Segerstrom Center For The Arts Announces Line-Up For 2018 Off Center Festival, 1/19-2/3

Segerstrom Center's annual Off Center Festival returns January 19 - February 3, 201 8 for another thrillin g walk on the wild side of new theater, music and avant - garde performance art.

Two artists will make their Festival debuts: Philadelphia's drag artist Martha Graham Cracker in her cabaret show and the fabulous Shasta Geaux Pop. Roger Guenveur Smith returns with his new, powerful and unforgettable show, The Hendrix Project. And ba ck by popular demand and needing no introduction to Off Center fans are The Car Plays. The popular Off Center Lounge is moving to our lively Center 360 café on the Argyros Plaza. It w ill be open late each evening with a special low - cost post - performance menu.

Audiences are encouraged to meet with F estival artists. Center President Terrence W. Dwyer said, "Our Off Center Festival invites audiences to expect the unexpected. This year's four Festival productions are theatrical, surprising, entertaining, and at times provocative. We're especially pleased to welcome back a Festival favorite, The Car Plays, being performed on our new Julianne and George Argyros Plaza. A theater experience l ike no other, audience members witness five short plays, each in a different car and only feet away from the actors. And I invite everyone to stop by our Off Center Lounge at the Center 360 café before and after all productions. Have a bite to eat, meet ou r artists and enjoy spirited discussions about Festival productions, news of the day and their careers. "

All tickets are$25 and are on sale now at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling ( 714 ) 556 - 2787. Off Center programs are recommended for mature audiences.

Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret

Off Center Festival Debut

Friday & Saturday - January 19 & 20 at 8: 30 p.m. Studio Performance Space

Following sold - out shows in New York, Philadelphia and Las Vegas, the six - foot - two, fake eyelash - laden drag artist, Martha Graham Cracker, arrives in Orange County for her West Coast and Off Center Festival debut. She has a supersonic voice that can perform anything from Aretha Franklin to Prince to Black Sabbath to Nina Simone and everyone in between. Backed by a stellar band, get ready for a raucous, joyous, uninhibited, surprising and yet someone intimate ride!

The Car Plays Friday

January 19 & 26 at 5: 0 0, 7: 30 and 9: 00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday - January 20 & 21 and 27 & 28, 2018 at 3: 30, 5: 30, 7: 30 and 9: 00 p.m.

Far and a way an Off Center Festival fan favorite, The Car Plays returns with 15 Orange County premiere plays, four of which are world premieres. After checking in at the box office, you ' re escorted by " car hops " into the " parking lot " where you receive your " Notice to Appear " citation ( or program ). It's just you and one companion in the backseat of a parked car with only two other people - your cast - in the front seat. Your car door s close and the drama or comedy unfold s in front of you - ju st inches away. Te n minutes later, the doors open and you are ushered into a new car, where a whole new story begins. You'll never think of your car or the theater the same. Welcome back to The Car Plays !

Shasta Geaux Pop

Off Center Festival Debut

Friday & Saturday - January 26 & 27 at 8: 0 0 p.m.

Samueli Theater

Written and performed by Ayesha Jordan Directed and co - created by Charlotte Brathwaite

Come celebrate the Off Center debut of an icon - the unforgettable, the fabulous, the outrageously hilarious and completely uncensored Shasta Geaux Pop. Crazy, irreverent and uplifting Shasta keeps it real with her gospel of laughter, her free - flowing emcee style to get the party jumping. A true show woman. A consummate entertainer. S hasta uses satire, her contagious energy and sexy southern charms as she tackles naughty topics while paying sonic homage to the ' 80s and ' 90s classic era of Hip - Hop, teleporting the listener to elevated highs with her refreshed, remastered and newly expanded sound. Seating for this event does not use traditional chairs.

The Hendrix Project

Off Center Festival Premiere

February 1 - 3, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.

Samueli Theater

Conceived and directed by Roger Guenveur Smith Cal Arts Center for New Performance

The Hendrix Project is another power theater work by Roger Guenveur Smith, creator and star of 2015 ' s solo tour de force Rodney King. It's New Year's Eve 1969. Jimi Hendrix's electronic blues trio, Band of Gypsys, play s a legendarily funky concert in New York City's legendary Fillmore East Auditorium. Twelve d isciples have gathe red in the upper balcony to bear witness, as heat is brought to a nation caught in mid - winter chill. As " bullets fly like rain ", at home and abroad in Vietnam, the artists as audience movingly reimagine this iconic moment in rock and roll history. You are transported inside the concert experience, watching the crowd's ecstatic trance unfold through minutely choreographed movement. The grit and psychedelia of the time are brought to vivid life. The power of Hendrix's music is at the forefront as an audience unwittingly witnesses rock ' n ' roll history. It's the end of the Sixties. And Jimi Hendrix's final New Year's Eve.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds its corporate partners including Kia Motors America, Official Automotive Partner ; United Airlines, O fficial Airline ; and Omaha Steaks International, Official Fine Food Retailer. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi - disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, of fering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts - based education and community engagement programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non - profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School. The Center prese nts a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, fami ly - friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation's performing arts centers for providing education programs des igned to inspire young people through the arts. The Center's programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Wit hout Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County's many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of th e future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities.

The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with non - cultural organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond the ever - cha nging needs of the community. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribu te greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the beautiful 14 - acre campus that emb races the Center's own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award - winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Off Center Festival 201 8 Segerstrom Center for the Arts - January 1 9 - February 3, 201 8 600 and 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret ? Off Center Festival Debut Friday & Saturday - January 19 & 20 at 8: 30 p.m. Studio Performance Space The Car Plays Moving Arts Frida y - January 26 at 5: 00, 7: 30 and 9: 00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday - January 27 & 28, 2018 at 3: 30, 5: 30, 7: 30 and 9: 00 p.m. Julianne and George Argyros Plaza Shasta Geaux Pops ? Off Center Festival Debut Friday & Saturday - January 26 & 27 at 8: 0 p.m. Samueli Theater The Hendrix Project ? Off Center Festival Premiere February 1 - 3, 2018 at 8: 00 p.m. Samueli Theater Off Center Lounge Julianne & George Argyros Plaza - Center 360 café Open every night after performances. Off Center programs are recommended for mature audiences.

Tickets -$25 In person - The Box Office 600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily Online - SCFTA.org Phone - ( 714 ) 556 - 2787 Open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily Group Sales - ( 714 ) 755 - 0236 In formation provided is accurate at the time of printing, but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a private, non - profit organization. " Segerstrom Center for the Arts " is a registered trademark.

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