(04/12/2017) - Now & Then Creative Company is a culmination of perceived needs in the valley, coupled with opportunities for learning and growth with students at Metropolitan Arts Institute. The 'now' focuses on new play development and film production-working with local artists on the development of plays, screenplays, workshop productions, and film productions. The 'then' produces theatre classics that speak to our present time-plays that tackle large issues to provoke conversation around social concerns. Further, I imagine the classics to be interpreted with a strong vision from directors. We are interested in producing classics with strong concepts-we are not interested in producing classics in ways that feel familiar. More to that point sometimes classics begin to feel like museum pieces-once you've seen them, you've seen them. We want to nurture an exciting, vibrant, and meaningful approach to the classics.
(04/03/2017) - This rags-to-riches story of ugly-duckling, Louise, the tomboy who rose to national fame as Gypsy Rose Lee (the entertainment queen who put class into Burlesque) is an all American classic; and Mama Rose, the pushy backstage mother who lived through her daughters, but paid a high price, is one of the most iconic characters in Broadway history.
(04/03/2017) - I am most concerned with what the audience sees, as they are the viewers/hearers of our story, so what they gather from our performance must be paramount. I come in with a strong image of what I want the show to look like. I then block the show right away to get it on its feet. I call this building the skeleton. The rest of the rehearsal process is about fleshing out that skeleton. I do not have the actors wander the stage looking for what feels right for them. It may end up being more “true to life” by letting two people do what comes naturally, but that does not make for a good presentational performance. I block to keep things visually interesting and I work to use the entire stage.
(03/12/2017) - Brelby Theatre Company's Shelby Maticic has directed her company in a breakneck paced, enticing production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. With a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn, it's a show that could be breathtakingly dreadful, but instead is wildly entertaining.
(03/11/2017) - Based on the Woody Allen classic, Bullets Over Broadway is bringing musical comedy back with a BANG! A young playwright in desperate need of financial backing accepts an offer he can't refuse - from a mobster looking to please his showgirl girlfriend.
(03/06/2017) - I don't think my goal is to be a performer, rather more of a person who makes theater happen. Whether that is being an actor, a designer, a director, a patron, a donor, a supporter, an observer, or the executive director of a theater company, that's completely up to fate, really. All I want is to be a part of the progression of this art.
(03/01/2017) - 'This is my first time trying my hand at scenic design,' James Beneze said. 'Honestly, I've mostly been frantically trying to find ideas to try to make such a simple set unique.'
(02/28/2017) - John Patrick Shanley's Storefront Church is runing at Theatre Artists Studio (4848 E. Cactus Rd, #406, Scottsdale, AZ 85254) thru March 12, 2017. Carol MacLeod directs.
(02/27/2017) - Blacklisters ain't for sissies. It is, however, a vital work by a serious young playwright, produced by an essential young theatre company that must be encouraged and supported. Our survival depends on it.
(02/27/2017) - Alanna Kalbfleisch is an utter delight to see and hear, with luminous skin, bright eyes and dimples in both cheeks and chin. Let's face it. She's eye candy. As Dot/Marie, the comfortable authority with which Kalbfleisch moves about the stage suggests a lifetime of performance. Her voice is off-the-charts resplendent, however she is by no means all flash. The nuances in her performance are breathtaking - her pure talent and spectacular range, vocal and dramatic, are world class.
(02/23/2017) - 'Not only are you learning a new skill or refining already existing ones, the instructors are working artists from all around the valley. Artists you may be working with in the future on a professional level are teaching you. It's a wonderful opportunity to not only learn but network.'
(02/21/2017) - 'There is something for everyone in the upcoming classes at Brelby Theatre Company,' said Education Director John Perovich. 'I speak frequently with audience members, collaborative artists, and our company members about what classes we should be offering at the theatre. This spring, we have 4 exciting class offerings that focus on playwriting, acting, directing, and musical theatre,' he said.
(02/10/2017) - We're excited for the New Works Festival! The plays were written by Metro students, predominately from my beginning and advanced theatre classes. Once completed, the plays were read by a group of 9 readers. The readers consisted of one of my advanced theatre students and a group of artists from Brelby (including Brian and Shelby). The plays were selected, began rehearsing in January, and will premiere at Metropolitan Arts Institute at the end of the month.
(02/06/2017) - I am thrilled with how the production looks and sounds so far. We have a great team at the helm with Phillip Fazio and Steve Hilderbrand. These two have created some of the biggest hits at Theater Works in past few seasons. I think Phillip is a brilliant director and am always excited to see what he brings to life with a production. Steve Hilderbrand, is a foremost Sondheim enthusiast and I feel blessed to have such a well versed music director for this project. The design team is creating something quite unique and appropriate for our production.
(01/30/2017) - When I wrote Blacklisters, I was focusing on fascism and totalitarianism through the perspective of the individual in relation to absurdism. It's strange now considering the relevance a lot people who've been involved with the script have given it. On one hand it bugs me that the current events are being very tightly tied to the story when it was not my intention, but I can't deny that interest in it has picked up as a result. As I see it, what I wrote in this show was designed to be slightly unreal and terrifying but not beholden to a specific time period. I also can't deny that inspiration comes from weird places and like most people I was obsessively watching last years politics unfold, largely in horror, so it probably affected me.
(01/30/2017) - My favorite experience was playing the part of Young Cain in The Children of Eden. I loved being with all of the college students. They were so talented and taught me a lot. I only knew one person from a previous Valley Youth Theatre play, but by the end had a lot of great friends. Even though I was just a kid they treated me like a professional. I will always remember that. When I am an adult actor, I will be sure to be nice to all the kid actors.
(01/23/2017) - Now and then, but not often, a theatregoer experiences theatre that is THEATRE. Not theatre that tries to be film or television, but theatre that has the audacity to be theatrical. Theatre wherein the actor looks the witness in the eye and says, 'I know you know I'm an actor, and I know you're sitting there experiencing this with me. I know you see the lights and the seams in the muslin walls and the painted wood grain on the scenery. And I feel your heartbeat, and we're all breathing this air together.'
(01/19/2017) - The two are featured in Brelby's Peter and the Starcatcher, opening Friday at the Brelby Playhouse in historic downtown Glendale. Maticic plays the coveted role of the dread pirate Black Stache (who will one day be Captain Hook), and Perovich appears as Lord Leonard Aster.
