Irreverent Shakespeare Project Presents JULIUS CAESAR

Irreverent Shakespeare Project presents Julius Caesar, directed by Heather Ann Gottlieb, produced by Steven Brandon, Mark Laird, Bradley Gosnell, Rachel Rios and Ari Stidham. An all-female cast of eleven tackles the Bard's political drama, a tragic tale of conspiracy and intrigue.

Appropriate for ages 14 and up. Performed outdoors at private residences in Tarzana on November 29, 30, and December 1; in South Pasadena December 7, 8 and 9, addresses provided with advance ticket purchase. The run concludes December 15 at the Hudson Loft, 1200 S. Hope Street, Los Angeles, 90015. All shows 7:30 pm. All tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at www. irreverentshakespeare.com

Ari Stidham has been writing and performing music and comedy onstage as well as acting on television for all his adult life. You may know him best as genius Sylvester Dodd on CBS's "Scorpion" or you may also know his music which he releases as Dr. Television.

Ari founded the Irreverent Shakespeare project with Bradley Gosnell and Ashely Tavares earlier in 2018 with a production of Midsummer Night's Dream that had 2 runs, March and May at a private residence in Tarzana. At 13, Ari began working with Kingsmen Shakespeare and Thousand Oaks Repertory company in Thousand Oaks, CA as an apprentice, he stayed active there throughout high school.

Ari has also produced films that have premiered at Fangoria Fear Con ("Curse of the Siren" - also director) and Sundance Film Festival ("Clara's Ghost"). Original plays performed in L.A. include Theatricus Americanus (Pack, also director) Dick Duquesne Radio Plays (Open Space)

Heather Ann Gottlieb is an award winning playwright and poet. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 10 performing in community theatre across the valley, including Phoenix Theatre, Greasepaint, Metro Arts, and Theatre Works.

At age 15, Heather won the AriZoni Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role (Children's Theatre) Her short play The 3 Little Pigs Meet a Chronically Homeless Man was featured at the Artists Speak ceremony in November 2014.

In 2015, she received her BA in Theatre Arts from Loyola Marymount University. Playwright Beth Henley awarded her the department's "Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting" Award.

In addition, Heather regularly competes at Bootleg Theater's Write Club event, raising money for charity through literary bloodsport.

Delaney Milbourn (Brutus) is returning for her second show at Irreverent Shakespeare Company. Her previous role was Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream. Other roles include: Misty Riggs from the world premiere of "Like A Billion Likes" at Stagewest theatre in DFW, Cordelia in King Lear, Natasha in Three Sisters, Linda in Holiday, Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables, and various other roles. Delaney has also done a variety voice over work and is a part of a youtube comedy group Safety Patrol.

Samantha Roberts (Cassius) is extremely excited to be joining Irreverent Shakespeare Project this season in its all-female production of Julius Caesar! She is thrilled to be able to share the stage with this hard-working, strong, passionate group of Shakespearean women. Samantha is originally from Northern California where she co-founded a non-profit teaching theatre to under-served children. She is now based in the LA area, and enjoys working behind the scenes in television and film production, as well as on stage in live theatre. Samantha has previously been seen on stage as Olga in Chekhov's Three Sisters as well as Maria in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, to name a brief few. She wants to thank the whole team for an incredible rehearsal process and run!

Michelle Wicklas (Antony) is an actor, singer, and improviser from Los Angeles. A proud company member of Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, performing the roles of Lavinia in Titus Andronicus, Virgilia in Coriolanus, and Helena in ISP's Midsummer Night's Dream. Other credits include Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, Rona Lisa Peretti in Spelling Bee, and Lady Macduff in Macbeth.

Nefe Iredia (Caesar) was raised in Texas, educated in New York City and is currently living in LA with her dog, Luka. You may have seen her on various TV programs including Disney's Walk the Prank, CBS' Scorpion and Code Black. When Nefe is not on set or auditioning she hustles as an oncology registered nurse. This is her third performance with ISP, having played Titania in both productions of Midsummer Night's Dream earlier this year.

Tejah Signori (Casca/Lepidus) was raised in Honolulu, HI and is of Japanese and Italian descent. She is new to the Irreverent Shakespeare Project but not new to performing Shakespeare. This will be her fourth Shakespeare play including ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA as Cleopatra, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING as Beatrice, and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS as Luciana with the GGC Players. Her other credits include feature film MUSLIMAH'S GUIDE TO MARRIAGE which won an award at the Pan African Film Festival, multiple projects for CHANNEL 101, and has worked with director Tony Kaye. She also has written and acted in original content for AWESOMENESSTV. Tejah enjoys singing, playing guitar, surfing, and studying mysticism and dream work.

Beverlee Jean (Calphurnia/Soothsayer/Octavius) is an actress seen most recently in Tiny Earthquakes, Georgia, and improvising at the Upright Citizens Brigade. An altogether Shakespeare nerd, she co-hosts a podcast called Shaky Understanding which pairs play analysis and character interviews and features many Los Angeles improvisers. She is very grateful to do Shakespeare outside of her house again!

Alicia LeBlanc (Portia/Pindarus/Cinna the Poet) is a short, character actress, writer, and crafter of puzzles. She just got through directing "Gun and a Motel Bible" at Hollywood Fringe, and is excited to be making her ISP debut with Caesar.

Courtney Reece (Cinna/Messala/Flavius) moved to LA about a year ago and has loved digging into Shakespeare with this great company and cast of excited actors and collaborators. She loves using her Shakespearean and classical training in this film town. She is excited to learn more about TV and film and hopefully strap on her tap shoes for a musical one of these days! Courtney loves the sunny weather, art, and performance scene in LA and is excited to share this updated, rocking version of Caesar with you.

Tania Ayoub (Strato/Metellus Cimber) is excited to be part of the amazing cast of Julius Caesar! She is originally from Orange County and was a Theatre, Debate and English High School teacher for the last 8 years. She recently moved to LA to pursue acting, writing, directing, and producing, and loves every minute of it! She has a BA in Theatre from San Diego State University and is a graduate of The Second City Hollywood Conservatory Program. You can see her perform sketch comedy regularly on the Second City LA stage. She would like to thank her family, colleagues, and friends for being so supportive in her career change and move to the City of Stars.

Reed Sights (Decius Brutus/Volumnius) is making her ISP debut with Caesar. She is an LMU graduate, class of 2016 and a comedian in the LA area. You can see more of her work on Instagram (Reedz_books) and Youtube (Reedly).

The idea for the Irreverent Shakespeare Project came about In 2017, when Bradley Gosnell, Jake Shillan and Ari Stidham put on a small, private production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was later re-mounted as 'a for the public' production in June of the same year. It soon became clear to Ari that there was something here to be nurtured. Shakespeare was a big part of his life, having apprenticed from age 13 to 17 with Kingsmen Shakespeare Company in his hometown of Thousand Oaks.

The company took on the name Irreverent Shakespeare Project because their approach to the Bard's work holds the audience members' experience and understanding of the story above a "traditional" way of interpreting and producing the classics. For instance, an all-female cast for their second production, Julius Caesar, puts forth a shorter cut of the play, and a significantly leaner sized cast (of 10) than what the script calls for (54).

This summer holds a remount of Midsummer, now an annual event, with dates to be announced soon.

For updates and more information about the Irreverent Shakespeare Project please visit www.irreverentshakespeare.com

About Show Times and Tickets: JULIUS CAESAR 11/29 - 12/15 will be performed outdoors at private residences in Tarzana on November 29, 30, and December 1; in South Pasadena December 7, 8 and 9, addresses provided with advance ticket purchase. The run concludes December 15 at the Hudson Loft, 1200 S. Hope Street, Los Angeles, 90015. All shows 7:30 pm. Appropriate for ages 14+. Running time: 100 minutes. All tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at www. irreverentshakespeare.com

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