Sep 092013
 

Hamlet; Act 1, Scene 2
Hamlet
August 16, 2013

Women playing men playing women playing men…  Lisa Wolpe, Founder and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company, talks about her life’s work.  Carrying on a centuries old tradition, the LAWSC is celebrating it’s twentieth year.  Delving into the “Oh that this too too solid flesh…” soliloquy, Lisa talks playing Hamlet, gender bending and what it’s like to be a “silverback.”  From a woman steeped in Shakespeare comes a deft dance of thought.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here for a scanned version of the text.

SHOW INFO:

An all-female, multi-cultural aesthetic offers new insight when the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company co-present Hamlet in celebration of LAWSC’s 20th anniversary. Featuring a cast of 16 LAWSC favorites and talented newcomers – including producing artistic director and celebrated Shakespearean actress Lisa Wolpe in the title role – Hamlet opens for press on Aug. 30 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.

Performances of Hamlet take place on Fridays and Saturdays @ 8 p.m. and Sundays @ 2 p.m.*, Aug. 30 through Oct. 27. (*On Sunday, Sept. 1 only, the performance will be @ 5 p.m. with no 2 p.m. matinee.) Additional weeknight performances are scheduled on Wednesdays @ 8 p.m. on Sept. 18, Oct. 2 and Oct. 16; and on Thursdays @ 8 p.m. on Sept. 12, Sept. 26, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24. Tickets are $30, except for the performance on Saturday, August 31 which is $45 and includes a gala reception following the performance. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 or go to www.OdysseyTheatre.com.

 

Aug 262013
 

Measure for Measure; Act 2, Scene 2
Angelo
July 5, 2013

What dost thou, or what art thou, Angelo?  Straight from the stages of The Stratford Festival, Tom Rooney gets to the bottom of this question in our latest interview.  Explore Angelo’s past, present and future and why Tom Rooney describes him as a Man/Boy.  Dive into this dense speech, from the first read to the final syllable.  Oh Fie Fie Fie upon you if you miss this one from a master of Shakespeare.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here for the First Folio Version

Click here for a scanned version of the text.

Watch Antoni Cimolino, General Director of the Stratford Festival, talk about Measure.

Aug 072013
 

The Nightmare Dream
Adapted and Directed by Neal J. Freeman

nightmaredreamrevbw_large_red pressphoto_nightmaredream1 pressphoto_nightmaredream2

 

 

 

 

What would happen if Shakespeare was “bitten” by Bram Stoker’s Dracula?  One man aims to find out.

Neal J. Freeman has created a mash up of two classic texts:  Midsummer and Dracula.  The Nightmare ‘Dream’ is the Shakespeare play told through a classic horror film lens with a healthy dose of tongue-in cheek.   As the lovers embark on their famous journey into the woods, they encounter a villain unlike any imagined by Shakespeare. No ruffled neck is safe in this, the ORIGINAL douchey teen vampire drama.

The Nightmare ‘Dream’ will play Sunday 8/11 at 6pm, Monday 8/12 at 9:30pm, Thursday 8/15 at 9:30pm, Friday 8/16 at 3:45pm, and Sunday 8/18 at 4:15pm.

See website for more information: www.bloodyshakespeare.com or www.fringenyc.org.

Tickets on sale July 19 at www.fringenyc.org.

Watch a video here:

The Nightmare ‘Dream’ – Meet Neal & Heather from lupoblu on Vimeo.

Jul 172013
 

As You Like It: Act 2, Scene 7
Jacques
June 14, 2013

With age comes wisdom.  Hudson Classical Theater Company (formerly Hudson Warehouse) Artistic Director Nicholas Martin-Smith stays in the moment while performing Jacques famous “All the World’s a Stage” speech from Act 2, Scene 7 of As You Like It.  Nicholas discusses what it’s like to start a theater company, how he overcame a learning disability and why experience is a great teacher. This interview is “sans” nothing.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here to follow along with First Folio version of the text.

Click here to see a scanned version of the text.

Jul 102013
 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 1, Scene 1
Helena
June 14, 2013

It’s a Family Affair!  Bringing classical theatre to life for four generations isn’t easy.  Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is a labor of love for a family with Shakespeare in their veins.  Ellen Geer, Melora Marshall and Ian Flanders share the fascinating story of the Theatricum’s past, present and future.  And Willow Geer keeps it fresh with a feisty and vivacious take on Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act I, Scene i.

Click here to follow along with the text.

Click here to follow along with Willow’s version of the text.

Click here to see a scanned version of the text.

Jun 072013
 

Hamlet; Act 2, Scene 2
Hamlet
February 8, 2013

To cue or not to cue that is the question.  Colin David Reese uses cue scripts in performing Shakespeare.  He also eschews punctuation, breathes only at the end of the verse line and incorporates leCoq into his work.   Not one to mince words, Colin never fails to entertain and enlighten in this, our first international interview.  Sit back and listen to how it will fadge.

Click here to see the text.  Click for here for the No Punctuation Version.

Click here to see a fully scanned version of the text.

May 092013
 

Henry Vi, Part iii: Act 3, Scene 2
Gloucester
February 5, 2013

Catch a wave!  Stay “on top” of Jim Devita‘s words as he discusses how he learned to avoid generalizing in acting Shakespeare.   Jim explores the importance of training (and what Shakespearean actors can learn from Michael Jordan.)  We plunge into Richard of Gloucester’s speech in Henry VI, Part iii, to discover the secret to playing villains, plumbing emotions (or not) and pursuing metaphors.  Join us for a discussion of the most voluble soliloquy in Shakespeare’s canon.

Click here to see the text

Click for here for the Jim Devita version.

Click here to see a fully scanned version of the text.

Apr 252013
 

Richard III; Act 1, Scene 1
Gloucester
April 2, 2013

What is Shakespeare’s idea of tragedy?  Is an audience seduced by Richard?  What happens to the soul of ambition after the final prize has been won?  Is there any sympathy left for this devil?  The answers and much more, including a fantastic reading of the opening speech, can be found in Part II of our interview about Richard III with Ron Russell and Jim Wallert of the Epic Theatre EnsembleTheir production of Richard III: Born With Teeth runs through May 4th.  For details click here.

Click here to see the text.  Click for here for the Epic Theater version.

Click here to see a fully scanned version of the text.

Apr 162013
 

Richard III; Act 1, Scene 1
Gloucester
April 2, 2013

Born with Teeth!   Can a company that rose from the ashes of 9/11 make a difference?  The answer is a resounding “Yes!”  The Epic Theater Ensemble has created a fantastic model of socially responsible, education- oriented theater.  Executive Director Ron Russell and Associate Artistic Director Jim Wallert talk about the company’s mission of outreach, developing new audiences and the “why” of engagement.  We discuss the dialogue they create with their audience, the use of emerging technology and, of course, the upcoming production of Richard III: Born With Teeth.  It’s not your grandmother’s musty dusty Shakespeare!

Click here to see the text.  Click for here for the Epic Theater version.

Click here to see a fully scanned version of the text.

Mar 212013
 

The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Act 2, Scene 4
Proteus
December 12, 2012

It’s a throw down!  Have your ears dazzled by the clarity of Jeffrey Hawkins‘ words.  We will take you on a journey through some serious deconstruction of Proteus speech from Act 2, Scene 4 of The Two Gentlemen of Verona.   Take our advice and listen to this one as we cover the ground from scansion, to fricatives, all the way to the Dreaded O.  Welcome to the State of Shakespeare – pumpkin pants optional.

Click here to see the text.  Click for here for the First Folio.

Click here to see a fully scanned version of the text.