Archived entries for Beth Lopes

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ COEURAGE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE of “NICKY” by BONI B. ALVAREZ ▪︎ OPENS JUNE 3 at 8pm

COEURAGE THEATRE COMPANY

LA’S PAY WHAT YOU WANT THEATRE COMPANY

 PRESENTS

NICKY

A WORLD PREMIERE PLAY

 BY BONI B. ALVAREZ

DIRECTED BY BETH LOPES

OPENS SATURDAY, JUNE 3

AT THE GREENWAY COURT THEATRE

Coeurage Theatre Company 2017 logoCoeurage Theatre Company, LA’s Pay What You Want theatre company, has announced the first production of its eighth season, the world premiere of Nicky, by acclaimed Los Angeles playwright Boni B. Alvarez. Directed by Beth Lopes, there will be two preview performances on June 1 and 2 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, June 3 at 8pm. Nicky will play through July 1 at the Greenway Court Theatre. 

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Chris Aguila, Jamie Barcelon, Ted Barton, Alexis Genya, Taylor Hawthorne, Mark Jacobson, Daniel Kaemon, Nardeep Khurmi, Jeremy Lelliott, Julia Silverman, Emily Swallow, Cyrus Wilcox, Sandy Yu,and Carolyn Zeller. Scenic design is by Benoît Guerrin, lighting design is by Azra King-Abadi, costume design is by Karen Curry, and sound design is by Michelle Stann. The stage manager is Summer Grubaugh.

Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov, playwright Alvarez transforms the world of 1800s Russia into  present-day Palm Springs.  Under  the  piercing  desert  sun,  characters plod through the unforgiving heat, clinging to their self-described identities while chasing after and running away from their true desires. Nicky was developed in the Coeurage CoLab.

Boni B. Alvarez is a Los Angeles-based playwright whose plays have been produced and/or developed at Playwrights’ Arena, Skylight Theatre, Chalk Rep, Second Generation (2g), The Vagrancy, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Teatro Bravo, and Interact Theatre. His plays include Before We Do, Bloodletting, Dusty De Los Santos, Marabella, The Special Education of Miss Lorna Cambonga, Poke Back, Dallas Non-Stop, The Debut of Georgia, and others. His works have been finalists for the PEN Center USA Literary Award, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Aurora Theatre’s Global Age Project, and Clubbed Thumb’s Biennial Commission. Alvarez has participated in Playwrights’ Arena’s New Pages Lab, the CBS Diversity Writers Mentoring Program, Skylight Theatre’s Play Lab, and Center Theatre Group’s Writers’ Workshop.

Director Beth Lopes received a BFA in Drama from New York University and an MFA in Directing from UC Irvine. Recent projects include the regional premiere ofGrand Concourse with Theatre Horizon, the world premiere of Alex Burkart’s Atlas Pit(LA New Court Theatre), and the development of a new rock musical, The Merry Lives of Windsor High, with LA company mediaV. Later this summer, Lopes will be directing The Taming of the Shrew at the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.

Coeurage Theatre Company exists to make impassioned theatre accessible for all audiences through Pay What You Want admission and fresh, challenging productions. The company’s name is inspired by a re–imagining of the word courage — coeur is French for heart, and rage, meaning fervor; on fire. Together, Coeurage (pronounced “courage”) is a heart enflamed with passion, which the company strives to bring to every production.

There will be two preview performances of Nicky on Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, June 3 at 8pm. The regular running schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm through July 1. All seats are available on a Pay What You Want basis and may be reserved online at www.greenwaycourttheatre.org/nicky or by calling (323) 673-0544.

The Greenway Court Theatre is located at 544 N. Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, 90036. Free parking is available in the lot adjacent to the theatre.

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05-10-17

NEWS RELEASE — LA NEW COURT THEATRE PRESENTS “ATLAS PIT or THE GARBAGE MAN’S SON” — OPENS FRIDAY 9/30 at 8pm

LOS ANGELES NEW COURT THEATRE
Theatre for Everyone Under the Sun
PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF

ATLAS PIT
or THE GARBAGE MAN’S SON
WRITTEN BY ALEX BURKART
DIRECTED BY BETH LOPES
ORIGINAL SONGS BY KYLE ACHESON

SEPTEMBER 30 — OCTOBER 23
AT WORKING STAGE THEATER

Atlas Pit or the Garbage Man's SonLos Angeles New Court Theatre has announced its world premiere production of Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son, a new play by Alex Burkart at Working Stage Theater from September 30 through October 23. Directed by Beth Lopes and featuring original songs by Kyle Acheson, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Daniel Braunstein, Michael Chandler, Devereau Chumrau, Herman Johansen, Josey Montana McCoy, and Nancy Stone. Opening is set for Friday, September 30 at 8pm and the strictly limited engagement of 12 performances will run through October 23 only.

Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son is the tale of 18-year-old Ozzy, whose girlfriend Gray drowns in an old gravel quarry in Milton, Wisconsin. Gray’s sudden death sends Ozzy into a severe depression; he runs away from home and shuts himself up in a seedy apartment. In his continued quest to find escape, Ozzy stumbles upon a brand of heroin that brings users so close to death that “they see those waiting for them on the other side.” Atlas Pit is inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and explores the ideas of addiction, love, life, and faith. The scenic design is by Morgan Lindsey Price, lighting design is by Toranj Noroozi, costume design is by Emily Fisher, and sound design is by Isaiah Howell. The assistant director is Josh Gannon and the stage manager is Rebekah York.

Playwright Alex Burkart is a co-founder of the Los Angeles New Court Theatre and is currently its board president. He also works as the manager at ZBS Acting Studios. His acting work has been seen across the country, including the American premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Pirandello’s Henry IV at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, and a reading of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself, and I at Playwrights Horizons alongside Elizabeth Ashley and Brian Murray. Burkart’s directing credits include Neil Simon’s Fools and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for Los Angeles New Court Theatre as well as It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play for TheatreVCU. Originally from Wisconsin, Atlas Pit has been a bold and personal stroke for him; it is his first full-length play. For more, visit www.alexburkart.com.

Director Beth Lopes directed last year’s Jason & (Medea) for Los Angeles New Court Theatre. Some of her recent projects include Hamlet with New Swan Shakespeare Festival, The Winter’s Tale with San Antonio Shakespeare in the Park, and the development of the new rock musical The Merry Lives of Windsor High with Los Angeles company mediaV. For more, visit www.bethlopes.com.

The opening of The Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son is set for Friday, September 30 at 8pm. All seating is general admission and tickets are $20. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through October 23 only. Tickets may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2593462 or by calling (303) 619-0203.

Working Stage Theater is located at 1516 N. Gardner Street in Los Angeles. Street parking is available.

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08-30-16