NOISES OFF, BLITHE SPIRIT Highlight A Noise Within's 2010-11 Season

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company led by Co-Founders/Co-Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, announces its 2010-11 season featuring seven productions. Presented from September 2010 to June 2011 are the West Coast premiere of Neil Bartlett's new adaptation of Charles Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS, a reprise of ANW's critically acclaimed and popular staging of Michael Frayn's NOISES OFF, Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, Noel Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT, Tennessee Williams' THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, and Eugene Ionesco's THE CHAIRS. The season, ANW's 19th and last in its current Glendale location before moving in Fall 2011 to a spectacular new Pasadena venue, concludes with three retrospective evenings of the company's many years in Glendale.

"The Heart of the Matter: Finding the essence of eternity in a changing world" is the season's title, aptly reflecting A Noise Within's journey from its modest beginnings in the early 1990s to its long-time dream of attaining a permanent home, now a reality with the recent groundbreaking for the company's new 300-seat Pasadena theatre.

"The 2010-11 season's great masterworks all deal with change on some level," says Julia Rodriguez-Elliott. "They all have a mystery about them, a veil that must be lifted or pierced to get at the truth." Geoff Elliott adds, "All of us are on a constantly changing journey in this ever-changing world. The plays explore an inner voice telling us there's something more than the physically changing environment into which we are born. They affirm in some way that there's a grounding, spiritual essence to life."

A Noise Within is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists. It has been hailed by critics as "adventurous," "compelling and current," "ingenuity at work," "a bona fide class act," and "what great theatre is all about." Founded nineteen years ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a leading force in arts education. The company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.

A Noise Within's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when the company moves in 2011 from its long-time base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent home in a Pasadena mixed-use development at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The facility, hailed as an anchor in East Pasadena's arts growth, is designed to broaden A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.

A NOISE WITHIN'S 2009/2010 SEASON
(production dates/times by play listed at bottom)

Fall 2010

Measure for Measure
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Murray
Saturday, September 25 - Sunday, December 5, 2010
(previews begin Saturday, September 18)

William Shakespeare'S MEASURE FOR MEASURE, which opens Saturday, September 25 and closes Sunday, December 5, 2010 (previews begin Saturday, September 18), is one of two productions directed this season by Michael Murray. In this stirring and oft-studied play, the Duke of Vienna, realizing that through his neglect society has become a rotted den of iniquity, transfers his authority to Angelo, by all accounts an unblemished, morally uncompromising servant of God. But Angelo's irresistible sexual attraction to Isabel, a novice nun seeking pardon for her condemned brother, transforms saint to beast in Shakespeare's timeless case study in lethal hypocrisy. A Noise Within first performed Measure for Measure in 2003. Penned centuries ago, it has inspired numerous film and musical adaptations. The production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

Blithe Spirit
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
By Noel Coward
Saturday, October 9 - Friday, December 17, 2010
(previews begin Saturday, October 2)

BLITHE SPIRIT by NOEL COWARD opens at A Noise Within Saturday, October 9 and closes Friday, December 17, 2010 (previews begin Saturday, October 2). Dámaso Rodriguez directs this acclaimed comedy in which novelist Charles Condomine and his wife Ruth get more than they bargained for when during a "just for the fun of it" after-dinner séance led by local spiritualist and resident eccentric Madame Arcati, an uninvited guest from the great beyond crashes the party. So begins a delightfully cosmic clash of personalities both worldly and otherwise in English wit-master Noel Coward's glittering comedy of the soul. "Noel Coward is a master of both comedy and works about relationships," says Elliott. "His extraordinary wit, talent for crafting an exquisite story and sense of timing dovetail in this comedy that ponders the eternal essence of what it is to be in a relationship." The play premiered in London's West End in 1941, setting a run-record for non-musical British plays of 1,997 performances, and subsequently ran on Broadway for 657 performances. In 1945, Coward himself adapted the play for a film starring Rex Harrison, and in 1964 directed on Broadway a musical adaptation, High Spirits. The play has enjoyed numerous revivals including a 2009 run on Broadway.

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations
Adapted by Neil Bartlett
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott
Saturday, October 30 - Sunday, December 19, 2010
(previews begin Saturday, October 23)

A Noise Within revisits Charles Dickens' thrilling tale GREAT EXPECTATIONS with the West Coast premiere of a powerful stage adaptation by Neil Bartlett opening Saturday, October 30 and closing Sunday, December 19, 2010 (previews begin Saturday, October 23). Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct this production based on Dickens' masterful novel about Pip, orphaned as an infant and thrust into a childhood of cruel poverty, who clings to the hope of a brighter life. On a rain-swept winter's eve great tidings arrive. An anonymous benefactor has anointed Pip heir to a tremendous fortune, setting into motion a life's journey ripe with wonder, heartbreak and finally triumph. This marks the second time Rodriguez-Elliott and Elliott have co-directed Great Expectations. "The play holds a special place in our hearts," notes Rodriguez-Elliott of the 1995-96 season production, which won numerous awards. "It's a marker in our history because our 1990s production, which reprised over three seasons, really solidified our reputation for ensemble work. We're doing it again this season in a different adaptation as a celebration of A Noise Within." Bartlett was also the adaptor of A Noise Within's 2008-09 season favorite Oliver Twist. Among the original cast members slated to appear in the new production are long-time ANW resident actor Jill Hill and Elliott himself. Great Expectations has spawned numerous films, including several silent movies and the 1998 motion picture starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2000, the character Pip was even parodied on an episode of the irreverent television show South Park.

Back by Popular Demand!
Noises Off
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott
Friday, January 21 - Sunday, January 30, 2011

Michael Frayn's hilarious NOISES OFF, directed by Rodriguez-Elliott and Elliott, is back by popular demand for a limited run of 10 performances opening Friday, January 21 and closing Sunday, January 30, 2011. Presented last season for the first time in the company's history, A Noise Within's production garnered rave reviews: "a superb cast hit the banana peel running and never let up" (Los Angeles Times); "Michael Frayn's delightfully complicated British farce could hardly have a better rendition than this" (Backstage); "excruciatingly funny...no one is safe from drowning in the ensuing tides of hilarity that sweep over the audience" (Edge Magazine); "The entire production is a riot, some of the most fun you can expect at a theatrical production" (Stage Happenings); "nothing short of brilliant" (Urban Man). Chaos reigns both onstage and off in Frayn's joyfully out-of-control British farce. Under-rehearsed and over-worked, with a penchant for drama more personal than professional, a bumbling troupe of veteran thespians ready themselves for the world premiere of a new play with the auspicious title Nothing On. In the process they bring the house down, quite literally. Says Elliott, "Presenting this show last season was a true highlight. I don't know if I've ever had more fun being in a production and co-directing it." Rodriguez-Elliott adds, "It's fun for the actors and the audience! Everything about this play is simpatico with A Noise Within's focus on ensemble work, and people saw it two and three times."

Spring 2011

The Comedy of Errors
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Michetti
Saturday, March 5 - Saturday, May 14, 2011
(previews begin Saturday February 26)

A Noise Within sends in the clowns when the 2010-11 season continues with William Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, directed by Michael Michetti, opening Saturday, March 5 and closing Saturday, May 14, 2011 (previews begin Saturday, February 26). One of the Bard's most beloved comedies, this zany adventure is an upside/down, inside/out topsy-turvy world of identical twins, loony lovers, and joyfully inept near misses. The non-stop freewheeling delightful farce is proof positive that double the Errors is double the fun. Michetti previously directed ANW's acclaimed productions of the Bard's As You Like it, Don Juan and Hamlet. The production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

The Eccentricities of a Nightingale
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Michael Murray
Saturday, March 19 - Saturday, May 28, 2011
(previews begin Saturday, March 12)

Michael Murray directs Tennessee Williams' classic play about fitting in, THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, which opens Saturday, March 19 and closes Saturday, May 28, 2011 (previews begin Saturday, March 12). Trapped in the cultural suffocation of a backwater Mississippi hamlet, Alma Winemiller struggles to dim the unique glow of her soul. Blessed (or cursed) with a lyric sense of being, she bears a heavy cross of unrequited, unattainable love for the boy next door. Without a protector, her exquisite individuality is left vulnerable to the destructive forces of small-town intolerance in American Master Tennessee Williams' ode to fragile beauty. Rodriguez-Elliott, notes, "A true American classic, it is an incredible play, and this will be the first time in three years that we've done a work by Tennessee Williams."

The Chairs
By Eugene Ionesco
Directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott
Saturday, April 9 - Saturday, May 21, 2011
(previews begin Saturday, April 2)

A Noise Within continues to breaks new ground 19 years after its inception with its final full production in its Glendale location, THE CHAIRS, directed by Rodriguez-Elliott, which is rarely performed and marks ANW's first presentation of a Eugene Ionesco play. Opening Saturday, April 9 and closing May 21, 2011 (previews begin Saturday, April 2), it's a compelling work by the "father" of absurdist drama who was one of the 20th century's leading theatrical innovators. His masterwork The Chairs, first staged in 1952, synthesizes the distorted perceptions that surround the acts of living and dying through a vision unique and dazzling in its profundity. Inexplicably hilarious and tragic, The Chairs is an unforgettable experience. States Rodriguez-Elliott, "Just reading The Chairs is an almost surreal experience. We were taken by its fundamental theme: the nature of relationships, the nature of change and how perceptions are always changing."

A Noise Within:
A Retrospective
Friday, June 3 - Sunday, June 5, 2011

A Noise within caps its 2010-11 season and its final year in its Glendale before moving to its permanent home in Pasadena with a very special curtain call. A retrospective evening of theatrical magic for three nights only, June 3, 4 and 5, 2011, features a champagne reception and a trip down memory lane with the company's acclaimed resident artists featuring play selections from A Noise Within's 19 years of remarkable classical theatre in Glendale.

Special Note - Study Guides
A Noise Within offers comprehensive study guides on every production. Each includes a synopsis, director's notes and detailed information about the playwright, characters, setting, period, costumes, scenic design, music, general theatre lore and links to other resources. They are available at on-line at http://www.anoisewithin.org/education_studyguides.html.

MORE ABOUT A NOISE WITHIN

A Noise Within (ANW) is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists. Led by Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, A Noise Within has been hailed by critics as "adventurous," "compelling and current," "ingenuity at work," "a bona fide class act," and "what great theatre is all about." Founded nineteen years ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a leading force in arts education. The company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.

A Noise Within's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when the company moves from its long-time base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent home in a Pasadena mixed-use development at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The 33,000 square-foot venue is being built in the former Stuart Pharmaceutical building, a historic, mid-century modern masterpiece designed by celebrated architect Edward Durell Stone, known for landmark buildings around the country including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and Radio City Music Hall in New York. Constructed in the mid-1950s, the Stuart Pharmaceutical building was listed on the National Register in 1998. The facility, hailed as an anchor in East Pasadena's arts growth, is designed to broaden artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre. A Noise Within's long history of fiscal stability is reflected not only by its 18 seasons "in the black" but also by its ability -- in a challenging economic climate -- to raise more than $10.1 million to date toward its $13.3 million goal for the new venue. Groundbreaking took place on July 20, 2010, and A Noise Within opens its 20th season there in Fall 2011.

An integral element of A Noise Within's mission is to make the classics accessible to all audiences, with particular attention paid to leveraging the company's resources for the benefit of area students and teachers. A Noise Within has always been committed as a priority to augmenting middle and high school students' classroom discovery of classic texts with educational programming designed to complement classroom studies and enable teachers to promote literacy and cultural awareness. The company's educational programming serves a diverse population of students from public, private and parochial schools, from the inner city to the suburbs, from middle school through college. Approximately 30% of ANW's budget is dedicated to educational programs.

JULIA RODRIGUEZ-ELLIOTT AND GEOFF ELLIOTT
FOUNDERS/ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, co-founders and co-artistic directors of A Noise Within, have produced more than 120 productions of theatre classics and have directed/co-directed more than 40, including The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Part One, The Winter's Tale, Othello, The Tempest, Coriolanus, Macbeth, Oliver Twist, The Rehearsal, Ubu Roi, Loot, A Flea in Her Ear, Mourning Becomes Electra, Great Expectations, Buried Child, Another Part of the Forest, Life is a Dream, Master Builder, The Price, Noises Off and a tandem performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Under their leadership, A Noise Within has received 26 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards (Los Angeles's highest honor for theatrical achievement), including the Polly Warfield Award for Excellence and the Margaret Harford Award for Distinguished Achievement. More recently, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nominated A Noise Within's 2008 production of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist for Best Production and Best Adaptation. Anouilh's The Rehearsal was nominated for three 2009 Ovation Awards, including Production of a Play. The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle named A Noise Within's production of O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet Best Revival of 2006 and the LA Stage Alliance nominated Jarry's Ubu Roi for six Ovation Awards.

Julia Rodriguez-Elliott has extensive experience teaching theatre arts to students from middle school to college and regularly conducts workshops as part of A Noise Within's educational programming. She has served on theatre panels for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the LA Stage Alliance. In addition, she regularly conducts lectures for CalArts, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and schools throughout the California State and University of California school systems, to name a few. In 2010, she was named one of "50 Fabulous Women" by Pasadena: The Magazine. Rodriguez-Elliott was also awarded the National Latina Business Women's Association Latinas in Business Award/Arts & Entertainment in 2005, and in 2006 she received the Women in Business award from members of the California State Senate and Assembly.

Geoff Elliott has performed major roles for some of the leading regional theatres in America, including The American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and California Shakespeare Festival. He has received three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards and more than a dozen other awards for acting. His Shakespearean roles include Iago in Othello, Theseus/Oberon in a Midsummer Night's Dream, Coriolanus, Richard in King Richard III and Hamlet. He has had leading roles in classic plays by such authors as O'Neill, Miller, Ibsen, Rostand, Wilde and Tennessee Williams.

For five consecutive years, Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott have conducted a workshop for the National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute in Theatre and Musical Theatre at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott each hold a BFA from the University of Florida and an MFA from The American Conservatory Theatre.

PURCHASE TICKETS OR MAKE A DONATION

A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204. To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org. To support A Noise Within's capital campaign or for more information about A Noise Within's new home in Pasadena, call 818-265-7959 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SINGLE TICKETS

SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS

NEW! Producing Subscriber
See the six shows of the 2009-2010 Season and donate to the theatre by accepting no discount on the cost of the tickets
$484 (Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinee)
$437 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinee)
$339 (Previews)

Premier Package (6 Plays)
$252 (Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday matinee)
$216 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinee)
$180 (Previews)

4-Play Patron's Choice Package
$176 (Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday matinee)
$152 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinee)
$120 (Previews)

As You Like It Flex Pass
(vouchers redeemable for any 2009-10 production)
$336 (8 vouchers)
$252 (6 vouchers)

Age 25-and-Under Package
$150 (6 plays)
$100 (4 plays)

SINGLE TICKETS

$46 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees)
$44 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees)
$32 (previews)

Groups (10 or more)
$25
$30 (Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees)

School Groups (10 or more)
$16
$20 (Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees)

Rush Tickets (Students only)
$20.00 (1 hour prior to curtain based on availability)