Darrell Larson

Photos: Inside Look at Ron Sossi and the Odyssey Theatre Ensmeble's Production of WAKINGS!

Sleep, awakeness, psychosis, enlightenment, coma. How thin is the veil that separates them? Odyssey Theatre Ensemble artistic director Ron Sossi explores some of the many states of human awareness with an evening of short “mind excursions” by Harold Pinter with Robert Coover and Hermann Hesse. Collectively titled Wakings!, the metaphysical adventure begins Saturday, April 30, with performances continuing through June 5.

BWW Interview: Multi-Talented Actor Ron Bottitta on his roles in WAKINGS! at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

The ability to totally transform yourself into the physical, emotional and intellectual persona of another person so believably that audience members will see the character and not the actor is one of the most fascinating elements of live theatre to me. This is especially true for actors I follow, seeing them in several productions and always being surprised at the new person presented in front of me, often having nothing in common with the real personality of the actor. One such actor is Ron Bottitta, an English-born actor who has called the USA his home since 1980, who I spoke with about his characters in WAKINGS! at the Odyssey Theatre,

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble Explores States Of Consciousness With WAKINGS, April 23- June 5

Sleep, awakeness, psychosis, enlightenment, coma. How thin is the veil that separates them? Odyssey Theatre Ensemble artistic director Ron Sossi explores some of the many states of human awareness with an evening of short “mind excursions” by Harold Pinter with Robert Coover and Hermann Hesse. Collectively titled Wakings!, the metaphysical adventure begins Saturday, April 23, with performances continuing through June 5.

THE SERPENT Announced At The Odyssey Theatre

The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble re-opens its re-envisioning of the Odyssey's 1969 West Coast premiere of The Serpent, the Obie award-winning play by Jean-Claude van Itallie. The production initially opened in March, 2020 as part of the Odyssey's 50th Anniversary “Circa '69” Season, but was shuttered five days later by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

BWW Feature: NYACK CENTER'S 25TH ANNUAL MUSIC AND READINGS IN A HOLIDAY SPIRIT at The Nyack Center

NYACK CENTER'S 25TH ANNUAL MUSIC AND READINGS IN A HOLIDAY SPIRIT at The Nyack Center

Review: THE UNSEEN HAND and KILLER'S HEAD Showcase Sam Shepard's Loners in the Middle of Nowhere or at a Dead End

Sam Shepard, who left this world in 2017, was an American playwright and actor whose plays adroitly blend images of the American West, pop motifs, science fiction, and other elements of popular and youth culture. His settings are often a kind of nowhere, notionally grounded in the dusty heart of the vast American Plains. His characters are typically loners, drifters caught between a mythical past and the mechanized present; his work often concerns deeply troubled families, lovers or friends. Two of his plays centering on loners at the end of their rope, THE UNSEEN HAND coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious KILLER'S HEAD, joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary a?oeCirca '69a?? Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception.

Ron Sossi Re-Visits Obie Award-Winning THE SERPENT 50 Years Later

Go ahead a?" take the apple. Founding artistic director Ron Sossi directs a revival of The Serpent by Jean-Claude van Itallie a?" winner of the 1969 Obie award and arguably the most successful ensemble work ever created a?" as part of the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary a?oeCirca '69a?? Season. Sossi previously directed the West Coast premiere exactly 50 years ago, in the spring of 1970, as the second production ever at the then brand-new Odyssey Theatre. The Serpent opens on March 7 at the Odyssey's current home in West L.A., where performances will continue through May 3.

Photo Flash: Odyssey Theatre Presents Sam Shepard's THE UNSEEN HAND

What happens when 1880 Western bandits are brought back to life in Azusa, CA by a space alien? Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary “Circa '69” Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception, coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious Killer's Head. Longtime Shepard collaborator Darrell Larson directs both plays for a Jan. 25 opening at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A., where performances will continue through March 8.

Casting Announced For Sam Shepard Double Bill At The Odyssey

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble has announced the schedule of rotating actors, including Shameless actor Steve Howey and film actor Dermot Mulroney, who will appear in Killer's Head by Sam Shepard, a monologue that makes up the first half of the Shepard double bill a?" the second half is his 1969 one-act The Unseen Hand a?" that is part of the Odyssey's 50th Anniversary a?oeCirca '69a?? Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception. 

Sam Shepard Double Bill Joins Odyssey's 50th Anniversary Season

What happens when 1880 Western bandits are brought back to life in Azusa, CA by a space alien? Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary a?oeCirca '69a?? Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception, coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious Killer's Head. Longtime Shepard collaborator Darrell Larson directs both plays for a Jan. 18 opening at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A., where performances will continue through March 8.