It’s Venus 2020 and women run the show up here. Men are welcome as long as they’re supportive and kind and don’t misbehave. When one does….it makes headlines. Catalino (aka Cat) can’t help himself: he’s wild, a disruptor and he’s angry at the imbalance of power on Venus. It’s been rough. He’s outnumbered by women, including his mother. He’s her firstborn and she must marry him off before her younger son can marry one of his many rich lady fans. Enter Petruchia, an uber-aggressive, over-caffeinated Mary Poppins, and refugee from Earth looking for an equal up here – so rare these days. The men here are not what she’s used to. But she has to play a game in order to prove she can handle him.

Presented by Los Angeles Drama Club and
the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation

Saturday, December 8th and Sunday December 9th at 4 pm
JEWEL’S ROOM AT Catch One – 4067 Pico Blvd LA 90019

Pay-what-you-can at the door (Suggested donation: $10)
Advance reservations: $10

THE SHOW IS OVER, BUT WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US IN MARCH FOR SHAKESPEARE YOUTH FESTIVAL LA 2019! BOX OFFICE OPENS IN FEBRUARY!

We are excited to announce our 2018-2019 Shakespeare Youth Festival LA season! If you are new to Los Angeles Drama Club, then you must click here to schedule a phone interview before registering. We look forward to speaking with you.

SYFLA Fall – Taming of the Shrew Churl

What happens when Petruchia, a single-minded young woman, determined to marry well, meets Jake, otherwise known as the Shrew … er, that is, the Churl? His younger brother Bianco has all the girls in a tizzy, but thanks to the messed up social order of the land, they can’t do anything about it until Jake is married off. We’re subverted the established opinions and “schools of thought” on the already controversial “Taming of the Shrew” by reversing the genders, turning conventional concepts on their 16th century heads.
4th through 9th grade

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YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS WORKSHOP

Our young playwrights will work at the center of a creative team of professional writers, directors and actors and will receive true professional support and a glimpse into the process of play making!  The young playwrights will hone their one-act plays over the course of the workshop, working from the initial isolation of writing to the collaborative process involved in making their script into a living, breathing play. The workshop will culminate in a script-in-hand public reading of their new plays.
7th grade and up

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SYFLA Winter/Spring – As You Like It

Evil Duke Frederick is not a nice guy. After a rigged wrestling match goes sour, Rosalind and friends escape the rigidity and nastiness of the cruel city, where they were the victims of arbitrary and unfair rules, for the Forest of Arden, where “Do Unto Others” is the law of the land, and where a cast of eccentric characters are all just trying to find someone to love. Our youngest Players will have a great challenge exploring one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies!
2nd through 7th grade

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SYFLA Winter/Spring – Cymbeline

Whatever your favorite Shakespearean plot device may be, it probably shows up in Cymbeline! Mistaken identity? Check. Girls dressed as boys? Check. Long lost family members reuniting? Check. Young lovers torn apart by class issues? Check. Nefarious tricksters? Check. Battle scenes? Check. Gods descending from Olympus at the last minute to set things right? Yes, that, too! We can’t wait to explore all the fantastic characters in this Shakespeare Smoothie.
4th through 9th grade

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SYFLA Winter/Spring – Henry IV

Our combining of Part I and Part II, custom crafted for our teen ensemble, will not only explore King Henry IV, his renegade son and heir to the throne Hal, and Hal’s roguish friend Falstaff, but will also highlight the women in the story – Mistress Quickly, Doll Tearsheet, Lady Percy, and Lady Mortimer.
8th through 12th grade

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It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, and the park behind the Hollywood Heritage Museum was filled with Shakespeare. Several dozen neighborhood residents turned out for “Shakespeare in Our Park,” sponsored by the Whitley Heights Civic Association. After a rousing opening, featuring some stirring sword fighting by Master Teacher Kila Packett as Shakespeare and Brandon Nagle as Marlowe, our troupe performed selections from several Shakespeare plays, and, in between, got the audience into the act learning Shakespeare insults, theater games and even some Stage Combat moves.

We were honored to have a representative from Councilman David Ryu’s office, who presented Blaire and Julia with Certificates of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles.

Thank you to Greg Orson and Patty Dryden for making this stellar event possible!

If you are interested in Los Angeles Drama Club performing at your school, community center, festival, etc, please email us for more information!!

ILLSPOKEN: THE PEOPLE VS. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Don’t miss the third play in LADC’s original “Spoken” trilogy, by LADC founder and artistic director Blaire Baron. Shakespeare’s villains are tired of their terrible reputations, and they decide to take action by suing their creator, Shakespeare. Join them, as they struggle to decide what is more important, reputation … or fame …

The Broadwater Second Stage – 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, LA 90038
Saturday, March 10 & March 17
8 pm
Sunday, March 11 & March 18
2 pm
RESERVE TICKETS

KING LEAR
Family loyalty, legacy and reputation are life and death matters with this affluent Hollywood family who discover just how close they are to the homeless community that surrounds their luxurious “palaces.”

The Broadwater Second Stage – 6320 Santa Monica Blvd, LA 90038
Saturday, March 10 & March 17
2 pm
Sunday, March 11 & March 18
6 pm
RESERVE TICKETS

TIMON OF ATHENS
First a philanthropist, then a bitter misanthropist. In fact, Timon’s character arc is the opposite of Dickens’ Ebenezar Scrooge. He throws decadent parties with merriment and dancing as he tosses his money to alleged friends. He ignores his accountant. And when he goes broke, he is stunned that no one is there for him. Audiences of all ages connect to Shakespeare’s rarely seen morality play on generosity and loyalty and friendship!

Fais Do Do – 5253 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles 90016
Saturday, February 24 & Sunday, February 25
Saturday, March 3 & Sunday, March 4
1 pm
This show has closed

JULIUS CAESAR
Who is the hero and who is the villain in Shakespeare’s frighteningly current Julius Caesar? Or is there someone behind the curtain? Travel back to the 60s, and the days of The Manchurian Candidate and the Cold War with us as we see that everything old is new again …

Fais Do Do – 5253 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles 90016
Saturday, February 24 & Sunday, February 25
Sunday, March 4
4 pm
Friday, March 2
7 pm
This show has closed

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS TODAY

Shakespeare Youth Festival Los Angeles is proud to be supported by

We are thrilled to announce that Los Angeles Drama Club is now part of the After School program at Girls Academic Leadership Academy, the first all-girls school within Los Angeles Unified School District! We feel that LADC’s mission is an ideal compliment to GALA’s mission – to graduate girls with a strong, confident, and independent voice, with collaborative and compassionate leadership skills, and with a sense of self and community.

Spring Performance – MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Generally considered one of Shakespeare’s finest comedies, Much Ado mixes lots of hilarious antics with some scenery-chewing near-tragedy.  Please join us for the merriment …

Presented April 26th and 27th at 5 pm in the Corwin Theater on the LA High campus
(enter on Rimpau or West, and follow the signs)

If you are a GALA student interested in participating, please CLICK HERE.

If you would like to learn how LADC can come to your school, please CLICK HERE.

2017 was a banner year for Los Angeles Drama Club – just take a look at some of our accomplishments:

SHAKESPEARE YOUTH FESTIVAL LA 2017

• More than $25,000 in financial aid awarded in 2017 meant that there were no financial barriers to a child participating in Shakespeare Youth Festival LA.
• Children from more than 40 schools all over Los Angeles took part in our programs this year.
• We performed three plays in repertory for our Spring 2017 season – 45 youth played 81 characters in fourteen public performances.

HELP US CONTINUE THE MAGIC

OUR AUDIENCE

• 38% of our audience was attending their first LADC production.
• 28% have attended more than five different productions.
• Our audiences came from all over Los Angeles, with 44 different zip codes represented.
• Shakespeare is for all ages – 18% of our audience was under 18. 17% was over 60.

SUPPORT SYFLA 2018

SUMMER WITH LOS ANGELES DRAMA CLUB

• This Summer, more than 75 kids took part, from 33 zip codes.
• 65% of the registrations received a full or partial scholarship.
• We awarded more than $10,000 in scholarships this Summer.
• We performed six recitals, with 21 Shakespeare scenes, 6 scenes by contemporary playwrights, 9 musical numbers, 10 short plays written by our young playwrights, and countless Shakespearean insults!

LET’S MAKE IT 100 KIDS IN 2018

THE FUTURE

• We are currently rehearsing four plays, including one original World Premiere, to be presented for Shakespeare Youth Festival LA 2018.
• We are in residence at Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA), preparing for a full production of The Tempest, to be presented in December.
• We worked with students at Episcopal School Los Angeles (ESLA), as they began their study of Midsummer Night’s Dream, and are in discussions with four more schools to become a part of their curriculum.
• Our Artistic Director, Blaire Baron, is preparing for a trip to Africa in the Spring, to bring our work to Botswana as a part of the Botswana School Project!

While LADC is proud to be supported by a number of government entities, foundations and community organizations, individual contributions make up the majority of our support. With your support, youth in Los Angeles (and soon, Botswana!) can continue to grow up with William Shakespeare!

Join us for our inaugural production at Girls Academic Leadership Academy.

Thursday, December 7th at 5 pm
LA High Little Auditorium
4650 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019

Admission is free!

We are thrilled to announce that Los Angeles Drama Club is now part of the After School program at Girls Academic Leadership Academy, the first all-girls school within Los Angeles Unified School District! We feel that LADC’s mission is an ideal compliment to GALA’s mission – to graduate girls with a strong, confident, and independent voice, with collaborative and compassionate leadership skills, and with a sense of self and community.

We’ll be exploring one of Shakespeare’s most magical plays, The Tempest. A shipwreck, a mysterious island, kings, sprites, monsters, power grabs … and repentance. Performance is scheduled for Thursday, December 7th.

If you are a GALA student interested in participating, please CLICK HERE.

If you would like to learn how LADC can come to your school, please CLICK HERE.

Our Summer season is in full swing, with a new recital every Friday afternoon!! Come join us as our students share their work – it’s extraordinary what our young performers accomplish in just one week!

Friday, June 30 at 2 pm
3RD ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

Friday, July 14 at 2 pm
SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE
Total immersion for our young actors (2nd through 9th grade)

Friday, July 21 at 2 pm
BEYOND SHAKESPEARE
Our middle & high school students explore other playwrights with the same passion for language as Shakespeare

Friday, July 28 at 2 pm
SHAKESPEARE AND SONG
Celebrating the music (both figurative and literal) in Shakespeare’s works

Friday, August 4 at 2 pm
SHAKESPEARE AND THE GREEKS
Join us as we explore Greek myth and philosophy, Shakespeare-style