Review: A COMMEDIA ROMEO AND JULIET at Faction Of Fools Theatre Company
Commedia dell’Arte was a theatrical style that developed in Italy more than 450 years ago. Intended for the lower classes, with exuberant physical movement, improvisation, lots of masks and stock characters like the Harlequin and Pulcinella, it was a celebratory perfect for the carnivale circuit.
Faction of Fools Theatre Company to Present THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Faction of Fools Theatre Company presents William Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, pairing heightened text with heightened physical comedy in the style of Commedia dell'Arte. One of Shakespeare's most rich and intricate plays is also one of his most controversial, as it explores a burgeoning merchant class and what happens when things get personal. By utilizing masks and physical characterizations from Commedia dell'Arte, Faction of Fools puts the comedy back into the text, allowing the tragic junctures to cut all the more profoundly. Performances run November 18th - December 11th, 2016 in the Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University.
BWW Review: PHAETON Takes Flight at Taffety Punk
Director Marcus Kyd has assembled a solid roster of professional actors to give Michael Milligan's mythic drama, composed entirely in iambic pentameter, a grand staging. On the Globe Theater's stage it was the actor's presence, the actor's gift of language that held the audience rapt with attention. Kyd's cast understands this, and gives vivid life to every one of Milligan's lines.
Sound Theatre Company Will Bring Back HOLIDAY OF ERRORS in December
Sound Theatre Company completes an exciting year with the return of their smash holiday comedy Holiday of Errors to delight Seattle audiences this December. First presented as a world premiere in 2013 to critical and audience acclaim, Sound Theatre Company's remount features most of the original cast to fill the stunning new 12th Avenue Arts Mainstage on Capitol Hill with word-play and Shakespeare.
BWW Reviews: A Thrilling, First Quarto 'Hamlet' With Taffety Punk
Under the direction of Joel David Santner (who will shortly be moving to California for film school, a great loss to the DC area) the company has proven yet again that when viewed with fresh eyes, the early First Quarto version of 'Hamlet' is a limitless source of inspiration for artists and audiences alike. Although the company pulls its aesthetic punches by inviting a few guys to join the cast (including Marcus Kyd in the title role), the performance is of a dependable, high quality that makes this a rare, intimate view of the Bard's work.
BWW Reviews: Taffety Punk's TEMPEST Another Triumph For the 'Riot Grrrls'
Taffety Punk's current production of The Tempest demonstrates how Shakespeare's work is infinitely elastic in terms of creativity and casting. Riot Grrrls, a faction of Taffety Punk Theatre Company dedicated to all-female productions of the Bard's works, has come up with a low-tech, low-cost, intimate staging that is as finely tuned as anything you'd pay big bucks for uptown.
NextStop and Faction of Fools Co-Produce a New Adaptation of PINOCCHIO!, Now thru 3/30
Faction of Fools Theatre Company and NextStop Theatre Company are proud to announce their upcoming co-production of PINOCCHIO!, a new adaptation of Carlo Collodi's beloved tale about a marionette's journey to become a real boy, running today, March 8-30, 2014 at the Industrial Strength Theatre in Herndon. Written and Directed by Paul Reisman, this production will be the first collaboration by the two DC area theatre companies, as well as Faction's first play specifically geared toward young audiences.
NextStop and Faction of Fools Co-Produce a New Adaptation of PINOCCHIO!, 3/8-30
Faction of Fools Theatre Company and NextStop Theatre Company are proud to announce their upcoming co-production of PINOCCHIO!, a new adaptation of Carlo Collodi's beloved tale about a marionette's journey to become a real boy, running March 8-30, 2014 at the Industrial Strength Theatre in Herndon. Written and Directed by Paul Reisman, this production will be the first collaboration by the two DC area theatre companies, as well as Faction's first play specifically geared toward young audiences.
Nominees Announced for 2014 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards!
Seattle Theater Writers, a critics' circle of local theater writers and reviewers, today announces the 2013 slate of nominees of the third annual Gypsy Rose Lee Awards, theater awards devoted to recognizing excellence across the economic spectrum of professional Seattle theaters.
BWW Reviews: STC's HOLIDAY OF ERRORS Makes for a Nicely Naughty Holiday Diversion
Take equal parts Dickens and Shakespeare, add in a healthy spoonful of historical tom-foolery, the zest from a bawdy queen and stir it up til you don't know one play from another and you'll have the latest outing from one of the more impressive small theater companies in town, Sound Theatre Company, with their World Premiere of "Holiday of Errors". And while it may get slightly muddled at times and take just a bit to get started, if you sit back and let the ridiculousness of it wash over you, you're bound to have a good time.