"Jitney" Closes the Season to Raves

Thunderous applause greeted the last moments of August Wilson’s Jitney on May 18, as a cast of nine extraordinary actors took their bows. After the show, everyone met on Ela’s Terrace for the final Cast Party of the Season—and one of the most exciting.

The First Nighters had glowing words for the play, the director and all the artists as they partied in a colorfully hip ’70s setting, complete with a photo booth and some wild accessories for extra fun.  The praise was led by Honorary Producer Laurie Smits Staude, who has been an enthusiastic—and very involved—underwriter, from the Jitney design presentation on the first day of rehearsal all the way through opening night, when she had glowing compliments for everyone.

Her words were echoed by Joan Kaloustian, Senior Vice President of Honorary Associate Producer Union Bank, who added, “"Jitney has hit another home run for SCR, and Union Bank is proud to have been a part of it."

The raves continued over the weekend of performances capped by standing ovations and reviews that reflected the First Nighters’ enthusiasm, led by the Los Angeles Times (“A  poignant, rich slice of Wilson gets an excellent staging”) and the Orange County Register (“Simultaneously funny, touching and revealing, clearly the work of a master”)



Having trouble viewing the slideshow? Try watching it here.

Clothing Makes the Character

Sydney Lester, Kelsey Kato and Allie Mgrublian show-off their collages.

SCR’s Teen Players, who present David Lindsay-Abaire’s Snow Angel this month, have proven their acting chops: they had to spend two years in SCR’s conservatory and go through an audition before being admitted in to this program. However, these talented teens learn a lot more than their lines in these productions. Working with costume and scenic designer Sara Ryung Clement, who has contributed to several TYA productions including Ben and the Magic Paintbrush and Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business, the students created costume collages to help them bring their characters to life.

Nikki Daurio, Christopher Huntley and Nick Slimmer discuss their characters.

Clement’s prompts for the project included those that would elicit a visual response (What is your character’s favorite color?), but also those that made them think more deeply about their characters’ personalities and motives (What does your character fear? Are you precise or sloppy?). Clement then helped the teens distill their ideas into functional costumes.

Some costumes came to life almost exactly the way the students envisioned. For instance, girlie girl Tina-Louise (played by Sydney Lester) wears pink almost exclusively, right down to her floral-print sweater, just like Sydney envisioned. Benny, played by Kelsey Kato, wears a pair of shoes nearly identical to the pair Kelsey put on his collage.

On the other hand, sometimes the costumes varied greatly from their original concept, as was the case with Sophia Falmagne, who plays an awkward outsider named Helen. Sophia originally thought that her costume would be a no-frills affair with the occasional half-hearted attempt at fashion. “But the whole thing is an attempt at fashion that fails miserably,” she says of her orange tights-and-strapless sweater dress combo. “But it makes me feel awkward just wearing it, so it helps me feel more in character.”

IN COSTUME:  Left, Sophia Falmagne, Bahaar Tadjbakhsh and Jasmine O'Hea; right, Max Weinberg,
Clarke Schwartz and Kelsey Kato.

The students all agreed that putting on their costumes helped their characters come to life. Allison Baayoun and Allie Mgrublian, who play twins Betty and Fran, said that wearing matching outfits made it easier to coordinate their movements, while Kelsey Kato (Benny) said that dressing in the show’s winter layers helps him remember that the play is set in Vermont, and that all the students need to act as though they are cold. “It’s a constant reminder. It really helps anchor me.”

IN COSTUME: Left, Christopher Huntley, Grace O'Brien and Shireen Kulkarni; middle, Allison Baayoun and
Allie Mgrublian; and left, Nikki Daurio, Sydney Lester and Nick Slimmer.

And it isn’t just clothing they had to think about. “I was worried about what to do with my hair,” says Jasmine O’Hea, who plays Eva, the play’s mysterious heroine. “I needed something that looked old-fashioned but that was easy to do myself!” In addition to doing their own hairstyles, the students are responsible for getting in and out of their costumes themselves.  “I don’t think I considered the quick changes enough!” says Christopher Huntley, who as nerdy kid Arlo has to get in and out of his cold-weather layers half a dozen times in the show.

Come see these budding talents on display in Snow Angel which closes Sunday, May 27.

Characters Influence Dance in ‘Anton’s Uncles’

In the next installment of SCR’s Studio SCR, Los Angeles-based Theatre Movement Bazaar will present a reimagining of Chekhov’s classic Uncle Vanya. In this retelling, only the male characters remain, the original text is distilled and new elements are added. But even those unfamiliar with the original text will be able to keep up, thanks in large part to the introduction of movement and dance.

Theatre Movement Bazaar began in the 1990s as a collaboration between choreographer and dancer Tina Kronis and writer/mechanical engineer Richard Alger, with the goal of creating new works merging dance, text, cinema and theatre, with an emphasis on physical movement. “We aim to raise the level of physicality in our theatre to that of dance performances,” says Kronis.

Kronis grew up studying classical ballet all over the world, and later expanded her repertoire to include modern, African dance, folk dance and mime. “I found my voice in mime, ironically enough,” says Kronis, who performed with renowned Swiss mime company Mummenschanz. “Mime became the link for me between dance and theatre. With Theatre Movement Bazaar, we are able to mix those worlds even more. Now I approach theatre with the eye of a dancer.”

And though Kronis, who draws inspiration from Charlie Chaplin, modern dancer Pina Bausch, and Russian director Vsevolod Meyerhold, is responsible for the company’s choreography, the show’s movement is rarely solidified before rehearsals begin. The framework of each character’s movement style is informed by the character itself, but the actor lends his own mark to the role based on his physical talents and limitations. Even non-dancers have been cast in the show, which Kronis says lends an interesting aspect to the final product. “You get a different type of movement dialogue from non-dancers,” she says.

Once rehearsals begin, actors spend about two weeks exploring the movements of their character before incorporating much spoken dialogue, rather than participating in the seated readings that dominate most rehearsals. The actors learn to improvise, and approach their roles through physical means first. “Our world, our language, is created on stage,” says Kronis. “In the end, it’s all about the performance. It all comes together in whatever form it takes to create the performance.”

Though Uncle Vanya deals with some rather heavy subject matter, the movement and dance in Anton’s Uncles provide a touch of comic relief. “Sometimes it will look like dance,” says Kronis. “Other times, the movement will look rather pedestrian. But it’s a surprisingly funny performance.”

Anton’s Uncles will be presented in the Nicholas Studio June 8-10. Learn more or buy tickets on our website.

Matthew Arkin Joins SCR’s Teaching Faculty

Matthew Arkin

We just can’t get enough of Matthew Arkin. And after seeing him in The Prince of Atlantis, all the way from its first reading to its world premiere last month, Arkin has kindly agreed to stick around, this time teaching SCR’s adult conservatory students. His advanced scene study and characterization class will help advanced students create deeper, more meaningful onstage relationships in three dramatic genres: contemporary drama, contemporary comedy and classical.

Arkin, a well known and successful actor who has appeared in feature films including Liar, Liar and Margot at the Wedding, plus scores of television shows and regional theatre productions, stumbled upon his love of teaching while working as an attorney. Arkin was a lawyer and taught classes in public speaking to fellow attorneys in need of continuing education hours. “It’s basically an acting class, we just didn’t call it that.” He found he enjoyed helping students discover their “aha moments,” and was soon accepting invitations to guest lecture at theatre programs.  When he was offered a regular teaching gig at New York’s famed HB Studio while waiting for a friend in the lobby, he gladly accepted.

Matthew Arkin and John Kapelos in The Prince of Atlantis.
Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Arkin developed his first classes around relaxation techniques, traditional scene study and exercises from Uta Hagen’s “A Challenge for the Actor”—all skills he considers essential for a meaningful career in theatre, television and movies. Arkin says that many acting classes focus on audition skills, which can land an actor the job, but leave them unable to adapt to other actors onstage in a living, breathing scene. “So many classes focus on getting the job, but once you have the job, you have to know how to do the job.”

And of course, doing the job well is essential to getting the next job. “I can help you get hired, but more importantly, I can help you get hired again. And that’s when you start building a career.”

Arkin relocated to Los Angeles two years ago, and now teaches acting classes in West Hollywood with Melissa Kite of The Actor’s Studio. He also maintains a blog on the craft of acting. For more information, visit www.matthewarkin.com.

To learn more about his and other upcoming acting classes at SCR, visit our website!

Announcing the 2012/13 Season

South Coast Repertory’s 49th season will offer audiences an exciting blend of current hits and world premieres. The season begins with Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious farce, Absurd Person Singular, and will include new plays by some of the hottest writers on the theatre scene, including the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s Smokefall and a second world premiere to be announced; Sarah Ruhl’s comic tale of loss, Eurydice; the Southland debuts of Bill Cain’s touching How to Write a New Book for the Bible, Amanda Dehnert’s trailblazing musical take on Shakespeare, The Verona Project, and David Henry Hwang’s hit comedy Chinglish; and the West Coast premieres of Samuel D. Hunter’s poignantly funny The Whale and Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Broadway hit The Motherf**ker with the Hat.

The 2012-13 season was chosen by SCR’s Artistic Director Marc Masterson. “I am excited by the range and vitality of these plays in my inaugural season at SCR,” Masterson said.  “From sparkling new work to plays with recent Broadway pedigrees, the writers and artists assembled for this season draw on long relationships with our audience.”

Visit our website and find more information about each play or learn how you can join our exciting new season with a subscription!