Shakespeare Spotlight: NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage, A Window Into Kevin Spacey's Richard III

You'll see excerpts from the play on stages such as the ancient Amphitheatre of Epidaurus in Greece where Julius Caesar sat and watched plays, and the gleaming National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, a city in which the awestruck actors reverentially said felt "like another planet."

Cast members talk about the nomadic experience of acting - its emotional demands and the spiritual catharsis that took place on this journey - their "adventure in the exotic" in Istanbul, finding each other's rhythms, "corpsing" on stage, and what it was like walking through the "gladiator tunnel for actors" at the Teatro Politeama in Italy and speeding over the sand dunes of Doha.

It is a film that celebrates all that is special about the theatre, which in Mendes' words is, "only an inch away from absurdity."

Spacey calls it, "a close, backstage look at the total experience of being an actor and what it takes to form a company - from rehearsing every day and beginning to create a role with your director, crew and fellow actors to going on tour and spending a year together on the road in many different cultures and countries." The title of the film, NOW, comes from the first words Richard speaks in the play, "Now is the winter of our discontent" and according to Spacey, "illustrates how the film puts you in the present tense, into the live moment onstage and brings the audience on the journey alongside us...I've made this film for my fans and for all those people who ask why the theatre means so much to me, and indeed to all actors. I hope this film might answer some of those questions."

BroadwayWorld readers can use the exclusive discount code BROADWAY to receive $1 off the $12.99 download price at www.nowthefilm.com. Proceeds from the digital release go to The Kevin Spacey Foundation which helps emerging artists reach their full potential by creating opportunities in theatre and film. NOW will also screen in theatres around the country. See the complete schedule, including Southern California dates Here.

Richard III was part of a larger endeavor called The Bridge Project which grew out of Spacey and Mendes' love of the living theatre. Mendes says, "The idea behind The Bridge Project was born out of a simple desire: a wish for artists, collaborators, and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to experience one another's work, talent, and artistry in the theater."

For more Los Angeles Shakespeare news, follow @ShakespeareinLA on Twitter.