Los Angeles’ award-winning art collective Rogue Artists Ensemble takes its latest creation, HYPERBOLE: bard on tour to Orange County, Culver City, West Hollywood, Oakland, San Francisco and Oregon July 26 through Aug. 24.
In this hyper-fun, hyper-family-friendly performance, Rogue Artists Ensemble takes Shakespeare’s best characters, poetry and plot devices and shuffles them up, twists them around, and shakes them down. Remixing Shakespeare with intricate mask work, original puppets and live music, the Rogues dig down to the heart of the Bard, sharing the joys, the sorrows and the non-stop action that everyone, from kids to Shakespeare aficionados, loves about the greatest playwright of all time.
“We’ve drawn on nearly twenty of Shakespeare’s plays, singing the text, manipulating it with computers, altering words into rhythmic music, even rapping text to a home-brewed beat box score,” says director Sean T. Cawelti. “The show is manic, musical, incredibly colorful and irreverent. We want to reinvigorate the Bard, to make him even more accessible for all ages.”
Where to see the show:
Kings Road Park** (outdoor show)
West Hollywood, CA
Saturday at 2:00 pm: Aug. 16
Admission is FREE
More information: www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
Bring a blanket or low chair to sit on
Carlson Park*** (outdoor show)
Culver City, CA
Saturday at 11:00 am: Aug. 23
Admission is FREE
More information: www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
Bring a blanket or low chair to sit on
Chance Theatre @ Bette Aiken Theater Arts Center (indoor show*)
5222 E. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
Saturdays at 11:00 am: July 26, Aug. 2
Sundays at 11:00 am: July 27, Aug. 3
Tickets $8 – $20 at www.chancetheater.com
University of California, Irvine Campus (outdoor show)
Gateway Commons, next to Aldrich Park
New Swan Shakespeare Festival
Irvine, CA
Sundays at 5:00 pm: July 27; Aug. 3, 17, 24
Tickets $20 at www.newswanshakespeare.com
The Flight Deck (indoor show*)
540 Broadway
Oakland, CA
Thursday at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm: Aug. 7
Tickets $10-$15 at www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show (outdoor show)
15 S. Pioneer St.
Ashland, OR 97520
Friday at 6:45 pm: Aug. 8
Sunday at 6:45 pm: Aug. 10
Admission is FREE; Tickets and information at www.OSFAshland.org
Shelton Studios (indoor show*)
533 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA
Monday at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm: Aug. 11
Tickets $10-$15 at www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
*Indoor shows feature bonus scenes, shadow puppets and effects.
**The performance at West Hollywood’s Kings Road Park is made possible in part by the Free Theatre in the Parks program.
***The performance at Culver City’s Carlson Park is made possible in part by a Culver City Art in Public Places Program Performing Arts Grant with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Rogue Artists Ensemble differs from other theater companies in that it is run by a collective of multi-disciplinary artists and designers rather than by actors, writers or directors. By combining ancient storytelling techniques (music, dance, masks, puppetry) with modern technology (digital media, special effects and theatrical illusions), the Rogues cultivate a unique style of live performance unlike any other. They define the combined use of these and other underrepresented art forms as Hyper-theater. Since 2002, the Rogues have created over a dozen original new works and collaborated with hundreds of artists and community members.
For more information call (213) 596-9468 or visit www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard.
Shakespeare in LA 