The Porters of Hellsgate are continuing their “Year of the King” 10th anniversary season with a series of staged readings highlighting three of Shakespeare’s kings at the Whitmore Theatre in North Hollywood. Each play is directed by and stars a company member who has played the role previously.
Last weekend, the series kicked off with Associate Artistic Director Thomas Bigley directing Richard II. This Saturday, August 6, Artistic Director Charles Pasternak returns to Los Angeles to direct Henry V, and on August 13, Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger concludes the series directing Richard III.
Tickets are “pay what you can” and there will be a reception in the theater following each reading. Seating is limited so reserve now.
David Melville as Richard III. Photo by Reynaldo Macias
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
How many different ways are there to say how much Angelenos love the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival? Thousands. Ask anyone who’s ever parked themselves on a blanket or lawn chair with their family and friends and you’ll get as many different answers as there are people in the audience.
Some come for the ambience, others to see quality theatre performances at an affordable price (free, but donations are always encouraged). Some simply want to enjoy the sense of community the event fosters, and still others are there to learn, to converse, or to challenge themselves with something new.
Regardless, few would argue that sitting out under the stars listening to Shakespeare’s words is a singularly perfect Los Angeles summer tradition. In case you need more convincing, I’ll give you my Top 5 Reasons to go. More
David Melville as Richard III. Photo credit: Mike Ditz
For the past 13 years, Independent Shakespeare Co. has brought free Shakespeare to L.A. audiences. This summer, they’re back in Griffith Park with two of Shakespeare’s most popular works: Richard III, directed by Melissa Chalsma, and The Tempest, directed by Matthew Earnest.
Managing Director David Melville says, “This is our most ambitious summer: Not only are we bringing both Richard III and The Tempest to Griffith Park for the first time, but both productions feature live music played by the company members themselves, extraordinary design, and one of the strongest casts we’ve assembled, featuring many ISC favorites as well as new faces.”
“We’re also extremely excited to welcome internationally recognized director Matthew Earnest (Co-Founder of The Lunar Stratagem, Associate Artist at Germany’s English Theater Berlin, Founding Artistic Director of deep ellum ensemble, former assistant director to Adrian Hall), as director of The Tempest. It’s the first time his work has been seen in Los Angeles, and we’re thrilled to bring his unique sensibility to our wonderful Griffith Park audience.” More
Dates for the U.S. PBS broadcast haven’t been set yet but here’s a look at the trailer to what’s coming. The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3, and Richard III starring Hugh Bonneville, Tom Sturridge, Sophie Okonedo, Ben Miles, Sally Hawkins, Keeley Hawes, Judi Dench and Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III.
The 19th season of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival will conclude on a tragic note with Richard III. Performances run July 17 through August 2 in Kingsmen Park on the Thousand Oaks campus of California Lutheran University. Festival grounds open at 5:30 pm for picnicking and entertainment.
The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company last presented Richard III a decade ago. With Richard finally having been given an official burial in March after his long-lost body was unearthed and the popularity of the HBO series Game of Thrones, which is based on the Wars of the Roses, the time seemed right to revisit the play.
One of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, Richard III was written around 1592 about the final chapter in the Wars of the Roses. King Edward IV of the House of York sits on the throne unaware that his brother, Richard of Gloucester, has a Machiavellian passion to take the crown and will stop at nothing. Richard plots to eliminate everyone who gets in his way.
Cast members include several newcomers to the Kingsmen stage: Jason McBeth as Richard, Angela Sauer as Queen Elizabeth, Gillian Doyle as Margaret, Jamey Hecht as the Duke of Clarence and Seta Wainiqolo as Richmond. The cast will also include Rachel Seiferth as Lady Anne, Ross Hellwig as Buckingham, Marc Silver as Hastings and Harold Dixon as Stanley.
General admission is $20 for adults and free for those under 18. Individual tickets are available at the door only. For lawn box reservations, visit kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3014.
Richard III is one of the most coveted roles in Shakespearean literature. Shakespeare’s play recounts how Richard ascended to the throne and consolidated his power largely by accomplishing the murder of his perceived political adversaries, including members of his own family, in a story that resonates as surprisingly modern.
Director Natasha Troop describes the design elements of the current production as a mash-up of the futuristic and 1930s-era retro, highlighting both the elegance of life at court and the coldness of the Plantagenet feud.
The cast includes Jon Mullich as Richard and Jesse Merlin as Buckingham, with Christian Chan, Alon Dina, Melody Doyle, Carissa Gipprich, Rachel Kanouse, Jessicah Neufeld, David Pinion, Tim Polzin, Glenn Simon, Janie Steele, Randi Tahara, Gary Tremble, Eliot Troop, Micah Watterson and Nathan Werner. Costume Design is by Wendell C. Carmichael and fight choreography: Christian Chan. Richard III is produced by Natasha Troop and Marni Troop.
RICHARD III
July 24- August 30, 2015
The Eclectic Company Theatre
5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Valley Village, CA 91607
Tickets: (818) 508-3003 or www.eclecticcompanytheatre.org
Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is taking AEA submissions for the role of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, for its summer Shakespeare Festival production of Richard III directed by Ryan Lee. This is an eight week contract and rehearsals begin June 2 in Thousand Oaks. Please submit electronically on Actors Access by Friday, March 6. You must be a classically trained actor with significant Shakespeare experience to be considered. Richard (Male, 35-45) is a master manipulator who uses his wit, charm, and charisma to deceive everyone into believing that he is not a villain as he viciously carves his way to the throne. Bitter, ambitious, and utterly ruthless, he nonetheless manages to fool those closest to him. Born with a physical deformity that leads some to call him a “bottled spider,” “poisonous bunchedbacked toad,” and other insults. www.actorsaccess.com.
Davis Shakespeare Festival in San Francisco will hold auditions for Twelfth Night and The Mystery of Edwin Drood on March 22 & 23. Guest Artist AEA contracts & non-AEA stipends are available. Please prepare a one minute Shakespeare monologue, a one minute contemporary monologue, and 16-bars of a song. An accompanist will be provided. Audition locations: Sunday, March 22, 5:00 – 9:00 pm at Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter Street in San Francisco and
Monday, March 23, 5:00 – 9:00 pm Veterans Memorial Theatre, 203 E. 14th Street in Davis. Rehearsals begin May 9 (Tues-Fri evenings & weekend afternoons) and the shows run Thurs-Sunday, June 25 to August 2, 2015. Click Here for more information and to select a time slot preference for your audition. For more info contact Carissa Lowe, Casting at Coordinatorcasting@shakespearedavis.org.
Los Angeles Drama Club’s young Shakespearean actors will present their closing weekend of shows this Saturday and Sunday during Shakespeare Youth Festival, L.A. This is the country’s youngest Shakespeare Troupe doing sophisticated work. Go be inspired! You can even see them both in one day.
Sat/Sun, May 10 and 11
12:30 pm: TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
3:30 pm: RICHARD III
All performances take place at The Lyric Theatre, 520 N. La Brea Ave. For $2 off the $10 ticket price, mention Shakespeare in LAwhen you reserve your tickets HERE, For more about the company, visit www.losangelesdramaclub.com.
Most people never get the opportunity to experience theatre life on the road firsthand but now, thanks to Kevin Spacey and director Sam Mendes, everyone is able to go along for an amazing ride in the new documentary, NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage. The 90-minute film follows twenty British and American actors on a whirlwind ten month international tour of Richard III and will be available for digital download beginning May 2. [Pre-order HERE]I highly recommend it.
If you are a theatre artist of any kind – actor, director, stage manager, producer – or just a lover of Shakespeare itself, this breathtaking film will take you on a journey unlike any you’ve ever seen. In over 200 performances, and across 3 continents, Spacey and the troupe reveal some of the most intimate moments behind the scenes of their staging of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Richard III.
You’ll see excerpts from the play on stages such as the ancient Amphitheatre of Epidaurus in Greece where Julius Caesar sat and watched plays, and the gleaming National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, a city in which the awestruck actors reverentially said felt “like another planet.” More
The country’s youngest Shakespeare Troupe, Los Angeles Drama Club, expands its season to include four plays this spring, including FREE performances of The Tempest at Club Fais Do Do (5253 W. Adams Blvd). In addition, the company will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Richard III at the Lyric Theatre (520 N. La Brea Ave). The Drama Club has been presenting full productions of the Bard’s plays since 2004. Now, ten years later, the group is a thriving non-profit organization, with more than 100 young people, ages 6 to 18, from across the city, “growing up with the Bard.” Here’s a look at their upcoming schedule.
April 5 – 6: The Tempest
A deposed nobleman creates a magical life on an island for himself and his exiled daughter – what should he do when the opportunity for revenge arises? From betrayal and oppression to forgiveness and freedom, get ready for an afternoon filled with drama, music, humor, adventure and magic. Fais Do Do.
April 12 – 13: Midsummer Night’s Dream
A mysterious forest, ruled over by a Fairy King and Queen, a bunch of “civilians” rehearsing a play, and four young runaways who get caught up in it all. Imagine this commonly performed play, performed in an uncommon way, early “silent film era” style in the days when the expression on an actor’s face told everything and more! The Lyric Theatre.
May 3 – 4: Richard III
Come discover why and how Richard III continues to fascinate generations of audiences. As is our culture, multiple Players will divide up the title role – representing his splintered self. The Lyric Theatre.
May 10 – 11: Two Gentlemen of Verona
One of Shakespeare’s “romantic” (yet not so romantic) comedies, this play uncovers the possible disasters when one has to choose between loyalty to a friend and one’s own desires and agenda when the two are at cross-purposes. Full of iconic, large and colorful characters and lots of music, it includes one of Shakespeare’s first cross-dressing heroines, and a couple of scene-stealing clowns. The Lyric Theatre.
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HENRY V
Shakespeare in LA 