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My Big Gay Italian Wedding!
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2 01 2012
The Porters of Hellsgate present…
Troilus & Cressida
by William Shakespeare
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Charles Pasternak
Produced by The Porters of Hellsgate
Produced by The Porters of Hellsgate
The most recent edition of Arden Shakespeare, beautifully introduced and edited by David Bevington, states that Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida is “hard to fit into the usual Shakespearean categories – comedy, history, tragedy, romance – ‘because it has so many elements of all four’ … an experimental play, characterized throughout by an intermingling of mode, tone, genre and style.” The Porters of Hellsgate have chosen this rarely produced and beautifully diverse “problem” play as the opener of their sixth season (their 13th Shakespearean outing, to date), running a full six weeks in the winter of 2012, directed by Artistic Director Charles Pasternak.
Troilus and Cressida is the story of the romance between a young, Trojan prince and a high-born girl at the height of the Trojan War. It is also the story of that war; The Greeks, in a quest to regain what they believe is rightfully theirs (the beautiful Helen, “a pearl, whose price hath launched above a thousand ships”) have been encamped on the beach of Troy for seven years with no exit strategy, and no plan to form one. Amongst their camp discontent and disunity rages, while Hector, eldest prince of Troy and commander of its armies, continues to defeat them in the field and hold them to the beach. Tragedy and romance set amidst the seemingly endless warscape, The Porters focus on the cyclical nature of possession and lust, centering on an exploration of value, the endeavor for honor and eternal canonization, and the furious discussion that rages within even the warring nations of today—what is worth fighting for? What is worth dying for? In the war for answers, the question remains: “What’s aught but as ‘tis valued?”
Hailed as “a promising, young theatre company” by The Los Angeles Times, The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company was founded in 2006 by Edward Castuera, Jack Leahy and Charles Pasternak. Their inaugural production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar opened at the end of that year. Since then the Porters have produced eleven more of Shakespeare’s plays: Twelfth Night (’07), King Richard III (’07), Titus Andronicus (’07), Two Gentlemen of Verona (’07/’08), Much Ado About Nothing (’08), Macbeth (’08), Love’s Labour’s Lost (’08), King Richard II (’09), Hamlet (’10), The Comedy of Errors (‘10), and The Merchant of Venice (’11), as well as Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (’10, in rep. With Hamlet), an original work, Deity Clutch(originally produced in ’10, then remounted for the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival), penned by Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger, and last season, the world premiere of a new translation of Oedipus the Tyrant (’11), translated by resident artist Jamey Hecht, Ph.D.
In 2010, Artistic Director Charles Pasternak was awarded “Shakespeare Performance of the Year” byStageSceneLA for his performance in the title role of Hamlet in The Porters’ production of The Bard’s timeless tragedy (which also received a “GO!” from the LA Weekly). Also awarded, Founding Managing Director Edward Castuera, in the role of Horatio, earning “Best Performance by a Featured Actor/Drama,” and Associate Artistic Director Thomas Bigley, earning “Outstanding Direction of a Drama.” In 2011, Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger and resident artist Liza de Weerd were both honored with “Best Leading Actor in a Comedy/Drama” awards by StageSceneLA for their work as Shylock and Portia in The Porters’ production of The Merchant of Venice. Also, The Porters had the honor of being Steven Leigh Morris’ full-page feature in the LA Weekly twice in 2010, where their Oedipus was raved as “remarkable,” and The Porters were said to have “commanding articulation of the poetical prose.”
It is the Porters’ continuing intent to bring powerful productions of classical work to the Los Angeles community.
Praise for The Porters’ previous production,
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice:
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice:
“The Merchant of Venice gives Artistic Director Charles Pasternak and his crackerjack team of young Shakespeareans another finely cut notch on their belt.”
-Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA, “WOW!” Winner of two StageSceneLA Awards
-Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA, “WOW!” Winner of two StageSceneLA Awards
“This company has created a very inventive and truly entertaining interpretation of this problematic play; the stereotypes never brought us down – they actually made us laugh. And that is quite a feat.”
-Tony Frankel, Stage & Cinema
-Tony Frankel, Stage & Cinema
“The Porters, who have never shied from a challenge, take the Bard’s text head on without flinching. Thomas Bigley has helmed a brave production, and possibly The Porters’ best to date.”
-Susan Burns, Melpomene
-Susan Burns, Melpomene
“The acting is uniformly good, from leads…down to the minor players, a tribute to the meticulous direction of Thomas Bigley. In fact, the entire production’s attention to detail is noteworthy.”
-Joel Elkins, LA Theatre Review
-Joel Elkins, LA Theatre Review
Praise for The Porters’ 2011 Season:
“Absorbing” “GO!”
- LA Weekly / Oedipus“Momentous”
- LA Theatre Review / Oedipus
- LA Weekly / Oedipus“Momentous”
- LA Theatre Review / Oedipus
“Vibrant”
- The Tolucan Times / Oedipus
“Inventive”
- Stage & Cinema / Oedipus
“Inspired”
- Melpomene / Oedipus“Striking”
- LA Stage Watch / Oedipus “Flawless”
-Laist/Deity Clutch
“Intense”
- ACTS/Deity Clutch
“Wonderful… Sadistic”
-Melpomene/ Deity Clutch
“Eloquent”
- LA Theatre Review / Deity Clutch“Truly Entertaining”
- Stage & Cinema / Merchant
- LA Theatre Review / Deity Clutch“Truly Entertaining”
- Stage & Cinema / Merchant
“Mesmerizing”
-Melpomene/ Merchant
“Imaginative”
-Stage SceneLA / Merchant
“Outstanding”
- Advice to the Players / Merchant
- Advice to the Players / Merchant
Troilus & Cressida opens Friday, January 13th, 2012, at 8pm. The production will run Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm, through Sunday, February 19th, 2012, closing the six-week run. Presented at:
The Whitmore Theatre
11006 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
11006 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Tickets are $20, $15 for students/seniors 60+/AEA.
Reservations are available online via Brown Paper Tickets.
(Designated URL at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/216520).
Reservations can also be made via our e-mail or voice mail.
Information line/voice mail: 818-325-2055
E-mail questions/comments/reservation requests to: PortersOfHellsgate@gmail.com
This press release is available online at www.PortersOfHellsgate.com
PRESS CONTACT: ALEX PARKER, PortersOfHellsgate@gmail.com
Press Night: Press is welcome at any performance (plus one available by request), but the preferred press night is Saturday, January 14th, at 8pm.
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The Storytelling Ability of a Boy
26 09 2011
For more information, please visit www.storytellingabilityla.com
or follow the show on Facebook.
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THE RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR
18 03 2011
British playwright Joe Orton led an incredibly intriguing, tumultuous, and stunningly creative life that ended when he was far too young. His adventures were vast: through the course of his life he wrote dozens of plays, spent time in prison, and was even writing a movie for The Beatles at the time of his brutal murder. The Ruffian on the Stair, also known as The Boy Hairdresser, was the first of Orton’s socially and politically charged literary endeavors.
In this one-act, we find ourselves in the midst of an offbeat, volatile relationship between Mike, a devout Irish- Catholic thug for hire, and Joyce, a former prostitute, who live in the shabby lower-class nether world of early 60’s London criminality. Their relationship is a simple one: uncomplicated and unromanticized. Wilson, a young “gentleman’ hairdresser” and happenstance houseguest, turns the simplicity on its head when he introduces jealousy, suspicion, terror, and revenge into the mix. The play examines the overwhelming power of love in all the forms Orton recognized: erotic, for hire, incestuous, homosexual, exhausted, familial, desperate love that reaches beyond death itself.
This three person, 50 minute, fully charged show is the directorial debut for Geoffrey Wade. The production features Adam Meyer, Jason Thomas and Rebekah Tripp. Rebekah is also wearing the producer hat for the first time on this show. This brilliant ensemble has come together, guerilla theatre style, in a labor of love to bring this little known Orton play to a contemporary audience.
“Madam Life’s a piece in bloom, Death goes dogging everywhere: She’s the tenant of the room, He’s the ruffian on the stair” -Henley
The Ruffian on the Stair by Joe Orton is playing at The Whitmore Lindley Theatre for 2 weekends:
March 25th, 26th @ 8p
March 27th @ 2pm
April 1st, 2nd @ 8pm
April 3rd @ 2pm
The show features: Adam Meyer, Jason Thomas and Rebekah Tripp
Directed by Geoffrey Wade
Tickets are a suggested donation of $15. (Cash at the door)
To reserve your tickets call: 310.622.5375
OR RESERVE ONLINE AT: http://theruffianonthestair.eventbrite.com/
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The Visceral Company Presents the West Coast Premiere of THE REVENANTS Acclaimed “zombie play with brains” has been described as “Chekhov meets George Romero”
21 01 2011
The Visceral Company is excited to present the West Coast premiere of THE REVENANTS. This acclaimed play by Chicago-based playwright Scott T. Barsotti has been described as “a zombie play with brains” and “Chekhov meets George Romero.”
THE REVENANTS will play on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm from February 11 through March 19, 2011 at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center, 11006 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, CA.
Visceral Company co-founder and artistic director Dan Spurgeon directs this production of THE REVENANTS. Previous productions in New York, Chicago and Pittsburgh garnered positive reviews; a film version of the play is currently in development.
With the backdrop of a rapidly escalating zombie apocalypse, THE REVENANTS is at its core a character-driven drama about two married couples who doubt the stability of their relationships and ask the age-old question: “What might have been?”
THE REVENANTS features Carl Bradley Anderson* as Gary; Anne Westcott as Karen; Lara Fisher as Molly (Gary’s wife); and Rafael Zubizarreta, Jr. as Joe (Karen’s husband).
A chilling audio program immediately before curtain, written by John Santo and Dan Spurgeon and edited by Ross Patel, catapults the audience into the horrific world of THE REVENANTS. Sets by Christine Bartsch and lighting by Dave Sousa evoke the dark, cluttered basement where the two couples seek refuge as the world collapses around them.
Justin and Melissa Meyer of Where’s My Head F/X, the special effects team behind the successful LA Haunted Hayride attraction, created the horror make-up and special effects that graphically depict Molly and Joe’s transformation into flesh-eating zombies as THE REVENANTS progresses to its shocking and violent climax.
Tickets for THE REVENANTS are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at www.thevisceralcompany.com. Please note that this play contains scenes of graphic horror violence and is recommended for mature audiences.
The Visceral Company is a new LA-based theatre company dedicated to works that explore the dark, strange and macabre. We hope to encourage further onstage exploration of the horror, thriller and science fiction genres, which have been underrepresented in theatre, and to build an appreciation of theatre in the younger audiences that are traditionally drawn to them.
* Member, Actors’ Equity Association; this production is presented under the AEA Los Angeles 99-Seat Theatre Plan.
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Azure Lorica presents Journey Seekers: A Steampunk Adventure!
8 04 2010
Azure Lorica, a brand new Non-Profit Theater Company, is proud to present the World Premiere of the first original steampunk play – Journey Seekers: A Steampunk Adventure! by Eugene Docena and Stefanie Warner.
This fairytale-folklore stars Davis Wyn as ‘Eli’, Josh Polizzi as ‘Laden’, debuting stage actresses Kate Del Rosario as ‘Rosette’ and Anieszka Sea as ‘Doll’, and Michael Heiman as the ‘Conductor’. Featuring music by Delicate Edge.
A mysterious, wicked adventure in the realm of steampunk, Journey Seekers: A Steampunk Adventure! dives in the haunting tale of the Black Basilisk, a folklore speed train from hell. Three strangers brave the journey, facing fiendish Gremlins, the ominous furnace, and its infamous ghostly Conductor; waging their lives for only one stop at the coast. Journey Seekers: A Steampunk Adventure! is a witty suspense-filled fairytale for the new generation of the steampunk movement!
Attendees are welcome to wear costumes to all showings. Redeem $3.00 per costumed attendee on Sunday showings – student and senior prices annulled after Cosplay qualification on Sundays.
PERFORMANCES THROUGH APRIL 18: Fri.- Sat. at 8:00pm, Sun. at 7:00pm
PRICES: General Admission $18.00
Students (valid ID) $15.00
Seniors (65+) $15.00
Cosplayers (Sun.) $15.00
VENUE: Whitmore-Lindley Theater Center
For tickets call THEATERMANIA.COM at (866) 811-4111
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