1) Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Two Rivers Correctional Institution (prison)
October 3, 2008 – October 7, 2008 (4 performances)
Johnny Stallings (Portland actor, vocal coach, director, mentor)
| Oregon prison inmates perform Hamlet |
"Some of [the] guys had long lines, [and] didn't mess up. ...awesome." -Prison Inmate #5487G42 (just kidding, they couldn't release the guys name. Something to do with being in prison.)
http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2008/10/hamlet_in_prison_inmates_disco.html
The Two Rivers is not your everyday theatre institution. Located in Umatilla, Oregon, the Two Rivers Theatre is actually a correctional institution where the only actors used are those serving hard time in prison. In order to deal with countless hours of free-time and mindlessness, the Two Rivers inmates were given the opportunity to produce Shakespeare's Hamlet for the other inmates and friends and family. The only public viewing was in documentary form, sometimes blurring the faces of actors who did not want to be recognized.
2) The Anatomy of Melancholy adapted by Jessica Klarp
original book by Robert Burton (1921)
Center for Puppetry Arts
August '03 & April 15-17 '05
Pamella O' Conner and Jessica Klarp
"Both O'Conner and Klarp had a successful run as equity actors in Atlanta's theater scene in the 1980s, even appearing together in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the rock opera "Tommy." But O'Conner found profound satisfaction in puppet theater when she was asked to be a voice for a puppet in a professional production at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta."
"A production that tells a tale well is what it's all about. "Too many actors are driven by ego," O'Conner maintains. "Most puppeteers are about the story, and I've always been about the story."
http://www.poconnor-puppets.com/reviews_anatomy_ACT2003.html
The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta is a center where puppets are the main form of theatre. Mainly centering around children's puppet theatre, The Center for Puppetry Arts took on a more risque' production, The Anatomy of Melancholy. First off, the use of puppets as the main theatre art, focusing on story and deep emotion rather than dialogue. Secondly, the book the play is based off is not an actual story, but rather a random collection of the author's view of melancholy, leaving the doors wide open for an inventive emotional journey taken by the hero of the story.
3) Panto Cinderella book and lyrics by Kate Hawley
Stages Rep. Theatre
December 3-28, 2008 (extended through the 31st)
"Packed with sharp wit, wild fun and original music, this unusual twist on a magnificent classic is as entertaining for grownups as it is for kids."
Filled with zany fun and quirky humor, Panto Cinderella brings back to life an old theatre form from London. The story is the classical tale of Cinderella, however audience participation is a must. The show will not move on unless the audience participates, just like shouting out "SWIPER! NO SWIPING" when watching Dora the Explorer. Filled with a talented cast of actors, two being traded in an AEA British/American swap (UNCONVENTIONAL), improvisation and handling children, something many actors loathe, is a must. Not one show is the same!
4) I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright
Dec 3, 2003 - Oct 31, 2004
Lyceum Theatre
Jefferson Mays - Actor
"It does, however, tell a terrific story based on a real person, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (née Lothar Berfelde), a soft-spoken but tenaciously gender-bending biological male who died in 2002 at 74. "
http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9505E5DB163DF937A35751C1A9659C8B63
Unconventional in text is what this play really is. Describing the tragic life of an East German transvestite, Doug Wright's play not only captured the audiences of Broadway theaters around the world, but also the hearts of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize judges. This show requires one male actor to play multiple roles, ranging from Nazi German guards to children and even to the transvestite the story follows. Charlotte is the narrator who speaks to the audience, and when a different character in her story she becomes engulfed in the set around her, "popping" from character to character.
5) Julius Ceasar
March 28, 29, 2009
April 1, 2, 4, 5, 2009
Town Center Theatre
Featuring Andrew Hager and Travis Bryant
"Director Chris Tennison has an intriguing take on the play — one involving contemporary, cutthroat mega-business. We're at Rome Industries, where a giant tilted "R" represents the company's logo."
With the hard economic times, Director Tennison decided to change this classical play about power struggle and deceit and place it in the present time. Rome the country is now Rome the company, no one is wearing Togas, but rather suits, and important words like Senators are changed to stockholders. Also, Cassius was played by a female, because we all know women play a huge part in the company makeup.
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