David Melville News

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival and recipients of the 2018 Paul Robeson Award by Actors' Equity Foundation and Actors' Equity Association, announce the annual festival celebrating theater, iambic lab, beginning Saturday, February 2 and running through Sunday, February 17 at the ISC Studio in the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #130 in Atwater Village.

INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. (ISC), producers of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES DICKENS. This holiday season ISC recreates (with a little artistic license) the experience of a reading of A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES DICKENS, given by Charles Dickens himself.

TITUS ANDRONICUS is one of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedies. Characters are stabbed, beheaded, mutilated, raped, baked in a pie, and one is even buried up to his neck and left to die. At first glance it may not sound like an obvious choice for families who attend the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, and it definitely isn't one for 'the youngest audience members' as the website says. But the play's extreme violence does present a unique opportunity for parents to talk to their teens about revenge and the futility of starting down its destructive path.

This summer INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. presents the dark spectacle, TITUS ANDRONICUS as the second show of its GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, featuring David Melville as Titus and directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma. Celebrating the 15th anniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks, TITUS ANDRONICUS will begin previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, July 28 at 7pm and will open on Saturday, August 4 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, September 1 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.  All ISC Summer Shakespeare productions are FREE to the public!  TITUS ANDRONICUS is the second of two productions being presented at this year's GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is currently playing and will run in repertory through September 2. 

This summer INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. presents the dark spectacle, TITUS ANDRONICUS at the GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL featuring David Melville as Titus and directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma. Celebrating the 15th anniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks, TITUS ANDRONICUS opened at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, August 4 at 7:00pm and will perform through Sunday, September 1 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.  

This summer INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. presents the dark spectacle, TITUS ANDRONICUS at the GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL featuring David Melville as Titus and directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma.

The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fourth annual edition includes productions that opened between January 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.

This summer INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. presents the dark spectacle, TITUS ANDRONICUS at the second show of its GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, featuring David Melville as Titus and directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma.

Summer would not be complete without seeing at least one Shakespeare play outdoors somewhere in Los Angeles. This year I decided to spend a bewitching night in Griffith Park, selecting to see my favorite Bard comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, presented by the Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) celebrating the 15th anniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks. In 2010, ISC moved free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park to Griffith Park, the second largest city park in California. The growth in attendance has been extraordinary, certainly due in part to the quality of the productions. So grab a blanket or a lawn chair, pack a picnic, and take a short hike into Griffith Park to a land of wonder and imagination thanks to the Independent Shakespeare Company's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - and bring the kids!

The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards celebrate excellence on the Los Angeles stages in venues of 99-seats or under. This fourth annual edition includes productions that opened between January 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.

This summer spend a bewitching night with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. Independent Shakespeare Co. celebrates the 15th anniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks. The Old Zoo will be transformed into an enchanted forest with an all-new production that envelops the audience with the action of the play. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma, will begin previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, June 30 at 7pm and will open on Saturday, July 7 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, September 2 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park

This summer spend a bewitching night with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. Independent Shakespeare Co. celebrates the 15thanniversary season of free Shakespeare in Los Angeles City Parks. The Old Zoo will be transformed into an enchanted forest with an all-new production that envelops the audience with the action of the play. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma,will begin previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, June 30 at 7pm and will open on Saturday, July 7 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, September 2 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.  All ISC Summer Shakespeare productions are FREE to the public!  A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is the first of two productions being presented at this year's GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL. TITUS ANDRONICUS will open July 28 and then the plays will run in repertory through September 2. 

you are my sunshine - a new play with folk songs …based on a true story by Kelli Kerslake Colaco is a multi-decade (1927-1956) character study of a man of mythic American proportions whose passions and demons lead to tragedy. Narrated in Woody Guthrie-style folk songs - accompanied by Bay Area music favorites Chris Haugen (guitar) and Trevor Marcom (vocals/guitar), the fact-inspired ensemble drama focuses on the search for truth behind a dark family legend vis-a-vis an ancestor and the women and children in his life.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival announce the debut production in ISC's new and larger performance home, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, directed by Melissa Chalsma.  ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL will begin previews on Thursday, March 22, opens Saturday, March 24 at 7:30pm and performs through Sunday, April 22 at the ISC Studio in the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #130 in Atwater Village.

BritWeek and The Wallis are proud to announce A Shakespeare Jubilee!  BritWeek, the largest and most visible celebration of the creativity and innovation between the UK and the US, celebrates its twelfth year with three significant events in Los Angeles. BritWeek has become a global forum that highlights British excellence and influence in theater, films television, music, fine art, and sport. This year's opening event is A Shakespeare Jubilee!, BritWeek's first co-presentation with The Wallis.Produced and directed by Louis Fantasia, and featuring a star-studded cast of 27 actors, A Shakespeare Jubilee! takes place Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 7:30pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis and tickets are now on sale.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival announce the debut production in ISC's new and larger performance home, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, directed by Melissa Chalsma. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL will begin previews on Thursday, March 22, opens Saturday, March 24 at 7:30pm and performs through Sunday, April 22 at the ISC Studio in the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #130 in Atwater Village.

ISC sets TWO GENTS in the 1950s, accompanied by a live band on stage playing an infectious rock 'n' roll score. Musical director Dave Beukers' arrangements are bright and sexy with a beat that's perfect for dancing (think Elvis Presley during his Sun Records days or Jerry Lee Lewis). It's a choice that admirably complements Shakespeare's early play - thought by many to be his first - and the erratic appetites of youth.

The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival continues with INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO.'s riotous rock & roll production of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. Directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Managing Director, David Melville, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA will begin previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, July 29 at 7pm and will open on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, September 3 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.

The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival continues with INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO.'s riotous rock & roll production of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. Directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Managing Director, David Melville, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA will begin previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Saturday, July 29 at 7pm and will open on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, September 3 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park. 

This summer take a trip to a decadent Vienna as INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. opens the season with the wild and wonderful MEASURE FOR MEASURE. The plot twists come fast and furious in this production that is equal parts screwball romantic comedy and deliciously dark social satire.