Oceanside Arts Organizations Collaborate During The Run Of RED At OTC

Oceanside Theatre Company (OTC) the resident professional theatre company at The Brooks, is joining artistic forces with the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) Artist Alliance to bring visual and theatrical art together for OTC's next production, RED. The Tony Award-winning play by John Logan about contemporary artist Mark Rothko opens May 4th and runs through May 20th each Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are available for $15 - $29 online at www.oceansidetheatre.org or by calling the box office at 760-433-8900. Both OTC and OMA members receive the discounted $15 tickets for any performance.

Members of the OMA Artist Alliance will exhibit their work in the Brooks Gallery for the run of the show in keeping with the theme of the production - contemporary pieces with a "red" theme. This is the first time the two Oceanside arts organizations have collaborated on an event.

"We're thrilled to join with OMA to round out the artistic experience theatre-goers will receive when they see RED," said John McCoy, Oceanside Theatre Company's board president. "This is a fitting example of how OTC is becoming a beacon for the arts in Oceanside and why downtown Oceanside was designated a cultural arts district. We have museums, theaters and music venues all within our business district, and we're thrilled to collaborate when possible to enrich our patrons' experience."

"Collaborating with Oceanside arts organizations is a natural fit and we look forward to engaging new audiences as a result of working together," said Maria Mingalone, OMA's Executive Director. "OMA is always looking for fresh ways to engage with art lovers who have not yet found their way to the museum. This also gives us an opportunity to connect our own members to a performing arts event they may not have heard about."

The Brooks Gallery exhibit, "Through the Eye of the Artist - RED", was curated by OTC's Carol Naegele, with input from OMA Artist Alliance committee chair Larry Vogel, and will feature the work of 11 OMA Artist Alliance members. They are Marie Chapian, Josephine Coyle, Birgit Dugan, Rita Miglioli, Carl Mikeman, Annie Omens, Viktoria Romanova, Trish Vernazza, Terri Verner, Zinayida Schlachetzki and Rosemary Valente. The Exhibit will range from acrylic paintings to delicate collages and feature pieces as large as 5'X4' and as small as 8"x10'

Naegele's goal as curator was two-fold: 1) to create a strong, relevant, and visceral connection between the exhibit and the play, and 2) to inspire personal and thoughtful participation by the artists.

"I was impressed not only by the artwork submitted by each of these artists, but by the thoughtfulness that was evident in their selection," said Naegele. "We hope that by blending theatre and visual art, patrons will have a uniquely rich experience."

About RED: Winner of the 2010 Tony Award. Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York's famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, RED is a searing portrait of an artist's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting.

"Intense and exciting...a study in artist appreciation, a portrait of an angry and brilliant mind that asks you to feel the shape and texture of thoughts...RED captures the dynamic relationship between and artist and his creations." - NY Times

"Smart, eloquent entertainment...Logan's dialogue is a sleight of hand; behind its wallop is a lot of learning...Deftly conjures what most plays about artists don't; the exhilaration of the act." - The New Yorker

About Oceanside Theatre Company:

Oceanside Theatre Company is the professional Production Company in residence at the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside, California. As a 501©3 nonprofit organization, OTC's vision is to be a beacon for arts education, culture, and the performing arts in North San Diego County. OTC Produces a four-show mainstage theatre season in the 198-seat venue, as well as a music series featuring jazz, classical, blues, country, and American roots music, and ongoing play readings in the adjacent black box theater, Studio 219. As part of a Youth Outreach program OTC runs a four-week Youth Academy during the summer and brings theatre to Oceanside middle schools during the school year. To earn more visit www.oceansidetheatre.org

About Oceanside Museum of Art:

Located in a burgeoning coastal city along the cultural corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego, Oceanside Museum of Art explores new, relevant, and historical art of Southern California. Like art itself, OMA is always fresh, sometimes edgy, sometimes traditional and frequently unexpected. The OMA experiences stimulates imagination, presents new ideas, and challenges the familiar in a welcoming environment for those new to art, longtime museum-goers, artists, art students, or simple the curious. For a list of museum exhibitions and programming, visit www.oma-online.org/calendar.

To post a comment, you must register and login.