ISC: Art Break

It's time to grab another book Off the Shelf with ISC!

William Elsman- as a company member with ISC, William has performed several seasons with the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival.  Favorite roles include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Simonides in Pericles, Saturninus in Titus Andronicus, Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Angelo in Measure for Measure.  Regional credits include work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (School Visit Program), Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Sierra Madre Playhouse, A Noise Within (understudy, Macbeth), Sacramento Theater Company, The Mountain Play, Capital Stage, Sierra Rep, SF Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare Company and the Pennsylvania and Texas Shakespeare Festivals. He has also taught acting at New York Film Academy, and as a private coach or guest instructor. BFA, Rutgers University, MFA, University of Delaware.  www.williamelsman.com

When asked why he selected this short story to read, William Elsman responded, "During this pandemic, I've kept busy (and employed) performing audiobooks.  I began to reflect on how reading out loud was something that I'd always delighted in, even when I was very young.  I was introduced to Edgar Allan Poe in the 7th grade, and am grateful to my teacher, Mr. Ferraro, for tasking me with the assignment of memorizing and reciting the opening lines from "The Tell Tale Heart." It was great fun, and it paired well with my desire to perform.  We explored several of Poe's stories, and the words had an arresting quality that grabbed my attention with their macabre musicality.  I was also captivated by the peek they afforded into the minds of those eccentric and disturbed characters.  It felt dangerous to read, but also thrilling!"

Enjoy this week's hair-raising Art Break.

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

In this April Community Action Update, ISC's Artistic Associate for Social Justice, Carene Mekertichyan, speaks to what actions YOU can take this month to stay active in the fight for social justice and equity.

List of Resources

Stop AAPI Hate: stopaapihate.org

Fundraisers for Victims and Families:

Save the San Marcos Foothills: @savethesanmarcosfoothills or savethesanmarcosfoothills.org

Arts for LA Prefilled Email: www.artsforla.org/local_funding_for_the_arts

StreetwatchLA: @streetwatchla

SELAH: @selahnhcor selahnhc.org

Armenian Genocide Recognition: yesitsgenocide.org

COVID-19 LA County Vaccination Info: publichealth.lacounty.gov

Are their initiatives in our community you want featured on our Community Action Update in May? Email [email protected]

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

This episode was recorded and edited before the horrific attacks against the Asian-American community in Atlanta. We stand in solidarity with the AAPI community and condemn the targeted violence that continues to escalate. We must dismantle systemic white supremacy in all of our communities.

While we stay safer at home, Zoom readings and live streamed Shakespeare plays have served the need for some form (any form!) of theater. But there is nothing like folks gathering for the shared experience of Shakespeare performed live and in-person.

This Art Break, we're taking a closer look at experiencing Shakespeare live in the theater vs watching filmed adaptations of Shakespeare. We have many special guests joining us for the episode, including Alex Lowe, a friend of ISC Managing Director, David Melville and a comic actor who played part in the Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993); Reynaldo Macias and Jean Gaskill, educators at St. Matthews Parish School and collaborators on countless ISC projects; and the 354 Squad, a react group on YouTube consisting of ISC Family, Bukola Ogunmola, Kendell Byrd, Cary Reynolds, and Tiana Quant.

More from Alex Lowe:

Upcoming Live Performances: https://www.clintonbaptiste.com/live/

Barry from Watford: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2w8l_DJmXA

More from 354 Squad:

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn0Mbi55jUCCAQG6PPsvsEw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/the354squad?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the354squad/

Resources to Advocate Against Asian-American Hate Crimes:

Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org/

Donate to Red Canary Song: https://www.redcanarysong.net/

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

In this March Community Action Update, ISC's Artistic Associate for Social Justice, Carene Mekertichyan, speaks to what actions YOU can take this month to stay active in the fight for social justice and equity.

List of Resources

Black Lives Matter Survival Fund: blacklivesmatter.com/survival-fund

Stop AAPI Hate: stopaapihate.org

ISC Justice Page: iscla.org/justice

Save the San Marcos Foothills: https://www.instagram.com/savethesanmarcosfoothills/?hl=en

Volunteer to Vaccinate: publichealth.lacounty.gov

Justice for Angelo Quinto: https://justiceforangelo.carrd.co

Justice for Christian Hall: https://act.bencrump.com/a/christian-hall

Petitions to Save Sakura ICF: http://chng.it/VC4dcGmwLL

http://chng.it/FBBkjbfpgK

Are their initiatives in our community you want featured on our Community Action Update in April? Email [email protected]

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

Grab your favorite book Off the Shelf and take an Art Break with us!

David grew up in the UK where attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and began his career as an actor. In 1995 he met Melissa Chalsma when they were both cast in a Broadway production of HAMLET. They married 10 months later and co-founded Independent Shakespeare Co. shortly after that. David has directed and appeared in many ISC productions. Recent roles include Bottom, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar and Feste. David has composed music for many ISC shows and co-wrote the original musicals RED BARN and ANITA BERBER IS DEAD!  TV and Film includes LAWRENCE OF AMERICA, STARGATE ORIGINS, IRONCLAD, PERFECTION, THE UNDERSTUDY and ISC’s recent ROMEO & JULIET.

When asked why he selected this short story to read, David responded, "P.G. Wodehouse is often referred to as the funniest writer in the English language. Dipping into his work always cheers me up and, as we all probably need a bit of cheering up right now, I thought it might be appropriate to read one of his short stories for this series. JEEVES AND THE UNBIDDEN GUEST is one of the earliest Jeeves and Wooster capers, first published in the Saturday Evening Post in December 1916 and later in the collection MY MAN JEEVES. Surprisingly, when we are introduced to Bertie, he is not in his native England but enjoying a lengthy stay in New York. I chose this particular story as it didn’t have any characters with tricky American accents. I hope you enjoy listening, it was certainly a joy to record."

Enjoy David's lively voicing of P.G. Wodehouse's cheery, slapstick humor for this week's Art Break.

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

Sit back, relax, and take an Art Break with us.

Hosted by ISC’s Marketing Assistant and Podcast Producer, Carolina Xique, and our Artistic Associate for Social Justice, Carene Rose Mekertichyan, this casual Art Break interview features ISC Favorites and BFFs, Xavi Moreno and Richard Azurdia, who you have seen in countless LA Shakespeare Festivals, including Much Ado About Nothing, Titus Andronicus, Measure for Measure, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We caught up with Xavi and Richard to discuss connecting during the pandemic, memorable summer festival moments, their work at Company of Angels, representation in LA theatre, and even share a VERY special announcement!

**Warning: there is some very minor cursing in this episode.

Find out more from Company of Angels: https://www.companyofangels.org/

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

In this premiere of our monthly Community Action Update, ISC's Artistic Associate for Social Justice, Carene Mekertichyan, speaks to what actions YOU can take this month to stay active in the fight for social justice and equity. A list of resources are available below.

You can find the full transcript of the episode here.

List of Resources:

White people for Black lives: https://www.awarela.org/saturday-dialogue

Black Lives Matter’s Stand with Gascon Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/2012_email_blm_gascon?source=direct_link&

Get involved with Justice LA: bit.ly/jlavasignup

LA Students Deserve: https://www.schoolslastudentsdeserve.com

Rain recovery for unhoused neighbors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vfIMptplvHPobI2o4quVmMvHCVGtmonh8HYMWbr3kP0/edit

LAHSA Winter Shelter information: https://www.lahsa.org/documents?id=2626-lahsa-winter-shelter-program-list-english-.pdf

Covid distribution information: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ncorona2019/covidvaccinedistribution/

Support Black Theatre: https://www.instagram.com/supportblacktheatre/

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

What do The Kennedys, planet Earth, 2012, and Shakespeare all have in common? They all have conspiracy theories attached to them. Whether you believe the Earth is flat, or that the world was actually going to end back in 2012, it's a great wonder why conspiracy theories happen in the first place.  Who's prone to conspiracies? Why do we look to other means to make sense of the world around us?

One of the conspiracies we hear all the time at Independent Shakespeare Co. is the question, "Do you actually believe William Shakespeare wrote all of those plays? Or do you think it was someone else?" So let's talk about it.

Art Break producer and host, Carolina Xique, sits down virtually with ISC Managing Director, David Melville, and special guest, Amanda Hootman, who you may recognize from ISC's Anita Berber is Dead! and A Christmas Carol.

Amanda trained at Guildford School of Acting in the U.K.. Previous theatre credits include Charles Dickens Presents: A Christmas Carol, Anita Berber is Dead!, Secret Garden, Harmony Boys Christmas: Live From Waikiki, Sex and the Musical, Carousel, Nilbog: The Unofficial Musical Parody of Troll 2, Not Phantom: The Musical, Spring Awakening, A Christmas Carol, The Light In The Piazza, Nothing Is The End of the World (Except The End of the World), Perchance to Dream. Other credits include: F.L.O.P.’s Buffy Kills Edward: the web series, F.L.O.P.’s Sex and the City parody videos, Pose Down, One Evening, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Lily Beacon's Post Apocalyptic Awesome Fun Time Podcast. Amanda can be found performing in improv spaces across LA with The Sound and the Furry or creating video essays on YouTube under the name “little hoot”.

"Who Wrote Shakespeare?" A Video Essay by Amanda Hootman

Sign up for Independent Shakespeare Co.'s 12 Days of Dickens

12 Days of Dickens will bring unique, joyful installments of all things Dickens right to your inbox. It unfolds over the course of twelve days of recordings and short videos.

This would have been our 16th year producing A Christmas Carol With Charles Dickens, and there is little this year we miss more than welcoming you to the ISC Studio for this beloved event. But we can still connect and share in the Dickensian world of magic, redemption…and, of course, flaming punch.

Sign up + Learn More about 12 Days of Dickens

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

ISC ensemble member and Artistic Associate for Social Justice Carene Rose Mekertichyan facilitates a panel discussion in which Black theater artists discuss how theater has historically been used to bring about social change and how we all can maintain the momentum of this current movement. Panelists include: Sophina Brown (award winning theatrical producer and founder of Support Black Theater), Aisha Kabia (actress and ISC ensemble member), Bruce Lemon Jr. (actor, writer, director, producer, Artistic Director of the Watts Village Theater Company, and Associate Artistic Director of the Cornerstone Theater Company), Dominic Taylor (writer, director, scholar, and interim chair of the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television), and Sabra Williams, (ISC ensemble member, cofounder of Creative Acts and The Actors' Gang Prison Project, and 2016 Champion of Change under President Obama).

For more information about how you can help combat anti-blackness in the Los Angeles community, please visit www.iscla.org/justice

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.

In Part 3 out of 3 of this series on Institutional Racism in the Theatre, host and producer Carolina Xique continues the discussion of anti-Blackness in Theatre Education. How is the diaspora of Black experiences neglected in theatrical education? What can White educators do today to dismantle White Supremacy within themselves?

Continuing this discussion are highly-esteemed Black artists, educators, and theorists, Dr. Jaye Austin Williams (Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, Bucknell University), Chris Anthony (Assistant Professor of Performance, DePaul University), and Dominic Taylor (Acting Chair, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television). Take a look at their bios and extensive artistry in the Theatre at www.iscla.org/podcast.

For more information about how you can help combat anti-blackness in the Los Angeles community, please visit www.iscla.org/justice

Sign The People's Budget Petition: https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/tell-the-city-of-los-angeles-to-implement-the-people-s-budget#signature-form

Join us for our upcoming, multi-media production of Romeo & Juliet, directed and adapted by Melissa Chalsma, starring Nikhil Pai as Romeo, Bukola Ogunmola as Juliet, and featuring some of your favorite ISC ensemble members! You can find more information about the month-long event and register at iscla.org/summer-fesitval.

Song in the Video:

"Past Sadness" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Follow us!

Website: www.iscla.org

Instagram & Twitter: @indyshakes

Facebook: Independent Shakespeare Co.