CALIFORNIA International Theatre Festival 2011 SEASON
Your Passport to the World!
E
E S O XP
! F L SE
R U YO
September 8th - 18th, 2011 2011 Season Sponsors: Sandra & Barbara Jordan
Laby
Meister
Larson Charitable Foundation & Elizabeth Rice
Grossman
Committed to Improving Global Healthcare • Less anxiety • No needle-stick injuries • No needle re-use or cross contamination • Environmentally responsible – no used sharps • Immunization option for L.A. County Dept. of Public Health
Proud supporters of 2011 California International Theater Festival 888 900 4321
www.PharmaJet.com
CITF 2011 PROUDLY SALUTES TWO WONDERFUL LEADERS
2011 GORDOn DAViDsOn AWARD For distinguished achievement in the advancement of theatre arts.
PRESENTED TO
JOE MAnTEGnA
2011 GlOBAl AnD COMMUniTy sERViCE AWARD For continued contributions toward the betterment and well being of his fellow man.
PRESENTED TO
ThE hOnORABlE MiChAEl BRADBURy
Our Mission
To produce an annual theatre festival in California, offering a distinguished array of international presentations, and committed to broadening cultural understanding by means of community outreach, student training, and cultural exchange through the performing arts.
OUR PROGRAM Welcome Letters..................................................................................................... 4 Sponsors................................................................................................................9 Armenia • Komitas’ 10 Commandments & Colors................................................ 13 Canada/Iceland/Scotland • The Cure for Everything............................................ 15 USA • Café Burlesqu-O!....................................................................................... 17 USA • France • Roadway Closed to Pedestrians................................................. 19 Street Team.......................................................................................................... 20 USA • How We Got On......................................................................................... 21 USA • The Global Stage....................................................................................... 22 USA/Guatemala/Germany • El Canguro.............................................................. 23 Armenia/USA • The Perils of Politeness Live On................................................. 25 Ukraine • Concert Under the Stars with Mariana Sadovska................................. 27 USA • ¡Gaytino!.................................................................................................... 29 Germany • Scenario for a non-existent, but possible, instrumental actor............. 31 Iran/USA • Around the World in Seven Acts......................................................... 33 Japan • Tsunami Tales.......................................................................................... 35 USA and Beyond • Across the Borders! CITF’s 2011 Wrap Party!....................... 36 Staff......................................................................................................................37 Production Team................................................................................................... 43 Leadership............................................................................................................44 Donors..................................................................................................................45 Special Thanks..................................................................................................... 46 CITF Educational and Outreach Programs ......................................................... 47 Jack Oakie............................................................................................................ 48
3
WElCOME FROM
JOE PERACChiO FEsTiVAl DiRECTOR
Someone once said that we are the only species that sits and observes, for prolonged periods of time, members of its own kind doing things for the entertainment of one another. This uniquely human impulse to create art, to probe, to unabashedly express our ideas exists within all cultural groups on the planet. It manifests in specific styles of performance that are made of the mysteries, drives, and dreams of unique peoples and communities. It is how we search for who we are, how we decipher why we are here, and how we build community. Together. It is an honor to welcome you to the 2011 California International Theatre Festival. Imagine this adventure as a 10-day-long play, with 9 intermissions for sleep, and concluding with a blow-out party to celebrate. And it is a celebration. A celebration of cultures coming together to share their wild brand of creation with other cultures and to learn about each other in the process. It is a bold step in the direction of creating global community. I encourage you to dive in, leave your preconceptions of what theatre is at the door, and fully experience all the artistry of these unique cultures. From the edgy dance-theatre movement pouring out of Armenia to contemporary French physical theatre and the indigenous music of East Europe and beyond - then back home again with stirring explorations of who we are as Americans from the African-American, hip-hop, Latino, and gay communities. CITF is your passport to the world – expose yourself and enjoy!
Joe Peracchio Festival Director
4
WElCOME FROM
linDA PURl FOUnDER & PREsiDEnT
Welcome to the 2011 season! Its been an exciting year and one of transition for us. Tammy Taylor capably stepped in to fill our beloved Edgar Rosenblum’s shoes. Edgar’s legacy is enduring and in every way we strive to honor his passion for and dedication to the theatre arts. Joe Peracchio, our Founding Producer, stepped up to serve as our Festival Director. Besides his years of experience successfully running his own international theatre festival in New Mexico, Joe brings a remarkable energy and drive to us. He is a person of vision and purpose and I believe as you experience this year’s Festival you will be as inspired by that heartbeat as we are within the Festival halls. We exist, are able to proceed because we are blessed with the hard work of a dedicated Board, the extraordinary generosity of friends, foundations and corporate sponsors alike as well as by a tireless staff. Mostly I want to thank our donors. That you have seen fit, especially in these fiscally volatile times, to continue to support the mission of the Festival is most humbling. You are a community of persons who by example treasure our collective humanity. You have made it possible for the Festival to help in its effort to work for the betterment of cross cultural understanding and to plant seeds of friendship across the globe that will flower well into the future. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
linda Purl
Founder & President
5
WElCOME FROM
sAnDy E. sMiTh ChAiRMAn OF ThE BOARD
On behalf of my fellow Board of Directors, our staff, sponsors, and our community volunteers, welcome to season 2011 of the California International Theatre Festival! Now in our third year, we are thrilled to once again stage winning plays and United States premiers from around the world. Together over the next ten days, we will celebrate the wondrous diversity of our planet. This season, we feature performances from Armenia, France, Canada, Ukraine, and Germany. Collectively they serve to advance the mission of the California International Theatre Festival – to broaden cultural understanding by means of community outreach, student training, and cultural exchange through the performing arts. This past year has been an exciting whirlwind of change, and serving as the Board’s Chair during this time has been particularly exhilarating. At a time when so many arts organizations have struggled to survive, through the wonderful support of our donors and sponsors, and of theatergoers like you, we have not only persevered, we have flourished. A special salute to our new partner the Los Angeles Theatre Center – a relationship forged from our mutual commitment to intimate, creative theatre. Additionally, a home coming – after a two year hiatus, we return to the City of Ventura with three performances at the newly renovated Ventura County Museum. And of course, it wouldn’t be CITF without our yearly stop in the City of Calabasas. Their continued support over these three years has been both inspirational as well as instrumental to our continued success, and our evolution as a “California” festival. On behalf of our Board and staff, I hope you will take full advantage of the events over the next ten days and attend as many performances as possible – in Los Angeles, in Calabasas, and in the City of Ventura. I’ll look forward to seeing you and your friends at the Festival!
sandy E. smith
Chairman, Board of Directors
6
WElCOME FROM
OlGA GARAy
EXECUTiVE DiRECTOR OF ThE lOs AnGElEs DEPARTMEnT OF CUlTURAl AFFAiRs Welcome to the first California International Theatre Festival (CITF) in downtown Los Angeles! We sincerely hope this will become an annual event in our community. I have watched CITF’s growth over the past three years and its commitment to international work is cause for celebration. Starting in Calabasas and Ventura, the CITF has now grown to encompass the City of Angels! Thanks to the Festival’s wonderful collaboration with LATC, downtown’s headquarters for multi-cultural performance, and its many local sponsors, I am proud to say LA is officially a CITF city! As the internationally recognized entertainment capital of the world that has been host to the Olympic games twice, and is a vibrant multi-cultural and international city at its heart, LA is comprised of people from every walk of life, culture, and country on the planet. We pride ourselves on a thriving performing arts scene and welcome our international friends as they share their ideas, talents, and unique styles of performance with us. Indeed, what could be more important in this time than the inspiring cultural exchange that CITF brings to the cities they work in? The performing arts stimulate our minds and hearts, our local economies, and our thirst to understand better others from other lands, all in an effort to create a more peaceful, understanding, and prosperous world for us all. Welcome to CITF - our very own “Olympics” of Theatre! And thank you for your support of all the arts in LA and surrounding cities. Enjoy!
Olga Garay
Executive Director of the Los Angeles Department Of Cultural Affairs
7
$11-FOR-’11 FAn ClUB CAMPAiGn We launched a new fundraising campaign this year – The $11-for-’11 Fan Club! Donors can make a contribution of $11 (or $22… or $33… or any multiple of $11) in support of CITF’s 2011 Festival. We have had a fantastic response – thank you to all who donated! - and there is still time to support the CITF 2011 season! Every dollar counts and is much needed and appreciated, so please consider joining the $11 for ‘11 Fan Club today!
$11-FOR-’11 FAn ClUB MEMBERs Bradley Bobbs R. M. Boucher Brice Harris Stan and Lucetta Kallis Catherine Lincoln
Lynn Mark Ella Martin Luda Popenhagen Ronnie J. Popenhagen Hal and Jan Wasserman
By joining the $11-for-’11 Fan Club, members are automatically entered into a drawing to win a FREE 2011 Passport – the official All-Access Pass to see every single show in our 2011 season. Congratulations to Luda Popenhagen for winning this incredible prize! Thank you again for all who have participated and we look forward to seeing Luda at all our shows! Keep an eye out for the launch of $12-for-’12!
Planning on attending one of our amazing shows at Founder’s Hall in Calabasas? Make it a night! Bring your printed ticket (or hard copy from the box office) to Marmalade Café in the Calabasas Commons to get 25% off of your bill! Come enjoy the cozy indoor seating or seating on any of our two beautiful patios and grab some grub before heading a stone’s throw away to Founders Hall and feasting on some live international theatre! Alcohol and tax are not included and this offer is only valid on the same day of the show and for Calabasas performances.
Marmalade Café Calabasas 4783 Commons Way Ste. E • 818.225.9092
8
2011 SPONSORS Thank you to all our 2011 Sponsors FESTIVAL SPONSOR
DIPLOMAT’S CIRCLE
Scott + Rachelle Adler Bunnin Automotive Group Susan Clark + Alex Karras Maureen Cullum Larson Charitable Foundation + Elizabeth Rice Grossman Jeff Glassman - Wallis Foundation Barbara Meister / Barber Ford, VW, Subaru, RV-Ventura
FESTIVAL CO-SPONSOR
AMBASSADOR’S CIRCLE The Ahmanson Foundation Bradford Renaissance Portrait Dr.. Steven Brourman Dole Food Company FB Productions, Inc. Paul + Vera Guerin / Shapell Guerin Family Foundation Robert + Laurie Glenn Miranda Kendrick Jack Oakie + Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation Sagebrush Cantina Albert and Micheline Sakharoff Greg Scott Sandy E. Smith Robert Sokol / VIA MEDIA
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
Jordan + Sandra Laby / San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
Calabasas Country Club Community Memorial Health System Limoneira David Sonne Alex Soteras State Farm Insurance Listing as of August 26, 2011
9
LEARNING STARS
INFANT CARE & PRESCHOOL “Loving care while you are not there”
We are open year round for children from birth to six years of age ... and will love them as our own. Karineh Gharibian- Director Taline Marootkhanian-Assistant Director 2515 Weston Place Glendale, CA 91208 Telephone (818) 241-7650 or (818) 515-5850
Congratulations on our third season! Susan Clark & Alex Karras
BARBARA MEISTER and BARBER FORD, VW, SUBARU, RV--VENTURA Welcome artists from throughout the world to the
“No impersonal representation of a culture can fully communicate its reality to others who have never known its substance. Through personal relations our curiosity can be fulfilled by a sense of knowledge, cynicism can give way to trust, and the warmth of human friendship be kindled.” John F. Kennedy
from ARMENIA – US Premiere MIHR THEATRE
KOMITAS’ 10 COMMANDMENTS COLORS Thursday September 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM Friday September 9, 2011 - 8:00 PM Saturday September 10, 2011 - 2:00 PM Sunday September 11, 2011 - 4:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theatre 2 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles MIHR synthesizes ethno-modern dance & new-movement theatre with actionpainting and history to break down barriers between genres of art, philosophy, and culture. Komitas’ 10 Commandments performance is dedicated to the 140th birthday of Komitas Vardapet, the Armenian composer, priest, and musicologist who, by traveling extensively throughout his country recording folk songs and dances in various villages, made it his mission to preserve his culture through art. Komitas reinterpreted and published over 3000 songs still played and studied to this day throughout Armenia. Considered the founder of modern Armenian classical music and ranked among the heroes and martyrs of his culture, Komitas lost his mind after witnessing the tragic 1915 Armenian Genocide. Komitas’ 10 Commandments is based on his work Ten commandments addressed to the singer. Each commandment is a phase of the life through which each artist should pass. Following Komitas’ 10 Commandments comes the inspired performance Colors by MIHR Theatre. Four colors, four characters, four different emotions. The colors are alive, they have a soul, a body and speak their own language. Colors is based on the basics of the wildly creative action painting genre in which artists combine movement with colors and present the colors’ specific concept and explores the contact between the body and space. Using paint, projections, and MIHR’s signature dance/theatre styles, each performance of Colors is unique and unrepeatable, and represents an original approach towards art synthesis. MIHR Theatre’s work has been seen around the globe in Czech Republic, Latvia, Georgia, Russia (Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Tyumen), Egypt and Iran. CITF is proud to present their first performances in the USA. Co-presented by the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
13
Tsolak MLKE-Galstyan Co-Founder of MIHR Theatre, Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer-Actor Tsolak is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the MIHR Theatre. Since 1993 Tsolak has received awards and certificates from many international performance competitions in Europe and Latin America, including being named the First Prize-winner as lead dancer for the Republic of Armenia, and attending the Latin American Dance Ensemble as a professional dancer. Tsolak’s work as an actor/dancer, teacher, choreographer, and theatre organizer has taken him all over the globe. In 2009 he participated in various seminars and work groups through the International Network of Contemporary Arts (IETM) aimed at encouraging the collaboration of the European theatres. He studied drawing at Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts, and graduated from Mkhitar Sebiastatsi Art College with honors. Tsolak also studied at the Open Circle Theatre in Lithuania, and in 2008 he participated in the Theatre Management Program created by the Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association in Boston. Also in 2006 Tsolak was awarded Best Young Choreographer (Prague, Czech Republic) and from 20062008 he returned to Mkhitar Sebastatsi Art College to work as a choreographer. In 2004 Tsolak was awarded the Best Dancer prize at the annual Pan-Armenian youth meeting. In addition to his acclaimed directing and performing work, Tsolak has organized many open-air events, parades, installations, and street shows during the HIGH FEST International Performing Arts Festival in Yerevan since 2004. He has directed more than 10 performances with MIHR theatre among the more than 60 shows in his career. His performances have toured the world including to Czech Republic, Latvia, Georgia, Russia (Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Tyumen, Perm), Egypt, Belarus, Belgium, Lithuania, Sweden and Iran.
Shoghakat MLKE-Galstyan Co-Founder of MIHR Theatre, Dancer-Actress Shoghakat is the co-founder and soloist of the MIHR Theatre since 2003. From 2001 to 2003, she studied modern ballet dance art. Shoghakat was a member of Latin American dance ensemble from 1996 to 2002. 2006 to 2011, Shoghakat studied at the
arts management faculty of Yerevan State Theatre and Cinematography. This year, she began her masters in arts management at the Yerevan State Theatre and Cinematography. Theatre/dance: What is our guilty, God (2003), Creation (2004), Roots (2005), Am I Crazy? (2006), Colours (2007), Sasna Tsrer, Sanasar and Baghdasar (2008), Komitas’ 10 Commandments (2009), Dreams in Dreams (2010), Black Castle (2010), Performances about Death (2010). TV/Film: Angel on the Roofs (2006), Roots (2006), Qyamancha (2009), Harmony (2010).
Naira Kolozyan Dancer-Actress Naira has been a soloist with MIHR Theatre since 2005. From 1997 to 2000 Naira danced with the Armenian National Dance Ensemble. From 2000 to 2004 she passed her ballet courses and from 2006 to 2009, she studied with the acting faculty at the Cinema Studio of the Cinema Centre. Theatre/dance: Roots (2005), Am I Crazy? (2006), Sasna Tsrer, Sanasar and Baghdasar (2008), Komitas’ 10 Commandments (2009), Dreams in Dreams (2010), Black Castle (2010), Performances about Death (2010). TV/Film: Angels on the Roofs (2006), Roots (2006), Qyamancha (2009).
Lusine MLKE-Galstyan Actress-Musician Since 2006 Lusine has studied in the New School at the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educomplex. From 2006 to 2008, she danced in the dance group at the Mkhitar Sebastatsi college. Since 2009 she has been an actress-musician with MIHR Theatre. She played the role of Piper in the emotional dance performance Komitas’ 10 Commandments (2009).
Eduard Hakobyan Technician Eduard graduated Applied Informatics Department of the Moscow Tourism and Service Institute 2009. He joined the MIHR Theatre as a technician since 2008. Now he provides the technical support for all the performances of the MIHR Theatre. He also has worked at the Armenian Theatre Worker’s Union since 2008. He was the sound and light technician of various TV programs of the local HAY TV, H2, Shant TV channels.
14
from CANADA/ICELAND/SCOTLAND US Premiere CONTRARY COMPANY
THE CURE FOR EVERYTHING
Written and Performed by Maja Ardal Directed by Mary Francis Moore Thursday September 8, 2011 - 8:00 PM Friday September 9, 2011 - 8:00 PM Saturday September 10, 2011 - 4:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theatre 4 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles It’s 1962, and Elsa is a soon-to-be 15 year old child of the nuclear age. But her wild new world of sex and rock and roll is being rattled by some explosive tension that’s building on the world stage as President Kennedy launches his challenge to the USSR in what we now call the Cuban Missile Crisis. Convinced that the world could blow up at any minute, Else resolves to get her life lived as fast as she can before the world ends. The Cure for Everything is a truthful, timely, warm-hearted, laugh-outloud look at adolescence and a poignant view of a dangerous world through the eyes of our youth. The Cure for Everything was nominated for a Dora Award (Toronto’s Tony’s) for outstanding new play and will be published in 2012. It was developed with the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. Costume Design by Julia Tribe Sound Design by Lyon Smith Original Lighting Design by David DeGrow Original Stage Management by Ivory Seoul First produced by Theatre Passe Muraille Toronto Photography by Aviva Armour-Ostroff Maja Ardal appears by permission of Canadian Actors Equity Association and by arrangement with American Actors Equity Association.
15
Maja Ardal Actor, Playwright, Artistic Director Contrary Company
Maja, an Icelandic/Canadian, has been working in theatre for 40 years as an actor, director, playwright, and theatre instructor. She wrote and performs the hit shows You Fancy Yourself (Dora Award for Performance) and The Cure for Everything (nominated for Dora Award for Outstanding New Play). She toured You Fancy Yourself to the Edinburgh Festival 2009, followed by a tour of England and across Canada. Playwrights Canada Press published both plays as well as her first play, Midnight Sun, produced in Canada and Iceland. Maja adapted and directed Prisoner of Tehran from the bestselling memoir by Marina Nemat. It will be produced in the spring of 2012 in association with Theatre Passe Muraille. She is writing libretto for The Waterfall, (composer Norbert Palej) with Tapestry New Opera Works. Maja was the Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre Toronto, interim Artistic Director of Nightwood Theatre in 2007-8 and performed as a regular for 7 seasons in The Road to Avonlea, playing Mrs. Potts. Maja trains actors at Humber College and Fanshawe College, and
gives workshops in theatre vocal and physical techniques. In 2002 she received the George Luscombe Award for Mentorship in the Theatre. fancymaja@gmail.com Mary Francis Moore Director
Mary Francis Moore is a writer, director and actor. As an actor Moore has worked at theatres across Canada. She was nominated for the Dora Award for Outstanding Direction for her work on Maja Ardal’s You Fancy Yourself which has toured across Canada and the U.K. She is also the director of Ardal’s critically acclaimed sequel The Cure For Everything. Following her recent direction of the premiere production of Hannah’s Turn, one critic named Moore one of Toronto’s best Directors. She is the co-author of the hit play Bittergirl (The John Houseman Theatre New York, Tristan Bates Theatre London, The Tim Simms Toronto) and the Penguin publication Bittergirl: Getting Over Getting Dumped. Bittergirl is currently being developed into a musical in association with the Banff Centre For The Arts.
16
from USA
CAFÉ BURlEsQU-O!
Directed by CITF Director Joe Peracchio Thursday September 8, 2011 - 9:30 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theatre 4 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles A special one-night only performance directed by CITF Festival Director Joe Peracchio, featuring Idris Goodwin and international guest artists from the festival, with powerful and unique voices from around the Los Angeles community! This racy speakeasy night of fiery street poetry, drag queens, musical numbers and more is built to encourage the free flow of speech and ideas to explore the power of international cultural exchange between audience and performer! The line-up includes the acclaimed IAMA Theatre Company of LA, the oneand-only Comedy Jesus, the leggy ladies of Body City Dance Company, electronic music madness with The Diplomacy of Mad Science, CelticAmerican rock with Staggering Jack, LA’s Theatre Mab with a Rolling Stones version of Hamlet, Kris Escajeda on his guitar, Liz Eldridge and her Ukulele, The Art of Zach Brown, Clara Dykstra on accordion, HBO def poet and playwright Chinaka Hodge, the sounds of The Glasshouse Construction Company, plus spoken-word artists, drag queens, sexy numbers from Cabaret and Frank Sinatra, as well as Live-Action painting, and two-time Emmy Award Nominee and composer for Showtime’s Bullshit with Penn & Teller - the astounding Gary Stockdale, and much much more! Additional funding for Café Burlesqu-O! provided by the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation
Chamber Members support Festival: From left; Calabasas Chief Financial Officer Gary Lysik, State Senator Tony Strickland, Festival Board member and Mortgage Banker
Alex Soteras,
L.A. City Councilman and candidate for City Controller
Dennis Zine
and Calabasas City Councilman Fred Gaines
from France – US Premiere MACADÂMES THEATRE CORPORAL
ROADWAy ClOsED TO PEDEsTRiAns (Chaussée Interdite aux Piétons)
Friday September 9, 2011 - 8:00 PM Saturday September 10, 2011 - 8:00 PM Sunday September 11, 2011 - 2:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theatre 3 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles Silence, the test of time, questions, humor, naïveté…these are words that we all must relearn, re-appreciate, and re-test. Taking back our bodies to our essential paths, purify our movements in a near empty space in which every object is precious; creating physical metaphors in order to make the invisible visible. Mime is nothing more than the art of a body that thinks. The art of expressing with the body an emotion, a thought, a story, a relationship, or a point of view. In an immensely partitioned society in which our bodies are maltreated, in which words have lost their meaning, in which culture no longer has a proper place, we force ourselves to revitalize our emotions where we left them to choke. Using elements of mime, clowning, acrobatics, object manipulation, theatre, music, and dance, Chaussée Interdite aux Piétons is a creation in which poetry rises from the mixing of genres. Macadâmes refers to their experience working with the musicality of movement, the embodiment of sound, the chill of tragedy, and the sentiments of love…all delivered in an entirely universal language understood by everyone, regardless of where they come from or what languages they speak. Formed and based in Paris, France, Macadâmes’ physical theatre is a marriage of know-how still aiming at the same aspirations: to link the greatest of emotions to the greatest number of people. Performers: Clément Chaboche, actor Laure Latinier, actor François Guillemette, trumpet Generously sponsored by Albert and Micheline Sakharoff. Presented at LATC in collaboration with The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA.
19
STREET TEAM Keep an eye out in the lobbies for our “Street Team” Performers! Local Los Angeles artists have volunteered their time and creative energy to keep the festival buzz alive before and after the performances. Check the CITF website for updated information on our “Street Team” artists. We invite you to visit their websites and support local artists! Music by Ampersand, The Diplomacy of Mad Science, Kris Escajeda, Staggering Jack, Liz Eldridge and Clara Dykstra, the Glasshouse Construction Company, Jaime A. Carcamo, The Pendleton Project, and more... Performances by Theatre Mab Town Hall, Mike “The Poet” Sonksen, Bodycity, Zach Brown and more...
20
from USA
HOW WE GOT ON Written by Idris Goodwin
Staged Reading – FREE Saturday September 10, 2011 - 6:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theatre 4 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles Staged reading of the 2011 Eugene O’Neil Playwright’s Prize-winning play by HBO Def Poet and renowned hip-hop playwright Idris Goodwin. With: Zach Brown Khanisha Foster Anthony Bryce Graham Chinaka Hodge Malika Williams Idris Goodwin Playwright
Idris Goodwin is an award-winning playwright, poet, essayist and performer who uses hip hop arts to create genre defying work for page and stage. His play Braising was featured in the 2005 NNPN New Plays Showcase at Stanford; since then, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, the Hip Hop Theater Fest and the Illinois Arts Council have all championed Idris’ work. His latest play How We Got On is an official selection for the 2011 National Playwrights Conference at the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Break Beat Poems (SGE records), his latest hip-hop album, earned praise from The New York Times and National Public Radio. These Are The Breaks, his debut collection of essays, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. What Is They Feedin’ Our Kids?, Idris’s most popular spoken word poem, aired on HBO’s Def Poetry and The Discovery Channel’s Planet Green. Year round, Idris can be found at colleges, K-12 schools, and community organizations across the country promoting cross-cultural literacy.
21
from USA and the World
ThE GlOBAl sTAGE:
THE THEATRE MOVEMENT IN A POST 9/11 WORLD Panel Discussion – FREE
Sunday September 11, 2011 - 12:00 NOON Los Angeles Theatre Center – Theatre 2 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles Moderated by CITF Festival Director Joe Peracchio A lively panel discussion with international and American artists, scholars, and celebrities to be held on September 11th, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the tragic terror attacks that rocked the world. This gathering and panel discussion, complete with audience Q&A, will seek to examine the possibilities and responsibilities of world artists in shaping a new future for global collaboration. • • •
What is the state of international performance exchange now, ten years after 9/11? What is the role of artists in creating a global environment of mutual understanding? How has 9/11 affected the work of theatre artists, and how have theatre artists, in turn, affected the political landscapes of their homelands in response?
Panelists will include: • • • • • • •
Donald Freed, Playwright, Scholar, USC Professor of Theatre Bari Hochwald, Artistic Director, Global Theatre Project Michael Blaha, Esq., Entertainment Attorney, President of Fringe Management – Edinburgh Festival theatre producer Ali Kiani, Iranian-American Playwright, Scholar, and Professor Bianca Bagatourian, Playwright, Film Producer, and Director of the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance Paul Provenza, Actor, Film & Theatre Director, Comedian, and Producer/Star of Showtime’s The Green Room with Paul Provenza Jose Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director of The Latino Theatre Company and Los Angeles Theatre Center, UCLA Professor of Theatre
Listing as of August 26, 2011.
Additional funding for The Global Stage provided by the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation
Theatre Mab Town Hall will be working in the lobby immediately prior to the panel in what will be called Rehearsing Peace. This “street team” impromptu performance will begin at 11:30. A group of actors and artists will begin work on an original project for and about peace. They will warm-up together, move into a group discussion of “peace” & then give way to some unscripted group interpretations & explorations of what it means to have, lack, create-or anything -- “peace”... Other issues with other words such as “conflict” & “love” will undoubtedly arise as well.
22
from GUATEMALA/GERMANY/USA – World Premiere
El Canguro (The Kangaroo)
A Rainforest Opera in Concert Written by Cynthia Lewis Ferrell Composed by Peter Michael von der Nahmer Saturday September 10, 2011 - 7:00 PM KUSC AT&T Center Theater 1150 S. Olive Street, Los Angeles In collaboration with KUSC Radio and Pepperdine University
It has been four years since Cynthia Lewis Ferrell and Peter Michael von der Nahmer launched El Canguro – what was supposed to be a simple “ripped from the headlines” assignment at the Academy for New Musical Theatre. But neither writer could let go of the idea, and when Mike returned home to Germany, he and Cynthia continued to compose and revise online. The work quickly generated interest in England, Germany, Guatemala, and Mexico, as well as in the U.S. Thanks go to Pepperdine University, dramaturg Donald Freed, Brenda Barnes, Moonlight Studios, Becky Lewis, Bob Polokowski and Clare Graham for their crucial, early support. Directed by Cynthia Lewis Ferrell Music Direction by Melanie Emelio & Jake Anthony Performed by Jake Anthony, Joel Balzun, Alison Campagna, Juan Castaneda, Renee Rulon Cortez, Melanie Emelio, Megan Gillespie, Marc Ginsburg, Guillermo Gonzalez, Matthew Kellaway, Maggie Lane, Andrew Pearson, Zachary Singerman, Jay Stephenson, Jillian Lee Choral Conductor .......................................... Tyler Kimmel Choreographer............................................... Andrew Pearson Pianist............................................................. Jake Anthony Sound Engineer.............................................. Jeff Lewis Costumes....................................................... Elizabeth Short, Wendy Hahn Lead Videographer......................................... Jessica Rotter Original Art...................................................... Charles Lewis, Becky Lewis Sets................................................................ Bill Ferrell Co.
23
Cynthia Lewis Ferrell
Peter Michael von der Nahmer
Librettist
Composer
Cynthia Lewis Ferrell is a playwright and librettist working in Los Angeles. The author of the multiple prize-winning collection War and Water: 3DB Inside, Snapshoot, Holy Cows and Mean High Tide, her works have been developed via the Colony Theatre, 24th Street Theatre, and Theatricum Botanicum in Los Angeles, and Stage Left Studio in New York. Her musicals include At Home in Mitford, with Chana Wise and Emmy-winner Carl Johnson and Rightful Monarch of America, with Johnson and Tony-winner Jeff Marx. Her video songbook with composer Jerry Ranger includes the internet farce Caffe Latte, and Shermania!, produced for Disney’s sold-out Destination: D expo and distributed through The Mouse Lounge. Cynthia’s latest foray onstage was the sold-out 2010 Women at Work Festival in New York City, where she presented her solo show What a Wife Doesn’t Know, drawn from her current project, the novel Rattler in the Ivy. She is the recipient of the Jerome Lawrence Fellowship, the Phi Kappa Phi achievement medal, and the Conquest Prize. Cynthia holds a Masters of Professional Writing from USC and has taught as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. She is a member of ASCAP, and is published by the Arts & Letters Journal of Contemporary Culture and Doubleday NY. www.CynthiaFerrell.com
After studies in Musicology at the LMU in Munich, and film at the University for Film and Television, he continued his professional music in composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich and furthered his studies in film scoring at the UCLA, followed by the highly competitive Aspen Music Festival and School as well as the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop in Los Angeles. He is currently studying for an M.A. in Music Therapy at University of Augsburg and a certificate in Music Pain Entrainment in Magdeburg. Mike has been awarded numerous prizes and honors, including the Jerome Foundation Grant and the Encore Grant from the American Composers Forum, ASCAPlus Award 2009 and 2010, the Renee B. Fisher Composer Award, and the Berlin Opera Prize 2010 and scholarships by the Aspen Music Festival, the O’Neill Puppetry Conference and the International Festival For Alternative Music Theater in Berlin among others. His work on El Canguro was partly made possible during a five-month residency at the composer residency Herrenhaus Edenkoben in Germany. Besides his work as a composer for concert, stage and film, he does interdisciplinary research in music and science and working since 2010 as a consultant for sound design at the BMW Group Research and Innovation Center in Munich. www.PeterMichaelvonderNahmer.com
24
from Armenia/USA
ThE PERils OF POliTEnEss liVE On Written by Bianca Bagatouria Staged Reading – FREE
Sunday September 11, 2011 - 2:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles Produced by the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance This adaptation by playwright Bianca Bagatourian of the short stories by the 19th century satirist, Hagop Baronian, delves into areas such as: do the same codes and laws of manners travel through time or are they susceptible to change through decades, geographical stratum, occasion, and other factors. It questions the need and necessity for long held traditions and asks if we might be happier in the abandonment of feelings associated with ceremony, acquiescing, enduring, guardedness, etiquette, and obligation. Music composed by John Baboian. First presented in a staged reading at the Classic Stage Co. in New York, NY.
25
Dear Linda, Joe, Sandy, and CITF Board, Thank you for all that you do and all your hard work! We are so thrilled to have the Festival back in Ventura!
Jordan and Sandra Laby ONWARD AND UPWARD!
from Ukraine
Concert Under the Stars with Mariana Sadovska
Sunday September 11, 2011 – 6:00 PM Los Angeles Theatre Center – Theatre 3 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles Tuesday September 13, 2011 - 7:00 PM Wednesday September 14, 2011 - 7:00 PM Museum of Ventura County 100 East Main Street, Ventura Saturday September 17, 2011 - 8:00 PM Calabasas City Hall 100 Civic Center Way, Calabasas Concert and Storytelling with indigenous music from East Europe, the Middle East and the world! “Sometimes a musician has such an inborn desire to communicate that her message naturally becomes universal: it doesn’t matter whether she is singing soul or bel canto or folk. Such was the case with the Ukrainian singer Mariana Sadovska.” ~ Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
MARIANA SADOVSKA Ukrainian Composer-Arranger, Vocalist Mariana Sadovska has worked all her life in music and theatre. Born in 1972 in Lviv, Ukraine, she trained as a classical pianist at Lviv’s National Music School. Later she joined Les Kurbas Theatre, one of Ukraine’s leading theatre companies. From 1991 to 2001 Sadovska worked as a principal actor, composer, and music director with the Teatr Gardzienice in Poland. Gardzienice received worldwide acclaim for its virtuoso anthropological-experimental performances rooted in rugged fieldwork in isolated rural areas of the world. In 1998 she won the Best Actress Award in Poland. As the musical director, Mariana conducted numerous workshops at colleges, universities and arts centers around the world, including one with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, UK. Since 2001 she has been composing vocal music for different international theatre and music ensembles in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and the USA. Her composition of “Sklavi with Farm in the Cave of Prague” was nominated for the Alfred-Radok Award. Her composition “The Rusalka Cycle – songs between the worlds” travels many festivals like Giving Voice in Poland, Globalize: Cologne in Germany, and Revolutions International Festival in Albuquerque, NM. Based on intensive expeditions, Mariana transforms unique songs, laments, and callings of rural Ukraine into original music in collaboration with musicians like Frank London, Antony Coleman, and Sebastian Gramss. Her band, Borderland, received the Creole Award for best world music in Germany. Mariana was a scholar of Earth Foundation (New York), Staatskanzlei NRW (Germany), Fulbright (USA) and Princeton Atelier (Lewis Centre of the Arts). Right now Mariana is composing a music piece for one voice and string quartet. “Chernobyl – a pagan requiem” – a collaboration with the highly recommended Kronos Quartet of San Francisco – will be premiered in 2011.
27
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES Our Holiday Concert is currently scheduled for Saturday, December 17, 2011 at First United Methodist Church, 700 N. Glenoaks, Blvd., Glendale. Don’t miss out on future opportunities to enjoy concert with us! Join our mailing list to be kept apprised of additional concert dates not currently on our schedule. JOIN OUR MAILING LIST Simply visit burbankchorale.org and click on “Mailing List.” Then just fill in the form and hit “Subscribe.” We look forward to seeing you at our next concert! COME SING WITH US! Auditions for the Winter 2011 concert season will be held by appointment only. Rehearsals start Tuesday, September 13, 2011 Shadow Hills Presbyterian Church, Sunland. To book an appointment, e-mail: membership@burbankchorale.org or call (818) 759-9177. Visit us at burbankchorale.org.
Congratulations on your 3rd Annual
Holiday Inn 21101 Ventura Blvd Woodland Hills, CA 91364 Tel: 818-883-6110 or email Julie@hiwoodlandhills.com
from USA
¡Gaytino!
Written and Performed by Dan Guerrero Directed by Diane Rodriguez Tuesday September 13, 2011 - 8:30 PM Thursday September 15, 2011 - 9:00 PM Museum of Ventura County 100 East Main Street, Ventura Mariachi to Merman. Sondheim to Cesar Chavez. ¡Gaytino! spins the tale of a remarkable life journey as the gay son of a Latino music legend moves from the back of the bus to the front of American pop culture. The critically-acclaimed world premiere of ¡Gaytino! was produced by the Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles in 2006, and tells the tale of a amazing life journey from East LA in the ‘50s to New York’s Great White Way in the 60s and 70s and back to Hollywood, moving from the back of the bus to the front of American pop culture. Dan’s relationship with his late father, Chicano music legend Lalo Guerrero, and a treasured boyhood friendship drive this autobiographical play through decades of Chicano history and the gay experience from a unique and personal perspective. Touching, hilarious and absolutely one-of-a-kind, Dan Guerrero brings his two fascinating worlds together in a riveting solo show. “A disarming twist on the triumph-of-the-human-spirit theme” ~ Washington Post Written And Performed by Dan Guerrero Directed by Diane Rodriguez Choreography by Kay Cole Music Arranged and Produced by Joseph Julian Gonzalez, David De Palo and Germaine Franco Projection Design by Daniel Foster Sound Design by Adam Phalen SONGS USED WITH PERMISSION: Barrio Libre Music, Inc. Helene Blue Musique Ltd. on behalf of Strada Music Irving Music, Inc. on behalf of itself and Woolnough Music, Inc. Warner/Chappell Music Williamson Music Company by special arrangement with The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization
29
PROJECTION IMAGES WITH PERMISSION: tm/c 2006 the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation Photograph Copyright Jack Mitchell El Teatro Campesino The Lalo Guerrero Family Collection The Carlos Almaraz Estate Jay Thompson for Mark Taper Forum Ignacio Gomez, Artist Jocelyn Sherman Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Some images courtesy of NASA Originally Produced by The Center Theatre Group Special Gracias: Bob Mackie, Joe McFate, Ken Page, Richard Read, Mark D. Sendroff Dan Guerrero Author, Performer
Dan Guerrero is delighted to bring ¡Gaytino! to Ventura following performances at New York’s iconic Zipper Theatre, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and to more than a dozen cities from Miami to Santa Fe where his performance was introduced by Governor Bill Richardson. Prior to the Spring 2006 world premiere in Los Angeles produced by the Center Theatre Group, Guerrero had not performed on stage since an off-Broadway revue in 1973. That’s a long time between bows. Guerrero began his eclectic career in New York where he moved from East Los Angeles at age twenty to sing and dance in musicals. He performed for many years before becoming a successful Broadway talent agent in the years from A Chorus Line to Cats. Back to Los Angeles, Dan turned to casting for theatre and television before establishing himself as a multi-talented producer and director. Guerrero has enjoyed a stellar career as a highly acclaimed producer of diverse programming for network and cable television including projects for NBC, HBO, PBS, Telemundo and Univision. He also directs and stages plays and international gala events at such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New York’s historic Apollo Theatre and the Cité de la Musique in Paris, France. His credits include the world premiere of Concierto para Mendez for the Los Angeles Opera; Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World at the Kennedy Center, and Adelita: The Women of the Mexican Revolution for Linda Ronstadt and her Mexican Heritage Festival in San Jose, California. www.gaytino.com www.danguerrero.com
30
from GERMANY Futur3 Theatre
SCENARIO FOR A NONEXISTENT, BUT POSSIBLE, INSTRUMENTAL ACTOR Performed by Andre Erlan Written by Boguslaw Schaeffer
Wednesday September 14, 2011 – 8:30 PM Thursday September 15, 2011 – 9:00 PM Museum of Ventura County 100 East Main Street, Ventura Friday September 16, 2011 – 7:30 PM Calabasas City Hall 100 Civic Center Way, Calabasas A production of Futur3 in cooperation with Freihandelszone Physical comedy about the struggle of making art featuring fire, water, flour, ping-pong balls, buckets, fishing lines, a cello, and every inch of the stage! The play is based on a lecture about the state of contemporary art which concludes that technology is withering the “aura” of art by diluting its ritual aspect and destroying the concept of “authenticity.” The show proceeds to undercut the highfalutin’ mental games artists play, with precise sequences of abstract buffoonery creating a physical comedy that is sardonic, thoughtful, and ridiculous - it has an unbroken, almost musical rhythm that is mesmerizing, and dramatizes both the difficulty of making meaningful art, and the frustrating art of describing that difficulty. This piece, written by Boguslaw Schaeffer, has been performed over 1500 times since 1976. It has been highly praised by critics, beloved of audiences, and has received the Grand Prix at the 1995 New York Theatre Festival.
31
artist Judith Wilske creating interactive shows and artistic interventions. Since 2004 he has been the artistic codirector of Futur3 Experimental Theatre, and a founding member of the theatre network Freihandelszone – Cologne. Futur3’s mission is to create original performances at site-specific spaces involving the audience into action. The projects were shown in many countries abroad. Since 2006 Andre has been the artistic co-director and curator of the international festival for dance and theatre GLOBALIZE:COLOGNE. He participates in different artists platforms in Europe and Asia. In 2012 he will direct a show at the Solo Dance Studio in Indonesia. Andra has received several awards for his acting and directing skills. He leads workshops in Theatres and Universities for actors, such as International Workshop Festival in Tel Aviv (Israel) and at Princeton University (USA).
andrE ErlEn Theatremaker
In 1974 Andre was born in Germany. After high school he graduated from the highly recommended Kunstakademie Düsseldorf where he took painting and art theory classes from Prof. Gerhard Merz. From 1995-2001 he was a member of the Actors´ Studio Pulheim. He joined the Studio’s German-Polish educational program including a collaboration with the Theatre School Cracow, Teatr Gardzienice, and acting teachers like Jerzy Stuhr, Krystof Miklaszewski, and the singer Olga Schwajgier. The actor Jan Peszek introduced André into the idea of “instrumental acting” and “music for actors” created by Polish composer Boguslaw Schaeffer. In 2002 he started to create a music and theatre show with the Ukrainian singer and composer Mariana Sadovska. He has collaborated with the performance
32
Providing
Service Beyond Expection
818-222-0404
Since 1988
WWW.RJFEDER.COM
from Iran/USA
Around the World in SEVEN Acts Written by Ali Kiani Devised and Directed by Ron Popenhagen Dramaturg Luda Popenhagen Staged Reading - FREE Saturday September 17, 2011 - 2:00 PM Calabasas City Hall 100 Civic Center Way, Calabasas Storytelling Traditions from Iran and Turkey and Stories from China, Egypt, India, Japan and Nigeria PRIESTS, WIVES AND WISE GUYS With Julie Aquino, Alfe Azad, Jozben Barrett, Deanne Destler, Rachael Friedman, Mike Mccafferty, Ashley Nguyen and Richard-Edward De Vere. Ali Kiani Playwright
Ali Kiani received a PhD from the UCLA Theater Arts Department. He has taught at UCLA, California State University, and Los Angeles Community Colleges. His plays have been produced and published professionally. Dr.. Kiani’s books, An Anthology of non-Western Drama (Whittier Publication, N.Y.) and Around the World in Seven Acts (Author House, Bloomington) have received great reviews; Kiani has won several creative writing awards for his plays and screenplays. Ali Kiani directed the feature film A Dull House. His documentaries, Inside Out/Upside Down, and Are You Safe were produced by EFI Productions in New York and Star Globe Productions in Hollywood, respectively. Ron Popenhagen and Luda Popenhagen biographies can be found on Page 41.
33
The California International Theatre Festival wishes to show appreciation to the following for their participation in, and help with, our
FiRsT AnnUAl CElEBRiTy GOlF TOURnAMEnT AUGUsT 8, 2011 Celebrity Participants John Capodice Bobby Costanzo Jamie Farr Gregory Harrison David Leisure Joe Mantegna Jack McGee Richard Roundtree Bob Torti
Gordon Clapp Kevin Dobson Bob Gagliano Alex Hyde-White Bruce Locke Ron Masak Geoff Pierson Bill Smitrovich Lyman Ward
Contributors / Participants Scott Adler Maureen Cullum Bob Glenn Richard Holmes John McConnell Dan Pelter George Sagadencky
Steve Brevidoro Khorri Ellis Robert Goldstein David Key Marc Myers Dan Ramm Gary Terrasi
Calabasas Country Club Gene Axelrod Gerardo Martinez
Tom Fink Steven Sosnowski
Tournament Coordinator: David Key
from Japan
Tsunami Tales
Play Reading - FREE Edited and Directed by Linda Purl and Lonny Joseph Gordon Sunday September 18, 2011 - 4:00 PM Calabasas City Hall 100 Civic Center Way, Calabasas A compilation of stirring letters direct from survivors of the March earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. CITF will be accepting donations for the Red Cross Tsunami Fund at this performance. Linda Purl Editor, Director
Linda Purl’s biography can be found on page 38. Lonny Gordon Editor, Director
After an international career of 30 years as a performer, Gordon now devotes his energies to research and teaching. Lonny has been invited to teach visual arts and choreography for India’s National School of Drama, the University of Stockholm, the National College of Chinese Culture, Smith School, the Seoul Institute of the Arts and numerous other centers for learning. He has been Artist-in-Residence/ Guest Artist at over 150 institutions and cultural centers globally. His creative work includes over 90 art/dance/theatre works commissioned by sponsors as diverse as the World Exposition in Osaka, Japan; the Cultural Dances of Malaysia; the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Museum of Fine Art in Japan; Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Ruth Page Foundation. Professor Gordon completed a Master’s Degree in Classical Japanese Dance – Cultural Studies from the Nishikawa School as the first non-Japanese student graduated. Other honors include a professional fellowship from the Japan Foundation, performances with the Umewaka Noh Theatre, numerous grants to study Bugaku and Noh in Japan, as well as a Fulbright Grant to research Korean Culture, a fellowship from the Korean Performing Arts Institute for study at the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Center. As World Outreach Professor for Illinois State University, he is creating new art working with fine arts majors and non-majors across the university by incorporating an interdisciplinary relationship of the arts and letters. The artistic performances and productions of world outreach Professor Lonny Joseph Gordon are graciously supported in part by Illinois State University and Rosa’s Printing of San Juan, Texas.
35
from USA and Beyond
ACROss ThE BORDERs! CiTF’s 2011 WRAP PARTy! Sunday September 18, 2011 – 5:30 PM Sagebrush Cantina 23527 Calabasas Road, Calabasas Come and enjoy a celebration of 10 days of international theatre in Southern California! Fantastic food and amazing entertainment all sponsored by and hosted at the legendary Sagebrush Cantina! Featuring the fabulous sounds of: sTaGGErinG jack Staggering Jack is a new Celtic band with folk and rock flavors. Playing with traditional styles from rowdy pub songs to tribal laments, they aim to enliven the evening and engage the sober… or otherwise. They are Morlan Higgins on mandolin, bouzouki and vocals, Warren Mays on guitar and vocal, Jason Mullen on bass, Tony Stefani on drums, Nichtan Motika on viper violin (a six stringed instrument with the range of a cello and violin), and lead vocalist Kerry Morrigan. kEiTh sanchEz and ThE Moon ThEivEs Keith Sanchez’s accomplishments in the music world include being distributed throughout the United States, garnering a #1 charting song on the national Rock en Español R&R charts, having music featured on major network shows such as The Shield on FX, and videos in regular rotation on MTV Español International. Now performing and writing as a solo artist he will continue to showcase throughout the United States with a reinvented sound laced with rootsy rock, soulful blues, Latino groove, artful singer-songwriter reflection, and a healthy dash of pop. Keith also worked as the principal performer and Music Director for Carlos Santana’s Maria Maria Restaurants throughout California and the southwest. The Moon Thieves include Matias Pizarro on drums and Juan Carlos Ramirez on Bass.
36
STAFF Joe Peracchio
ABC Family’s Wildfire, Into The West (Spielberg mini-series) and numerous independent features, and was a writer and lead actor in the PBS/CBS comedy show Fences for two seasons (Gold Medal: NY Festival of Film and TV and nominated twice for Regional Emmy Awards). His professional stage directing and acting credits include productions of contemporary and classical published plays, world premieres, and his own original plays for over 15 years and has been seen on stages in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Edinburgh and many other cities and universities throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada. Recently he played James McNeil Whistler in workshop at Playwrights Horizons in NYC opposite Kathleen Chalfant in Whistler’s Mummy, directed by David Schweizer, and has appeared regionally at Seattle Repertory Theatre (The Beard), Baltimore Theatre Project (The Seagull), and Rubicon Theatre Company (The Tempest, You Can’t Take It With You). He has served as Assistant Director to Moisés Kaufman (Carmen), and has worked with numerous other playwrights directing, performing, and producing their work including Neil LaBute (Coax), Mac Wellman (Dracula), Michael McClure (The Beard), and Elana Greenfield (9 Come). Joe directed and starred in the hit rock-opera Taking the Jesus Pill in Hollywood, directed and produced the hit musical Bukowsical! (Outstanding Musical Award 2007, New York Fringe Festival), and his own play, The Glorious & Bloodthirsty Billy the Kid, created with Tricklock Company, has completed three international tours to Edinburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles, Krakow, Prague, Belgrade, Cologne, and Calgary under his direction.
Festival Director
Joe is the Founding Artistic Director of New Mexico’s Tricklock Company, the professional theatre company in residence at the University of New Mexico, and the founder of New Mexico’s premiere performing arts event: Revolutions International Theatre Festival, held annually in Albuquerque & Santa Fe, now in its 12th season. Also with Tricklock, Joe founded the The Manoa Project: Statewide Teen Playwriting & Ensemble Apprenticeship Program in 2003, now in its 9th season, and in 2006 he co-founded the Free Speech Comedy Art Series in collaboration with Paul Provenza (The Aristocrats, Showtime’s The Greenroom with Paul Provenza). In California, Joe served as Festival Producer for Ventura’s Rubicon International Theatre Festival in 2008, and was the Founding Festival Producer for the California International Theatre Festival in Calabasas in 2009. Joe was honored by the New Mexico Business Weekly as one of the State’s Top Forty Under 40 Arts Professionals and was appointed by Mayor Martin Chavez to the Albuquerque Film Advisory Board and the Mayor’s transition team to advise the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Joe is currently performing the role of Jackson Pollock in the acclaimed touring production POLLOCK, directed by Broadway director and Juilliard acting program co-founder Moni Yakim and featuring music by Ornette Coleman, which ran at the Cleveland Playhouse in April 2011, and will open in Los Angeles in spring 2012. Joe was a series regular in the CW Network’s EASY MONEY, starring Laurie Metcalf, in 2008/2009, and has also appeared on Criminal Minds:Suspect Behavior (ABC),
37
Tammy Taylor
Joseph Fuqua. Film and television credits include Speed, The River Wild, Lotto Land, HBO’s The Jack Bull with John Cusack and John Goodman, directed by John Badham and the HBO series Arli$$, where she was an associate producer. Tammy earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University and graduated with high honors from the Cordon Bleu Program at California School of Culinary Arts. She spent several years in the culinary world, much of it spent as a pastry chef at the five-star Aurora, Maison de Cuisine in Dallas and Cuvée Bistro and Wine Market in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Executive Producer
Tammy is in her second year at CITF moving into the Executive Producer position for this exciting 2011 Season. She has worn many hats throughout her theatrical career, most recently working as Associate Producer for Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California. Tammy was the co-producer of the critically acclaimed, sell-out Los Angeles productions of BJ Ward’s Stand-Up Opera and Ad Wars, with David Dukes and Stephanie Zimbalist. Tammy began her theatre career as a stage manager. Her Broadway credits include Spoils of War, Eastern Standard and Macbeth. Off-Broadway credits include The Baby Dance with Jenny Sullivan, Stephanie Zimbalist, Linda Purl and John Bennett Perry; Old Times with Anthony Hopkins, Jane Alexander and Marsha Mason; and The Film Society starring Nathan Lane; Before the Dawn at American Place Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club’s productions of Mark Medoff’s The Hands of Its Enemy and Richard Greenberg’s Eastern Standard. She has also worked extensively at regional theatres including Long Wharf Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and Williamstown Theatre Festival. As a Production Manager, she worked at Santa Fe Stages, Lobero Stage Company and the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. World tours include several with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Company and the Lucinda Childs Dance Company. More recent stage management work includes Tea at Five with Stephanie Zimbalist, directed by Jenny Sullivan at Ensemble Theatre Company and the Ovation Award Winning R. Buckminster Fuller: The History and Mystery of the Universe with Joe Spano which toured the Southwest and the acclaimed production of Hamlet at Rubicon, directed by Jenny Sullivan, staring
Linda Purl
Founding Festival Director/President
Linda Purl, is Founder of CITF and served as Founding Festival Director. She appeared on Broadway in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Getting and Spending, and Off-Broadway in The Baby Dance and Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Regional theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, Juliet; The Little Foxes, Regina; The Merchant of Venice, Portia, A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche; Hippolytus, Phaedra; A Glass Menagerie, Amanda; Nora, Nora with Michael York; original production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Dinner with Friends; Beyond Therapy, Prudence; The Road to Mecca with Miss Julie Harris; A Doll’s House, Nora; at such theatres as Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Santa Fe Opera, Cleveland Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Rubicon Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, six seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; the Princess Grace Theatre in Monaco, Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. She served as Founding Executive Director of the Colorado Festival of World Theatre. Purl has starred in over 40 made-for-TV movies, and is especially known for her
38
series roles Charlene Matlock on Matlock and Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s fiancée, on Happy Days. She is currently recurring on two television series: The Office as Helene Beasley and this year’s new Showtime series Homeland, as Elizabeth Gaines. As a film actress, she has appeared in Disney’s Mighty Joe Young, The Walking Major and Leo and Loree, among others. Purl currently tours with her solo concert Come Rain or Come Shine as well as with Gregory Harrison in A Night to Remember. Her recordings include the solo albums Alone Together and Out of this World-Live with special guest Desi Arnaz, Jr. Born in Connecticut, Purl grew up in Japan, becoming the only foreigner to have trained at the Toho Geino Academy. Her studies continued at LAMDA, Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg Institute.
Samantha Kaden Associate Producer Company Management
Samantha Kaden, a native Southern Californian is a recent graduate (with honors) of the UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television, majoring in Stage Management, and minoring in Film, Television, and Digital Media. While at UCLA she stage managed Last Autumn, Much Ado About Nothing, The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee, Forgotten World, and Pains of Youth. Samantha started working with the California International Theatre Festival in 2010 and this is her second season with the company. She has previously worked at the Rubicon Theater Company for five years in numerous capacities. While there, she was the Production Stage Manager for Seussical: The Musical, Bye Bye Birdie, Our Town, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Footloose, as well as Assistant Stage Manager on Little Women. She has served as Second Assistant Director on the film The Hawk and aspires to ultimately be a producer within the field of themed entertainment.
www.lindapurl.com Juliet Naulin Associate Producer Audience Development/Marketing
Juliet Naulin recently graduated from the California State University of Channel Islands with her BA in Performing Arts with an emphasis in Theatre. She started with CITF as an Apprentice during the 2010 season and is now continuing work with the festival in the area of audience development. Her love of theatre blossomed in high school although she had been acting since the age of four. Some of her recent theatre credits include Margaret Reed in The Donner Party Cycle Part 1 at CSUCI, Heidi Holland in The Heidi Chronicles at CSUCI, May Daniels in Once in a Lifetime at CSUCI and others. Juliet would like to thank her parents, friends and boyfriend Andrew for dealing with her constantly checking her CITF email on her iPhone and only very rarely commenting on it.
Byron Laurie Box Office Manager
Byron Laurie is a founding member of Albuquerque, New Mexico’s renowned Tricklock Company, theatre company in residence at the University of New Mexico, and a founding producer of the annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival. He is also a founding instructor of The Manoa Project, Tricklock’s statewide teen play writing and acting ensemble internship program. He has toured and performed extensively throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. He has had the honor to work with such masters as Wlodek Staniewski of Gardzienice Theatre, Poland; Daniel
39
involved with CITF and is grateful for the opportunity to support such a spectacular international event.
Stein of Dell Arte’ School of Physical Theatre; and Karen Hines of the Clown Farm on Manitoulin Island; as well as writer/directors, including Neil LaBute, Mac Wellman, & Michael McClure. Prior to Tricklock Company, Byron lived in Los Angeles for two years, and worked for Center Theatre Group. He began his time there in the Audience Subscriptions department and quickly moved into Audience Development, helping senior staff to develop and grow support for CTG. Byron was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree, and the Excellence in Acting Award from the University of New Mexico. He is tremendously excited to be working with California International Theatre Festival!
Sabina ZuÑiga Varela Associate Producer Outreach/Front of House Coordinator
Sabina Zuñiga Varela (MFA/USC) of Albuquerque New Mexico has 12 years of community theatre experience in acting, directing and producing in both theatrical venues and independent film. Sabina is founding member of Teatro Nuevo Mexico, a Latino theatre company (www.teatronuevomexico.com) and the theatre troupe Las Meganenas (www.comadrenetwork.org). Zuñiga Varela is recipient of the 2007 Best Female Performer of the Year from the NM Hispano Entertainers Association for her portrayal of Frida Kahlo in Still Life by Harry Clark at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque which subsequently toured to San Miguel Allende, Mexico. She is also a certified Special Education/Drama teacher (MA in Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Education), with experience in social justice theatre curriculum development. Sabina currently resides in Los Angeles.
Barbara Holmes Development Associate
Barbara Holmes is a graduate of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she earned a Bachelor of Education with distinction, specializing in Language Arts and Reading. Over her nearly three decades as a teacher she taught all subject areas in the elementary grades. From the onset of her career, she became an advocate for the importance of the arts in the education of the whole child. Barbara served as the Lead Teacher for the Alberta School Improvement Initiative from 2006-2009. This put her in charge of mentoring and coaching colleagues in best teaching practices focused on enhancing student skills in aural listening, decision-making, spatial reasoning, kinesthetic movement, and oral communication; all of which supports the research that the development of these skills through the arts correlates to academic success in areas such as reading, mathematics, language development, communication skills, and critical thinking. She is thrilled to be
Kathleen Parsons Production Manager
Kathleen is in the 3rd year of working for the CITF as Production Manager. She was also Production Manager for the Rubicon International Theatre Festival, as well as for BeckettFest. A stage manager by trade, Kathleen has worked for San Jose Repertory Theatre, National Theatre of the Deaf, Access Theater, North Shore Music Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, The Pasadena Playhouse, Manitoba Theatre Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Musical Theatre of San Jose and Teatro ZinZanni. She would like to thank Alexis, Christina, Juli and Wayne.
40
Ron Popenhagen
International Festival, the Los Angeles Festival of Masks, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Perth Fringe Festival, the Sydney Fringe Festival, and the Powerhouse Museum of Science and Design.
Director of Performance Training
Ron Popenhagen is Director of Performance Training for the CITF. He is a Director, Acting Coach, and Theatre Scholar. Ron is currently an Adjunct Professor in the School of Theatre at the University of Southern California. He has taught advanced courses in Acting, Directing and Theory at Cal State Northridge, and also teaches at Cal State Channel Islands. In 2010, Ron gave a series of actor training workshops in Turkey. A former assistant to Jacques Lecoq in Paris through a Fulbright grant, Dr.. Popenhagen is a specialist in mise en scène and mask performance; he earned a PhD from UC Santa Barbara and an MA from Stony Brook University on Long Island. He has directed, performed and taught extensively in Australia and Europe. In university settings, Ron has directed Classical Drama, Gestural Theatre, and Opera on campuses in California, Iowa, Kansas, and New York. In addition, Dr.. Popenhagen has served as Interdisciplinary Guest Scholar through the National Endowment of the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and in Paris, France with Princeton University at the Columbia University Paris Campus. Ron has taught courses and seminars at Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the University of Kansas, and Lithuania’s National Conservatory of Music and Drama. He has also trained singers and actors at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney) and the Actors College of Theatre and Television (Sydney). As a director-in-training, Ron participated in workshops with Peter Brook, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dario Fo, Joan Littlewood, Ariane Mnouchkine, Yoshi Oida, and Monika Pagneux. He has created new works and devised theatre projects for the Houston
Luda Popenhagen
Director of Education Programs
Luda Apinytè Popenhagen is Director of Education Programs for the CITF. She is an actor, acting teacher, dramaturg, and theatre scholar. Luda has worked extensively in France, Italy, Lithuania, the States, the UK, and her native Australia. Dr. Popenhagen is Professor of Performing Arts at Cal State Channel Islands, where she teaches Dramatic Literature, Theatre History and Performance. A student of Jacques Lecoq and Monika Pagneux in Paris, Luda has taught at conservatories and universities in Australia, Europe and the United States. Dr. Popenhagen earned a PhD from UC Santa Barbara and foreign language degrees/certificates from the University of Sydney, the Sorbonne, and the University of New South Wales. Luda studied Stanislavski and Stella Adler Technique at Sydney’s Actors Conservatory Theatre; she also participated in Jerzy Grotowski’s Australia Acting Workshop. In Paris, Dr. Popenhagen completed the Performance Diploma with Lecoq School and was Teaching Assistant and Registrar/Administrator for Monika Pagneux and Philippe Gaulier’s International Theatre Workshops (Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh, Montreal, Torino, Toronto, and London). As an Actor, Luda was selected to participate in Ariane Mnouchkine’s Acting Shakespeare and Mask Workshop at the Théâtre du Soleil in Vincennes. As an actor trainer, Luda Popenhagen has taught at Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Actors College of Theatre and Television (ACTT), the Sydney Conservatorium of Music,
41
and the University of Kansas. She has also taught Dramatic Literature and Dramaturgy at the University of Sydney and the University of Western Sydney, and served as Guest Scholar at the Center for 20th Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
of the support staff for the European Union Youth Orchestra, she toured continental Europe and the United Kingdom, preparing and facilitating two tours of this 130-piece orchestra from all 27 EU countries to 15 cities in eight countries. She also has worked as the Coordinator for the National Youth Music Theatre (UK), producing professional-level productions, master classes and press events, including a performance at Buckingham Palace. In addition to her experience in theatre, she has studied the classical piano for over 20 years and is a ballroom dance instructor. This is Jenny’s first season with CITF and she is delighted to be able to work with such an amazing team.
Davidson and Choy Publicity Press Representatives
This is the third season that Judi Davidson and associate Lisa England have represented the California International Theatre Festival. One of the leading firms in the region, they specialize in publicity for the performing arts, entertainment, culture, and special events. D and C has experience with a wide range of clients including on-going non-profit organizations, Los Angeles and national touring theatre productions, dance, opera, music, authors and major arts festivals. Davidson and Choy represented the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, The Los Angeles Festival and UK/LA Festival. Authors include Judith Krantz, John Lahr, Lawrence Bergreen and Richard Matheson. Music includes ten years with the Los Angeles Opera Company, five years with Los Angeles Chamber Music’s Silent Film Gala and currently, both seasons of Le Salon de Musique. Plays range from Evita, A Chorus Line, Annie, Dream Girls and many others in major venues; as well as the Pacific Stages Company and opening in October, A Conversation with Edith Head.
Edward Padilla Intern
Edward Padilla received his BA in Performing Arts with an emphasis in Theatre from California State University Channel Islands. Right after graduation he became an Apprentice for CITF’s 2010 season where he learned acting techniques not typically taught at a university. While attending CSU Channel Islands he acted & directed in the annual spring productions, and returned as the dramaturg and marketing assistant for the 2011 spring production. A few months after he started working as an intern for CITF handling administrative work as well as researching target audiences in Ventura County for the 2011 season performances in Ventura.
Jenny Brass Assistant to the Executive Producer
Jenny Brass studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England and has worked as such in the United States, England and the Netherlands with Royal Ballet (UK), Children’s Theatre Company (USA), Sadler’s Wells (UK) and more. Also, as a member
Travel is fatal to prejudice. - Mark Twain
42
PRODUCTION TEAM Festival Director................................................................................ Joe Peracchio Executive Producer............................................................................Tammy Taylor Associate Producer • Company Management.............................. Samantha Kaden Associate Producer • Audience Development/Marketing..................... Juliet Naulin Development Associate.................................................................. Barbara Holmes Production Manager.................................................................Kathleen J. Parsons Press Representatives...................................................Davidson & Choy Publicity Director of Performance Training................................................. Ron Popenhagen Director of Education Programs..................................................Luda Popenhagen Associate Producer • Outreach/Front of House Coordinator.....Sabina Zuñiga Varela Box Office Manager..............................................................................Byron Laurie Festival Photographer.........................................................................Matt Andrade Assistant to the Executive Producer..................................................... Jenny Brass Intern................................................................................................ Edward Padilla Sound Engineer............................................................................... Kenneth Hobbs Stage Crew ........................................................................................ Tobias Peltier LATC Technical Director...............................................................Wayne Nakasone LATC Assistant Production Manager..................................................... Alexis Miles LATC Assistant Production Manager....................................................Juli Hendren Bookkeeping Services...........................................................................Kaila Kaden
By the Book Accounting & Administrative Services
Audit Services........................................................................... Cahill & Associates International Visa Legal Services.................................................. Richard Tashjain
Tashjian Law Group
Founding Festival Director • President.............................................. Linda Purl
Founding Executive Director............................................. M. Edgar Rosenblum (1932-2010)
The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) is a facility of the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles and is operated by The Latino Theater Company. The Latino Theater Company’s vision at the LATC is to provide a world-class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; a place where the convergence of people, cultures, and ideas contribute to the future. A true ensemble group, The Latino Theater Company has demonstrated over 25 years of commitment to creating and producing some of the most exciting main stage theater in the Los Angeles area that investigates the U.S. Latino experience. To achieve the goal of providing programming that is relevant and relates to many different cultures in the city, five theater companies form the LATC Cultural Roundtable (Latino Theater Company, Robey Theatre Company, Playwrights’ Arena, Cedar Grove OnStage, American Indian Dance Theatre) who present and produce new and well-established culturally specific works that connect to the broad range of Los Angeles residents, expanding artistic theatrical expression in Los Angeles. Join us for our Face of the World Fall Season (Sept – Dec) and our East of Broadway Spring Season (March – June) and our Annual Playwrights Festival every January. The Los Angeles Theatre Center – where the stages look like L.A.!
43
LEADERSHIP Board of Directors
Honorary Trustees
Chairman
The Honorable Julia Brownley
Sandy E. Smith
Sespe Consulting, Inc.
President
Linda Purl
Founding Festival Director
Secretary/Treasurer
David L. Sonne Entrepreneur
Scott Z. Adler
Attorney/Real Estate Developer
Gene Axelrod
Chairman, Calabasas Country Club
Susan Clark Actor
Maureen Cullum CFO, PharmaJet
David Key
Financial Counsultant
Joe Peracchio Festival Director
Dr.. Richard Rush
President, California State University, Channel Islands
Alex Soteras
President, Soteras Mortgage
M. Edgar Rosenblum (1932-2010)
CITF Founding Executive Director in perpetuity
Assemblymember 41st District State of California
The Honorable Lois G. Capps
Congresswoman 23rd District of California US House of Representatives
The Honorable Elton Gallegly
Congressman 24th District of California US House of Representatives
Peter C. Hankwitz
Artistic Advisory Council Arvin Brown
Former Artistic Director Long Wharf
Kate Burton Martha Colgney
Honorary President ITI
Bruce Davison Olympia Dukakis Sheldon Epps
Artistic Director Pasadena Playhouse
Commissioner
Miguel Ferrer
Paula Holt
Julie Harris
Producer California State Student Aid Commission
The Honorable Jack O’Connell
Peter Hunt
Former Artistic Director Williamstown Theatre Festival
Stacy Keach
Former Superintendent of Education State of California
Joe Mantegna
The Honorable Alex Padilla
Alfred Molina
Donald Margulies
Senator 20th District State of California
Jerry Patch
Danny Villanueva
Valarie Pettiford
Retired Professional Football Player, Dallas Cowboys President / CEO Villanueva Capital Corporation Univision/Partner/Director Telemundo
Dennis Zine
Los Angeles City Councilman 3rd District
Manhattan Theatre Club
Roger Rees Michael Ritchie Artistic Director CTG
Sir Donald Sinden Tony Taccone Artistic Director Berkeley Rep
Richard Thomas George White
Founder Eugene O’Neill Theatre
Michael York
44
2011 DONORS $25,000-$50,000
FESTIVAL SPONSORS City of Calabasas
$20,000-$24,999
Sagebrush Cantina Albert + Micheline Sakharoff Greg Scott Sandy E. Smith Robert Sokol / VIA MEDIA
FESTIVAL CO-SPONSOR $2,500-$4,999 DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE Ann Deal, Fashion Forms
$15,000-$19,999
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
Jordan + Sandra Laby / San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts
$10,000-$14,999
DIPLOMAT’S CIRCLE Scott + Rachelle Adler Bunnin Automotive Group Susan Clark + Alex Karras Maureen Cullum Larson Charitable Foundation / Elizabeth Rice Grossman Jeff Glassman / Wallis Foundation Barbara Meister / Barber Ford, VW, Subaru, RV-Ventura
Calabasas Country Club Community Memorial Health System Limoneira David Sonne Alex Soteras State Farm Insurance
$1,000-$2,499
BENEFACTOR
Desi Arnaz, Jr. Robert Goldstein Sespe Consulting / John + Angie Hecht Linda Purl Rowley Portraiture
$500-$999
SUSTAINER
Ezra Cohen Della Designed Handbags Firenze Osteria Restaurant Adrienne + Arthur Stone
$5,000-$9,999
$250-$499
The Ahmanson Foundation Bradford Renaissance Portrait Dr.. Steven Brourman Dole Food Company FB Productions, Inc. Paul + Vera Guerin / Shapell Guerin Family Foundation Robert + Laurie Glenn Miranda Kendrick Jack Oakie + Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation
James Adams Barry Beilter Brad Berger Dennis Camene Vera A. Cantu Costco Wholesale Gary + Julie Cushing Brett + Mandy Ellen Nancy Ellin Mayor Bill Fulton Susan Georgino Mr. + Mrs. Joseph Ghadir
AMBASSADOR’S CIRCLE ASSOCIATE
45
Richard Holmes Mary Jansen / Creative Matters Coach Darla Jones Aaron Kirman David + Carolyn Lubetzky Mary McGrath Omni Hotel and Resort Rabo Bank Ravissant Salon Sea World Jeff + Lauren Segal Kathleen Sterling Dave Wallace Wheel of Fortune Dr.. Robin T. W. Yuan Patricia J. Zimmer Lawrence + Michael Zola Eyal Zuker
$100 - $249
SUPPORTER
Bill + Renee Adler Robert Adler David + Emma Armstrong Sherwin Aryeh Everard + Brooke Ashworth Edward + Sally Barth Belle ‘n Beau Photography Steve Brevidoro Scott Boydstun Cabrillo Music Theatre Faye + Lisa Campbell Comedy and Magic Club Gary + Julie Cushing The Dance Doctor Jayme Dwyer Fran + Ed Elson Far West Construction Mayor Bill Fulton, Ventura Susan Georgino GCS Technical and Business Solutions Dean + Christi Heck Michael Hogan, M.D. / Rosalind Warner, M.D. Barbara Holmes The Ice House Comedy Nightclub and Restaurant
SPECIAL THANKS
2011 DONORS (CONTINUED) Jack Ivers Mary Joyce Ivers Henry + Marilyn Janol Jill Johnson Suzanne Kiechle Bill + Laura Knox Bill + Sara Knox Rick + Roxanne Lang The Laugh Factory John C. McConnell Mary McGrath + Kat Merrick Sue Pollack + Larry Markworth Mind 2 Body Studio Dennis Mitchell + Ric Sanders Michael Montoya Sue Morgan Musical Theatre West Robert S. + Sally J. Neeley Oxygen Paragliding Jeff + Marie Paul Graphic Sales West Hugh + Elizabeth Ralston Pam + Bob Reinig Marc + Sonrisa Roulier Shamrocks Unlimited Jeanne + Steve Silbert John Siman Denise + Jim Sindelar SOSMentor Stone Miller Corporation / in honor of Adrienne Stone Carolyn Tyner Mary + Dave Wallace
Hal + Jan Wasserman Terry L. Wieser Joel Zwick
$25 - $99
FRIEND
Merrilyn N. Cummings Brenda Freiberg Gaetano’s Ristorante Robert Gagliano The Grammy Museum Hearst Castle Huntington Library Karen A. Huner LA Dodgers La Habra’s Children’s Museum Little Kuts Catherine Lincoln Maria’s Italian Kitchen Edward McBeth Jack McGee Rachel M. Parsell Pasadena Playhouse Dan Pelter Laura Romano Speed Zone Edward Summers Jenny Sullivan Whole Foods Market Arroyo The Yoga House Listing as of August 26, 2011
46
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Staff of Calabasas Golf and Country Club, Congressional Aide Tina Cobb, Kathleen Eriksen, Bob Gagliano, Congressman Elton Gallegly, Jordan & Sandra Laby and San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts, Staff of LATC, Wayne Nakasone, Lisa Stephens and Marriott International, Wendy McAfee and Holiday Inn Woodland Hills, Danny Ramm, Shanon Rice and everyone at Ventura County Museum, Rob Rousselete, Rubicon Theatre, Robert Sokol at VIA MEDIA, Richard Tashjian and everyone at Tashjian Law Group, Diana Smith, Kathleen Sterling, Ventura County AIDS Partnership Advisory Council.
CiTF EDUCATiOnAl OUTREACh PROGRAMs WORkshOPs AnD MAsTER ClAssEs
Bringing acclaimed artists into public schools and community organizations to lead classes, give talks, and provide exposure in the vast world of international styles of performance to local students and community groups. 2011 Workshops and Master Classes with international artists will take place at Calabasas High School, Ventura High School, and at Cal State University Channel Islands featuring: • • • • •
Mariana Sadowska of Ukraine – International song/Acting through music Idris Goodwin of Chicago – Short Play and Spoken Word creation Andre Erlen of Germany – Acting & physical comedy MIHR Theatre of Armenia - Dance/Theatre creation Macadâmes Theatre Corporal of France – Physical theatre & mime
inTERnshiP PROGRAM:
University students from UCLA, USC, and Cal State Channel Islands work directly with senior CITF staff year round, gaining invaluable hands-on professional training and producing experience.
FREE LECTURE/DEMONSTRATIONS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS by visiting
world-class artists presented in public schools, universities, and theatres with many open to the general public.
FREE PlAy READinGs by visiting world-class artists and local playwrights. Casts comprised of professional actors from the LA area and university student actors. JACk OAkiE & ViCTORiA hORnE OAkiE sPEAkER AnD PAnEl DisCUssiOn sERiEs Visiting international artists take the stage with American playwrights, directors, actors, and producers in free, lively panel discussions and lectures to explore the changing landscape of theatre across the globe. The series is designed to delve deeply into the challenge and importance of cultural exchange through the performing arts. Free to the Public. Sponsored by The Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Foundation.
CiTF EDUCATiOn TEAM: • • •
Director of Education Programs – Luda Popenhagen Director of Performance Training – Ron Popenhagen Outreach Coordinator & Associate Producer – Sabina Zuniga Varela
47
JACk OAkiE Jack Oakie was one of the most likeable players of the 1930’s and 40’s. Indeed, he was rarely out of work. Oakie made a total of 87 films from big-budgeted comedies and musicals to “B” westerns and football flicks. Born Lewis Delaney Offield in Sadalia, Missouri, on November 12, 1903, Jack was a natural mimic and wisecracker who began appearing in amateur charity shows, making his professional debut on Broadway in 1923 as a chorus boy in George M. Cohan’s Little Nelly Kelly. He learned his trade in a handful of musical comedies including Sharlee (1923), Innocent Eyes (1924), Artists and Models (1925) and Peggy Ann (1927). But it was in vaudeville that Jack really came into his own. He toured the country with Lulu McConnell doing up to six shows a day, finally playing the Palace. By 1927, he felt he had gone as far as he could on stage and determined to crash the movies. Unlike many stage players, Jack hit Hollywood in mid-1927, before the talkie craze hit. He signed with Paramount in 1928 (staying there through 1934), debuting with The Dummy that same year. He made an amazing ten films in 1929 alone, surely some kind of record. They included The Wild Party, the musical Close Harmony, Sweetie and Let’s Go Native. From the start, Jack was a scene-stealer. While the stars would carry the plotline, Jack would be doing his trademark double (and triple) takes, bellowing out lines in typical vaudeville style. Like fellow vaudevillians Jimmy Durante, Helen Kane and Joe E. Brown, Jack was not a classical actor; he didn’t create characters, he simply uttered his lines as Jack Oakie. That was what directors and audiences wanted – the same reliably funny Jack Oakie from film to film. Other film credits include Million Dollar Legs, Dancers in the Dark, Alice in Wonderland (1933), Clark Gable’s gold-mining pal in Call of the Wild (1935). The 1940s began auspiciously for Jack, with Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. His role as Napolini, Il Duce of Bacteria, was a brilliant and very thinly disguised slam at Mussolini, and earned Jack his only Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. Jack continued working steadily through the 1940s finishing out the decade in a handful of westerns including Northwest Stampede, and Tomahawk. Jack’s last high-profile films were the Betty Grable/Dan Dailey musical When My Baby Smiles at Me and the fast-moving gangster film Thieves Highway (both 1948). Jack had begun appearing on TV as early as 1950, and turned up on such shows as Kraft Theater and Studio One (both 1958), The Real McCoys (1962) and Bonanza (1966). His last professional appearance was on a 1972 Johnny Carson special, with fellow “old-timers” Bette Davis, Ethel Waters, Jerry Colonna and Eddie Foy, Jr. Trimmer than he’d been in years, he boasted his same bright smile and a thick shock of white hair. Jack’s sudden death from an aortic aneurysm on January 23, 1978 came as a great shock to his family and friends. He’d been in great spirits and apparently great health right to the end, socializing and giving interviews. More than 300 people attended his funeral, the eulogy given by Charles “Buddy” Rogers.
48
To Dr. Richard and Elizabeth Grossman, Everyone at CITF - Board of Directors, Advisors and friends - thank you both, and Larson Charitable Foundation, for your generosity and all you do for the arts! With all our Gratitude, CITF Family
You make all this possible!
THE PERFORMANCES WILL SURELY INSPIRE, SHOULD YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS DO ANY LESS? The Residence Inn Camarillo is proud to sponsor the 2011 California International Theatre Festival. Treat your soul to the beauty, drama, and inspiration of the theatre while rewarding your spirit with the spacious accommodations, convenient amenities, and incredible value to make it all so unforgettable. Residence Inn by Marriott速 Camarillo 2912 Petit Street : Camarillo, CA 93012 T 805.388.7997 : F 805.388.2442 residenceinn.com/OXRCR
Friendship Is Always In Style!
by
Robert Harling
with Bonnie Franklin
Angela Goethals Amy Handelman Clarinda Ross Von Rae Wood Stephanie Zimbalist
directed by Jenny Sullivan
Aug. 24~Sept. 18 tickets:
805.667.2900
rubicontheatre.org sponsored by
Women of Jewelia
co-sponsored by Shelley &
Richard Bayer
community sponsor
RubiconTheatreCompany
Subscribe today for our 2011~12 season!
The Mystery of Irma Vep • by Charles Ludlam • Oct. 12~Nov. 6 The Year of Magical Thinking • by Joan Didion • Feb. 15~Mar. 11 Hello! My Baby • book/new lyrics by Cheri Steinkellner • Mar. 21~Apr. 15 new music/arrangements by Georgia Stitt The Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson • May 16~Jun. 10 Private Lives • by Noel Coward • Sept. 5~30 (2012)
805.667.2900 or rubicontheatre.org 1006 east main street, downtown ventura
From left: Festival Board Members, former Ventura Mayor Sandy Smith, L.A. County Water Appeals Board member and mortgage banker Alex Soteras and Mike Bradbury
Wesely Thomas Enterprises, Inc. is happy to support the California International Theatre Festival!