|
|
BACK STAGE WEST
Buddy, Can You Spare a Dream?
Welcome to Spare Change Productions, a brave new company of twentysomething theatricos who have dared to set up shop at a new, aptly named Chance Theater. In 1991, 17-year-old Anaheim High School student Oanh Nguyen and his friend Chris Ceballos were bitten by the theatre bug while involved in a school play. The next year, they formed the nucleus for their theatre group. "Starting a theater company at 18 was a risk. But as a company, we all live our lives doing the things we're not quite ready for. It's just in our blood to learn by doing it," said Nguyen. They are especially interested in promoting the work of new, local playwrights. Congratulations to Spare Change Productions at The Chance Theater, and bonne chance!
---Polly Warfield, Back Stage West, April 15, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
ANAHEIM HILLS NEWS
Theater Opens in the Hills
It was Act One, Scene One, for Anaheim Hills' only theater group, Spare Change-a group that kicked off its opening season last week in its new home, The Chance Theater on East La Palma Avenue. Their small theater with its bright, red chairs smelled of everything new-of fresh paint, fabric and varnish. The friends, most of them Anaheim High School grads, drilled holes, sawed the wood, hammered nails, fitted doors and windows, painted and polished for four months. Gradually, 2,000 square feet of dull, corporate space tucked away in a corner adjacent to the Cinemapolis was dramatically transformed into an artist's haven. The theater is probably the first of its kind in the Hills, said Sheila Harel, a longtime resident. "It is great," said Harel. "It's about time we had something like this in the Hills. The people here will definitely support it."
---Deepa Bharath, Anaheim Hills News, April 15, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
THE INDEPENDENT
Spare Change Productions shows how some try and save the world
Oanh Nguyen and his group, Spare Change Productions, are living proof that if you want to get something done, do it yourself. Which is pretty good philosophy to follow especially if you're one of those "lets save the world" people, as Nguyen is. "I've always been the kind of person who wants to make a difference in a person's life, 'save-the-world' type," said Nguyen at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. "In theater," Nguyen continued, "you at least get to talk to a part of the world, touching the lives of people you've never met before."
Nguyen discovered that aspect about theater after watching "Rebel Without a Cause," while a student at Anaheim High School, whereupon he immediately signed up for drama. But a year later, he found himself without direction: The drama teacher moved away and, after another drama teacher came and went, the school decided not to hire any. So Nguyen, with drama classmate Chris Ceballos, who now handles publicity for Spare Change, collaborated on "Inside Out, Upside Down," a series of monologues about disabled teens. It proved unusual in more ways than its subject matter. For one thing, it provoked the "open-air-theater" incident at Pearson Park in Anaheim. "We were rehearsing this for a competition and we didn't have a place to rehearse," Nguyen related. "We found out Pearson Park had this outside theater. So we climbed the fence, rehearsed and climbed back out. We did this for about three weeks. On the last day of rehearsal, we climbed the fence and started rehearsing when someone actually walked into the area and saw us. But we kept on rehearsing, hoping we looked like we belonged. Twenty minutes later, as we were finishing, this person comes back and asks us what we were doing... and we had to leave. He was really nice, though, and opened the gate for us so we wouldn't have to leave climbing the fence again." All that perserverance-and guts-paid off when "Inside Out, Upside Down" garnered a Best Supporting Actor award for the entire cast at Saddleback College's high school theatre festival in 1991. For his directorial debut, Nguyen received the Outstanding Achievement in Direction award. "If the theater bug didn't bite before, it certainly bit then," he said, adding with a laugh: "It was worth getting kicked out of Pearson Park."
From such beginnings, Nguyen now finds himself and four others, including friend Ceballos, with their own company, Spare Change-a reformed version of their Theatre of Chance, which became an in-residence company at Anaheim High when Nguyen taught there in the mid-'90s- and in their very own theater. "We built this theater from scratch," Nguyen said. "We put up the walls, constructed the stage, did almost everything." The theater's [54] brand-new-looking, bolted down seats were a donation from Century Theaters' dismantled Cinedome and overhauled by Nguyen and Co. With the Chance Theater close to a freeway (the 91), across the street fro the Cinemapolis movie complex and amid numerous restaurants that line La Palma Avenue, Nguyen hopes that many more people will discover Orange County's newest community theater, one devoted to producing new plays by local playwrights. "I like all good plays," Nguyen said. "But the thing with original plays is, they can be more contemporary instead of universal. And everyone of us can participate in the process of evolving the script."
---Michael Rydzynski, The Independent, May 21, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
OC WEEKLY
The Kids Are Alright
The Chance Theater, Orange County's newest theatrical venue, is located in a remarkable pristine Anaheim Hills industrial park. Inside the theater, you're struck by enthusiasm, the brightly smiling, freshly scrubbed faces of those so happy to greet you and seat you, followed by a bundle of incandescent energy who races down the stairs and exuberantly pitches the obligatory company spiel-heywelcometothetheatergladyoucouldmakeityou'regoingtolovetheshow signthemailinglistthanksforsupportinglocalartists thanksagainenjoy!!! The Chance Theater's second play comes courtesy of the in-house company Spare Change Productions, a group that defines itself as "twentysomethings with a desire to learn the art of theater"; these kids are quite well adjusted.
---Joel Beers, OC Weekly, June 4, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
by Dave Eisenstark and Fred Burke
(World Premiere)
OC WEEKLY
Inside the theater, you're struck by enthusiasm. "Wednesday" is an earnest little comedy
---Joel Beers, OC Weekly, June 4, 1999
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
.is well-written and receives a pleasing, spontaneous feeling from Nguyen and his performers Lookabill injects the role with specific details in showing that the earnest, idealistic Quinn has used his profession to keep the rest of humanity at arm's length.
--- Eric Marchese, Orange County Register, May 30, 1999
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Director Oanh X. Nguyen provides as much performance muscle as possible. Veronica Johnson, and Amy Blomquist are both better than their material and stand-out. Martin Williams' Keller, and Joan Land's Beverly make brave efforts. Otherwise interesting performance of Esther Fredricksen One of the most comfortable small theaters around, abounding with energy.
---T. H. McCulloch, Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1999
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Lookabill draws a deft portrait of a reserved man. Johnson underscores her desperation with restraint. Williams, Blomquist, Hartman and especially Land perform with the urgency of need. Most surprising are the changes revealed by Fredricksen and Araujo.
---Peggy O'Hara, Northern Lights, May 27, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
by Kent Johnson
(World Premiere)
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"Memories on the Wind" weaves its various elements into a fairly convincing psychological thriller. Most of the troupe's performances exhibit a pleasing sense of spontaneity. From a technical standpoint, this Spare Change Productions staging hits on all cylinders. Fred Hatfield's set is both attractive and functional. Jim Book's lighting scheme effectively suggests either nighttime or daylight, Chris Ceballos' sound design incorporates such subtleties as an eerie sounding wind chimes.
---Eric Marchese, Orange County Register, July 11, 1999
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Blomquist gives one of the most interesting performance in the show. She has the best lines and while occasionally melodramatic, Blomquist is very believable. Harris, as Ann reveals more than one level of her character and smoothly creates the atmosphere that introduces each segment. Soo Kim is a joy to behold with her enthusiasm, making the most of intermittently amusing lines and freedom of movement.
---Peggy O'Hara, Northern Lights, July 8, 1999
OC WEEKLY
Dr. Ann Patterson convincingly portrayed by Terri Lynn Harris. Kari Dietrich O.C. Weekly, July 30, 1999 The "acting" disappears and we catch a solid glimpse of real people.
---Dave Barton, OC Weekly, September 3,1999
ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK
Terri Lynn Harris does a most compelling job as the psychology professor at the University of Berkeley. A woman who really cares about her students and the workings of the mind. At a mid-term gathering she decides to experiment with hypnosis. Thus a very strange situation manifests as the shy student Amanda goes further back than her teacher anticipated. Under hypnosis Ann discovers Erin, an Irish lass from the 1800's. Amanda as portrayed by Amy Blomquist seems to understand shy. Her transition into Erin is most intense and made at least one audience participant move farther back in the theater. To say that her performance is chilling would be most accurate indeed. The young lady who does rage so excellently is downright scary. Others in the cast provide a lot of energy, such as.Chris (Soo Kim) and her boyfriend Ted as played by Aubrey Hartman. His crowing rooster under hypnosis is a funny tension breaker. Erika Ceporius as Karen is bright and beautiful. Jeff Hellebrand as the slightly effeminate student and Casey Long in his portrayal of Clark are right on target. John Childers as Bob, a San Francisco Columnist and the surprise love interest, is a shining light. Directed by Kent Johnson as well, the man knew what he wanted. The production builds and does at times fill one with appropriate terror of the biting your nails, edge of your seat variety. .I recommend seeing it, for it does cause one to think. It would be great on TV with closeups. The music was excellent, haunting, thought provoking at times and repelling at the correct moments. Also I must mention the set, it looked lived in and properly defined. The lighting by Jim Book provided much texture...The show is well done.
--- La Donna, Anza Valley Outlook, July 30, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
by SCP
(World Premiere)
OC WEEKLY
But I Don't Feel Grown Up "But I Don't Feel Grown Up", is the brainchild of four dedicated young artists: Oanh Nguyen, Chris Ceballos, Jeff Hellebrand, and Erika Ceporius.
---Dave Barton, OC Weekly, September 3, 1999
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Fileta delivers monologues that introduce each scene with depth and sincerity. All of the players seem to overflow with vigorous talent. It's an "A" for effort for this cast- and certainly the crew.
---Peggy O'Hara, Northern Lights, September 2, 1999. [top]
|
|
|
|
by Brian Newell & Martin Williams
(New Work)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Jim Book['s] ... set and sound designs are very good. Steven Schrock, gives his reading much more variety and color; his every syllable can be heard, and his gradual change to fairly intelligent humanity is smoothly accomplished. Valerie Law, and Erika Ceporius, are each quite good giving standard readings of the roles and Robert G. Davis as the deformed Igor lurches and scowls about in fine form.
---T.H. McCullough, Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1999
FULEERTON HORNET
This play is another spectacle to view.
---Amanda Glover, Fullerton Hornet, October 20, 1999[top]
|
|
|
|
(New Works and World Premieres)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
The Chance Theater's "Midnight Madness" series follows the main stage performances Friday and Saturday nights, and this time around it's called "To Be AND Not to Be and Other Contradictions." All have good ideas, but of the five short plays there is one excellent piece that makes the evening worthwhile. "Lethal Persuasion," a tightly wrought, sensitive and insightful little drama, concerns a young couple, strangers who find themselves together on a railway track, waiting for the train that will end their misery. Authors Martin E. Williams and Chris Ceballos have balanced the play's ingredients, the personalities of Hillary and Robert, and the brief explanations of their bitter lives, with rewarding restraint, letting their characters flow freely and affectingly. Soo J. Kim is very good as Hillary, though she seems a little tough-edged for the fragile result of an oppressive mother's misguided affection. The toughness in Casey Long's Robert, though, is just right, sharp yet warm, hard yet soft, angry but with a rich humor beneath the surface. Both performances do the play great justice, and Ceballos' worthy direction is properly subtle.
Kara Hartzler's "Writer, Actor, Director," well-directed by Aubrey Hartman,. good performances by Amy Blomquist as the Writer, and Long as the Actor, John Adreini's "Winky," directed by Robert Fileta.Long and Blomquist, along with others, are excellent here,
---T.H. McCullough, Los Angeles, October 22, 1999
THEATER2K.COM
The first play up to bat is " Writer, Actor, Director," a sharp comedy from a young Iowa playwright named Kara Hartzler. (Her immigration drama "Asylum" got some good reviews in my little grass patch of Long Beach last year.) An insecure playwright (Amy Blomquist) and a sexy but stupid actor (Casey Long) feed their egos first and their hearts second while preparing for a show; it's an offbeat and very smart look at why people act - even when they don't have to. Karen Chapin, Eileen Dreger and Aubrey Hartman do fairly good work in insulting roles. It's easy to like Chris Ceballos' and Martin Williams' "Lethal Persuasion". Long and Soo J. Kim star in this drama about two abused teenagers contemplating suicide by a railroad track. It unfolds in a leisurely and attractive way; we like these troubled kids, and we enjoy learning about their lives. Our final stop is James L. Secor's "The History of Civilization". It's pretentious as hell, but fun to watch - a striking work directed by Blomquist in an equally striking way. . The play presents history as mankind's problem, not mankind's achievement. In five scenes and six minutes, using a single recurring line of dialogue, Secor accomplishes what he wants to do. If you're working on an M.A. in history, the play's lessons hardly qualify as news. But the idea is smart, edgy and exciting. And then it's just you and the Anaheim moonlight at 1:15. And the sense that this crazy idea, with better play selection, packs some real potential.
---Mark Jonas, theater2k.com, October 18, 1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
by Joseph Hullett
(World Premiere)
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
As his wife, Dottie, Tara Handy Turner delivers a calm reading of an ex-English teacher who's sensible, gentle and supportive. Grace Nassar is also credible as the Joiner's teenage daughter, Cyndee. Robert G. Davis delivers an often- funny performance showcasing the doctor's ultra-finicky nature.
---Eric Marchese, Orange County Register, December 17, 1999
NORTHERN LIGHTS
"Wish You Were Here" opened on Dec. 2 at The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. This original play written and directed by award-winning author Joseph Hullett is a wry satire of contemporary American society. We follow bumbling Abel Joiner's tribulations from Christmas Day 1999 to New Year's Day 2000 as he goes from long-time loyal employee of the ubiquitous Bulloni Company in working class Troy, N.Y. to unemployed drifter looking for a brighter future to involuntary committed patient at a state hospital, eventually overcoming all obstacles to find the true meaning of his life through his relationships with his pregnant wife and teen-age daughter.
It is a complex piece about our universal need to define our place in the brave new information age, overwhelmed by ever-changing technology which dehumanizes people into redundant, expendable cogs in the ruthless multinational corporate machinery which lures us to believe our lives will be improved. John Childers is an able Abel, Tara Handy Turner his intense wife Dottie, and Andrew Margolin his ambivalent brother Mortie.
Bulloni's primary vocation is a fertilizer plant, a source of plenty of scatological jokes. There are several hilarious scenes. Abel falls for a classic pyramid boiler room scam cleverly labeled "link distribution empowerment team." Hullett draws on his background as a psychiatrist to portray anal-retentive Dr. Upton Downer, convincingly played by Robert Davis who doesn't realize he is a loser in the Bulloni rat race and labels simple Abel as manic-depressive when he is a nurturing human who dares to challenge big business.
Grace Nassar is wonderful as Cyndee Joiner, the cool teen in search of her identity through various short-lived phases. David Pollack and Jeff Hellebrand are amusing as misguided and abusive middle managers.
Abel's loony happiness-driven infomercial pokes fun at religious telethons with their promise to deliver contentment by providing for the material needs of others, with the requisite postcard acknowledgment of having made a difference in someone's life. The underlying message forces us to reflect on our own spot on the carousel of progress, question the validity of runaway monopolistic capitalism and rethink the true values of human life.
--- Anne-Margret Bellavoine, Northern Lights, December 9,1999 [top]
|
|
|
|
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Young Troupe Gets More Bang for its Spare Change
It's a pleasure to write about an intelligent addition to the theater community for a change. Spare Change Productions isn't just another group of earnest, middle-aged thespian wanna-be's dying to do "Barefoot in the Park." It's six members are all theatrically trained and dedicated to developing original work.
--- Paul Hodgins, Orange County Register, December 7, 1997 [top]
|
|
|
|
(World Premiere)
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Adults on the Brink of Real Life: An Orange Troupe Tackles Theater by, for and about Generation X
So many things about "Undeclared...," an original play by Spare Change Productions in Orange, have become cliche. The coffeehouse in which its characters hang out. The uncertainty with which they approach life. The whole slacker angst of it all. Its the kind of thing you expect from sitcoms, or grunge. From "Friends" or Nirvana. But not, conventional wisdom says, from theater. "There aren't any plays about us," says Oanh Nguyen, founder of Spare Change, referring to the 20-something members of his troupe. "So if you're going to do a play during the period, the '90s, this represents what's there. There's a reason they're cliches. They're true." And worthy of the stage, says Nguyen, who assembled a handful of friends to prove it. In three months they wrote and produced "Undeclared...," a play "about not making any decisions because you're so afraid of making the wrong decisions," Nguyen says. "Undeclared..." centers on the coffeehouse run by Irene, a 30-ish woman who gave up a career and fiance to try life over again. Her college-age customers are walking that minefield for the first time, through loves, careers, parents, pot and blueberry muffins. [It] possesses the infectious enthusiasm and autobiographical insight of its first-time playwrights. And there is perhaps no better group to tell this story.
---Stephen Lynch, Orange County Register, December 12, 1997 [top]
|
|
|
|
(World Premiere)
OC WEEKLY
Is Pepperoni A Vegetable? Don't be put-off by the title-this second production by director Oanh X Nguyen contains some of the most believable and intelligent dialogue I've seen of late. The storyline of four twentysomethings sitting around an apartment and dealing with life is neither profound nor spectacular, but the characters presented within that framework are terrifically human. The play, written by an ensemble that includes the director and female lead, is filled with dialogue that you'd swear was scraped off the walls of any average un-slacker pad, and its biting originality is so uncontrived that it saves the formula plot of a woman finally finding Mr. Right right under her nose. Unlike the recent Gen. X spectacular, Rent, this cast of two men and two women(headed up on each side with superb acting by Amy Watt and Jason Dugre) shies away from the mad-at-the-world, druggie-artist stereotype and instead takes us through the very real-and so normal they're almost inexplicable-topics of finding the courage to attempt your dreams despite paralyzing fear and finding love in the place where you'd least expect it. For them, it's a vital turning point in life; for us, it's a breath of fresh air.
---Stacy Davies, OC Weekly, March 6, 1998
LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Is Pepperoni a Vegetable? And Other Mysteries of Love" is an earnest and compelling look at young adulthood by Spare Change Productions. At times, "Pepperoni" comes off like an episode of NBC's Gen-X comedy "Friends," with its playful characters, snappy lines, goofy behavior and myriad comic and dramatic complications. At other times it comes off like "When Harry Met Sally" or any of the other movies and TV shows in which best friends may or may not be falling in love. The action unfolds in an Orange County apartment-furnished in a hodgepodge of hand-me-downs and Salvation Army finds-that is shared by Jason, Shane and Melissa.
Jason (Jay Dugre) is an aspiring actor actor who's gearing up to audition for a touring production of "The Tempest," and he's trying out the swooningly romantic "I, beyond all limit of what else i'th' world, do love, prize, honor you" speech on anyone who will listen. That includes Shane (Matt Sparks), an overgrown German Sheppard of a puppy of a guy who jumps on everyone, yaps at the top of his lungs and generally demands to be the center of attention. When Jason isn't rehearsing, he tends to stay up late, hovering over giant jigsaw puzzles. So when his old pal Melissa (co-writer Amy Watt) returns from disappointing dates, he's a convenient and sympathetic listener-and when she despairs of her dream of becoming a photographer, he's there to urge her on. Melissa's pal Alex (Erika Ceporius) is a virtual fourth roommate, knocking about with Melissa and sparring with the guys.
Sparks of one kind fly as Director Nguyen keeps the byplay lively with pillow fights, wrestling matches and a playful physicality to indicate how comfortable with one another-how much of a family-these four friends are. The performances are so true to life that we almost feel we are eavesdropping. By sheer force of will the Spare Change Players succeed in connecting us to these young lives.and to our own.
---Daryl H. Miller, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1998
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This production by director Oanh X Nguyen(with a heavy helping hand from multitalented Christopher Ceballos, and Amy Watt) is one of those 20-something stories that actually makes you like the "Generation." Deft acting by Watt and Jason Dugre, and a loud but memorable performance make Pepperoni an honest and clever remedy to the angst ridden melancholic dramas running amok in theaters near you.
---Stacy Davies, Orange County Register, February 20, 1998 [top]
|
|
|
