Tag Archives: Thousand Oaks

Items about Thousand Oaks

Events

Carrie White Burns in Thousand Oaks

Leave a comment

Carrie960x277BannerWhen I first heard that YAE was doing Carrie the Musical, I’ll admit that I wasn’t thinking this would be good “musical” material. I hadn’t heard that the classic Stephen King thriller had been given a musical treatment and thought it was odd to use a horror film as material. Maybe this was because Carrie was the first R rated film I’d ever seen and I continue to think it’s super creepy. Well, I went to last night’s performance at the T.O. High School theater and I was pretty much blown away.

First, the casting. Let me tell you that all the main characters were cast perfectly and they all have so much talent. I’ve seen a number of them in other productions, but this play gave them a chance to really let it go. One actress I had not seen before is Julia Lester, who played Carrie White. She was nothing short of spectacular, and not just because of her soaring voice (awesome!). She performed with such an emotional sensitivity that we couldn’t help but feel for her. She really made us feel what it’s like to be the bullied kid, and I don’t think anyone watching could get through this without thinking of someone they knew as a kid that had to endure this kind of treatment. Her songs tore at the heart strings, particularly the several songs she sang in scenes with Katherine Steele in the role of her mother (Margaret White). These scenes were profoundly intense and captured a changing relationship in a raw and uncomfortable way. It was genuinely moving.

I don’t think the intensity would have been as convincing without Brooke Sikkema’s portrayal of the evil Chris Hargensen. As the anti-Carrie, she exuded a palpable sense of human indifference that we have probably all seen back in school. There are just those people that are so uncaring, and Brooke played it convincingly. I also appreciated the performances of Kate Fruehling (Sue Snell) and Douglas Shao (Tommy Ross). I thought they represented our collective conscience and the thoughts of mature and honest people. In their attempt (in vain) to make up for Sue’s prior insensitivity toward Carrie, they showed how hard it is for us to make amends for our treatment of others and made us see how hard it is to be forgiven by those we may hurt.

The Director’s note in the program drew a linkage between what we see in this play and what really happens to bullied kids. Maybe paranormal payback isn’t so common, but we’ve seen young people lash out in mass shootings around the country. There is a life lesson in this play, and I feel the cast really made us think about the issue of bullying in school. I think the director (Mark Andrew Reyes) made this play relevant and poignant.

For those on the fence about seeing a horror movie musical, I hope you’ll go see this play. This is no kids play, it is mature and powerful production with some intense feelings. This play does what theater should do, it will make you think and feel. To all that were involved in this production…good for you, you nailed it.

Carrie the Musical plays through August 7. Get info and tickets at http://www.yaeonline.com/

Events

Legally…….Awesome!

Leave a comment

Young Artists Ensemble’s Legally Blonde is Legally Awesome!

Elle1Elle Woods (McKenna Tedrick) is the quintessential Malibu Barbie that has everything, including the most handsome boyfriend ever, Warner Huntington III (Jordan M. Schneider). Warner is off to Harvard Law School and thinks Elle is not serious enough for him. When he breaks up with her during a date instead of proposing to her, Elle falls into a self-destructive spiral until she gets the inspiration to apply to Harvard. When she is accepted, she arrives with her little dog Bruiser to find law school is inhabited by a seriously pretentious bunch of snobs, including Warner’s old prep school mate, and new girlfriend, Vivian Kensington (Natalia Vivino). Vivian takes delight in ridiculing Elle and crushing her confidence. In a moment of desperation, Elle is saved from committing a potential beauty crime (going brunette) by Paulette the hair dresser (Aly Valles), who has her own problems with love.

Aided by the nerdy and frumpy Emmett Forrest (Parker Apple), Elle learns how to succeed in school, while she builds his confidence and teaches him the value of style and personal presentation. Ultimately, Elle, Emmett, Vivian, and Warner are all selected for a coveted internship that has them defending fitness magnate Brooke Windham (Anthea Sobie), a client of their pompous law school instructor Professor Callahan (Brandon Lawrence). When “serious” defenders are unable to think out of the legal box, Elle’s ability to understand and develop trust with the client and spot a lying witness make her the savior. The thrill of victory is short-lived when Callahan makes an unwelcome pass at her and she learns she was only selected for her looks. Just when she is ready to quit and go home, her peers rally to her side and support her completion of law school…as Valedictorian!

Casting for this show was spot on! The cast is quite large and I’m sure casting such a big show can be challenging. To end up with the lead roles the way they did is amazing in and of itself. Tedrick brought Elle to life on this stage and is an amazingly talented singer and actress. She seemed to embrace the personal growth of her character, and she adapted her performance throughout the show as her character grew.  She owned her role and I was impressed that her voice could hold out with that much singing. Aly Valles was cast as Paulette, a Jersey hair stylist. I last saw her in Mulan, so hearing her with a Jersey accent as Paulette was kinda funny and showed some versatility. She has a big voice, and can do the “bend and flip” with the best of them. Natalia Vivino plays the condescending Vivian Kensington, who later becomes Elle’s supporter. She does “serious” well and was convincing as a stuffy preppy. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll see just how perfectly Vivino portrayed Vivian. Lauren Alexander’s portrayal of Enid is worth mention as well. She doesn’t have many lines, but her physical double-takes just oozed feminism.

For the guys, this must have been a dream play considering the ratio. Since there were far fewer guys, many carried multiple roles. Both Schneider and Parker as the lead men had strong voices and embodied their characters well. I enjoyed watching Apple’s character grow and adapt. My only criticism is that I would have liked to see Warner be a bit less likable. There are two other guys that deserve mention for playing multiple roles. Sean McCarthy was funny as the hunky UPS man Kyle (also Dewey trailer trash, and prison guard). Every entry and exit was made with a beautifully deliberate faux-strut accompanied by a soundtrack that could have come from an adult film. We also saw Gabriel Nunag play everything from a middle-eastern student and a tough breakdancer to an effeminate pool boy. He always seems to give his characters a little flash.

This play has a big ensemble that does a lot of dancing, singing, and clothes changing. They were students, cheerleaders, sorority girls, workout video girls, and inmates. There was a lot of choreography to learn and they obviously worked very hard to make the whole play come together. The show wouldn’t have been the same without their talent. Kate Peltola did a tremendous job choreographing all the dance routines, which were creative and demanding.

Finally, this is a musical and I’m a musician, so I need to point out the quality of the live orchestra. It would have been easy to buy a canned download of the music and play it for the songs, but YAE brought in real musicians to do all the music. These young musicians are all ringers and well-conducted by Susan Treworgy-Calkins. It made the whole show more energetic to have live music. I appreciated that the music didn’t overpower the play. You all deserve some love for a great performance.

The show continues through August 9th. For show times and tickets, CLICK HERE

Here are a few photos I managed to get at the final dress rehearsal. They are from an iphone in the dark from a ways back so they are not very suitable for framing, but they show a great group of young performers having a great time with their craft. You can find some better pics HERE.

Events

Young Artists Ensemble Debuts First Shakespeare Play

1 Comment

The Young Artists Ensemble doest shine in their first ever debut of a Shakespeare play

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Showing that the troupe isn’t afraid of anything, the Young Artists Ensemble just brought Shakespeare to the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks during the play’s first weekend run. I admire their choice to take on such challenging dialog, and to do so in such a fun and comedic way. Saturday night’s audience was treated to a well-rehearsed and thoughtfully arranged play that should satisfy any fans of the Bard. And lest you think this is just a kids show, I must remind you that we are watching artists doing their art. The cast is very talented and the director has created something special in this production.

For those of you that know the play, you know the shenanigans revolve around the misdeeds of a well-meaning sprite named Puck. Sarah Hathaway delivers this character with the enthusiasm characteristic of the sprite himself. As an actress, she goes over the top to sell the fun nature of Puck. Playing an excited role in Shakespeare means delivering a lot of challenging lines very quickly, and Hathaway nailed it! Her costuming was great too and she looked every bit like a playful sprite.

Puck’s interference centers around the 4 lovers; Hermia (Allison Zatlin), Lysander (Jeremy Graham Orriss), Helena (Bailey Stillwell), and Demetrius (John Monday). All four delivered strong performances and carried much of the play. The casting of Zatlin and Orriss was, in itself, funny due to their disparity in heights. The lines about stature fit them to a T. Zatlin shines as a strong-willed Hermia, and she owned the stage with her confident delivery. It almost sounded like she speaks that way all the time. She wraps her lines in an honest physical expression of her rage and love, making for a very complete performance. If Shakespeare had written about surfers, he would have chosen Orriss to perform them. Rarely do we hear shakespearian actors speak the prose with such a laid-back feel…”how tasty are thine waves oh lonely ocean…”. Stillwell’s portrayal of the lovestruck Helena reminded me of how any teenager might feel when their love interest doesn’t even know she’s alive, but the play shows Helena to be a relentless pursuer of her love. Stillwell’s dramatic style emerges most when she believes that the professed love of Lysander and Demetrius is a cruel joke. She carried the scene like a true woman scorned. As Demetrius, I appreciated Monday’s understated depiction early in the play. It would seem natural for an actor to want to shine above the other actors on the stage, but Monday stays in character as the droll man refused by Hermia. By playing it straight early on, it made his scene of spellbinding love to Helena all that much funnier. The cold and logical man goes love crazy!

Lying alongside the main plot line of the story is a group of starving actors from a local acting troupe that are preparing a play for the Duke. These scenes were nearly all stolen by Ariel McIntyre as Nick Bottom. The pompousness and dramatic flair she brought to this role is truly hilarious. From wanting to play every role in the play to being turned into an ass by Puck, McIntyre’s Bottom remained aloof and ever-positive. The troupe was rounded out by Ben Rosen, Max Meyers, Sean McCarthy, Logan Grizzle, and Peyton Pugh. A highlight for this group was Meyers’ depiction of the lovely Thisbe in the troupe’s play. With makeup that would have rivaled Tammy Fay Baker, his performance won’t be soon forgotten. Their play was performed for the Court that included Theseus (Drake Nienow), Hippolyta (Lotte Bezemer), Philostrate (Zoe Fagundes), and the father of Hermia, Egeus (Wyatt Eaton).

The third sub-plot revolves around a groups of fairies and an apparent spat between Oberon (Nick Rada) and Titiana (Tegan Morely). Married fairies can be complicated. As fighting fairies, they are sternly played, but each gets a moment of fancy. Morely’s depiction of Titiana’s love for Bottom (an ass at the time, thanks to Puck) is noteworthy and hilarious. Rada’s character also seems to delight in this spectacle. The fairies are played by Samantha Green, Emma Gonzales, Andrea Levenson, Lauren Alexander, Kyle Lobenhoffer, Jenna Guerrero, Rainny Vasquez, and Ashley Brown. They flit in and out of scenes as fairies are want to do, often dancing or singing.

A few other notes of praise are due to the production department. First, the costuming is fantastic (Bianca Jansen), particularly with the fairies. Each had a different look and it helped set them apart. The lighting department (Mark Andrew Reyes / Micah Meyers) deserves mention for how the scenes were set. In particular, the scenes in the fairy world were so well done with the lighting. It really transformed the scenes. I also loved the sound effects, which were done by the cast of fairies using a makeshift assortment of noisemakers. They brought much drama and light to much of the play. Finally, recognition is due to Director Megan McDonough. It takes a lot of confidence in your cast to bring Shakespeare to youth theater. Your confidence was rewarded with a fantastic performance.

The verdict? Go see this play!  A Midsummer Night’s Dream Runs Friday – Sunday through May 17th. For more information, see www.YAEonline.com. For more photos, see the Chillin’ in the Conejo Facebook Page

IMG_5963 IMG_5916 IMG_5871 IMG_5862 IMG_5993 IMG_5994 IMG_5996 IMG_5755 IMG_5700 IMG_5670 IMG_5655 IMG_5646 IMG_5600