Melissa Chalsma News

Independent Shakespeare Co. announces two new board directors.

Independent Shakespeare Co. has revealed the addition of Robert Américo Esnard and Lara Pranger to their board of directors. Learn about their backgrounds and how they will contribute to the organization's commitment to equitable and accessible arts experiences.

When you get right down to it, Amanda and Elyot are two people with the enormous blind side of being drawn to one another yet destined to hurt one another; walking a fine line between love and hate, desire and aversion. 

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), announced that Joel Carnes has been elected to its board of directors.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, have announced the annual festival celebrating theater, iambic lab, beginning Thursday, February 23 through Sunday, February 26.

ISC’s unique brand of Shakespeare in the park has long been a summertime favorite for Angelenos of all ages. PESTLE is a work of Francis Beaumont, not the Bard, but as adapted and staged by director Melissa Chalsma, this loopy bit of play-within-a-play meta is every bit a comic winner.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) announces the anticipated return of an entire summer (10 weeks) of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival following 2020's virtual season and 2021's shortened season. The location is the Dell at the top of the Old Zoo near the intersection of Crystal Springs Drive and Griffith Park Drive.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) presents its first feature film, Live at the Porpentine – A Comedy of Errors. Adapted and directed by David Melville, this film has the distinction of being the only English language film adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, announce the annual festival celebrating theater, iambic lab, beginning Sunday, February 20 and running through Sunday, February 27. All offerings are presented free and online. iambic lab is an exploration and celebration of the ways we communicate through the art of theater.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), announces that Ebony Murphy-Root and Gillian Wagner have unanimously been elected to its board of directors.

Independent Shakespeare Co. is roaring back as one of the first Los Angeles theater companies to present live, in-person performances following the pandemic. The Tempest will be presented at a new, temporary performance site in Griffith Park as a result of construction beginning on the long-awaited Griffith Park Performing Arts Stage Project.

Independent Shakespeare Co. has launched a new play development program, upholding our commitment to our Black artists. ISC has always approached theater in a deeply collaborative manner, and this project emphasizes collaboration and the voices of our Black Ensemble members. Giving our artists the freedom to create is the goal of this project.

Independent Shakespeare Co. is continuing to occupy the digital space in 2021 with a groundbreaking virtual experience, the last syllable, written & directed by Melissa Chalsma, based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with poetry by Luis Galindo.

Coming soon is the first in a series of newly commissioned Digital Shorts videos, pairing gifted composers with visual artists, which have recently been expanded to include composer Anna Clyne's forthcoming The Gorgeous Nothings, a setting of Emily Dickinson texts for soprano and string quintet.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) presents a new adaptation of Shakespeare's play, an innovative hybrid stage production blending recorded and live scenes, with surprising moments of audience interaction. Romeo & Juliet will livestream eight performances September 17 - 27. All events will be available free and online.

As live theatre remains in lockdown, Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) is morphing their Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival into a free, livestreaming program of four FESTIVAL EVENTS on Saturdays in August, and a hybrid stage production of ROMEO & JULIET Labor Day weekend. ISC's co-founders David Melville & Melissa Chalsma were most gracious in answering my emailed queries on their twenty-plus-years-old theatre organization.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) is venturing into the digital space with the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival a?" Living Room Edition, launching a series of four Festival Events live streaming in August, culminating in a brand new, hybrid stage production of Romeo & Juliet live streaming Labor Day weekend. All events will be available free and online.

Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), producers of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, announces the establishment of the new position of Artistic Associate for Social Justice. Filling this position is Carene Mekertichyan. She will identify and facilitate strategies of interaction between ISC and the Los Angeles community in an effort to proactively dismantle systemic injustices.

It's summer in L.A. and the theaters are closed. What's a Shakespeare lover to do? Well, artists continue to create in whatever way they can as they brainstorm plans for 2020 and beyond. We've heard from some of your favorite companies and here's the latest on cancellations and some of the inventive solutions meant to help you get your Bard on this season. Go see a showa??.online!

On April 30, Independent Shakespeare Co. artistic director Melissa Chalsma released the following statement to supporters, audience members, donors and the community of Los Angeles: