La Jolla Theatre Ensemble

DEAR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES, and Fellow THEATRE-LOVERS. Our March 30-31 Staged Reading of Casey Tibbitts' QUIET CROSS is being re-scheduled for MAY, 2020. I am intending it to still take place at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla, as previously envisioned. ... We had a stellar cast lined up for you, and we hope to keep the entire cast together when we bring QUIET CROSS to You later in the spring -- or, at the very least, most of it. Our April offering -- which very few of you would have yet to hear about-- is still scheduled for Sunday & Monday evenings, April 19th & 20th at the La Jolla Community Center. This is THE TAMING, by Lauren Gunderson, currently the world's second-most produced playwright -- next to Shakespeare. "Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female "power-play" inspired by Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here's lookin' at you, America!" Of course I will let you know if we are able to present this as scheduled...

Performance #2 TONIGHT...!!... Mark Sickman's RHAPSODY IN RED, with original music by Steve Prussing, Scott Stein, and Cynthia Metz. Starring Don Loper as composer Newell Chancellor; Abigail Grace Allwein as pianist Michelle Taylor, Newel's live-in muse (or is she...?...); and Christian Dominguez as the Intruder. ... A Unique, Artistic-Psychological Thriller. 7PM. At the La Jolla Communtity Center: 6811 La Jolla Blvd. 92037 Monday, 2/24 -- with the show running 85 minutes, INCLUDING Intermission. $10 Suggested Donation. (Pay-what-one-Can. ;) ) It has been a pleasure to work with this team of artists, including the playwright and his lovely wife and producing partner, Marilyn Sickman; our technical director, sound op, and helluva great guy, Joshua Travis; the highly talented veteran actor Don Loper; powerful newcomer Christian Dominiguez; and triple-threat (actor/singer/musician!) Abigail Grace Allwein. Abigail was most recently seen in the Kathleen Marshall-directed "Much Ado About Nothing" (Old Globe) and "The Winter's Tale" (Old Globe), "Once" (Lamb’s Players Theatre), "Sister Act" (Walnut Street Theatre), and "Indecent" (Cape Repertory Theatre). Her other notable credits include Deirdre in "I Hate Hamlet," Jennifer in "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change"; Turkey Representative in David Mamet’s "November," Mary Jane in "Big River," Susan in "Company," Grace Farrell in "Annie," Marian Paroo in "The Music Man," and Cathy Hiatt in "The Last Five Years." Ms. Allwein has been seen in numerous print and commercial ads, and she was featured as a soloist on WCLV/NPR with The Mighty Wurlitzer Radio Hour. She is delighted to make her LJ Theatre Ensemble debut.

With just a little bit of tuning up before tonight's first performance to go, we're through our main rehearsal process and ready for YOU, Our Audience TONIGHT...!!!... Sunday evening, 2/23 @ 7PM. The World Premiere of RHAPSODY IN RED, by Mark Sickman -- with Original Music by Steve Prussing, Scott Stein and Cynthia Metz. ... Starring Abigail Grace Allwein, Christian Dominguez, and Don Loper. At the La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Boulevard; La Jolla, CA 92037 A psychological thriller about a distinguished composer, his assistant (a highly accomplished pianist in her own right), and an Intruder who changes their lives forever. $10 Suggested Donation -- a.k.a., "pay-what-one-can" Don't Miss This Action-Packed, Entertaining Suspenseful Drama, with the requisite twist & turns...!!!... Don Loper, who plays the composer Newell Chancellor, acts and directs pretty much whenever somebody asks(!), most recently for Scripps Ranch Theatre in its Out On A Limb new play festival and for the LJ Theatre Ensemble/Vantage Theatre staged reading of "The Spin Doctor" last June. Onstage he has performed for, among others, Compass, ion, and Moxie Theatres; Playwrights Project; ProudMouse; the San Diego Rep; and North Coast Rep.

We are in the thick of rehearsals for Mark Sickman's psychological thriller, RHAPSODY IN RED, which will have its world premiere staged reading at the La Jolla Community Center in just Two Days...!!... Sunday & Monday Evenings, February 23-24 @ 7PM 6811 La Jolla Boulevard; La Jolla, CA 92037... $10 Suggested Donation (a.k.a., pay-what-one-can ;) ) Starring Don Loper as distinguished composer, Newell Chancellor; Abigail Grace Allwein as his assistant, Michelle, a pianist; and Christian Dominguez as the Intruder. With Original Music by Steve Prussing, Scott Stein & Cynthia Metz. Mark and Marilyn Sickman have worked in theatre for the last twenty years, with Mark as author and Marilyn as producer. Recent productions in New York City include "Intruder" (which has evolved into "Rhapsody in Red") at the Hudson Guild Theatre and "Rope" at the Robert Moss (top award winner in the Venus Theatre Festival). "Taxi to Jannah" ran off-Broadway at Queens Theatre in the Park, at 59East59 in Manhattan, and at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. The Sickmans’ "Space Number Nine" has been performed seasonally in the Phoenix area and elsewhere for the last seven years. Other productions include "Merchandise" (staged readings) at the Orlando and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals, "Greenbrier" at the GVT Theatre in West Virginia, and "Charming Billy" at Theatre with Your Coffee in Hollywood, Florida. "Lillian" was presented in 2018 by the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble as a "curtain-raiser" for the LJTE's staged reading of "That Championship Season." "Kiss Them And Wish Them Goodbye" holds the unofficial record as the longest running show in the history of the Coronado Playhouse. Mark and Marilyn have lived in La Jolla since 1977.

Coming up in Fewer Than Two Weeks...!!... RHAPSODY IN RED by Mark Sickman, starring Abigail Grace Allwein, Chris Dominguez, and Don Loper. A psychological thriller centered around a very highly regarded composer's latest piece of music. ... Sunday & Monday Evenings, February 22-23 @ 7PM. At the La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Boulevard; La Jolla, CA 92037 A gripping final play of our company's first 10 years...!!!... Come out and See This Show one week after Valentine's Day Weekend, and find out why composer Newell Chancellor has a couple dozen red roses delivered regularly to his swanky living quarters... Is his pianist his live-in muse, or more than that...?... $10 Suggested Donation. As with all La Jolla Theatre Ensemble Staged Readings, that means "pay-what-one-can," for whether you can support us with the suggested amount, or more or less than it, we will be grateful and honored to have you with us ... -- To SEE another wonderfully-written script, with original music, acted by incredibly talented actors from our Outstanding San Diego Theatre Community(!), INCLUDING wily and charming veteran Don Loper(!), Triple-Threat (actor/singer/musician) Abigail Grace Allwein(!), and powerful newcomer Chris Dominguez...!!!... https://www.facebook.com/events/3704404969569943/

With Our first show successfully under our collective belt (THANK YOU to Our Lovely & Enthusiastic Audience Last Night! ), We Invite You to Show #2 --the ONLY Other One, Alas(!)-- TONIGHT...!!!... AMERICA, 2016-2020: SAME AS IT NEVER WAS ~ Seven Short Satirical (& Whip-Smart) Plays by Jenny Lyn Bader, Liz Coley, Alister Emerson, and Tim West, who will be on-hand tonight to see his play, "What to Do 'Til the Lights Come Back" performed for the first time...!!!... (It...'s also his Birthday Today...!!!... ) Julie Alexandria, Kathi Copeland, Edgar Diaz-Gutierrez, Julia Giolzetti (a.k.a. Julia Schalz), Joy Yvonne Jones, Cris O'Bryon, and Geoffrey Graeme (a.k.a., Geoffrey Thompson) were All in Extremely Fine Form last evening, and I can guarantee, that Tonight's Performance will be JUST As Good, if not Better...(!!!)... ;) 7PM Monday, 1/27 @ the La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Boulevard; La Jolla, CA 92037 Each Half of the Program runs between 40-45 minutes (4 plays compose Act One & 3 Act Two). We will have a talk-back afterwards for those who would like to stay -- with Tim West, some of the actors, and myself. We were one of the "Best Bets" in this Week's La Jolla Light, so Please Join Us This Evening -- and Find Out Why...(!!!)... Finally, Geoffrey has the rare opportunity to portray a sitting President (although in Jenny Lyn Bader's play, "White House Fairytale," inspired by A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, the character is named President Sherrier ;) ) this evening, as well as a Midwestern Trump Voter named J.D., and General Marvin Marks in Jenny Lyn's "Meanwhile at the Pentagon," which concludes the program. Liz Coley's "We Have an Opening For a Fury" cleverly puts three well-known figures from historical hearings in the same room... Geoffrey Graeme is excited to work with the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble for a third time, having previously played the lawyer, Folly, in Stephen Metcalfe’s play "The Lightbulb" in 2018 and John Honeyman in Lee Blessing’s "A View from the Mountains" last September. He trained in New York at the Circle in the Square and in San Diego with David Grant Wright at the Old Globe. In 2018 Geoffrey appeared in POWPAC’s "Quartet" as Reggie and "Christmas Belles" as John Curtis. Last Summer he was seen as the Duke in "Othello" and Escalus in "Measure for Measure" in Temecula’s Shakespeare in the Vines. Geoffrey has been working to build a career in television and film in Los Angeles, but the theatre will always be his passion.

TONIGHT...!!!... AMERICA, 2016-2020: SAME AS IT NEVER WAS A Staged Reading of Seven Short Plays ~ by Jenny Lyn Bader, Liz Coley, Alister Emerson & Tim West -- Six of Them in Their World Premieres...(!)... ...Continue reading

Three of Our Four Featured Playwrights for AMERICA, 2016-2020: SAME AS IT NEVER WAS. Jenny Lyn Bader, Liz Coley, and Tim West, who's about to be celebrating a Birthday. ~ Happy Birthday, Tim...!!!... Come Celebrate It with HIM and With US Tomorrow Night(!) or Monday Night...!!!... ... Kathi Copeland, Cris O'Bryon, and Julia Schalz will be there to act in the world premiere of Tim's play, "What to Do 'Til the Lights Come Back," and those three and Julie Alexandria, Edgar Diaz-Gutierrez, Joy Yvonne Jones, and Geoffrey Graeme (Geoffrey Thompson) will be in 1-4 of the program's other half-dozen plays. Alister Emerson's "Six Polar Bears Fell Out of the Sky This Morning," a play about the press and political "spin." Liz Coley's "We have an Opening For a Fury," with a trio of characters named Anita, Christine, and Monica... (See if you can figure it out -- at least prior to reading the program. ;) ) And Jenny Lyn Bader's "A Visit to the Rust Belt," "Inauguration," "White House Fairytale" (inspired by A THOUSAND & ONE NIGHTS), and "Meanwhile at the Pentagon." SUNDAY & MONDAY, 1/26-27 @ 7PM At the La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Boulevard; La Jolla, CA 92037 $10 Suggested Donation -- in other words, pay-what-one-can. ~ Please Join Us, including our Birthday Celebrant(!), and Enjoy some Satisfying Satire thanks to these Brilliant Playwrights, acted by our Outstanding Ensemble...!!!...

I met Julie Alexandria two years ago this month, and I am thrilled to finally get a chance to work with her in AMERICA, 2016-2020: SAME AS IT NEVER WAS. Seven Short Satirical Plays by Jenny Lyn Bader, Liz Coley, Alister Emerson, and Tim West...!... Sunday & Monday Evenings @ 7PM, January 26-27 at the La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Boulevard 92037... Julie will be joined by her also stellar ensemble members, Kathi Copeland, Edgar Diaz-Gutierrez, Joy Yvonne Jones, Cris O'Bryon, Julia Schalz (a.k.a. Giolzetti), and Geoffrey Graeme. Julie will be in 4 of the 7 plays, and her roles include a Reporter (you'll see from below why I wanted her for THAT..!... ;) ), the White Chief of Staff, an Advisor to the White House Press Secretary, and Dr, Christine Blasey-Ford. Julie Alexandria is an accomplished TV host covering sports and entertainment. She has been on the sidelines covering College Football on Fox and the Big Ten Network; the US Open for ESPN; Baseball for MLB Network; The Washington Nationals; and most recently, the on-field reporter for the San Diego Padres. She has hosted entertainment shows interviewing celebrities for MTV, the Emmys Red Carpet, and the daily magazine show OkTv. She has also hosted the 2015 Miss USA pageant, as well as live events for Sports Illustrated, Red Bull, Headline News, Microsoft, and NBC. Julie can currently be seen on CBS as the host of the lifestyle show This is SD. Theater is where it all began for her though, and her love for the stage runs deep. NYC Off-Broadway credits include: "Pieces" at New World Stages; "Twelfth Night" at Urban Stages; and "Marisol" at the Hudson Guild Theater. Other NYC/Regional credits: "Tony and Tina’s Wedding," "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the Tennessee Rep; "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at the Long Beach Playhouse; and "Yo Soy Latina" at the Crossroads Theater. Julie was also part of the original cast of the musical "Gidget," directed by Francis Ford Coppola. ~ Don't Miss Her in her San Diego acting debut -- or her other fellow fabulous cast members in these clever, entertaining plays about our country today by a quartet of exceptional playwrights...!!!... (For more information about the program, click on the link in the comments section just below. ;) )

Excited to work with an incredibly talented ensemble -- on this Fun (and, Yes, All-Too Timely) Program, AMERICA, 2016-2020: SAME AS IT NEVER WAS. Seven Short Plays of great insight, satire, and entertaining wit(!) -- by Jenny Lyn Bader, Liz Coley, Alister Emerson, and Tim West. Sunday & Monday evenings, 1/26-27 @ 7PM.... La Jolla Community Center: 6811 La Jolla Blvd. 92037 With Julie Alexandria, Kathi Copeland, Edgar Diaz-Gutierrez, Joy Yvonne Jones, Cris O'Bryon, Julia Schalz, and Geoffrey Thompson, some of whom I am privileged to work with for a first time, some for a second, and others for a third. Today I would like to feature Julia Schalz, a.k.a Julia Giolzetti, who among others, in this program will play an Assistant to the Advisor to the White House Press Secretary, Lt. Commander Theresa Ayles, and a sociologist and anti-bullying advocate who was at the center of the last impeachment of a president of these United States... Anybody care to hazard a guess whom that might be...?... ;) Julia is a San Diego native who has returned home after many years in NYC. She previously appeared with the LJTE in "Shorts by Shaw & Twain" and most recently performed on stage as Hermione in "The Winter’s Tale" at the Coronado Playhouse, where she also played Kate in "King Charles III." Other San Diego credits include: "Return Engagements" (Miranda) at Scripps Ranch Theatre; Plays by Young Writers (Playwrights Project) at the Old Globe, "The Expanse" Experience at Comic-Con, "Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" (Edna) at The Broadway Theatre, Vista. Off-Broadway: "Drunk Shakespeare" (Lady Macbeth, New York Times Critic's Pick). NYC: World Premiere of "PINK!" (Samantha), "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" (Anna), "Othello" (Iago), "Cymbeline" (Pisanio), "Comedy of Errors" (Adriana). Istanbul: "The Tempest," "Macbeth." She is also a theatre educator, both in local schools and as a private coach. She earned her B.F.A. from the N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts. Julia's greatest joy is her two-year-old daughter, Rosalind.