Category: SYFLA Archives

Famed theater director Charles Marowitz says, “Our job is to re-trace, re-discover, reconsider, and re-angle the classics – not simply regurgitate them.”

For the last several months, a group of Players has been doing just that with Shakespeare’s most famous play, and the result is “The Hamlet Project.” In this presentation, you’ll join the original Rebel without a Cause, as he tries to make sense of a new step-father, a mother he barely recognizes, and a kingdom that has been turned upside down.

Yorick Cast:
Aidan Lapp – Hamlet
Julia Eschenasy – Gertrude
Caroline Ellis  – Polonius
Arianna Mah-Candelaria – Laertes

Hecuba Cast:
Liam Larsen – Hamlet
Milan Levy – Gertrude
Jesse Waldman  – Polonius
Hazel Sepenuk – Laertes

All Performances:
Chris Venegas – Claudius
Jalen Tennyson – Ophelia
Sonny Moskowitz – Horatio
Juliette Millar – Marcellus/First Player/Osric/Gravedigger
Vivian Wolfson – Rosencrantz
Samara Rice – Guildenstern

Friday, May 5 at 7:30 pm – Yorick
Saturday, May 6 at 3 pm – Hecuba
Sunday, May 7 at 4 pm – Yorick

Friday, May 12 at 7:30 pm – Hecuba
Saturday, May 13 at 3 pm – Yorick
Sunday, May 14 at 4 pm – Hecuba

Underground Theater – 1314 N. Wilton Place

PURCHASE TICKETS

Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays – we are not shying away from controversy this season!! Theater gives us space to grapple with the issues that we are hearing and absorbing in the “real world.”

And the issues explored in Merchant of Venice feel exceptionally current. What happens when you stereotype people based on their cultural or religious identity? Is it ever OK? If you bully a bully, does that excuse your behavior? It’s easy to make assumptions about the events of this play, but when you dig deeper, the answers are never as simple as they might seem, at first glance.

Saturday, April 22 & 29 at 5 pm
Sunday, April 23 & 30 at 1 pm

Fais Do Do – 5253 W. Adams Blvd.

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The Roman general, Titus Andronicus, returns to a hero’s welcome after defeating the Goths in a ten-year campaign. Among his captives are the Queen of the Goths, Tamora, and her three sons, Alarbus, Demetrius and Chiron. Also accompanying her is her boyfriend, Aaron, a Moor. They are not happy.

Titus has lost many sons in the war. He is not happy.

Suffice to say, this play is filled with classic Roman acts of revenge between Titus and his enemy, Tamora – each one tries to top the other, and it gets pretty gory!

We have gone 11 years without going near this play for that very reason. Our solution is to make it a Musical, satirizing and holding up a mirror to that society and to the unspeakable behavior of the main characters.

We are in an era where, for many of us, nothing feels darker than real life – so we are going to bathe this play about warped, twisted and corrupt leadership in a tub of satire and song.

Saturday, April 22 & 29 at 1 pm
Sunday, April 23 & 30 at 5 pm

Fais Do Do – 5253 W. Adams Blvd.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Famed theater director Charles Marowitz says, “Our job is to re-trace, re-discover, reconsider, and re-angle the classics – not simply regurgitate them.” This best describes our coming adventure with THE HAMLET PROJECT.

This eight-month commitment is designed for the L.A. Drama Club Extremists and Shakespeare “Geeks,” who are as passionate about the process as they are about the performance.

Hamlet’s text, themes, characters, plots, subplots are for those who seek a challenge, a creative outlet – the initiators who want a stab at Creative Control, yet thrive on working as a ensemble. Now it is our turn to tell this story as this unique group of passionate Players experiences it.

Discussion, writing, experimental games and adventurous acting…The Hamlet Project will be “living” with this work for eight months, and performing it in the Spring SYFLA.

Tuesdays from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
September 13th through October 11th
Lyric Theatre
520 N. La Brea
October 18th through December 13th
Fais Do Do –
5253 W. Adams Blvd
January through May
Location TBD

7th through 12th grade
Starting Tuesday, September 13th

Performances
April 29 & 30
May 6 & 7

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One of our favorites, this play swings from Sicily to Bohemia, and from tragedy to comedy, and contains one of the most famous stage directions in literature – “Exit, pursued by a bear.”

The characters include Kings and Queens, Shepherds and Shepherdesses, Clowns and Pickpockets … and the Oracle of Delphi!

For Grades 6 through 12

Rehearsals: Tuesdays from 4 to 6 pm
Beginning January 12th
Additional weekend rehearsals will be scheduled in late March and April

Performances: Saturday and Sunday
April 16 & 17 and April 23 & 24
Saturdays – 4:00 pm

Tuition – $675.00
Financial Aid is available – click here for more information.

Lyric Theater – 520 N. La Brea

THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST, PLEASE EMAIL US

An island, a deposed member of the nobility, an exiled princess, a sprite, and a monster.  What happens  when a pack of “villains” land on the island, and the opportunity for revenge arises? A Winter’s Tale contains betrayal and oppression, forgiveness and freedom, drama, music, humor, adventure and magic.

Prerequisite: Participation in a prior class or workshop with us, or permission from the directors.

For Grades 2 through 7

Rehearsals: Mondays from 4 to 6 pm
Beginning January 11th
Additional weekend rehearsals will be scheduled in late March and April

Performances: Friday and Saturday
April 23 & 24
April 30 & May 1
1:00 pm

Lyric Theater – 520 N. La Brea

THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST, PLEASE EMAIL US

A mysterious forest, ruled over by a Fairy King and Queen. A bunch of “civilians” rehearsing a play. And four young runaways who get caught up in it all. There’s a reason this is considered one of Shakespeare’s classics – it’s fun!!

Performances
November 21st & 22nd at 1 pm*

featuring a special appearance by our World of Shakespeare class!!

Fais Do Do –
5253 W. Adams Blvd

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Join us as we premiere another original piece by Artistic Director Blaire Baron Larsen – a companion to last year’s hugely successful “Outspoken: Shakespeare’s Prisoners.” This time, when an unnamed “conglomerate” decides to take over the Canon, contemporize the language and cut all the plays down to 90 minutes, Shakespeare’s most commonly cut characters (like Hecate, Blind Gobbo, Christopher Sly, and more) argue passionately that they MUST BE HEARD!! We didn’t realize how timely our new play would be. Shortly after we began rehearsals, one of the country’s foremost Shakespeare Institutions announced that they had been given a large grant to commission 37 playwrights to “translate” Shakespeare’s plays into “modern” English.

Performances:
December 5th & 6th
December 12th & 13th
2pm

Another entry in our “Rare Gems” series, this play (like Cymbeline, Timon of Athens and King John) is not on the Greatest Hits list, but we love it! T&C tells the story of the “heros” of the Trojan War (Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, and others less well know. It swings wildly between bawdy comedy and tragic gloom, and the audience is not always sure how to feel about its complex characters!

Saturday and Sunday
April 25 & 26 and May 2 & 3

3:30 pm

Lyric Theater – 520 N. La Brea

THE SHOW HAS CLOSED – WATCH THIS SPACE FOR INFO ON OUR UPCOMING SEASON