The Chance Theater Repertory Company would like to congratulate the Cast and Crew of

Porcelain

2006 GLAAD Media Award Nominee -
Outstanding Los Angeles Theater

Fellow Nominees

I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright
Bunbury by Tom Jacobson
A Pebble in My Shoe: The Life and
Times of Shelby Spong by Colin Cox
Pera Palas by Sinan Unel

The GLAAD Media Award ceremony will be on April 8 in Los Angeles.

For more information about GLAAD, please visit their official website.
For more information about Porcelain, please visit our production page.

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And the Nominees Are ...
Presenting the 2006 Orange County Weekly Theater Award nominees

Here are the nominees for the Orange County Weekly Theater Awards, which will be presented Monday, March 13, on the Julianne Argyros Stage at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the ceremony begins at 8 p.m.

... BEST PERFORMANCE, MALE
Scott Barber, The Sacred Geometry of S&M Porn, Rude Guerrilla
Rick Batella, Blake...da musical, Grove Theater Center
Vince Campbell, Darkside, Rude Guerrilla
Nghia Luu, Porcelain, The Chance
Robert Nunez, So Alone, Stages
Paul Palker, Some Voices, Rude Guerrilla

BEST ENSEMBLE
Marat/Sade, Hunger Artists
The Rover, The Chance Theater
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, The Chance Theater
The Female Terrorist Project, Rude Guerrilla Theater Company
Urinetown, Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse

BEST DIRECTION
Josh Costello, The Rover, The Chance Theater
Steven Parker, Some Voices, Rude Guerrilla
David Chambers, Princess Marjorie, South Coast Repertory
Carl Reggiardo, Measure for Measure, Shakespeare Orange County
Patricia L. Terry, One Flea Spare, The Chance Theater
Oanh Nguyen, Porcelain, The Chance Theater
Andrew Barnicle, Bright Ideas, Laguna Playhouse
Robert Cohen, Timon of Athens, UC Irvine

BEST PRODUCTION
Bright Ideas, Laguna Playhouse
The Female Terrorist Project, Rude Guerrilla
One Flea Spare, The Chance Theater
Porcelain, The Chance Theater
Princess Marjorie, South Coast Repertory
Some Voices, Rude Guerrilla
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Chance Theater

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Garlands 2006
Dany Margolies, Back Stage West

Back Stage West is proud to announce the recipients of our 2006 Garland Awards, voted on by the critics of BSW. Under our voting system, each Garland winner was named on at least three critic's "Best of 2005" lists. You'll never know which critics named the winners; you might be pleasantly surprised at the wide range of tastes expressed by each critic.

Following the names of the 2006 Garland winners announced here are the individual critics' "Best of" lists, minus the winners they voted for. Each critic was allowed to name up to five nominees per category except performance, 10 nominees for performance, this year split into (primarily) musical and (primarily) straight productions. We also profile three of our winners.

First, a thank-you to the Garland recipients, the honorable mentions, and all who created theatre in Southern California in 2005. You've made our jobs a pleasure. Also, a thank-you to our critics, who see improbable numbers of shows - even if they're not reviewing, even on weeknights and holidays, even in theatres dozens of miles from their homes, and even if they have to pay for parking. It's the price we pay for the joys of great theatre.

This year the winners will be presented with Garland statuettes at a party tentatively scheduled for April 17. We will be contacting the winners shortly with invitations. If you're not sure we have your contact info, please email dmargolies@backstage.com.

And to all other theatremakers in the Southland, we hope to see your name on these lists next year. Now get to work!

... Our Critics Mention the Honorable (Shirle Gottlieb)
PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL PRODUCTION:
...Erika C. Miller, Cabaret, The Chance Theater; Beach Vickers, Cabaret

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Congratulations are in order!

The 2006 OC Weekly Theater Awards were presented on Monday, March 13, on the Julianne Argyros Stage, at South Coast Repertory, in Costa Mesa, and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues garnered the Best Ensemble Award! 

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone associated with The Chance's production of

The Eight:
Reindeer Monologues

WINNER!
2005 OC Weekly Theater Award -
Best Ensemble

You put your best hoof forward, and we couldn't be prouder!!
For more information about The Eight: Reindeer Monologues,
please visit our production page.

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The Shifting Scene of 99-Seat Theatres
by Terence McFarland, LA STAGE

April 27, 2006

On a rainy day in Hollywood, LASA executive director Terence McFarland invites five leaders of the intimate theatre scene to lunch in the upstairs private dining room at Off Vine. What's new with their companies? What's unique about working in Southern California? What are the "indiscussables" that no one wants to talk about? And the whys behind their work in theatre.

TASHA AMES: We made a shift at the beginning of the year. We're not a membership company anymore. We were losing the spirit we started with, so we got rid of dues and committees. Now the company is just the board and people show up because they want to, not because they're obligated. We were a feminist theatre and now we're expanding a bit in terms of our story choices, and we're doing our first original play this year which is exciting and kind of scary.

OANH NGUYEN: The big change is paid staff. Six salaries. It's minimum wage, but when you've been doing it for seven years, that little money means something. We're a repertory theatre and we always do two shows at a time. It's funny. Now that we're paid, we're doing fewer shows - eight this year. Our first season we produced 14 shows and right away we were $70,000 in debt.

CHIL KONG: People do that for three or four shows and give up. To sustain that for 14 shows says a lot.

NGUYEN: We've gone to a $240,000 yearly budget and we ended last season with $100,000 in the bank. We have a new board, including a real CPA. I used to keep the numbers in my head. The other difference is our subscription series which used to be just the mainstage. Now it's for both shows. When you gain trust, you can get the mainstage audience to see a play like Porcelain which has murder and gay sex in lavatories. When we do a show like that, we don't go for the cheap shots. We want people to feel that whatever was in there needed to be in there and that the artists feel responsible for the relationships with the audience.

DAMASO RODRIGUEZ: We've done British plays because we could get the rights but now we want to develop relationships with new American writers. We'll be down for a while because the Balcony is being renovated. Then we'll be back. We have a four-year partnership with the Pasadena Playhouse and we hope it will last longer.

NGUYEN: You've got a great neighborhood, great space. Don't screw up because if you do, I'll jump right in there. We're in an industrial park and people in Orange County aren't used to that. In LA, I saw Killer Joe in a space smaller than this dining room but we've had people who've already paid for tickets drive up and drive away. Our board members know it's their job to get people from the parking lot into the lobby. Once they walk in, everything's fine. And the city has been great, giving us rehearsal and storage space.

RODRIGUEZ: We incubated the company for over a year before we produced a play. Everything was a clear decision, including being in Pasadena. We'd all done the rental thing in Chicago and LA and we didn't want to rent. Theatres like A Noise Within, Evidence Room, City Garage all started out with spaces given to them. I had done an internship with A Noise Within so I learned how they had done it. We met with development agencies around LA and someone pointed us in the right direction. Pasadena seemed like a great fit. Boston Court wasn't there yet; there was no one like us, so we were needed. It was easy to call the executive director of the Playhouse and say we're new to town and could we pick your brain. In 2002 we were taken to see the Armory Center's satellite space and shown the loading dock area of an old plastics factory. There was nothing to suggest there would be power or climate control but we said OK and we built a theatre in there. We knew we just had a window of time while the city decided what they would do with the building so we rolled out really fast and did five plays in 2003. Then the city took it. We were down for a year until we landed the residency at the Balcony.

TOM ORMENY: I'm in LA because I kind of landed here. I was born and raised in Hungary, across the street from the National Theatre. My mother was the major actress of her generation and I grew up watching her as Ophelia and Desdemona. We were on the East Coast after we escaped. Then I went to school up north and thought about doing theatre in the Bay Area but was invited to UCLA for an MFA and started working on TV as an actor. When my wife and I wanted to produce theatre, the real estate was possible in Burbank. We signed the lease 26 years ago, moved into a storefront and I built two theatres. We bought the space at the right time. We couldn't afford to buy it today.

AMES: It's hard to be in the town that's so focused on television and film. You have actors interested in showcasing themselves and you have the entertainment audience, people who don't expect the show to be good. They're just there to check someone out or because they owe someone.

NGUYEN: We're close enough to LA that we have access to all these people trained in the craft of theatre. And there's no agents or casting directors coming down to Orange County, so the people who work with us don't do it from that standpoint.

RODRIGUEZ: You can work with great people here. If you started your theatre in Dallas, you wouldn't have the same great group of people, but you could probably get a salary. We're actually paying our people more every year. We've met with Equity to be on a development plan.

ORMENY: We need to start paying salaries and move into an arena where we are not a two-man band. The big difference these days from 25 years ago is marketing. We went through a long intensive rebranding process and now we're ready to approach community and corporate people to get into partnership. Our board told us, "You're worth more to this community that you are saying." As a theatre community, we are all failing in the way we talk about the value of what we do.

KONG: Terence, it's like that book you recommended, Don't Think of an Elephant; how to frame the issue on your terms, instead of poor me, poor me. When we talk that way, we're seen as vagabonds and victims. I always tell the Lodestone people, you're not begging for money.

ORMENY: We need to get scientists, physicists, theologians, philosophers to talk about theatre. There's brain research about what happens when people have an experience together. Matter changes with energy and there's an impact on brain chemistry from experiential events. The impact is dramatically different when people have a dialogue with somebody, the way we are doing around this table, than when they have that dialogue over the internet. We need to put a bunch of sensors on people in an audience and show that effect.

KONG: At MIT, our big thing was how technology was going to kill the arts. Everything will be seen rather than experienced. I argued that no matter how things change, people still need interactive contact. As part of the media lab, we did No Exit and gave the actors mini-cameras on their eyes and put one in the audience and set up a website and emailed the performance. Audience members could click and look in different perspectives.

NGUYEN: You don't need technology to have an interactive experience. We did a play that the ensemble created, a sort of choose-your-adventure play. We wrote it from beginning to end but left out large chunks of action. The actors would turn to the audience for suggestions, then they'd have to improvise. And this year for the first time, we're having an awards ceremony. We've got a huge box with an oversized lock and only season subscribers get forms to vote. Subscribers walk around feeling like they own the space. We need to engage people.

AMES: Technology becomes a way to avoid experience. We are trying to do theatre that's really theatrical so the audience is experiencing something they can't get on a flat screen.

NGUYEN: But the quality of the work. That's what's undiscussable. We all talk about how many Critics Picks we get but not the quality.

KONG: Money is our indiscussable. Our funders are less than 30 years old. Their patterns of giving are different from people who are with foundations or have given for a long time. And the second they get married and have kids, "I want to be there for you, but..." and they're gone. We keep our ticket prices low. If we are more than double a movie ticket, they'll never come.

ORMENY: If we charged double, we might break even.

KONG: I think in 60% of the Asian community, when you say "art," they think classical music. With theatre, the whole idea shifts. One is respected and one isn't. Classical music? I could set the ticket price at $50 and college students would pay.

AMES: People know how many years a classical musician trains. They think anyone can act.

NGUYEN: It comes back to quality. People are told they will have a better experience than watching TV or going to the movies, and we are not delivering that better experience. You see people sitting low in their seats and thinking at least with TV I could be cleaning the living room while I watch.

ORMENY: Here's an undiscussable: We went to one of the Vice Presidents who does community relations at Lockheed. "I'll give you a lot of money if you do a program for gangs in the North Valley." But I'm not a social worker. I was instrumental in creating the LA Endowment, one percent for the arts from hotel taxes and developers. It took a lot of work to get that to pass.

NGUYEN: I need you to get down to Anaheim to create this for us.

ORMENY: Get to a couple of guys on the city council. We were able to get a million signatures in support in a couple of weeks. Get your audience to sign. It's really important to make statements publicly. Now you're being politically incorrect if you say this was intended to give the professional arts funding and recognition and within three to five years most of the money was going to social programs.

RODRIGUEZ: I don't think our existence really matters to the people we're trying to reach. They don't know theatre matters to them but we have the ingredients to make it matter. I was inspired in Chicago, all these companies that suddenly turned Chicago into a theatre town, so now when you go to Chicago, you think about going to a play. Maybe we can make that happen in LA.

ORMENY: Theatre is the king of the arts because its raw material is the human spirit. It's the greatest high in the world. You're working with people and whatever you think of them at the start, by the time you do the play, you're going to be in love with them, an agape kind of love, respect for their humanity.

KONG: This memory will never go away. I was 12 and I had just started to grasp the English language. In school, no one talked to me. No one knew who I was but the first time I had a solo, I could feel the connection I had with the audience. I do theatre because I want people to feel that.

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Art association benefit draws 200
by Andrea Manes, Anaheim Bulletin

May 4, 2006

Congratulations to Anaheim Arts Council Soiree honorees Anaheim Art Association and artist Robert Holton.

More than 200 guests spent Saturday bidding on silent auction items and enjoying the singing and dancing of The Chance Theater performers, all part of the Soiree activities.

Kelly Todd, managing director of the Chance Theater introduced the show. President Reon Howard welcomed the crowd, and co-chairmen Anne Erickson and Jas Cisneros thanked Soiree Committee and organizers.

Anaheim community members and city officials, interested in keeping the arts alive and supporting the Soiree grant program, attending the event.

Loara High School instructor David Sporn brought art students who sketched a live model in the lobby and invited guests to sketch with them. Live auctioneer Gary Greene, expertly handled six live auction items and received a $1,000 bid for a catered meal for eight at home from Donald Yvaska, two purchases from Lee Howard and more.

This 33rd annual event was sponsored by Brookfield Homes and the Disneyland Resort. Holton was joined by family members and friends. Alice Dennis took the stage to accept a $500 gift for the Anaheim Arts Association. Holton was recognized with one of his onw framed pieces.

A group of younger artists, the Oxford Academy Fiddlers opened the evening with a full program during the silent auction. Musical advisor Bruce Stevens brought 14 musicians that entertained with two sets.

For more information about the Anaheim Arts Council, contact Howard, Arts Council president, at (714) 280-0772 or check the Web site at www.anaheimartscouncil.com.

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A taste, for things to come
Taste of the Canyon raises funds for Independence Day parade.
by Diane Reed, Anaheim Hills News

June 8, 2006

The numbers were down, but food and fun still reigned at the Taste of the Canyon.

The presentation of two $1,000 scholarships highlighted the 17th annual event held May 31 at Cinema City in Anaheim Hills.

Carley Del Crognale and Shane Stuart Swerdlow received the Mary Castle Memorial scholarships.

Anaheim Councilmen Robert Hernandez and Harry Sidhu, both Hills residents, were among the dignitaries.

Entertainment was provided by the voices of The Chance Theater.

"Attendance was down by one third, and auction pro ceeds were down by half," according to Karyn Schonherz, president of the sponsoring Canyon Hills Community Council, "but it was still the biggest and best party in the Hills."

Proceeds from the event are the major source of funding the annual Anaheim Hills July 4th parade and celebration, which draws about 25,000 participants every year. The patriotic event is funded primarily by donations from the community.

"The final accounting is not yet complete," she added, "however, we will be meeting next week to determine if any (July 4th) events are going to be cancelled or what cutbacks will be necessary."

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Teenage drama at The Chance
Anaheim students act out views onstage
by Diane Reed, Anaheim Hills News

August 17, 2006

Teenage angst is a familiar dramatic theme.

The Chance Theater explored it, through the eyes of local teens this summer, during a free, eight-week summer theater intensive.

"Speak Up - Take a Chance," was the result.

The play was written, produced and performed by 18 students from the Anaheim Union High School District. They presented it to the community, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Chance Theater, 5553 E. La Palma Ave.

Mentored by members of Anaheim's only professional, nonprofit theater, students were involved in all aspects of performing and producing a show.

Ben Lopez, 18, served as the show's technical director and was also an actor.

"This program showed me that there are opportunities everywhere in theater, not just acting, but backstage, producing and directing," Lopez said.

The students didn't sugarcoat their lives in creating the script. The show included seven vignettes with topics such as prejudice, sexuality, domestic violence and suicide.

Kelly Todd, the educational director for the Chance, facilitated the students' work - helping them portray the poor choices that some teens make.

The program, part of Chance Theater's 2006 youth outreach, cost the nonprofit more than $9,000 and was completely self-funded.

"We are seeking grants so that we can continue this next year," she said. "It's important to give young people a voice and a place to express themselves."

Last year the Chance presented a theater camp for younger children.

This summer's intensive was lifechanging.

Daphne Ruiz, 13, the show's special events director, appeared in a vignette based on her life.

"I played the daughter of an illegal immigrant who came to the U.S. to find a better life for her child," said the Ball Junior High student. "My mother came here 32 years ago and still doesn't speak a word of English."

Information: Chance Theater, 714-777-3033 or visit www.chancetheater.com.

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Chance's 'fun-raiser'
Gala raises funds for Hills theater.
by Anne-Marget Bellavoine, Anaheim Bulletin

September 28, 2006

The Chance Theater hosted its fifth annual 'fun-raiser" Saturday at the historic ranch home of Anaheim City Council member Harry Sidhu and his wife Gin, who is a theater board member.

This gala - called "Spread the Chance" - allowed patrons to mingle and sample a sneak preview of the much anticipated 2007 Chance Theater season.

Company members Casey Long and Lowe Taylor emceed as the rest of the company entertained guests with a montage of song, dance and theatrics, with whimsical creations written specifically for the occasion.

Popular auction items included Chance cast events, with the opportunity to host a dinner at one's home with a sextet of Chance company members providing the entertainment, an item so popular it was auctioned three times, and a private gala event at the theater, with performance of choice for a crowd of 20.

Anaheim-raised artistic director Oanh Nguyen has led his company from a fledgling store-front shop to one of the premier groups in Orange County.

The Chance will again offer eight productions in its 2007 season and the company's longterm plan is to find a suitable 250 seat venue to accommodate the swelling crowds.

Information: 714-777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com .

2007 Chance Theater Season
On the Main Stage
Drood, a wildly entertaining musical with the opportunity to finish a Charles Dickens mystery novel.
Biloxi Blues, Neil Simon's award-winning play on Army training in Mississippi.
Sunday in the Park with George, a Sondheim musical inspired by Seurat's famous pointillist painting of the same title.
Anne of Green Gables, the other lovable red-haired and wideeyed orphan who charms every one with her zest.

On the Evolving Stage
Inventing Van Gogh, a haunting look at a self-portrait with its truth and myth.
Frozen, an extraordinary play about forgiveness and remorse in the wake of a child's murder.
Shakespeare's R & J, one of the most inventive re-imaginings of the classic love story. Anaheim Home Companion, episode two, a new collection of sketches written by members of the Chance Theater Repertory Company reliving the city's local history.

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Blade Interview: Reaching a New Lowe
by Michael Shinafelt, Blade Magazine

October 1, 2006

Lowe Taylor is a familiar presence in Orange County, having just completed a successful run as the Baker's Wife in Chance Theatre's production of "Into The Woods," for which she earned glowing reviews.

This month, Lowe essays the starring role of Donna in the TLA video release of Christian Calson's Flirting with Anthony, in which she steals the film with another great performance.

The Blade caught up with the budding diva at the Blue Jam Cafe in Hollywood.

Blade: How was your experience playing Baker's Wife?
Taylor: It was amazing. I'm a big musical theater dork, and the Baker's Wife is one of those roles I have always wanted to play. I am on the lower end of being able to play her, age wise, so - luckily - I will be able to get cast in the role for another 15 years.

The OC Weekly used profanity when they reviewed the show. What the hell was that about?
It was my favorite quote from that review, which was not about me, but I wished it were. It was about Krystal Garcia, who played one of Cinderella's stepsisters. The quote was, "Krystal Garcia is excellent as Cinderella's a----le stepsister." I loved it! I told Krystal if they had said that about me, it would be on my Web Site.

How did you become involved in Flirting with Anthony?
It came about through a bunch of people who all knew each other. My day job is at The Groundlings, and a member of The Groundlings was friends with Chris Griffin, who was one of the original producers. Chris had put this bulletin out stating they needed a non-union actress who was willing to get naked. He came to me, and I was like, "Wait a second. I don't know that I would do that." He had be [Calson's] number. We traded messages, and I told him what I needed to feel comfortable doing a nude scene. I went in, auditioned and it was wonderful.

The film seems very gay oriented.
I've always done projects that were gay oriented. Not everything I have ever done is, but I'm very attracted to gay-themed projects, as I feel very close to the gay community. The facts that I was involved in this film really excites me.

This film really tweaks the idea of what make a family unit.
I think there is no one definition of what makes a family. We created a lot of history between Donna, the character I play, and Anthony (Daniel Cartier) and Donna's brother Leroy (Ryan A. Allen) to give the feeling of authenticity. Christian had us do a lot of improvisation regarding when Donna and Anthony met and what they both needed at the time and what they were both missing at the time. Anthony is like this father figure to Leroy, who never really had one. Donna really lacked male attention growing up, and here comes this man who has a feeling he is gay, yet he jumps into this relationship with a woman. Why does he do that? He needs something, he needs to find something, and we explored that in rehearsals. They are fulfilling a need in each other and their respective lives.

What does your mother think about your role?
She was there with me every step of the way. I called every day from the set and let her know what happened. She will be a little "weirded out" by the nude scene in general; Christian has promised me a version of the film without the nude scene for my mother. She knows it's there and is proud of me and respects my decisions as an artist. I felt the nude scene was absolutely necessary for the character of Donna.
Donna is a little f---ed up: she is sexually deviant and does things that are not emotionally healthy. The thing is I try to live my life as judgment free as possible, which is hard at times, because we are all human. We all have those feelings of "What the hell are they doing over there?!" For example, if I send someone a gift, and they don't say "thank you," I don't care. You don't do things to get someone to react a certain way to you.

Anything else we should know?
Well, I am recently single... It gives me more time to do what I do best: overextend myself (laughs). In addition to my acting career, I am active in three worlds. One if AIDS research. I try to raise money for it every opportunity I get. I'm a big proponent of gay marriage and [eliminating] Parkinson's disease. My dad has Parkinson's - as well as my maternal grandmother. That's why, when George W. Bush vetoed the stem cell research bill, I just about lost my s---.

With the release of Flirting with Anthony and your musical theater career, you are going to have many more gay fans.
I love that! Gay fans really appreciate you. There is no one I would rather perform for. My gay fan base - and, of course, my mother - are the best audience.

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Broadway and Beyond:
CA's Chance Theater Announces '07 Season
by Andy Propst, AmericanTheaterWeb.com

December 4, 2006

Today, let's do a season spotlight for the I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. This show, which continues to delight audiences off-Broadway will run in Anaheim Hills through March 11. In February, the theater will start performances of Steven Dietz' Inventing Van Gogh. This drama is about a painter who resists the pull of his own genius when he is hired to forge van Gogh's final masterpiece. This show will run also run through March 11.

The next two shows on the Chance's stages are Neil Simon's charming look at life on a military base in the 1940s, Biloxi Blues and Bryony Lavery's acclaimed drama, Frozen. I bet you've seen Biloxi on the screen in the movie that stars Matthew Broderick. As a refresher on Frozen, this is the Tony-nominated drama that looks at a woman who's trying to understand the man who raped and killed her daughter. Both shows will run from May through mid-June.

Over the summer, musical theater will return to the Chance Theatre when it produces Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park with George. Additionally over the summer, they'll produce Joe Calarco's Shakespeare's R&J. This is a terrific drama about an all-boys school and what happens when the students perform a production of the classic Romeo and Juliet. These two shows are slated for runs during August and the first half of September.

The Chance Theatre winds down 2007 with a stage adaptation of the classic novel, Anne of Green Gables and a special holiday production created by members of the Chance Theatre company. In case you you want to drop by the theater before January, you'll find that they have holiday shows running now through the end of the month, too.

This has been Andy Propst of AmericanTheaterWeb.com

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Top Ten List for Theatre
No. 5: 365 Days/365 Plays
by Richard Zoglin, TIME Magazine

December 29, 2006

Adventurous playwright Suzan-Lori Parks ( Venus; Topdog/Underdog ) had this crazy idea to write one play every day for an entire year. And starting in November, they are being produced (in various groupings and formats) by more than 600 theater companies around the country. The first batch, which I caught at New York's Public Theater, are slight things (no surprise), but what's important is the inspiring act of affirmation (by Parks and her producing partner Bonnie Metzger) in the power of theater as a national communal event. A year's worth of applause, please.

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