Maggie Yates - Page 9

David Ives's play-within-a-play is a modern take on the constantly undulant and always tantalizing balance of power between the sexes.

Coming to Santa Barbara Stages This Summer!

'The Talented Ones', a black comedy about the American Dream, takes off with UCSB's Launch Pad--a workshop program for new dramatic works.

'Bloody Poetry' shows that true libertines and true punks don't die; they rot away, into infamous paradigms of idealistic decadence.

'Dead Man's Cell Phone' is a play in which time is twisted, existence is questionable, and relationships are forged through the connective tissue of technology.

'Woyzeck' is lovely and horrible; a narrative, musical dream cycle of moments that represent the tragic realities of love and loss; and damaging effects of social hierarchy and human brutality.

Fast, raw, and entertaining, the Westmont Fringe Festival is view of artistic creation that allows the audience to see more of the creative journey than just the final destination.

'Woyzeck' has evolved beyond original playwright Buchner's vision. It's an evocative production that emphasizes the importance of dignity as a defining aspect of humanity-and the price paid when that humanity is stripped.

Impro Theatre's production featured talented performers with a flare for biting, Austenian wit and an impressive aptitude for physical humor. The performance was swift and dynamic, and it conceptually captured the spirit of Austen's literary universe—without omitting the inherent comicality inevitable in the confluence of modern and antiquated cultures represented simultaneously.

'The Wild Party' is a dark and sexy theatrical presentation; a bold, sleek adaptation of the show that proves that all you need to throw a wild party is wild company.

Congratulations to all the actors, writers, and directors on a successful showcase--and congratulations to Elements on a successful event!

Santa Barbara high school students bring audiences a range of exciting musicals, including Legally Blonde, Crazy for You, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Young Frankenstein.

'Light up the Sky' would have been more interesting as a show that functioned on two levels: a fun period farce and a smart satire about a play that's a smart satire. Instead, 'Light up the Sky' is fluffy and pointless; a superficial farce too unrelatable to be mindlessly funny, and not self-aware enough to be satirically comical.

And from the printer and my exhaustion will come forth a one-act play called 'Smells Like Bourbon' (loosely based on my willingness but inability to produce a play overnight).

'The Insect Comedy' is a series of clever scenes about the emblematic interactions that guide the direction of our lives by showing motivation within the structures of our existence.

'Jane Austen UnScripted' is a performance-based dalliance into the charmingly erudite world of Austenian wit and social propriety, executed via improvisational implementation.

In 'Lights Out Macbeth,' teenagers in search of a party enter an abandoned building. The Lights go out. The experience of Macbeth ensues, and the party begins.

'In the Red and Brown Water' functions on several levels to allow the audience to be emotionally involved in the saga of Oya's search for meaning.

'Peter and the Starcatcher' is a fun, well-executed production that shows the joys and trials of the hero's journey inevitable to us all: growing up.

Wilde's play about the triviality of Victorian culture has been produced everywhere, by everyone. It's a staple of the English-speaking theatrical repertory in the way that “Don't Stop Believing” is a staple of the karaoke repertory. Mercifully, 'Earnest' has the potential to be a great play—the main characters all share Wilde's gift for witticism; the play is purposeful in its absurdity; and it's intelligently written.