11 May 2004
University of California at Irvine & Harvard American Repertory Theatre Showcase
Keith Johnson, Subhash Mandal, and l attend the Coast-to-Coast Showcase put on by UC Irvine and ART/MXAT Institute at Harvard at the Court Theatre, 722 N. LaCienega. We were in good company. Tony Shalhoub and Brian Thompson were in the house, checking out the new talent.
My favorite American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre School actors were Eliza Bell, Alexandra Fulton (she's totally ready for LA), Torsten Hillhouse, David Mawhinney, Laura Nordin, and Will Peebles, though all members of the class were quite good. The best material was from Cheaters by Michael Jacobs and the legendary Cheese Shop from John Cleese and Michael Palin. The guys who did that scene (Jonathan Broke and Will Peebles) just absolutely nailed it... and it was complicated material. Well done! I was very pleased with this whole program.
From the crop of UC Irvine actors, I enjoyed the quirky Shannon Jarrell, Amanda Randall, and Martin Swoverland. My least favorite things about the UC Irvine "choices" were two: the minor was having each actor perform twice, sometimes showing me exactly what I'd already seen, sometimes talking me OUT of liking their work; the major was simply inexcusably casual toward-audience pointing of a gun in two scenes. No matter how you slice it, there should never be an audience pointed AT the audience in any setting. Just NOT cool. Other notes from this group: Steve Ivey and Christopher Trice did a very well-choreographed fight scene and Noel Iribe has a great voice! As for material, one of the BEST scenes I've seen in any showcase was The Un X-Mas Story, in which Amanda Randall and Martin Swoverland stole the show. Excellent work with excellent material!
Overall a fun experience with wine and pasta and salad, well-designed kits for the industry, and "leave-behind contact-me" sheets, as with most school showcases. This showcase was put on three times in Los Angeles and another three times in New York. Well done, graduating class! I look forward to seeing many of you again.
My favorite American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre School actors were Eliza Bell, Alexandra Fulton (she's totally ready for LA), Torsten Hillhouse, David Mawhinney, Laura Nordin, and Will Peebles, though all members of the class were quite good. The best material was from Cheaters by Michael Jacobs and the legendary Cheese Shop from John Cleese and Michael Palin. The guys who did that scene (Jonathan Broke and Will Peebles) just absolutely nailed it... and it was complicated material. Well done! I was very pleased with this whole program.
From the crop of UC Irvine actors, I enjoyed the quirky Shannon Jarrell, Amanda Randall, and Martin Swoverland. My least favorite things about the UC Irvine "choices" were two: the minor was having each actor perform twice, sometimes showing me exactly what I'd already seen, sometimes talking me OUT of liking their work; the major was simply inexcusably casual toward-audience pointing of a gun in two scenes. No matter how you slice it, there should never be an audience pointed AT the audience in any setting. Just NOT cool. Other notes from this group: Steve Ivey and Christopher Trice did a very well-choreographed fight scene and Noel Iribe has a great voice! As for material, one of the BEST scenes I've seen in any showcase was The Un X-Mas Story, in which Amanda Randall and Martin Swoverland stole the show. Excellent work with excellent material!
Overall a fun experience with wine and pasta and salad, well-designed kits for the industry, and "leave-behind contact-me" sheets, as with most school showcases. This showcase was put on three times in Los Angeles and another three times in New York. Well done, graduating class! I look forward to seeing many of you again.
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