Love's Labour's Lost in Santa Monica

Dominic Dromgoole the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare company's recreation of London's Globe Theatre carries the rare features of success in things artistic, the pound at the box office and fund-raising. His production of "Love's Labour's Lost," a hit of the Globe's 2007 season, is one of Shakespeare's early romantic comedies set in France and plays at Santa Monica's Broad Stage November 19th -29th.

Considered by some a difficult play to produce with its "complex word games, literary parody and pedantic verbal jousting," Mr. Dromgoole's production is noted for its physical comedy, "full of brio" and "robust." In the following interview the director discusses aspects of the play's background, notes on-the-road and advice to first-time directors of the Bard's work.

Espresso-Refill: What was your first experience of Shakespeare in a professional setting?

Dominic Dromgoole: Lord, can't remember, have dim memories of Brook's "Dream" when I was about six years old, a very intense "Macbeth" in a small studio theatre, and a wonderful trip to Stratford with my mother.

ER: What were the greatest challenges working the recreation of the Globe theater?

DD: Getting as much of the detail right as possible, and most importantly getting the spirit right, a place where people meet and instantly get excited.

ER: Why is LLL of particular interest to our 2009 audience?

DD: Because it is fun, and fresh and human, and reminds us of the healing powers of merriment.

ER: What was LLL’s appeal the Elizabethan and Jacobean audiences? Do the royal court references present a challenge?

DD: It is the filthiest play ever written, rammed with puns, innuendos and sexual allusions so dirty that they make most modern comedy seem tame. It was a popular hit in its day, and that must have been the reason. The court references are fun and cheeky, but not really of much interest to anyone but academics, so it's not worth worrying them too much.

ER: Do you identify with any of oaths in LLL?

DD: No, they seem absurd to me now, as I'm sure they did to the audience then.

ER: How often is the company given notes while on tour?

DD: They just got a whole wodge yesterday. About once a week - each new venue throws up new thoughts.

ER: Do you see generational differences in actors skills or values? Habits?

DD: Younger actors find it easier to embrace the Globe ethos - lights up, direct address, robust playing - than older actors who still live more in the shadow of Victorian Shakespeare and that whole tradition.

ER: What are the most common mistakes actors make when approach acting Shakespeare?

DD: Forgetting the audience. Shakespeare wrote for an audience, and it is important for actors to remember that their moment, or line, or scene, or journey, is not about the effect it has on them, it is about the effect each has on the audience.

ER: One of Shakespeare’s early comedies and set in France, did you find relevant information that relates to Shakespeare’s French landlords the Mountjoys? Was it playable?

DD: Eminently playable, and full of joy. Charles Nicholls' new book, The Lodger, is full of good stuff abut the Mountjoy's. It is remarkable how many strong and vibrant French women there are in Shakespeare's early plays. He was clearly very impressed, and slightly intimidated by someone in that household.

ER: Did you explore the play’s anti-immigrant sentiments?

DD: I think Shakespeare started out with one idea of what Armado was going to be - a satirical portrait of a comical and silly Spaniard/foreigner - but then the moment Armado opened his mouth, something shifted, and he started writing something rich and complex and sophisticated, as he always did.

ER: Two of Shakespeare’s sonnets appear in play. Does the acuity of the sonnet’s verse contrast with the play’s prevalent verse style?

DD: They are funny, and slightly extraneous set-pieces, but actually rather than being acute, they both introduce moments of quite startling tenderness in quite a robust comic world.

ER: Do you see any similarities of the “little Achademe” illustrated in the play in today’s society?

DD: Not really. Madrassas maybe, but to set the play near one of those would skew the comedy rather heavily.

ER: What is your advice to directors on their first outing with Shakespeare?

DD: Read the play twenty times, try not to read about other productions, make the actors feel comfortable and playful, and, above all, treat it as a new play.


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Photo: Mr. Dromgoole, © Sheila Burnett

"Love's Labour's Lost"
at
The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center
1310 - 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403

310. 434. 3412


www.thebroadstage.com

Fun Tricks at Swedenborg

Step on the Wild Side

The “39 Steps,” currently at the La Jolla Playhouse, offers the fine Ridiculous Theatre styling of Hitchcock’s classic film of the same name. The difficult directing and acting style that didn’t work with the current Old Globe production of Charles Ludlam’s “The Mystery of Irma Vep” works splendidly in Maria Aitken’s restaging of her Tony Award winning production.

Each of the four actors in this excellent production is a facile comic ballet dancer in a buffo masquerade that squeezes Hitchcock’s chase movie to the stage with over 100 characters.

Catch it while you can before the show trots off to Seattle.


(l-r): Eric Hissom, Claire Brownell, Scott Parkinson and Ted Deasy


The 39 Steps
Directed by Maria Aitken

Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
Based on the book by John Buchan

Through September 13, 2009

With:
Claire Brownell
Ted Deasy
Eric Hissom
Scott Parkinson

Scenic/Costume Design: Peter McKintosh
Lighting Design: Kevin Adams
Sound Design: Mic Pool

http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org

A Year in the Life and Eliza-Speak

Recently I finished reading "A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599" by James Shapiro. I find myself going back the WS for a sense of what is really important in life, his frequently ambiguous POV on the events in his plays and a sense of consolation.

Frequently disillusioned with the work I see on stage in my community, I find I need to look at a source of a life lived in art and mystery; Mr. Shapiro's book presents juicy cases of cause and effect scenarios that seek to explain WS, but we have few facts about him, rather, we rely on interpretation of circumstantial evidence. Contradictions in character/person, my character and in people are becoming more salient to me at this point in the understanding of my "chapter.” Mr. Shapiro writes in a page-turning style.

Also, I found a link to a conference on Shakes. Below is the link to a pod-cast on speaking Shakespeare that includes a speech sample of "original" Elizabethan speak.

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/audio/more/will/?podcastItem=speakingfinal.mp3


Interview with James Shapiro: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=24301&isbn13=9780060088736&displayType=bookinterview

"Spamalot" director Mike Nichols was born in what country?

Broadway San Diego’s next mega musical hits with “Spamalot” based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

In a preview video on the making of “Spamalot” the perturbed book writer and Python Eric Idle is seen leaving the show’s first day’s rehearsal saying, “I have to rewrite act two.” That task, set out by director Mike Nichols, proved to be the next daunting step to securing “Spamalot’s” success. The show earned Mr. Nichols his 18th Tony Award for direction and Mr. Idle two 2005 Tony nominations, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original score; he won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

Broadway San Diego’s Susan Chicoine distributes the most prolific media releases and “back grounders” I’ve had the pleasure to read. Following are section headings from “Spamalot:”

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life! Song Facts, SPAM FACTS from The National Tour (23 bullets worth!), Quotes from Women ~ Pythons Are A Girl’s Best Friend!, Monty Python and the Holy Grail Quote Quiz, The Movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail Trivia Quiz, Monty Python Trivia Quiz, Top Myths About Monty Python’s Spamalot and Drink Like a Knight and See Killer Rabbits!, a series of drink recipes named in “Spamalotiana.”

Here is a quiz on Director Mike Nichols’s trivia.

1. Spamalot director Mike Nichols made his Broadway directing debut with what Neil Simon comedy?
Answer: “Barefoot in the Park” in 1963 starring Robert Redford & Elizabeth Ashley.
2. What was the first motion picture Spamalot director Mike Nichols directed?
Answer: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in 1966 starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.
3. How many Tony Awards, including the one he won for Best Director of Musical for Spamalot, has Mike Nichols won?
Answer: Mike Nichols has won more Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play than any other individual. His five nods were for Barefoot in the Park (1964), Luv and The Odd Couple (1965), Plaza Suite (1968), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1972) and The Real Thing (1984). He has also won in other categories for directing the musical Monty Python’s Spamalot (2005) and producing Annie (1977) and The Real Thing (1984). That makes a total of eight Tony Awards.
4. What other Broadway musical did Spamalot director Mike Nichols stage?
Answer: “The Apple Tree” starring Alan Alda in 1966.
5. Spamalot director Mike Nichols was born in what country?
Answer: He was born Michael Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany.
6. Spamalot director Mike Nichols won an Academy Award for direction what film classic?
Answer: “The Graduate” in 1967.
7. Spamalot director Mike Nichols won Emmy Awards for what two made-for-TV films that originally aired on HBO?
Answer: “Wit” and “Angels in America.”
8. Name the famous comic actress/writer who Spamalot director Mike Nichols teamed up with for classic comedy sketches. Hint: She also wrote the screenplay for the Mike Nichols films, “The Birdcage” and “Primary Colors.”
Answer: Elaine May.

Photos:

Mike Nichols, photo credit: popularpersons.org

The Company

Merle Dandridge as "Lady Of The Lake"

Christopher Gurr as King Arthur and Company

Production Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

“Spamalot”

San Diego Civic Theatre
3rd and B Street
Downtown San Diego

September 8-13, 2009

Performance Times:
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM
Thursday at 7:30PM
Friday at 8PM
Saturday at 2PM & 8PM
Sunday at 1PM & 6PM

Tickets:
$18--$87

BroadwaySD.com

Herringbone at the La Jolla Playhouse

HERRINGBONE, at times a red herring bone, is a dark musical theatre piece I would have expected to see in the La Jolla Playhouse’s Edge Series, rather, it’s a standard offering. This is a good thing. The BD Wong carried one actor show is the Playhouse’s first genuine noncommercial production in its current programming and is appealing in its challenge. Better if it had been originated in La Jolla; it is a package from New Jersey’s McCarter Theatre that retains its original artistic team.

Gothic in atmosphere with Brechtian informed qualities, sweated out by Mr. Wong under the deft direction of RSC alum Roger Reece, HERRINGBONE showcases the quirky, ironic and at times hauntingly lurid words and music by Ellen Fitzhugh and Skip Kennon respectively incorporated into Tom Cone’s reincarnation of his play by the same name.

The story follows a humble yet hopeful Depression era southern family, sporting its ideal little eight-year-old boy, George, a recent winner of a small town speech contest on American patriotism. Depression era entertainment highlighted child actors. George’s success leads his family to invest in acting lessons that lead to bedevilments and George’s possession by the spirit of a vengeful and lascivious vaudevillian midget hoofer, Lou, who taps the kid and family to profit and, well, you can guess the moral outcome. Eventually, the simple minded horny hotel clerk, Dot, feeds the vaudevillian’s domination of George, which tilts the story to a horrific sexual molestation as Lou satisfies his voracious carnal appetite.

HERRINGBONE trucks with the dark under belly aspects of the give and take of emotional-spiritual nature of acting and America’s ambitious Hollywood fame hungry obsessions at any cost. HERRINGBONE is about numerous topics that a second viewing would prove more satisfying.

Early in the evening, we sense George’s doom. Fame and power hunger drives the evening’s characters and with it the poltergeist’s sexual molestation that arrests George’s development and the result is lasting. The opening of the show presented us with George, head in hands, in a dimly lit drab canvass colored room and closes with the same image only what we assumed was a dressing room changes to the isolated feel of a padded cell.

The story takes on the slow cumulative rhythm of a bolero as the first act plods to populate itself with nine of the ten character’s Mr. Wong, best known for his Tony Award winning performance as M. BUTTERFLY and television roles, skillfully manifests. Act two ratchets up to psychological-spiritual terror and it seems the two and a half hour evening could lose one hour to the same results.

It is Mr. Wong’s diminutive athlete body and voice that must carry the show. This Mr. Wong does and it is an evening of endurance for actor and George alike. The show is a tap dance obstacle course of demanding pinhead character turns and fancy footwork. At times Mr. Wong is working too hard, which may change as HERRINGBONE’S run progresses.

Mr. Reece is a firm practitioner of theatre as communal creative process. Though HERRINGBONE’S titular character is born of deforming family dysfunction, the work is rendered from a vividly functional family of artists. Less serves more in Eugene Lee’s spare scenic design of black high-gloss concentric turntables, pivotal doorway set in dark obscurity framed by classic chaser lights.

Chorographer Darren Lee seamlessly blends a movement vocabulary and vaudeville dance into Mr. Rees’s staging giving Mr. Wong syntax of movement that keeps the ten character’s distinctive. Musical Director Dan Lipton, also at the piano, has trained Mr. Wong through the series of ditties and soliloquies, which at times bare a hint of stressful Kurt Weill-like strains. Mr. Wong’s baritone range proved the richest, yet, he tended to sing flat.

William Ivey Long’s striped pants, white shirt and vest serve as a basic skin for the chameleon demands and his two-toned tap shoes help us keep an eye on Mr. Wong’s telling character touches. Christopher Akerlind’s lighting design and Leon Rothenberg’s sound design deepen HARRINGBONE’S nightmare side-show atmosphere.

This is a tough show for the audience and performer. Mr. Reece and company demand the audience work to keep up with the show, a good risky choice.

The company uses an alienation technique of approach-repel in storytelling; the show progresses with our investment then is abruptly stopped by the narrator’s or BD Wong’s editorial comments on story or the evening’s performance. The derailing reminds us we are sitting in a theatre watching an actor attempting to conjure a story. Returning to the action is a challenge and requires re-attuning oneself to the show’s particulars in order to keep up with the story. We do resume relationship with the show due to Mr. Wong’s performance and our concern for George.

I remained a reluctant participant with the piece till well into act two when the story dynamics converge, making the last 20 mins of the show worth its taxing trip. Mr. Wong’s commitment to the role and tour de force performance in these remaining minutes in a paranoid schizophrenic auto-immune suffocation of George’s last shreds of innocence is hypnotic and horrific. We sit helpless witnesses to Lou’s last power grabs, mixing molestation with his Hollywood star ambitions, that crumble to his downfall and little George’s dive into insanity along with him.

For an edgy evening of theatre, HERRINGBONE is worth the workout.

Photos by Craig Schwartz.

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Herringbone

Starring BD Wong

August 1 - August 30, 2009

Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre

book by TOM CONE
music by SKIP KENNON
lyrics by ELLEN FITZHUGH
directed by ROGER REES
based on the play by TOM CONE

La Jolla Playhouse Box Office
(858) 550-1010

www.lajollaplayhouse.org

Restoration

Claudia Shear as "Giulia" (left) and Natalija Nogulich as "Beatrice" in La Jolla Playhouse's world-premiere production of RESTORATION, photo by Craig Schwartz.

La Jolla Playhouse presents the world premiere of Restoration, written by and starring award-winning playwright/actress Claudia Shear (Dirty Blonde, Blown Sideways Through Life). Natalija Nogulich whose Hedda rocked the Playhouse in 1987 returns in the multiple roles of Marciante/Beatrice/Nonna. The show plays through July 19, 2009.

(L-R) Claudia Shear as "Giulia," Kate Shindle as "Daphne," Natalija Nogulich as "Marciante" and Alan Mandell as "Professor Williams, photo by Craig Schwartz.

A Small Village for Big Bullies: Theatre Commentary

“Lonesome West,” currently in its San Diego premiere during Triad Productions's temporary residence at the 10^th Ave Theatre, refers to the desolate village of Leenane on the Emerald Island’s west coast. The violence of familiarity’s contempt is the substance of Martin McDonagh’s return to the Leenane, a location for a trilogy of plays set in inconsolable detachment. The village community serves as a de facto way dysfunctional family.

Mr. McDonagh has boosted a career writing a trio of plays set over the course of a century in Leenane. The emotional and physical violence of the terrain and the village people serve this disturbing study of a rural community’s isolation governed by its own morality code. For example, dropping a sibling’s bag of crisps is tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet and prompts brother bashing. Murdering a parent is held as a reasonable solution to family conflict. The play’s violence may serve as a faint reminder to some audience’s familial boxing and wrestling.

We meet the Connor brothers as they return home from their father’s funeral: his death occurred under questionable circumstances. The plot unfolds involving the parish priest and the village tart-in-training. Played by Ryan Ross (Coleman) and Bobby Schiefer (Valene) the brothers go head to head with volatile unpredictability without a dusty finish. Both actors bring Leenane’s vocabulary of sociopath dispassionate violence and homicide to the story in a series of combats. The guys rip up the stage, yet never chew the scenery. Brendan Cavalier plays the perpetually frustrated and conflicted Father Welsh and Claire Kaplan as Girleen, the Brother’s object of obsession, balance the youngish cast with torrid portraits.

Director Adam Park’s grueling attention to detail gives “Lonesome West” a healthy ham-fisted punch of Irish linguistic-psychotic comedy that molds the characters in authenticity. The appropriately accurately wrought dialects are difficult to understand, but this works. Hard listening is required to keep up with the play, which pulls the audience further into the work.

Mr. McDonagh places his contemporary black comedy in a 19^th century (at least) cottage which supplies the image of Leenane’s stunted social progress. The cottage’s carbuncled lime washed walls also serve the brother’s fist fights and chair throwing by placing their action in relief. Better yet, this set’s stone walls do not have the look of crudely carved Styrofoam. Kris Kerr’s beautifully distressed cottage design is realistic, even down to its stained sooting for the gritty realism required for the production’s plausibility.

# # #

Fresh-faced Triad continues emerging on the San Diego theatre scene in noteworthy progression. To this end, attendance at the Monday “industry night-off” performance included; Theatre critics Charlene Baldridge, Jeff Smith, Marty Westlin; Compass Theatre’s Founder & Executive Director, Dale Morris; former Globe Education Director turned consultant Raul Moncada and Write Out Loud’s Executive Director and actor Walter Ritter. Whew!

Yep, get the buzz at Triad with your guard down and at Recession prices, too.

# # #

“Lonesome West”

By Martin McDonagh

Director, Adam Park

Triad Productions

10th Avenue Theatre

Downtown San Diego (between Broadway and E St.)

Opened Saturday June 6th, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. through July 6th.
$15 General Admission $10 for Students and Military.

With Ryan Ross, Bobby Schiefer, Brendan Cavalier, and Clair Kaplan

http://www.triadprod.com/

Patrick Page Inteview by Thom Vegh

http://www.theatermania.com/san-diego/news/06-2009/patrick-page-knows-cyrano_19511.html

"Bad Night" Premieres at Compass

"Bad Night in a Men’s Room off Sunset Boulevard," per the Compass Theatre media release, "is a funny, gritty and moving exposé of characters struggling with issues of self-acceptance, authenticity and identity."

The yoke of Hollywood celebrity, gender dysphoria and our decade’s popular realization that the roles played by Mom and Dad were, in reality, tragically failed performances are some of the themes explored in "Bad Night," penned by elusive local playwright Ira Bateman-Gold.

JMarcus Newman helms this world premier commissioned by Compass to salute San Diego’s Gay Pride activities. I first met JMarcus when he went by the name of Nonnie Vishner. I cast Nonnie in the rough and tumble first production, "Lunch and Dessert," that sprung Diversionary Theatre into the San Diego Theatre scene, over 20 years ago. Nonnie turned in a strong reliable performance then and he has since continued to fortify San Diego’s small theatre scene over the years and served as a popular photographer for actors. He also wrote, directed and produced his play “MOMS in AMERICA.”

# # #

Espresso Refill: Why did you change your name?

JMarcus Newman: In about 1997 I decided to give it one more "good college try". In order to avoid rejections letters that read "Dear MS. Vishner we have CAREFULLY reviewed your resume."

ER: What is the play about?

JMN: “Bad Night” is a multi-layered exploration of personal truths. For those of us who do theatre, it asks the very daring question, "am I more honest on stage than I am in real life?" Bateman-Gold uses a play within a play construct to explore love and sexuality, familial dysfunction, gorilla and wartime murder, forgotten incest and how these factors influence how we live in the world.

ER: Which was the most difficult role to cast?

JMN: Jake. No, wait, that was pre-cast with the producer, Dale Morris. But that worked out very well because Dale turns in a wide-ranging and committed performance that fans of his will admire.

Each of the characters had his/her unique challenges in casting. There was of course the bottom line difficulty of finding actors who would be willing to appear nude on stage and make love to another man. I think, given the extremely small number of actors who auditioned for this play, that we have put together an incredible ensemble. I don't know whether it is due to this particular company, my approach to directing, or a combination of the two, but these actors have been so great in their exploration of their characters, the homework they have done and the truths on stage that they have committed to. Each of them has taken a giant leap forward in their growth as an actor.

ER: Yes, that is a given. What do you expect an actor to bring rehearsals; the homework that is the practical work, which gives dimension and enriches the character’s stage life in the overall scheme of the play?

JMN: Once an actor understands who the character is, then the only things he can bring to a line, using the actor's equipment of voice and body, is honesty. Respond to the line you've just heard in a way that makes you, the actor, feel as the character would.

ER: Was the playwright participating in the rehearsal process?

JMN: Yes. We got numerous changes. And we accepted them with good humor and professionalism and a great deal of good-natured grumbling.

ER: Opening night can be difficult. Watching a play I wrote or directed, I usually start off standing at the back of the house and slowly move to the street, even when audience is getting it, when the silences and laughs occur at the appropriate times. How do you handle opening nights?

JMN: If there is a seat available I will sit in it and watch. I'm too old to pace. If there are no empty seats, which would be a good thing. I will probably go home (I live nearby) and come back for the Opening Night reception and ask how it went.

When I dabbled in painting during my high school and college years, I decided that once I signed the painting I could no longer work on it and would just have to accept it for what it was. Just before opening night of “Bad Night,” I have a few notes about a script change to give the actors tonight and a suggestion or two about costuming and make-up. Then I am signing off! It is theirs to enjoy and share with our audiences. But I have spies who will tell me whether they change things on their own, something paintings cannot do.

ES: Some new works remain "in process" during their run as a playwright and director continue work on the piece evolving with an audience. You have no plans to continue work on "Bad Night" with rewrites, structure and such?

JMN: To my knowledge there are no plans to continue rewriting "Bad Night" during the run.

# # #

Photos: JMarcus Newman; Eduardo Cao (left) Douglas Myers (right), courtesy of Compass Theatre

# # #

"Bad Night in a Men’s Room off Sunset Boulevard"
By Ira Bateman-Gold
Compass Theatre
June 5 - June 28, 2009 through Fri Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
Penn and 6th Ave, San Diego
$18 - $15
619-688-9210
http://www.compasstheatre.com/bad_night_in_a_men.html

Night Calls & The Sudden, Unexpected Sweetness of the Orange

I often think of Write Out Loud as the company that snags the San Diego's middle brow literati's attention despite the seduction of a sunny San Diego weekend afternoon. Some of the best shows in town find that task daunting. After a quiet, a devoted audience quietly enters Cygnet's

Rolando Theatre. A slightly yet charmingly flustered Veronica Murphy takes the stage for the precurtain speech (a sniggley tradition that appears to be a unique San Diego phenomenon). Ms. Murphy works the front of house, directs, performs and serves as dramaturge for Write Out Loud's, at times uncommon, readings. She is WOL's Artistic Director.

In 1986, I experienced a similar routine as an Artistic-Producing Director when we opened Diversionary Theatre at the notorious W.C.P.C. disco: assisting in setting-up scenery, giving actor notes, "cashing in" the box office, selling tickets, handling the press, house managing, giving the "go" for the curtain and such. We also had an actor that occasionally drank before the show and needed to check-up on his sobriety. Ms. Murphy's touch of frazzle is not unseemly; rather, it endears her audience.

Walter Ritter, Executive Director and Ms. Murphy update us on their company's program, "What in the World," a global quilt of disenfranchised voices and the company's enterprising expansion.

Note: Besides their producing association, Walter and Veronica are "life partners." They responded to questions in intermittent "dove tailed" style, subsequently, answers are designated by company name.

# # #

Espresso Refill: How did the for your upcoming program subject come about?

Write Out Loud: We wanted to include stories from diverse cultures and decided that putting them in one program would force us to do it. As it turns out, the voices are not as unfamiliar as we had expected.

ER: What led you to choose the particular voices for the pieces?

WOL: We knew from the minute we read the (Isabel) Allende piece ("The Little Heidelberg") from her collection ("The Stories of Eva Luna"). This particular story is also about a collection of displaced people in another part of the world.

I fell in love with Lara Vapnyar's stories about Russia and Jewish immigrants. Tess Link, who ran a similar program at Fairfield University, also introduced us to "Night Calls" by Lisa Fugard (daughter of South Africa playwright Athol Fugard) and was instrumental in Lisa agreeing to read for us.

The (Isaac Bashevis) Singer story is also about a collection of displaced people in another part of the world. There were so many other stories that we wanted to include, especially two from India, but they got bumped for various reasons, one being that we don't have an Indian reader in our pocket.

ER: So, it was imperative you cast a cultural native per each country's representative work?

WOL: We did not have an actor in-hand who had good command of an Indian dialect. I am also not certain that was the biggest issue that led to cutting the Indian stories. We also needed to keep the program under 2 hours.

ER: Is WOL expanding its programming?

WOL: In April we did a program for the Grossmont College Literary Arts Festival, they have invited us to return next year, an all Irish program in association with Ion Theatre, a reading of the play "Mary & Myra" for the League of Women's voters, "Poems from Guantanamo" for International Museum of Human Rights. a program for the Moonlight Cultural Foundation, a program about Nancy Drew at UCSD library.

ER: What is your process for choosing the readings?

WOL: We read and read and read. We have literary advisor's who suggest stories/authors and we turn to them when we are looking for a specific theme or idea. As I mentioned, we also have friends who suggest stories, themes, etc. The final decision is mine.

# # #

The line-up of stories is still in process for this Saturday's program. Letting go of possibilities for WOL is troublesome. And that is a good thing.

NORCO-S GET LIT

North County (NorCo) Vistites continue their singular literary foray with WOL's engagement at the Avo Playhouse on June 22 at the Recession price of free. Included is the story "The Sudden, Unexpected Sweetness of the Orange" by poet, arts writer and theatre critic Charlene Baldridge.

Ms. Baldridge's work is reprised for this Moonlight Cultural Foundation program. Out of the total 84 stories performed over two years, Baldridge's story is the only piece renewed for performance. "The story is set in San Diego and it's a beautiful story and the right length." More specifically, the story's Balboa Park elicits further interest.

Following is an excerpt from the curiously titled creative­nonfiction inspired by the writer's encounters with a psychotic and ulcerous crack addict.

"The Sudden, Unexpected Sweetness of the Orange"

By Charlene Baldridge

All are homeless these days. We who are older search for purpose beyond procreation, beyond relationship, beyond love as we have known it. The common sight of people less fortunate affects all who feel deeply. Some are unable to turn away from hunger and need.

Robert is a tall black man who wears an afghan around his waist. He looks somehow noble, like a Masai warrior, even when he's standing outside the theater with a paper cup, begging passersby for money.

I've talked with him. That's how I know his name. He has soft brown eyes and an engaging smile. He wears his hair in dreadlocks. His feet are bare, dry and dusty.

# # #

Photos (top to bottom): Veronica Murphy, Artistic Director, WOL; Walter Ritter, Executive Director, WOL; Lisa Fugard, Writer; Charlene Baldridge, arts writer-poet

# # #

"What in the World"

June 6, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Cygnet Theatre/Rolando Stage 6663 El Cajon Blvd

Tickets: $12, $10 for Seniors & Students

Reservations 619-297-8953

writeoutloudsd@gmail.com

Write Out Loud at the Avo Playhouse

Wordswork's "Right Here, Right Now"

June 22, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: Free

Avo Playhouse

303 Main St., Vista, CA

760-630-7650

Lisa Fugard information is available at http://lisafugard.com/

For more information on Ms. Baldridge go to http://sdtheatrescene.com/

For her poetry, http://newolderwoman.blogspot.com/

DOGUGAESHI

Basil Twist is a primary force in the art of adult puppetry in America. His “Dogugaeshi” is the closest to a refined Performance Art – like work San Diegans will see this season.

He won the Obie Award in 1998 for “Symphonie Fantastique,” a piece performed with puppets submerged in water. The show played to sold-out houses and return engagements.

Mr. Twist takes the discipline’s style to several “next” levels with a joyful conglomeration of theatrical elements. For those of us who still mourn the demise of the Golden Age of Performance Art, this show is the closest performance work that produces a rich and unexpected theatricality.

"A gorgeous..cavorting..dance...it will come to you as far as you let it in" - The New York Times

"A hypnotic and hermetic spectacle" - Newsday

"Intimate and spectacular, a haunting abstract piece about lost traditions" - The New York Sun

Dogugaeshi by Basil Twist

La Jolla Playhouse June 10 – 14, 2009

General Admission: $30; Subscribers: $25

Original Shamisen Compositions written and performed by Yukimo Tanaka
Video Projection Design by Peter Flaherty
Lighting Design by Andrew Hill
Sound Design by Greg Duffin

858-550-1010
lajollaplayhouse.org

Who is that man in the sequins?

“America is a very conservative country… Those founding Pilgrim fathers are still in charge. And so much of what is original or creative is a rebellion against that. But it is still dominated by conservative influence. Are there any people in your community who have two husbands?”
Dame Edna Everage
Gay & Lesbian Times, 2009

This statement serves as subtext to the subversive dynamic of Barry Humphries’s character Dame Edna Everage. The Lady has her plan. For the uninitiated, Dame Edna is hardly a drag queen. She drags us through political commentary and social tyranny when we become her “guests” for an evening. Edna Everage is a Melbourne housewife who aspired to super stardom, succeeded, and bestowed with the royal nod. Her royal self appears at the Civic Theatre in her “First Last Tour.”

In his native Australia during the 1950s, Mr. Humphries began perpetrating Dali-esque performance events or “guerrilla” theatre offensives in his native Australia. These unrelenting performance art strikes cut through the razor-wire protected status quo.
Barry Humphries shows no sign of lagging at age 75 as he plays the world-stage.

An account of Humphries’s charitable activities caught me off-guard at a posh financial institution’s holiday party in the 1980s. The husband of a colleague perked up when I mentioned Dame Edna. The native New Zealander beamed, “I remember him! He came to the gay bars with his act to raise money for children’s charities.” His wife admonished, “You never told me you went to gay bars!” Ah, Dame Edna’s subversion at work 25 years after the act.

His is a career of industrious cultural output. Mr. Humphries has authored 22 books (titles include “Dame Edna's Coffee Table Book: A guide to gracious living and the finer things of life by one of the first ladies of world theatre” to “Neglected Poems and Other Creatures”). He just finished the film of the picaresque novel “Moll Flanders” in the role of Madam Needham under Ken Russell’s direction. He performed Shakespeare and musical comedy in London’s West End. Film and television appearances number over 75 with the majority produced in Australia and the UK (he penned 64 of the productions with 90% of his characters in star roles). Mr. Humphries wrote the ”Barry McKenzie" comic strip for Britain’s “Private Eye” magazine. His teeming artistic endeavors spread to the canvas as an accomplished landscapist. Not shabby for a former alcoholic.

Barry Humphries has delightfully scathed audiences on two continents for five decades with his fun-house mirrored view of our lethal and benign foibles. Greater America appears ready to catch up with this court jester to the English speaking world with his sequined dress.


Barry Humphries as Dame Edna in Her
“First Last Tour”
Civic Theatre
June 2-7, 2009
http://broadwaysd.com/ednashow.php

A Grave Response

Oppressed and profoundly discouraged from my past several months witnessing half-baked shallow acting found on San Diego stages, I sought out part of an interview I recalled with an actress of Olympian emotional vérité and bullet proof technique. She is an actress who possesses deep love and respect for the Theatre.

The following is an excerpt with Vanessa Redgrave from Jill Lawless's Associated Press interview conducted during Redgrave's appearance is Joan Didion's solo play "A Year of Magical Thinking." The play is Didion's response to witnessing her husband’s sudden death during her only daughter’s final stages of a fatal illness.

Redgrave sees herself as "a conduit" for Didion's words and maintains a commitment to the Theatre's primal origins.

# # #

"My goal is to, as a solo voice and as the shadow of the writer, be a sort of freeway for whoever comes to listen and watch, to get all that she's written," she (Redgrave) says.

"I am perhaps more like that tradition that was the only way of conveying a story or a poem for thousands of years -- I'm the speaker. There are different words for that in different countries, different cultures, but that's how stories and poems were conveyed -- whether it's Euripides' Hecuba or Joan Didion's magical thinking."

Redgrave likens Didion's writing to "photographs of the mind. Very complex and very simple at the same time."

Or, she says, like sitting in the doctor's office, "and he brings up on the screen what the computer imagists have found and have taken out in order to highlight the interior of a limb. And it'll turn around and you can see it: north, south, east, west, inside, outside.

"It's a kind of a miracle when you see it, at least that's how it strikes me. And I feel exactly the same about Joan's book."

(Photo: AP/Sang Tan)

Sisterly Love Bites

Following on the heals of “Killer Joe,” San Diego has another taught potboiler, “Mauritius,” at Cygnet theatre. When two estranges sisters’ reunite to clean up their recently departed mother’s belongings, ownership of a valuable rediscovered stamp collection evolves into raging contention for the collection’s ownership. Set in an unnamed urban setting, the sisters’ fall in with a trio avaricious stamp lovers, rather, self-avowed philatelics, during their skirmishes for collection’s ownership; a mere two stamps capitalize at over two million dollars. The characters act out of a care-giver’s reward, philanthropy and serious stamp fetish. They stamp-out each other’s one-upsmanship in a steady rise from reasoned discussion to physically violent outbursts bordering on homicide. (Also satisfying is the production’s convincing fight choreography.)

This paper chase drives by at a sweeping two-hours with delicious tension thanks to playwright Theresa Rebeck ‘s sharp construction and Francis Gercke’s spot-on direction.

Like “Killer Joe,” “Mauritius” is enveloped in richly detailed acting. None of these actors need be director-proof in Mr. Gercke’s capable hands.

One might guess the collection’s fate early on, but it doesn’t matter. The production’s all-round exemplary work makes for a gratifying travel to journey’s end. (Would that other mixed contract companies strive to this production’s fastidious attention to their work.)

A percolating play, terrific acting, keen direction and design work make for a pretty darn good night out for the ticket price and gas cost. Parking is free.
Recommendations: date play, first time theatergoers, regular theatergoers

“Mauritius”
by Theresa Rebeck

Cast
Jessica John - Jackie Manny Fernandes - Sterling Sandy Campbell - MaryJohn DeCarlo - Dennis Jack Missett – Philip

Production TeamDirector: Francis Gercke, Set Designer: Sean Fanning, Lighting Designer: Eric Lotze, Sound Designer: Matt Lescault-Wood, Costume Designer: Jessica John, Properties: Bonnie L. Durben, Stage Manager: Nikki Hanzal

Performances through May 10, 2009
Wednesdays at 7:30pm
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pmSundays at 2pm and 7pm
Cygnet’s Rolando Stage located at 6663 El Cajon Blvd.
Tickets: $22 - $38.
Discounts are available for seniors, students and military.

http://cygnettheatre.com/

Ion ascends from the "Valley of Caster"

Finally, Claudio Reygoza and Glenn Paris will open the San
Diego premiere of Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of
Inishmaan," with barely a moment for their company to catch
its collective breath amidst a move into a new performance
space.

The five-year-old ion prides itself with the largest number
of resident artists next to the venerable Old Globe. Claudio
and Glenn previously rallied their artists when, confounded
by City Code violations, the company vacated their freshly
constructed New World Stage facility in downtown mid-run of
"The Grapes of Wrath." Ironies persisted. That exodus led
ion to the Academy of Performing Arts nestled next to Murphy
Canyon. (Where's Grantville? many asked.) The company
persevered in APA's 79-seat theatre and put Grantville on
the map.

Then the heat of the Christian Right fueled "Yes on
Proposition 8" (the anti-same-sex marriage initiative). The
proposition passed.

Ion discovered APA's property owner, Terrence Caster,
dedicated an over $680k plus donation to the "Yes on Prop 8"
efforts in his belief's that "God reveals the value of each
person through the work of his son, Jesus."

A married same-sex couple, Raygoza and Paris decamped APA in
a conflict of moral consciousness. Ion's exodus from the
"Valley of Caster" led to the oasis of the San Diego Rep's
Lyceum Space. In cognate, the couple's commitment to their
values proved a fortuitous (ad)venture. The company has an
ideal location, a larger more and comfortable house, and a
theatre equipped to industry standards.

In dark rooms, rather than in moneyed salvos from Church
against State, Dionysian devotees continue their rituals
around the flame of magic.

With a keen eye on McDonough's period European play, the
team sustained focus on crafting its version of "Inishmaan,"
as director Glenn Paris reveals in this Q & A via the Internet.

* * *

Espresso: What has the mood been like with the company since
moving?

Glenn Paris: The mood is strong, powerful and perseverant.
There has been a tremendous outpouring of support from both
the theatre community and LGBTQ community. People are proud
that we took a stand, and I think it ties current and new
friends closer to us as we share a love of theatre and a
perspective of advocacy for necessary changes in California
and the nation.

E: What was your immediate, initial response to "Inishmaan?"
Did you see or read it?

Photo: Rich Carrillo and Jason Connors (courtesy ion theatre)

GP: Claudio was aware of the play, having worked on the
production at the Geffen. As we determined this year's
season, he gave it to me and encouraged me to read it. I
immediately fell in love with it, and was impressed by how
strong and how funny a piece emerged from such a young
writer. I had seen "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" on Broadway
and later did a reading with the great Irish actress, Anna
Manahan who played the mother in "Leenane." Claudio and I
deepened our love affair with McDonagh the playwright when
we saw "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" on Broadway a few years
ago. I have a poster for the production hanging in my office
at the Playhouse!

E: "Inishmaan" takes place on a small-unfrequented Irish
island circa 1934. How have you explored the location and
time period with your actors?

GP: With the help of our dramaturge, AC Harvey (who was
Special Advisor to the Ibsen series) we have thoroughly
explored the period, typography and climate of the Aran
islands, and the rich given circumstances that establish the
play's situations. Led by AC and me, actors have discussed
and agreed upon a timeline and past and present off stage
events.

E: The character of Kate Osborn, Billy's (the crippled
orphan's) adoptive aunt, talks to stones. Do you treat this
character's behavior as mental illness or a spiritual
practice?

Photo: Dana Hooley and D'Ann Paton (courtesy ion theatre)

GP: Kate is rather dotty, and talking to stones both ties
her to the earth and helps her with her inner confusion in
the wake of Billy's absence. She is a very nervous woman, as
much as she represses her strife. Talking to stones is a way
for her to try to ground herself in reality. She is the more
erudite and sensitive of the two sisters; Eileen is the more
practical of the too, though she satiates her own anxiety by
munching on sweets. Kate and Eileen are Billy's "pretend"
aunties. They are very tied to him, may even exist for him,
or at least he gives them a reason for living (each other is
not enough) and what they perceive to be their time with him
helps alleviate their potential loneliness and isolation.

E: In terms of theatrical space, how has working in the
Lyceum affected your work on the piece?

GP: We are thrilled to be working in a larger venue and hope
the play is popular with audiences. It should be a tonic in
these ever-increasingly tough times - once again, I think of
"Inishmaan" as a very funny play. Working in a new space
always has its particular challenges and the REP Space's new
configuration is not different. ion has a strong track
record of adapting to new environments and conditions, so we
are confident that we'll meet the challenges effectively.

# # #

The Cripple of Inishmaan
By Martin McDonagh

ion theatre at
Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza
Pay-what-you-can preview Friday, April 24 at 8pm
Saturday, April 25 opening
Runs through Sunday May 10
Wednesday through Sunday, with matinees on
Saturdays (4pm) and Sundays (2pm)
Lyceum Theatre box office: (619) 544-1000
http://iontheatre.com/ or http://sdrep.org/