Son Of Semele Leaves Home Of 18 Years
Since 2000, the company has been in residence at 3301 Beverly Boulevard in a black box theatre they created in 2003.
Award-winning theatre company Son of Semele Ensemble is announcing its departure from their Silver Lake home of 18 years. Led by Founding Artistic Director Matthew McCray since 2000, the company has been in residence at 3301 Beverly Boulevard in a black box theatre they created in 2003.
With a new landlord taking over the venue, McCray and the company are evaluating how this change can move Son of Semele Ensemble (SoSE) in a positive direction. Currently they are exploring civic partnerships, site-specific opportunities and performances in larger venues.
The following are a few historical highlights from two decades of Son of Semele work:
First Regional Award for Animal Farm, 2002 - Nominated in many categories, SoSE wins multiple Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards, including "Best Musical Production" for Animal Farm adapted by Peter Hall from George Orwell.Venue Launch with Avant-Gardist Richard Foreman, 2003 - SoSE opens the Beverly Boulevard black box with a West Coast premiere of Richard Foreman's "Film is Evil: Radio is Good."
Cover of American Theatre, 2004 - SoSE receives a company profile in the nation's premiere theatre magazine with their production photo on the magazine cover.
Five-Hour Epic The Mysteries, 2005 - SoSE produces a five-hour, two-part epic play staged in an immersive manner, featuring cross-gender and diverse casting.
In Residence at Center Theatre Group, 2007 - Son of Semele receives a two week residency at Center Theatre Group to develop a devised work "Fencerow to Fencerow."
Verbatim Play Presented at Deaf Festival, 2009 - Written by Deaf West Theatre Artistic Director David Kurs, SoSE develops a new verbatim play based on interviews with deaf senior citizens and presents it bilingually at Deaf Festival.
Creation Festivals Begin, 2010 - SoSE produces its first Creation Festival, taking on a new role within the Los Angeles theatre landscape as a presenter and curator.Creation Festival Musical Receives Pulitzer Prize Nomination, 2012 - "Cyclops: A Rock Opera," a project of Psittacus Productions that was presented at Company Creation Festival and co-produced in the Beverly Boulevard black box theatre, receives a nomination for a Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
"Our Class" Wins Multiple LADCC Awards, 2014 - Nominated in many categories, Son of Semele wins multiple Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards for the West Coast premiere of "Our Class," including Best Production.
In addition to the hundreds of writers who have been presented through the Creation Festival series, the following list of playwrights have been produced by Son of Semele Ensemble over the last two decades: Joan Ackermann, Jaclyn Backhaus, Samuel Beckett, Agnes Borinsky, Kristen Brennan, Paul Broks, Sheila Callaghan (multiple productions), Christopher Chen, Scott Christian, Caryl Churchill, Martin Crimp, Graham Dodge, Ross Dungan, Will Eno, Pamela Ezell, Stephanie Fleischmann, Richard Foreman (multiple productions), John Glore, Mick Gordon, Richard Greenberg, Jason Grote, Peter Hall, Trish Harnetiaux, Aaron Henne, Maureen Huskey, Henrik Ibsen, Tom Jacobson, Sarah Kane, Wolfram Lotz, Matthew Maguire (multiple productions), Oliver Mayer, Matthew McCray, Linda McLean, Carlos Murillo, Sibyl O'Malley (multiple productions), Suzan-Lori Parks, Nick Payne, Sarah Ruhl, Wallace Shawn, Tadeusz Słobodzianek, Caridad Svich (multiple productions), Naomi Wallace, Mac Wellman, Robert Anton Wilson.
* The consortium of directors for the film of "The Hour of All Things" is comprised of Martha Demson, Erith Jaffe-Berg, Barbara Kallir, Edgar Landa, Bruce A. Lemon, Jr., Jeff Liu, Matthew McCray, Armando Molina and Jon Lawrence Rivera. The principal cast includes Tony Abatemarco, Richard Azurdia, Melina Bielefelt, Hannah Priscilla Craig, Donna Simone Johnson, Bruce A. Lemon, Jr., Julianna Stephanie Ojeda and Ryun Yu.More Hot Stories For You

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