Project Two

The Trap Door Theatre of Chicago, Illinois

Core of Pudel presented by the Trap Door Theatre Company of Chicago

The Trap Door Theatre Company as founded in 1990 as a traveling theatre troop touring across Europe. It played such cities as Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm before it even came to America in 1994. Most of their plays include European classic rarely seen in the United States produced with avant-garde expressionism. Starting in 2005 they went back to their roots and started touring again, with shows touring Romania, New York, Poland, and France as well as select cities in the United States. This company includes 18 actors in their resident company, and has a guest director coming in from Poland to direct later this year. This company intrigues me do to the fact that they do tour, I love it when a company has that opportunity to bring their art to other people, not just the people lucky enough to see it in Chicago.  The fact that they are such visually intriguing productions cant help either.

The Cutting Ball Theatre of San Francisco, Calafornia

Tontlawald presented by the Cutting Ball Theatre of San Fran.
Audio sample:
http://cuttingball.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Three-Ladies.21.mp3 

This 1999 based theatre company's initial vision is to not give the audience reality but to give them a poetic truth with an emphasis on images and language. Tontlawald is a Estonian fairy tale making its world premiere on the stage. Paige Rogers (co-director) said, we've chosen not to tell the whole story in a linear way." The production incorporates a lot of movement, original a Capella song, chant, and dance elements. Not meant to be a musical, but more of a musical piece that is not meant to be taken literal. Every audience member walks away with a different message. This production looks to be wonderful in every way, visually we go on a surrealistic journey that won't be forgotten. 

 Shakespeare in the Parking Lot of New York

Richard III presented by Shakespeare in the Park in a parking lot located in the Lower East Side

With the street lights illuminating this make-shift stage, this municipal lot on the corner of Ludlow and Broome Streets located in Manhattah have has been producing Shakespeare's works now for 17 years for three nights a week every summer. This also remains a parking lot while the show is still running. Hamilton Clancey casts from his acting company, The Drilling Company, which relies on word-of-mouth and the element of surprise to attract an audience. All performances are free. They rehearse indoors in a small studio before performances outside. Their most recent production, Richard III, was staged to be a sort of modern political fable.  With the actual body of Richard III found in February it seemed the perfect time to bring out this play.  With the actors sometimes standing just 5 feet from the seated audience it brings out the tensions and makes it seem like the audience is a fly on the walls (or streetlamp) watching the action unfold in front of them.

 The San Quentin Drama Workshop of 
the San Quentin State Prison

 

The San Quentin Drama Workshop workshops with Alan Mandell (original cast member of group)

Alan Mendell with a handful of actors from the San Francisco Actors Workshop put on a memorable performance of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot on November 19, 1957 inside the San Quentin State Prison in San Rafael, California. Ironically the stages was erected at the location where the gallows once stood.  This presentation was directed by Herbert Blau and seen by 1,400 inmates. This was such a success that it inspired a group of prisoners to start the still active San Quentin Drama Workshop founded not a year later by inmate Ricky Clanuchey and Mendell becoming company manager.  For more than six years, Mendell made weekly visits to San Quentin, teaching directing, acting, and writing. Not a stranger to Beckett's plays, this company tours the United States performing principally on college campuses.  Making notoriety across the world, this company has performed in Scotland, Berlin, and Paris.  

The LIDA Project of Colorado

 

Add It Up presented by the LIDA Project of Colorado

 

Named after a 1950s Soviet device created to enter the mind with low-frequency radio waves, this innovative theatre company was founded in 1995 with a vision of art theatre designed to infect the mind. Known for having an emphasis on live performance with a a meta-media art collective. The Project works as a collaborative group of artists to present art with a completely different theatre experience than normal. "It is sound. It is light. It is music. It is words. It is images. It is machines..." says director Brian Freeland. With sound and video being the main design aspects of Add It Up, this was an original interpretation inspired by the work of Elmer Rice's 1924 drama, The Adding Machines. This production included six sound, video, and performance artists.