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ARTICLE
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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ARTICLE
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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ARTICLE
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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ARTICLE
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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ARTICLE
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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