Shari Barrett - Page 16

I first discovered the Dollface Dames troupe of high-class, Burlesque entertainers in 2017 and have enjoyed their show-stopping style of entertainment at several venues around town since then. But 2020 brought on major changes for all in-person entertainment, so how have the Dollface Dames been keeping their unique brand of Burlesque available to audiences during the shutdown and what's next for them? To find out, I spoke with Lola Boutée who founded the group in 2008.

Torrance Theatre Company presents NUNSENSE: THE MEGA-MUSICAL with music, lyrics, and book by Dan Goggin. The musical runs for two weekends August 13-21 at the James Armstrong Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive in Torrance, 90503. Join the Little Sisters of Hoboken as they try to raise some much needed funds for the convent by presenting a 'talent' show. Catchy tunes, tap-dancing nuns, a wise-cracking puppet, and some of the funniest sisters you've ever seen guarantee a great night at the theatre for everyone!

Kentwood Players latest Virtual Theater Series production, CASTLES IN THE ZOOM by John Mabey, directed by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, premieres on Sunday, July 25 at 8pm and will stream through Sunday, August 22. Jami Bartlett as Jordan and Shawn 'Lefty' Plunkett as Avery are featured in this funny and touching account of two people who meet at a surprise birthday party on Zoom. The only problem is they are the only ones invited!

​Director Caitlin Lopez, the Associate Artistic Director of Ophelia's Jump Productions (OJP) who also serves as Improv Director for the company elaborates, 'Twelfth Night tells the story of Viola who has washed up on the shores of the vibrant and uninhibited Illyria after a shipwreck. In this modern queer fairytale, she and a cast of colorful characters all must discover what it means to truly love and embrace their heart's desires.' I decided to speak with Caitlin about both her directing and appearing in the production, as well as her background with the history of OJP.  ​

After the Brazilian, Afro-European and North American montages of the digital play “The Art of Facing Fear” in 2020, the company Os Satyros is premiering The World United version in June/July 2021, presented live with actors from Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela, who will each perform from their homes, directed by Rodolfo García Vázquez, director of Brazilian company.

Ever wonder what it's like to be blind? Find out on Thursday, July 29, at 8PM when you join an online/virtual performance, 'Private Eyes: A Blind Experience,' an unforgettable event in which audience members become detectives who must use their senses to help solve a mystery case - all while blindfolded! This hour-long interactive audio drama will be performed entirely by blind actors from ArtsUp! LA's nationally recognized program, Theatre By The Blind.

Are you ready to get back onstage in front of a live, indoor audience at the newly renovated Westchester Playhouse?  Kentwood Players is casting the role of CASSANDRA in Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Alison Boole and Myron Klafter. Now is your chance to join in the fun!

It's been quite a year and our new Board of Directors looks forward to an exciting 2021-22 Season with our continuing YouTube Channel programming including KP Live Interviews, Special Events and our Virtual Theater Series. And most importantly, the re-launch of our home theater, THE WESTCHESTER PLAYHOUSE, this Fall.

With live theatre slowly returning to Los Angeles, Theatre Palisades veteran director Sherman Wayne is presenting 'When Shakespeare's Ladies Meet' by Charles George, which was safely recorded live on April 24th on the Theatre Palisades stage. The one-act 30-minute play is now streaming on the Broadway on Demand platform June 1 through June 5. And the group's Youth Theatre Program is presenting 'Disney's Aladdin Jr.' this summer.

During the past year's pandemic shutdown, Kentwood Players has been working on very necessary upgrades to their home, the Westchester Playhouse, so that when the time is right to reopen it will be totally up-to-date and compliant with all necessary safety protocols to ensure the enjoyment of live indoor theatre again! To assist in raising funds for the ongoing and much-needed major renovations, the public is invited to attend A NIGHT WITH GILBERT & SULLIVAN, a very special online benefit event of music and entertainment written by the Kings of Patter, presented on the Kentwood Players You Tube channel on Friday, May 28 at 7pm at youtube.com/kentwoodplayers

Here is my interview with Gloria Gifford about presenting LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS live-streamed online as well as her Gloria Gifford Conservatory and how she is managing to keep her students active during the past year.

I have been following talented writer/director Michael Leoni who so brilliantly tells stories about young people struggling to find their place in the world from his World Premiere play FAMOUS at the 11:11 Experience in WeHo (now his next film in post-production), to his first film AMERICAN STREET KID, and now WHEN TODAY ENDS. Here are some thoughts he shared about the creation of his latest film.

How a director envisions a production makes all the difference in its prestation to an audience, starting with casting and continuing through rehearsals and all technical aspects of the show. I spoke with Branda Lock on bringing her vivid imagination and directing skills to George Bernard Show’s PYGMALION, filled with unique Lock-inspired changes to the casting which promise to shed new light on this classic tale of class struggles in Shaw’s time.

Antaeus Theatre Company highlights the culture and history of six additional Los Angeles neighborhoods with Season Two of its popular 'The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles' podcast series, set to launch May 20. Here are my interviews with the four female directors who discuss their own personal histories within the Zip Code Plays they direct. (Gigi Bermingham, Jennifer Chang, Saundra McClain, and Bernadette Speakes)

A BINTEL BRIEF, comprised of a selection of sixty years of letters from the lower East Side of New York to The Jewish Daily Forward, a popular local paper among the Yiddish speaking immigrants, is being presented online by Pacific Resident Theatre, I wanted to find out more about how the production was conceived, directed and produced to find out if anyone on the team also shares a family story similar to mine. Here is what producer Marilyn Fox shared with me.

The non-profit Kentwood Players, founded more than 70 years ago, is one of the longest-lasting community theatre companies in Los Angeles (and the nation.) Through the decades, Kentwood Players has staged more than 400 productions, touching the lives of tens of thousands of people throughout the region and beyond. It has been a haven for artists, a home for creativity and expression, and a reliable resource for high-quality community theatre in the southland, now showcased on the Kentwood Players Virtual Theater Series on You Tube.

Stu James answers questions about his virtual theatre appearance in SLOW FOOD, a tender, uproarious comedy by Wendy MacLeod and directed by Marya Mazor for International City Theatre. In this uproarious comedy, a vacationing couple heads to a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs for their anniversary dinner, only to be confronted with the worst service imaginable by a waiter who knows no limits to his meddling.

LEGENDS AND BRIDGE is a comedy imagining former, silver-screen legend Joan Crawford (matronly, washed-up, and pickled on spiked Pepsi) who invites Judy Garland (recently fired from her CBS TV show) and Bette Davis (bitter at no longer being the “Queen of Hollywood”) up to her Manhattan apartment in 1964 to live with her as they work on a “secret” film project. I find it difficult to believe anyone reading this does not already know about the three screen legends featured in the show. But just to be sure, I decided to interview the three actors portraying them to find out more about what it was like to portray such well-known personalities.

Two solo explorations of female identity, written and performed by two funny Latinx-American women, are being presented by IAMA Theatre Company: ANYONE BUT ME, written and performed by Sheila Carrasco, directed by Margaux Susi; and THE OXY COMPLEX, written and performed by Anna LaMadrid, directed by Michelle Bossy. While following strict Covid-19 guidelines, both were filmed live at L.A.’s Pico Playhouse and will premiere virtually on March 21 at www.iamatheatre.com, where each will continue streaming through April 18. Sheila Carrasco, a resident of Santa Monica, just wrapped filming ANYONE BUT ME. As a fellow Westsider, I decided to speak with her about that experience prior to seeing her show.

Founded in 2002 as an artists' ensemble, Little Fish Theatre presents classic and contemporary plays in an intimate setting on Centre Street in the Arts District of downtown San Pedro. With the pandemic forcing the shutdown of live theatre, Little Fish Theatre’s 2021 Virtual Season offers up a tasty serving of this year’s best short plays with Pick of the Vine.