Studio SCR (formerly the Studio Series) will feature an array of adventurous artists, including:
Steve Connell and Sekou Andrews
Four Clowns
Poor Dog Group
Monkey Wrench Collective
Theatre Movement Bazaar
Robert Cucuzza and Transit Authority
The line-up will also include SCRamble, a late-night cabaret featuring short pieces by eight or nine local acts.
“We’re looking forward to partnering with such a talented group of artists,” said SCR Artistic Director Marc Masterson. “These sorts of collaborations provide exciting opportunities. They give us the chance to forge new artistic relationships, and give audiences a chance to enjoy the incredible diversity of Southern California’s performing arts scene—all under one roof.”
Leading the project is Oanh Nguyen, SCR’s producing associate and the artistic director of the Chance Theater, whose production of Jesus Hates Me in the Nicholas Studio two years ago kicked off the pilot program that has evolved into Studio SCR.
“It's an exciting mix of genre-smashing work from local artists,” Nguyen said. “We have everything from hip-hop theatre to physical theatre, from irreverent clowns to ensemble-driven modern adaptations of classic works.”
Ticket prices vary by production, and range from $15 to $35. You can buy tickets and read more about the artists at www.scr.org/studioseries. Meanwhile, here’s a closer look at the line-up:
Directed and developed by Robert Egan
8 p.m. Jan. 19-21
Nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards and named L.A. Weekly and Backstage West Critic’s Picks, The Word Begins follows the hilarious and provocative journey of two men discovering the power of words to define love, faith, race and humanity in America. Mashing up theater, spoken word, comedy and hip-hop, Steve Connell and Sekou Andrews deliver a high-energy performance in this fresh new satire that examines the current cultural landscape.
The Word Begins is presented in association with the Off Center Festival of Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
8 p.m. Feb. 17, 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 18, 2 p.m. Feb. 19
Four Clowns is a physical, musical and emotional journey into what it means to be human. The four clowns—Sad, Mischievous, Angry and Nervous—reminisce about their pasts in a show fueled by audience interaction. As the old adage goes, “laughter is the best medicine,” so come witness how the most tragic moments in one's life can give rise to the biggest laughs. As the clowns tell their tales of woe and elation from childhood to adulthood, we discover that they are all the same...and so are we.
10 p.m. Feb. 18
Grab a drink and settle in for a bold new blend of alternative theatre, comedy, dance, music and interdisciplinary collaborations as some of SoCal’s most interesting artists serve up unforgettable theatrical delights in 10-minute increments.
8 p.m. March 2, 2 and 8 p.m. March 3, 2 p.m. March 4
Unaware of the mounting threat of Sputnik, the first Russian satellite to orbit the Earth, America finds its global dominance in question. Vintage newsreels, NASA’s flight records and modern, user-generated information delivery systems all collide to give a glimpse into our cyber-reality. The Internationalists investigates the race to outer space through the lens of a youthful generation brought up in the Technology Age.
8 p.m. May 4, 2 and 8 p.m. May 5, 2 p.m. May 6
A famous artist invites several old friends to her luxurious new home and, for one night only, the group of artists is back together. Celebrations come to an abrupt end when the host suffers a horrific accident and an almost unthinkable plan starts to take shape: Could her suffering be their next art project? This is Monkey Wrench Collective’s revival of its critically-acclaimed 2010 U.S. premiere of Mark Ravenhill’s play.
8 p.m. June 8, 2 and 8 p.m. June 9, 2 p.m. June 10
A fresh, funny, and physical look at Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. In this original work—winner of an Outstanding Theatre Award at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival—only the men remain, wrestling with their desires and pressed to examine a life unlived. Los Angeles-based Theatre Movement Bazaar explodes this classic play, merging the original text with new writing, movement, dancing and singing to emphasize the unspoken, unseen and unexpressed.
8 p.m. June 22, 2 and 8 p.m. June 23, 2 p.m. June 24
In this darkly comic reinvention of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, writer/director Robert Cucuzza distills an essential tale of class and sexual power dynamics and transports it to modern-day Pittsburgh. Cattywampus traces the story of Julie as she tries to escape the clutches of her disinterested husband. She seduces an unsophisticated co-worker, Donnie, determined that he’s her escape out of married misery, gambling it all on his cracked plan to relocate to Florida. But in a world that is so economically out-of-whack, she finds that her dreams of flight are no match for fate.
So excited! What a great group of theatre artists.
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