Paul Stanko News

Immerse yourself in the hilarious and chaotic world of Not Another Midsummer, an award-nominated show that puts a unique twist on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Join the clumsy and disheartened group of traveling actors as they struggle to put on a show in Hollywood, with lost sets, re-cast roles, and dirty secrets on display.

As a fan of Shakespeare and immersive theatre productions, I was intrigued when I heard that The Shakespeare Center LA and After Hours Theatre Company were set to present the premiere of The Tempest: An Immersive Experience, a fully reimagined audience-participation performance based on William Shakespeare's tale of family members caught up in a storm and shipwrecked on an isolated Mediterranean island. So I decided to speak with the production's director Ben Donenberg, Shakespeare Center LA Artistic Director, Graham Wetterhahn, the Producing Artistic Director at After Hours Theatre Company, and Sara Beil one of the producers for After Hours who created the immersive design, about their vision for an immersive way to include audience members in the experience of Shakespeare's tempestuous play.

The Shakespeare Center LA and After Hours Theatre Company announce the premiere of The Tempest: An Immersive Experience, a fully reimagined immersive performance based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  The director is Ben Donenberg, Shakespeare Center LA Artistic Director; Graham Wetterhahn is the Producing Artistic Director at After Hours Theatre Company. 

Directed by Hollace Starr, an associate professor of theatre at Pepperdine University, a designated Linklater Voice teacher, and a lifetime member of the Actors Studio, with an innate understanding of feminine emotional turmoil, and John Perrin Flynn's keen eye for multimedia effects, EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON tackles our chronic inability to act in the interest of our future generations. At the center are three very different sisters who are left to raise and care for one another after their mother dies and their father abandons them. Now adults, the sisters find themselves navigating a 21st century London that is at the precipice of both an existential and an all-too-real environmental crisis.

Playwright Cicely Hamilton's first productions of her DIANA OF DOBSON'S in 1908 must have been quite controversial with a, then unheard of, strong, outspoken woman Diana Massingberd as the lead character. Abigail Marks more than fills the shoes of Diana with her relentless command of the stage. Director Casey Stangl deftly guides her talented cast in a fast-talking, fast-paced journey of Diana's adventures.

When poorly paid worker Diana inherits enough money to free her from a lifetime of drudgery, she impulsively decides to spend it all on a madcap, month-long taste of the high-life. But what she learns about love, money and society may surprise us all. Antaeus Theatre Companypresents a rare revival of the 1908 romantic comedyDiana of Dobson's byBritish suffragist (and friend of George Bernard Shaw) Cicely Hamilton.Casey Stangl directs a partner-cast ensemble for an April 18 and April 19opening (one opening night for each cast) at theKiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances continue through June 3. Low-priced previews begin April 11.

It's all for one, and one for all, as Palos Verdes Performing Arts presents the West Coast premiere of Catherine Bush's humorous and witty adaptation of the epic novel by Alexandre Dumas, 'The Three Musketeers.' The exclusive engagement at the Norris Theatre on the Palos Verdes Peninsula runs January 25 through February 3. Filled with adventure, romance, intrigue and swashbuckling swordplay, the play transports the audience to 17th Century France on a thrilling journey with the three heroes as they fight against the dishonest and seek to protect the ones they love.

Los Angeles' favorite clown troupe Four Clowns, teams up with the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles for an all-new Holiday take on one of the Bard's most popular works "Twelfth Night or What You Will". Four Clowns presents "Welcome to Illyria! or An Exceedingly Silly Retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night" Start your holiday off right, with laughs, giggles and general merriment! "Welcome to Illyria!" will run for twelve performances only, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from November 30 - December 16, 2018, Friday, Saturday & Sunday have an 8:00 pm show as well as a Sunday 2:00 pm show. This is not the first time Four Clowns has worked with Shakespeare's text. In 2015, Four Clowns took on Hamlet to receive rave reviews. In 2011 the company produced an award-winning version of Romeo & Juliet, and in 2014 they teamed up with California State University Long Beach to present a version of Ubu Roi called Ubu The Sh*t, a French play based on Shakespeare's Macbeth.

AFTER HOURS THETRE COMPANY (who most recently produced the Ovation nominated Dogfight and I Love You Because) announces that its critically acclaimed (LA Times CRITICS' CHOICE, Stage Raw TOP TEN), uniquely immersive theatrical experience, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, adapted by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, produced by Graham Wetterhahn, and directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx is EXTENDING through SUNDAY, JULY 22 at SIX01 Studio, 630 S. Flower St. in Burbank.

After our intake interview with the Asylum's Dr. Spivey (Trent Mills), we were invited through the loading dock door into the showers where two asylum staff members required us to don our patient wear. Once we learned the rules for the evening's entertainment, double doors opened to reveal the Psych Ward, marvelously realistic with wired cage doors opening into the space where patients sat playing games at the tables around the center stage area. Nurses walked around handing out 'medication' while new patients interacted with the actor-patients playing cards or other games at tables, after which we were directed to look for clues to discover the secrets around the 'ward' which would lead us to our reward. No - I am not going to tell you what that reward was nor how to solve the clues. That is part of the fun!

AFTER HOURS THETRE COMPANY (who most recently produced the Ovation nominated Dogfight and I Love You Because) presents a unique immersive experience, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, adapted by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, produced by Graham Wetterhahn, and directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST will begin previews on Thursday, May 11; will open on Friday, May 25and perform through Sunday, July 1 at SIX01 Studio, 630 S. Flower St. in Burbank.

AFTER HOURS THETRE COMPANY (who most recently produced the Ovation nominated Dogfight and I Love You Because) presents a unique immersive experience, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, adapted by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, produced by Graham Wetterhahn, and directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST will begin previews on Thursday, May 11; will open on Friday, May 25and perform through Sunday, July 1 at SIX01 Studio, 630 S. Flower St. in Burbank.

Sex, revenge, betrayal... let the games begin. Antaeus Theatre Company presents a fully partner-cast production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Christopher Hampton's Olivier, Evening Standard and New York Drama Critic's Circle Award-winning adaptation of the scandalous novel by Choderlos de Laclos. Directed by Robin Larsen, Les Liaisons Dangereuses opens on Oct. 26and Oct. 27 (one opening for each cast), running through Dec. 10 at theKiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale. Low-priced previews begin on Oct. 19.

Sex, revenge, betrayal... let the games begin.

Theatricum brings back its signature production, an audience favorite with a set design unrivaled by any other theater - because it's the real thing. The most magical outdoor setting in Los Angeles is once again transformed into an enchanted forest inhabited by lovers both fairy and human.

THE HAIRY APE at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble through July 17 tells the story of Robert 'Yank' Smith, a brutish ship laborer who searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the wealthy elite who he believes only see him as a dirty and hairy ape rather than a real human being. As head coal stoker on an ocean liner, Yank (Haile D'Alan whose incredible and extremely physical performance lifts the entire production to the highest artistic quality) is in his element where he rules his dark, hot, hard-drinking smoky world while managing a group of six other coal stokers who seem to prove their resemblance to simians no matter what they do thanks to the brilliant and totally physical ape-like choreography of their every move by director Steven Berkoff. It's truly a wonder as to how the ensemble manages to keep their energy at such a high level throughout the entire show.

Renowned British actor/writer/director Steven Berkoff directs a rare production of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 expressionist play THE HAIRY APE. The production opened on May 14 at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre, and BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Renowned British actor/writer/director Steven Berkoff will direct a rare production of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 expressionist play The Hairy Ape, opening May 14 at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre.