A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, inaugurates its 2014-2015 REVOLUTIONary season with The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Directed by Timothy Douglas in his ANW debut, the show opens tonight, September 13 and runs through Saturday, November 22, 2014. This will be the third production of The Tempest for A Noise Within, which also mounted the play in 1993 and 2006; going against the grain in true revolutionary form, Prospero will be cast with a woman in the role, ANW favorite Deborah Strang.
Shakespeare's final major work, The Tempest occupies an in-between world that straddles the fine line between the ethereal (magic, fairies, and hybrid humans) and the real (love, freedom, and the power of nature). The Tempest tells the tragicomic tale of Prospero, The Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda, who are marooned on an island due to the machinations of Prospero's brother, Antonio. When Antonio's ship is run aground by a massive storm, he and his comrades must navigate an isle rife with spirits and temptation. It is a morality tale about the rulers and the ruled, and how those roles can shift over time.
"The playwright places the estranged relationship between a parent and child right at the center of the story. In this production we'll be 'making flesh' the female-essenced aspect of authentic parenting through the performance of
Deborah Strang," says director Douglas. "After just two rehearsals, I can sense the tension and authority she brings to this role; these are qualities that I think will touch, even mesmerize, the audience."
Written in 1610-11, The Tempest is said to be Shakespeare's farewell to the theatre - driven home by Prospero's famous final speech, in which he drowns his book of magic in the sea. The revolution here is at once political and personal; and the theme of the ruling classes vs. the ruled makes the play utterly topical.
The cast features
Deborah Strang* as Prospero, Alison Elliott as Miranda,
Kimberleigh Aarn* as Ariel, and Esteban Andres Cruz* as Caliban. * Denotes member of Actors' Equity
Single ticket prices for The Tempest start at $40. Contact the A Noise Within box office in person, via phone at 626-356-3100, or online at
www.ANoiseWithin.org for updated pricing and seat availability.
Timothy Douglas directed the world premiere of
Rajiv Joseph's The Lake Effect for Silk Road Rising (Jeff Award: Best New Work), off-Broadway's BRONTE: A Portrait of Charlotte, and the world premiere of
August Wilson's Radio Golf for
Yale Repertory Theatre. He is currently an Associate Artist at
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (The Trip to Bountiful, Clybourne Park, The North Pool), and served as Associate Artistic Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville for three seasons where he directed numerous productions including three Humana premieres, and as a Director in Residence (Mellon Foundation Fellow) at
Center Theatre Group. Timothy has directed over 100 projects for, ACT, Guthrie, Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, Steppenwolf, Playmakers Rep, Woolly Mammoth, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Downstage (NZ), National Theatre (Norway), Milwaukee Rep (artistic associate), and many others. He is also a Linklater voice instructor and served on the faculties of ACT, USC and Emerson College. He has a MFA in acting from Yale.
Deborah Strang (Prospero, The Tempest), ANW Resident Artist. With ANW: Dorine, Tartuffe / Lola, Come Back Little Sheba; Gower/Ensemble in Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Lady Bountiful in The Beaux' Stratagem; Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath; Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol; Emmy in The Doctor's Dilemma; Alcandre in The Illusion; Maria in Twelfth Night; Old Woman in The Chairs; Miss Havisham in Great Expectations; Bessie in Awake and Sing!; and also in Richard III, Noises Off, Ghosts, Hamlet, The Night of the Iguana, The Winter's Tale, Romeo and Juliet, A Touch of the Poet, Ubu Roi, Picnic, Mourning Becomes Electra, A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Hollywood Bowl, The Matchmaker, The Price, O Pioneers!, The Cherry Orchard, Bus Stop, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Misanthrope, The Taming of the Shrew, Heartbreak House, The Little Foxes, Another Part of The Forest, The Threepenny Opera, The Glass Menagerie. Film/TV: Body of Proof, The Newsroom, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, Eagle Eye, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Cold Case, Close to Home, Numb3rs, Kiss the Girls, Things to Do in Denver, The X-Files, Deep Space 9.
This engagement of The Tempest includes a symposium on Sept 10 at 7:30 PM (symposium starts at 6:00pm, play at 7:30pm) by Miranda Johnson-Haddad, who will discuss the play prior to that evening's performance. There will also be post-performance conversations with the artists of The Tempest on Oct 3 at 8 PM, Oct 26 at 2 PM and Nov 7 at 8 PM. A Pay What You Can performance takes place on Thursday, Sept 11 at 7:30 PM. A Noise Within is located on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107.
A Noise Within, founded in 1991, is among the country's pre-eminent presenters of classical theatre and is the leading presenter of these plays in Southern California. The company's mission is to produce world-class performances of the great works of drama in rotating repertory with a resident company; to educate and inspire the public through programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of history's great plays and playwrights; and to train the next generation of classical theatre artists.
Originally based in a former Masonic Temple in Glendale, the company moved to its present home--a building of architectural distinction designed by Edward Durrell Stone of Kennedy Center fame--in 2011. Helmed by Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, who hold MFAs from San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, A Noise Within delivers a seven-show repertory season and a wide range of educational programs to diverse audiences from Los Angeles County and well beyond. Voted "Best Theatre" by readers of both Time Out Los Angeles and Pasadena Weekly, A Noise Within is indeed "California's Home for the Classics."
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