A Shakespearean Christmas!……It’s BACK!

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Join us for A Shakespearean Christmas! That’s right, our classic holiday show is back for one night only: Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.

“Shakespeare Orange County glances back into a gentler past and helps us recall what Christmas used to be. The company’s touching buoyant, often funny Yuletide greeting…has all the charm of one of those Victorian (Christmas) cards.”

–T.H. McCulloh, Los Angeles Times

“…a wonderful Christmas anthology of verse, song, and anecdote….Giddy, joyous spirits in all their holiday finery…”

–Tom O’ Connor, Orange County Register

“In an era of shoddy, updated Scrooges and thieving Grinches, it’s pleasant to find a company that remembers what Christmas used to be like.”

–T.H. McCulloh, Los Angeles Times

Featuring SOC Company members John F. Jones, Gil Gonzalez, Evelyn Carol Case, Craig Brown, Gene Godwin, Alyssa Bradac, Stephanie Robinson, Mike Fountain, Brian Clark, Eve Himmelheber and Michael Nehring in this unique and fun filled evening.

Join your friends from Shakespeare Orange County this holiday season in a joyous, poetic, humorous and touching taste of Yuletide Cheer! This warm and evocative remembrance of years past will include songs and poetry, notions and stories of a simpler time. Enjoy such stuff as dreams are made on through the eyes of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Clement C. Moore, Robert Frost, e.e. cummings, Ogden Nash—along with traditional carols and personal remembrances.

Following the performance–join us for a variety of desserts and complimentary Champaign, hot cider and other treats so that your family and ours can toast the holiday together.

You can purchase tickets on our website, or by calling our box office at 714-744-7016.

Comedy of Errors opens tonight!

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The Comedy of Errors opens tonight! Come see our third and final production of the summer, a wild romp of mishaps and confusion through the port town of Ephesus. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. Don’t believe us? Look at this:

 

Chelsea Pearson as the Novice Nun, Evelyn Carol Case as The Abbess

You can check out more production photos on our facebook page, but please come see it! You won’t regret it. As always, you can purchase tickets online at our website.

Three Reasons to get to the theatre EARLY

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1) Pre-Show Lecture series with Dr. Kent Lehnhoff!

Get to the theater early to listen to Chapman University English professor Dr. Kent Lehnhoff talk about Shakespeare, his writing, his age, and the history of the play. These lectures are FREE, and begin at 7:00 p.m. in our courtyard. Dr. Lehnhoff will discuss the Comedy of Errors before the performances on August 13th and 20th.


2) The Green Show!

For the past seven seasons, Shakespeare Orange County has featured the wacky and hilarious writings of Joshua Snyder. The Green Show begins at 7:30 p.m. before every performance. Here are some shots from our last green show, the Complete Works of Ovid’s Metamorphosis [Abridged].

3) Picnics!

Want to make an already stellar evening better? Pack yourself a picnic dinner, or contact Doug at Doug’s Downtown Grill down the street from SOC. It might be a little old fashioned, but nothing beats a picnic before an evening of Shakespeare under the stars! Make some new memories with the ones you love.

Goodbye, Caesar; Hello Funny!

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Saturday night was the last performance of Julius Caesar. We had a terrific audience and sent Caesar home with a bang. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and supported the show. We couldn’t have been more thrilled by your responses!

Fun Fact: Caesar marked one of the few (if only?) times we’ve had “blood” on stage. And if wardrobe has their way, we never will again. ;)

Once Caesar finished on Saturday night, our crew loaded in the set for Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged], which opened on Sunday night to a delightful reception. There are only THREE performances of Complete Works left, so be sure to buy your tickets for either July 31, August 7, or August 14.  Remember, tickets can be purchased on our website. This three-man show goes on a raucous romp through ALL 37 plays in Shakespeare’s canon (and some awesome stuff in-between). The script has been revised by the writers Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield – so even if you saw our production in 2009, there will be newer, funnier things to see!

This week also begins the third week of rehearsals for Comedy of Errors. Comedy opens August 4th and runs until August 20th. The bard’s only true farce, Comedy of Errors goes through a wild journey of mistaken identity, witch doctors, courtesans, and more crazy than you can shake a Voodoo stick at! This is one not to be missed.

***Does it seem like we celebrate with cake a lot? Well, we do. It’s because Aundrea Roe just keeps baking delicious awesomeness!

Dumbledore’s Army: Shakespeare Orange County Division

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If you’ll recall on July 11th, in the blog post entitled “Big Week!”, Thursday consisted of this agenda:

Thursday: 2nd pay-what-you-will performance of Julius Caesar!/ Rehearsal for Comedy of Errors/ Team SOC Harry Potter 7 pt. 2viewing at 12:01 a.m.!

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Now, we did in fact have our 2nd pay-what-you-will (despite “Carmageddon!”), and we did have rehearsal for Comedy of Errors (we worked on the Adriana/Luciana scenes with both Dromios). But did we go to the 12:01 a.m. viewing of Harry Potter 7.2?!

OH YES WE DID!

Besides the fact that both JK Rowling and Mr. Shakespeare are both natives of the UK, and both happen to be rather famous wordsmiths, why on earth would Shakespeare Orange County be interested in Harry Potter? To answer this question, we have to go back to the summer of 2005. That summer, Shakespeare Orange County produced A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure; JK Rowling released the 6th book in the Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. That same fall, the 4th movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released in theatres. Company members Amanda Zarr (Helena that year in Midsummer) and Stephanie Robinson (Hermia) knitted house-scarves for everyone. We all still have them.

In 2007, SOC produced Taming of the Shrew and Romeo & Juliet. That same summer, the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released (I fully admit to staying up all night reading it, after attending the book release party with the SOC family), as was the 5th movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

In 2009, we all went to see the 6th movie, while we were in production for As You Like It, until finally, we reach 2011 – the end of the Harry Potter line. We’ve spent the last 6 years as a company following along the Potter boy’s adventures. It really boils down to this: summer time in Garden Grove just wouldn’t be the same without Shakespeare and Harry Potter.

And so, while SOC’s story is not over, we had to see this last bit together, as we had so many other summers before. Only this time, we decided to commemorate the event with T-Shirts:


Bottom row: S: Amanda Zarr (plays Portia in Julius Caesar); 1: Stephanie Robinson (playing Luciana in the upcoming production of Comedy of Errors); 24: Katrina Klein (Chapman student); 119: Jenny Ludwig (Assistant Stage Manager); 39: Kayla Hansen (Stage Manager for Complete Works and Comedy of Errors)

Top row: 9: Anne Barolet (30 year volunteer); 0: Caitlin Bradac (ASM); Infinity Symbol: Alyssa Bradac (Director of Comedy of Errors); 7: Brian Clark (actor in both Julius Caesar and Comedy of Errors); Ricardo Mansur (SOC Supporter).

NOTE: Thomas F. Bradac, Founding/Producting Artistic Director was also in attendance, but he didn’t want a T-Shirt.

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This is what is on the front of the shirts:

The reviews are in!

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Media reviews for us (and all theatre companies) are always a double-edged sword. If they’re good, they help us with publicity. If they’re bad … well. Then we cry a little. Thankfully, our reviews for Julius Caesar have been quite good. They are linked below for your reading enjoyment.

The reviews we really like, however, are the positive ones we receive from our patrons and guests; because let’s face it. We produce these plays for your enjoyment. And if you’re not happy, then we had better stop doing what we’re doing!

Here are a few choice comments from our audience, as they’ve written them on goldstar.com:

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“We had a great time watching Shakespeare under the stars. Fantastic.”

“Outstanding performance in a wonderful outdoor setting. I would recommend it to all. Lots of restaurants available down the block for dinner.”

“I haven’t been to the Festival Amphitheater in ages and I really enjoyed seeing a Shakespeare play outdoors. The actors were absolutely fabulous.”

“First-rate staging of the classic play! Highly recommend it!”

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Review us yourself – how are we doing in our service to you? Review us on Yelp!

OC Register review by Eric Marchese

LA Splash review by Peter A. Balaskas

 

A big week!

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Coming up this week: 

Monday: Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare [Abridged] rehearsal

Tuesday: Begin rehearsals for Comedy of Errors

Wednesday: Comedy of Errors rehearsal

Thursday: 2nd pay-what-you-will performance of Julius Caesar!/ Rehearsal for Comedy of Errors/ Team SOC Harry Potter 7 pt. 2 viewing at 12:01 a.m.!

Friday: 2nd weekend of Julius Caesar

Saturday: Performance of Julius Caesar/Comedy of Errors rehearsal

Sunday: Comedy of Errors rehearsal!

 

Don’t forget to buy your tickets for all of this awesome summer theater!!

 

Julius Caesar: Opening Night!

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We opened our 20th Anniversary Season with a bang last night! It was a beautiful night with beautiful people and some absolutely thrilling theater! Here is what some of our audience has said about the production so far:

“My first outdoor venue, a change from the regular plays. This was my first Shakespear play, we enjoyed every minute of it.”

“We had a great time watching Shakespheare under the stars. Fantastic.”

“It was nice to return to this intimate outdoor amphitheater on a perfect summer night to see this very good production of the classic play.”

It’s never too late to buy tickets!

And here are some photos of our Opening Night celebration:

Our amazing cake made by our very own gourmet baker, Aundrea Roe

Stephanie Robinson and Gil Gonzalez, both of whom you can see in our
upcoming production of Comedy of Errors!

Our super cool fight choreographer, Peter Greathouse, toasting the show.

Little known fact: Tom Bradac has purchased a bottle of Glenlivet
for the  opening of every SOC show.

Producing Artistic Director, Thomas F. Bradac, Trustees Richard and Roseanne Bye,
and Chair of the Chapman University Theatre Department, Nina LeNoir.

Company member Shaun Anthony (center) posing with his dad, Kevin Anthony, and a friend.

Taking time refuel after a grueling performance, David Denman grabs some nosh,
and John Walcutt talks with Stage Manager Victoria Gathe and production assistant Ericka Bailey

Long time company member and actor in Julius Caesar, Craig Brown gives
Tom Bradac a smooch! We’re all family at SOC.

Our fabulous run-crew (you can tell because they’re all in black!): Board Operators Brynn Nelson and Andrew Korzun,
production assistant Ericka Bailey, and Assistant Stage Manager Caitlin Bradac.

A good time was had by all!

Inside Tech Week

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Hi everyone!

I thought I’d post some pictures of tech week, as well as our publicity photo shoot from this afternoon, just so you can get a sneak peak of Rome/Julius Caesar. We’re really proud of this production, and that’s no exaggeration. Amanda Zarr (who’s playing Portia), said it best on her facebook feed:

“Julius Caesar with Shakespeare Orange County!!! I’m very proud of this show and can say that it’s not to be missed
Thursdays are !!!!!PAY WHAT YOU WILL!!!! I would really love your support.”

Our first “Pay What You Will” Thursday is tomorrow, 7/7/2011. You can purchase pay what you will tickets at the door anytime after 6:30 p.m. The green show (Complete Works of Ovid’s Metamorphosis Abridged!) begins at 7:30 p.m. in front of the amphitheater, and Julius Caesar begins at 8:15 p.m.

Our run crew, sweeping before our run-through. They’re awesome.

 

Our wonderful sound designer, Bill Georges, and our fabulous lighting designer, David C. Palmer.

 

Our stellar production assistant, Erika, and our beautiful set!

 

A candid shot of the cast getting ready for their first costume run-through.

 

[all of the following production still photographs are taken by Johnny Le]

Carl Reggiardo as Julius Caesar, Shaun Anthony as the Soothsayer

 

John Walcutt as Cassius and Greg Ungar as Casca

 

Amanda Zarr as Portia and David Denman as Brutus

 

Megan Sheetz as Calpurnia and Carl Reggiardo as Julius Caesar

 

Carl Reggiardo as Julius Caesar, David Denman as Brutus

 

The Conspirators: Jeremy Schaeg as Decius Brutus, Greg Ungar as Casca, David Denman as Brutus, John Walcutt as Cassius,
Blake Prentiss as Trebonius, Brian Clark as Metellus Cimber, and Robert Paterno as Cinna

 

Planning the Civil War: John Walcutt as Cassius, David Denman as Brutus, Jeremy Schaeg as Titinius, and Craig Brown as Messala