Come See What Jessica Has Been Up To - Spring 2018 Edition
Hey y'all!
It's been a while since I sent one of these emails. I've made a lot of theater and events in these first 4 months of 2018 and I am beyond grateful and psyched about all of them. Here's what I've got running right now in Los Angeles that you can see:
This week at Bootleg is the World premiere of Kerri-Ann McCalla's THE WILLOWS, directed by me! I've been working with Kerri-Ann since this summer developing this play, the process has been fantastic and I am really proud of the work the cast and production team has done. It is a beautiful and moving play and I hope you can make it to the limited run - April 12 - May 5. Thursday - Saturday at 7 and Sundays at 2. It's a day in the life of The Willows funeral home, the men who run it and the family who has come to mourn their son. With a fantastic cast and design, plus a running time of under 90 mins, it's a great evening at the theater. Tickets & InfoHERE
If you have any issues with funds, let me know, I want you to see this!
And for all my parent friends, we will have FREE CHILDCARE for one Sunday matinee, April 29, provided by Red Rose Co. Please spread the word!
Also running right now directed by me: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at Celebration Theatre has been extended twice and now must close May 6. If you don't already have a ticket to the sold out extension, the best advice I can give is to figure out what night you can go to the box office early and then wait to see if anyone doesn't show up. That's the best option. Seriously. It's incredible how the show has been received and embraced, guess everyone needs a hefty dose of joy these days. And that's what Priscilla is: An evening of joy. Deeply grateful to that amazing group of artists who knock it out of the park every show!
You can check Celebration's website for more info HERE
I'll be making more work in June with the Creation Residency at Bootleg, this year focusing on writer Stephanie Battiste and a new piece that we will be working on over three weeks and welcome audience and feedback throughout the process as we find out what it is through collaboration and exploration with actors and designers.
Also have a job opportunity at Bootleg for college or just graduated from college students. Bootleg has been lucky enough to receive the LA County Intern grant again this year and even more so because we have been awarded TWO paid intern positions, an Administrative position and a Production position. So if you know any folks who are in college or just graduated and live in LA County, send them to this link, it's a 10 week full time PAID internship and a great way to get to know the LA theater and arts community, plus they get to work with me at one of the best arts centers in the city! Info is HERE **please note that we are listed under our non-profit name, Rampart Theater Project Inc.**
Los Angeles is brimming with Art right now, here are some live performance events I'm hoping to check out:
After hitting it out of the universe last month with Taylor Mac's life altering 24 hour performance piece (if you want to get me talking ask me about my experience of Chapters 1 & 3 - it's going to resonate with me for the rest of my life), CAP/UCLA brings my favorites, the SITI Co., to Royce Hall with the theater is a blank page, a collaboration with visual artist Ann Hamilton. It's immersive, Ms. Hamilton is an installation artist and we will move through the space that she has created while the performance is happening. I am sooooo excited this will be in LA! Info HERE
I saw Playwrights Arena's BLOODLETTING this past week that was part of CTG's BLOCK PARTY at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and was grateful for the chance to see a play that I had missed in it's initial run. This is the 2nd year of this program where CTG moves three 99 seat theater productions to their stage for a 12 shows each. Coming up next is Critical Mass' AMERYKA directed by Nancy Keystone and Celebration Theatre's DIE MOMMY DIE, both of which I would recommend and I look forward to seeing on that bigger stage with all it's resources. This is a great program that CTG has developed and it needs to be supported and attended it so it can become a permanent annual occurrence for the LA theater scene. We have very few midsize theaters so it's hard for productions to grow. This is a fantastic opportunity for companies to reach a wider LA audience. Check out info on the program and the shows HERE
And I again recommend this podcast, I want everyone to listen to it, so I'm gonna keep posting and linking it. SEEING WHITE is a 14 part documentary series exploring whiteness in America - where it came from, what it means and how it works. Please take a listen when you can and pass it on when you're done. It's essential for Americans, particularly white Americans.
I hope that spring is treating you wonderfully and you are seeing and making as much as you want. I was recently reminded, Art is verb. So go out there and Art. Art all over the place. The world will be better for it!
Big Love,
Jessica