Maggie Yates - Page 8

There's a lot to unpack from director and professor Simon Williams' production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the Brecht epic that expands a parable into a detailed exploration of how well human kindness fares in a lawless land of political upheaval within a universe marked by an stylistically absurd mercilessness.

The final piece this season, Allan Knee's Syncopation, features two distinct couples: Anna and Henry, the main characters who are learning to ballroom dance together; and a narrative told through the interlacing of theatre and dance. Where more conventional styles of musical theatre include lyrics to continue the story between scenes of spoken dialogue, Sycopation uses narrative choreography, bringing an unusual (and exciting, for those fans of ballroom dancing) theatrical experience to the New Vic.

Elaine Gale's one-woman show, One Good Egg, offers Santa Barbara a frank conversation about gender and the female experience. One Good Egg is about Gale's journey toward motherhood-one that delivers an important narrative about handling a very specific type of failure: the inability to have a child. Motherhood is a potent topic in a culture facing a fast-evolving definition of gender identity and gender roles, and One Good Egg is an exploration of the female experience in direct relation to fertility and creating a legacy.

After a zombie apocalypse, the President (or 'Zombie Clown-in-Chief,' as the creator describes him) is up for re-election, running against action-hero staple, Dwayne Johnson. Described as a protest by the production company, Zombie Clown Trump is a testimony of the power of free speech. Check out the cheek at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in Santa Monica, at the OMR Theatre June 2, 8, 9, 16, 17, and 24th.

One Good Egg features a female perspective of the contemporary American experience, especially the complicated relationship between feminine identity and parenthood. Yet, the egg is a broader symbol-one that represents manifestations of fertility beyond pregnancy and childbearing. Gale's intent is to explore the personal and societal imperative to create legacy-whether it be passing on ideas or DNA. One Good Egg invites audiences to accept (and appreciate) the optimism that can flourish in even the most absurd or aching moments.

'What came first? The music or the misery?' asks Rob Gordon, sad-sack hipster and star of Out of the Box Theatre Company's upcoming musical, 'High Fidelity.'

Lit Moon's highly stylized version of 'Richard III' is strangely appealing (albeit disjointed and inaccessible—especially for those without a fairly thorough grasp of the narrative). This envisioning of the play tends more toward a performance-art installation than overtly representational theatre.

Florence Foster Jenkins: you may have heard her name from a recent resurgence in popularity due to being portrayed by the un-ignorable Meryl Streep in the 2016 biopic. But before there was the movie, there was the play, Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer in the World by Peter Quilter, which begins its run in Lompoc this weekend at the Civic Auditorium, and has performances until April 9.

A company with a persistent ambition to prioritize social justice in their work, DramaDogs has adopted a format for short, dramatic presentations that inform and entertain, and encourage audience engagement. Their production of From Eve's Fair Hand, by local writers Jinny Webber and Terre Ouwehand, shares (through monologue) the voices of female writers who left their mark on our cultural history. An appropriate celebration of Women's History Month, From Eve's Fair Hand introduces women like Amelia Bassano Lanier; Lady Mary Wroth; Aphra Behn; George Sands (nom-de-plume of Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin); Gertrude Stein; Virginia Woolf; and Vita Sackville-West; women who dared to write-while-female in eras when that act was considered one of non-conformity or rebellion.

The Producing Unit presents a staged reading of American Dreams, a performance piece exemplifying the broad and varied brands of "American" living. Directed by Peter Frisch and featuring Bill Egan, Tom Hinshaw, Meredith McMinn, Robert Riechel, Jeremy Tristan, and Ivy Vahanian, this series of monologues from a dozen different characters invites audiences to consider the very concept of the "American Dream," and how this socially constructed entitlement varies for each individual-yet exists consistently as a vital thematic goal.

Instant Karma and Friends return to Center Stage Theater to present one night of spontaneous musical hilarity on Saturday, March 18th at 8:00pm

Stamos defines the modern RenWoman as a woman with the availability to master many crafts--“an adapt-or-perish breed.” With the ability to apply seemingly unrelated skills to new positions, RenWomen can thrive in a variety of situations. Creativity is a RenWoman's strength in what Stamos refers to as an “information-on-demand” society.

Celebrate Women's History Month with a staged Reading of 'From Eve's Fair Hand'! By local writers Jinny Webber and Terre Ouwehand, and produced by DramaDogs, 'From Eve's Fair Hand' introduces audiences to important women of history through lyrical narrative and music.

In the UCSB Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, The Simpsons is not only significant, it's a currency that determines characters' livelihoods--and potentially their survival. Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, written by Anne Washburn and directed by Tom Whitaker, shows a glimpse of a future post-nuclear disaster, when electricity is an almost-extinct amenity. The play shows how the survivors of the disaster rebuild culture in an astonishing, yet inevitable, way.

The earthy aesthetic of this production suits the pastoral lifeblood of the play. The set, designed by Yuri Okahana and built in layers of depth, gives the feeling of expanse and isolation. Performers create a slowly shifting backdrop of gentle choreography. In this setting, Lorca's tale of a love triangle and family feud has the feel of a melancholic folk ballad.

'Blood Wedding,' a drama about the tremendous influence of love and marriage, shows the ecstasy and tragedy of passion that exists outside of societally sanctioned associations.

Lydia, a soothsaying stranger, is an immigrant from Mexico who works as a live-in maid for the Flores family. Her influence propels the family, already in massive disrepair, toward the inevitable pain of sudden truths revealed.

Last year, Santa Barbara theatrical artists presented projects ranging from kitschy, hilarious renderings of cult-classics to sweeping epics that inspired the community to #SeeMoreTheatre. Your click-votes have been processed! Santa Barbara audiences loved Heathers: The Musical, Out of the Box's irreverent teen-angst murder musical, and Death of Kings, Irwin Appel's comprehensive showcase of Shakespeare's history canon that utilized all the performance and production talent UCSB has to offer.

THE KING AND I and Feminism and Racism and Rodgers and Hammerstein walk into a bar…

Theatre students at Dos Pueblos High School recently presented student-driven mini-plays, comprised of micro-scenes stitched together within a theme. These pieces feature the student point of view, which calls on the students to critically examine and reflect on conflict in their lives. These students have recognized problems within their (youth) culture, and have built dramatic renderings of situations that more clearly define these issues, and offer information for conflict diffusion and resolution.