In the first episode of “Place/Settings,” Berkeley Rep’s artistic director Johanna Pfaelzer asks us if we’ve ever spent time in an empty theater. “It feels alive,” she says. “There’s palpable motion in the stillness.” Berkeley’s theaters, including Berkeley Rep, remain empty for the time being as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to circulate; the same goes for many other spaces where Berkeley residents might otherwise gather for a shared experience. But the participating writers of the “Place/Settings” series would argue that Berkeley nevertheless maintains its sense of “palpable motion,” using their pieces to animate the city’s landscape through the lens of their real and imagined memories.