Support ROMEO & JULIET at the Omni Commons

Support ROMEO & JULIET at the Omni Commons 

 

I can tell you that this will be an amazing show. Please help them meet their goal. Every little bit helps.

THE TEAM:

Director: Maryssa Wanlass*

Stage Manager: Michael Truman Cavanaugh*
Instigator / Rabble Rouser: Caitlyn Louchard
Fight Director: Carla Pantoja
Dramaturg / Oracle: Nick Medina
Marketing Wizard: Melissa Nigro

Juliet: Beth Wilmurt
Romeo: Caitlyn Louchard
Friar Lawrence: Lizzie Calogero*
Nurse: Michael Patrick Gafney*
Mercutio: Kelli Crump*
Tybalt: Melissa Ortiz*
Lady Capulet: Carla Pantoja*
Lord Capulet: Mary Baird*
Peter: Phil Wong
Paris: Rotimi Agbabiaka*
Friar John / Abraham: Alexis Wilson
Benvolio: Maria Marquis
Prince: Jesse Caldwell*

*Member, Actor's Equity Association

WHY ROMEO & JULIET?

Romeo & Juliet is a tale of love's triumph over violence and fear; Shakespeare distills this down to its archetypal essence. Kind of a big deal, right? 

OK COOL BUT WAIT WHO ARE YOU?

We are a motley band of professional actors eager to make really killer theatre. For free. For you. 

What We're Raising and Why 

• $10,000 to pay all 16 artists on the team. Not a luxurious sum, but a very modest compensation for their time. Because we all have rent to pay and mouths to feed. And because artists work so flipping hard.
• This is a free offering to the public! We are asking for gifts from those who can give, so that everyone can come to the theatre, regardless of income. 
• Anything raised over the goal will be split with the Oakland Omni Commons.
• And hey! March 27th and 28th are benefit performances for the Omni: any donations received at that performance will be give to the Omni so they can keep the lights on and the doors open for all of Oakland.

No Cash? That's OK!

• Spread the word! Share Share Share.
• COME SEE THE PLAY! Bring a friend, bring ten friends! Bring your grandmother and her dog. Bring your neighbor and that guy you met at the laundromat. Come. Celebrate. Enjoy.

Slicing it Up

I will be for the first time in a few years, acting in Pear Slices at The Pear Avenue Theatre. Pear Slices is a series of one act plays written by members of the theatre's playwright's guild. It's a lot of fun for both actors and audience alike. So happy to be slicing it up once again.

The show runs from March 15th through April 5th, 2015

Get tickets here. Don't miss it!

Stephanie Crowley and Warren C. Daily in Pear Slices 2015

photo by Ray Renati

Post by The Pear Avenue Theatre.

Harold Pinter's BETRAYAL at the Pear Avenue Theatre

This had been perhaps the most challenging play I have directed in the past 12 years.

I am so proud of the actors in this production. 

They create magic each and every night.

THE QUALITY OF LIFE at The Pear Avenue Theatre

I hope you can come to see this wonderful play by Jane Anderson playing through February 23rd at The Pear Avenue Theatre.

www.thepear.org for tickets.

Auditioning, The Eyes Have It

I love directing and I love watching actors audition. I want to experience them as fully as possible with the material they've been given. I always provide sides to auditioners days in advance of the scheduled day. I want them to have a familiarity with the material; a period of time in which the material can sink in. For theatre auditions, rarely does anyone expect you to have the material completely memorized (as opposed to film).
For all you actors out there reading this please hear me on this. This one piece of advice I am about to give you can often have the largest impact on the casting director. GET YOUR HEAD OFF THE PAGE, AND SHARE YOUR FACE AND EYES WITH THE CASTING DIRECTOR. Please excuse all the capital letters, but I cannot emphasize this enough. No one wants to watch an actor read. We want to see you! We want to see your reactions, the subtle things, the magic that happens when the ideas and words express themselves in your face and body.
Now, in order to do this takes some practice. Here's how to do it.
1. Hold the script in one hand and keep it stationary throughout the entire scene or monologue so that you don't lose your place on the page.
2. Practice looking down with your eyes only to grab a phrase and stay in character while doing it. Try not to leave the reality of the scene.
3. Do not start talking until you have transitioned from getting the phrase off the page, to engaging with the reader or your scene partner.
Just by employing this one skill, you will be making a huge improvement in your auditioning results. At first you may be able to get only a few words at a time from the page, but as you get better at it, this will increase.
It's going to feel strange at first because you will feel slow and may stumble and have pauses in the wrong place. Don't worry, this will improve. And, it's better to be slow and perhaps a little awkward, than to have your head buried in the page.
If you agree, disagree, or have any other ideas please feel free to share them here.
Now get out there and show everyone you brilliance!

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Donuts Are Forever

Ray Renati (Arthur) & Brandon Jackson (Franco)

So, as actors we rarely learn to savor the moments of success. Once a play, or a musical, or film is done, we tend to forget about it immediately on our quest for the next gig. At least that's my tendency. In an effort to change that habit, I decided to pay homage to my last theatre experience and to savor it for a while.

Let me first of all pay huge kudos to our director, Ann Kuchins, who had to endure the passing of her beloved sister at the same time she was directing this play. It was truly an heroic effort.

Also I would like to give huge thanks to my co-lead, Brandon Jackson who played the role of Franco. I have tremendous respect for his talent and dedication to excellence.

My dear friend Pat Tyler, who provided me with perfect costumes and a remarkably realistic fake ponytail, and moreover tons of moral support as I struggled to keep it all together.

Our wonderful cast, our fantastic set, everything just came together to create what is by many accounts a huge success. Our tiny 40 seat theatre could not accommodate the hundreds of people who heard about our show and wanted to see it. I really wish they all could have. I was also in charge of ticket sales for a while along with another Pear person, and I found it difficult to keep telling people that we just couldn't fit them in.

On the other hand, isn't that really a dream come true? Yes it is!

Playing Arthur P. was an experience I will never forget and will cherish for the rest of my life. I had lived with him in my heart for so many months that I feel sad to let him go. Shaving off my beard, cutting my long hair, and putting my script away for good all served as reminders that this wonderful experience has come to an end, but it will remain forever in my heart.

Thanks, to all. I love you.

 

 

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Durang Outdoes Himself

Billy Magnussen & Kristine Nielson

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Yes, the title is quite a mouthful, and when telling people about the play, if you do see it, you'll just say "that Vanya thing" or something along those lines. But so what? This is by far Durang's best play yet in his long career. And in the hands of this superb cast, it shines far beyond my expectations. Usually, I go into a Durang play expecting over the top sarcasm and I usually leave exhausted or dissatisfied. And, it's not always because of the writing. Often it's because his plays are extremely difficult to stage in a way that keeps the audience believing they are watching the struggles of real people and not just strange cartoons of humanity. Often the actors and the director don't understand what is necessary to make his work shine. The key is that no matter how over the top the character goes or the situation dictates, the audience must never fully reflect on the fact that what they are seeing is so ridiculous it could never happen in a million years. You have to make them believe, at least for an hour or two. The way you do this as an actor is to commit one hundred percent to the shred of truth in whatever the situation happens to be and never, ever let go of it.

Now, in this new production the actors were helped tremendously by Durang in that all the characters had depth and something very real and believable at stake. This wasn't always the case in some of his prior plays.

And this cast with Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen and Genevieve Angelson play this show to perfection. Mixing various Chekov themes, Durang and his troop create a tongue in cheek, yet still reverent homage to the great master.

Watch Video

Official Site

 

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The One Man MacBeth

Last night I dragged my jet lagged body over to The Ethyl Barrymore Theatre to see the the otherworldly Alan Cumming perform the entirety of Shakespeare's MacBeth virtually by himself. Yes, he played nearly every character himself. Set in a hospital mental institution with two other actors serving as medical staff and occasional voices of the witches, they monitored Cumming character as he did the entire play in his hospital room. You got the feeling that Cumming the mental patient performs the play as ritual quite often and the staff was studying him for the sake of science. It was a fascinating way to justify the awkwardness of performing the entire play alone.

 

Cumming is phenomenal. He inhabits each character with just enough differentiation to prevent it from becoming farcical. In fact his only character that approaches silliness is Duncan, whom he portrays as sort of a "Queenly" King. It was welcome humor given the weightiness of the rest of his performance.

 

The thing that impressed me the most is that Cumming's MacBeth is not the hardened warrior, but rather a powerful man who allowed himself to be influenced by his wife and others into doing something he normally would never have done: murder for power. At the end he comes to this realization in one of the most heart wrenching moments I have ever seen on stage. I found myself completely empathizing with the man MacBeth and his unfortunate fate in a way I didn't know was possible with this character. The "sound and fury" speech was one of the best Shakespeare moments I have ever seen. This MacBeth became a boy lost, a boy realizing that he was utterly alone in the world, and that his past choices brought him to this hopeless spot. It was so sad and so utterly enthralling.

http://www.macbethonbroadway.com/

ABOUT THE SHOW

Tony Award winner (Cabaret) and two-time Emmy nominee (“The Good Wife”) Alan Cumming has returned to Broadway in a “bravura performance” (Entertainment Weekly) of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful tragedy, Macbeth.

Directed by Tony winner John Tiffany (Once) and Andrew Goldberg, this “stirring turn by Alan Cumming packing theatrical thunder and lightning” (Daily News) is set in a clinical room deep within a dark psychiatric unit. Cumming is the lone patient, reliving the infamous story and inhabiting each role himself. Closed circuit television camera watch the patient's every move as the walls of the psychiatric ward come to life in a visually stunning multi-media theatrical experience.

You cannot miss Alan Cumming in this breathtaking 100-minute “radical re-imagining” (Variety) of Shakespeare’s notorious tale of desire, ambition and the supernatural.

"MESMERIZING THEATER. IT HITS THE DAMNED SPOT."
- Entertainment Weekly

"A TRIUMPH! ALAN CUMMING IS DAZZLING."
- Newsday

"THRILLING & WICKED SMART."
- New York Magazine

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Two Shows, Two Slices of Life

I am now finishing up with one of the most demanding times of my life. Being somewhat out of my mind, I decided to both direct a play and rehearse and perform in a musical, at the same time. I always knew I could do it, the problem I was having was the concern that I wouldn't be able to direct the play, The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, with the commitment that this show requires. I was concerned mostly about letting down the actors, who were all excited about the project. It turns out that my worries were unnecessary in that the show has been a huge success. What I learned from the whole experience is that those of us who obsess with getting things "right" sometimes spin our wheels doing unnecessary work just so that we feel like we're doing something useful. The bottom line is that I simply didn't have time to do anything other than what was absolutely necessary to make sure that the story was being told well and with heart. The set is simple, the costumes are simple, the props are basic. Fortunately, I had the help of a top notch lighting designer, Ed Hunter, who made our stage look beautiful. I did spend a lot time on the sound. But mostly, I concentrated on the acting, collaborating with the immensely talented company of actors that I was fortunate enough to find. It's been quite a ride and a great learning experience.

The Game Show Show at The Retro Dome

Michael Champlin & Carla Pauli in The Real Thing

 

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Mrs. Warren's Profession Directors Note

I just finished directing the great Shaw play at The Pear Avenue Theatre. I just thought I'd share the note I wrote for the program.

From the Show Program...

There is a figure that inhabits the Egyptian wing of The Louvre in Paris called, The Seated Scribe. It was sculpted by an unknown artist sometime between 3800 and 1710 B.C. It simply depicts an Egyptian scribe sitting crossed – legged, holding a partially rolled papyrus scroll in his left hand. His right hand must have held a brush, now missing. If you were spending a day racing around The Louvre, you could easily just pass it by. However, if this scribe happened to catch your eye as you were hurrying off to see the Mona Lisa, you might just be stopped in your tracks. What appeared, from a distance to be rather ordinary, may suddenly move you to the very core of your being. For this little scribe has eyes that seem to look through you. His eyes penetrate your walls of pretense. All at once you see that he sees you, really sees you, and you become captivated, unable to look away. You might even stay there for an hour or so just staring in wonder. And so it is with Mrs. Warren's Profession. The more you hear the words spoken through the voices of talented actors, the longer they work their way into your mind, you realize that you have had the good fortune of being forever changed by something universally human and infinitely wise.

The show runs through July 15th.

www.thepear.org

 

A Birthday Wish to The Bard

Sometime within the last week in 1564, the world's greatest playwright was born in the small village of Stratford Upon Avon.

Happy Birthday Mr. Shakespeare!

 

Hoody Tribute to Trayvon

Hoody Tribute to Trayvon, a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
We must lay down our guns in this country. We must lay down our hate. We must put love first. Time is running out.

The 4th Annual International Talk Like William Shatner Day Video

Kathleen Turner Makes 'High' Sore

Saw "High" with Kathleen Turner on Thursday. As always her performance was passionate and riveting. The play's message is not all that hopeful and is riddled with Catholic doctrine. It also includes a sudden manic nude scene that seemed sort of odd. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the show, even though I left feeling a mini existential crisis. It deals with a hopeless addiction of a horribly abused young man. It ends with without a message of hope. This is fine, but many

theatre goers will shy away.— at The Curran Theater.

The last time I saw Turner on stage was a few years ago with Bill Irwin in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe". I became an instant fan of her. She seems to fully give over her true self when she performs. She has so much passionate and commitment to each and very moment, that you simply cannot take your eyes offer her. And she inhabits this odd, but alluring deep, gravelly baritone voice that simultaneously sounds gruff and voluptuous.

High is playing at at The Curran in San Francisco through March 25th. If you want to still see the show, you have to hop on over to Minneapolis wear it runs for a few days beginning April 18th. The official web site of the tour is here: http://www.highontour.com/content/pantages-theatre .

Video trailers: http://www.highontour.com/content/pantages-

 

 

 

 

 

Bus Barn's "Doubt", Excellent.

I just wanted to say something about Bus Barn Stage Company's recent production of "Doubt", by By John Patrick Shanley, that closed last weekend. I found it to be an exquisitely acted and directed piece of theatre. I saw the play a few years ago with Cherry Jones in the leading role, and this production was every bit as good as the Broadway tour. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of this beautiful play.

 

Cast

Geoff Fiorito (Father Flynn)

Michelle Ianiro (Mrs. Muller)

Melinda Marks (Sister James)

Diane Tasca (Sister Aloysius)

 

Virginia Drake (Director)

 

 

"Three Sisters" at 42nd Street Moon

(L-R) Bill Fahrner (George), Kate Paul (Tiny),
Danny Cozart (Gypsy Hood),
Riley Krull (Mary Barbour)  Song:
"Now That I Have Springtime".
(Photo by DavidAllenStudio.com)

There are only 3 days left to see this charming and beautiful show! For musical theatre lovers, this is a must see. If you don't see 42nd Street Moon's current production of this lost gem, you may never get a chance to see it again.

Everything about this show will keep a smile on your face from the opening curtain to your ride home. The melodies are perfect, the acting is excellent, the choreography lively and fun, and the staging, set and lights are a feast for the eyes.  This production and should be selling out. If it's not, that's only because people think it's a musical version of the Chekov play with the same name. It's not! No Chekov here, just Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein at their very best.

GO HERE to buy tickets!

November 30 - December 18, 2011
The Eureka Theatre

Music by Jerome Kern
Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, II
Directed by Greg MacKellan
Run Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
A B O U T
KERN AND HAMMERSTEIN'S LOST LONDON MUSICAL SET AGAINST THE WORLD OF DERBYS, CARNIVALS AND WWI BATTLEFIELDS!
Enchanting  and poignant, Three Sisters spins the tale of a traveling carnival photographer and his spirited daugthers.  A roving busker woos the youngest daughter, but the wandering performer's life lures him back on the road.  This National Endowment for the Arts sponsored restoration of Kern and Hammerstein's score include:  I Won't Dance, Lonely Feet, Hand in Hand, Rolling on, Rolling Road, and My Beautiful Circus Girl.

"Follies", Fantastic!

It's been five days in the Big Apple and although I got nickeled and dimed to death by the experts of Manahattan, I had a wonderful time. I saw four Broadway shows: "Follies", "Sons of the Prophet", "Venus in Fur", and "The Mountaintop".  I will only talk about "Follies" in this post. I'll write something about each of the others over the next few days.

"Follies", is in a word, sublime. If you are heading to New York anytime soon, and if you have an eclectic appreciation for musical theatre then you owe it to yourself to see this show. However, if you rarely go to the theatre, then go see another musical. I recommend "Jersey Boys".  Anyway, back to "Follies".  I just can't say enough about how magnificent this show is in every way.  The very predictable highlight of the show for me was the performance by the goddess of musical theatre, Miss Bernadette Peters as Sally Durante Plummer. I have loved this small bundle of artIstic genius since watching her appear on Sesame Street when I was a kid. The thing I love about her most is that you just never feel that she's acting. She seems to actually completely live each and every moment on stage as her own personal reality.  She sends chills down my spine and gives me goose bumps. Since I'm blogging and not writing a review, here's a little story that's kind of fun. I was having lunch with a friend at 5 Napkins. We were discussing "Follies" and how wonderful it was. As we were speaking Jan Maxwell herself, who is fabulous in the show as Phyllis, was walking down the street toward our outdoor table. Like an idiot I pointed directly at her and said in too loud a voice, "there she is!". Poor Jan's face instantly became a mask of terror, and I felt instantly ridiculous. Quickly, I saved myself by giving her a thumbs up and whispering to her, "great show", attempting also to don the most gentle, non-stalker expression I could muster. It must have worked because she relaxed and realized that I wasn't going to cause her an episode of celebrity hell.  She smiled thankfully and said "yes it is". It was a very funny moment. Anyway, just go see this show, and if you see it and can tell me how the hell they were able to create the otherworldly lighting effects, let me know, because it was magical and I have no idea how they did it.

You can get all the info on "Follies" here: http://folliesbroadway.com/

It closes on January 21st, so buy your plane tickets now. 

Anna Deavere Smith at Berkeley Rep

Last night I stood in front of the two theatres on Addison Street in Berkeley, marveling at how on one stage the legendary Rita Moreno was getting ready to perform her new show that she developed with Tony Taccone, called Life Without Makeup, and on the neighboring stage the Obie Award winning powerhouse Anna Deavere Smith was preparing to performing her new work, Let Me Down Easy.  It always amazes me that Berkeley Repertory Theatre with its unassuming facade, in its unassuming location is able to take the theatre world by the gonads and present work that changes the culture- and that is exactly what Let Me Down Easy will do. It will change the world. I was  so emotionally drained after the show that I've barely had energy to do a thing all day, today. Rarely, have I laughed so hard, and cried so hard, within the short span of a play, without feeling resentful or manipulated. Within a non-stop 100 minute flash, Smith reveals the personalities of people she interviewed to develop this masterpiece. She becomes these people. She uses their exact words to tell their stories of death, cancer, and the health care system. You get Lance Armstrong, Texas Governor Ann Richards, Eave Ensler and a host of others. Much of the reenactment is done with Smith's tongue planted firmly in her cheek, especially Lance Armstrong. But, later in the show when she begins to depict other people, like her own aunt, there is an empathy and a truth that I have rarely witnessed on the stage. It touched me to the core. It must have touched most of the audience too, because all I could hear during the pauses were hundreds of poorly conceived sniffles.

There are only two performances left of this show. If you ever get a chance to see the remarkable Anna perform live, you must.

LET ME DOWN EASY
WHO: Conceived, written, and performed by Anna Deavere Smith
Directed by Leonard Foglia
Designed by Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes), Dan
Ozminkowski (lights), Ryan Rumery (sound), Zachary Borovay (projections),
and Joshua Redman (original music)
WHAT: Let Me Down Easy, the latest hit show from the legendary Anna Deavere Smith
WHERE: Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison Street @ Shattuck, Berkeley, CA 94704
WHEN: FOUR WEEKS ADDED! August 10 – September 4, 2011
 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays @ 8:00 PM
 Wednesdays @ 7:00 PM
 Saturdays @ 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
 Sundays @ 2:00 PM
HOW MUCH: $49 - $95 (subject to change)
PHOTOS: http://www.berkeleyrep.org/press/photos-11de.asp
TIX & INFO: (510) 647-2949 – berkeleyrep.org – (888) 4-BRT-Tix (toll-free)

"A Raisin in the Sun" at The Pear

Jennifer Perkins-Stephens & Michael Wayne Rice

Right now at The Pear Avenue Theatre you have a rare chance to see a top notch production of Lorraine Hansbeery's, "A Raisin in the Sun."
This is  a funny, moving, and thought provoking production. Apparently, there are very few tickets left, so go to the web site and order them right away.

Here is a link to a review of the show by Ben Marks of KQED.

DIRECTED BY
ALDO BILLINGSLEA and
SARA CAPULE

Cast
Mrs. Johnson – René Marquerite Banks
George Murchison – Alec F. Brown
Joseph Asagai – Bezachin Jifar
Mr. Karl Lindner – Keith C. Marshall
Lena Younger/Mama – Kendra Owens
Ruth Younger – Jennifer Perkins-Stephens
Walter Lee Younger – Michael Wayne Rice
Travis Younger – William David Southall
Bobo – Dimitri Woods
Beneatha Younger – Yhá Mourhia D. Wright

"A Raisin in the Sun" at The Pear Avenue Theatre, shows through July 10, 2011.
Get Tickets Here.

Cole Porter's "Silk Stockings" - Don't Miss It!

I happen to be in the cast of  this fantastic Cole Porter musical with 42nd Street Moon in San Francisco's Eureka Theatre. Silk Stockings is a rarely performed show and our audiences are loving it.  The show runs through May 22nd. There are lots of laughs, excellent music, and some pretty darned good dancing! Watch the short video below for all the background information about this production. Get your tickets soon, it's selling out.

 

May 4 - 22, 2011
The Eureka Theatre

Silk Stockings
Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath & Abe Burrows
Directed by Greg MacKellan
Runtime: approximately 2.5 Hours