Irwin Appel News

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Santa Barbara Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius (Jarred Web), who then marries Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude (Olivia Rose Nathan), and takes the throne. No one suspects foul play except Prince Hamlet (Tadja Enos), who senses something rotten in the state of Denmark. His fears are validated when his father's ghost spurs him to avenge his untimely death. Hamlet takes up the mantle of vengeance with single-minded focus, sacrificing relationships along the way.

Though Shakespeare and Miller wrote their plays several centuries apart, the combo is fitting both plays articulate the struggles of frustrated protagonists trying to understand their function in a shifting social scape and their priorities within dysfunctional familial relationships.

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents two tragedies that rip through the heart of the family: one distinctly modern and very American, the other ancient and timeless. Both Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge and Shakespeare's King Lear will be staged on successive nights between November 3 and 19 in the Performing Arts Theater. The patrons will also have a unique opportunity to see both plays in the same day on November 5, 11, 18, and 19.

Prague Shakespeare Company has announced its upcoming events this month. Scroll down for details, featuring Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II and The Death of Kings as part of Shakespeare at Divadlo Na Pradle!

Prague Shakespeare Company has announced its upcoming events this month. Scroll down for details, featuring Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II and The Death of Kings as part of Shakespeare at Divadlo Na Pradle!

Join the master teachers and continental Europe's premiere English-language classical theatre: Prague Shakespeare Company for four weeks of transformational classical theater training and mentorship, while immersing yourself in one of the most picturesque and culturally rich cities in old Europe.

Join the master teachers and continental Europe's premiere English-language classical theatre: Prague Shakespeare Company for four weeks of transformational classical theater training and mentorship, while immersing yourself in one of the most picturesque and culturally rich cities in old Europe.

Lydia, a soothsaying stranger, is an immigrant from Mexico who works as a live-in maid for the Flores family. Her influence propels the family, already in massive disrepair, toward the inevitable pain of sudden truths revealed.

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents Lydia, a play by Octavio Solis. Lydia opens February 17th and runs through February 26th in the UCSB Performing Arts Theater. Under the direction of UCSB's Irwin Appel, seven UCSB students come together to portray a charged performance with powerful images that are very relevant in our society today.

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents Lydia, a play by Octavio Solis. Lydia opens February 17th and runs through February 26th in the UCSB Performing Arts Theater. Under the direction of UCSB's Irwin Appel, seven UCSB students come together to portray a charged performance with powerful images that are very relevant in our society today.

Last year, Santa Barbara theatrical artists presented projects ranging from kitschy, hilarious renderings of cult-classics to sweeping epics that inspired the community to #SeeMoreTheatre. Your click-votes have been processed! Santa Barbara audiences loved Heathers: The Musical, Out of the Box's irreverent teen-angst murder musical, and Death of Kings, Irwin Appel's comprehensive showcase of Shakespeare's history canon that utilized all the performance and production talent UCSB has to offer.

Votes are cast; polls are closed; and results have been tabulated! This was our biggest year yet! After a record number of voters in more than 75 regions worldwide, BroadwayWorld is very excited to announce the 2016 Santa Barbara winners! Thanks to all who voted, and huge congratulations to all the winners!

'Much Ado About Nothing' is a Shakespearian comedy that plays, essentially, on the idea that gossip is a bitch. With sultry tango, occasional jovial singing, and slapstick stalking throughout the playing space, 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a natural, entertaining Shakespearian experience.

The Department of Theater and Dance at UC Santa Barbara is pleased to announce another exciting year of new work from our talented faculty, students, and guest artists. The new eclectic theater season is framed by two classic masterpieces and filled with some of the most exciting new work being created across the country. The dance line-up includes our highly acclaimed resident professional dance company Santa Barbara Dance Theater as well as two annual dance concerts featuring original choreography from the advanced UCSB dance students in addition to choreography from faculty members.

Death of Kings weaves Richard II, Henry IV (parts 1 and 2), Henry V, Henry VI (parts 1, 2, and 3), and Richard III, into a fast-moving onslaught of conflict and mayhem that ceaselessly emphasizes the play's theme and title: the succession of royal lineage via death, murder, and dethronement.

Prepare to be enchanted in this spectacle of a show, Bill Cain's, 2009 drama, Equivocation. Cain writes this daring masterpiece of a complex period involving the famed William Shakespeare. An erudite scholar and playwright of the time period, Cain delves into a clever yet intelligent fictional story, based on historical events. Directed by UCSB's own, Professor of Theater and Director of the BFA Actor Training Program, Irwin Appel, this intelligent play is about bonding friendship and commitment to each other, focusing on what lasts. This cinematic, dramatic show includes hangings and beheadings, demanding yet creating, a magnificent work of art.

The Department of Theater & Dance at UCSB continues its 2013-2014 season of drama and dance with the Fall Dance Concert – Anticipate, under the direction of UCSB Theater & Dance Lecturer Christina McCarthy. The Fall Dance concert performs December 6-7, 2013 at 8:00 pm and December 7 at 2:00 pm in the Hatlen Theater on the UCSB campus. Check out the photos below!

The Department of Theater and Dance at UC Santa Barbara has announced another exciting year of new work from its talented faculty and students. The 2013-2014 line-up of drama includes old classics and contemporary work from European and American playwrights. The two annual dance concerts will showcase original choreography from the advanced UCSB dance students in addition to choreography from faculty members.

The Department of Theater and Dance at UC Santa Barbara has announced another exciting year of new work from its talented faculty and students. The 2013-2014 line-up of drama includes old classics and contemporary work from European and American playwrights. The two annual dance concerts will showcase original choreography from the advanced UCSB dance students in addition to choreography from faculty members.