tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81426617689425286952024-03-06T20:32:16.271-08:00South Coast RepertoryOne of the finest theatres in America, Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory offers unique live theatre experiences on two state-of-the-art stages. The twelve-play season includes world premieres by America’s hottest playwrights, new versions of great classics, and three plays for the entire family as well as outreach and educational programs and acting classes.South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.comBlogger602125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-27659945337936618442021-02-18T15:35:00.000-08:002021-02-18T15:35:01.828-08:00<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 10px; width: 600px;">
<img alt="The Cast of Alexander" customsizemethodproperties="{'MaxWidth':'580','MaxHeight':'393','ScaleUp':false,'Quality':'High'}" displaymode="Custom" method="ResizeFitToAreaArguments" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]5bbe8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/alexander-cast.jpg?sfvrsn=0&MaxWidth=580&MaxHeight=393&ScaleUp=false&Quality=High&Method=ResizeFitToAreaArguments&Signature=B65FA390A4D851941521EA1D451C24FA" title="Alexander-Cast" /><br />
<div class="captions"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5;"><b>THE CAST: Mitchell Gerrard Johnson, Austyn Myers, Cristina Gerla, Janna Cardia, Ricky Abilez, Robert Collins and Monika Peña.</b></span></div>
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<p>Seven actors portray nearly 20 different characters in <em><a href="https://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=10650"><em>Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day </em></a></em><a href="https://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=10650">(Nov. 8-24, 2020, Theatre for Young Audiences).</a> The cast members love singing, dancing and acting—and the magic and joy of telling stories on a stage. They bring a range of credits and experience to their performances here at SCR including working at Disneyland in <em>Mickey’s Magical Map</em> and on Broadway and in the national tour for <em>Les Misérables. </em>Read on to meet the cast.</p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Abilez,-Ricky" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]1fbe8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/abilez--ricky.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Abilez,-Ricky" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle"><b>
Ricky Abilez</b></span></h3>
I portray Paul. He’s a sassy firecracker—full of energy and he likes to be the best at everything. He has a lot of friends, but his best friend is Philip. It used to be Alexander. But his best friend changes all the time. It will probably be Alexander again soon.<strong><br />
My SCR credits include </strong><em>The Velveteen Rabbit.</em><strong><br />
My other credits include </strong><em>Frederick </em>at MainStreet Theatre Company<em>.</em><strong><br />
I love being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> because</strong> they’re always a blast to work on and performing for kids is the most fulfilling experience! The best part is hearing what kids think after the show! It makes all our hard work worth it.<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is working with this cast and crew—they’re all super talented. We show up ready to work, but more importantly, we’re ready to have fun! We make each other laugh and we’ve become a family pretty quickly. It’s hard to have a terrible, no good, very bad day at rehearsal!<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved the Dr. Seuss<em> </em>book,</strong> <strong><em>Green Eggs and Ham,</em></strong><em> </em>mainly because I love the color green and was obsessed with the idea of green eggs. But, as I've grown older, the story to me is about embracing the unknown. Sam-I-Am teaches us that being open to things that seem foreign or different is essential to living a happy, full life and that a simple meal can be commonly shared among creatures of all shapes, colors and sizes.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> is my friends and I playing <em>The Wizard of Oz </em>every day at recess! There were no limits to our imagination! I was always the scarecrow. We’d follow the yellow brick road while everyone else was on the playground or playing kickball.<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid </strong>was the day my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I didn’t understand what they meant at the time and I thought I had done something wrong. The idea of having my mom and dad in separate houses seemed like the most awful thing that could happen. <em>But,</em> everything turned out okay—it had nothing to do with me or my siblings. My parents love us more than anything and they’re so much happier now! I have two wonderful step parents and they all get along. I’m blessed to be loved so much.<strong><br />
“If I were in charge of the world, I would….” </strong>get rid of hate, solve world hunger, stop climate change and destroy cockroaches!<p></p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Cardia,Janna" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]16be8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/cardia-janna.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Cardia,Janna" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Janna Cardia</span></h3>
<strong>I portray</strong> <strong>Alexander’s mother.</strong> She’s very sympathetic, loving and nurturing. She’s also stressed out at times, frustrated other times and constantly multitasking as she tries to keep the household running smoothly.<strong><br />
I also portray Mrs. Dickens</strong>, the creative arts teacher. She is deeply passionate about teaching and encouraging her students to sing, draw, and be kind and respectful to others. Even though Mrs. Dickens is supportive of her students, she sometimes becomes impatient with Alexander’s erratic behavior.<strong><br />
This is my SCR</strong> debut!<strong><br />
My other credits include </strong><em>The Music Man, Cinderella </em>and <em>The Wizard of Oz </em>(all national tours), <em>Victor/Victoria, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Fiddler on the Roof, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, </em>“Crazy Ex Girlfriend” and <em>12 Days of Christmas.</em><strong><br />
I love being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> because </strong>the crowd is so excited and energetic! For some of these audiences, it is their first time ever seeing theatre and I feel so grateful to share the gift of theatre with them.<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is that it’s not a fairy tale, like most kid shows, and I like that. I like how <em>Alexander</em> deals with a very universal experience and, at the end of the day, there is no genie or fairy godmother to fix it. I think it is a realistic portrayal of things maybe not going perfect and yet tomorrow is another day, so you can always pick yourself up and try again!<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved the <em>Where’s Waldo </em>book</strong> <strong>series<em>.</em></strong><em> </em>I loved looking at all the little pictures and scenarios. And, of course, I loved it when I could find Waldo.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> was because I didn’t know how to spell “Girls” on my first day of first grade…and I walked into the “Boys” bathroom!<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid </strong>was when I begged my mother to wear my white Easter dress to school and I accidentally got red marker all over it. The dress was ruined and I got in big trouble!<strong><br />
If I were in charge of the world</strong><strong>, I would….” </strong>have parents not be in a bad mood for no reason!<p></p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Collins,-Robert" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]06be8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/collins--robert.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Collins,-Robert" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Robert Collins</span></h3>
<strong>I portray Dad, Dr. Fields and the Shoe Salesman.</strong> All three of these characters are completely different and are supposed to be representations of how kids see certain adults in their life. Dad is definitely this all-American, loving father figure whom the kids always run to when Mother tells them no. Dr. Fields is the neurotic, scary dentist whom kids don’t like going to see. Let’s be real though, even adults don’t like going to the dentist! The Shoe Salesman is the coolest guy you will ever meet. He is the flashiest, slickest and smoothest cat who ever lived. He makes all the kids feel powerful and confident with the new kicks they can show off at school.<strong><br />
This is my SCR</strong> debut!<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is that we get to explore how it was to be a kid again. Even though I play an adult through the whole show, it is still fun to help create a life for the kids and remembering what it used to be like being a kid.<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved the classic Dr. Seuss<em> </em>books. </strong>The pictures were always what captivated me because I love drawing.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> was when we got painting time for being good in class. I always would try to be on my best behavior so that I could get time painting because it’s what helped me express myself.<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid was</strong>—OUCH!—when I was playing tag at recess, I wasn’t looking and I ran into a tether ball pole. I ended up having the biggest knot on my forehead because I hit it so hard. I still have an indentation on my forehead because of it.<strong><br />
“If I were in charge of the world, I would….” </strong>make it so that every school had an amazing arts program so that kids could express themselves creatively.<p></p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gerla,-Cristina" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]fdbd8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/gerla--cristina.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Gerla,-Cristina" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Cristina Gerla</span></h3>
<strong>I portray Audrey, Philip Parker, a koala bear and a shoe sales clerk.</strong> Audrey aspires to be the top student in Mrs. Dickens’ first grade class. Later at recess, I play Philip and while he loves the cupcakes his mom packed in his lunch, he doesn’t share with Alexander, which is not so nice. I have a lot of fun as a friendly koala in our Australia adventure and as a sassy sales clerk at the shoe store.<strong><br />
This is my SCR</strong> debut!<strong><br />
I love being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> because </strong>being creative is really important for us and for our community. Theatre, especially, helps us practice working together, listening to each other and exploring both failure and success in a safe and supportive environment. So it’s a joy for me to share my passion for theatre with young audience members—some of whom are attending a performance for the first time—and, hopefully, get them excited about theatre too!<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is that everyone is so talented, enthusiastic and kind. We have a great time together on and offstage.<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved the book <em>The Little House </em></strong><strong>by Virginia Lee Burton</strong>. I made my parents read it to me almost every night and I always carried it with me on family trips. I must also give honorable mentions to <em>The Runaway Bunny</em> by Margaret Wise Brown and <em>Grandma and The Pirates</em> by Phoebe Gilman.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> is the bi-weekly science unit we had. I learned how to take care of our class vegetable garden, plant seeds in soil, clean pennies and track the progress of the chicken eggs we hatched. Every science lesson was a bit of an adventure!<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid </strong>was on a whale-watching field trip. A seagull swooped down to the boat and stole my brown bag lunch. And, even though I didn’t eat, I still got seasick. I don’t think we ended up seeing any whales, either. Overall, it was a pretty unfortunate day.<strong><br />
“If I were in charge of the world, I would….” </strong>make certain that we all took better care of each other and of our Earth.<p></p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Johnson,-Mitchell-Gerrard" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]31be8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/johnson--mitchell-gerrard.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Johnson,-Mitchell-Gerrard" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Mitchell Gerrard Johnson</span></h3>
<strong>I portray Nick and Albert.</strong> Nick is Alexander’s brother and picks on him constantly with their oldest brother, Anthony. Although they tease Alexander a lot, at the end of the day, they love him. Albert is a kid who likes to have everything planned out.<strong><br />
This is my SCR</strong> debut!<strong><br />
My other credits include</strong><em> Mickey’s Magical Lamp </em>(Disneyland).<strong><br />
I love being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> because </strong>I love being able to tell a story that kids can relate to. It really allows us to have fun while we create the show!<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is working with the cast and Kari Hayter, the director. We all have so much fun together!<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved the book</strong> <strong><em>Mitchell is Moving</em> by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat</strong>. It was about a dinosaur that was moving and his best friend and next door neighbor was upset about it but it ends with the neighbor building a hut right next to his! I mainly liked it because my name was in the title!! I still have this book and read it every time I move.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> is playing with my toys for hours and creating stories with them—and I was constantly told to put them away.<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid </strong>was when I went on a trip with my family and my parents kept scolding me because I was being bad. I remember going to look at something and, when I turned around, my family was gone! I thought they forgot about me or left me on purpose. I was lost for what felt like hours, but it ended up being only 15 minutes. I was SOOO happy to see my family again. I was good the whole rest of the trip.<strong></strong><strong><br />
“If I were in charge of the world, I would….” </strong>have free French fries for everyone <em>every</em> Friday!<p></p>
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Myers,-Austyn" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]28be8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/myers--austyn.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Myers,-Austyn" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Austyn Myers</span></h3>
<strong>I portray Alexander.<br />
This is my SCR</strong> debut!<strong><br />
My other credits include </strong><em>Les Misérables</em><strong> </strong>(national tour, plus the 2004 Broadway revival), <em>Newsies, Meet Dave </em>(opposite Eddie Murphy)<em> </em>and performances at The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, La Mirada Theatre and Moonlight Amphitheatre.<strong><br />
I love being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> because </strong>I love storytelling and getting to create theatre.<br />
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<div style="background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pena,-Monica" displaymode="Original" sfref="[images|OpenAccessDataProvider]3abe8aef-ce97-6c8e-8f43-ff0000334e15" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/blog/19-20blog/Nov-19-blog/pena--monica.jpg?sfvrsn=2" style="text-align: center;" title="Pena,-Monica" />
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<p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="subtitle">
Monika Peña</span></h3>
<strong>I portray</strong> <strong>Anthony, Becky and a kangaroo!</strong> Anthony is one of Alexander’s older brothers and, although he may like to tease Alexander, I think he also cares for him a lot. My second character, Becky, is Alexander’s classmate. They’re friends at school, but she doesn’t quite care for some of his antics. And lastly, I play a happy, hopping kangaroo living the good life in Australia!<strong><br />
My SCR credits include </strong><em>A Christmas Carol </em>(2018).<strong><br />
My other credits include </strong><em>Fancy Nancy </em>(Chance Theater)<em>.</em><strong><br />
The best thing about being in young audiences shows</strong><strong> </strong>IS the audience! Seeing and hearing the kids' reactions are the best. Especially when they leave the show not just entertained, but inspired.<strong><br />
The fun thing about this show</strong> is the music. The score has a lot of variety when it comes to style and is incredibly silly and fun!<strong><br />
When I was growing up, I loved Jon Scieszka books </strong>due to their dark illustrations and odd, silly stories. But, my favorite book in sixth grade was a spooky one by Betty Ren Wright called <em>The Dollhouse Murders</em>.<strong><br />
My most vivid memory from first grade</strong> is playing with little plastic shapes, no bigger than two quarters stacked in your palm. There were pentagons in green, squares in blue and triangles in yellow, and I liked them so much that I wanted to take them home and play with them so I put them in my pocket. My teacher saw and told my mom and that's when I learned what stealing was! Oops!<strong><br />
My worst day as a kid </strong>was at summer camp when we went on a field trip and played team games. First, my team didn’t win the scavenger hunt and I was super bummed. Then, on the bus ride back, one of the older girls took my spot on the bus AND I got in trouble by my teacher for telling her it wasn't fair! Hmph!<strong><br />
“If I were in charge of the world, I would….” </strong>make every school have an arts and music department.
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<a href="https://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=10650">Learn more about <em>Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day</em></a></p>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-12994045827144637542016-07-07T13:18:00.001-07:002016-07-08T14:19:16.543-07:00Hot Off the Press—Gala Entertainment Update<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; width: 320px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tracy Kirwan and Sarah McElroy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4eBXUrJIBdVVNmNXwAu7XpzmYmZz2rJttT00AuIko1Ce-xaVhBVuBRglS6VJ7-OewQdm9Ju9ci-ahQt4qr_pV1eBHctzpwDYAYlZF0sHk9d9VXM1n6FcZSNsEHWBNFbp6qwUJYA7xm_NB/s1600/gala2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4eBXUrJIBdVVNmNXwAu7XpzmYmZz2rJttT00AuIko1Ce-xaVhBVuBRglS6VJ7-OewQdm9Ju9ci-ahQt4qr_pV1eBHctzpwDYAYlZF0sHk9d9VXM1n6FcZSNsEHWBNFbp6qwUJYA7xm_NB/s1600/gala2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 250px;">SCR Associate Artistic Director John Glore and Gala Executive Chair Sally J. Anderson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzz0TFtLuLXIfU7iVb0CRTGaPThtrxCCmfvgR9RxNKMs7jYmK2ErnNZKCXj5kFBy5EqCU9NepVivfwg_Y2AQgFsz1Lyp7FH3Xouqhsnp4IcfRqrqRGXxNbXELo6q2VQSVMGdwFplTraVe/s1600/gala3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzz0TFtLuLXIfU7iVb0CRTGaPThtrxCCmfvgR9RxNKMs7jYmK2ErnNZKCXj5kFBy5EqCU9NepVivfwg_Y2AQgFsz1Lyp7FH3Xouqhsnp4IcfRqrqRGXxNbXELo6q2VQSVMGdwFplTraVe/s1600/gala3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audrey Greenfield and Barbara Cline</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5EtBmT3i5lvQy8LFBSQ01vrKyRY1OWR06kdnyM6XqMP8ZNN5LKAJrklbgWYU_KcOzBYU4cOSZHqIFzp_In8aQA82ewviHl1xGhIp0fPZyrwVM1oPJkSteIqAZmrsMsBCfbtyfat1Ihiu/s1600/gala4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5EtBmT3i5lvQy8LFBSQ01vrKyRY1OWR06kdnyM6XqMP8ZNN5LKAJrklbgWYU_KcOzBYU4cOSZHqIFzp_In8aQA82ewviHl1xGhIp0fPZyrwVM1oPJkSteIqAZmrsMsBCfbtyfat1Ihiu/s320/gala4.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 250px;">Cuisine, Decor & Entertainment and Hospitality Committee member Jane Taylor shows off a dinner napkin.</td></tr>
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There’ll be music galore during <a href="http://www.scr.org/support/parties-and-special-events/gala-ball" target="_blank">SCR’s “Stagestruck!” Gala </a>at The Westin South Coast Plaza on Sept. 10. Here’s the scoop from the Gala Committee’s June luncheon meeting.<br />
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<li>A lively ensemble … to provide the beat for the Galleria reception.</li>
<li>A big band … to entice guests into the ballroom.</li>
<li>A hip DJ … to select dinner tracks</li>
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Later, the band will be back—for dancing the evening away. And for those who linger into the wee hours, the DJ won’t leave until the last note has sounded.<br />
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Musical names are still under wraps, but the Gala Committee is ready to announce the big entertainment news—<a href="http://southcoastrep.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-kimberly-kay-to-elphaba-to-fanny.html" target="_blank">SCR’s “Stagestruck!” Gala headliner will be Nicole Parker,</a> “MADtv” and <i>Wicked</i> star (and SCR Theatre Conservatory grad).<br />
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She’ll sing, of course, do a little standup, as is her wont, and reminisce about the years at South Coast Repertory, where she got her start as a member of the Young Conservatory Players.<br />
<br />
“I believe my entire childhood was shaped by SCR,” Parker says, “starting with classes when I was seven years old until my last show at age 12. Those were truly formative years.” And they are years filled with fascinating memories that Parker will share when she headlines the SCR Gala. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, SCR Associate Artistic Director John Glore joined the Gala luncheon to fill everyone in on Nicole’s career and share some memories of his own. They include the first time he saw her in rehearsal for <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales—Folk Tales From Far-Away Places</i>, which Glore wrote for the Young Conservatory’s 10th anniversary.<br />
<br />
“I had limited expectations for a nine-year-old actress, especially one who hadn’t even completed SCR’s Young Conservatory training, so I was astonished when Nicole took on the lead role in my play," Glore relates. "She was like this pint-sized professional, entirely natural on-stage while also projecting a huge personality and heart in the role. What a gift she was to me in my first venture as a playwright, and again in the follow-up a year later. I certainly wasn’t surprised when she went on to stardom on television and on Broadway.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqe8tTJUvBVdcDGVMZJ5GZWto6nisNWkZ7kB0Y_3cAoxtmAaWMaEp7JOVqF8yyl58_sfNstQmv9d9GEhniQiLLv-hHrQavoU92T9HNvy5ba-VtRNehdZBCecZQaqIcYg8CUT4kaZ0mtS0/s1600/Parker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqe8tTJUvBVdcDGVMZJ5GZWto6nisNWkZ7kB0Y_3cAoxtmAaWMaEp7JOVqF8yyl58_sfNstQmv9d9GEhniQiLLv-hHrQavoU92T9HNvy5ba-VtRNehdZBCecZQaqIcYg8CUT4kaZ0mtS0/s200/Parker.jpg" width="75" /></a>
<a href="http://southcoastrep.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-kimberly-kay-to-elphaba-to-fanny.html" target="_blank">Learn all about Parker here.</a><br />
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<br />South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-58176648869576224472016-07-07T13:00:00.004-07:002016-07-13T15:50:22.413-07:00From Kimberly Kay to Elphaba to Fanny Brice—Nicole Parker Comes Home to SCR as Gala Headliner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpTPiiKAR_dRkOvknsxoLYVcDXk4amlxhgNT6uCsP7FgzOjh_fTyB60dz1QlAXRzGZAXolCpocEmkh2yt0S6DrcxjNpSBQxceSP47isn0E0VwiPNvJJcIPe4jGeEc2t2KKcWhR6uZ1Dw/s1600/Parker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpTPiiKAR_dRkOvknsxoLYVcDXk4amlxhgNT6uCsP7FgzOjh_fTyB60dz1QlAXRzGZAXolCpocEmkh2yt0S6DrcxjNpSBQxceSP47isn0E0VwiPNvJJcIPe4jGeEc2t2KKcWhR6uZ1Dw/s640/Parker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQNclaTMcuh8ftgVQD9WuethHqPKuPWZzOmpWsE8EXS8CJG24m1vu0ynEYaC7DmblY9GeyLtray1o8yrrYojjDxukw-feZw9NCJOo1g46l7FJS2FnKp_dZlYRLza0GwwkdZyWsy-AbNo/s1600/Nicole-Parker_Players-Prod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQNclaTMcuh8ftgVQD9WuethHqPKuPWZzOmpWsE8EXS8CJG24m1vu0ynEYaC7DmblY9GeyLtray1o8yrrYojjDxukw-feZw9NCJOo1g46l7FJS2FnKp_dZlYRLza0GwwkdZyWsy-AbNo/s400/Nicole-Parker_Players-Prod.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parker gets a lift in <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales</i></td></tr>
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Nicole Parker, who will headline <a href="http://www.scr.org/support/parties-and-special-events/gala-ball" target="_blank">SCR’s “Stagestruck!” Gala on Sept. 10</a>, was nine years old when she wowed audiences as Kimberly Kay in the Young Conservatory Players production of <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales—Folk Tales From Far-Away Places</i>. She was a dynamo then, and she hasn’t stopped for a minute. That talent, energy and pizzazz is what made Parker a hit on the wildly popular "MADtv," where she was a regular and contributing writer for six years.<br />
<br />
More recently, she won the coveted Ovation Award for her portrayal of Fanny Brice in <i>Funny Girl </i>at 3-D Theatricals and portrayed Bea in Rolin Jones’ <i>These Paper Bullets!</i> at Atlantic Theater Company off-Broadway and L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse.<br />
<br />
If you traveled to New York City during the <i>Wicked</i> phenomenon, you may have seen her as Elphaba in that hit musical, but if you didn’t catch her then, she repeated the role in <i>Wicked</i>’s first national tour.<br />
<br />
But let’s go back to where it all began, during her first year of training, at the Young Conservatory recital. According to Parker, “That’s when I decided I wanted to do this for a living. The moment happened when I sang a song as the comic character Little Lulu. I remember hearing the audience laughing and thinking, ‘Oh, I definitely want this for the rest of my life. Done.’”<br />
<br />
In the late ’80s, Parker was on every stage at SCR, playing Belinda Cratchit in <i>A Christmas Carol</i>; a Russian boy scout (!) in <i>Highest Standard of Living</i>; and Reverend Parris’ daughter, Betty, in <i>The Crucible</i>.<br />
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“That play really was life changing,” Parker says. “Even though I was only in the first scene (and spent most of it in bed, because supposedly Betty has been ‘touched’), the scene was long, and it was amazing to listen to those incredible actors every night. At only 10 years old, I was aware of <i>The Crucible</i>’s success. It felt special, and it was crucial for me to witness what it was to be a professional working actor.”<br />
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After her scene, Parker could have gone home, but she stayed every night, sitting in a little chair near the tech booth to watch the courtroom scene.<br />
<br />
In <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales—Folk Tales From Far-Away Places</i>, Parker had more than one scene; in fact, as Kimberly Kay, she was in all of them. SCR Literary Manager John Glore (now associate artistic director) wrote the play—his first—and isn’t paltry with his praise, saying, “The first time I saw Nicole onstage, I knew she was going to be a star.”<br />
<br />
That sentiment was recently echoed by Kris Hagen, who served for many years as SCR’s Conservatory manager. Hagen played Gramma in <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales</i> and remembers the first day of rehearsal—for good reason. “Nicole came to rehearsal knowing all of her lines,” Hagen says. “And the lines of all the other characters! She wasn’t being boastful, just natural, as if that’s what everyone did. She was a little girl with a big voice and a charming personality. And, yes, she exuded energy!”<br />
<br />
In those days, newspapers reviewed all the shows, even those “for kids, by kids,” as the Players deemed their productions. <i>Los Angeles Times</i> critic Lynne Heffley gave <i>Wind of a Thousand Tales</i> a rave review and called Parker “irresistible.”<br />
<br />
Years later, <i>StageSceneLA</i> called her performance in <i>Funny Girl</i>, “Dazzling…(She’s) a comedienne who can sing, dance and act every bit as spectacularly as she can make you laugh.”<br />
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Her next stop? (Well, maybe not the next stop; she’ll no doubt be onstage or on TV between now and then.) But count on her appearance <a href="http://www.scr.org/support/parties-and-special-events/gala-ball" target="_blank">Sept. 10 at SCR’s “Stagestruck!” Gala.</a> She’ll sing, for sure. And maybe she’ll also talk about how she got her start—here at SCR.South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-22868430842621802312016-07-01T14:56:00.001-07:002016-07-01T14:56:17.702-07:00Special Guests at Summer Acting Workshop<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWmwcsZijhbkGsMboBR-8i_PS6Y_mYc2TMqI-J8MC3g2sXroKzbKzgpBv6K57OUS9FXTVe1pVlf5V8ED6k3CObioCyj7rqFpxkNwhwW9jGDX1hXvu02L73ilGVzwXTIFPQvqlWHCzbBVH/s1600/sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWmwcsZijhbkGsMboBR-8i_PS6Y_mYc2TMqI-J8MC3g2sXroKzbKzgpBv6K57OUS9FXTVe1pVlf5V8ED6k3CObioCyj7rqFpxkNwhwW9jGDX1hXvu02L73ilGVzwXTIFPQvqlWHCzbBVH/s640/sarah.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara Guerrero, one of the Summer Acting Workshops daily instructors, leads students in movement exercises.</td></tr>
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<div style="color: white;">
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Want to give your kids something fun to do this summer? Looking for arts camp options at family-friendly prices? SCR’s Summer Acting Workshop is a theatre camp for young people, primarily those who are new to SCR’s Conservatory. We work with many experience levels and age groups, from 8-18, grades 3-12. The purpose of the camp is to learn the process of making theatre in a challenging and fun environment. Students work on acting tools—voice, body, imagination—to improve their individual creativity, confidence, and ability to work and communicate effectively with others.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh423XLx7jEzCib9OhiTCCCRRs4kQldIPwAaGzCPpyaH35rG1_t62jIBKodAFQvIomaqpZFwKoLAgIitT8k0TyRHC1MgTSQVXegVg0ImdF39ceDZTEbYSUKrHQYmISx33CruD3u7qBbyWTq/s1600/diana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh423XLx7jEzCib9OhiTCCCRRs4kQldIPwAaGzCPpyaH35rG1_t62jIBKodAFQvIomaqpZFwKoLAgIitT8k0TyRHC1MgTSQVXegVg0ImdF39ceDZTEbYSUKrHQYmISx33CruD3u7qBbyWTq/s320/diana.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instructor Diana Burbano works with a student<br />
on musical theatre.</td></tr>
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Each day of the 10-day session starts with a quick camp-wide warm up to promote energy and focus. Then, for two hours, students break into peer groups (grades 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12) of no more than 18 students for interactive instruction in voice, movement, character development and more, led by SCR’s veteran staff of theatre professionals. The final hour is spent with special guests who bring to life various aspects of theatre, like improvisation, combat, singing and playwriting—something different every day. Finally, at the end of the two weeks, there is an open classroom presentation of what’s been learned.<br />
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Here's a look at the special guests who will visit visit the class throughout the week. All these experienced teaching artists have links to SCR, both past and present. Here’s a little bit about them, what they’ll be teaching, and how they’re connected to SCR:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Playwriting</b> will be taught by award-winning playwright Kristina Leach, who worked at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. <b>SCR Connection: </b>Kristina was formerly on SCR’s literary staff and is current Conservatory faculty member.<br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Putting it Together</b> (the process of putting together a show: casting, theatrical design, rehearsal, performance) will be taught by Patrick Williams. <b>SCR Connection:</b> Patrick was once a stage management intern here at SCR.<br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Mask & Physical Acting</b> will be taught by Emily Heebner, who received her MFA from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and has acted in many national tours and regional theatres. <b>SCR connections:</b> Heebner has performed in <i>The Diviners </i>and is an Adult Conservatory faculty memeber<i>.</i><br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Improvisation</b> will be taught by two familiar SCR faculty members. Chris Sullivan is one of the founding artists of the Modjeska Playhouse, as well as a trained clown, competitive improviser and ship captain (who appeared in the<i> Pirates of the Caribbean</i>, thanks to his skills). Amy-Louise Sebelius received her MFA from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and currently teaches at Lakewood High School, while staying active as a director and performer in Long Beach. <b>SCR Connections:</b> Sullivan is a graduate of SCR’s Acting Intensive Program, and Sebelius regularly teaches in the Conservatory.<br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Musical Theatre</b> will be taught by SCR regulars Tom Shelton and Diana Burbano. <b>SCR Connection:</b> Both Tom and Diana have regularly graced SCR’s stages: Burbano in Theatre for Young Audiences productions, and Shelton in more than 15 productions.<br /><br /> </li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFKkCs8hKhau4PoB3w_e2KT8U0PuUb9Nk3azmpU5rCD_IjEmmD4CKssXkmfRqdlKp_SQ8HaTffkqKIPC-k_Ov46SCm73iziQvWKfwutXCGgusr0lNp7RHVPfCOL1gTS48IxnxnS_BD18u/s1600/richard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFKkCs8hKhau4PoB3w_e2KT8U0PuUb9Nk3azmpU5rCD_IjEmmD4CKssXkmfRqdlKp_SQ8HaTffkqKIPC-k_Ov46SCm73iziQvWKfwutXCGgusr0lNp7RHVPfCOL1gTS48IxnxnS_BD18u/s320/richard.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instructor Richard Soto works with a student on stage combat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><b>Stage Combat</b> will be taught by Richard Soto, an actor, producer, writer, stunt performer and stage manager. <b>SCR Connection:</b> Soto spent 11 seasons at SCR as Young Ebenezer Scrooge in <i>A Christmas Carol</i>!<br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Movement</b> will be taught by Mercy Vasquez, who received her dramatic training at UCLA, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and King’s College in London. For several years, she served as the program director for Voices Unheard at Greenway Arts Alliance in LA. <b>SCR Connection:</b> Vasquez is the Junior Players director (she recently directed <i>The Witches</i>), an actor in previous SCR productions (<i>Our Town</i>), and a graduate of the Acting Intensive Program. <br /><br /> </li>
<li><b>Mime</b> will be taught by Deborah Marley, who has experience teaching dance and movement all over the country, including at Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., and at Vanguard University. <b>SCR Connection:</b> She started in SCR’s Conservatory classes when she was 8 years old and went all the way through until she graduated at 16! </li>
</ul>
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Sound like fun? Make sure your kids don’t miss out. There are four sessions this summer: July 30 - August 11 and August 13 - August 25, each with a morning and afternoon option. <a href="http://www.scr.org/classes/kids-and-teen-acting-classes/summer-acting-workshop" target="_blank">Enroll online now</a> or call (714) 708-5577 to enroll now! <br />
<br />South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-25703536536902900312016-05-20T14:01:00.000-07:002016-05-23T10:00:06.705-07:00SCR Artisans: Building a Little Structure<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuQU_XZPtnrbcCuyQhW6o98KQO9hN8KQAhOMJeg3zqMFIfsc696B9f9j29HP1TuP-sMIASUj7KsmjQOWqsunGAZbH2YdPB1Ic7Wk1wXOz8rxwShtXt1KO1qZhyphenhyphenq1Xd1hf4j-SKZMPrHU/s1600/Topper-Esera2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuQU_XZPtnrbcCuyQhW6o98KQO9hN8KQAhOMJeg3zqMFIfsc696B9f9j29HP1TuP-sMIASUj7KsmjQOWqsunGAZbH2YdPB1Ic7Wk1wXOz8rxwShtXt1KO1qZhyphenhyphenq1Xd1hf4j-SKZMPrHU/s640/Topper-Esera2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Coast Repertory's Cutter/Drapper, Catherine Esera</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmZRTPjKVH3Hu1-Gp2qxaOUvYzDt6mBnkcVGwDf-Fj4UAWP9In9dmHcxvLHjXuwxZ2GZWNpD2Hizk13BGMJLOYsUur91dbRDSnCwRopKM7R4mqCB1ZF4AFOugtIuE16JX-nt319pOFO8/s1600/Amadeus_Rendering-Alex+Jaeger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmZRTPjKVH3Hu1-Gp2qxaOUvYzDt6mBnkcVGwDf-Fj4UAWP9In9dmHcxvLHjXuwxZ2GZWNpD2Hizk13BGMJLOYsUur91dbRDSnCwRopKM7R4mqCB1ZF4AFOugtIuE16JX-nt319pOFO8/s400/Amadeus_Rendering-Alex+Jaeger.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amadeus </i>rendering by costume designer Alex Jaeger</td></tr>
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When a costume designer meets with the show's director, they talk about the concept, look and needs for the production. When the final costume designs are turned in and approved, renderings are made and sent to South Coast Repertory's Costume Shop.And then, the next phase of building costumes happens.<br />
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So, how does an illustration go from page to fully realized and functional costume on stage? Catherine J. Esera, South Coast Repertory's cutter/draper, is a part of the team that makes it all happen. Esera first joined SCR as an overhire for the Costume Shop in 2003. Eventually, she was hired full-time as the cutter/draper in 2009.<br />
<br />
"When I explain to people about what I do, my first step is to correct them: I am not a costume designer," explains Esera. "Then I tell them that once the designer draws the costume renderings and selects the fabrics, I am given those, along with the actors' measurements, and am told, 'Make it happen!'"<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEsJXNR7aeV68bNl7omplletn2IffWfkPv5gIM3rbMpCG5pogJFKaa0wQ3FcvF2dTqQr5O9MlP_WYfNdshIoTMotf8pFujSdR9BwOU3LB5JZQ-0iCbyAD_xWSkdZdGaEj_ajqBM2PiJE/s1600/Amadeus-costumes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEsJXNR7aeV68bNl7omplletn2IffWfkPv5gIM3rbMpCG5pogJFKaa0wQ3FcvF2dTqQr5O9MlP_WYfNdshIoTMotf8pFujSdR9BwOU3LB5JZQ-0iCbyAD_xWSkdZdGaEj_ajqBM2PiJE/s320/Amadeus-costumes1.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 200px;"><span class="s1">Marco Barricelli with Camille Thornton-Alson in a different pannier.</span>
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</tbody></table>
Over seven seasons, Esera has worked with numerous designers, crafted clothing spanning multiple eras and even built costumes that transformed actors into bugs and animals. A few shows have stood out over the years for her.<br />
<br />
"<i>In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play</i> was a huge costume show and my first big build on staff," says Esera. "<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> was fun to work on because of the huge fan base behind that title and because Paloma Young's designs were beautiful! Most of our Theatre for Young Audiences shows are a blast to work on. They're fast builds, but to pull off the fantastical with such unique materials is very challenging and fun."<br />
<br />
For <i>Amadeus</i>, structure rules the designs, because many characters wear corsets, bum rolls and panniers. Esera was tasked with creating a pannier hoop skirt, which is a structure worn underneath women's skirts during late 18th century to create the overall shape and silhouette popular during that time. The pannier hoop is distinctive for its oval shape, rather than being formed in a circle.<br />
<br />
Esera takes us inside her process with a step-by-step guide to building a pannier hoop.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyV38sOWscJGRPX1y9oGOiYUuqbh7M1tTGdiNXhjiEcv9MIQ37IbIAdFnKI8K7h9W1x4ChB3nn_LgxlezXUivCMI_LR4sWzyTPqEdyscWJwZTo_nTpwMXJnMGanYF1kygrT0DOpGE4Kc/s1600/9+pannier+petticoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyV38sOWscJGRPX1y9oGOiYUuqbh7M1tTGdiNXhjiEcv9MIQ37IbIAdFnKI8K7h9W1x4ChB3nn_LgxlezXUivCMI_LR4sWzyTPqEdyscWJwZTo_nTpwMXJnMGanYF1kygrT0DOpGE4Kc/s320/9+pannier+petticoat.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><u>Step 1</u></b><br />
"It's important to use several different sources for period research. I use research as a guideline, rather than a law book. Since modern bodies are shaped differently than those of the past eras, putting all of the period seams in all the same spots just won't work. I also have to consider all the actor's physical needs, quick changes and maintenance for the performers' costumes. One of my sources was a book in our Costume Shop about Colonial Williamsburg clothing, which had photos and a pattern for a pannier hoop skirt. I read the description many times and scrutinized each photo. Then, I looked in other books and online for more photos and paintings of the same type of structure."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 2</u></b><br />
"I scaled up the pattern from the book. Then, I took the "original" pattern and made it the proper size for the actor. I also made a few changes so it would be more theatre friendly—alteration points, added length, etc. I can never make anything just the way the books show. There's always some hot-rodding to be done!"<br />
<br />
<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; width: 350px;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7clkkR0GbPZxIeeEg7gs4O-im-u2Icb_BdsIaRpsZPse2gNHNc1wDm2cgV7AUG3q6GoJMgbR8Mlrbmk7wCN3pJ_1wSuviOcr02zhlT8dOEuUollaTSnx9YaQDHxyFk0DrMAs56rEYA4w/s1600/3+making+the+form.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7clkkR0GbPZxIeeEg7gs4O-im-u2Icb_BdsIaRpsZPse2gNHNc1wDm2cgV7AUG3q6GoJMgbR8Mlrbmk7wCN3pJ_1wSuviOcr02zhlT8dOEuUollaTSnx9YaQDHxyFk0DrMAs56rEYA4w/s320/3+making+the+form.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 5</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEEiAm5mLznyutZZL5mqrzr2_oQWhx3kbxg8oR5OfrvMvqjvFfbUndftz50clP3r8NVKsxle8X0ADJkPZ7r0mmAWomdZbvIo3zLQkTO1KEzeuncco7MriU0tS9RLFwiO5VAvEUCKLe2A/s1600/6+bending+the+top+hoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEEiAm5mLznyutZZL5mqrzr2_oQWhx3kbxg8oR5OfrvMvqjvFfbUndftz50clP3r8NVKsxle8X0ADJkPZ7r0mmAWomdZbvIo3zLQkTO1KEzeuncco7MriU0tS9RLFwiO5VAvEUCKLe2A/s320/6+bending+the+top+hoop.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 7</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGPWhZR7EHzCvz64m1SYTsXwcJ0ONXZP_iw4YSA7Ijud_uYSC9oWVSJTh54hr9Ye3RLFeRmmhtQTmB4FhVkigeIdIukw__wioN4VyFMrqIzM-E2fOXohdKZvlZuNXf8vzxN5qf1oUlTCk/s1600/7+molded+hoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGPWhZR7EHzCvz64m1SYTsXwcJ0ONXZP_iw4YSA7Ijud_uYSC9oWVSJTh54hr9Ye3RLFeRmmhtQTmB4FhVkigeIdIukw__wioN4VyFMrqIzM-E2fOXohdKZvlZuNXf8vzxN5qf1oUlTCk/s320/7+molded+hoop.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 8</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b><u>Step 3</u></b><br />
"I washed, dried and pressed the natural linen that was chosen for our piece. I cut out all but the yoke from the linen. Since the yoke had the most changes, I cut those pieces out of muslin to make it easier for any possible adjustments during the first fitting."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 4</u></b><br />
"Then, I sewed the cut fabric together, including the padded side openings and the drawstring waist."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 5</u></b><br />
"Amy Hutto, our Costume Shop manager, and I bought lengths of natural round reed at a local reed and cane store. To make the frame to shape, I traced out my shapes from the scaled/graded pattern onto a piece of plywood and hammered nails into the plywood at about 1" apart. There are four hoops in the skirt: one small, two medium and one large."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 6</u></b><br />
"One at a time—because I've never done this before—I soaked each reed for a minimum of three hours using a rain gutter that I borrowed from our Scene Shop."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 7</u></b><br />
"I removed the reeds from the water and slowly bent it around the frame of the nails. The top hoop was the most difficult because it was the smallest and had compound curves."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 8</u></b><br />
"I let the reeds dry on the frame for several days each."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 9</u></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy0l_8Tc4tdIBNcL-4_-P1_hsGrl3xsbBFqQGnIXWCZr28wGhPRfTuFF2ht1MigMeznih2eSOTeJ0nQuL54QTkrT9gDcQdMnPKWZgxi15GL6UwUg3sntYvDkAOt_mBNEuNilmzasi5fQ/s1600/11+side+view+of+petticoat+with+molded+hoops+installed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy0l_8Tc4tdIBNcL-4_-P1_hsGrl3xsbBFqQGnIXWCZr28wGhPRfTuFF2ht1MigMeznih2eSOTeJ0nQuL54QTkrT9gDcQdMnPKWZgxi15GL6UwUg3sntYvDkAOt_mBNEuNilmzasi5fQ/s320/11+side+view+of+petticoat+with+molded+hoops+installed.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"To join the ends of the reeds together, I had to come up with my own method. According to my research, the original period method would have not been suitable for our needs. I used lengths of bamboo that had the appropriate size hollow that would fit around the reed. Too small wouldn't fit, but too big would not be secure enough and would potentially be dangerous for the actor. Since the bamboo was a bit brittle once the reed ends were inserted, I wrapped each piece with gaff tape to help stabilize it."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 10</u></b><br />
"I threaded the reeds into the linen skirt to build the structure."<br />
<br />
<b><u>Step 11</u></b><br />
"Finally, we fit the whole piece on the actor, made the necessary changes to the yoke, cut the modified yoke pieces out of the linen, sewed them onto the skirt and voila! Pannier hoop skirt complete with reed hoops!"<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7755" target="_blank">Learn more and get your tickets to <i>Amadeus</i>.</a><br />
<br />South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-2310328462245724442016-05-20T14:00:00.001-07:002016-05-20T14:10:31.204-07:00A Very “Punny” Play: "The Light Princess"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z4qMzIcIo5iawH3GefhqN9eXMMYdi89-1KFMdfEhK18bFkVnwnmEhF22oM0Cz_hRrDX01HvmXkP4LRCCOAjbuhwtexGg0CQWvkLWc_GjdBziIpbXWQZa0CjTtwS6myOaANFzp1FIQgQX/s1600/light-mini3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z4qMzIcIo5iawH3GefhqN9eXMMYdi89-1KFMdfEhK18bFkVnwnmEhF22oM0Cz_hRrDX01HvmXkP4LRCCOAjbuhwtexGg0CQWvkLWc_GjdBziIpbXWQZa0CjTtwS6myOaANFzp1FIQgQX/s640/light-mini3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel Gelman, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper and Emily Eiden in <i>The Light Princess.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The title of <i>The Light Princess</i> contains a pun, a humorous play on words in which a single word has multiple meanings at once. In this example, “light” refers to both a lack of gravity (physical) and a lack of seriousness (emotional).<br />
<br />
Here are a few other examples of puns. In each example, circle the word that is the pun. (In the first question, this word has been bolded for you.) This word has two meanings, one in each column of answers. In the blanks next to the questions, write the letters that correspond with both definitions of the circled word.<br />
<ol>
<li>What did the road say to the bridge? You make me cross. ____f____, ________</li>
<li>Pencils could be made with erasers at both ends, but what would be the point? ________, ________</li>
<li>The tale of the haunted refrigerator was chilling. ________, ________</li>
<li>A giraffe is the highest form of animal life. ________, ________</li>
<li>A man rushed into the doctor’s office and shouted, “Doctor! Doctor! I think I’m shrinking!” The doctor calmly responded, “Now, settle down. You’ll just have to be a little patient.” ________, ________ (Note: there are actually two words in this sentence that are puns—“little” can mean both small and a bit. Look for the meanings of the other pun in the sentence.)</li>
<li>I was struggling to figure out how lightning works then it struck me. ________, ________</li>
<li>A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West and announces: “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw. “ ________, ________</li>
<li>I saw a sign that said falling rocks, so I tried and it doesn’t. ________, ________</li>
<li>Q: What travels faster, hot or cold? A: Hot, because you can always catch cold. ________, _________</li>
</ol>
<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; width: 350px;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Answers: Column 1</b></span><br />
a. frightening, scary<br />
b. to hit, to collide<br />
c. willing to wait<br />
d. a mild illness characterized by a runny nose and sore throat<br />
e. tallest<br />
f. to pass from one side of something to the other<br />
g. to be exciting or awesome<br />
h. the purpose or reason for something<br />
i. an animal’s foot
</div>
<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; width: 280px;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Answers: Column 2</b></span><br />
j. father<br />
k. to occur to someone, to spring to mind<br />
l. the tip or sharp end of something<br />
m. cold, freezing<br />
n. a lack of heat<br />
o. most developed or complex<br />
p. stones<br />
q. a person receiving medical treatment<br />
r. angry or irritated
</div>
<div style="float: left; line-height: 10px;">
Where do fairy tales come from? <a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140930-where-do-fairy-tales-come-from" target="_blank">Find out in this BBC Culture article.</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Answers: 1. Cross (f, r); 2. Point (h, l); 3. Chilling (a, m); 4. Highest (e, o); 5. Patient (c, q); 6. Struck (b, k); 7. Paw (i, j); 8. Rocks (g, p); 9. Cold (d, n)</span></div>
South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-89181953163676257892016-05-16T13:42:00.000-07:002016-05-17T12:30:08.047-07:00Words by Peter Shaffer, Music by Mozart, Production by SCROn May 13, the glorious music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wafted from stage to terrace as theatregoers—their rousing ovation ended—gathered at the Cast Party for Peter Shaffer’s <i>Amadeus</i>, the final production of the season.<br />
<br />
To put the play in historical perspective, <i>Amadeus </i>opened the 1983-84 season at South Coast Repertory to rave reviews. This revival, more than three decades later, marks another auspicious occasion—SCR’s 500th production.<br />
<br />
At the celebratory party, golden balloons, shaped as 500s, flew above while below, partygoers congratulated the actors—who had shed their wigs and Classical costumes, donned 21st-century outfits and joined the fun.<br />
<br />
Everyone agreed that the theatrically splendid Amadeus, with its cast of 14 inimitable players was an impressive choice to end the 2015-16 season.<br />
<br />
Honorary Produce Sandy Segerstrom Daniels led the praise, saying: "<i>Amadeus </i>was incredible! The cast performed as though they had been playing these roles for months. I hope to come back and see it again!"<br />
<br />
<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F108144704499011668032%2Falbumid%2F6285370301620108945%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="433" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="650"></embed><br />
<br />
Having trouble viewing the slideshow? <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/108144704499011668032/6285370301620108945?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">Try watching it here.</a>
South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-9736798455030522422016-05-13T16:56:00.000-07:002016-05-19T14:14:17.937-07:00Up Through the Ranks and Beyond<b style="font-family: inherit;">The phrase, “something for everyone” applies perfectly to SCR’s acting programs which begin with kids in third grade who are new to theatre and keeps on going.</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUhO0BnMWmanjX2Zojq8RgePPZpm2ioG8VbtDOI1X1R2_MQii_lLUcCmVGTy5bXZliCMomV4X_6_HjBv9haJPwsYuy4PULudDBzj_2x8oMmwYxzx9PhfQdwtDOVy5x9tvSFmswlkrvBQ/s1600/Mason+Acevedo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUhO0BnMWmanjX2Zojq8RgePPZpm2ioG8VbtDOI1X1R2_MQii_lLUcCmVGTy5bXZliCMomV4X_6_HjBv9haJPwsYuy4PULudDBzj_2x8oMmwYxzx9PhfQdwtDOVy5x9tvSFmswlkrvBQ/s400/Mason+Acevedo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;"> Mason Acevedo, Jacques C. Smith, Randle Mell, Hal Landon Jr. and Henri Lubatti in <i>Antigone</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
At age 13, <b>Mason Acevedo</b> was a student in SCR’s Theatre Conservatory and a member of the Junior Players, where, among other roles, he played Mowgli in <i>Jungle Book</i>. During his years at SCR, Mason also portrayed Peter Cratchit in <i>A Christmas Carol</i> and alternated in the boys’ roles in <i>Antigone </i>and <i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i>.<br />
<br />
Then he grew up. Serious about acting by the age of 18, Mason attended the Adult Acting Program. The following summer, he was accepted into the Acting Intensive Program.<br />
<br />
Looking back, Mason says, “The Adult Program is a welcoming environment for students at all levels. Not only did it teach me the benefits acting has on your life and relationships, but it created an avenue for me to go into Acting Intensive, which developed my skill and allowed me to grasp the core of my craft. It also allowed me to see my place in the professional world and how I can most efficiently find success in it. Overall, the program is incredibly unique. From the relationships you make, to the things that you learn, it’s something I will always remember.”<br />
<br />
<b>Madeleine Bloom</b> didn’t attend the Theatre Conservatory as a child, but she always loved theatre. Somewhere along the way, she realized that there was more to it than she could get in high school. “I began taking adult acting classes at SCR and fell in love with the program, from the teachers to the staff to the amazing people in my classes.”<br />
<br />
Then the opportunity arose to audition for the Acting Intensive Program. “When I got accepted, I knew from the first day I was in for an incredible experience. I loved every minute, At the end of the eight weeks, I couldn’t believe all that we had accomplished and all that was still out there to learn. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in the field.”<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.scr.org/classes/acting-intensive-program" target="_blank">Learn more about the Acting Intensive Program</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-87452682317688765842016-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:002016-05-17T12:27:50.402-07:00A High-Flying Princess<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>by Kat Zukaitis</b></span><br />
<a href="http://www.scr.org/images/default-source/plays/15-16-season/light-princess/lightprincess_prodpage.jpg?sfvrsn=0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://www.scr.org/images/default-source/plays/15-16-season/light-princess/lightprincess_prodpage.jpg?sfvrsn=0" width="640" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Once upon a time, a young princess was placed under a magical curse that could only be broken by the power of true love.<br />
<br />
This is that story… sort of.<br />
<br />
In <i>The Light Princess</i>, a barren King and Queen turn to the Queen’s sister—a Witch—for help having a child. They are overjoyed when a baby girl arrives, even though she seems unusually cheerful… and unusually light. In fact, she floats! The Witch has taken away the Princess’ gravity, both physical and emotional: she cannot touch the ground, and she cannot feel any truly weighty emotions, such as fear, sadness or love. If the Princess cannot find her gravity before her sixteenth birthday, the Witch will take over the kingdom, and the Princess will remain weightless forever.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7s7vZpI166GtHJqwykXH7EB0RJZhTaDt8VXGqPImBcFHLvKACGn_eiuZmUJtMQurW-Xu0o5Fj7i4gJwahVieDseP76RnJBDCcLcjIglOvozhraMpCVPcOpCq5XlJzcQ3D5tZ_1HuOMZo/s1600/THE+PRINCESS+costume+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7s7vZpI166GtHJqwykXH7EB0RJZhTaDt8VXGqPImBcFHLvKACGn_eiuZmUJtMQurW-Xu0o5Fj7i4gJwahVieDseP76RnJBDCcLcjIglOvozhraMpCVPcOpCq5XlJzcQ3D5tZ_1HuOMZo/s400/THE+PRINCESS+costume+design.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Angela Balogh Calin’s costume design for the Princess.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As the Princess’ sixteenth birthday approaches, her parents desperately dream up ways to weigh her down. They try to make her cry, to no avail, for nothing can make the Princess truly sad. The Queen realizes that her own tears stem not from sadness, but from love. Perhaps the thing that will give the Princess gravity is falling in love!
<br />
But the Princess doesn’t want to fall in love. She wants to swim in the lake, the one place where she feels the weight of the water. One day, a wandering Prince—who would rather be a musician—hears her splashing and sets out to save her from drowning. Instead of a grateful damsel, though, he finds a furious Princess who wants nothing to do with him. She hates suitors and wants to return to her lake. He’s not a suitor, he insists, and he hates Princesses. But as the two of them fall back into the lake, they also begin a much more terrifying journey—they begin to fall in love.
<br />
<br />
Back at the castle, the King announces a suitor competition, promising the Princess’ hand in marriage to any man who can keep her on the ground, even if it means chaining her to the floor. Meanwhile, the Witch bespells the Prince to drain the Princess’ beloved lake—and with it, all the water in the kingdom. There’s only one way to protect the lake, but it may cost the Prince his life. Can the Princess find her gravity—and save the day—before it’s too late?
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc14TngrJR-vrN6qdtqCPs6kQRVBGwrgeoaBQW555PsaWztWZL-_vS1jPw7NcywGYMvBcQXCztg3RP2cfFN1AZ1D6U8-mVzldPAZcLpKy-evLMZt42NOP_7AfPGFd3nzFD9VbZHivA-ek/s1600/THE+PRINCE+costume+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc14TngrJR-vrN6qdtqCPs6kQRVBGwrgeoaBQW555PsaWztWZL-_vS1jPw7NcywGYMvBcQXCztg3RP2cfFN1AZ1D6U8-mVzldPAZcLpKy-evLMZt42NOP_7AfPGFd3nzFD9VbZHivA-ek/s400/THE+PRINCE+costume+design.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angela Balogh Calin’s costume design for the Prince.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Playwright Lila Rose Kaplan and composer/lyricist Mike Pettry adapted<i> The Light Princess </i>from a 19th century fairy tale by George McDonald, adding a few twists of their own along the way. This Princess is no damsel in distress waiting for a rescue; she is a young woman who must rely on her own wisdom to try to save herself, her Prince and her kingdom. Director Casey Stangl calls the play a “fractured fairy tale” for the way it assembles classic fairy tale elements—a witch, a cursed princess, a prince in disguise—and recombines them into a story about growing up and learning the value of sadness as well as joy. For the Princess, the path to adulthood means embracing both tears and laughter as integral parts of the human experience. “It’s an important story for children,” says Stangl, “and also adults!”
<br />
<br />
For the SCR production, Stangl wanted to find a way to keep the Princess aloft without wires, looking instead for a “theatrical metaphor” for flight. As luck would have it, the literary staff at SCR had recently been in touch with a choreographer and AcroYoga instructor named Ezra Lebank, the Head of Movement at California State University, Long Beach. Stangl went to see a workshop featuring Lebank and two accomplished Cal State Long Beach theatre students, Taylor Casas and Cynthia Price, and knew that she’d found the way to make her Princess fly.<br />
<br />
In <i>The Light Princess</i>, Casas and Price play “gravitrons,” using their expertise in dance and AcroYoga to keep the Princess aloft. With their help, and that of choreographer Rebecca Nakano, SCR newcomer Arielle Fishman floats and soars across the stage as the Princess, her feet (almost) never touching the ground. Stangl felt that it was especially important for this story about a young woman’s empowerment to feature other young woman “lifting their sister up,” so to speak. Add in Mike Pettry’s irresistible music, which is sweeping and silly by turns, and this show really takes off!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">François-Pierre Couture’s set design for The Light Princess.</td></tr>
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Fishman, Casas and Price are joined onstage by Gina D’Acciaro, making her SCR debut as a very sassy Witch, as well as several actors known and loved by SCR audiences: Ann Noble as the Queen, Justin Figueroa as the Prince, Joel Gelman and Emily Eiden as the Wisemen and Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, returning for his eighth SCR show, as the King.<br />
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SCR audiences will also recognize director Casey Stangl, whose work here includes several TYA productions, most recently <i>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane</i> and <i>James and the Giant Peach</i>; last season’s <i>Venus in Fur</i>; and the upcoming world premiere of <i>The Siegel</i>. Deborah Wicks LaPuma (musical direction), François-Pierre Couture (scenic design), Angela Balogh Calin (costume design), Karyn Lawrence (lighting design) and Jeff Polunas (sound design) round out the creative team, helping to bring this delightfully imaginative—and unconventional—fairy tale with music to life.
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7435" target="_blank">Learn more.</a>
South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-62180010348163365472016-05-02T14:40:00.000-07:002016-05-04T14:43:49.770-07:00'Process Over Product' in SCR's Actor Training<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY1vEobbo9nbDFgnGuPU8a0fZccD8sBOsa0JhSCzNoAdhBSycETA3QXVYuoE-9C2My1TxNGX2-uhsrc6AA1bTPGdBj6P1d-4kBOD9eDuF0zRWYyulSQwipqqf71TYp3jVgkBuQLz0kwZx/s1600/Chris%252BRachel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY1vEobbo9nbDFgnGuPU8a0fZccD8sBOsa0JhSCzNoAdhBSycETA3QXVYuoE-9C2My1TxNGX2-uhsrc6AA1bTPGdBj6P1d-4kBOD9eDuF0zRWYyulSQwipqqf71TYp3jVgkBuQLz0kwZx/s640/Chris%252BRachel.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christopher Huntley (Oberon), Rachel Charny (Titania), Alex Theologides Rodriguez (Bottom) and Jamie Ostmann (Puck) in rehearsal for <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream. </i></td></tr>
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<b>Theatre Conservatory Director Hisa Takakuwa teaches her students to understand the craft of acting as they create their characters, rather than concentrating on the result, which is the show itself. That’s “process over product.” It’s deeper and more complicated than memorizing and blocking. In the end, it’s more rewarding than acclaim because it’s what sustains them as actors—and as people. “The process of acting brings confidence,” Takakuwa says, “and that allows students to have fun onstage—and it brings maturity, and that helps them throughout life.</b><br />
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That may sound like pretty heavy stuff, but it’s ingrained in Takakuwa’s students.<br />
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“It’s our mantra,” says Rachel Charney of her training. “We care about creating truth on stage, not about showing off how beautiful our costumes are or how pretty we look posing on a particular set piece, but about being vulnerable, emotionally truthful and creating people from words in a script.”<br />
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Rachel plays Hippolyta/Titania in the upcoming Teen Players production of <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>. She has performed in ten Players shows and A<i> Christmas Carol</i>. “I’ve spent more than half my life so far at SCR. It’s a second home for me.”<br />
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“In many theatres, they put a huge emphasis on the show—or the final product,” says Christopher Huntley. “SCR is unique because above all else comes the process, or how you got to the final product. I’ve been able to take this outlook and apply it to every facet in my life.” <br />
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Christopher plays Theseus/Oberon in <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream.</i> He has performed in countless Players shows and appeared twice in <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, first as Boy Ebenezer and later as Peter Cratchit.<br />
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Rachel and Chris first met in the Summer Acting Workshop and became friends when they were cast in the Junior Players production of <i>The Velveteen Rabbit</i>. They were in the fourth grade. In June, they’ll graduate from high school. Chris is off to to Stanford in the fall, and Rachel will move to London to further her actor training. Before that, they’ll appear opposite each other in <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>. That will be their last Teen Players production.<br />
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They look back today on those years—and on the teacher who inspired them.<br />
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<b>Rachel:</b> I grew up here, learning things not just about acting but about people—about life. SCR provided a sort of whimsical escape from reality while making sure that we were always learning and growing. The hours I have spent memorizing lines, talking to myself, rehearsing, or laughing until I cried in the nooks and crannies of this theatre will stay with me forever.<br />
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<b>Chris:</b> After a fantastic time in the Summer Acting Workshop exploring acting games and having a blast, I decided to jump into the year-round program. Class never seemed like a class. It was more like a sandbox for the actor—and the person—in everyone. That feeling compelled me to come back year after year. <br />
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<b>Rachel:</b> We always say in Players that we want to grow up to <i>be</i> Hisa because there is no one in the world like her. She has been a guiding light for me through all my years at SCR, but especially now that I have become serious about wanting to be an actor. Most importantly, she has taught me to connect, to really listen to people and try to understand them and be an observer of the world around me.<br />
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<b>Chris:</b> Hisa is unique because she approaches everything from her background in acting. She helps us create authentic characters onstage, not only through their physical actions but through their emotions, motivations and drives. With Hisa, acting is a mirror of life, grounded in truth. Overall, she has taught me always to be honest with myself and to keep an eye out for the details. I believe these two skills to be crucial on and off stage.<br />
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Learn more about the <a href="http://www.scr.org/classes/kids-and-teen-acting-classes" target="_blank">Theatre Conservatory</a> or buy tickets to <a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8622" target="_blank">A Midsummer Night's Dream</a>.South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-73871493882888555582016-05-02T14:36:00.001-07:002016-05-04T14:46:29.913-07:00Hello, Summer—It's Time to Act<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Improv Instructor Greg Atkins, right, works with students.</td></tr>
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SCR’s Adult Acting Program is unique because its instructors are working actors in their fields They’ve done—and still do—what they teach. If you have experience as an actor and want to hone your talent, this is the place. On the other hand, if you’ve never taken an acting class in your life, this is also the place. And summertime is the time to begin.<br />
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Here are a few thoughts about what students can expect from instructors in the summer session, beginning June 21. <br />
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<b>Act I, Basic Skills Richard Soto</b><br />
Tuesdays 7-10 p.m., June 21 - August 9, 2016<br />
Richard’s teaching philosophy is simple and positive. “I love storytelling, acting, and people! By using imagination and emotion, students will be able to create a character who will move people to laugh or cry through a great story. That’s what I live for—helping find the freedom to ‘play!’”<br />
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<b>Act II, Scene Study Emily Heebner</b><br />
Tuesdays, 7-10 p.m., June 21 - August 9, 2016<br />
Emily’s students explore new horizons within themselves as actors. “We implement basic techniques as we work with published texts, building our individual process for creating believable characters, trusting our impulses 'in the moment' and truthfully bringing great scenes to life. I welcome everyone, regardless of age, background, level of experience or training!"<br />
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<b>Act III, Advanced Scene Study Matthew Arkin</b><br />
Tuesdays, 7-10 p.m., June 21 - August 9, 2016<br />
In his class, Matthew stresses the importance of preparation. “First, I tell students to stop ‘acting’ and simply ‘be.’ I want them to exist in the emotional, sensory and intellectual space of the character. That requires preparing ahead of time, knowing everything possible about the character. Then the actor can inhabit the character, and the events of the scene can just <i>happen</i>.”<br />
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<b>Improv I and Advanced Improv Greg Atkins</b><br />
Improv I: Tuesdays 7-10 p.m., June 21 - August 9, 2016<br />
Advanced: Wednesdays 7-10 p.m., June 22 - August 10, 2016<br />
In workshop settings that are fast-paced and fun, Greg focuses on acting, characterization, creativity and spontaneity. “There are only four areas in which improvisation will help you: auditions, performances, business and life! Improv is all about learning to think on your feet so whether playing a role or auditioning for one, Improv prepares actors for any challenge.”<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/classes/adult-classes" target="_blank">Learn more and enroll.</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Also This Summer</b></span></div>
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SCR’s Summer Acting Workshop (SAW) for kids and teen who are newcomers to theatre is where it all begins, and because summertime can also be busy time, there are two sessions to choose from (July 11-23 and July 25-August 6).<br />
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Here’s what a couple of grads have to say about SAW:<br />
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<b>Jordan Bellow</b> (a graduate of the Kids and Teens and Adult programs and the Acting Intensive program, currently living in New York City and pursuing an acting career)<br />
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“In grammar school, we learned memorization, blocking and then put the show up. That was it. When I came to Summer Acting Workshop, one of the first exercises we did was a simple one that we don’t think about as kids but you think about as you grow up and realize the importance of getting us out of our heads—sound, movement, circle. To try out something new, that broke the mold for me and I thought maybe there is something to a show besides just putting it up.”<br />
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<b>Christopher Huntley</b> (currently in his senior year, appears as Theseus/Oberon in the upcoming Teen Players production of <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>, and will go on to Stanford or Harvard in the fall—he’s still making up his mind)<br />
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“Ever since kindergarten, I’ve felt at home on the stage, and my parents chose the Summer Acting Workshop because they knew SCR had a good reputation. I loved it from the very first day and had a fantastic time exploring acting games and having a blast, so I decided to jump into the year-round program.” </div>
South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-36135981496846493412016-04-29T10:16:00.001-07:002016-04-29T10:16:33.122-07:00Mystery, Memory and Music in Peter Shaffer’s "Amadeus"<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>by Andy Knight</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asher Grodman, Marco Barricelli and Liesel Allen Yeager in <i>Amadeus</i>.</td></tr>
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“Well, the genesis of <i>Amadeus</i> was, I suppose, a long-felt desire to celebrate Mozart in me, but the play actually is not about Mozart, fundamentally. It is about Salieri. It is about the nature of a man’s sense of injustice, and to me the crucial things in the play of <i>Amadeus</i> occur after Mozart’s death, to some extent, when Salieri…finally says to the audience, ‘I was wondering all this time when I would be punished,’ and comes to the conclusion that his punishment lay—because he survived Mozart by 30 years and was a huge success in Vienna, gigantic success, much more successful on the level of acclaim than Mozart—when he spent thirty years being called distinguished by people incapable of distinguishing.” <br />
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—Playwright Peter Shaffer </div>
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In 1823, the year that Peter Shaffer’s <i>Amadeus</i> begins, Antonio Salieri, at one time Vienna’s most celebrated composer, is past his prime. Now 73 years old, Salieri has lived long enough to see his music fall out of fashion and his influence in the Viennese court dwindle, as his role as the royal music director fades from a position of power to a mere title of respect. What’s more, the buzz around Vienna—“the city of Slander”—is that Salieri has gone mad: after all, the reclusive Italian won’t stop raving that he killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the revered Austrian composer who died thirty years earlier. “I don’t believe it,” the gossips say. “All the same… <i>I</i>s it just possible?<i> Did he do it after all</i>?” <br />
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Only Salieri knows the truth, and as he waits for death, he begs the ghosts of the distant future—his audience—to hear his story, to know his truth once and for all. For their benefit, he revisits the past. “The year—to begin with—seventeen eighty-one,” says Salieri as he sets the scene. “The age still that of the Enlightenment: that clear time before the guillotine fell in France and cut all of our lives in half.” <br />
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At 31, Salieri holds the illustrious position of chamber composer in the Viennese court of Joseph II and is the model of success: his operas are loved in both Vienna and across Europe, his musical taste is exquisite and his skill at court politics is undeniable. But the pious Salieri knows that success doesn’t come for free; he believes that God bestows His gifts on only the most righteous, the most deserving. The composer, therefore, commits himself to serving God through music and to leading a virtuous life as a show of gratitude. <br />
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But then Salieri meets Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wunderkind composer and <i>enfant terrible</i>. Mozart is gaudy, bawdy and petulant—but a remarkable talent. It’s not long before Salieri recognizes his own music is, at best, adequate next to Mozart’s—amusing trifles in the shadows of great works of art—and he’s consumed by jealousy. How could a just God give so much to someone so small? And how could the Almighty withhold the same kind of talent from Salieri, his greatest attendant? As Salieri’s envy grows, he wages a war against God, and Mozart is the battleground. “What use, after all, is Man,” Salieri points out, “if not to teach God His lessons?” <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Portrait of Salieri by Joseph Willibrord (circa 1814).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by an unknown artist (circa 1788–90).</td></tr>
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In <i>Amadeus</i>, Peter Shaffer, author of <i>Equus</i> and <i>Lettice and Lovage</i>, brings his story of jealousy and revenge to life using a technique in which the present and past (in <i>Amadeus</i>’ case 1823 and 1781-91, respectively) exist at the same time. On what he believes is his last night alive, Salieri conjures up the past and both participates within it and comments upon it (from the vantage point of the present). Time and location change frequently, but there is no interruption, no breaks between scenes; instead, the audience is ushered from event to event by Salieri, with a fluidity that allows the sweeping story to pick up momentum as its suspense grows. <br />
<br />
But Shaffer also complements <i>Amadeus</i>’ storytelling with musical elements—not just with the play's use of music in the literal sense, but also with its nods to operatic forms. For example, <i>Amadeus</i> begins when “savage whispers fill the theatre” chanting “Salieri.” This chorus is quickly replaced by the Venticelli, two “little winds,” or gossips, who tell the audience about Salieri’s confession of murder. The sequence functions much like an introductory movement—or overture—to the play. Beyond that, one might describe Salieri’s monologues as the play’s arias; or discover that the word games between Mozart and his wife Constanze contain the rhyming patterns of song lyrics; or even find motifs from Mozart’s operas, like blackmail (<i>The Abduction from the Seraglio</i>) or destructive fathers (<i>Don Giovanni</i>), dropped into <i>Amadeus</i>. <br />
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“While it’s not a musical, it functions like one,” says director Kent Nicholson, who returns to SCR after directing the 2014 production of <i>The Light in the Piazza</i>. But it’s not only the musicality and epic scope that draw him to the piece: “I think people will be surprised how funny <i>Amadeus</i> is…I think that to make people have a profound experience, they have to laugh first.”<br />
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To bring <i>Amadeus</i> to life, Nicholson has assembled a creative team of SCR favorites. The design team includes set designer John Iacovelli, whose many SCR credits include this season’s production of <i>Abundance</i>; costume designer Alex Jaeger, who recently designed costumes for the world premiere of <i>Office Hour</i> at SCR; lighting designer Lap Chi Chu, who designed this season’s world premiere of <i>Future Thinking</i>; and sound designer Darron L West, who designed last season’s world premiere of <i>Of Good Stock</i>. <br />
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The cast of <i>Amadeus</i> includes SCR veterans, as well as newcomers. Marco Barricelli, whose successful career includes roles on Broadway and at the top regional theatres across the country, returns to SCR after last appearing in the theatre’s 1996 production of <i>The Taming of the Shrew</i>. Asher Grodman makes his SCR debut as Mozart. The cast is rounded out by Christian Barillas, Mark Capri, Peter Frechette, John-David Keller, Louis Lotorto, Louis Pardo, A.J. Sclafani, Camille Thornton Alson and Geoffrey Wade, all of whom have appeared in previous SCR productions, as well as Bo Foxworth, Cynthia Marty and Liesel Allen Yeager, who are making their SCR debut.<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7467" target="_blank">Learn more and buy tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-53286226063893645652016-04-28T12:46:00.001-07:002016-04-28T12:46:31.549-07:00Meet the Author: George MacDonald<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN__5Ul7512ixUtfXFIwIXN0kKGuW_gE5jrn1SivSBoHyAdSg_hEkBarTw8H1FywygQsTiy2E9lIIqFWFAhyGwl3B0lGOm_KkoTv-JubELJoS3ggkH00OHvcSgTfWaczuyp8kFRoGMmcI/s1600/MacDonald1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN__5Ul7512ixUtfXFIwIXN0kKGuW_gE5jrn1SivSBoHyAdSg_hEkBarTw8H1FywygQsTiy2E9lIIqFWFAhyGwl3B0lGOm_KkoTv-JubELJoS3ggkH00OHvcSgTfWaczuyp8kFRoGMmcI/s640/MacDonald1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George MacDonald with son Ronald (right) and daughter Mary (left) in 1864. Photograph by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll" title="Lewis Carroll">Lewis Carroll</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ax3ghKRC-Q5V77_Gls5OtJL65vIjmX9_-GjpnsHV4wEYBPlrbaB_HJs-uYc3DxQ5_IrVOSnCyf7UdXcYk-EPQ_isJtTbJL97V3ArYL0rq8iAnCl6lHWGAzgrDXC8HWj2NXX_PMc2JpON/s1600/George_MacDonald_1860s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ax3ghKRC-Q5V77_Gls5OtJL65vIjmX9_-GjpnsHV4wEYBPlrbaB_HJs-uYc3DxQ5_IrVOSnCyf7UdXcYk-EPQ_isJtTbJL97V3ArYL0rq8iAnCl6lHWGAzgrDXC8HWj2NXX_PMc2JpON/s320/George_MacDonald_1860s.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MacDonald in the 1860s</td></tr>
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The stage play <i>The Light Princess</i> is adapted from a fairy tale that Scottish author, George MacDonald, originally published in 1864.<br />
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George MacDonald was born in 1824 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. As a boy, he loved boxing and reading. He eventually learned to read in Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish. After graduating from university, MacDonald moved to London, where he studied theology. When his career as a preacher proved unsuccessful, he tried his hand at writing. His extensive knowledge of language and culture played an important role in his ability to paint vivid, memorable pictures in his books. Some years later, poet W.H. Auden wrote: “In his power to project his inner life into images, beings, landscapes which are valid for all, he is one of the most remarkable writers of the nineteenth century.”<br />
<br />
MacDonald published more than 50 books over the course of four decades. While he wrote fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, he is best remembered for his fantasy and fairy tales. “I write, not for children,” he wrote, “but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five.” The story “The Light Princess” was originally published as part of a longer novel, <i>Adela Cathcart</i>, in 1864. Some of his other best known works include <i>Phantases </i>(1858), <i>At the Back of the North Wind</i> (1871), <i>The Princess and the Goblin</i> (1872) and <i>The Princess and Curdie</i> (1883). <br />
<br />
MacDonald served as a mentor to Lewis Carroll, and encouraged him to publish <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>. His writings also had a substantial influence on several major 20th century fantasy authors, including C.S. Lewis (<i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i>), J.R.R. Tolkien (<i>The Hobbit</i> and <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>), and Madeleine L’Engle (<i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>). MacDonald spend the last two decades of his life living in Italy with his wife. He died in 1905, at the age of 80.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Adapted from </span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;">George MacDonald: Life, Works, Legacy</span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> by Matthew Bracey </span></i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7435" target="_blank">Learn more and buy tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-56783418239877284882016-04-28T10:55:00.000-07:002016-04-28T10:55:40.492-07:00Summer Players to Present A Tale as Old as Time<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TgSZd6wbCS6B_NzDeKCrdLhf3kXYHzyYhVWAsjK2QpTQQ_SBUzMqHnmvFlOId5DADc7R6CpKq7k-Tmh1bP6XsK-vj0LKZdgGYdLOel-JM8ToJ8y5lFy8JNg3UzI0Vwqw7ghalc75VZVT/s1600/Hisa-and-Erin-prepare-for-auditions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TgSZd6wbCS6B_NzDeKCrdLhf3kXYHzyYhVWAsjK2QpTQQ_SBUzMqHnmvFlOId5DADc7R6CpKq7k-Tmh1bP6XsK-vj0LKZdgGYdLOel-JM8ToJ8y5lFy8JNg3UzI0Vwqw7ghalc75VZVT/s640/Hisa-and-Erin-prepare-for-auditions.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Director Hisa Takakuwa and Musical Director Erin McNally prepare for <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> auditions.</td></tr>
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Auditions are now underway for SCR’s next Summer Players show (August 6-14), and it’s a doozy. After much consideration, Director Hisa Takakuwa and Musical Director Erin McNally have chosen the two-time Broadway hit based on an ancient fairy tale, <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. <br />
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According to Hisa, “We’re doing this show because Erin loves it!”<br />
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And that’s certainly true. “I always have identified with this show because the female protagonist is strong and smart,” Erin said, “and because it reminds us that being unique or ‘different’ isn’t a bad thing.”<br />
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Hisa is a big fan, too. “<i>Beauty and the Beast</i> has great characters and music to explore,” she said, “which makes it perfect for our Players. Because of the fantasy realm, we have a lot of flexibility with casting choices in terms of age and gender.”<br />
<br />
Both agree that it’s a show that’s fun for the Players to perform and for the audience to watch. “ It’s very important that the story resonates with our young cast members and can be told from their point of view,” Hisa added. “One thing that helped convince me was that <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> deals with the power everyone has to change and grow and learn from every situation, good or—at least on first view—bad.”<br />
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<i>The New York Times</i> said of the Broadway version of <i>Beauty and the Beast </i>(which is the one Hisa and Erin have chosen) that it “belongs right up there with the Empire State Building.”<br />
<br />
“And we agree!” the directors declared.South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-88872676127561355082016-04-27T13:39:00.000-07:002016-04-28T11:03:51.739-07:00"A Midsummer Night’s Dream" Next Up for Teen Players<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>The Bard’s Most Popular Comedy is a First for the Ensemble</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R- Amanda Fassett, Mikey Costa, Alex Theologides Rodriguez, Saul
Richardson, Joshua Myran and Kat Lewis in SCR's Teen Players production
of <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream.</i></td></tr>
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Within SCR’s Theatre Conservatory are three groups of young actors chosen by audition—the Junior, Teen and Summer Players. Every year these ensembles of talented young actors astound audiences with their performances in shows that challenge them to take what they have learned in class and apply it to their roles.<br />
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They’ve performed in classics (Teen Players, Charles Dickens’ <i>Hard Times</i>), Broadway musicals (Summer Players, Sondheim’s <i>Into the Woods</i>) and be loved children’s stories (Junior Players, <i>The Velveteen Rabbit</i>).<br />
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But never Shakespeare.<br />
<br />
Until now. William Shakespeare’s <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i> (Nicholas Studio, May 14-15 and 20-22) will be the Teen Players first-ever production of a work by the Bard.<br />
<br />
“There’s no real reason for that,” says Theatre Conservatory Director Hisa Takakuwa. “Clearly, I’ve chosen challenging plays for them in the past, and it’s not like I’ve avoided Shakespeare…”<br />
<br />
And why would she? Takakuwa is a classically trained actor and longtime member of the classic theatre company A Noise Within, where she appeared in numerous Shakespearian roles such as Maria in <i>Twelfth Night</i>. Her other roles include Lady Capulet in <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> at Indiana Repertory Theatre and Hero in <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i> at Grove Shakespeare Festival.<br />
<br />
“I think, looking back, with each new season and each new group of ensemble Players, there has been a play that suits them well,” she says. This year, it’s <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>."<br />
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“Because our Players are vibrant young people, we’ll see the play from their point of view,” she explains, “which is naturally fresh and youthful. This will be an honest, straight-forward production.”<br />
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But it is Shakespeare, after all, and that calls for extensive preparation. “These Players are very committed to their work—or they wouldn’t be here,” Takakuwa says, noting that the cast is made up of the most enthusiastic and talented Conservatory students, but they don’t audition for the Players ensembles unless they are prepared to devote themselves to long hours of rehearsal—and that’s in addition to twice-weekly classes during the school year.<br />
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Takakuwa started rehearsals for <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream </i>with the actors seated at a long table, reading the script—for three weeks. She says, “I wanted them to understand the poetry within the text before setting foot onstage. At the end of the table read, they needed to be comfortable with their characters.”<br />
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She concentrated on the three major themes in the comedy: love, transformation and dream/reality. “It’s all about how people change,” she relates. “The Teen Players are going through their own changes. They’re all in high school now, and two of them are off to college in the fall. In a sense, they’re on the way into their own forests.”<br />
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But first, they have a stop in the forest of <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>, where four young lovers flee into the woods on a summer evening—and where strange and wonderful things are about to happen.<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8622" target="_blank">Learn more and buy tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-12348299962405954742016-04-26T10:26:00.000-07:002016-04-26T10:26:34.316-07:00Casting Call: Taking on Salieri and Mozart<h3>
Actors Talk About Taking on Iconic Roles in <i>Amadeus</i></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marco Barricelli as Salieri and Asher Grodman as Mozart in <i>Amadeus</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marco Barricelli</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TUtzVGRCXrHd_d7tm9xFnN-d9z69aJJsfOnaewJAkFbEeYwfzAEvtej0QxwvExSeNIzJ6KLiql7p7Mzo7gnvbfmRi_cSkJcu4x7aT6Adlj0l5tQ3gHvHYk8BlOZ2HYwPyEaMZiyBh7NB/s1600/grodman%252C-asher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TUtzVGRCXrHd_d7tm9xFnN-d9z69aJJsfOnaewJAkFbEeYwfzAEvtej0QxwvExSeNIzJ6KLiql7p7Mzo7gnvbfmRi_cSkJcu4x7aT6Adlj0l5tQ3gHvHYk8BlOZ2HYwPyEaMZiyBh7NB/s320/grodman%252C-asher.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asher Grodman</td></tr>
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Asher Grodman starts the conversation with a secret: for years, he has wanted to work with actor Marco Barricelli. Both are cast in Sir Peter Shaffer’s <i>Amadeus</i> (Segerstrom Stage, May 6-June 5, 2016)—Barricelli as Antonio Salieri and Grodman as Mozart. <br />
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“This is a dream come true for me,” says Grodman. “Marco is amazing because of both the ease and power that he works with.”<br />
<br />
As for a revelation from Barricelli, read on to find out about that and more as the actors talk about taking on the iconic roles in Sir Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play.<br />
<br />
<b>On what drew them to the play</b><br />
<br />
<b>Barricelli:</b> I had never considered playing Salieri until SCR offered it to me. But I had seen the original Broadway production a dozen or so times, with Sir Ian McKellen as Salieri, Tim Curry at Mozart and Jane Seymour as Constanze. It is a great play—and we all want to do “great” plays, right? The role of Salieri also is one of those unscalable mountains: one can never satisfactorily scale it; it is the attempt that is all important. I also enjoy hearing all of the glorious music.<br />
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<b>Grodman:</b> The play is brilliant and the role of Mozart is like a playground for any actor. He's like a rubber ball being thrown against a jagged wall: You don't know where it's going, but you know it's going there fast! He's filled with contradictions—he's genius, child-like nature, rebellion and desperate need for approval. <br />
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<b>On what’s challenging and fun about their characters</b><br />
<br />
<b>Barricelli:</b> The truth is that I am not a person who likes sweets, but Salieri does and he uses sweets as his substitute for sex, at least to begin with. I think the most challenging thing for me has been the stamina it takes to get through the whole performance; it’s a long play and Salieri never leaves the stage. <br />
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I used to think that acting was being unrecognizable on stage; now I know it to be revealing who and what you are. If you can honestly reveal yourself, then it has some truth, and truth allows you and the audience to believe. That’s our job: we make belief—we “make believe.”<br />
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<b>Grodman:</b> The play, the cast and the director ar the best things about coming to work each day. In terms of my own work, the most challenging and the most fun have been working with the breadth of the story and and navigating the twists and turns. So much happens: Mozart goes through numerous life-altering moments and responds to them in big ways, but they go by quickly (in the blink of an eye). In addition, the dynamics of the relationships are constantly shifting throughout the play, often because Mozart is so impulsive.It's a bit of an obstacle course for an actor, that that's a lot of fun! I also love the moments when Mozart gets the approval he so desperately needs and when he watches his own work come to life. For me, that's a wonderful feeling.<br />
<br />
<b>Characters inspired by actual people</b><br />
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<b>Barricelli:</b> Frankly, as Shakespeare says, “the play’s the thing.” I’m not on stage to perform historical research; I’m performing Mr. Shaffer’s play. It may be interesting to learn some things about the real Salieri, but at the end of the day, we are doing the playwright’s image of Salieri.<br />
<br />
<b>Grodman: </b>The play isn't the history, but because there are so many resources out there—like Mozart's music and his letters—I feel that there's a lot of fuel to broaden my own imaginative landscape. I've found that those resources have helped me fall in love with the man.<br />
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My favorite line in the play—”My tongue is stupid. My heart isn't.”—is him in a nutshell. He doesn’t know how to communicate, but he knows when he has something that is worthy to say through music; it is pure and it comes from his heart.<br />
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<b>If you could share a meal with Mozart or Shaffer</b><br />
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<b>Barricelli:</b> Oh, I’d be too intimidated to have any sort of intelligent conversation!<br />
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<b>Grodman:</b> I don't think I'd be invited, but I wonder if Mozart—at least Mozart as he appears in <i>Amadeus</i>—would tease Shaffer for needing five drafts for his play!<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7466" target="_blank">Learn more. Buy tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-76678160012404192882016-04-25T10:15:00.000-07:002016-04-25T10:15:03.826-07:00The Story: "The Light Princess"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9CFtSlvrT0O2K-bTs-EPWSsmIN8ic9xu2a_HKYMJZsSLigPk5oyM9PcTr6DLCkMgSbM9IdhDlsPxqNw0CJXN0D_nOUj_qOFXR2ZTqvh_DnuvJ_GGRyUvkUIsqqpVKNPGRHvFZ7nIV7W2/s1600/LIghtPrincess-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9CFtSlvrT0O2K-bTs-EPWSsmIN8ic9xu2a_HKYMJZsSLigPk5oyM9PcTr6DLCkMgSbM9IdhDlsPxqNw0CJXN0D_nOUj_qOFXR2ZTqvh_DnuvJ_GGRyUvkUIsqqpVKNPGRHvFZ7nIV7W2/s640/LIghtPrincess-logo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the 1890 edition.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the 1962 edition.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of the 2016 edition.</td></tr>
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<i>The Theatre for Young Audiences series concludes with the delightful musical, </i>The Light Princess <i>(Julianne Argyros Stage, May 20-June 5, 2016), adapted from an original fairytale by George MacDonald. Read on to learn more about the story itself.</i><br />
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Two Wisemen begin to tell a story set a very long time ago—but they argue and cannot decide how to begin their tale. The King and Queen in the story enter and get the Wisemen back on track.<br />
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Our story begins once upon a time. A young King and Queen are happy and in love, until they discover that they cannot have children. They seek the help of the Queen’s sister, a Witch who also is in love with the King. She agrees to help, for a price. The King and Queen rejoice over the arrival of a baby daughter, until they discover that she has no gravity, either physical or emotional. The Princess not only floats, she can’t feel serious emotions like fear, sadness, or love—and if she can’t find her gravity by her 16th birthday, the Witch will take over the kingdom.<br />
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As the Princess grows up, what she loves more than anything is to swim in the lake, for that is the one place she has weight. But the Wisemen, her guardians and tutors, don’t have time to swim with her. The Princess’ 16th birthday is fast approaching, and the Wisemen are busy coming up with ideas to help her find her gravity. Alas, the Princess’ attempts to cry all end in laughter… because, as the Queen points out, love, not tears, is what allows us to feel weighty emotions. However, the Princess has never fallen in love. Over the Queen’s objections, the King and Wisemen decide to hold a Suitor Competition to find the Princess a husband.<br />
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Meanwhile, a young Prince (in disguise as a musician) wanders through the forest, trying in vain to write a love song. He convinces the Witch to let him stay with her. While playing his guitar on the shore of the lake, he hears the Princess splashing and jumps in to save her. She, of course, did not need to be saved, and demands that he put her back in the lake. He jumps in with her—the first time in her life that she has experienced falling. It’s amazing. She teaches him to play Marco Polo, and he flies her back to her balcony for the night. He has fallen in love.<br />
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The King and the Witch are both alarmed to hear of the meeting. The King, determined to find a suitable husband for the Princess, brings in a series of suitors with alarming proposals to keep her weighted down. The Queen is so upset by the King’s single-minded pursuit of a son-in-law that they quarrel, and she returns the key to his heart. Meanwhile, the Witch, determined to keep the Princess from falling in love, bewitches the Prince and sets him to work digging a hole at the bottom of the Princess’ lake, causing all the water to drain out. <br />
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The Princess is furious when she finds out who is causing the lake to drain away. To make amends, the Prince offers to plug the hole with his own body, knowing that he will drown as soon as the water closes over his head. He asks the Princess to wait with him as the water rises. She does not want to speak to him, but is eventually persuaded to give the Prince a kiss before he dies. He sings his first love song as the waters rise above his head. The Princess saves the drowning Prince from the lake and revives him. For the first time in her life, she cries and her tears refill the lake. The curse is broken and the Princess falls to the ground with her gravity restored.<br />
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The Witch returns to find that her power is gone. The King wishes to punish the Witch, but the Princess intervenes—the Witch, too, she says, just needs to be taught how to love. In the end, the King and Queen reconcile, the Wisemen retire and the Princess, with her musician Prince at her side, becomes her father’s chief advisor. A happy ending for all!<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7435" target="_blank">Learn more and buy tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-5461660028258217022016-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:002016-04-22T17:27:47.697-07:00Performance Ensemble: Summer Fun for Busy Kids<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieF_2xAs4GvbaDOkD4HsCBRBn8AFKE0IM-L_zr41ALRVSHiC3Z7dvYX0_864A1DQE44zv7c5_t5BHvOzZem1LDOIgT5JUVHl8T72kwjTyya2dhu1s4qR9mRjbR9Kk96gbJF9cQ8q1CDG6H/s1600/Donald.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieF_2xAs4GvbaDOkD4HsCBRBn8AFKE0IM-L_zr41ALRVSHiC3Z7dvYX0_864A1DQE44zv7c5_t5BHvOzZem1LDOIgT5JUVHl8T72kwjTyya2dhu1s4qR9mRjbR9Kk96gbJF9cQ8q1CDG6H/s320/Donald.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald Amerson with his students.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzQjCXQfw03s0S0ToIfnaK0M5TPh_RBz_59XtyKkwq6I9S0_3svVUTY4dhnqUOzojWsLt4vS8JiZ_idKs2c5A9S50ZEpwopL30L8GugnJdTSlo-1Vubkx07lM2tE-9btjZ06rZSlnY-6p/s1600/Kristina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzQjCXQfw03s0S0ToIfnaK0M5TPh_RBz_59XtyKkwq6I9S0_3svVUTY4dhnqUOzojWsLt4vS8JiZ_idKs2c5A9S50ZEpwopL30L8GugnJdTSlo-1Vubkx07lM2tE-9btjZ06rZSlnY-6p/s320/Kristina.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristian Leach with her students.</td></tr>
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Summer Performance Ensemble is a three-week class for returning students who rehearse—and then perform—a show for friends and families. Students who sign up for Performance Ensemble have three things in common—they’re enthusiastic, talented and busy.<br />
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As much as they love acting, they don’t necessarily have time in their schedules for the SCR Players (students chosen by audition who attend year-round classes twice a week, plus extra hours during rehearsal and the run of their shows).<br />
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So a three-week summer program is the perfect solution—especially when classes are held mornings only (from 9am to 12pm) on week days, with the performance on Saturday of the final week.<br />
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This summer, students in grades 4-6 will go on a journey from Connecticut to Camelot—with instructor Donald Amerson, who is looking forward to the trip.<br />
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“What’s more fun than rehearsing a light-hearted comedy like <i>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court</i>?” Donald asks. “The play is based on the story by Mark Twain, and we’ll approach the material by using the text (which is filled with humor) to help our young actors understand how to develop characters and follow direction. And while the production will be ambitious, the process will be just as important as the performance. I think they’ll have a great time during the three-week rehearsal period and develop a real love for the craft of acting.”<br />
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Instructor Kristina Leach offers her students in grades 7-12 a unique experience rehearsing and performing an ensemble piece that they write themselves, with her guidance.<br />
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“It’s so much fun putting together something of our own that we rehearse as we go along,” Kristina says. “I don’t even choose a theme until the first day of class when I meet and get to know the students. In the past we’ve tackled subjects like ‘global warming’ and ‘what scares you?’ Last summer, we wrote original monologues that included a teenaged super hero, a love-starved dragon and a witch with a YouTube channel. This class is for actors who like to write, writers who like to act—and students who don’t even realize they can do it all!” <br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/classes" target="_blank">Learn more about SCR's Theatre Conservatory. </a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-79257362900259680182016-04-18T16:31:00.001-07:002016-04-18T16:31:20.830-07:00"Office Hour" Opens to Cheers at South Coast RepertoryIf a curtain had fallen on the final scene of Julia Cho’s new play on the Julianne Argyros Stage, the first line of Party Play would be, “World Premiere sets curtain call record at South Coast Repertory.”<br />
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But, since there is not a physical curtain on the Argyros Stage, here’s what happened on the April 15, First Night of <i>Office Hour</i>: the lights went down as the play ended and, after a moment to catch collective breaths, First Nighters rose to their feet spontaneously and applause turned to cheers as the cast took bow after bow…after bow. <br />
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During the Cast Party on Ela’s Terrace, thoughtful words from Honorary Producers Tim and Marianne Kay said it all. “<i>Office Hour </i>grabbed us and didn’t let go. Julia Cho’s script and Neel Keller’s direction made the play ‘pop’ in a way you can only understand by seeing it. The topic is something that wrenches many hearts. Julia’s play gives us the ability to consider different possibilities. Sandra Oh and Raymond Lee captured the audience.” <br />
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Having trouble viewing the slideshow? <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/108144704499011668032/OfficeHourFirstNights#slideshow/6274987921546718242" target="_blank">Try watching it here.</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/la-ca-cm-conversation-sandra-oh-20160417-story.html" target="_blank">Read the Los Angeles Times Sunday Conversation with Sandra Oh </a><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-office-hour-review-20160418-column.html" target="_blank">Read the LA Times’ review of <i>Office Hour</i></a> South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-53401160664014835232016-04-18T13:12:00.001-07:002016-04-18T13:13:04.109-07:00Actors of the Pacific Playwrights Festival: Being Part of Something Amazing<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIbaPZTuSSSwFV94vkgMsu8Zov16nxphqZcCfQ68ZPFcY7utpNOhHesS6_Fz_eamBLqI7xr0g2y8_gXFuD5QysL8Kj82E9ZNqmdaHnMjfD7PtUtQ5l9lFlw71CXJMXrTH4plmunMf1HjK/s1600/PPF-Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIbaPZTuSSSwFV94vkgMsu8Zov16nxphqZcCfQ68ZPFcY7utpNOhHesS6_Fz_eamBLqI7xr0g2y8_gXFuD5QysL8Kj82E9ZNqmdaHnMjfD7PtUtQ5l9lFlw71CXJMXrTH4plmunMf1HjK/s640/PPF-Party.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pacific Playwrights Festival participants meet-n-greet in 2015.</td></tr>
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Hundreds of actors have helped new works come to life at the Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) for the past 19 years. Each loves getting a phone call from Joanne DeNaut, SCR’s casting director, because the festival is where s/he can “work on exciting text, with an incredible artistic team, in one of the very best theatres in the country.” We caught up with four PPF veteran actors and talked about their love for the festival.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Matthew Arkin</b></span><br />
<b>2016 PPF: </b><i>A Perfect Circle</i> by Noah Haidle (reading)<br />
<b>Past PPF: </b><i>Our Mother's Brief Affair by</i> Richard Greenberg (production); <i>The Prince of Atlantis</i> by Steven Druckman (reading and production); <i>Hope and Gravity </i>by Michael Hollinger (reading); <i>The Whistleblower</i> by Itamar Moses (reading)<br />
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<b>Best experience:</b> Working on a new play at an initial reading is one of my favorite parts of being an actor. There is little that is as rewarding as being in on the development of a new piece, working cheek-by-jowl with the playwright and a director as you test and probe the plot, the characters, and their motivations. It really becomes about the text, mining what works, finding out what doesn't, and watching a new work go through its birth pangs as it transforms, ultimately, one hopes, into something that really speaks to an audience.<br />
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<b>Favorite festival memory: </b>Working with my brother Adam on the PPF reading of <i>The Prince of Atlantis</i>. Getting to play brother to my brother was so easy and natural, and we know each other so well that I felt it brought a depth to the relationship and the humor that's pretty rare to experience.<br />
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<b>Best part of PPF:</b> There's nothing better than grown-up actor camp, getting to spend a week working, socializing and catching up with so many incredible talents from our industry and getting the chance to see their work and learn from them all.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Emily Bergl</b></span><br />
<b>2016 PPF:</b> Wink by Jen Silverman (reading)<br />
<b>Past PPF:</b> <i>The Hiding Place</i> by Jeff Whitty (workshop); <i>Ridiculous Fraud</i> by Beth Henley (reading); <i>Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight</i> by Lauren Gunderson (reading); <i>Kin</i> by Bathsheba Doran (reading)<br />
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<b>Favorite memory:</b> My favorite memory of PPF is from when I was doing a reading of Jeff Whitty's <i>The Hiding Place</i> and was in the middle of a very plaintive, quiet monologue. During a pause an old lady in the audience exclaimed, "She has a great nose!" I couldn't really be offended. <br />
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<b>The festival’s special quality:</b> I know this word is overused, but PPF is a wonderful reminder that we are part of a community. It's easy to get bogged down with the day-to-day trials and tribulations in the business, but when you walk across that plaza at PPF and bump into so many people that you respect and actually know, you can't help but feel grateful.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Corey Brill</b></span><br />
<b>2016 PPF:</b> <i>Office Hour</i> by Julia Cho (production)<br />
<b>Past PPF:</b> <i>Smokefall </i>by Noah Haidle (production); <i>Five Mile Lake</i> by Rachel Bonds (production); <i>Of Good Stock</i> by Melissa Ross (production)<br />
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<b>Inaugurating a role:</b> I've been so lucky to be a part of—so far!—four consecutive PPFs! The festival has allowed me to play a reluctant fetus, a doctoral student in crises, a reluctant fiancé and now a concerned adjunct professor. One of the coolest opportunities for an actor is to work on an original script with the playwright's input, to be a part of the development of a play from the start is kind of an actor's dream. (Plus, nobody can say that they've seen the role portrayed better!) <br />
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<b>Favorite festival memory:</b> During the run of <i>Smokefall</i> by Noah Haidle, an important scene transition had a problem: a staircase that was supposed to retract refused to budge and there was no way to continue with the scene. After an apologetic announcement from the stage manager's booth, the great Orson Bean (who played The Colonel in the play) said "I've got this!" and came onstage from the wings. He entertained everyone with about 10 minutes of his classic vaudeville jokes until the problem had been solved! It was so cool to see a master in his element like that!<br />
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<b>Importance of the festival: </b>Every play on Broadway or the West End or at the local community theatre was shared with an audience for the first time once. I always think of the audience as the final character and the very first performance as the moment that a "script" becomes a "play." PPF has given me opportunities to be a part of that really special metamorphosis. Each play is unique, but at SCR I've found these things to be constant: you work on exciting text with an incredible artistic team in one of the very best theatres in the country. I'll always be proud to have been involved.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Linda Gehringer</b></span><br />
<b>2016 PPF:</b> <i>A Perfect Circle </i>by Noah Haidle<br />
<b>Past PPF:</b> <i>The Mechanics</i> by Chris Van Groningen (reading); <i>The Butterfly Collection</i> by Theresa Rebeck (reading); <i>Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards</i> by Horton Foote (production); <i>Lobster Face</i> by Magdalena Gomez (reading); <i>The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow</i> by Rolin Jones (production); <i>A Naked Girl on the Appian Way </i>by Richard Greenberg (production); <i>The Piano Teacher </i>by Julia Cho (reading); <i>Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight</i> by Lauren Gunderson (reading); <i>The Language Archive </i>by Julia Cho (production); <i>Kin</i> by Bathsheba Doran (reading); <i>The Few </i>by Samuel D. Hunter (reading);<i> The Parisian Woman</i> by Beau Willimon (production); <i>Future Thinking </i>by Eliza Clark (reading)<br />
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<b>The festival community:</b> Working on new plays is always exciting but doing it in an atmosphere where there are artists from all over the country who are doing the same thing and then performing the play for the first time in front of an audience of artists and patrons who feel so deeply about new play development is simply thrilling.<br />
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<b>Favorite festival moment:</b> One of my favorite PPF stories is when I read Julia Cho's <i>The Piano Teacher</i>. So much of the dialogue was mine it was the first time I realized the fate of this play could be in my hands and I was terrified! I was shaking and couldn't even think straight before I walked on stage, but the warm, wise and welcoming audience just rode the wave of Julia’s beautiful play and they all stood and applauded at the end of that reading on a very early Sunday morning. I just started crying because my sense of relief was so profound. It also was the beginning of an addiction to feeling that passionate about new work.<br />
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<b>Best memory:</b> The very first Pacific Playwrights Festival took place in the beginning stages of my relationship with SCR and I was invited to read a play called <i>The Mechanics </i>that Andrew Robinson directed. I remember there were all these tables set up and we were having drinks after some reading or function…..and there were people I knew from around the country and people I was meeting for the first time and, honestly, I felt like I was with the cool kids……and I still do! I keep my fingers crossed every year that Joanne DeNaut, our casting director, will call.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b>Rob Nagle</b></span><br />
<b>2016 PPF:</b> <i>A Perfect Circle</i> by Noah Haidle<br />
<b>Past PPF:</b> <i>Rest</i> by Samuel D. Hunter; <i>Of Good Stock</i> by Melissa Ross; <i>The Whistleblower </i>by Itamar Moses<br />
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<b>Importance of working on a new play:</b> There is nothing like being in the rehearsal room with a writer as the story is being made, or perhaps "found" is a better word. The sense of exploration, discovery, play and collaboration is tremendously exciting—and it doesn't matter if we're crossing out lines or being handed new pages; it always feels like I'm part of something vital and bigger than me. <br />
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<b>Favorite roles:</b> Well, in the last two PPFs, I was fortunate enough to be performing in the shows running on the Segerstrom Stage. In 2014, it was Samuel D. Hunter's <i>Rest</i> and in 2015, it was Melissa Ross' <i>Of Good Stock</i>. So last year, it was a real treat when I got to be part of the reading of Itamar Moses'<i> The Whistleblower</i>. <br />
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<b>Taking part in PPF means:</b> That I'm on the frontlines of some of the most exciting theatre being created in this country. To have this treasure in our Southern California backyard is profound, and I am so very grateful for it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Learn more about the 2016 Pacific Playwrights Festival and purchase tickets.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-73249954616583924602016-04-18T12:50:00.001-07:002016-04-20T13:06:14.438-07:00Pacific Playwrights Festival 2016: New Play Starter Kit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">South Coast Repertory’s annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) is a major national showcase for new plays and it's this weekend—April 22-24. The three-day festival attracts theatre professionals and new play lovers from across the nation, who are drawn by the chance to be the first to see some of the best new plays in the country. Here is our PPF New Play Starter Kit—your guide to getting the most out of your PPF weekend.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Get PPF Updates and Join the Conversation</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u><br /></u></b>
Follow SCR on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthCoastRep" target="_blank">@SouthCoastRep</a> for updates throughout the weekend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with us and other PPF attendees, tweet with us using <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=ppf2016&src=typd" target="_blank">#PPF2016</a>.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Go Behind-The-Scenes of PPF</span></u></b><br />
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Follow us on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/southcoastrep/" target="_blank">@SouthCoastRep</a> for behind-the-scenes photos of the festival.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Follow our PPF story on Snapchat at @SouthCoastRep. Get a look at the PPF weekend through the eyes of SCR Communications Associate Nicholas Pilapil.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">New Play Development at SCR</span></u></b><br />
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SCR has presented 500 plays over its more than five-decade history. And the number continues to climb as we watch plays developed here go on to other productions across the country. But what kind of process does a new play go through to reach that stage? Check out the banners in the lobby that show a new play’s journey.</span><br />
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<b><u>The South Coast Repertory Podcast</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why New Plays Matter</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/255816954&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
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<b>Interview with <i>Office Hour</i> Playwright Julia Cho</b></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/253887593&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">PPF Playwrights Panel: The Wright Stuff</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday, April 24, at 9 a.m., South Coast Repertory presents The Wright Stuff, a colloquy which personalizes the playwriting process, with the writers of the 2016 Pacific Playwrights Festival, including Rachel Bonds, Julia Cho, Eliza Clark, Noah Haidle, Meg Miroshnik, Kemp Powers and Jen Silverman. Admission is free or you can live stream the panel via <a href="http://howlround.com/tv" target="_blank">HowlRound</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Liz Engelman will moderate the conversation. Liz is a freelance dramaturg, faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin and director of Tofte Lake Center at Norm’s Fish Camp, a multidisciplinary artists retreat in northern Minnesota.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Topics may include:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Germinating ideas for the plays featured in the festival</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing routines and regimens</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Approaches to rewriting</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Choosing and working with collaborators</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.94px;"><u>Experience a PPF Play!</u></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.94px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 16.94px;">There's no better way to experience PPF than by seeing a new play.</span></span><br />
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<i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8215" target="_blank">A Perfect Circle</a></i><br />
by Noah Haidle<br />
directed by Evan Cabnet<br />
dramaturg, Kimberly Colburn<br />
Friday, April 22, at 1 p.m., on the Segerstrom Stage<br />
Jackie is trying desperately to deliver on a long-deferred promise of building a garden for his wife. She’s dying, their son is coming home after a lengthy absence, the weeds in the backyard won’t stop growing, and that haunted train whistle keeps getting closer. Heartbreak with a twist of Haidle.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8223" target="_blank">Little Black Shadows</a></i><br />
by Kemp Powers<br />
directed by May Adrales<br />
dramaturg, Andy Knight<br />
Friday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m., on the Segerstrom Stage<br />
Toy and Colis are children; so are the masters they silently serve on a Georgia cotton plantation. Only at night do the young slaves come alive, to tell stories and dream by the light of fireflies. But their world is about to change forever. Do they dare to come out of the shadows?<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8231" target="_blank">Curve of Departure</a></i><br />
by Rachel Bonds<br />
directed by Mike Donahue<br />
dramaturg, John Glore<br />
Saturday, April 23, at 10:30 a.m., on the Segerstrom Stage<br />
On a balmy New Mexico night in a too-small motel room, a “ragtag little group of humans” gathers in anticipation of the funeral that has brought them together. But the dearly departed is the least of their concerns as they all grapple with the curves life has thrown them.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8238" target="_blank">Lady Tattoo</a></i><br />
by Meg Miroshnik<br />
directed by Marti Lyons<br />
dramatug, Joy Meads<br />
Sunday, April 24, at 10:30 a.m., on the Segerstrom Stage<br />
At the beginning of the 20th century, tattooed lady Picky is commissioned by Lady Elizabeth Arterton to do some custom inking. It quickly becomes more than a transaction as desperation, regret and art collide in a world where a woman’s options are corseted.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8240" target="_blank">Wink</a></i><br />
by Jen Silverman<br />
directed by Bart DeLorenzo<br />
dramaturg, Jerry Patch<br />
Friday, April 22, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 23, at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, April 24, at 2:30 p.m., in the Nicholas Studio<br />
Sofie is distraught over the disappearance of her beloved cat Wink. Her husband Gregor knows what happened, but he’s not talking—except to Dr. Frans, the oddball shrink he shares with Sofie. But some things won’t stay buried, and when Wink turns up unexpectedly with plans for revenge, things get really wild. Repression is a bitch.<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Buy Tickets</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-46185878762404455152016-04-15T16:53:00.000-07:002016-04-15T16:53:18.438-07:00"Amadeus:" A Refresher on the Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center;">
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It’s 1781, and Antonio Salieri holds the illustrious position of chamber composer in the Viennese court of Emperor Joseph II. Salieri is the model of success: his operas are loved in both Vienna and across Europe, his musical taste is exquisite and his skill at court politics is undeniable.<br />
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But the pious Salieri knows that success doesn’t come for free; he believes that God bestows His gifts on only the most righteous, the most deserving. That is until Salieri meets Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wunderkind composer and <i>enfant terrible</i>. Mozart is gaudy, bawdy, petulant—and a remarkable talent.<br />
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It’s not long before Salieri recognizes his own music is, at best, adequate next Mozart’s—amusing trifles in the shadows of great works of art—and he’s consumed by jealousy. How could a just God give so much to someone so…small? How could the Almighty turn his back on Salieri, his greatest attendant?<br />
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As Salieri’s envy grows, he wages a war against God—with Mozart is the battleground.<br />
<i>Amadeus</i> by Peter Shaffer runs May 6-June 5, 2016, on the Segerstrom Stage.<br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=7467" target="_blank">Learn more/Buy tickets</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-49468889827966770652016-04-13T12:00:00.002-07:002016-04-13T15:24:53.171-07:00Sally at the HelmSCR Trustee Sally Anderson has been named Executive Chair of SCR’s 2016 Gala, “Stagestruck,” (scheduled for Saturday, September 10 at The Westin South Coast Plaza). And she’s off to a sensational start, assuming the mantle with aplomb and adding Underwriting Chair to her title.<br />
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At their kick-off luncheon meeting on March 31, Gala Committee members agreed that Sally is ideally suited to the double-whammy title and all that it entails. A retired business executive, she was managing partner of Ernst & Young’s Orange County practice, and she’ll draw on that successful career in the business world to lead the Gala’s fundraising efforts.<br />
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According to Sally, being an SCR Trustee was the perfect segue to leading the Gala. “I enjoy working with all the people associated with SCR because they’re so much fun!”<br />
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Having trouble viewing the slideshow? <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/108144704499011668032/StagestruckMeeting1#slideshow/6273095087583846146" target="_blank">Try watching it here.</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-21048737296826671252016-04-11T12:08:00.002-07:002016-04-12T12:03:55.636-07:00Casting Director Joanne DeNaut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joanne DeNaut with actor Daniel Blinkoff at the Pacific Playwrights Festival.<i><br /></i></td></tr>
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On Casting Director Joanne DeNaut’s desk sits a crystal obelisk—the Casting Society of America’s Artios Award for Excellence in Casting—one of many honors she has received through the years. Outside her office door hangs an equally meaningful piece: a framed photograph from South Coast Repertory’s 1978 production of Henrik Ibsen’s <i>A Doll’s House,</i> a reminder of the moment that she was introduced to theatre in Costa Mesa. <br />
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Brooklyn-born DeNaut was an urban planning major at the University of California, Irvine, when she took a class on Women in Literature and went to see the Ibsen production at a small theatre company—SCR—on Newport Boulevard. David Emmes directed and the production values “totally surprised me. I thought ‘This is a good as New York!’” She became an SCR convert.<br />
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But life got in the way: she continued her studies at UCI, worked at a waterfront restaurant, had a 7-year-old and had no time to attend theatre. But SCR stayed on her mind. With a social ecology degree in hand and a job lined up, she realized that maybe she didn’t want to work in the city government. She wanted to do something more creative.<br />
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A newspaper ad for an SCR job caught her eye and she jumped at the chance to be an executive assistant to Founding Artistic Directors David Emmes and Martin Benson. Like many others at theatre, she grew her skills by wearing many different hats, what she describes as being “like getting my theatre master’s degree.” She worked closely with Lee Shallat, then a stage director, Conservatory director and casting director, who became somewhat of a mentor.<br />
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“She told me that casting is not something you learn, but rather a more innate ability to assess talent,” DeNaut says. "That was my entrance into the start of my career in casting." Being a casting director didn’t just “happen” for her. “It took me many years to develop my skills in the art of collaboration when working with artists and I’m still learning.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vu7aMzhLlu4IXn_ogos3EAcvUMUBoI-GN-UIVVxE-OqrZf3OM5d9PgAopGxKBAPMTkFWkOw8nAf9OclABPvsHzjZtNnCcqYlDrI6Mk_EEQyyLn_rz6T-cPCc_MrKrQtPhjSi1eeKf10m/s1600/2ombapress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vu7aMzhLlu4IXn_ogos3EAcvUMUBoI-GN-UIVVxE-OqrZf3OM5d9PgAopGxKBAPMTkFWkOw8nAf9OclABPvsHzjZtNnCcqYlDrI6Mk_EEQyyLn_rz6T-cPCc_MrKrQtPhjSi1eeKf10m/s1600/2ombapress.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Jenny O'Hara, Arye Gross and Marin Hinkle in Richard Greenberg's <i>Our Mother's Brief Affair in 2008.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp2-leYv4sTS6CZ31J9e0FfNtRqL09L-fNebi1rT7KxiogLDWHUomnbJEZY8qLnbnM6ZLYPjCe6t4DRxm1MirtbSwQgVZQf1DHMIVuu6aaIDtCVMmqG3ST8zw-1kVv-eZfTPJZXl17v2Z/s1600/redpro3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp2-leYv4sTS6CZ31J9e0FfNtRqL09L-fNebi1rT7KxiogLDWHUomnbJEZY8qLnbnM6ZLYPjCe6t4DRxm1MirtbSwQgVZQf1DHMIVuu6aaIDtCVMmqG3ST8zw-1kVv-eZfTPJZXl17v2Z/s1600/redpro3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Harelik and Paul David Story in the 2016 production of <i>Red</i> by John Logan.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-E2rHv08lAcCgmkZyIL_RslqMZEU7QBDsmQn1G1_qWZOwge8fovGpiixJSo_QJxKLpTyQI3_bmnaAmT9RVYKqA9JpYqbZxFUNft4ZiXBojitqxqh_fTNTM8Asg0H_EB4hCJesu24-sisz/s1600/sight5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-E2rHv08lAcCgmkZyIL_RslqMZEU7QBDsmQn1G1_qWZOwge8fovGpiixJSo_QJxKLpTyQI3_bmnaAmT9RVYKqA9JpYqbZxFUNft4ZiXBojitqxqh_fTNTM8Asg0H_EB4hCJesu24-sisz/s1600/sight5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gregory Sims and Nancy Bell in the 2012 revival of <i>Sight Unseen</i> by Donald Margulies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDRrBv8RxcZsGqI1_vTrhwDbRLjAOycwUPk8Q9zI1ojad8VCYhLkGOLV4kTgrrCplIz51Uz9y-It1-fOchr8RzKG3sHIVEvPCeDlNpq0lxWRiaLTT-m_PO72kbtQGnFU5g3o-M0fjHb5X/s1600/cyrano5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDRrBv8RxcZsGqI1_vTrhwDbRLjAOycwUPk8Q9zI1ojad8VCYhLkGOLV4kTgrrCplIz51Uz9y-It1-fOchr8RzKG3sHIVEvPCeDlNpq0lxWRiaLTT-m_PO72kbtQGnFU5g3o-M0fjHb5X/s1600/cyrano5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cast of <i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i> in 2004.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2FVLOoLfxcWcsGNztLiHtyQqA5zrROzHEtLbEUmLYOZnrj9bVgzvCSdzwWKPTEXCtKaKqldzPd4IefPS82QP8mJJkWGkTmvxPaW3ehJWGXgfuvApNV3j-ZJie4_johOsmtMC9rY6sdFE/s1600/joanne%252BMark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2FVLOoLfxcWcsGNztLiHtyQqA5zrROzHEtLbEUmLYOZnrj9bVgzvCSdzwWKPTEXCtKaKqldzPd4IefPS82QP8mJJkWGkTmvxPaW3ehJWGXgfuvApNV3j-ZJie4_johOsmtMC9rY6sdFE/s1600/joanne%252BMark.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DeNaut and Mark Rucker.</td></tr>
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<b>What does a casting director do?</b><br />
There’s a misconception that a casting director chooses the actors for a play, TV or film. That doesn’t happen; I don’t choose who’s on that stage; in my role, I choose the pool of actors from which the director, playwright and artistic director will cast actors through auditions. It’s a collaboration, but ultimately the final choice is in the director’s hands. <br />
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I read the play to get a sense of the roles and then have the director tell me how he/she sees the characters. If it’s a new play, the playwright is involved in that process as well. Once I receive his/her notes, I make lists and send them off. <br />
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We do many readings each season at SCR, which is a different casting process because we do not have auditions and often there is not a director. After discussion with either the writer or director, I will I send ideas. The writer and director often are not familiar with the pool of actors in the Los Angeles area, so they rely heavily on the information I provide to them. Casting for readings is important since the playwright relies on these actors to tell their story.<br />
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<b>What happens in an audition?</b><br />
We use the description of the characters, called the ‘breakdown’, to choose the actors who come in to audition. Actors will have the script and the scenes ahead of time for what they will be reading. The director and casting team will be in the room and, if it’s a new play, the playwright will be there as well. We provide a reader for the audition, someone who will read all the other parts. Readers are important because they provide assistance to the actors in their scene, while being careful not to steal focus. Depending upon the number of roles left to cast, we will have a 4-6 hour session and then have a day of callbacks after narrowing the choices. <br />
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<b>What are the challenges and delights in your job?</b><br />
Currently, I’m focused on the <a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Pacific Playwrights Festival</a> and this always is an interesting time. This year, there are 25 roles and several of those are particularly challenging. Watching these plays come alive in the readings with those actors is really one of the most thrilling parts of being a casting director.<br />
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<b>What are some personal moments that stand out for you?</b><br />
Working on all the new plays has been the most rewarding, particularly getting to work with major American playwrights such as Richard Greenberg, Howard Korder, Amy Freed and Donald Margulies. There are countless others as well and many have now gone on to be successful writers in film and television.<br />
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This season, working on John Logan’s <i>Red</i>, Mark Harelik already was signed for the role of Mark Rothko. Mark is amazing and a favorite of mine. I had seen Paul David Story in productions at several other theatres and really admired his work. We brought him here to audition several times and he always was a contender, but not cast. It was so rewarding to have him earn the role of Ken and be so wonderful in it. The relationship between Rothko and Ken was factor in the success of that show.<br />
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The late Mark Rucker was a favorite director for me to work with—well, he was everybody’s favorite: backstage crew, designers, actors...everyone. He smart, a true visionary, a great collaborator and the kindest soul. His production of <i>Cyrano de Bergerac </i>was one of the highlights for me. It was a huge undertaking, with a giant cast, and he rose to the challenge by making everyone want to contribute to its success. It was wonderful. <br />
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<i>Experience the result of DeNaut’s work in both staged readings and full productions during the 2016 Pacific Playwrights Festival. <a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Learn more.</a></i>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165962918237232505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142661768942528695.post-77762518499061415552016-04-11T12:01:00.001-07:002016-04-12T13:50:47.200-07:00Literary Low Down: Pacific Playwrights Festival<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6CVI9Cz8-j-DQeIuEanXBdUC0uBQPKrYGh8bQ6Dyg9NStSPbRg2tEIwBzjzlUXJI_RY0Oa6Ei7EIQvcdPPdDjpqg_75NAWCwL3ljwHuJ5tUhsj1GVg1erayPq_rzpvEXvR4Fgohah5o/s1600/Topper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6CVI9Cz8-j-DQeIuEanXBdUC0uBQPKrYGh8bQ6Dyg9NStSPbRg2tEIwBzjzlUXJI_RY0Oa6Ei7EIQvcdPPdDjpqg_75NAWCwL3ljwHuJ5tUhsj1GVg1erayPq_rzpvEXvR4Fgohah5o/s640/Topper2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playwrights (L to R) Jen Silverman, Kemp Powers, Meg Miroshnik, Noah Haidle and Rachel Bonds</td></tr>
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South Coast Repertory's <a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF)</a> has been a launching pad for many plays and playwrights, including David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize winning <i>Rabbit Hole</i>, Jordan Harrison's <i>Marjorie Prime</i>, Lynn Nottage's <i>Intimate Apparel</i>, and last year's <i>Vietgone</i> by Qui Nguyen.<br />
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This year's festival will bring the total number of plays presented in PPF to 123, including many that have become mainstays of contemporary American theatre. This year's group of playwrights range from SCR newcomers Jen Silverman and Kemp Powers to returning playwrights Meg Miroshnik (<i>The Droll</i>), Noah Haidle (<i>Smokefall</i>) and Rachel Bonds (<i>Five Mile Lake</i>). The five playwrights in this case, took sometime to share parts of their literary lives and a glimpse into their writing spaces.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Jen Silverman<br /><i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8240" target="_blank">Wink</a></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64hmcpREQL4emp4xfmCE3VWWgGIl2sIe7v2E7gMl9AoeuAQrbugalgz7uFXlB6l-MjJNHD_elj2NMXNfH1Z87bFClqswQiWuhCTiJD3BF1g0dny4hDX5E8bNWWayK_CZhTRBwJrjtAlk/s1600/Jen+Silverman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64hmcpREQL4emp4xfmCE3VWWgGIl2sIe7v2E7gMl9AoeuAQrbugalgz7uFXlB6l-MjJNHD_elj2NMXNfH1Z87bFClqswQiWuhCTiJD3BF1g0dny4hDX5E8bNWWayK_CZhTRBwJrjtAlk/s400/Jen+Silverman.jpg" width="272" /></a><b>Why is this your writing space?</b><br />
I like walls and corners. And alligators.<br />
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<b>What’s the story you read in secret?</b><br />
My parents love books, and our house was always full of them. Nothing felt that secret. I remember finding and reading Nabokov’s <i>Lolita</i> when I was 10 or 11. I told this to someone once and they were so freaked out that my parents hadn’t stopped me. But the thing my parents always got is that kids ignore the stuff they don’t have the tools to understand….which was clear to me when I reread the book years later. I was like, “Oh, this is about pedophilia? I thought this was about a road-trip!”<br />
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<b>When did you know you wanted to be a playwright?</b><br />
I stumbled into playwriting as a freshman at Brown University. Emily O’Dell was getting her MFA at the time and was responsible for teaching/corrupting the freshman. She was behind so much amazing madness, including a bizarre night of plays from which the only image I retain is a glorious bohemian creature whispering “syphilis” into a cordless mic. Needless to say, hooked for life.<br />
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<b>What play changed your life?</b><br />
Sarah Kane’s <i>Blasted</i>, Caryl Churchill’s <i>Faraway</i>, Basil Kreimendahl’s <i>Orange Julius</i>. At different moments and in different ways, but indelibly.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Kemp Powers<br /><i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8223" target="_blank">Little Black Shadows</a></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvk9NEHZDkn7Ay1v2Xt3NNIjdZzYNc2gB80rVjsniFshnsa7fYtFeKIfZepb-ulrEveZKybwKllQWZRc5q36sl1JSFhS7UZiP2yw50xz0nFo0zHZQdeX1v1Lb_yjYK3mm1-6kRYHLxF8/s1600/Kemp+Powers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvk9NEHZDkn7Ay1v2Xt3NNIjdZzYNc2gB80rVjsniFshnsa7fYtFeKIfZepb-ulrEveZKybwKllQWZRc5q36sl1JSFhS7UZiP2yw50xz0nFo0zHZQdeX1v1Lb_yjYK3mm1-6kRYHLxF8/s400/Kemp+Powers.JPG" width="400" /></a><b>Why is this your writing space?</b><br />
I primarily write at my dining room table. Largely because the dining room is easily flooded with natural light, which is my preferred lighting method. I'm much more of a daytime than nighttime writer.<br />
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<b>What’s the story you read in secret?</b><br />
Judy Blume's <i>Blubber</i>.<br />
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<b>When did you know you wanted to be a playwright?</b><br />
There wasn't a single "aha" moment. I've always been a storyteller, in one form or another. I guess after spending more than 15 years as a journalist and realizing the stories I now longed to tell were not meant for that medium, I knew it was time to make a change. I'd always been a tremendous theater enthusiast, but I viewed it as the art form that "other people got to do." I started off doing storytelling, and that morphed into a one-man show, which helped me realize I had <i>zero</i> desire to be a performer. Then I started writing for short play and 24 hour play festivals until eventually, someone asked if I had any play ideas of my own that I wanted to write.<br />
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<b>What plays changed your life?</b><br />
<i>A Soldier's Play</i>. <i>Cabaret</i>. <i>The Tempest</i>. My first trip overseas in my early 20s was a spur-of-the-moment flight to London to catch a production of <i>The Tempest</i> at the Barbican. I still have the framed poster from that production. It's a gigantic photo of Prospero.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Meg Miroshnik<br /><i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8238" target="_blank">Lady Tattoo</a></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOojeR-uKdstxSCBP-sQShxYeYlaKcVlod8Adbm50kkgwUWlH8bTg0zt93GIrdd3iKGfQ2LdedQm5rR0hK_GH-M45Sj0ihpBeHz5YnzPHoOzp0jGBu4PBmqT-ygygSr1f1AxPkae4nfHM/s1600/MEG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOojeR-uKdstxSCBP-sQShxYeYlaKcVlod8Adbm50kkgwUWlH8bTg0zt93GIrdd3iKGfQ2LdedQm5rR0hK_GH-M45Sj0ihpBeHz5YnzPHoOzp0jGBu4PBmqT-ygygSr1f1AxPkae4nfHM/s400/MEG.JPG" width="400" /></a><b>Why is this your writing space?</b><br />
I finally got unpacked from a recent move!<br />
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<b>What’s the story you read in secret?</b><br />
Besides sneaking in a little V.C. Andrews here and there, I think the most important secretive storytelling experience I've ever had was surreptitiously renting a VHS copy of <i>Thelma and Louise</i>. It's a great fricking movie, but I think having snuck in my first viewing has caused me to remember it even more fondly.<br />
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<b>When did you know you wanted to be a playwright?</b><br />
I did a lot of acting as a kid in Minneapolis and, when I was 17, I booked my dream job: the role of Meg in a production of <i>Little Women</i>. It felt like destiny! After all, I'd been named after the character. There was just one moment that I found difficult. I had to laugh at the actor playing Amy and I always found myself getting nervous before that moment, anxious that I might not be able to do it. I was so worried about staying present enough to laugh that I couldn't possibly relax and laugh. It got so bad that matinee school groups would start laughing at me trying to laugh at Amy. After that experience, I knew. I was not an actor. But I was still in love with theater and still wanted a way in. I could write and imagine a moment of pure, uninhibited laughing, but I would need to let others actually live it.<br />
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<b>What play changed your life?</b><br />
<i>Mud</i> by Maria Irene Fornes. I've never actually seen a production of it, but I remember pulling a copy off the library shelf and having that moment where the top of my head kind of lifted off. That play just opened up my sense of what makes a play a play. And it was the first play I remember reading in which a character told a story within a story. I am a sucker for the story within a story. I'm already three-quarters of the way toward liking something if a character says "once upon a time." <br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Noah Haidle<br /><i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8215" target="_blank">A Perfect Circle</a></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC0boK_FqpJpw0Y2mu7b1F661WPtnf0Sis3HUrBIu7DuFhPayTqrXS3XZc1wHLOq5ie03oG-T6pYNewXEMvD_fqoWHNjUq_be_T8aXOQRBCiZh-g6OwOSPOlGUZAb-MYHIEi-Fp15_X8/s1600/Noah+Haidle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirC0boK_FqpJpw0Y2mu7b1F661WPtnf0Sis3HUrBIu7DuFhPayTqrXS3XZc1wHLOq5ie03oG-T6pYNewXEMvD_fqoWHNjUq_be_T8aXOQRBCiZh-g6OwOSPOlGUZAb-MYHIEi-Fp15_X8/s400/Noah+Haidle.JPG" width="400" /></a><b>Why is this your writing space?</b><br />
It’s close to the refrigerator.<br />
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<b>What’s the story you read in secret?</b><br />
If I said it wouldn’t be a secret. If nothing else I hope I’m a man of some discretion.<br />
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<b>What play changed your life and coincidentally was the moment that made you want to be a playwright?</b><br />
My brother was in some murder mystery in the high school cafeteria. I can ask my Mom as to its exact title, but safe to say something along the lines of <i>Gadzooks the Cook is Dead</i>. Here’s a truly dime store psychological profile of my life: my brother is 4 years older than me, was a really really smart kid (PhD Organic Chemistry, Harvard). This was in a small Midwestern public school—he was special—I had every teacher he had, and they all looked at me askance, “So you’re Andrew Haidle’s little brother, huh?” He played soccer, I played soccer, he played tennis, I played tennis, he was captain of the quizbowl team (group jeopardy for nerds), I was captain of the quizbowl team. But when I auditioned for <i>Gadzooks the Cook is Dead</i>, or its equivalent, I failed so epically I’ve never tried acting again but became a playwright instead. <br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Rachel Bonds<br /><i><a href="http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8231" target="_blank">Curve of Departure</a></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nuj8l4L8-TcfOUrBib_oulowWwlAfi7PEdsxNqR7kYvhN0lktXYc2NB5VsTMwMvDU2hE4Ff447LJu6ctBTvlb1CllOVLwpnXOWYUa2acHiAYqt0dy8uISawVRHHnQ7s4JJWlR9KlnS4/s1600/Rachel+Bonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 10px;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nuj8l4L8-TcfOUrBib_oulowWwlAfi7PEdsxNqR7kYvhN0lktXYc2NB5VsTMwMvDU2hE4Ff447LJu6ctBTvlb1CllOVLwpnXOWYUa2acHiAYqt0dy8uISawVRHHnQ7s4JJWlR9KlnS4/s400/Rachel+Bonds.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>Why is this your writing space?</b><br />
I used to write in our apartment in Greenpoint, but that got to be too distracting. Last year I started renting a desk at Brooklyn Writers’ Space in Cobble Hill, which was life-changing. There was something about having to do the 20-minute commute every day, and the absolute quiet there, and just the empty desk with a single lamp that helped my productivity and focus enormously. Plus no one is allowed to talk to you. It’s wonderful.<br />
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<b>What’s the story you read in secret?</b><br />
I would always hide <i>Sweet Valley High</i> books in the pile that my mom would check out for me from the library, which was typically full of actual literature written by esteemed writers. She did not approve of <i>Sweet Valley High</i>. Which, now that I think about it, and look at Google images of the book covers featuring tiny, tan, blue-eyed blond girls, makes a lot of sense. <br />
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<b>When did you know you wanted to be a playwright?</b><br />
I don’t know that there was one moment when I realized the whole thought. I think I learned bit by bit, in almost imperceptible ways, over the two years after I graduated college. I was trying to be an actor, but also writing both prose and plays. At some point I noticed that the people whose successes I would feel jealous of were always writers. There was also one night, very early on in our relationship, when my husband, said to me “I think that acting is ultimately going to make you shrink, and writing is going to make you expand.” He was right. I knew he was right. After that, I slowly let my acting pursuits fall away. I didn’t miss them. And I shifted all of my focus to writing, which felt hard and terrifying, and also discouraging at times, but also right.<br />
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<b>What play changed your life?</b><br />
When I was in college, I saw this play by Forced Entertainment, I think at PS 122, that consisted of Tim Etchells sitting at a table and reading stories and showing videos people had sent to him. It was called <i>Instructions for Forgetting</i>. I still think about it all the time. I would add Nature Theatre of Oklahoma’s <i>No Dice</i> to this list. And more recently, <i>An Octoroon</i>. <br />
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<a href="http://www.scr.org/plays/pacific-playwrights-festival/2016-pacific-playwrights-festival" target="_blank">Learn more and buy tickets to the Pacific Playwrights Festival</a>South Coast Repertoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372279230963636884noreply@blogger.com0