noche Buena, Diwali and Las Posadas, and more.
Simple Gifts runs approximately 85 minutes and is captioned in English.
Renewed Season 51 subscribers, donors at the Inner Circle level or above, and patrons who donated back their They Promised Her the Moon, Ragtime, and/or The Book of Will tickets get complimentary access! CLICK HERE to learn more.
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Inspire hope, generate light, and empower storytelling for our community by investing in TheatreWorks during Season of Giving! Find out all the amazing things your gift can do by clicking the button below:
Piano: William Liberatore Drums: Artie Storch Guitar: Bryan Muna Trombone: Tim Higgins
TICKETS
To access Simple Gifts, we ask only that you make a donation to our Season of Giving campaign. Everyone who donates to this campaign will get access to a performance of their choice of Simple Gifts. The minimum donation amount is $10; there is no maximum.
The holidays are for sharing! If you would like to watch this show with friends or family who live in a different household than you, we simply ask that you donate a minimum of $10 per each additional email address in your order.
Renewed Season 51 subscribers, current donors at the Inner Circle level or above, and people who donated their cancelled They Promised Her the Moon, Ragtime, and/or The Book of Will tickets will be given complimentary access to Simple Gifts These people should check their email inboxes for a message from us with instructions on how to choose a performance date. If you are unsure if we have your correct email address on file, please contact us at boxoffice@theatreworks.org
FAQ
"Is Simple Gifts part of the 51st Season?"
No. Simple Giftsis a special presentation while we wait to start our postponed 51st season, which is currently slated to begin in-person performances in March of 2021. While that start date is subject to change depending on the latest health and safety recommendations, rest assured that there will be an in-person 51st season at some point in the near future.To see the current Season 51 schedule, please visittheatreworks.org/season51/.
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"What platform will be used to stream Simple Gifts?"
Simple Gifts will be streaming on Vimeo, a video hosting site similar to YouTube. You will only be able to access Simple Gifts via the Vimeo link we send you in your performance email.
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"Can I watch the show on my television?"
Potentially, yes. Due to the fact that there are countless combinations of computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, browsers, routers, modems, and internet service providers people might have, TheatreWorks is not able to provide specific technical troubleshooting forSimple Gifts. We have, however, prepared a general guide to help ensure your viewing experience goes smoothly, which includes information on how to watch on your TV. You can access the guide here:https://www.theatreworks.org/simplegifts/#htw
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"Will there be captioning available?"
Yes! Simple Gifts will be captioned in English. The captions will be hardcoded into the video, which means they will show up for everyone watching without having to click any special buttons.
Due to the fact that there are countless combinations of computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, browsers, routers, modems, and internet service providers people might have, TheatreWorks is not able to provide specific technical troubleshooting for Simple Gifts. We have, however, prepared this general guide to help ensure your viewing experience goes smoothly.
HOW TO WATCH ON YOUR COMPUTER, TABLET, OR SMARTPHONE
PART ONE: Accessing the Video on Demand
STEP 1: Click on the performance link we provide in the email we send you. The link will take you to the video's page on Vimeo, the site we are using to host it.
STEP 2: Enter the provided password as listed in the email we send you. For accuracy, we recommend you copy and paste it from the email.
PART TWO: Viewing Instructions and Helpful Tips
STEP 1: Make sure your device’s volume is up and not muted.
STEP 2: Click the "play" button on the video (it's towards the bottom of the video, and looks like a sideways triangle).
HOW TO WATCH ON YOUR TV
If you are interested in watching the video on your smart TV, you may be able to do so depending on the model and age of your television by following the guides below. The suggestions below will ONLY work if you have first pulled the video up on your computer, tablet, or smartphone using the instructions in the previous section.
OPTION ONE: WIRED HDMI
The most basic and reliable computer-to-TV connection consists of running an HDMI cable from a computer or laptop to the HDMI input on your TV.
Computers have many different inputs on them. Inputs vary depending on the brand, model, and age of your device. Whether you might need any kind of adapter to run an HDMI cable from your computer to your TV will depend on your specific computer and your specific TV. If you're not sure, check your computer’s manual and your TV’s manual, or Google the model of your computer and/or TV to determine the specifics.
The information provided below are guides to help you "screen mirror" from your computer, tablet, or smartphone to a Smart TV. Please determine your best option based on the brand of computer, tablet, or smartphone and the brand of Smart TV you own.
For mirroring to an Apple TV or AirPlay compatible smart TV from an Apple (IOS) compatible device such as an iPhone, iPad or Mac computer please follow the instructions provided: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204289
"The video is playing, but I cannot hear any sound."
Please click the "volume" icon inside the video player to select your preferred level of volume and/or make sure it is not set to mute.
Please ensure that the video does not say "mute" anywhere on the screen.
Also confirm that the device from which you are viewing the video is not on mute, and that the device's volume is not turned down.
"I am experiencing a lot of buffering."
Close any unnecessary applications on your device. Multiple apps running can slow down the video performance and monopolize the bandwidth.
Turn off any downloads that might be occurring in the background of your device. Background downloads can saturate a user's internet connection. Make sure your computer isn't downloading any updates, and close any open windows with streaming services like Netflix and YouTube loaded.
Check to see if anyone else using the same internet connection is downloading or streaming. If someone else on the same network is performing any of the actions listed in the previous point, then it can cause buffering. It’s also worth checking your smart phone/devices to see if they’re downloading any updates.
Check to see if the ISP (Internet Service Provider) has any network issues. Some ISPs have issues with congestion during peak video streaming hours, usually in the evenings.
Clear the Cache and Cookies in your device’s browser. Your browser stores recently visited websites (or portions of it such as images and videos) in a temporary file called a cache. If refreshing your browser didn't work, then forcing the browser to clear its cache is the next step.
Reboot your device. This helps to clear the browser cache and re-establish a connection with the streaming service.
Update your device’s browser. Best video performance is attained by using the most recent version of your web browser software.
Reboot your modem and router. Sometimes these devices can lock up, resulting in slow or non-existent internet throughput. Simply unplug each device, wait approximately one minute, then reconnect the power. Within a minute or two they should be back online again.
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