Guest Moderators Announced for the Shakespeare Workout

The Antaeus Academy announces our Guest Moderators for the

SHAKESPEARE WORKOUT!

Experience the challenges and rewards of playing Shakespeare in sessions moderated by a rotating group of L.A.’s top actors, directors and acting teachers. Now an ongoing, year-round program, SW features a different guest moderator every month. Actors new to the workshop commit to an initial 12-week session; returning actors may join the workshop on a by-the-month basis. Open to actors of all ages and levels of experience, the workout focuses on text analysis, monologue and scene work.

Meets Tuesdays 2 – 5 pm, beginning February 9th

Class fee, new actors: $570 for initial 12 week session or $500 early bird discount!

Class fee, returning actors: $140 per month

Class size: 16 – 20 actors per class

Open to actors of all ages

February ~ LISA WOLPE

“Undiscovered Country: Hamlet”

This workshop, focusing on selected texts from Hamlet, will explore methods of enhancing the classical actor’s range, depth and scope onstage. Using Elizabethan Cosmology, Folio Clues, “Geography of Thought”, and the Actor/Audience relationship, I will assist the willing actor in finding new ways of playing through great monologues and scenes from this familiar and monumental work.

Here are some practical, helpful tools for playing Shakespeare with more presence, more intellectual clarity, more focused inquiry and more persuasive argument in expressing the “Soul” of the play.

If you’d like to bring ten to twenty lines of any character’s text, memorized, from the play Hamlet for the first meeting, please do; other scenes will be assigned, and group discussion, exercises and master class-style lessons on unpacking and embodying the text will ensure that everyone participates at every meeting.

Lisa Wolpe is an actress, director, teacher and producer. She is the Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company, an award-winning all-female, multi-cultural theater company that she founded in 1993. L.A. Magazine has called seeing the LAWSC “one of the ten coolest things to do in Los Angeles” Ms. Wolpe recently produced, directed and played Iago in Othello at the Theatre @ Boston Court; other favorites include Richard III, Hamlet, Romeo, Henry V, and more. She and received the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Sustained Excellence in 2008, and the company has been featured on PBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS and London’s International News.

February 9 (11am-5pm)

February 16th (2-5pm)

February 22nd (2-5pm)

March ~ ARMIN SHIMERMAN

Rhetoric

Antaeus: TONIGHT AT 8:30 and several CLASSICSFESTs, among others.  Broadway:THREE PENNY OPERA; ST. JOAN, BROADWAY and I REMEMBER MAMA. Regional Theater: San Diego Repertory Theater, San Diego Globe, American Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and the Guthrie Theatre.  Los Angeles Theater – (selected list) Matrix Theater: Birthday Party (LA Drama Critic’s Circle Nom. Lead Performance), LATC, Odyssey Theatre, and the Mark Taper Forum.  TV: 100 different TV shows including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Boston Legal,” and series regular Quark on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”. Voice-overs: (selected list) “Adventures of Billy and Mandy,” “Evil Con Carne,” “Underfist,” “Bioshock,” “Green Goblin” for Marvel, Toad for the “X-men” game.  As an educator, he has taught Shakespearian scholarship at theTheatricum Botanicum, the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, the College of Idaho, UCLA’s Performing Arts Camp, Claremont College,and forAntaeus. He is a three time published novelist for Simon and Schuster, and has directed several of Shakespeare’s plays at several theaters in Los Angeles.

March 1st (2-5pm)

March 8th (2-5pm)

March 15th (2-5pm)

March 22nd (2-5pm)

Make-up date or extra workshop: March 29th (2-5pm)

April ~ STEVE RANKIN

Creating a Character Through Text & Violence

As a fight director for the past 35 years, Steve Rankin has staged fights all over the US, Canada, London and Australia. His Broadway credits include the new hit musical Memphis as well as all of the productions worldwide of Jersey Boys. Plus Guys and Dolls, The Farnsworth Invention, The Who’s Tommy, Dracula, Two Shakespearean Actors, Getting Away With Murder, Anna Christie, Twelfth Night, The Real Inspector Hound and  Henry IV Parts I & II at Lincoln Center. Off Broadway credits include: The Third Story, Pig Farm, Below the Belt, The Night Hank Williams Died. Mr. Rankin is an Associate Artist of the Old Globe Theater as an actor and Fight Director.

April 6th (2-5pm)

April 13th (2-5pm)

April 20th (2-5pm)

April 27th (2-5pm)

Email your headshot/resume today ~ auditions by appointment only

Space limited but still available–email academy@antaeus.org

Double Casting: the coin has been flipped!

History of Double Casting at Antaeus

Antaeus’ system of double casting first evolved in our ensemble company as a way to solve the LA actors’ problem: how to commit to stage work while continuing to make a living in the film/television industry.

In attempting to solve this practical problem unique to Los Angeles actors, along the way we discovered a bonus. Double casting became an invaluable tool as an ensemble building technique. Actors sharing a role became collaborators, and have a rare opportunity to see a different take on a role in the course of the rehearsal process.

There is no ‘A’ or ‘B’ cast, the casts are ‘named’ according to something related to the play, with COUSIN BETTE, the names of the two families. During rehearsal, eventually two ‘teams’ of casts emerge: the director may deside which individual actors he or she feels play best with each other, or each cast member flips a coin to determine which ‘team’ they will be a part of.

“Double-casting is enormously helpful, because it teaches me to step back from my deeply personal feelings about my role, and understand my character’s function in the entirety of the play, in the over-all story-telling.”

– Emily Chase

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Cousin Bette Cast Announcements!

HULOTS

Agent Cylan Brown

Hector Hulot Barry Creyton

Old Fischer Paul Eiding

Valerie Marneffe Dana Green

Celestine Katherine Leigh

Steinbock Henri Lubatti

Crevel Micheal McShane

Hortense Hulot Kellie Matteson

Doctor/Minister Mark Moore

Marshal Hulot Joseph Ruskin

Josepha Adeye Sahran

DeMontes David St. Louis

Marneffe/Victor Jeremy Shouldis

Adeline Hulot Laura Wernette

Bette Fischer Alicia Wollerton

Adeline’s Maid Nicol Zanzarella-Giacalone

Alicia Wollerton and Micheal McShane; Photo by Alexandra Goodman

The HULOTS cast will be performing on the following dates: January 23rd (preview) , 26th (preview), and 30th(preview);  February 5th (preview), 7th, 11th, 13th, 19th, 21st, 25th, and 27th;  March 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 19th, and 21st

*Individuals subject to availability

FISCHERS

Crevel Tony Amendola

Steinbock Daniel Bess

Marneffe/Victor Bill Brochtrup

Adeline Hulot Emily Chase

Valerie Marneffe Jen Dede

Bette Fischer Nike Doukas

Celestine Alexandra Goodman

Doctor/Minister Aaron Lyons

Adeline’s Maid Jill Maglione

Hortense Hulot Rebecca Mozo

Marshal Hulot Robert Pine

Hector Hulot John Prosky

Josepha Janan Raouf

DeMontes Mirron Willis

Agent Benny Wills

Old Fisher Paul Willson

Nike Doukas, Tony Amendola & Janan Raouf in COUSIN BETTE: Photo by Michele K. Short

The FISCHERS cast will be performing on the following date: January 24th (preview), 29th (preview), 31st (preview); February 4th (preview), 6th, 12th, 14th, 18th, 20th, 26th, 28th; March 4th, 6th, 12th, 14th, 18th, and 20th

*Individuals subject to availability

Jeffrey Hatcher Interview, Pt 2: ‘The Art of Adaptation’

In this installation of Cousin Bette: A Closer Look, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher talks about the process of adapting the Balzac novel for the stage.

~Tamara Krinsky

The Antaeus Academy Announces Spring Moderators!

CLASSICAL STYLES & SHAKESPEARE WORKOUT are holding auditions. Come study with these world-class Moderators!  More info at academy@antaeus.org

At Antaeus, we believe mastering the acting challenges of great classics takes a lifetime and that the desire to take on these challenges is central to achieving great acting. Here, we’re constantly putting young artists-in-training together with seasoned professionals – in the classroom, in readings, workshops and in full productions – so that skills, work ethics and inspiration are not just taught but ‘passed down.’

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JEANIE HACKETT (Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg & American Classics) has been part of the Artistic Leadership team of Antaeus for the past 8 years.  She has been a professional actress for over 20 years and has appeared in classical and new plays on Broadway (including Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire with Blythe Danner), as well as many off-Broadway productions.  She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York and is a graduate of NYU’s acting program. She appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival with legendary actors Rosemary Harris, Frank Langella, Colleen Dewhurst and Christopher Reeve among many others.  Her television work includes guest stars on “The West Wing”, “The L Word” and “Criminal Minds”; film work includes “King of California” and  “Kids in America” with Topher Grace. In Los Angeles theatre she has played leading roles at the South Coast Repertory Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Cannon Theatre (The Vagina Monologues) and at The Matrix Theatre (The Seagull, Ovation Award, Best Ensemble). At the Odyssey Theatre she played Clytemnestra in the 8 hour marathon play The Greeks, which she also co-directed with Ron Sossi.  She is the former Artistic Director of LA’s Classical Theatre Lab where she directed Tennessee Williams, A Celebration, a theatre piece which she originally conceived with renowned director Nikos Psacharopoulos for The Williamstown Theatre Festival.  She is the founder and director of the Antaeus Company’s Academy, a classical theatre training program for emerging young actors.  With John Apicella, she creatively oversaw Antaeus’ acclaimed mainstage productions, as well as creating a series of Antaeus events called CLASSICSFEST – a gathering of over 100 actors in the summer for the presentation of readings and workshop productions of classical plays and new plays with classical themes.  Jeanie is the author of two books on acting:  The Actor’s Chekhov, and Toward Mastery, both based on the work of director Nikos Psacharopoulos.

KATE BURTON (Ibsen) appeared on Broadway in The Elephant Man, for which she received a Tony nomination and in the same season as Hedda Gabler, for which she received the Callaway Award, an Outer Critics Circle nomination and another Tony nomination. She made her NYSF debut in Boston Marriage and her London debut in Three Sisters at The Playhouse. Roundabout: The Constant Wife, Give Me Your Answer, Do!, Company, The Playboy of the Western World and Winners. Other Broadway: Present Laughter (Theatre World Award), Alice in Wonderland, Doonesbury, Wild Honey, Some Americans Abroad (Drama Desk nom.), An American Daughter (Lincoln Center Theater), Jake’s Women and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (also UK and Ireland). Television: recurred on “The Practice” and “Law & Order”, Ellis Grey on “Grey’s Anatomy”; Emmy Award for “Notes for My Daughter”, Cindy Whiting in HBO’s “Empire Falls” and Rose on “Rescue Me”. Film: “Big Trouble in Little China”, “Life With Mikey”, “First Wives Club”, “The Ice Storm”, “Celebrity”, “August”, “Unfaithful”, “Swimfan”, Stay”, “Some Kind of Heaven” and “The Night Listener”. Many times at Bay Street and Williamstown. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and on the Board of Trustees for BC/EFA. Graduate of Brown and Yale.

STEPHEN COLLINS (Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg) His Broadway credits include his 2008 role as King Arthur in Spamalot and prior appearances in Moonchildren, The Ritz, The Loves of Anatol, and No Sex Please, We’re British; off-Broadway he appeared opposite Sigourney Weaver Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy, as Macduff to Christopher Walken’s Macbeth at Lincoln Center, and as husband to Julie Andrews (with whom he shares a birthday) in the Stephen Sondheim revue, Putting It Together at Manhattan Theatre Club in 1993.

Collins, probably, is best known for his role as the Reverend Eric Camden in more than 200 episodes of the television series “7th Heaven“, though he also notably portrayed Captain/Commander Willard Decker in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture“. Additional television credits include starring roles in “Tales of the Gold Monkey” and “Tattingers“, as well as guest appearances in “The Waltons“, “Barnaby Jones“, “Charlie’s Angels“, and numerous mini-series and made-for-television movies. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work opposite Ann-Margret in the minseries” The Two Mrs. Grenvilles“ and he played John F. Kennedy in the miniseries “A Woman Named Jackie“, which won the Emmy for Best Miniseries.

ROBERT W. GOLDSBY (Moliere) began his professional work in the theater in a touring version of Three Men On a Horse for the troops in the Philippines in 1945 who were sitting in the mud waiting to go home after the war.  Directed 153 Equity and University theater productions (including eleven plays by Moliere, forty-six classical plays from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Giradoux, and ninety-eight plays from the modern repertory to Ibsen to Innaurato) in New York, Paris, Marseille and San Francisco.  Served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Columbia, UCLA, Washington, USC and did several master classes on Moliere for Antaeus.  Professor and Chairman Emeritus, UC Berkeley.  He is currently finishing a book called “Moliere on Stage: A Director’s Story.”  He has translated Sardou’s Divorcons for the West End in London (Comedy Theater), three plays by Moliere and one by Feydeau.

ART MANKE (Restoration Movement Master Class & Moliere) is an award-winning director whose work has been seen locally at South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum and Laguna Playhouse.  Mr. Manke is a co-founder of A Noise Within, Los Angeles’s acclaimed classical theatre company, where he served as Artistic Director for the first ten seasons (1991-2001).  He is the recipient of numerous L.A. Drama Critics Circle awards, is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conservatories throughout the country, and frequently directs for television. Originally from Chicago, Mr. Manke holds a B.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theatre.

LARRY BIEDERMAN (Chekhov, Ibsen & Strindberg) At Antaeus: CLASSICSFEST 2008 and the upcoming THE AUTUMN GARDEN.  Acclaimed productions include Eric Overmyer’s Dark Rapture at the Evidence Room, and the World Premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s Crumble at LATC.  Both enjoyed extended runs and wide critical praise, including Critics’ Choice from the L.A. Times.  Other world premieres include Keith Josef Adkin’s Farwell Miss Cotton, The Black Dahlia and David Rock’s Grand Delusion at the Lost Studio.  He’s directed throughout Los Angeles including Theatre of NOTE, Theatre @ Boston Court, The Blank, The Road Theatre and ASK Theater Projects.  His staging of Bryan Davidson’s Death’s Messengers at the MET Theatre earned them two LA Weekly Theater Award nominations for writing and direction.  Biederman spent seven seasons with San Francisco’s ACT, directing and serving in many senior capacities on the artistic staff and as Associate Director of their M.F.A. Program.  Bay Area productions include Peter Barnes’ Red Noses; also a Critic’s Choice and named one of the year’s 10 best productions, as well as the acclaimed West Coast premiere of Constance Congdon’s No Mercy, which he recently directed again for the 24th Street Theatre in Los Angeles.  Biederman teaches both privately and for many reputable training programs throughout the country from the Williamstown Theatre Festival to the Old Globe and locally at Cal State Fullerton where he served three years as their Head of Directing.  Most recently, Biederman brought his innovative staging of Schnitzler’s La Ronde to the New York International Fringe Festival.  He is set to direct THE AUTUMN GARDEN for Antaeus Company and then the Los Angeles premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s A Clean House at The Odyssey Theatre.

TONY AMENDOLA (Monsieur Crevel) Antaeus: PHAEDRA, CHEKHOV X4, and others.  He has worked at theaters across the country, including ten years at Berkeley Rep (actor and director), ACT, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Center Stage, Seattle Rep and Disney Hall. Credits include Cyrano, Uncle Vanya, Iago, Jack Abbot, Leontes, Malvolio, Teach, Lopakhin and Domenico.  FILM: “Blow,” “Mask Of Zorro,” “Legend of Zorro,” “Lone Star.” TV: “Dexter,” “CSI,” “Raising the Bar,” “Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “West Wing,” “Alias,” “Seinfeld,” “26 Miles,” and “Stargate SG1.”   He is a founding member of Antaeus.

GEOFFREY WADE (Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, American Classics, Moliere & Restoration Comedy)  Just back from three months playing the title role in the world premier of Lincoln: Upon the Altar of Freedom.  He has performed on and off-Broadway and continues to work extensively in regional theater (a sampling includes several seasons at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Rep Theatre of St. Louis, also Pennsylvania Stage, Center Stage, GeVa, The Guthrie, Denver Center, Carbonell nominated performances at the Caldwell and a long association with Vermont’s Weston Playhouse).  His LA theatre credits include Heathen Valley and The Savannah Option as well as award winning productions of The Man Who Had All The Luck, Mercadet and Mother Courage along with numerous other Antaeus shows.  He works in episodic television, in radio and on tour with LA Theatre Works. He trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London.  He has taught at the Antaeus Academy since 2001.

Jeffrey Hatcher Interview, Part I: “Hatcher, Bette & Balzac”

One of the most thrilling parts of premiering a new adaptation is the opportunity for a director and cast to work directly with the writer. I had the opportunity to sit down with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and talk about the process of bringing Cousin Bette from page to stage. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be posting excerpts from the interview. Enjoy this installation of Cousin Bette: A Closer Look.

~Tamara Krinsky

Cousin Bette: Scenic Design Process with Tom Buderwitz

Cousin Bette is moving into tech! At the first rehearsal Scenic Designer Tom Buderwitz shared with the cast his design and some of the research he compiled  for Cousin Bette. Check out the images below for some of the highlights. Tom was kind enough to answer a few questions about his process and the design experience so far.

Antaeus Company is staging the world premiere of Cousin Bette. What are the benefits and challenges of working on a play that has never been staged before?

I love working on world premiere plays because I get to create a world that has never been created before. With a new play, there are no existing preconceived notions of what the design has been or should be. The challenge in designing a world premiere is that there are often many modifications to the script along the way and the design must maintain the ability to adapt and flow with the process.

Scenic Model for Cousin Bette, by Tom Buderwitz

What overall is your favorite part of the design process? It is always the collaboration with all of the other artists: the Director, Actors, other Designers and in this case the Playwright too. The give and take of ideas and the discussion and discovery within the text always generates wonderful new approaches to servicing the play.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when coming up with this design?

The biggest challenges with the Cousin Bette design were use of space and use of budget. The Deaf West Theater is a very small space and this play requires a large number of actors onstage plus multiple pieces of furniture that suggest numerous locations. The use of the physical “real estate” is always at a premium. In 99 seat Theater, budget is almost always a challenge. I always try to make sure that any monies spent really show onstage. The budget must be carefully allotted for things that are vital to the play.

Balzac was often called the Father of Realism. Did you often refer back to Balzac’s book when researching design inspiration & details for Cousin Bette?

Initially, I began with Jeffrey’s script and the researching of Paris in the early-mid 1800’s. Once the design process was under way, I did look to the Balzac novel for some extra information and textual reinforcement.

When researching Cousin Bette what was the most interesting piece of inspiration you discovered?

The most interesting piece of inspiration I discovered was pretty much everything to do with Paris. I love Paris! The pouring through photographic research for this production brought back wonderful memories of traveling there last year. It is the most evocative city I have ever been to. Paris is so rich in history, culture, style and “joie de vivre”.

Scenic Designer, Tom Buderwitz's Design for Cousin Bette

Which elements of the design are you most excited to see come to life? The interaction between the Actors and the physical world is always exciting to see come together. The design must fully support the action and the Actors need to feel totally in unison with their environment. Scenic Design is never fully complete until inhabited by the characters within the story.  

What has the experience been like so far working with the Antaeus Company? How has it differed from other theatres you have worked with? This is my second production with Antaeus. Pera Palas, which was co-produced with the Theater @ Boston Court in 2005, was my first. I love the true “ensemble” nature of this company. The Antaeus Company has one of the finest collections of acting talent in this country. It is a company of artists, who are all truly committed to the art and craft of the Theater. The Antaeus experience is different from the experience at other Theaters in that everyone here has a very deep level of personal investment. It is a company where all are dedicated to honoring the dramatic process and there is the highest level of mutual creative respect among its members.

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Tom Buderwitz at Cousin Bette Design Presentation

Tom Buderwitz (Scenic Design) previously designed Pera Palas for Antaeus and the Theatre @ Boston Court. Tom has designed for: South Coast Repertory, Geffen Playhouse, Intiman Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Denver Center Theater Company, Reprise Theater Company, Laguna Playhouse, A Noise Within, Arizona Theater Company, San Diego Repertory, Portland Repertory, I.C.T. and P.C.P.A. Theaterfest among many others. Tom has been honored with 3 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards (12 nominations) and 3 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards. For Television, Tom has designed series and specials for every major broadcast and cable network and has received 3 Emmy Award nominations and an Art Director’s Guild Award nomination. www.tombuderwitz.com

Huge Strides for ShakesAlive!

Arts Education and Outreach programs bring our ensemble members into the classroom to make Shakespearean text accessible, fun and relevant to students’ lives. Through ShakesAlive!, we work with educators to develop culturally specific programs that move from Euro-centric to multi-centric and we give Los Angeles area students the opportunity to revel in both familiar and undiscovered classic gems of all cultures.

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Returning to William Tell Aggeler Opportunity School this Winter for Project 29: partnering at-risk youth with Shakespeare’s at-risk characters.  Also returning to Cleveland HS in the spring!

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Antaeus was recently granted a new way for schools to find us — a listing on the LA County Arts For All Website – these listings were VERY competitive and we are now part of Los Angeles County’s first interactive website that supports the arts education needs of educators, community stakeholders and policy makers by providing centralized access to the tools and information necessary to achieve sequential K-12 arts education.

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Our Arts Ed Department also now partners with Center Theatre Group on their Annenberg Middle School Program. This is a new pilot, a 3-year action research program that will lead students through a playwriting residency with professional readings by actors from local theatre companies, mirroring the actual playwriting process. The goal is to improve and inspire students’ language and creative thinking skills, leading to student achievement in Language Arts.

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As part of our planned expansion in 2010, we held the first of a series of Teaching Artist Training Workshops last October. See a snippet here!

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Stay tuned ~ our Shakespeare Monologue Competition also returns in 2010!

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The Antaeus Academy. You don’t have to take our word for it……

Jeff Gardner, Kellie Matteson & Mark Moore in the U.S. premiere reading of Coward's "Peace in our Time"

“Antaeus has taught me one of the most important traits I have as an actor. To learn how to mine the script for clues and make important decisions that guide my work as an actor. In a way you become your own director inspired with assurance to create from any text.”

~Jeff Gardner, A2 actor

“I am most impressed by not only the depth of knowledge of the moderators and guest moderators, but also with their passion for teaching this material. It’s wonderful – especially in Los Angeles – to have access to this wealth of skill and experience with classical texts.”

~Christopher Guilmet,
Classical Styles & Shakespeare Workout

“Going to class at Antaeus is like coming home after a long day… It’s exactly where you want to be.  Sure, an on-camera class is all well and good.  But Classical Styles is a class that brought me some real joy and reminded me why I love acting in the first place…”

~Fay Wolf, Classical Styles

“I feel so lucky to have found this Classical Styles Class at Antaeus! It had been about ten years since I’d worked on a

Fay Wolf & Mike Hyland in a scene from "Taming of the Shrew"

classical play and I had forgotten how inspiring it could be. When I work on this kind of language I can feel my brain come alive in an entirely new way. It is sort of like lifting weights in the sense that at first it is kind of tough, but after a short while you notice yourself getting stronger. Through this class and through working on this language I could almost feel myself getting smarter and more eloquent in my day to day life.

At Antaeus, along with these great pieces of art (that are a blessing to work on), come teachers or “moderators” that are so smart, enthusiastic and supportive. Their enthusiasm and knowledge made me want to work even harder on these scenes. Each one of them treated the members of the class as artists. A feeling that is quite difficult to find sometimes in Los Angeles.

In short, working with Antaeus made my heart and brain come alive in a way that it hadn’t been in quite some time. I am thankful that I found such a wonderful place.”

~Mike Hyland, Classical Styles

Meet the Staff: Cecily Lerner

This installment of Meet the Staff originally appeared in The August Antaean, our quarterly newsletter.  To receive The Antaean, sign up for our mailing list.  With all the great events surrounding our 2010 Season, this way you won’t miss a thing!

Cecily Lerner

Working as a full-time nonprofit professional for the past 11 years, I was contemplating making  a change.  Though I wanted to continue my work in fundraising, I was looking for something more flexible and part-time so I could spend more time with my four year old daughter.  A friend of mine told me about Antaeus and suggested I talk to Jeanie about how we might work together.  At the time, Antaeus was looking for a grant writer.  I was looking to do something a bit broader in scope.  Meeting with Jeanie and Kitty for the first time, in the library, I felt right at home.  Having worked in the arts before, I was inspired by the creative, passionate and dynamic spirit that is typical of many arts organizations, especially Antaeus.  As it turned out, Antaeus was at a turning point in their growth.  Collectively, we decided that adding a fundraising professional into the mix would help Antaeus build the infrastructure and deepen the relationships that it needed to take its fundraising to the next level.  In the four months that I’ve been working with Antaeus, I have come to discover that the people here (from the staff to the company members to the audience to the donors) are warm and interesting, and dedicated to the mission of performing great theater.

Beneath the Surface of Russian Irish Alchemy

I love Antaeus readings. I love being in them, I love attending and listening to them. I recently participated in the “down & dirty” reading of Fathers and Sons by Brian Friel, initiated by Michael Murray.

It was really FUN–and this is always a good sign. For me, if I’m having fun, chances are I’m relaxing slightly from the neurotic precipice off which I am all too capable of dangling, and from which I examine every acting choice I make, from the creative to the business to the wardrobe, find nothing good to say about any of it, and spend the rest of the day rehashing how it all could have gone if I had said This instead of That. Familiar to any of you?

So much for being present, being open, being spontaneous –which I hear are good states to inhabit as actors. This was fun, so I think there was some real creativity and not too much self-abasement happening all around the table…(plus the fact that my character Anna falls in love with Bazarov, played by the dashing and handsome John Sloan, so this was going to be OK for me no matter what).

The play is based on the Turgenev novel (that famous one that’s been on my list of should-reads since high school), but from what I hear there are differences—some relationships emphasized more, others less or not at all….Michael says about the two pieces “These writers share the same sensibility–a sense of family, of nature, of the mix-up of comedy and tragedy”. The play was funny on paper; it was funnier when read aloud. In fact Michael was laughing through 90% of Arye Gross’s lines.

Arye Gross, Antaeus Company Member

Much of the humor comes from people taking themselves extremely seriously, which should be a reminder to all of us to lighten up a bit in life because the universe as our audience is probably laughing its ass off. It’s a Russian story adapted by an Irishman. One of the things we discussed after the reading is that Friel maintained a sense of his Irish identity inside of this story–certain words and rhythms he uses are distinctly Irish. I like that—reminds me that one’s essence is always a part of what one does. Rather than pretending he was Russian and omitting everything about him that is Irish, Friel leaves it in, and it works.

I feel as actors when an audition comes along that seems very far from who we are it can be easy to think I should take the Me out of it because this character is Other, and forget that it’s exactly that Me essence that is so important and wonderful to bring everywhere. Trying to hide it is not only futile but detrimental—hiding what’s deepest and most true seems the antithesis of art, right? So Friel finds the alchemy between Turgenev’s Russian and his Irish, the commonality in their souls. I will do that when I’m cast in the 10th Lara Croft movie because Angie is on baby #11.

So back to the reading—-there is so much subtext in Russian literature and no, not every piece of it came out, but what was thrilling was to sense how much lies beneath the surface and how satisfying it would be to go hunting for it. That’s another great thing about these gatherings—we get excited as a group to get behind something. We sense its potential. Or collectively we feel it isn’t for us. We get enough alone time as artists. This ensemble participation is good for the soul and good for the spirit of the company. Those of us there left wanting more.

Melanie Lora & Richard Miro in Zastrozzi,a reading at Antaeus

Melanie Lora is an A2 member who last performed with Antaeus in American Tales. Now that the biggest production of her life so far, getting married, has opened and is running with rave reviews for 2 months now, she is ready to get back onstage.