Maggie Yates - Page 5

Instant Karma and Friends return to Center Stage Theater to present one night of spontaneous musical hilarity on Saturday, March 18th at 8:00pm

Stamos defines the modern RenWoman as a woman with the availability to master many crafts--“an adapt-or-perish breed.” With the ability to apply seemingly unrelated skills to new positions, RenWomen can thrive in a variety of situations. Creativity is a RenWoman's strength in what Stamos refers to as an “information-on-demand” society.

Celebrate Women's History Month with a staged Reading of 'From Eve's Fair Hand'! By local writers Jinny Webber and Terre Ouwehand, and produced by DramaDogs, 'From Eve's Fair Hand' introduces audiences to important women of history through lyrical narrative and music.

In the UCSB Department of Theatre and Dance's production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, The Simpsons is not only significant, it's a currency that determines characters' livelihoods--and potentially their survival. Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, written by Anne Washburn and directed by Tom Whitaker, shows a glimpse of a future post-nuclear disaster, when electricity is an almost-extinct amenity. The play shows how the survivors of the disaster rebuild culture in an astonishing, yet inevitable, way.

The earthy aesthetic of this production suits the pastoral lifeblood of the play. The set, designed by Yuri Okahana and built in layers of depth, gives the feeling of expanse and isolation. Performers create a slowly shifting backdrop of gentle choreography. In this setting, Lorca's tale of a love triangle and family feud has the feel of a melancholic folk ballad.

'Blood Wedding,' a drama about the tremendous influence of love and marriage, shows the ecstasy and tragedy of passion that exists outside of societally sanctioned associations.

Lydia, a soothsaying stranger, is an immigrant from Mexico who works as a live-in maid for the Flores family. Her influence propels the family, already in massive disrepair, toward the inevitable pain of sudden truths revealed.

Last year, Santa Barbara theatrical artists presented projects ranging from kitschy, hilarious renderings of cult-classics to sweeping epics that inspired the community to #SeeMoreTheatre. Your click-votes have been processed! Santa Barbara audiences loved Heathers: The Musical, Out of the Box's irreverent teen-angst murder musical, and Death of Kings, Irwin Appel's comprehensive showcase of Shakespeare's history canon that utilized all the performance and production talent UCSB has to offer.

THE KING AND I and Feminism and Racism and Rodgers and Hammerstein walk into a bar…

Theatre students at Dos Pueblos High School recently presented student-driven mini-plays, comprised of micro-scenes stitched together within a theme. These pieces feature the student point of view, which calls on the students to critically examine and reflect on conflict in their lives. These students have recognized problems within their (youth) culture, and have built dramatic renderings of situations that more clearly define these issues, and offer information for conflict diffusion and resolution.

'Hard Rain: A Theatrical Protest' offered a workshop view of six new dramatic renderings of the American experience in this time of political turbulence. Commissioned and curated by John Blondell, this festival included short works inspired by the recent election. These early drafts functioned well as “think” pieces, and represent raw, immediate reactions to the cultures clashes lately highlighted by the presidential election.

The life of the artist, despite being frequently depicted as glamorously long-suffering and deeply emotional, features pragmatic components. That which gives the artist the drive to create does not also eliminate the need to function in society.

Ensemble's production of Chapter Two, Neil Simon's 1977 living-room comedy about a second marriage, tackles the problems that come with an obsession with the past.

Everyone can relate to disaster. If drama is conflict, then calamity is the seed of all good plays. Sometimes disaster takes people by surprise, like an earthquake. In these cases, drama is concerned with the aftermath of the crisis and society's response. In cases where the disaster is inevitable, drama's focus can shift to society's response to anticipation. Local comedienne Carol Metcalf explores another narrative option in her new one-woman show, 'Catastrophic Thinking.'

Director Riley Berris and a large cast of quirky characters bring the revelry of humorous melodrama to the San Marcos High School Stage.

Sinner/Saint is not an indictment of the Christian community--it's a bittersweet and genuine storytelling experience that offers the most vulnerable aspects of the Christian-LGBTQ reconciliation movement: anxiety, denial, desperation for approval, sadness, forgiveness, and healing. 

Teenage Riot: Out of the Box Brings the LIZZIE BORDEN murder to the Stage

THIS IS IT! The crowning of a queen. Are you #TeamAlaska? #TeamKatya? #TeamDetox? Or #TeamRoxxxy? The decision to have the Drag Race contestants eliminate each other (rather than judge/host RuPaul making the final decision) each week created an interesting competitive dynamic this season, one that resulted in, as Alaska says, a re-creation of season 5's match-up of Rolaskatox vs. a 'loveable weirdo.'

It's down to the final five queens! Roxxxy Andrews continues to stay in the competition by flying under the radar; Detox is annoyed that she isn't winning more; and Alaska is getting cocky. But Mama Ru has a makeover challenge up her floral sleeves: the ladies are about to drag out their mothers and sisters!

MACBETH Brings Smoke and Mirrors and Projections to the Nightmare in Scotland.