Inner Circle Theatre Presents a Tech-Savvy Prince of Denmark

02 Oct 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: ,

Hamlet - Inner Circle Theatre

Hamlet tells us, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” It’s all in the perception of a thing, especially today in the age of Snapchat and Instagram where the camera puts our lives on display (or the version we choose to share). Looking to the artistic and social troublemakers of our time, the production sees Hamlet wield the camera as both exploratory tool and brutal weapon. Urban and tech-savvy, this Prince of Denmark confronts his perceptions with Shakespeare’s text and the image-wizardry of a modern street artist.

Inner Circle Theatre and director Matthew G. Hill will fuse together Hill’s years as a film and theatre artist with his work as an illustrator to form a hybrid production that places the Bard’s great revenge play at the vanguard. Hill is an artist-in-residency at the National Theatre of Croatia, the Getty Villa, and the Annenberg Beach House and is currently the associate artistic director of the Rogue Artists Ensemble.

HAMLET
October 7 – November 6, 2016
Inner Circle Theatre
North Hollywood, CA
Specific location disclosed upon ticket purchase
Tickets: www.innercircletheatre.com

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David Melville to Direct ISC’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

26 Sep 2016 2 Comments

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: ,

ISC - Midsummer

Tatiana Louder and Erwin Tuazon. Photo credit: Ko Zushi Photography

How do you follow up a summer season of Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park for audiences that number in the hundreds each night? By going intimate, which is exactly what Independent Shakespeare Co. is doing this fall. On Saturday, October 15, the company will open A Midsummer Night’s Dream in its Independent Studio in Atwater Village, directed by ISC’s Managing Director, David Melville.

In Midsummer, the lines between dreaming and waking are deliciously blurred. As the King and Queen of fairies do battle in a fantastical forest, they find their world interrupted by mortals: four young lovers on the run and a group of amateur actors preparing for the biggest performance of their lives. As the humans submit to the magic of the woods, they find themselves in the longest, wildest, most transformative night of their lives.

Director David Melville says, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream is actually one of Shakespeare’s most sophisticated plays. In it, Shakespeare creates a world that is as confounding as it is magical. Its intricately plotted, intersecting storylines evoke a complex world full of unseen forces. Our production, in which nine actors switch almost acrobatically from role to role, is as fun and lively as the audience expects, but also explores the darker and more elemental underpinnings and energy of the play. The action of the play is over the course of one wild, mysterious night, and our production reflects that—it’s like being at a really great, weird party full of eccentrics.”

The cast will feature Jose Acain, Sam Breen, April Fritz, Martha Gehman, Faqir Hassan, Tatiana Louder, Evan Lewis Smith, Erwin Tuazon and Kalean Ung. Lighting Design is by Bosco Flanagan. Costume Design is by Lauren Opplet. Composer and Sound Design by David Melville.

A Gala Opening Benefit Performance and Party will take place Saturday, October 22. A benefit performance to support ISC’s ‘Theater For All’ initiative, providing access to performances all year long. This season, 20% of the ISC Studio tickets are offered free to underserved youth, families on a limited income, and other members of our community that typically do not have access to the performing arts; through partnerships with a select group of Los Angeles school and community organizations, like P.S. ARTS. There are also a limited number of free tickets available to anyone who needs them. Tickets for the benefit are $100.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
October 15 – November 20, 2016 (opening night 10/21)
Independent Studio, 3191 Casitas Avenue #168
(between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Blvd.)
Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Tickets: (818) 710-6306 or www.iscla.org

Generous Admission – $35. Support ISC’s initiative to provide access across income and age.
General Admission – $20. ISC’s affordable ticket price.
FREE. A limited number of free tickets are available for each performance so that price is not an obstacle to attending live theater. Email ISC at indyshakes@iscla.org or call the office at 818-710-6306 to make a reservation.

LA Opera Mounts a New MACBETH Starring Plácido Domingo

14 Sep 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles, Music Tags: ,

Macbeth - LA Opera

Placido Domingo as Macbeth with Ekaterina Semenchuk as Lady Macbeth and Roberto Tagliavini as Banquo. Photo by Karen Almond

Plácido Domingo stars in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth, opening September 17 downtown at the Music Center, with Ekaterina Semenchuk joining him as Lady Macbeth. The brand new LA Opera production is directed by Darko Tresnjak, Tony Award-winning director of A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love & Murder, who previously directed The Ghosts of Versailles for LA Opera in 2015. Macbeth is conducted by LA Opera’s Music Director, James Conlon.

Of the opera, Conlon says: “Compared to Otello and Falstaff—Verdi’s late-career masterpieces, similarly drawn from Shakespeare—his Macbeth seems less consequential. But that is only because we judge it by the measure of a standard set by the composer himself. Viewed in comparison with the composer’s contemporaries, and with many of his owns works of the period, it looms large. Had Verdi died or ceased to compose after Macbeth, it would stand today as a towering work of the Italian repertoire.”

He goes on to explain. “[There is] one major innovation that exemplifies the radical nature of his vision: Macbeth is a loveless opera, ‘un opera senza amore.’ George Bernard Shaw’s adage that ‘Italian Romantic operas are about a tenor and a soprano who want to make love, and a baritone who won’t let them’ is utterly unseated. No compromise was to be made to the expectations of the public to provide a stereotypic cast of characters in each vocal category. There is, in fact, no antagonist. The only desire expressed in this opera is the desire for power. There is no battle of equals, only an inner conflict with arrogance and insatiable ambition, and the corrupting lust for power. It has also been observed that Verdi’s opera is a tragedy for the royal couple, but a comedy for the witches.”

LA Opera - Macbeth

Fight director Steve Rankin in rehearsal choreographing a pack of sword-wielding witch-dancers. Photo by Karen Almond

LA Opera - Macbeth

A video crew will shoot one of the king’s heads and the green color of the backdrop, and on dancer Jean Michelle Sayeg’s legs, will be ‘dropped out’ digitally to create a supernatural floating head effect. Photo by Larry Ho

LA Opera - Macbeth

Singers rehearse with James Conlon before moving to the stage for dress and tech rehearsals. Photo by Larry Ho

Click here for more behind-the-scenes photos of LA Opera’s new production.

LA Opera: MACBETH
September 17 – October 16, 2016
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
135 North Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets and info: www.laopera.org

UCLA Conference: Entertaining the Idea: Shakespeare, Philosophy, Performance – Key Words

12 Sep 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Educational, Los Angeles Tags:

UCLA Conference

The UCLA Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies is holding a conference October 7 – 8, 2016 that you may find interesting. Entertaining the Idea: Shakespeare, Philosophy, Performance – Conference 1: Key Words. Organizers: Julia Reinhard Lupton (UC, Irvine), Lowell Gallagher (UCLA), James Kearney (UCSB).

Course Description
To entertain is to delight and amuse but also to receive guests and hence to court risk, from the real dangers of rape, murder, or jealousy to the more intangible exhilaration of self-disclosure and captivation in response to another. To entertain an idea is to welcome a compelling thought or beckoning fiction into the disinhibited zone of speculative play.

“I’ll entertain the offer’d fallacy,” says Antipholus of Syracuse as he abandons himself to the comedy of errors. Like Antipholus, readers of fictions and viewers of plays entertain “themes” and “dreams” on their way to recognition and new knowledge as a mode of testing the significance and reach of the thought-things and person-problems, encountered in a world co-created by their imaginative participation.

Entertaining the Idea: Shakespeare, Philosophy, Performance will stage a series of encounters between performance and philosophy in Shakespearean drama, encounters designed both to illumine the plays in their poetic and theatrical amplitude and to explore what philosophy and performance might offer each other in 21st-century literary studies.

The aim is to take up drama’s capacity to enhance experience, extend attention, exercise judgment, test existential limits, and assert common bonds. Key words in this enterprise include entertainment, acting, acknowledgement, hospitality, and ways of life, concepts explored in the opening conference.

Some of the speakers and topics explored during the two-day conference include:

Sarah Beckwith, Duke University
Late Have I Loved You

Lowell Gallagher, UCLA, and Bruce Smith, USC
Roundtable: Philosophy and/or/as Entertainment in The Winter’s Tale

Sheiba Kian Kaufman, Ahmanson-Getty Fellow
Acting in a Hospitable Temporality: Paradigms of Capacity-Building and Transformation

James Kearney, UC, Santa Barbara
Hospitality

Jeffrey Knapp, UC, Berkeley
Entertainment

James Kuzner, Brown University
Shakespeare as a Way of Life

Phil Thompson, UC, Irvine
Speaking Shakespeare: A Workshop

Tzachi Zamir, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Acting

The conference will also host a roundtable with Ahmanson-Getty Fellows and graduate students from UC campuses who will share their research plans and projects in response to the key words explored.

Entertaining the Idea: Shakespeare, Philosophy, Performance
Friday, October 7, 2016 (10am – 5pm)
Saturday, October 8, 2016 (10am – 1pm)
Royce Hall, Room 314 on the UCLA campus
10745 Dickson Plaza
More info and registration
Admission is Free for all students (with ID), Center & Clark Affiliated Faculty, and UC faculty and staff; and $20 for the General Public.
UCLA Campus Parking Information

The conference is co-sponsored by the UCLA Office of Interdisciplinary & Cross Campus Affairs; UCLA Department of English; UCI Shakespeare Center

UCLA’s conference core program events will continue in 2017 with two additional events.

Cut Him Out in Little Stars: Romeo and Juliet in Diaspora
January 20 & 21, 2017

First Philosophy, Last Judgments: The Lear Real
April 28 & 29, 2017

Michael Shaw Fisher’s Skullduggery to open Sacred Fools’ 2016-17 Season

01 Sep 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles, Music, musical Tags: ,

Skullduggery

Shakespeare’s words, “To thine own self be true” could easily be the tag line to Sacred Fools Theater Company’s upcoming 20th anniversary season. This bunch of fools will embark on a journey to do what they do best in 2016-17 and, according to co-artistic director Alicia Conway Rock, “reflect upon and celebrate what we call ‘Foolish’ — a spirit of irreverence and ingenuity underscored with energy and optimism that has been with us since the founding days of our company.”

To kick off that worthy endeavor is Skullduggery: The Musical Prequel to Hamlet, a collaboration between the Fools and writer/composer, Michael Shaw Fisher. Those familiar with Fisher’s previous works like Shakespeare’s Last Night Out, Exorcistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment, The Werewolves of Hollywood Blvd. and other Hollywood Fringe Festival hits know the kind of wit and invention he brings to the table.

If you’ve ever wondered what might have happened between Hamlet Sr., Gertrude, and Claudius, Fisher’s angle will unpack the story of their love triangle, song by song, in an unlikely journey from innocent youth to the “most foul” murder in the canon.

As for the music in this twisted tale, musical director Michael Teoli describes it as a rock musical “but it’s less hard-hitting rock and more eclectic. Think Tom Waits meets Stephen Sondheim meets David Lynch.” Teoli is also doing the arrangements for the show and says the instrumentation includes marimba, two guitars, Teoli on bass, and percussion (like cahone and bongos). It sounds pretty fabulous and, dare I say, even a bit spooky.

The show stars John Bobek as Claudius, David Haverty as Hamlet, Sr., and Leigh Wulff as Gertrude. Scott Leggett, whose performance as Fatty Arbuckle in Sacred Fools’ Stoneface was one for the book, directs. You’ve also seen his directorial work in Neverwhere; Beaverquest! The Musical; and Forbidden Zone: Live in the 6th Dimension, so be prepared.

Artwork for the season, including the Skullduggery image above, is by fine art painter Gabe Leonard, another long-time friend of the company. For a complete look at Sacred Fools’ upcoming season, go to www.sacredfools.org.

SKULLDUGGERY: THE MUSICAL PREQUEL TO HAMLET
September 23 – November 5, 2016 (Opening night 9/30)
Sacred Fools Theater Company
1076 Lillian Way
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Fri-Sat at 8pm. Sundays at 3pm beginning Oct. 16
Tickets and More Info: www.sacredfools.org

Globe On Screen: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Starring Jonathan Pryce

23 Aug 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Films Tags: , , ,

Globe On Screen returns to Southern California cinemas this fall with three productions recorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London: The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, and Richard II. Tickets are now on sale for The Merchant of Venice, starring Jonathan Pryce as Shylock, in his first appearance at the Globe. Joining her father on stage is Pryce’s daughter, Phoebe Pryce, who plays Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. Jonathan Munby directs.

The cast also includes Stefan Adegbola, Michael Bertenshaw, Philip Cox, Scott Karim, Ben Lamb, Daniel Lapaine, Christopher Logan, Dominic Mafham, Brian Martin, Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Regé-Jean Page, Rachel Pickup, and David Sturzaker. Original music is by Jules Maxwell, choreography is by Lucy Hind and the Designer is Mike Britton.

Additional screenings will be added in the coming months so check back periodically for updates.

2016 GLOBE ON SCREEN
The Merchant of Venice  ~ Measure for Measure  ~ Richard II
Recorded at Shakespeare’s Globe 2015
Tickets and more info: Globe On Screen
Running time: Approximately 2hrs 45mins including one intermission

Merchant - Globe on Screen

Christopher Logan (Prince of Aragon) and Rachel Pickup (Portia) All photos by Manuel Harlan

Merchant - Globe on Screen

Jonathan Pryce as Shylock

Merchant - Globe on Screen

Rachel Pickup & Dorothea Myer-Bennett (Nerissa)

 

 

 

Merchant - Globe on Screen

Jonathan Pryce and Dominic Mafham (Antonio)

Casts Announced for world premieres of Skullduggery and The Tragedy of JFK

22 Aug 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags: , ,

SkullduggeryBuckle up Shakespeare lovers – two new fall productions have announced the casts of their unique Shakespeare-inspired works, both opening the weekend of September 30. The first is Michael Shaw Fisher’s Skullduggery: The Musical Prequel to Hamlet, which begins previews at Sacred Fools Theatre Company Sept 23 and opens Friday, Sept 30. The world premiere musical comedy features book, music & lyrics by Fisher, arrangements & additional music by Michael Teoli, and is directed by Scott Leggett.

Told by the gravediggers, the story follows the love triangle of Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet Sr. in song, until their journey ultimately leads to the climactic moment of Hamlet Sr.’s “most foul” murder. In his own singular style, Fisher connects the missing pieces of the story and answers questions like: What really happened to Yorick? And, what happened to Ophelia and Laertes’ mother? Before the tale is ended, ghosts, battles, and the bones of Shakespeare’s masterpiece will be uncovered and exposed to the light of day, with surprising insight.

Cast includes John Bobek as Claudius, Leigh Wulff as Gertrude, David Haverty as Hamlet Sr., Brendan Hunt as Yorick, Jeff Sumner as Delver, Matt Valle as Puddles, Cj Merriman as Dull, Rebecca Larsen as Berta, Curt Bonnem as Polonius, Alyssa Rupert as Ophelia, and Pat Towne as Osric/Ghost King. Tickets are available now at www.sacredfools.org.

Blank Theatre - Tragedy of JFKThe second world premiere is The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare), conceived, adapted, and directed by The Blank Theatre’s founding artistic director, Daniel Henning. Performances also begin Sept 24 with opening night set for Saturday, October 1 at the Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz.

In this new play, Henning, who is a recognized expert on the JFK assassination, takes on the conspiracy to assassinate the 35th President of the United States using Shakespearian text. The result is a theatrical tale unlike anything you’ve seen before concerning the possible events surrounding one of the most shocking deaths in American history.

Henning’s cast includes Ford Austin as JFK, Chad Brannon (Robert F. Kennedy), Tony Abatemarco, Brian Brennan, Brett Collier, Cris D’Annunzio, Jerry Della Salla, Susan Denaker, John Knight, Jonathon Lamer, Kelie McIver, Casey McKinnon (Jackie Kennedy), Bruce Nehlsen, Jacob Sidney (McGeorge Bundy), Jonny Walker, and Time Winters as Lyndon B. Johnson. Tickets are available now at www.TheBlank.com.

One comedy, one tragedy – all your Shakespeare bases covered. Mark thy calendar now!

Much Ado Completes LBSC’s A Wake for Shakespeare Celebration

19 Aug 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Long Beach Tags: ,

Much Ado - Long Beach Shakespeare Company

Photo credit Jackie Teeple Two-Eight Photography

Long Beach Shakespeare Company has been celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016 with a special series of events and performances they are calling “A Wake for Shakespeare.” The final production in this gala series is Much Ado About Nothing, the comedy that paved the way for screwball movies produced in the early years of Hollywood.

Unlike the abusive encounters between Kate and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing’s Beatrice and Benedick are equally matched in temperament, and their relationship crackles with undeniable electricity. Though they profess to hate each other, love will most certainly win in the end in LBSC’s production featuring 16th century costumes, singing, dancing, and a fair measure of laughs.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
August 26 – September 17, 2016
Long Beach Shakespeare Compnay
Richard Goad Theatre
4250 Atlantic, Long Beach, CA, 90807
Tickets: LBShakespeare.org or (562) 997-1494
Tickets may also be purchased at the box office on performance days one hour before showtime.

Friday Funny: Robin Williams – Someone Give Him a Dagger

12 Aug 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Television Tags: ,

Here are a few laughs from funny man Robin Williams riffing on Shakespeare with Johnny Carson. Happy Weekend, All. It’s summer. Go see a show!

Review: Chickspeare Moves, Audience Laughs, Comedy Wins

08 Aug 2016 1 Comment

by Shakespeare in LA in Los Angeles Tags:

Chickspeare

Silvie Zamora (left) and Kelly Holden (right). All photos by Blake Gardner

The ladies of Chickspeare are back for another summer of Elizabethan improv, this year indoors in their new home at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. It’s been two years since I saw them perform on their lovely outdoor patio in Hollywood and I wondered how the experience would compare. I’m happy to report, these Bard broads get funnier every time I see them and the new venue works like a charm.

They are as adept at reinventing Shakespeare’s conventions as ever but it doesn’t matter if you know anything about Shakespeare’s plays. Their ability to hook you with all manner of silliness is assured and you’ll never feel like you aren’t in on the joke. Maybe it’s because they don’t take themselves too seriously either. This is your Friday night destination for good-natured, likeable fun, and who couldn’t use a little more of that?

In less than 90 minutes, five of the seven current cast members (Jennifer Bascom, Gale Brennan, Jennifer Flack, Kelly Holden, Lauren Pritchard, Paige Tierney, and Silvie Zamora) will tell a love story that has never been seen before. Part prose, part verse, and accompanied by an expert fiddler (Rebecca Ward), the stage is set and off they go.

Secret lovers, obstinate parents, the ghost of a dancing dead wife, a baker, a blind mother crone, a pirate bum in an alley, rats, bats, and one dough-drunk fool later, this opening night road to Padua offered up more belly laughs than I could have predicted.

Chickspeare

Lauren Pritchard (left) and Gale Brennan (right)

Sprinkled in among the comedy you’ll find just enough drama to ground the levity. A heartfelt soliloquy to love by one of the fools was surprisingly perceptive, and a father and son duel à la Hamlet ended in a delicious turnabout.

If their creativity and quick thinking isn’t enough to make the evening a rousing success, it’s almost as much fun seeing what happens when they get into a snag and have to dig themselves out. Watching an actor process her thoughts in real time is hilarious when you know she has to make a hard left to head off a dead end. As an audience member, that’s the joy of living in the moment and reveling when said actor pulls it out, which she always does, usually to thunderous applause.

No matter which way the story advances, it’s sure to end in merrymaking and, on this night, a wedding, in true Shakespearean fashion. Best of all, every performance will be a new story so you can go as often as you like and never see the same show twice. Yes, these chicks rule. Let the comedy games begin!

Ellen Dostal
Shakespeare in LA

CHICKSPEARE
August 5 – September 16, 2016
ComedySportz @ the El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd (just north of Magnolia)
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Friday nights at 8pm except for 8/26 at 10pm
Tickets: www.cszla.com
More info: www.chickspeareimprov.com

Chickspeare 2016

Holly Gray (left) and Jennifer Flack (right)

Chickspeare 2016

Chickspeare company

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