Current & Past Productions

Adeline’s Play

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:00:07 -0700

Adeline’s Play transports us back to the year 1934, where a few inhabitants of the rural factory town of Flanagan, Illinois are producing together their first show. Adeline has returned to Flanagan from not-quite-a-career in Los Angeles as a failed actress, but her infectious optimism and inspirational desire to tell a wonderful story breathes light into a depression-weary town. Side by side, the ragtag cast reflects upon and endures the good times, bad times, and the myriad misadventures that lead them to opening night, until an unexpected revelation exposes secrets from the past.

Monkey Madness

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:00:49 -0700

Monkey Madness mashes satire, clowning, pantomime, dance, and music together into a wild and grotesque theatrical event. Written and directed by Daisuke Tsuji, a former clown with Cirque du Soleil, Monkey Madness delivers what it promises in its title, ‘monkeys’ and ‘madness’, from the moment the audience steps into the theatre. The play follows a simple story about Monkey Boy, whose wish is to evolve into a human being, and the tribe of monkeys and apes that try to adapt to the new culture of ‘humanity’. They both lead to the same question, “What does it mean to be human?” and climax with a war between the monkeys and apes (“Feces will FLY!”… figuratively speaking). Monkey Madness captures the audience with unrelenting satirical comedy, unrelenting joy, and an ending that will haunt the monkeys within our souls.

Performances are Thur~Sat (No Sun) @ 8pm.
Except on the 4th of July weekend, the performances are Wed~Fri, and that Wednesday is a special Pay-What-You-Can performance! (No performance on 4th of July, of course)
Show up early and get a Free Banana!!! I'm serious.

Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door.

Written and directed by Daisuke Tsuji
Sound design by Jonathan Snipes
Lighting design by Francois-Pierre Couture
Scenic design by Jim Sudik
Costume design by Priscilla Watson
Puppetry design by Cristina Bercovitz
Choreography by Anne Rene Brashier
Mask design by Miles Taber
Assistant directed by Evan Drane
Video shot and edited by Hisayasu Tsuji

Featuring: Mo Aboul Zelof, Erika Arias, Jen Bailey, Cristina Bercovitz, Olivia Choate, Fidel Gomez, Josef Malonzo, Jim Merson, Dee Amerio Sudik, Randy Thompson, Adina Valerio, Eleanor Van Hest, Ri Versteegh, Christopher Young, Carolyn Zeller, Josh Zeller.

The Heretic Mysteries

Thu, 14 May 2009 19:00:55 -0700

The West Coast Premiere of the much anticipated epic play from the writer/director of I Gelosi.

The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble continues its critically acclaimed season with the highly anticipated The Heretic Mysteries, a new play from the writer/director of the 2008 hit comedy I Gelosi. The Heretic Mysteries opens May 14 at the Powerhouse Theatre and runs through June 6. Immediately following the May 14 performance, the audience is invited to join the company at the Opening Night Reception on the Deck at the Powerhouse. Closing Night June 6 will be followed by the Closing Night reception.

The Heretic Mysteries is based on the best-selling book Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error by acclaimed French historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie. First published in the 1970’s, the book tells the story of a mountain village torn apart by heresy in the 14th Century. “I found Ladurie’s book to be a revelation,” explains writer/director David Bridel. “The story of a world shattered by violence and extremism is eerily prophetic. Murder, betrayal, adultery, blackmail, and debauchery run amok. Amid the terror, there is also love, heroism, sacrifice, and faith. And because the book draws on the actual words of peasants and priests, shepherds and charlatans, the story has a remarkable freshness and immediacy.”

Presented by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble, written and directed by David Bridel, The Heretic Mysteries features Jonathan Green*, David Hardie, Ashley Lambert, Mike Kindle*, Spencer Kramber, Michael John Pappas, Lucas Caleb Rooney*, Dee Amerio Sudik*, Catherine Talton, Isaac Wade, Matthew Weedman, and Paige Lindsey White. Scenic design is by Amy Maier, costume design by Jen Lee, lighting design by Jenna Pletcher, sound design by Corwin Evans, puppetry by Anne Marie Bookwalter, choreography and associate direction by Saffron Henke, and original music composition by Christopher Harrison. Stage Management by Elizabeth Boulger.

Production Team:
Written and Directed by David Bridel
Stage Management by Elizabeth Boulger
Scenic Design by Amy Maier
Costume Design by Jen Lee
Lighting Design by Jenna Pletcher
Assistant Lighting Design by Jess Manning
Sound Design by Corwin Evans
Assistant Sound Design by Adam Smith
Puppetry by Anne Marie Bookwalter
Technical Direction by Jim Sudik
Original Music Composed by Christopher Harrison
Choreography and Associate Direction by Saffron Henke

*Members of Actors Equity Association

Survived: The War Cycle

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 20:00:42 -0700

The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble continues its critically-acclaimed War Cycle with the highly anticipated Survived, the follow-up to its sold out run of Wounded. Survived opens April 2 at the Powerhouse Theatre and runs through April 25. Talkbacks are scheduled for Thursday nights April 9, 16, 23.

Survived is inspired by true accounts of the families of soldiers fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It follows the lives of the Harper family as they prepare to scatter the ashes of 24 year old Lt. Michael Harper on the anniversary of his combat-related death in the Iraq War. A surprise visit from a soldier who served with Michael at the time of his death ignites a powder keg of emotion and throws the family into crisis as they strive to preserve their memories of Michael while learning to let go.

“Recently the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken a back seat to the economic crisis on the home-front. The Ensemble is committed to developing new installments of The War Cycle so that we can continue to tell the stories of those Americans impacted by those wars. After all, these families will still be experiencing the impact of these wars long beyond the point when the 24 hour news cycle has ceased to report on them,” explains Artistic Director Tom Burmester. “With Survived, we examine a hero’s journey interrupted and the personal quest for meaning and redemption that accompanies tragic loss.”

Collaboratively conceived by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble, written by Artistic Director Tom Burmester, and directed by Tom Burmester and Danika Sudik, Survived features Trevor Algatt, Jen Bailey, Melissa Collins, Danielle Katz, Mike Kindle, Albert Meijer, Spencer Nicholas, Michael Pappas, Jonathan Redding, Danika Sudik, Dee Amerio Sudik, and James W. Sudik.

Macbeth

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:00:05 -0800

On a war-torn Scottish landscape, the great soldier Macbeth and his passionate, ambitious wife rise in influence to the right hand of the king after a legendary victory. Their life together seems assured safety and prosperity when three Witches confront Macbeth with a terrible prophesy: "Thou shalt be King hereafter..."

"Director Jonathan Redding helms an intimate, moody production of Shakespeare's 'Scottish Play'...the show boasts a cool, omnipresent sense of dread, and contains a variety of shrewd, character-related innovations...this vivid and commendably clear presentation of the play is ideal for audiences new to the play, or for those who just want to catch up with it once again."
-LA Weekly

"Alexander Pawlowski creates a Macbeth brimming with nuance. He portrays with ease and restraint all the emotional range evident in Shakespeare’s text. It is a pleasure to watch Pawlowski turn the roll over and over with subtle skill, grappling with hesitancy, guilt and bloodthirsty greed as Macbeth initially implodes and eventually explodes in his quest for power. "
-Santa Monica Mirror

Director Jonathan Redding asks, “If you could do one terrible thing in the dead of night, and then wake up to a world where all your dreams have come true, would you do it? And if so... could you live with it? Macbeth is a formidable story, the tale of a fierce love that unravels into dysfunction and the harrowing drama of a haunted man and his tortured psyche.”

Making his Los Angeles debut is Alexander Pawlowski in the title role. Founding Ensemble member Meredith Hines plays Lady Macbeth. Also featured in the production are company members Albert Meijer, Michael Pappas, Trevor Algatt, Luke Bailey, Ariel Goldberg, Danielle Katz, David Hassett, Matthew Harbert, John Harper, Christine Garver, Melissa Collins, Jacques Freydont, and Marley McClean.

January 22 through February 14:
Thursdays at 8 pm: January 22, 29; February 5, 12
Fridays at 8 pm: January 23, 30; February 6, 13
Saturdays at 8 pm: January 24, 31; February 7, 14

The Powerhouse Theatre
3116 2nd Street
Santa Monica CA 90405 (one block east of Main, between Rose & Marine)

Quixotic

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:43:22 -0700

"Quixotic" is a 21st century update of classic novel "Don Quixote." Now set in a grim American insurance company during a period of economic despair, "Quixotic" follows Arthur Quick, an low-rung employee that convinces himself that he is a knight errant. As Arthur quests to rid the world of evil, he turns his office upside down, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, sanity and madness, and causes his fellow employees to question whether change for the better is truly possible in these uncertain times.

Spring's Awakening

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 20:00:34 -0700

Cast
Eleanor Van Hest as Wendla
Luke Bailey as Melchior
Nick McDow as Moritz
Catherine Talton as Martha
Danika Sudik as Thea
Jen Bailey as Ilse
Morgan Early as Frau Bergmann
Olivia Choate as Frau Gabor
David Hassett as Hans
Matthew Schueller as Ernst
Kyle Cadman
Isaac Wade
Sarah Girard

Creative Team
Written by Frank Wedekind
Directed by Evan Drane
Adapted by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble
Lead Writer - Evan Drane
Scenic & Lighting Design - François-Pierre Couture
Costume Designer - Shannon Kennedy

Click here to visit the Spring’s Awakening press page.

SPRING'S AWAKENING, written by Frank Wedekind and directed by Evan Drane, brilliantly portrays our paradoxical relationship with the human condition through the lens of a controversial subject matter: the curiosity of teenagers. Set in 1890's Germany, three children embark on a mission to explore their newfound interest of sex, a subject suppressed by parents and teachers alike. In an effort to clear his head from confounding imagery, Moritz - the dunce of his school - asks his best friend, and ace student, Melchior to write an essay for him on the subject of copulation. Meanwhile, Melchior, the presumptive expert, begins to delve into his own feelings of temptation with childhood friend Wendla, a gentle soul who resists the oncoming dolling of womanhood. The children's exploration leads to actions with grave consequences, culminating in the erasing of all that is familiar.
This exciting new translation by Drane and the Ensemble craftily combines Wedekind's ideas with a subtle but present contemporary dialog. The result is a clear enunciation of Wedekind's themes for the modern audience, specifically the equal mixture of comedy and tragedy to display the desire that lies within us all. In the end, the play clearly demonstrates a startling paradox - our tendency to run from and towards truth.

I Gelosi

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:00:11 -0700

Creative Team
David Bridel – Writer/Director
Morgan Early – Assistant Director
Starlet Jacobs – Scenic Designer
Emarie Kohlmoos – Asst. Scenic Designer
Jen Lee – Costume Designer
Francois-Pierre Couture – Lighting Designer
Matthew Schueller – Technical Director

Cast
Michael Pappas
Albert Meijer
Luke Bailey
Jon Redding
Paige White
Christopher Tillman
Eleanor Van Hest
Isaac Wade
Danielle Katz
Catherine Talton
Emily Rose

I GELOSI ("The Zealous Ones"), written and directed by David Bridel, tells the story of Italy's first great traveling theatre troupe. In the late 16th Century the Gelosi company takes the provinces by storm, thanks to the beauty, wit and charm of Isabella Andreini, one of the very first women ever to play on the stage. Invited to perform at the Court of King Henri III of France, the Gelosi become the toast of Europe - until they risk the wrath of the Pope with a virulent theatrical satire. Hounded from the French Court, the company's fortunes sink, despite the increasing brilliance of Isabella's talents. Finally the company returns to the poverty from which it came.

Featuring masks, music, and costumes from the period, I GELOSI lovingly recreates the world of the commedia dell'arte and the actors whose life's work consists of portraying the vivid archetypes Pantalone, Arlecchino, Il Capitano, and others. Yet dwelling beneath the glittering comedy of the play lies a vital question: is the theatre merely an entertainment, or is it a voice for the dispossessed?

Water Engine: An American Fable & Mr. Happiness

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 19:33:15 -0700

Written by David Mamet
Directed by Tom Burmester
September 7 - September 22
Fridays at 8pm: September 7, 14, 21
Saturdays at 8pm: September 8, 15, 22
Click here to purchase tickets.

The Powerhouse Theatre 3116 2nd Street Santa Monica CA 90405 (one block east of Main, between Rose & Marine)
Click here for directions.

CAST:
CHARLES LANG - Luke Bailey
RITA LANG - Lauren Eckstrom
LAWRENCE OBERMAN - Spencer Nicholas
MORTON GROSS - Matthew Schueller
MRS. VAREC - Eleanor Van Hest
MURRAY - Nathaniel Meek
MR. WALLACE - Christopher Tillman
BERNIE - Nick McDow
SECRETARY - Paige White

MR. HAPPINESS: Greg Paroff

CREW:
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Albert Meijer
SCENIC DESIGN: Tom Burmester
LIGHTING DESIGN: Tom Burmester
SOUND DESIGN: Trevor Algatt
STAGE MANAGER: Oleg Kagan
COSTUMER: Priscilla Watson

In 1934, Charles Lang designed an engine that runs only on water. The Water Engine is the harrowing tale of what follows; how the self-interest of few undercuts the common good. It tells of human ingenuity and the depths to which men will go to kill it. Originally conceived as a radio play, The Water Engine, is a multi-layered work revealing how the echoes of history have a frightening relevance today.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Wounded: The War Cycle

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:02:09 -0700

Written by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble
Directed by Tom Burmester

Cast:
DOC, 22, a Healer...Albert Meijer
BILL, 26, a soldier...Emeka Nnadi, Trevor Algatt
BETH, 29, a Blackhawk Pilot...Emily Rose, Nicole Reding
ELLEN, 22, a young mother...Morgan Early
ANGEL, a student...Carly Reeves
ANDY, 24, a soldier...Eric Ancker, Sean Jones
GRACER, 37, a therapist...Carrie Bradac, Kimberly Patterson
MARTIN, 33, a nurse...Spencer Nicholas, Evan Owen
IRAQI WOMAN, 22...Lauren Eckstrom, Eleanor Van Hest

Los Angeles Times: RECOMMENDED
"A pertinent charge runs through "Wounded" in its American premiere. This impressive Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble project, drawn from interviews with Iraq war veterans and their families, depicts the personal toll of war with visceral intensity and graphic honesty...Director Tom Burmester expertly negotiates the clashes and revelations. Designer Francois-Pierre Couture's stark set and lighting keep the stakes front and center, and the stalwart ensemble is physically invested and wholly affecting...the urgent timeliness of 'Wounded' is unmistakable and recommends this harrowing, thought-provoking drama."

LA Weekly: RECOMMENDED
"Wounded...finds its target, taking us deep into the troubled psyches of veterans who suffer as much from post-traumatic stress disorder as they do from the loss of limbs and faculties...the justification for oil wars at the top of the second act that, through its own twisted logic, becomes a scarily convincing argument. The numerous split scenes with overlapping dialogue in the piece are handled effectively by director Tom Burmester, and Francois-Pierre Couture’s scenic design is minimalist, emphasizing the characters’ physicality and their psychological struggles. The entire ensemble delivers strong performances that remind us it’s a 'long road to healing.'"

WOUNDED now marks the first play of what the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble is calling “The War Cycle,” a collection of plays dealing with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each play focuses on a different aspect of the war and how it affects the human condition.

Click here to visit the Wounded press page.

Collaboratively conceived and written by the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble and directed by Tom Burmester, Wounded is based on true accounts of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Set in the Fisher House rehabilitation home at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC, the main point of re-entry for wounded soldiers, sailors, and Marines, Wounded follows four young veterans and their families on their quest to readjust to life back home and get on with lives newly transformed by their injuries. With their time in the war behind them, these men and women discover that their
real battle is about to begin.
Countless hours of research, interviews, improvisation, transcriptions, revelations, and conversations went into developing the Wounded script. After months of negotiating a maze of military bureaucracy, the Ensemble managed to arrange a trip to Fisher House to interview returning veterans and their family members. There, they were privileged to spend time with three outstanding individuals whose experiences and stories provided the inspiration for the fictional characters in the play: Navy Corpsman Joe Dan "Doc" Worley, who ran into open fire to save an injured Marine; Sgt. Jason Pepper, who lost his eyes to a roadside bomb; and Major Tammy Duckworth, a Blackhawk pilot who wants to fly again after losing both her legs and who was narrowly defeated in her bid for Congress last November.
This is the third full production of the play. It had its World Premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005, followed by its American Premiere in Santa Monica, CA in 2006.

Never Swim Alone

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 20:16:48 -0800

Written by Daniel MacIvor

Directed by Brian Norris

Featuring: Mike Magrath, Erica Rood, and Matthew Schueller.

ABOUT NEVER SWIM ALONE
NEVER SWIM ALONE won the award for overall excellence at the New York Fringe in 1998 and in 2002. Never Swim Alone is a swift, funny satire about two Alpha-males and their ruthless competition for the title of Top Dog. The play is structured as a surreal egotistic boxing match: Frank and Bill, two guys in dark suits and bad ties, square off in a 13 round Battle Royale of vicious undermining and one-upmanship.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Daniel MacIvor was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1962. He is a stalwart of the Canadian theatre scene, having written and directed numerous award-winning productions including See Bob Run, Wild Abandon, 2-2-Tango, This Is A Play, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, How It Works and A Beautiful View. With long time collaborator Daniel Brooks, he created the solo performances House, Here Lies Henry, Monster and Cul-de-sac. Daniel’s won a GLAAD Award and a Village Voice Obie Award for his play In On It, which was presented at PS 122. His play Marion Bridge received its off-Broadway premiere in New York in October of 2005. From 1987-2007, he was Artistic Director of da da kamera, a respected international theatre touring company that has brought his work to Australia, Israel, Europe, the UK, and extensively throughout Canada and the US.
As a filmmaker, Daniel’s work includes the festival favorite shorts: Wake Up Jerk Off, Margaret Atwood and the Problem With Canada, Permission and Until I Hear From You, all of which he wrote and directed. He wrote and starred in the Genie award-winning short film The Fairy Who Didn’t Want to be a Fairy Anymore, co-wrote and starred in House (based on his own play and directed by Laurie Lynd) and co-wrote and co-directed Parade (with Brad Fraser). Daniel’s first feature film, Past Perfect, premiered at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, along with his screenplay adaptation of his play Marion Bridge (directed by Wiebke von Carolsfeld) which won the CITY TV Best First Feature Award. His second feature film, Wilby Wonderful premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004 and went on to screen at festivals around the world, including the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain where it was in competition. Daniel co-wrote and starred in Amnon Buchbinder’s Whole New Thing for which Daniel won Best Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor at the Atlantic Film Festival.
Brian Norris is a founding member and Artistic Associate of the Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble. He originated the role of Bill in the Ensemble’s first run of Wounded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and was seen most recently playing the role of Wynne Ledbetter in the West Coast Premiere of Adam Rapp’s Stone Cold Dead Serious. Brian is a graduate of UCLA’s school of Theater, Film, and Television. He has appeared on the television show Nash Bridges and in many theatrical shows over the years, including lead roles in This is Our Youth, Bash, and Macbeth.

Ran Wild

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:07:20 -0800

Written by Rose Martula

Directed by Morgan Early

CAST:
Marty - Jason Shepard
Frankie - Carly Reeves
Joey - Eric Ancker
Betty - Briana Lane
Beep - Kelsey Jessup
Boo - Lauren Eckstrom
Vito - Albert Meijer
Pookey - Trevor Algatt

ABOUT RAN WILD
Stuck with the kids on his only boys' night out, a tough-talking father, Marty, has no choice, but to drag along his two sons to his favorite club in the city. A normally absent, emotionally distant father, Marty now has sole custody of Joey and Frankie after his ex-wife's heroin addiction has deemed her unfit to parent. Not knowing how to connect, Marty abandons the boys in the bathroom all night. The story of two boys lost in the night.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
Rose Martula received a BFA in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago, and an MFA in playwriting at UCLA. She was first produced as a playwright off-broadway at the Vineyard Theater in New York City during the Young Playwrights Festival with her full-length play Packed. Since then she’s had productions at the Francis Ford Copolla One-Act Play Festival, the New Play Festival at UCLA, the Acme Theatre at UC Davis, and Serious Play! Theater Company. She’s also had staged readings at Powerhouse Theater at NY Stage and Film and Soho Rep Theater in New York.

Her plays have received positive feedback from the Mark Taper Forum, The Royal Court Theatre in London, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, The Chesterfield Film Project, the Geffen Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, La Jolla Playhouse, Glimmer Train, The Magic Theatre, The Manhattan Theatre Club, and Yale University. Her one act play, Drink Up Baby was selected as a semi-finalist at PlayLabs at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. Two of her full-lengths, Salsa Saved The Girls and The Color of Ice, were both selected as winners of the Skirball Mckennis award.

Rose Martula’s short stories have been published in Merlyn’s Pen, the Monologue Shop, the Salt River Review, Columbia College’s Hair Trigger 21 &22, and Lemon Puppy. She went on to win the David C. Baumgarden award from APA Literary Agency and the Scholastic Press Award from Columbia University for best traditional fiction in a college literary magazine.

Morgan Early is currently completing study for her BA from UCLA. She most recently appeared as Ellen in the ensemble’s American production of Wounded. Her training includes study at the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University, The Lee Strasberg Institute, and the UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television.

The Island

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:41:47 -0700

THE ISLAND
Written by Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona
Directed by Hiu Cho Wong

THE ISLAND, set in the notorious Robben Island maximum-security prison, is a tribute to the men and women who were imprisoned there during the fight for a free and democratic South Africa. The play follows two political prisoners as they rehearse their two-man version of Sophocles’ Antigone for the prison’s annual concert. THE ISLAND demonstrates that it may be easy for a repressive regime to imprison a person, but crushing their spirit is harder.

ABOUT THE ISLAND

THE ISLAND was developed through extensive workshops with actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona. The play first premiered in Cape Town in 1973 and has since toured internationally. It also had an acclaimed Broadway run, winning Tony Awards in 1975 for both actors and earning nominations for Best Play and Best Directing for Fugard. In January of 2001, THE ISLAND returned to the West End with its original cast.

THE ISLAND is based on the true story of Norman Ntshinga, a black actor cast as Haemon in a version of Antigone that Fugard directed in the ‘60s. During a police raid, the actor was arrested on suspicion of being a member of the then-banned African National Congress and sentenced to 10 years at Robben Island.

Robben Island was a prison for political opponents of the South African government at the time the play was written. It’s most famous inmate was Nelson Mandela, but in its time, it held thousands of men who have been imprisoned because of their resistance to the racist regime which governed their country from 1948 until 1994.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Hiu Cho Wong is the Artistic Director of Theatre de R&D in Hong Kong. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television, and his BFA with first class honors from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. His recent directing credits include The Island, Marat/Sade, Summer and Smoke, Betrayal, Antigone, and Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train. He has also composes and performs live music using both Chinese and Western instruments.

Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, actor, and director educated at the University of Capetown. In 1972, he was a founder of Cape Town’s Space Experimental Theatre. One of the first white playwrights to collaborate with black actors and workers, Fugard writes of the frustrations of life in contemporary South African and of overcoming the psychological barriers created by apartheid. The politics of his plays, including the banned Blood Knot (1960), put him in conflict with the government and he was forced to take his plays overseas. After Blood Knot was produced in England, his passport was withdrawn for four years.

Widely acclaimed, his plays include Boesman and Lena (1969), which was made into a film starring Danny Glover and Angela Bassett in 2000, Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, and The Island (1972), the semiautobiographical work Master Harold…and the Boys (1982)), The Road to Mecca (1985), and Playland (1993). In his first two post apartheid plays, Valley Song (1995) and The Captain’s Tiger (1998), Fugard addresses rather personal concerns, but in Sorrows and Rejoicings (2001) he focuses on the complex racial dynamics of South African’s new era. Fugard has also written one novel, Tsotsi (1980), which was adapted to the screen and won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. An accomplished actor, Fugard also appeared in the films Gandhi (1982) and The Killing Fields (1984).

The cast of THE ISLAND will feature Lovensky Jean-Baptiste and Dorian Logan.

THE ISLAND Set Design is by Starlet Jacobs. The Lighting Design is by Josh Levy. The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director is Tom Burmester.

Wounded 2006

Fri, 26 May 2006 13:48:29 -0700

directed by Tom Burmester

Cast for the American Premiere:
DOC, 22, a Healer...Albert Meijer
BILL, 26, a soldier...Emeka Nnadi
BETH, 29, a Blackhawk Pilot...Emily Rose
ELLEN, 22, a young mother...Morgan Early
ANGEL, a student...Carly Reeves
ANDY, 24, a soldier...Eric Ancker
GRACER, 37, a therapist...Carrie Bradac
MARTIN, 33, a nurse...Spencer Nicholas
IRAQI WOMAN, 22...Lauren Eckstrom
Original Cast (World Premiere) :
DOC, 22, a Healer....Alber Meijer
IRAQI WOMAN, 22....Jill Winternitz
BETH, 28, a Blackhawk Pilot....Nicole Reding
BILL, 25, a Marine....Brian Norris
ELLEN, 22, a young mother....Meredith Hines
ROSE, 21, admin assistant...Whitney Kaufman
ANGEL, 18, a student....Lauren Eckstrom
DEVYN, 17, an artist....Michael Lovan
BRINA, 25, a sales associate...Rebecca Davis

Based on the true accounts of wounded soldiers returning home from this generation’s controversial war, Wounded follows the lives of 4 young veterans’ and their families’ quest for reconciliation in a world of turmoil. Set in the Fisher House rehabilitation home at a high profile US Army hospital, these men and women discover that their real battle is about to begin.

From the Program  Wounded is the result of months of research, interviews, improvisation, transcriptions, rewrites, hard cuts, revelations, philosophical and political conversations, and the constant search for a good place to rehearse. The project began back in February 2005 when we first conceived the idea of creating a piece of theatre from the lives and stories of wounded soldiers. It seemed like an appropriate concept given current world events and the theme for our first season which has been an exploration of the “overlooked.” At the time, the Iraq War death toll was getting lots of press - a sort of reverse countdown, working its way up to 2000, but there was very little attention being payed to the escalating number of wounded soldiers coming home from Iraq or to the seriousness of their wounds.  We realized right away that there was the potential for some pretty amazing stories if only we could find some vets who would be willing to talk to us, so committed to the project without any assurances that we would find the kind of interviews we needed, and spent the next couple of months fruitlessly navigating through military bureaucracy, seeking permission to enter Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC. Walter Reed is the main point of entry for wounded soldiers, sailors, and Marines returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, and is considered to be one of the top Army hospitals with one of the best facilities for amputees. If we wanted our project to have any authority and authenticity we were going to have to find a way to get in to Walter Reed, but the bureaucracy was turning into a maze that wasn’t leading anywhere. We were about to give up on Walter Reed and settle for local VA hospitals when we stumbled on a back door into the hospital: The Fisher House Foundation.
 The Fisher House Foundation is a hybrid military and private non-profit organization that maintains rehabilitation homes on or near military hospitals for the purpose of helping wounded vets speed their recovery by providing a temporary home for the vets and their families. The Fisher House organization believes that a vet who has been wounded in battle will recover more rapidly and completely if they are surrounded by their loved ones during their recovery period. They also address some of the invisible wounds that can afflict spouses or children of a vet who has been seriously wounded in battle. When the Ensemble contacted the Fisher House at Walter Reed and told them about the idea for our project, Fisher House enthusiastically invited us to come visit some of their vets, and we enthusiastically accepted. We expected to find some good “material” at the Fisher House, but were not prepared for how graphic and eye-opening the experience would be.
 For many of us, the war doesn’t ever come any closer than daily headlines, or maybe inflated prices at the pump. Some of us know a friend or a distant relative who is serving in Iraq, but not many of us have immediate family and even fewer have first hand knowledge of the war. And yet we are a country at war. Its a strange thought when you consider how easily most of us move through our day to day life without ever thinking about war. Even though the Ensemble had already done extensive research on issues surrounding the war, coming face to face with the realities of the Iraq War as we discovered them at Walter Reed, forced us to confront our own moral ambiguities.  The men and women we interviewed qualified to stay at the Fisher House because the received “battlefield injuries,” and “faced imminent danger of death.” These were some of the most severely wounded soldiers, sailors, and Marines of the war, so when the Ensemble first walked into the family room to greet a couple of our interviewees, we were stunned by the undeniable reality of their wounds. - scarred stumps where there used to be legs, scarred faces with empty eye sockets, missing hands, limbs held together with metal rods. But even more startling was the overwhelming good humor of these wounded vets. They seemed almost jovial at times, joking about their wounds and throwing playful insults back and forth between Army and Marines and Navy - keeping up the rivalry.
 Some of the guys we talked to had already received quite a bit of attention from the press and from various dignitaries. A couple had been visited President Bush and one soldier we spoke to was interviewed by Gary Trudeau (in fact this soldier made a guest appearance in Trudeau’s political strip Doonesbury). We also had the opportunity to interview family members who were living at the Fisher House who offered a very interesting perspective. By the time we left DC, we knew we had a play. We had only to write it.
 From the beginning of this project our intention was to create theatre as an ensemble. We didn’t want to follow the tradition writer/director/actor hierarchy, and instead set out to develop Wounded organically through conversation, argument, and improvisation - and constant research. As the play began to take shape, it became clear that certain actors were gravitating towards characters with which they felt an affinity. Around mid-June we settled the actors into the roles they would be responsible for fleshing out, and that’s where the hard work started. We generated hours of videotaped improvised scenes. We poured over the scenes and argued about what worked and what didn’t and then recreated the scene or cut it. Ultimately we ended up with about four hours worth of “good” transcripts, and it fell on my shoulders to edit and rewrite down to 75 minutes (the length of our time slot in our Edinburgh venue).
 We have since held two workshop performances - one in Southern California and one in Northern California - where we had the opportunity to interact with our audience and receive valuable feedback which we have used to refine our show for it’s World Premiere in Edinburgh. What we have discovered is that American audiences consider the play politically “balanced” - a fair representations of both sides of the moral debate surrounding the ethics of war. It has been our goal from the start of this project not to get too bogged down in the politics of the War and instead to focus on the human stories and the ethical choices faced by individuals who are confronted by war. None the less, several of our supporters have warned us that what may be middle ground in the US will seem far to the Right in the UK, and that we may discover that a UK audience will find this play far too generous in its justifications for war. For a brief moment, the Ensemble considered shifting the tone of the play to the Left by strengthening the anti-war argument, but ultimately decided that we would be cheating our UK audience if we did. We are an American theatre ensemble, holding a mirror up to an American society. What we bring to Edinburgh with WOUNDED is a realistic glimpse of the American psyche as it grapples with issues of war, security, and morality.

Stone Cold Dead Serious

Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:03:04 -0800