Cynthia Beckert News

It's all about the love story in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and this one has at its core the epic romance of the ages - Mark Antony and the notorious Queen of the Nile - two dramatic individuals consumed with passion of whom much has been written. It's a perfect choice for Kingsmen Shakespeare Company's final offering of the 2014 summer season and delivers another lovely night of Shakespeare under the stars just a short drive up the 101 to Thousand Oaks.

Shakespeare's classic historical tragedy will be performed at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from July 18 through August 3 in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking and pre-show entertainment begins at 6:25 p.m.

Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival's production of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra brings royal-like acting to the Conejo Valley stage.

Shakespeare's classic historical tragedy will be performed at 8 p.m. Todays, Saturdays and Sundays from today, July 18 through August 3 in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking and pre-show entertainment begins at 6:25 p.m.

Shakespeare's classic historical tragedy will be performed at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from July 18 through August 3 in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking and pre-show entertainment begins at 6:25 p.m.

If 'all the youth of England are on fire,' as the first speech of HENRY V's Act II declares, then all the Porters of Hellsgate have carried the torch forward with guns blazing. Without a doubt, this is the Porters' finest stage work to date and a testament to the kind of theatre magic that can be created out of thin air by the willing and able.

You will not find a more impassioned version of Shakespeare's Hamlet than the one Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company is currently offering at the Odyssey Theatre. And with the very real possibility that this may be the company's final work comes the necessity of experiencing what these dedicated professionals have created while under the influence of Shakespeare's words.

An all-female, multi-cultural aesthetic offers new insight when Odyssey Theatre Ensemble andLos Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company co-presentHamlet in celebration of LAWSC's 20th anniversary. Featuring a cast of 16 LAWSC favorites and talented newcomers - including producing artistic director and celebrated Shakespearean actressLisa Wolpe in the title role and award-winning film, television and theatrical star Eve Gordon as Gertrude - Hamlet opens for press tonight, Aug. 30 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.

Since 1993, the award-winning Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company (LAWSC) has carved out a unique niche in the landscape of L.A. theater. Led by Producing Artistic Director, Lisa Wolpe (pictured right), they examine contemporary issues and cultural perceptions of women through an all-female theatrical lens. In many ways it mirrors the original all-male playing company for whom Shakespeare wrote, at a time when women were not allowed to perform on stage.

An all-female, multi-cultural aesthetic offers new insight when Odyssey Theatre Ensemble andLos Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company co-presentHamlet in celebration of LAWSC's 20th anniversary. Featuring a cast of 16 LAWSC favorites and talented newcomers - including producing artistic director and celebrated Shakespearean actressLisa Wolpe in the title role and award-winning film, television and theatrical star Eve Gordon as Gertrude - Hamlet opens for press on Aug. 30 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A.

"How this lord is followed!" exclaims a Painter in reference to Timon of Athens early in Act I of the play that bears his name. Director Charles Pasternak interprets the line quite literally by having his throng of greedy hangers-on trail behind Timon as he moves about the stage, billowing en masse like a bridal gown's train that sweeps and glides with every turn.

Opening a new theater, like Griot Theatre Company, and mounting a first production - Shakespeare no less - is an undertaking that requires unwavering commitment to one's goals, fierce dedication to quality, and an abundance of positive energy to carry you through the bumps in the road.

The Mechanicals Theatre Group presents The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, directed by Neil Patrick Stewart, assistant directed by Jordan Belfi (Entourage) and produced by company member Monica Raymund (Lie To Me, The Good Wife).

The Mechanicals Theatre Group presents The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, directed by Neil Patrick Stewart, assistant directed by Jordan Belfi (Entourage) and produced by company member Monica Raymund (Lie To Me, The Good Wife).

Streamlined, gender-bending versions of classic plays are the name of the game in a five-week summer theater festival from the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. Longtime fans of the company's all-female explorations of classic texts will be intrigued to discover this festival's inclusion of male actors - although not always in the roles one might expect.

Streamlined, gender-bending versions of classic plays are the name of the game in a five-week summer theater festival from the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. Longtime fans of the company's all-female explorations of classic texts will be intrigued to discover this festival's inclusion of male actors - although not always in the roles one might expect.

Streamlined, gender-bending versions of classic plays are the name of the game in a five-week summer theater festival from the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. Longtime fans of the company's all-female explorations of classic texts will be intrigued to discover this festival's inclusion of male actors - although not always in the roles one might expect.