Cornerstone Theater's CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST Continues Ten-City Tour

Take the journey as Cornerstone Theater Company continues its world premiere adaption of Shakespeare's The Tempest with, CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST, written by Cornerstone Co-Founder Alison Carey and directed by its Artistic Director Michael John Garcés. CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST continues its travel to ten diverse California cities over the course of a year.

Journey with Cornerstone from the downtown Los Angeles Arts District to Arvin, Lost Hills, Grayson & Westley, Pacoima, East Salinas, Fowler, Holtville, Eureka, San Francisco and then back to Downtown L.A. (where it all began) as each of these ten communities contributes to writing the play they inspire.

In CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST, "What's past is prologue," as playwright Alison Carey's adaptation of The Tempest meets California's challenges head-on in this traveling experience that conjures love, disaster, revenge, forgiveness & music (all that you would expect from Shakespeare!); mixed with earthquakes, drought, overdevelopment, food equity, state politics, fracking and immigration policy (all that you would expect from California!) as Prosper, her daughter Minerva, her servant Caliban and Californians from across the state yearn to find the commonality in our diversity and imagine a healthy and inclusive future for California!

Comments Cornerstone Theater Company's Artistic Director Michael John Garcés, "It is a monumental effort and collaboration on which we embark with this project, but playwright Alison Carey's themes are so vital and important to our work as a company; when are we individuals, and when are we part of communities? When are we residents of real California, and when are we aspirants to mythic California? What is hunger in this state that feeds so much of a country, and in how many ways are we hungry? These are the questions we hope to explore on this year-long quest across California."

CREATIVE TEAM:

MICHAEL JOHN GARCÉS (Director, Artistic Director, Cornerstone Theater Company) has directed many plays for Cornerstone, including two summer residency projects, Plumas Negras by Juliette Carrillo in Salinas, and atTraction by Page Leong in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. For Cornerstone he has also written Consequence, which was presented in Arvin, a farming community in the Central Valley, and Los Illegals, created with day laborers and domestic workers in Los Angeles. His work has been produced in theaters across the country such as South Coast Repertory, The Wilma Theatre, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is a company member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C., serves on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and is a proud alumnus of New Dramatists.

ALISON CAREY (Playwright, Co-Founder, Cornerstone Theater Company) has written or co-written over 25 of Cornerstone's productions, and has been nominated for Emmy, GLAAD and Ovation awards. A member of the Dramatists Guild, she has served on advisory or peer panels for organizations such as The Ford Foundation, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation, the Mark Taper Forum's Other Voices Projects and Arts Midwest. She has guest lectured at universities and organizations around the country, including at Yale, Stanford and the BAM/CUNY Shakespeare Conference, and taught courses at the University of Southern California and CalState LA in playwriting and community-based theater.

The core cast of CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST will feature (in alphabetical order): Elzie Alexander, Karen Covarrubias, MC Earl, Gabriel Garcia, Iris Gonzalez, Chelsea Gregory, Brent Grihalva, Peter Howard, Joji Koyuri, Page Leong, Francisco Martinez, Gema Sanchez and Bahni Turpin.

CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST features an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Nephelie Andonyadis. The Costume Design is by Garry Lennon. The Lighting Design is by Geoff Korf. Sound Design is by Veronika Vorel. Original Music composed by Becky Dale. Puppet Design is by Lynn Jeffries.

HISTORY - From 2004 through 2013 Cornerstone created plays across California through its Institute Summer Residency program, an annual four-week academy that offers both classroom study and hands-on experience in creating community-collaborative theater. They spent a month each summer living and working with these unique California communities, and brought along other artists, activists and educators from all over the country to work on the play, get to know the community and learn Cornerstone's process of making community-engaged theater. Now, Cornerstone celebrates 10 years of Summer Residencies with this new production.

A core cast including Cornerstone's ensemble, graduates of our Institute Summer Residencies as well as performers from the collaborating communities will tour to all the communities. In each town, a community chorus will be incorporated into the show. Cornerstone will spend three weeks in each location.

CALIFORNIA: THE TEMPEST will perform on the following dates:

February 5 - 7, 2015 | Pacoima (Los Angeles), indoors at ArTES - Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy at 7:30pm, 1001 Arroyo Ave. in San Fernando, CA 91340

February 19 - 21, 2015 | East Salinas, aka Alisal (Monterey Co) - Indoors at the Los Padres Elementary School at 7:00pm, 1130 John Street, Salinas, CA 93905

March 5 - 7, 2015 | Fowler (Fresno Co), Outside at Panzak Park at 7:00pm, Merced Street and Third Street, Fowler CA 93625

May 7 - 9, 2015 | Holtville (Imperial Co). Outdoors at Finley Elementary School at 7pm - 627 East 6th Street, Holtville, CA 92250

May 21 - 23, 2015 | Eureka (Humboldt Co), Outdoors at the Blue Ox Millworks at 7:00pm, 1 X Street, Eureka, CA 95501

June 4 - 6, 2015 | San Francisco - Indoors at Z Space Theatre at 8:00pm, Mission District, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

June 18 - 20, 2015 | Downtown Los Angeles, Outdoors at Grand Park at 8pm, 200 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012

Pay-What-You-Can Tickets (suggested donation of $10.00). To make a reservation for a tour performance, call 1-800-578-1335. For group sales, e-mail grouptickets@cornerstonetheater.org.

Cornerstone Theater Company is a multi-ethnic, ensemble-based theater company entering its 28th year. They commission and produce new plays which combine the artistry of professional and community collaborators. By making theater with and for people of many ages, cultures, and levels of theatrical experience, Cornerstone builds bridges between and within diverse communities in our home city of Los Angeles and nationwide.