NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ TWO SOLO SHOWS – “THE GAY GUIDE TO TINSELTOWN” and “POWER PLAY” ▪︎ THREE PERFS ONLY, MARCH 17–18–19

THE GAY GUIDE TO TINSELTOWN

WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY JON MANGANELLO

AND

POWER PLAY

WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY MADELINE SHARTON

DIRECTED BY CASEY HANLEY

THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY

MARCH 17 & 18 AT 8PM & MARCH 19 AT 2PM

AT THE ACTORS COMPANY

Critically acclaimed solo comedy The Gay Guide to Tinseltown, written and performed by Jon Manganello will pair with Power Play, a solo show written and performed by Madeline Sharton, for three performances only on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 at 8pm, and Sunday, March 19 at 2pm at The Actors Company in West Hollywood. Both shows are directed by Casey Hanley. 

Jon Manganello is an actor, writer at the Huffington Post, and Hollywood studio tour guide. Other theatre credits include Almost, Maine (Best of Fest, Toronto Fringe Festival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Circle Mirror Transformation. He holds a BFA in drama from the University of Michigan. Twitter and Instagram: @jonnymangs.

Hop aboard a tour of Hollywood’s messy queer history. Tour guide Manganello will shift through time and space to give you part history and part autobiography. From Rock Hudson’s hushed battle with AIDS to the real heroes at the Stonewall riots to the sinister Reaganite 80s, The Gay Guide to Tinseltown explores revisionist gay history and how far the LGBTQ movement has actually come. Performance running time is 50 minutes.

Madeline Sharton is an actor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Other theatre credits include Almost, Maine (Best of Fest, Toronto Fringe Festival), The Little Dog Laughed, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She holds a BFA in acting from the University of Michigan. Twitter: @madsharts.

Through poems, songs, and stories, Sharton explores the universal common denominator of power. Why do we give in to perceived power and allow others to take it from us? What role do the “powerless” people play in the structures that we create? What invisible systems must we identify and subsequently fight against? Whether we’re at the mercy of the large-scale power of government and the wealthy or the small-scale power of the individual, the truth remains that power is always at play. Performance running time is 55 minutes.

Tickets for The Gay Guide to Tinseltown and Power Play are $15 and may be obtained online at www.thegayguidetotinseltown.com or by calling(323) 463-4639. Tickets will also be available at the door. The Actors Company is located at 916 N. Formosa Avenue in West Hollywood.

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03–10–17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ THE OPEN CIRCLE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS “WAITING FOR GODOT” ▪︎ OPENS SATURDAY 3/25 at 8pm

THE OPEN CIRCLE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS

WAITING FOR GODOT

BY SAMUEL BECKETT

DIRECTED BY DANIEL J. WILNER 

OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 25

FOUR WEEKS ONLY

THE OTHER SPACE @ THE ACTORS COMPANY

PREVIEWS THURSDAY, MARCH 23 & FRIDAY, MARCH 24

The Open Circle Theatre Company has announced a new production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, directed by Daniel J. Wilner. There will be two preview performances on March 23 and March 24 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, March 25 at 8pm. Waiting for Godot will play a limited engagement through April 16 at The Other Space @ The Actors Company in West Hollywood.

The cast will include (in alphabetical order) Tommy Day Carey, Joseph Culliton, Perry Powell, and Douglas Scott Sorenson. Set design is by Liam Moore and the stage manager is Sarah Savitch. Waiting for Godotis produced by Meredith Treinen and Daniel J. Wilner for the Open Circle Theatre Company.

Named “the most significant play of the 20^th century” in a poll of theatre professionals, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is a hilarious, moving, disquieting exploration of human existence. The play follows two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, as they pass the time waiting for a mysterious figure who could save them from their troubles. This distinctive production will be staged in the round in a small black–box theatre, creating an intimacy between audience and performers that will offer a unique experience of the play’s empathy and humanity.

Director Daniel J. Wilner is a writer, director, and producer of theatre, film, and television. He studied philosophy at Harvard, and philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Along the way, he worked extensively in the theatre, most notably playing the title role inHamlet and directing Beckett shorts, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. He is currently developing several film and television projects with executive producer Mark Gordon. Wilner has made short films for the Bravo! Channel, the National Film Board of Canada, and Aeon digital magazine. His latest short, Michael Lost and Found, will be released on Netflix in late 2017.

Preview performances of Waiting for Godot are on Thursday, March 23 at 8pm and Friday, March 24 at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, March 25 at 8pm. The running schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm through April 16 only. General seating admission is $45. Lower–priced tickets ($30) are available for online purchases made in advance for performances through April 2 (discount will not be valid at the door). Use code ‘earlybird’ when ordering. Tickets are available now at http://godotla.bpt.me or at (888) 693-8507.

The Other Space @ The Actors Company is located at 916A N. Formosa Avenue in West Hollywood.

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03–03–17

NEWS RELEASE — QUEER CLASSICS PRESENTS “THE TAMING OF THE SHREW” (AN EXPLORATION OF GENDER EXPRESSION) AT 2015 HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL

QUEER CLASSICS PRESENTS

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
(AN EXPLORATION OF GENDER EXPRESSION)
CONCEIVED & DIRECTED BY CASEY KRINGLEN

AT 2015 HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL
SIX PERFORMANCES ONLY
THE OTHER SPACE AT THE ACTORS COMPANY

Following last year’s critically acclaimed sold-out production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Queer Classics will re-imagine William Shakespeare’s controversial and often polarizing commedia dell’arte comedy, The Taming of the Shrew (An Exploration of Gender Expression). Conceived and directed by Casey Kringlen, this unique exploration of gender expression in the comedic style of I Love Lucy comes to the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival for six performances only.

In the Queer Classics version of modern times, Kate and Petruchio might identify as trans, but the 1950s are a completely different world. In this new and sexy adaptation, the lead lovers explore their expression of gender in a time before there were labels to define it.

Performance dates and times are as follows — Saturday 6/6 at 7pm (press preview); Thursday 6/11 at 10:30pm; Saturday 6/20 at 2pm; Sunday 6/21 at 3:30pm; Friday 6/26 at 9:30pm; and Sunday 6/28 at 10am. Running time will be 80 minutes.

This production of The Taming of the Shrew (An Exploration of Gender Expression) is part of the City of West Hollywood’s One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. For more information, visit www.weho.org/pride.

Queer Classics is dedicated to sharing classic stories re-imagined through a queer lens — art for the LGBTQ community and its supporters. Visit www.queerclassics.com.

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04-09-15