Bill Cain News

The Ojai Playwrights Conference is announcing the company of performers and playwrights for their annual Gala Benefit, a farm-to-stable celebration to be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at Aspen Grove Ranch, a stunning private ranch in upper Ojai. 

The Ojai Playwrights Conference launches its 22nd season with the annual Gala Benefit, a farm-to-stable celebration at Aspen Grove Ranch, a stunning private ranch in upper Ojai. Festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. with a cocktail reception featuring fine wines from Ojai Alisal Vineyard, craft cocktails and tasty appetizers. Starting at 5 p.m., attendees gather under a big top tent to enjoy an original show produced for the Gala with songs and dramatic scene readings performed by celebrity guest artists. The evening culminates with a four-course dinner prepared by innovative chefs Nick Barainca and Michael Hollingsworth. All proceeds from the Gala support the development of new plays for the American theatre at OPC's annual Summer Conference and New Works Festival held in Ojai. 

For the past five years, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and its partners have heard wonderful, inspiring stories about music teachers in the Philadelphia region. And, now is the time for current and former students of all ages to, once again, nominate the 'music teacher who changed my life' for the 6th Annual Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Ovation Award. Nominees are asked to submit a 250-word statement about their special music teacher for the PYO Ovation Award, which is sponsored by Jacobs Music Company, J.W. Pepper and WRTI-90.1 FM.

LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents a co-production with the Rubicon Theatre Company, HEISENBERG, written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directed by Katherine Farmer (South Pacific, Gulf View Drive) and starring Faline England (Valentine's Day) & Joe Spano (Hill Street Blues and NCIS).

With the dust settled from midterm elections and freshman members of Congress learning to navigate the maze of Capitol Hill 2.5 miles away, Studio Theatre presents Kings, part of its Studio X series, written by Alexandria, VA native Sarah Burgess and directed by Marti Lyons. With a deft hand at the fast talk and power dynamics of lawmaking and fundraising, Burgesss play is a swamp tour of the Beltway power-broking that fuels her hometown. A Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, Burgess quickly rose to notoriety exploring the cutthroat world of finance in her breakout play, Dry Powder, at the Public Theater in New York, which starred Claire Danes, John Krasinski, and Hank Azaria.

At the Saturday afternoon Matinee, at the United Parish Church, Brookline, MA, The Actor's Shakespeare Project presented Bill Cain's Play Equivocation. The result was a success in every way. This was my first viewing of this play and while it is a lot to take in, (more about that later) I thoroughly enjoyed myself in no small part due to the extraordinary performance by company member Steven Barkhimer as Shag, and the very strong performances by the ensemble.

Actors' Shakespeare Project kicks off their 15th Season with Macbeth and Equivocation in rotating repertory at the United Parish in Brookline. Performances September 26 - November 11 (Press Performance for Macbeth: Saturday, September 28, 8:00 PM; Press Performance for Equivocation: Friday, October 12, 7:30 PM), The Sanctuary, United Parish, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline. For more information visit actorsshakespeareproject.org.

Actors' Shakespeare Project kicks off their 15th Season with Macbeth and Equivocation in rotating repertory at the United Parish in Brookline. Performances September 26 - November 11 (Press Performance for Macbeth: Saturday, September 28, 8:00 PM; Press Performance for Equivocation: Friday, October 12, 7:30 PM), The Sanctuary, United Parish, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline. For more information visit actorsshakespeareproject.org.

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, presents the World Premiere of Witch, written by Jen Silverman, inspired by The Witch of Edmonton by Rowley, Dekker & Ford. Witch, directed by Marti Lyons, runs September 26 - December 16, 2018 in the Gillian Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. 

Dael Orlandersmith, "an intense poet, writer and intellectual" (Chicago Tribune), brings her newest work, Lady in Denmark, to the Owen Theatre. Reuniting with director Chay Yew (Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men, 2012), Orlandersmith's world premiere production is a reflection on love and adversity starring stage and screen actress Linda Gehringer in a 90-minute solo performance. Helene (Gehringer) is a Danish American woman coping with the death of her husband who finds solace in the hauntingly beautiful music of their favorite singer, Billie Holiday. This is her journey through the couple's time together-from the smoky jazz clubs of post-war Copenhagen to the home they shared in present-day Chicago. Lady in Denmark is one of five world premieres this season, all originally developed as a part of the Goodman's New Stages Festival. The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (set), Christine Pascual (costumes), Lee Fiskness (lighting) and Mikhail Fiksel (original music and sound). Donald E. Claxon is the Production Stage Manager. Lady in Denmark appears October 19 - November 18, 2018 (opening night is October 29 at 7pm) in the Goodman's Owen Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); tickets ($15-45; subject to change) go on sale Friday, August 31, by telephone 312.443.3800 or online GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyInDenmark.

Set in 1606 England, King James's righthand man Robert Cecil commissions William Shagspeare to write the "true historie" of Guy Fawkes' infamous Gunpowder Plot. As Shag investigates the story, he discovers that the government's version might be less than truthful. Should he take the money and write a propaganda piece - or risk losing the theatre and perhaps even his head? An entertaining tribute to art, politics, and the perils of negotiating both, Equivocation is a high-stakes political comedy with contemporary resonances. 

An original devised play, The Tragical Comical Fool's Game (Or, Nun of Your Business) follows Bella (an almost nun) as she grapples with her destiny and a crazy crew of characters all trying to sway her in various directions. Very (very) loosely based on Measure for Measure, The Fool's Game shows on July 10th at 5pm, 11th at 7pm, 18th at 9:15pm, 21st at 6:15pm, and 26th at 5pm. It runs approximately one hour. All performances will be held at the Christ United Methodist Church at 900 4th Street, SW - Orange Venue. Individual tickets go for $17 and can be purchased on the Capital Fringe website. Please note that you will need a Capital Fringe button ($5 through July 6th) to enter the venue!

The Ojai Playwrights Conference (OPC), one of the nation's most acclaimed new play development programs, announces its 21st season with another inspirational and though-provoking program featuring playwrights, new play workshop presentations, and special performance events from August 5 through 12, 2018 in Ojai, California.

An original devised play, The Tragical Comical Fool's Game (Or, Nun of Your Business) follows Bella (an almost nun) as she grapples with her destiny and a crazy crew of characters all trying to sway her in various directions. Very (very) loosely based on Measure for Measure, The Fool's Game shows on July 10th at 5pm, 11th at 7pm, 18th at 9:15pm, 21st at 6:15pm, and 26th at 5pm. It runs approximately one hour. All performances will be held at the Christ United Methodist Church at 900 4th Street, SW - Orange Venue. Individual tickets go for $17 and can be purchased on the Capital Fringe website. Please note that you will need a Capital Fringe button ($5 through July 6th) to enter the venue!

The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) celebrated 150 performances of the Wicked Folly Tour and Spring Season productions on May 30 with a performance of The Taming of the Shrew.

The Wicked Folly Tour has completed its tour, traveling across 17 states, producing over 50 performances at 33 venues, and reaching nearly 17,000 audience members. Now the troupe returns to Staunton to present the American Shakespeare Center's Spring Season. Performances begin at the Blackfriars Playhouse April 11.

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) today announces its season line-up for 2018-19. For its 15th season-the first programmed by Artistic Director Christopher V. Edwards-ASP continues to build on a legacy of diversity and reputation for productions that resonate with heightened language and theatrical inventiveness.

Music teachers make a tremendous impact on the lives of their students and, for the fifth year, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and several partners search for an outstanding and inspirational teacher to honor with the PYO Ovation Award. Nominators who are current or former students and of any age, submit a 250-word statement about "the music teacher who changed my life." The PYO Ovation Award is endowed by H.E.L.P. Foundation and sponsored by Jacobs Music Company, J.W. Pepper and WRTI-90.1 FM.

Rubicon Theatre Company kicks off its 20th Anniversary Season with the return of the critically-acclaimed holiday hit CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Broadway, TV and film veterans Peter Van Norden (RTC's Taking Sides, Copenhagen) and Emmy Award-winner Joe Spano ( NCIS, RTC's Bucky) reprise their roles as Scrooge and Marley, respectively, in this innovative telling of Dickens' timeless tale of transformation and redemption. Adapted by Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns and directed by Brian McDonald, the 27-member cast features many of the same actors from the original production that earned a Critic's Pick in the Los Angeles Times and rave reviews from Ventura County Star, CASA Magazine, VIDA Magazine and the Ventura Breeze. This imaginative version of Dickens' novella offers a revealing portrait of the yearning, lost child inside the cold-hearted miserly man. Actors perform in the storytelling style of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Nicholas Nickleby, playing characters, animals even dressing gowns and doors! CHARLES DICKENS' A CHRISTMAS CAROL opens in Ventura on Saturday, December 9at 7:00 p.m. followed by an after-party at Rhumb Line Restaurant. Low-priced previews are December 6-8. The show runs Todays through Sundays through December 23.