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by Douglas Clayton, LA STAGE BLOG
[ Link to LA STAGE BLOG ]
January 1, 2010
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Chance Theater Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen is nominated as Best Director of a Musical for the 2008/09 Ovation Awards |
Oanh Nguyen is a 2008/2009 Ovation Award Nominee for Director of a Musical for HAIR: THE AMERICAN TRIBAL LOVE-ROCK MUSICAL at the Chance Theatre, where he is also the Artistic Director.
As an Ovation Award Nominee, LA Stage asked Oanh the following questions:
What was the moment that first inspired you to pursue working in the theatre?
I was maybe nine years old and on-the-run during one of my many “escapes” from home. This was one of the more successful attempts. I was far, far on the other side of our block hiding out at the local high school campus. It was around 8pm, very late. It was dark. I was hungry. I spotted a giant man-sized chicken walking around the campus. I followed it. This decision landed me sitting crossed-legged on the floor in the aisle of a large theater full of people. I remember feeling oddly at peace as I sat there with the audience and watched this man in a chicken suit on stage. That was the last time I ran away from home. I still don’t know what the play was.
What do you feel made the production you were nominated for particularly successful, either overall or for you specifically?
The Vietnam War has always been a very personal and conflicted subject for me. At the time I was also working on a play at a different theater about a Vietnam refugee, so these projects became somewhat cathartic for me. and of course, we had an amazing creative team and a cast that was not afraid of exploring the material.
What project or projects are you currently working on?
I’m in tech for the west coast premiere of Kenneth Lin’s PO BOY TANGO at East West Players, I’m working with the international best-selling author, Adaline Yen Mah, on her stage adaptation of FALLING LEAVES that will have a public reading in November at South Coast Repertory, and beginning my 12th season at the Chance Theater which includes the west coast premiere of Julie Marie Myatt’s WELCOME HOME, JENNY SUTTER.
What do you love most about theatre in Los Angeles?
The sheer magnitude of talent, dreams, diversity and productions.
What’s your dream project?
My dream project has been for the past 12 years and still is the ongoing growth and success of the Chance Theater and it’s artists.
Biography:
OANH NGUYEN co-founded the Chance Theater in 1999, where he is Artistic Director. He was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award by Arts Orange County and is a recipient of the TCG Nathan Cummings Young Leaders of Color fellowship. Oanh is on the board of Network of Ensemble Theaters and a proud member of SDC, SAG and AFTRA. Nguyen was recently the associate director of the world premiere of The Happy Ones by Julie Marie Myatt at South Coast Repertory. Other directing credits include: west coast premiere of Po Boy Tango at East West Players, world premiere of The Girl, The Grouch, The Goat by Tony Award-winner Mark Hollmann, Three Days of Rain (O.C. Register’s Top Ten of 2002 and Best Directors of 2002), Bash, Lee Miller: The Angel and The Fiend (commissioned by the Getty Museum), Goodnight Children Everywhere, Tape, Closer Than Ever (L.A. Times Critic’s Choice), Porcelain (2006 GLAAD Media Award Nomination, Back Stage Critic’s Pick, O.C. Register’s Top Ten of 2005), Cabaret (Back Stage Critic’s Pick), Into The Woods (Back Stage Critic’s Pick), The Laramie Project, Jesus Hates Me, Inventing Van Gogh, Frozen, The Last Five Years, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Rabbit Hole (Back Stage Critic’s Pick), and Hair (LA Weekly’s Go).
For a full list of Ovation nominees, or for information about the Ovation Awards Ceremony on January 11th, click here!
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by Joel Beers, OC Weekly
[ Link to OC Weekly ]
January 8, 2010
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Scene from 2009 Season production of Jesus Hates Me, which will be remounted in February 2010 at SCR |
For just about every business, 2009 was a bitch of a year, and local theaters were no exception. That said, all but one survived somewhat intact—and even the most important remnants of the one that closed, Rude Guerrilla, reopens this month under the new banner of the Monkey Wrench Collective. Plans are also in the works to stage a Fullerton theater festival in October that will include professional, college and storefront theaters.
CHANCE THEATER
This Anaheim Hills troupe solidified its status as OC’s premier storefront in ’09, and its diverse programming continues this year, with three musicals, including Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along in early February; the local premiere of Julie Marie Myatt’s life-in-wartime drama Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter April 16-May 16; and the OC debut of the impossibly idiosyncratic Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? in September. www.chancetheater.com
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Broadway World
[ Link to BroadwayWorld.com ]
January 12, 2010
The LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards Ceremony for the 2008/2009 theatre season took place Monday, January 11, 2010 at 7:30pm at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, home of the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities.
Along with French Stewart, Megan Hilty, Vicki Lewis, James Roday and Gregory Itzin, other presenters included Beth Grant, Davis Gaines, Del Shores, Jim O'Neill and Karyl Lee Burns (Rubicon Theatre Artistic Directors), Matt Walker (Troubadour Theatre Company Artistic Director), Sam Anderson, Oanh Nguyen (Chance Theatre Artistic Director), Ameenah Kaplan, Stephen Sachs and Deborah Lawlor (Fountain Theatre Artistic Directors), Erika Miller, Kelly Todd, Deidrie Henry, Randall Arney (Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director), Joe Spano and Alan Mandell.
Photo credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging
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Chance Theater Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen, presenting an award at the 20th Annual Ovation Awards Ceremony, with French Stewart in the background |
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Chance Theater Artistic Director
Oanh Nguyen |
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Chance Theater Artistic Director
Oanh Nguyen |
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by Kenneth Jones, Playbill.com
[ Link to Playbill.com ]
January 25, 2010
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Chance Theater's production of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was nominated for six LADCC Awards, including Best Revival and Best Ensemble |
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle announced nominees and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2009.
The 41st Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony, hosted by Jason Graae, will take place on March 22 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. The co-host will be critic Wenzel Jones.
Awards will be given in 20 categories, honoring excellence in theatre over the past year. Eight special awards will also be given, including an award honoring Kirk Douglas for his lifetime contribution to Los Angeles theatre.
McCulloh Award for Revival (shows between 1920 and 1980)
Equus, The Production Company, Chandler Studio Theatre
Hair, Chance Theater, Chance Theater
The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre
Direction
Sean T. Cawelti, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Duane Daniels, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
Marilyn Fox, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Oanh Nguyen, Hair, Chance Theater
Music Direction
Brent Crayon, Songs for a New World, International City Theatre
David O, The Wasps, The Lost Studio
Michael Paternostro, Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Phil Reno, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Bill Strongin, Hair, Chance Theatre
Choreography
Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt, Mary Poppins, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ameenah Kaplan, Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre
Kelly Todd, Hair, Chance Theater
Ensemble Performance
Hair, Chance Theater
Hunter Gatherers, Furious Theatre Company at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre
Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Our Mother's Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court
CGI/Video
John MacDonald, Hair, Chance Theater
Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
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by David Ng, LA Times
[ Link to LA Times ]
January 26, 2010
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Chance Theater's production of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was nominated for six LADCC Awards, including Best Revival and Best Ensemble |
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle will honor actor Kirk Douglas with a special award for lifetime contribution to L.A. theater at its March 22 ceremony at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.
Douglas, who returned to the stage last year in his one-man show "Before I Forget," will be one of a number of honorees at the annual theater awards ceremony, said the organization. Also set to receive trophies are directors Richard Israel, Jason Robert Brown and playwright Julie Marie Myatt.
Danny Hoch will receive an award for his solo performance in "Taking Over" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.
The Rubicon Theatre in Ventura and the Celebration Theatre in L.A. will receive special awards for sustained excellence and an excellent season, respectively.
The organization also announced its nominees for the 2009 season in L.A. and Orange counties.
The nominees for best production are "Life Could Be a Dream" (Hudson Mainstage), "Munched" (Buzzworks Theater Company / El Centro Theatre), "No Man's Land" (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble), "Parade" (Mark Taper Forum), "Stick Fly" (Matrix Theatre), "The Happy Ones" (South Coast Repertory) and "The Pain and the Itch" (Theatre @ Boston Court).
The nominees for revival production are "Equus" (the Production Company / Chandler Studio Theatre), "Hair" (Chance Theater) and "The Browning Version" (Pacific Resident Theatre).
Playwrights receiving nominations this year are Julie Hebert ("Tree"), Bruce Norris ("The Pain and the Itch"), Kim Porter ("Munched") and Brian Christopher Williams ("Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins").
Here are some of the other LADCC nominees for 2009:
Direction
Sean T. Cawelti, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Duane Daniels, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
Marilyn Fox, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Oanh Nguyen, Hair, Chance Theater
Music Direction
Brent Crayon, Songs for a New World, International City Theatre
David O, The Wasps, The Lost Studio
Michael Paternostro, Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Phil Reno, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Bill Strongin, Hair, Chance Theatre
Choreography
Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt, Mary Poppins, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ameenah Kaplan, Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre
Kelly Todd, Hair, Chance Theater
Ensemble Performance
Hair, Chance Theater
Hunter Gatherers, Furious Theatre Company at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre
Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Our Mother's Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court
CGI/Video
John MacDonald, Hair, Chance Theater
Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
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text and photos by Scott Peterson, Orange County Register
[ Link to OC Register ]
February 9, 2010
The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills kicked off its 2010 season in grand style.
Its current production, "Merrily We Roll Along," opened Friday at 8 p.m. and was followed by a gala reception. Cast members and stage crew mingled with theatergoers of all ages while enjoying food and drink.
"Merrily We Roll Along" continues through March 7 with shows on Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and some Thursdays at 8 p.m.
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Richard Comeau (Joe), Alex Bueno (KT), Laura Hathaway (Gussie), Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen and Sarah Moreau, (dramaturg), enjoy the post-performance festivities. |
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Stan and Donna Ashbaugh and Tom and Carol Hamman, long time donors to Chance Theater. |
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Rita and Rodger Joyce chat with Casey Long,
managing director of the theater. |
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The cast of "Merrily We Roll Along" with
Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. |
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Actors Amie Bjorklund, Ryland Dodge with Jake Monaco. |
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Jody, Sarah and Samantha Pierce of Anaheim Hills
pose with actor Andrew Edins. |
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Michael Quintos and J.C. Orellana enjoy appetizers after the show. |
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Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen and sustaining member John Goodman chat after the performance. |
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by Erin Stafford, Orange Coast Magazine
February 23, 2010
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Cast members of The Girl, The Grouch, and The Goat share the spotlight at the Chance Theater in Anaheim |
You won't always find valet parking, Champagne intermissions, full orchestras, or glitz and glamour. But if you crave the grit and raw emotion of off-Broadway, Orange County has its own cadre of experimental, often controversial, progressive thespians eager to entertain you at bargain prices compared with the bigger venues. Our back yard is full of options to make you laugh, cry, and reflect - all without having to catch a plane to Manhattan. So step into a storefront theater and get ready for adventure.
CHANCE THEATER
Since 1999 the Chance has inspired audiences by producing lively theater in an intimate 49-seat black box. With six to eight productions a season, and pieces as diverse as "Jesus Hates Me" and "The Secret Garden," this company still devotes time to educational programs, including Speak Up - Take a 'Chance," Weekend @ Play, and Page to Stage.
Tickets $22 to $45. 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, 714-777-3033, www.chancetheater.com
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Chance Theater and Monkey Wrench Collective Take Different Paths to New Spaces
by Joel Beers, OC Weekly
[ Link to OC Weekly ]
February 25, 2010
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Ben Green considers his future in Chance Theater's Jesus Hates Me, playing at SCR through March 7, 2010 |
You couldn’t find two local theater entities as different in philosophy and aesthetics than the Chance Theater and the Monkey Wrench Collective. But as divergent as the companies’ respective histories and tastes may be, each takes monumental steps this weekend.
The Chance opens Jesus Hates Me, a comedy produced twice at its Anaheim Hills-based theater, at a space owned by South Coast Repertory, the first time since its earliest days that the esteemed SCR has collaborated on a show with a local theater.
Meanwhile, Monkey Wrench, a theatrical collective spawned from the corpse of the Rude Guerrilla Theatre Co., debuts its new space in the alcohol-saturated heart of downtown Fullerton, with pool (no water), a work by one of Great Britain’s most explosively talented playwrights, Mark Ravenhill.
The award-winning and critically championed Chance has positioned itself as the county’s most successful storefront since SCR by staging consistently polished work. From acclaimed productions of Hair and Stephen Sondheim musicals to excellent productions of serious dramatists such as Anton Chekhov and David Lindsay-Abaire, the Chance’s theatrical tastes tend toward the tried and tested.
There is little polite or polished about the Monkey Wrench, which artistic director Dave Barton (a longtime contributor to OC Weekly) calls a distillation of his former Rude Guerrilla. The Santa Ana troupe was definitely the black sheep of Orange County theater, reveling in edgy, experimental drama and rarely performed classics and cultivating strong relationships with noted writers such as Ravenhill and horror master Clive Barker—until its demise in March 2009.
And their respective personalities also manifest in their respective venues. The Chance is rubbing shoulders with theatrical royalty, performing in a 99-seat professional theater a play that might have an offensive-sounding title (to some)—with its share of naughtiness and graphic language—but is actually a mostly well-heeled situational comedy.
Meanwhile, Monkey Wrench opens in a tiny storefront with the U.S. premiere of a provocative new drama by Ravenhill, whose past plays include the sex-and-violence-infused Some Explicit Polaroids and Shopping and Fucking.
Choosing a Ravenhill play as the first offering at the Monkey Wrench (the blood-drenched Jacobean drama The Revenger’s Tragedy opens soon after) makes sense for Barton and the four other members of the collective. Though the Monkey Wrench isn’t Rude Guerrilla part two, the new company will certainly follow the former entity’s radical stance onstage.
“This is a more distilled version of Rude Guerrilla,” Barton says of Monkey Wrench. “Our focus here, honestly, isn’t to make money, but to make art for art’s sake. As long as we can make the rent, aren’t shelling too much of our money into it, and can pay the actors and technicians a little bit, that’s all we care about. We’re going to be edgy, avant-garde and political. We’re not going to do fucking musicals or fucking Neil Simon.”
Of course, Barton realizes his new theater will meet the same fate as the old one if it doesn’t make any money. But even if Monkey Wrench finds its non-mainstream fare doesn’t click in the new space, at least it will expire doing its own thing.
You won’t hear anyone at the Chance saying musicals and more mainstream fare are verboten on their stage. In fact, at the Chance’s space, the Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along is currently playing and another yet-to-be determined Broadway musical comes this summer, followed by a December mounting of The Secret Garden: The Musical. (The Chance definitely stretches with its other two shows this season: the Southern California premiere of Julie Marie Myatt’s life-in-wartime drama Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter and the OC premiere of Edward Albee’s strangely titled The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?)
But while the Chance’s offerings aren’t exactly radical, its more balanced, measured approach to choosing material is why it has done so well: awards, superior production values, an annual operating budget of $380,000, a subscriber base that accounts for nearly one-fourth of its audience, and the ability to pay its performers and support personnel nearly as much as most equity-waiver theaters in Los Angeles, according to artistic director Oanh Nguyen.
“We’re an ensemble, and our shows are picked by what our company members want to do,” Nguyen says. “We have some wonderful musical-theater actors, as well as actors who are more interested in [less-commercial] fare. So, while we don’t necessarily think of our seasons as having to have balance, that’s what comes out from the ensemble.”
For the theater to continue to grow, expand and pay its people, Nguyen says, that balance must continue in order for it to become self-sufficient.
SCR associate artistic director John Glore says his theater has been “talking for a couple of years about the possibility of partnering with small performing-arts companies in the area”; the Chance is the first theater selected. It will benefit from the resources of SCR, including access to that theater’s enormous subscription base.
“This is a really exciting time for us,” Nguyen says. “We hope that it goes well so other groups might be able to take advantage. We hope to introduce the Chance’s work to people in south Orange County and try to convince them to take the toll road up to Imperial Highway.”
Jesus Hates Me is produced by the Chance Theater at South Coast Repertory’s Nicholas Studio, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, (714) 708-5555. Opens Fri. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. Through March 7. $30-$35.
pool (no water) at the Monkey Wrench Collective, 204 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, (714) 547-4688. Opens March 5. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 5 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. Through April 11. $10.
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Back Stage
[ Link to Back Stage ]
March 11, 2010
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Company Member Chance Dean in a scene from Jesus Hates Me, which was recognized for Production, Playwriting, and Performance |
Dearest Friends,
We are thrilled to announce the 2010 Garland Awards, voted on by the Los Angeles theater critics of Back Stage. Who knew we had theater in Southern California, let alone a group of devoted theater critics? Our equally devoted readers of Back Stage, of course. Thank you for turning to the reviews pages in print and reading other of our reviews online. We know you're out there, treasuring the vibrant theater scene as much as we do.
The critics who voted are Jeff Favre, Hoyt Hilsman, Travis Holder, Iris Mann, Eric Marchese, Dany Margolies, Dink O'Neal, Brad Schreiber, Melinda Schupmann, Madeleine Shaner, Les Spindle, Neal Weaver, and Jennie Webb. Under our voting system, each Garland winner was named on at least three critics' Best of 2009 lists. Each critic listed up to five nominees for each category except performance, up to 10 nominees for performance in musical productions and 10 for straight plays. Lists, minus the winners, can be viewed below, after the full list of winners. As you can see by the various lists, we saw hundreds of performances last year to find the treasures we are rewarding here.
Congratulations to the recipients. Your work stayed with us throughout 2009, making us proud to support the strong family that is Los Angeles theater.
HONORABLE MENTION (Eric Marchese)
Production
The Andrews Brothers, FCLO Music Theatre, Plummer Auditorium
Jesus Hates Me, The Chance Theater
The Producers, Musical Theatre West, Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Richard III, Stages Theatre
The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Playwriting
Michael Hollinger, An Empty Plate at the Cafe du Grand Boeuf, Laguna Playhouse
Ed Howard, Joe Sears, Jaston Williams, Tuna Does Vegas, La Mirada Theatre
David Ives (and Mark Twain), Is He Dead?, International City Theatre
Arthur Kraft, Philadelphia Lawyer, Stages Theatre
Wayne Lemon, Jesus Hates Me, Chance Theater
Adaptation
Jack Helbig, The Girl, The Grouch and the Goat, The Chance Theater
Richard Nelson, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Michael Feingold, The Threepenny Opera, International City Theatre, Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Direction
Dennis Beasley, The Little Dog Laughed, Theatre Out, Empire Theatre
Nick DeGruccio, The Andrews Brothers
Brian Kojac, Richard III
Oanh Nguyen, Jesus Hates Me, The Chance Theater
Tony Vezner, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Choreography
Rob Barron, White Christmas, FCLO Music Theatre, Plummer Auditorium
Lee Martino, Meet Me in St. Louis, Musical Theatre West, Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Karen Nowicki, The King and I, FCLO Music Theatre, Plummer Auditorium
Kelly Todd, Hair, The Chance Theater
Matthew Vargo, The Producers, Musical Theatre West, Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Music Direction
Lloyd Cooper, The Andrews Brothers
Lee Kreter, White Christmas
Bill Strongin, Hair, The Chance Theater
Daniel Thomas, Meet Me in St. Louis
Daniel Thomas, The Producers
Lighting Design
Jeff Brewer, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Katie Streeter, Love Song, Rude Guerrilla Theater Company, Empire Theatre
Hugh Vanstone, Spamalot, OCPAC
KC Wilkerson, Hair, The Chance Theater
Costume Design
William Ivey Long, The Producers
Heidi Newell, Treasure Island
Erika C. Miller, Hair, The Chance Theater
Ambra King Wakefield, The King and I
Kathryn Wilson, As You Like It
Sound Design
Bryan Barton, The Girl, the Grouch and the Goat, The Chance Theater
Peter Bayne, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Julie Moore, Intimate Apparel, Long Beach Playhouse
Performance in a (Primarily) Straight Play
Mark Coyan, A Number, Rude Guerrilla Theater Company
Chance Dean, Jesus Hates Me, The Chance Theater
Amie Farrell, Bright Ideas
Dan Flapper, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Scott Keister, Treasure Island
Brian Kojac, Richard III
Jennifer Pearce, The Twilight of the Golds, Theatre Out, Empire Theatre
Jennifer Ruckman, The Seagull, The Chance Theater
Melita Sagar, Love Song
Alex Walters, Love Song
Ensemble Performance
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Theatre Out and Maverick Theater
Is He Dead?
Love Song
The Seagull
The Threepenny Opera
HONORABLE MENTION (Melinda Schupmann)
Production
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, Chance Theater
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre Company, Matrix Theatre
Direction
Roger Bean, Life Could Be a Dream, David Elzer/Peter Schneider and Crooning Crabcakes LLC, Hudson Mainstage
Moises Kaufman, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre
Oanh Nguyen, Hair, The Chance Theater
Rick Sparks, Divorce! The Musical, Rick Culbertson in association with Lynn Marks and Paradox Entertainment, Hudson Mainstage
Choreography
Allison Bibicoff, Songs for a New World, International City Theatre
Imara Quinonez, The Light in the Piazza, Covina Redevelopment Agency and The Champion Family Foundation, Covina Center for the Performing Arts
Kelly Todd, Hair, The Chance Theater
Music Direction
Dennis Castellano, Putting It Together, South Coast Repertory
Brent Crayon, Songs for a New World
Bill Strongin, Hair, The Chance Theater
Lighting Design
Chris Cotone, The Light in the Piazza
Christopher Kuhl, Eclipsed, Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre
KC Wilkerson, Hair, The Chance Theater
Costume Design
Linda Fisher, Tuna Does Vegas, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
Alex Jaeger, Eclipsed
Christopher Oram, Parade, Donmar Warehouse and Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre
Erika C. Miller, Hair, The Chance Theater
Larry Watts, The Light in the Piazza
Sound Design
Patrick Copeland, The Light in the Piazza
Casey Holm, Hair, The Chance Theater
Cricket S. Myers, Life Could Be a Dream
Cricket S. Myers, Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo
Ensemble Performance
Divorce! The Musical
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, The Chance Theater
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by Andrea Manes, Orange County Register
[ Link to OC Register ]
June 22, 2010
Anaheim Arts Council distributed grants and scholarship and elected its 2010-11 board at the June meeting. Grants were awarded to Altrusa, International, Inc. of Anaheim, American Opal Society, Anaheim Art Association, Anaheim Fall Festival, Anaheim Public Library, Anaheim Public Library Foundation, The Artmobile/Art in the Park, Concerts in the Park, Cinema Under the Stars, Ebell Club of Anaheim, Anaheim Interfaith Shelter/Halcyon, Harp Guild, Cinema, Kiwanis of Greater Anaheim, Orange County Symphony, Pearson Park and The Chance Theater.
The new board was installed; members are: Carol Latham, president; June Glenn, treasurer; Ron Hoshi, vice president programs; Reon Boydstun Howard, vice president membership; Erika Miller immediate past president and secretary. Committees will be filled by Shirley McCracken, Ron Hoshi and Cathy Glasgow, scholarships; Shelley Reeves, grants; Michael Buss, website; Robert Holton and Andrea Manes, fundraising; Gail Strachan, Helen Carter and Michael Buss, historians.
Anaheim Arts Council membership is open to individuals, artists, businesses and organizations having an interest in the arts. General meetings will resume in September and are held at the Anaheim Downtown Community Center, 250 Center St.
For more information on the grant and scholarship program and the council, call 714-868-6094 or visit www.anaheimartscouncil.com.
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by Bob Simpson, Anaheim Hills News
[ Link to Anaheim Hills News ]
August 16, 2010
In these tumultuous times, the American public has watched longstanding juggernauts of industry fall by the wayside and succumb to the wears of both time and the economic environment. These aftershocks have stretched far and wide across almost all industries, including the arts, and theater in particular. Icons of artistic expression, whether it is large theaters or storefront operations, have had to close their doors due to a decreasing subscriber base and redistribution of the public's disposable income.
Orange County's own Chance Theater is not one of these cases.
Founded in 1999, the Chance Theater has succeeded in achieving artistic excellence with both intense dramas and rock musicals, resulting in a loyal fan base.
The Chance Theater's productions continue to inspire its audiences and challenge the common concepts of live intimate theater. Past productions like "Coyote on a Fence," "Frozen," and this season's Southern California premiere of "Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter" have openly explored topics that are either hotly debated or held securely to our chests so no one may see. With each challenge the theater takes upon itself, it has gained more and more recognition as an artistic company that's willing to explore and present works that many theaters either could not, or would not.
However, the Chance Theater knows how to entertain as well, with no better examples than the summer productions these last two years.
Last week, Chance Theater closed its enormously successful run of "The Who's Tommy," which received an extended run due to the incredible outpouring of attention and praise. Last year, Chance Theater produced the multiple Ovation and LADCC-nominated rock musical, "Hair," which gave audiences a glimpse of the hippie-era past, while eerily comparing it to our modern era. "Hair" set multiple records for the Chance in attendance and other categories thanks to a stellar production, cast, and critical acclaim.
Producing this level of artistic expression is not easy, and it certainly isn't free, and like all live theaters across Southern California, Chance Theater relies heavily upon the donations and support from its audiences and family of subscribers.
In addition to its annual raffle, the Chance will also present its annual gala on Saturday, Sept. 18, to raise the much-needed funds for the upcoming 2011 season and education programs.
This year's gala will be held at Wellandia, an intimate, outdoor amphitheater in Anaheim Hills, so exclusive, that attendees will gather at Chance Theater and receive complimentary shuttle service to the location.
The gala will feature a catered dinner, open bar, hors d'oeuvres, and, of course, performances by Chance artists. It will also feature the announcement of the Chance's 2011 season, a silent auction, and dancing.
While this event is one of Chance Theater's most essential fundraising opportunities, it is also a time for the Chance to thank its subscribers and sponsors for all their support.
This year, we will be awarding two "Chance Visionary Awards" to Barbara and Gary Gray of GFS, Inc., for their generous sponsorship and support of our mission, and Chapman University Theater professor Baron Kelly, for inspiring and inciting the future generation of theater artists.
Bob Simpson is a Chance Theater resident company member.
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by David Ng and Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times
[ Link to Los Angeles Times ]
August 17, 2010
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Mark Bartlett and Seth Dusky from Chance Theater's production of The Who's Tommy |
The tiny Chance Theater is easy to miss as you drive by its home on La Palma Avenue in Anaheim Hills. But as audiences and other performing arts groups know, the storefront-size company has a reputation for quality that makes it a big player in the local theater scene.
In February, the Chance's recent, well-received production of "The Who's Tommy" will transfer to the Orange County Performing Arts Center, where it will play in Founders Hall as part of the Off Center Series. The musical is scheduled to run Feb.10-20.
A spokesman for OCPAC said that this is likely the first time that an Orange County theater group has restaged a production at the center.
OCPAC typically hosts touring Broadway shows and internationally renowned performing arts groups. It is also the home of the Pacific Symphony.
The Chance's production of "The Who's Tommy" received strong reviews when it opened in July. Directed by Oanh Nguyen, the musical featured a cast including Mark Bartlett, Seth Dusky, Cameron McIntyre, Brynne McNaminie, Wendia Ann Hammock and Kevin Cordova. The production closed on Aug. 15.
Earlier this year, the Chance received multiple Ovation nominations for its revival production of "Hair."
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ARTICLE
by Paul Hodgins, Orange County Register
[ Link to Orange County Register ]
August 18, 2010
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Mark Bartlett from Chance Theater's production of The Who's Tommy |
The Orange County Performing Arts Center is bringing Chance Theater's production of "The Who's Tommy" to its smallest venue, Founders Hall, next February 10-20. The staging is part of OCPAC's Off Center series of innovative and eclectic work.
The show will feature the same cast and costumes as the original Chance production, but the set will be altered slightly to fit the larger Center venue, according to Center executive vice president Judy Morr.
"There will be some adjustments in the scenery. They'll bring their designers and scenic people to work on it in December and January. But (Chance Theater artistic director) Oanh Nguyen feels confident that it will be very much the same show."
Morr said she and her colleagues at the Performing Arts Center have been keeping an eye on Chance's progress for several years.
"After a period of watching the artistic growth of the company we've been thinking for some time about doing a project with them. And 'Tommy' was so great. We thought it was fantastic and the right show to bring to Founders Hall."
Showcasing the work of smaller Orange County performing arts groups is part of the Center's mission, Morr said. "As part of the continuing growth of the Center it's important that we reach out to the community to participate with us."
The show also hints at a new role for Founders Hall, which has been under-utilized since the opening of Samueli Theater, a larger venue inside the new concert hall, in 2006.
"When Samueli opened we moved the regular series that had been part of Founders over there. We regularly use (Founders Hall) as rehearsal space for dance productions. It's the same size as the Segerstrom Hall stage. It's great for live shows."
This is the second time this year that a Chance production has been re-staged at one of the county's premiere arts institutions. Last February and March, South Coast Repertory presented its staging of "Jesus Hates Me" at the Nicholas Studio. Nguyen has also served as an assistant director at SCR.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or phodgins@ocregister.com
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