Cymbeline

I recently watched a production of Shakespere's Cymbeline by Theatrum Elysium. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was the kind of production that only a young and enthusiastic theater group could put on. From the moment the play started we knew that it was going to be something else. There was no single stage because the staging took place all around a community center in La Crescenta. There was something so engaging about the changes in location and direction. The Narrator led us on a merry chase following the action and never getting too comfortable in our seats.
Without the luxury or restraint of an actual theater, Theatrum Elysium was freed to come up with a program that breaks the normal format.
In addition to the out-of-the-box staging, the play included elements of dance, singing, and swordplay that brought an intensity to the story that made it shine. Cymbeline is a long play and even when cut down to around 3 hours it can be difficult but with so much going on, the time just flew past. If I were to level any criticism, it would be at some of the scenes where characters accept things too readily or change their dearly held convictions so fast that you are forced out of your suspension of disbelief; but such is sometimes the struggle with Shakespere.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Theatrum Elysium's Cymbeline and am grateful that they are extending for four more performances so that I can go again!

Theatrum Elysium's Cymbeline

Not gonna lie: in all my Shakespeare studies, I never came across Cymbeline. In college, I took pretty much every Shakespeare course I could find, and in my "Comedies and Romances" class, the only romances we covered were The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. 

So when Scooter told me he'd bought season tickets for us for A Noise Within, and the first play there were putting on was Cymbeline, I got excited. How wonderful to discover a new Shakesy play! But I think you can imagine my shock when John discovered through Facebook that another theatre ensemble was putting on the same play - a month earlier! 

Massive props go out to Scooter here, as he insisted that we go see it. Given that I'd never ever read Cymbeline, I wasn't too sure we'd want to see it twice, so I had some reservations ... which I immediately hushed. Why would I deprive myself from this phenomenal compare-and-contrast opportunity? 

Theatrum Elysium's Cymbeline BLEW MY MIND. 

The talent was amazing. The dancing was unexpected and beautiful (which is a huge compliment, since I'm used to watching spectacular dancing on So You Think You Can Dance), paired perfectly with the right songs. The lighting was a feat of wonder, as it was spot on - a challenging task given that we moved from one space to the next as nightfall began to take over. The staging was remarkable, too, using the narrator as our shepherd, leading us through all of these outdoor spaces. 

I was an experience unlike any other.

So I'll be excited to see how A Noise Within chooses to present this story to us.

Boomers vs. Millennials

OH MY GOSH!

We went to see the Theatre @ Boston Court's The Government Inspector again, and during intermission, I made the comment to Executive Director Michael Seel and Co-Artistic Director Jessica Kubzansky that it was different sitting in the back row because all the boomers in the audience react differently than I do - in other words, they don't laugh as much or as loud as I do.

Michael suggested I write about it for their blog, and they published it! YAY!

Here's my post: http://weplaydifferent.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/guest-blog-i-like-to-laugh-by-damaris-montalvo/#more-2986 

RMT's Around-the-Clock

Rogue Machine Theatre's Around-the-Clock is a fun project in which 7 writers are given certain prompts and restrictions, and they have 24 hours to write their play, meet with the directors, prepare the actors, and put on the show in front of a live audience!

All plays were about 10 minutes each, they were all named The End of the World. Each play had three actors (two female, one male), and they were required to:

• Use the same set
• Take off a vest
• Put on an apron
• Nod at the microwave
• Use one of the cleaning supplies (brooms)
• Use the following line of dialogue, "This is hell!" "This is not hell! Hell is ..."

The result? We watched 7 distinct plays, including:

• A rising star and a has-been who have won an "End of the World" competition for their bodacious butt
• A kinky lesbian who wants to spice up her sex life and seduces her partner's brother in order to cause some drama
• A parent-teacher conference over a six-year-old boy who masturbated in front of a classmate
• A woman who falls in love with a zombie after the zombie apocalypse and dumps her boyfriend, who has a hero complex

Around-the-Clock reminded me of art school and the different writing prompts I would get in my glasses. I loved how those prompts yielded completely different pieces of work, and how they challenged me and me think about scenarios I would've never imagined otherwise, taking me outside my own little box.

It was FUN.

SCR's Seussical

I think this might be the hardest play for me to write my impressions on - even more so than The Murder Ballad - because I'm definitely not the target audience.

I saw South Coast Repertory's Seussical because I thought it'd be a neat performance to take my Little Sister, Elaine (through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater LA). And I was right - it's a wonderful play for a 9-year-old, as it has all the things I imagine children might be interested in:

1) Colors: it's got that lovely Dr. Seuss color palette of pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple and green, which makes the whole performance lively and happy.

2) Costumes: there are "chorus" members who play a variety of roles and need to be dressed as fish and Whos and circus entertainers, so it's exciting to see all the different, colorful outfits.

3) Music: it is, of course, a musical with easy, catchy songs and their reprises.

4) Children: this production contains not only plenty of characters who are children, but it's performed by young actors, making it very relatable to the children in the audience.

So I thought it was cute, and I love that the ensemble was made up of young actors. I volunteered for a semester as a Teaching Assistant at Plaza de La Raza, and it was a joy to help and watch children ages 11-18 improvise and experiment with different theatrical modes and exercises. So I appreciate and love how SCR put forward a significant investment for the children.

Macbeth: Hurlyburlys cast

Antaeus does double casting for their plays, where they have two completely different casts for the same play - a notion I find fascinating.

I love watching understudy performances because it's so interesting to observe how different the play becomes when a different actor breathes life into the same character. It also reveals how many of their gestures and actions may have been suggested by the director or the playwright, and which are unique to the actor playing the role.

So double casting sounds like a fantastic idea, as it allows you to see two completely different plays.

The previous time I saw Macbeth, I saw the "Kinsmen" cast. I wish I would've seen the "Thanes" cast as well, but due to scheduling conflicts, we wound up seeing the "Hurlyburlys" cast, which combined both casts. So in a way, it felt more like I was watching an understudy performance instead of a different play altogether, given that many of favorite roles and characters were played by actors whose performances I had deeply enjoyed in my first viewing.

As a result, I found that I liked the Kinsmen performances more than the Thanes - save for Danny Blinkoff's portrayal of Macduff, and not just because I got to see this performance thanks to his generosity (yay for comp tickets!), but because I felt he added much more strength to the character. Blinkoff's age, build and physique present a better match to Macbeth as played by the very physical Bo Foxworth. Additionally, I felt his utter shock at hearing the news that his wife and children had been slaughtered, and the single, manly tear felt very real.

Alas, I won't be able to watch the Thanes performance, which is a shame, but next time I see something at Antaeus, I'll try to see both casts.

TTC's An Incident at the Border

We first met Hank Ostendorf at the Theatre @ Boston Court when he starred in The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder. Scooter kept in touch on Facebook and learned about Ostendorf's company - The Transatlantic Theatre Company - and their new play: An Incident at the Border.
Scooter and I attended the opening on August 4, and it was so wonderful, that we're going again and taking The Mead in late August.

As you might image, it's a play about borders. With a name like An Incident at the Border, I couldn't help but think it was inevitably going to be about the Mexico-U.S. border specifically, and that it was going to be a play about national identities - a topic near and dear to my heart.

But I guess I missed the "transatlantic" part of the Transatlantic Theatre Company and failed to realize that it's a play that's being brought over from the UK.

The play is actually about a border that's being drawn in a nondescript country ... or countries, rather, as a line is dividing the country in two. So it's really a reflection on all kinds of borders - the physical and emotional boundaries that are either imposed on us by other entities or by ourselves. Where do we draw the line? Which lines do we cross? And do we respect the lines because we believe in them, or because someone told us not to cross them?

But it is, in a way, also about national identities, expressing a brief mediation on where you're from and how bound you are to your "home."

Moreover, it is a play about action and passivity - which actually seems to be the running theme for the plays I'm interested in this year: Anton's Uncles, The New Electric Ballroom, The Government Inspector, and even HOUSE. The notion of doing nothing is not only fascinating to the Russian and Irish authors, but to me as well - mostly because I can't stand being idle. I'm a woman of action, and I constantly need to explore and do things.

So do something today, and get your tickets now!

T@BC's The Government Inspector

If you want to laugh for a good two hours, go see this show. Now.

That, of course, is assuming you enjoy satirical plays that critique everything from governing bodies to princess mentalities. Oh, and if you're familiar with your Disney movies, you'll find it particularly hilarious.

Even Scooter, who doesn't like musicals, loved this show. Why? Because it's a production that uses the tropes of "breaking into song" to create clever meta-theatrical commentaries. And it has stellar performances by each and every single character.

It's also the most elaborate production I've ever seen at Boston Court, with the costuming, set changes, music, lighting changes, and a larger-than-usual cast. Additionally, it's quite a departure from their typical work, which is dark and twisty - just how I like it! This is a satire through and through, and as such, it's incredibly comedic and over the top (as opposed to a dark play with cleverly placed interludes of comic relief). But the writing is just as witty as their darker shows, and it does have a dark ending.

So go watch it now!