CSULB Theatre Arts Announces 2016-2017 Season

The CSULB Theatre Arts Department has selected and announced the productions for the 2016-2017 season. The season was selected with aims to make an immediate and meaningful connection to contemporary audiences through the work of budding and veteran artists, according to Olivia Sather of the Season Selection Committee. "By including a variety of theatrical productions we allow something for everyone in a community that reaches beyond the students on campus into the culturally diverse city of Long Beach," said Sather. Audiences this season can expect a variety of classic plays, contemporary comedies, and compelling dramas, including two rarely produced musicals and an original movement piece.

Alumnus Jeff Paul, Director of Music and Theatre at OCSA, returns to CSULB to direct A View from the Bridge, in a centennial celebration of playwright Arthur Miller. Alexandra Billingsfrom the Golden Globe award-winning series, Transparent, in Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, will be directed by JoAnne Gordon. A regular on the CSULB stage, Alexandra Billings was named by the LA Times as one of the "100 people in Hollywood who could help fix issues of diversity in the film industry." The world-premiere production of Elements, created by Ezra LeBank and alumna Rebecca Nakano, will examine climate change through acrobatics and contemporary dance. Rob Clare, from the Royal Shakespeare Company, will direct The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

Edgar Landa, a renowned director of stage combat and stage violence, whose work has been seen at LA's Son of Semele Ensemble and the Mark Taper Forum will direct Qui Nguyen'sfantasy-filled and action-packed comedy She Kills Monsters. The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin by Kirsten Childs, which first premiered at Playwrights Horizon, will be directed by Jaye Austin Williams. Veteran stand-up comedian Craig Anton, as seen on Mad TV, Comedy Central, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will direct Mad Gravity by William Missouri Downs. Good Boys and True, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, will close the 2016-2017 season, directed by Hugh O'Gorman.

Tickets on Sale August 1st. General Admission tickets are $17 - $25, while tickets for students, military, and seniors (55 and older) are $14 - $20 with a valid ID; please check the website for prices for each production. The University Theatre is attached to the north side of the Theatre Arts Building while the Studio Theatre and Players Theatre are inside the Theatre Arts Building on the CSULB South Campus, accessible via 7th Street and West Campus Drive.

The Theatre Arts Department at CSULB educates, nurtures, and inspires students to successfully embark as integrated, thoughtful, and culturally aware artists into the local and global professional arenas. Since 1954, the Theatre Arts Department has offered an atmosphere where students are encouraged to explore theatre arts and related fields; and it is also a place where community members can gather to enjoy the art of theatre. The Department holds Division II membership in the National Association of Schools of Theatre and is also a member in good standing with the Theatre Communications Group, the United States Institute of Theatre Technology, the University/Resident Theatre Association, and the International Theatre Institute of the United States.

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