Maggie Yates - Page 10

'Hard Rain: A Theatrical Protest' offered a workshop view of six new dramatic renderings of the American experience in this time of political turbulence. Commissioned and curated by John Blondell, this festival included short works inspired by the recent election. These early drafts functioned well as “think” pieces, and represent raw, immediate reactions to the cultures clashes lately highlighted by the presidential election.

The life of the artist, despite being frequently depicted as glamorously long-suffering and deeply emotional, features pragmatic components. That which gives the artist the drive to create does not also eliminate the need to function in society.

Ensemble's production of Chapter Two, Neil Simon's 1977 living-room comedy about a second marriage, tackles the problems that come with an obsession with the past.

Everyone can relate to disaster. If drama is conflict, then calamity is the seed of all good plays. Sometimes disaster takes people by surprise, like an earthquake. In these cases, drama is concerned with the aftermath of the crisis and society's response. In cases where the disaster is inevitable, drama's focus can shift to society's response to anticipation. Local comedienne Carol Metcalf explores another narrative option in her new one-woman show, 'Catastrophic Thinking.'

Director Riley Berris and a large cast of quirky characters bring the revelry of humorous melodrama to the San Marcos High School Stage.

Sinner/Saint is not an indictment of the Christian community--it's a bittersweet and genuine storytelling experience that offers the most vulnerable aspects of the Christian-LGBTQ reconciliation movement: anxiety, denial, desperation for approval, sadness, forgiveness, and healing. 

Teenage Riot: Out of the Box Brings the LIZZIE BORDEN murder to the Stage

THIS IS IT! The crowning of a queen. Are you #TeamAlaska? #TeamKatya? #TeamDetox? Or #TeamRoxxxy? The decision to have the Drag Race contestants eliminate each other (rather than judge/host RuPaul making the final decision) each week created an interesting competitive dynamic this season, one that resulted in, as Alaska says, a re-creation of season 5's match-up of Rolaskatox vs. a 'loveable weirdo.'

It's down to the final five queens! Roxxxy Andrews continues to stay in the competition by flying under the radar; Detox is annoyed that she isn't winning more; and Alaska is getting cocky. But Mama Ru has a makeover challenge up her floral sleeves: the ladies are about to drag out their mothers and sisters!

MACBETH Brings Smoke and Mirrors and Projections to the Nightmare in Scotland.

Phi Phi is gone, and Tatianna and Alyssa Edwards are back in the game. Start your engines-it's the RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE ALL STARS top 6: The Art of the Deal.

Elements Theatre Collective Presents: 'In a Word' Since the disappearance of her son two years ago, Fiona has created a narrative of her version of events born from grief, regret, and the guilt of unspoken relief of being freed from the burden of a special needs child she was not equipped to handle. Runs 9/30 at the Java Station; 10/1 in Lompoc; and 10/2 at Maraville Santa Barbara. www.elementstc.org

'Much Ado About Nothing' is a Shakespearian comedy that plays, essentially, on the idea that gossip is a bitch. With sultry tango, occasional jovial singing, and slapstick stalking throughout the playing space, 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a natural, entertaining Shakespearian experience.

Trust the Duchess: It ain't over just yet. Why? Because the eliminated All-Stars are back, baby! Coco is back, and her tear-away arrival ensemble is beaded to the gods. Tatianna is back, and her boat neck mini-dress turns into a sleek, studded Selena-brassiere. Ginger is back, and what starts out as big and silver folds down into something … bigger and silverier, if that's possible. And Alyssa Edwards is back, back, back again!

Santa Barbara supports a sizeable, like-minded artistic community that has, for the past two years, collided their stories and aesthetic styles into building blocks of communal inspiration. The constructed product is the annual On The Verge Summer Repertory Theater. This festival presents a vision of reality interpreted by the young, upcoming generation of theater artists.

Last week's dramatic elimination prompts real talk amongst the remaining queens about how the 'rules' of the game. Alyssa Edwards explained that her decision to give Ginger Minj the heeled boot was because she felt other bottom-runner Katya had been better in the competition on a more consistent basis. Phi Phi and Roxxxy see Alyssa's decision to eliminate based on personal choice rather than the judges' critiques as a betrayal of the sisterhood, though Roxxxy has the good sense to only voice her opinion on the confessional camera. A note from Ginger asking the girls to 'play a fair game' incites the ladies to squabble, but Katya (thank you, Katya!) shuts them down. It's a competition, after all, and Alyssa can choose whomever she wants to kick out of the game.

Litmoon's production captures the resounding void of the Wingfields' desperation. 'The Glass Menagerie's' characters, flawed past self-awareness, anxiously grasp at a lifestyle unavailable to them. The audience champions their hopes while simultaneously recognizing the folly of their untenable desires. Striking and complex, Litmoon's The Glass Menagerie offers a view of the constant regret that haunts those bereft of realistic hopes for a better future.

RuPaul's Drag Race has shown an increasing willingness to share its self-awareness, and more and more frequently does the show reminds us that any 'reality' competition featuring seasoned performers (which these drag queens are) will sashay the line between the vitality of unscripted television and the polish of a rehearsed variety show. 'The HERstory of the World' is no different, and the queens are cast appropriately: Alaska's middle-gender aesthetic is put to the task of playing 'the original naughty girl,' Eve; Phi Phi O'Hara, queen of cosplay, is cast as Helen of Troy; Ginger is Katherine the Great; cool-kid Detox plays the ultimate spoiled brat, Marie Antoinette; Alyssa Edwards prepares to rep her Texas pride as gunslinger Annie Oakley; Roxxxy Andrews will portray professional pageant queen Eva Peron; and Katya gets a chance to bat her lashes as Princess Diana.

Get ready for on-stage shenanigans (including slap fights, hypochondriac melt-downs, and injuries from swinging doors).

Spectrum Ministries Santa Barbara presents a performance of 'Sinner/Saint,' a new play written, directed and performed by Westmont alumna Lindsey Twigg and Danielle Draper.