Interview: OTE's Ron Sossi Carves Out Some ELEPHANT SHAVINGS & Lots More
Next up for the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the world premiere of OTE’s Artistic Director Ron Sossi’s Elephant Shavings opening August 19, 2023 (with previews beginning August 16th). Ron directs his script with the cast of: Denise Blasor, Diana Cignoni, Jack Geren, Jeff LeBeau, Cameron Meyer and Giovanna Neilan. Ron took some time from his Odyssey multi-tasking to answer a few of my queries.
Review: ACCOMMODATION, a World Premiere Guest Production at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Certainly, those of us who have been (or currently are) school teachers, administrators, and counselors will recognize the clashes and motivations expressed in Burdick’s exploration of the challenges of pursuing a profession meant for those who deeply care about the welfare of students, even in the face of overwhelming odds. And caring parents and students will no doubt identify with trying to make the best out of what can only be described as a bad situation seemingly out of their control. In other words, this is a play everyone should see and thank your teachers in your hearts and minds afterwards.
Roundabout Theatre Company Announces REFOCUS PROJECT, SEASON THREE
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the third season of The Refocus Project, its multi-year project to elevate and restore marginalized plays to the American canon. This year's series of readings will feature Asian American and Pacific Islander playwrights: Prince Gomolvilas, Velina Hasu Houston, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, and Anuvab Pal.
Review: PICNIC at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
This production of Inge’s play (also a 1955 movie) has its moments while consistently delivering the longing, the dissatisfaction and, yes, also the sensuality that PICNIC offers up. ur critic think of PICNIC at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble?
Photos: Odyssey Theatre's Revival Of PICNIC Opens Tonight
Picnic, the sensual, passionate and delightfully funny Pulitzer Prize winning play by William Inge, opens tonight at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in an all-new production directed John Farmanesh-Bocca. Check out the photos, below.
Interview: Director John Farmanesh-Bocca On His Vision For PICNIC By William Inge
John Farmanesh-Bocca is a multi-award-winning physical theatre director, the Founding Artistic Director of both Not Man Apart - Physical Theatre Ensemble (2005-2015) and Shakespeare Santa Monica (2003-2014). Now he has shifted gears to go on a search for America by directing the sensual, passionate, and delightfully funny Pulitzer Prize winning play Picnic by William Inge, with his version featuring an entirely Black American cast. I decided to speak with him about his vision for presenting the quintessentially American play and the unique challenges faced while shifting gears from physical movement to character development.
Photos: First Look At The U.S. Premiere Of YAACOBI & LEIDENTAL At The Odyssey Theatre
First look photos! Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents the U.S. premiere of Yaacobi & Leidental, a funny, provocative romp with music written by Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin featuring songs by Alex Kagan, opened over the weekend in Los Angeles. Tel Aviv-based director Yonatan Esterkin helms a new translation by Naaman Tamuz that was recently commissioned by the Levin estate, and Nisha Sujatha Arunasalam is music director.
THE BELLE'S STRATAGEM Opens at Cal State Fullerton This Month
Written in 1780, Hannah Cowley's rom-com romp is a witty parody that upends the conventional gender norms and marital expectations of eighteenth-century English society. The “belles” at the center of the play concoct two distinct stratagems, or ruses, to change the minds of the men in their lives and subvert the status quo.