BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.3//EN TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:VEVENT UID:320@1718.ucla.edu DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20201204T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20201204T160000 DTSTAMP:20201201T214728Z URL:https://1718.ucla.edu/events/resituating-the-comedia-roundtable1/ SUMMARY:Resituating the Comedia Roundtable: For a Theater of The Future\, P art I DESCRIPTION:–organized by Barbara Fuchs (UCLA)\n\nOnline event via Zoom\n \nThis event is free of charge\, but you must register in advance to atten d. All audience members will receive instructions via email after registra tion. Click the following link to register directly with Zoom: https://ucl a.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrde-prz8iGdFix0bWId6_sqiyacfNGg2Q\n\nThe his tory of theater is intimately bound up with the creation of public fora\, the development of the city\, and notions of citizenship. Theater examines both our private and our social concerns on a shared stage\; it has alway s thrived when it can provide a commons—a meeting place for minds and sp irits. In the early modern period\, which saw the first large-scale commer cial theaters\, performances occurred outdoors\, moving from the streets t o informal spaces that only gradually developed into open-air theaters\, w ith little in the way of scenery or other apparatus. Whether at the edges of the city\, as in London\, or at its heart\, as in Madrid\, theaters off ered a place to reflect on community and belonging. Across the Hispanic wo rld\, performances were authorized despite moralists’ misgivings because they helped pay for social services through the hospitales de pobres. Ear ly modern theater thus offers a model of relevance and resilience: althoug h it was periodically censured and repeatedly closed down during epidemics \, it remained flexible enough to adapt or relocate while continuing to en gage audiences.\n\nThe Covid-19 pandemic has both exposed and exacerbated crises in the world of theater. There is a widespread sentiment among prac titioners and critics alike that the closure of the theaters should afford the chance to come back stronger\, rethinking key questions of form\, aud ience\, access\, and funding models. Given the long history of theaters cl osed due to plague and political unrest\, what lessons might we learn for how best to reflect\, regroup\, and reimagine theater going forward?\n\nAs part of the Center &\; Clark’s year-long core program “Resituating the Comedia\,” we have convened a number of key figures in the Los Ange les theater world—directors\, playwrights\, producers\, scholars—for t wo roundtables to be held on December 4\, 2020 and January 15\, 2021 to ex amine the affordances of the pandemic closures in light of the long histor y of urban theatermaking and theater’s enduring role as a civic commons. Our goal is to produce a set of recommendations for the theater.\n\nWe ha ve also commissioned brief proof-of-concept digital theater pieces that en liven the classics in new formats. These will be presented at the January 15 roundtable session\; we expect progress reports from the artists at the December 4 roundtable.\n\nKey questions will include:\n\n What models of resilience does theater history offer contemporary practitioners (alterna tive modes/locations)?\n How can theater draw on its own history in bridg ing this transitional period\, and how can it reemerge as a different sort of public art?\n What new affordances—more democratic access\, greater diversity\, transnational collaboration\, lower bars to entry\, etc.—ha s the pandemic yielded\, and how might they be made permanent?\n What rol e can the classics play in appealing to audiences now? How can audiences b e re-engaged\, expanded\, and renewed?\n What types of performance experi mentation do periods of crisis elicit?\n How can theater provide communit y and a space for urgent cultural conversations through various media?\n\n Program\n\n2:00 – 2:30 p.m.\nPresentations (approximately 2 minutes each )\nKristy Edmunds\, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance\nOlga Garay -English\, OMGArtsplus\nMichael Hackett\, University of California\, Los A ngeles\nErith Jaffe-Berg\, University of California\, Riverside\nJessica K ubzansky\, Boston Court Pasadena\nJulia Reinhard Lupton\, University of Ca lifornia\, Irvine\nCharles McNulty\, Los Angeles Times\nEdgar Miramontes\, REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater)\nJonathan Muñoz-Proulx\, A Noise Within\nJon Lawrence Rivera\, Playwrights' Arena\nGabby Shawcross\, Gensler Digital Experience Design\, Los Angeles\nMadhuri Shekar\, Playwri ght\nSean Stewart\, Author &\; Experience Designer\n\n2:30 – 3:30 p.m .\nDiscussion (moderated by Barbara Fuchs)\n\n3:30 – 3:45 p.m.\nArtist P resentations (approximately 5 minutes each)\nAnnie Loui\, University of Ca lifornia and Artistic Director\, CounterBalance Theater\nAllan Flores and Fernando Villa\, Efe Tres Teatro\nElena Araoz\, Princeton University\n\n3 :45 p.m.\nConcluding Remarks\n\n\n\nBios\n\nKristy Edmunds\, UCLA’s Cent er for the Art of Performance\nKristy Edmunds (artist\, curator\, keynote speaker) is currently the Executive and Artistic Director of UCLA’s Cent er for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA)\, a leading presenter of contempo rary performance.  In recognition of her contribution to the arts\, Edmun ds was named a 2016 Chevalier (Knight) de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettre s by the French Government and was the inaugural recipient of the Berresfo rd Prize by United States Artists (USA) in 2018. Edmunds’ previously hel d positions at acclaimed institutions in Portland\, Australia and New York . Visit CAP UCLA’s website for more on her background.\n\nOlga Garay-Eng lish\, OMGArtsplus\nOlga Garay-English is Senior Advisor to Chile's Fundac ión Teatro a Mil. She was Executive Director of the Ford Theatres (2016-2 019). She is Senior Advisor to Staging Change\, a project of NYU’s John Brademas and the Social Impact of the Arts Project\, University of Pennsyl vania\, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.\nOlga was Executive Dir ector\, City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs (2007-2014). She was fou nding Program Director for the Arts for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundati on (1998-2005) awarding $145 million to organizations in the U.S. and abro ad. She is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres.\n\nMichael Hack ett\, University of California\, Los Angeles\nMichael Hackett is a theater director and professor in the UCLA School of Theater\, Film and Televisio n. In March 2020\, he was named the winner of the Witkacy Prize by the War saw Centre of the International Theatre Institute.  He has directed five staged readings of plays translated by the UCLA working group on ‘Comedi a in Translation and Performance.’\n\nErith Jaffe-Berg\, University of C alifornia\, Riverside\nErith Jaffe-Berg is a Professor at the Department o f Theatre\, Film and Digital Production at UC Riverside. Her research focu ses on the commedia dell’arte and performances by minority groups in Ear ly Modern Italy. She has authored two books: Commedia dell’Arte and the Mediterranean: Charting Journeys and Mapping “Others” (2015) and The M ultilingual Art of Commedia dell’Arte (2009)\, among other essays and ar ticles. She is a member of the Son of Semele Theatre Ensemble and Theatre Dybbuk.\n\nJessica Kubzansky\, Boston Court Pasadena\nJessica Kubzansky i s a champion of innovation and artistic excellence\, and the artistic dire ctor Boston Court Pasadena\, a theatre primarily dedicated to adventurous new work and reenvisioned classics that engage the cultural conversation. She is also an award-winning director working locally and nationally on ne w works\, classics\, and exciting new adaptations of classics. Recently d irected for Boston Court: the world premieres of Kit Steinkellner’s Lad ies\, Sarah B. Mantell’s Everything That Never Happened (written in re sponse to Merchant of Venice) Stefanie Zadravec’s Colony Collapse\, RI I (her own three-person reenvisioning of Shakespeare’s Richard II)\,  Michael Elyanow’s The Children (a modern riff on Medea)\, as well as  Luis Alfaro’s Mojada\, A Medea in Los Angeles (a co-production at the Getty Villa)\, and the New York and world premieres of Sheila Callaghan’ s Everything You Touch  (a co-pro with Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre at the Cherry Lane). Recently elsewhere: The Father with Alfred Molina  (Pasadena Playhouse)\, Othello (A Noise Within)\, Jeanne Sakata’s H old These Truths (Arena Stage\, San Diego Rep)\, Aditi Kapil’s Orange  (South Coast Rep)\, Aaron Posner’s Stupid Fucking Bird (ACT Theatre Seattle). Most recently she directed a piece for Flash Acts\, an internati onal short play festival of Russian and American artists produced by Arena Stage in D.C.  Kubzansky has received numerous awards and honors\, amon g them the Los Angeles’ Drama Critics’ Circle’s Margaret Harford Awa rd for Sustained Excellence in Theatre. Kubzansky teaches at UCLA\, has an MFA in Theatre Direction from CalArts\, and an BA in Creative Writing fro m Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities.\n\nJulia Reinhard Lupton\, Unive rsity of California\, Irvine\nJulia Reinhard Lupton is professor of Englis h and co-director of the New Swan Shakespeare Center at the University of California\, Irvine\, where she serves as a dramaturg and runs academic an d community programming. She is the author or co-author of five books on S hakespeare\, including Shakespeare Dwelling: Designs for the Theater of Li fe and Thinking with Shakespeare: Essays on Politics and Life. Her current research and teaching focuses on Shakespeare and virtue\, broadly conceiv ed. She is a former Guggenheim Fellow and a former Trustee of the Shakespe are Association of America.\n\nCharles McNulty\, Los Angeles Times\nCharle s McNulty is the chief theater critic for the Los Angeles Times. He recei ved his doctorate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism from the Yale Schoo l of Drama. McNulty has taught at Yale\, the New School\, New York Univers ity\, the City University of New York Graduate Center and is currently on the faculty of the California Institute of the Arts. McNulty\, who started as a literary intern at the New York Public Theater in the days of Joseph Papp\, is a former Village Voice theater critic and editor and chairman of the Obie Awards. He was also the chairman of the Pulitzer drama jury i n 2010. He received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism fo r the theater year 2009-10\, the top prize for feature writing from the So ciety for Features Journalism in 2011 and several first place awards from the Los Angeles Press Club.\n\nEdgar Miramontes\, REDCAT (Roy and Edna Dis ney/CalArts Theater)\nEdgar Miramontes\, Deputy Executive Director &\; Curator of the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT)\, serves on t he curatorial and management team for REDCAT’s international\, national and regional programming with an emphasis in dance\, theater and performan ce.  Miramontes was the co-curator and co-producer of the Getty-led Pacif ic Standard Time Festival: Live Art LA/LA\, an international celebration o f art and performance\, with more than 200 Latin American and Latinx artis ts supported by a major grant from the Getty Foundation. He served on the curatorial team for the National Performance Network’s Performing Americ as Program and has participated as a panelist for the National Endowment f or the Arts\, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation\, Network of Ensemble Theaters\ , L.A. Cultural Affairs Department\, L.A. County Arts Commission\, Nationa l Performance Network\, and as a reviewer for MAP Fund and Creative Capita l. He is currently on the Board of the National Performance Network and is an advisory committee member of The Japan Foundation\, New York and New E ngland Foundation for the Arts's National Theater Project.\n\nJonathan Mun ̃oz-Proulx\, A Noise Within\nJonathan Muñoz-Proulx is an Ovation Award- nominated director and is Director of Cultural Programming at A Noise With in. He serves on the Latinx Theatre Commons National Advisory Committee\, is a member of the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Rules Committee\, and is a no minator for The Kilroy List. Muñoz-Proulx has previously served as Artist ic Assistant at East West Players\, Vice Chair of the Alliance of Los Ange les Playwrights\, and Associate Producer of Skylight Theatre. He has adju dicated on grant panels for the California Arts Council and the Los Angele s County Arts Commission. Muñoz-Proulx was elected to the 2017 Emerging A rts Leaders Los Angeles Leadership Council\, where he served as Programmin g Committee Co-Chair. He has worked with Center Theatre Group\, LA Phil / Walt Disney Concert Hall\, Los Angeles STAGE Alliance\, Boston Court Theat re\, Antaeus Theatre Company\, Garry Marshall Theatre\, The Industry\, Com pany of Angels\, 24th Street Theatre\, Playwrights’ Arena\, Pacific Resi dent Theatre\, Chalk Rep\, Ensemble Studio Theatre / LA\, After Hours Prod uctions\, Fever Events\, Élan Ensemble\, and Watts Village Theatre Compan y. Muñoz-Proulx has served as adjunct faculty to the USC MFA in Acting pr ogram\, and he is the current Edgerton guest artist in residence at Occide ntal College.\n\nJon Lawrence Rivera\, Playwrights’ Arena\nis the recipi ent of the first Career Achievement Award from Stage Raw. He has presented 15 modern-day adaptations of Spanish plays through the GOLDEN TONGUES ser ies.  Most recently\, Rivera directed the following world premieres for P laywrights’ Arena: MARCH (a live garage play during the pandemic)\, I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galván\, SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki \, BILLY BOY by Nick Salamone\, LITTLE WOMEN by Velina Hasu Houston\, BLOO DLETTING by Boni B. Alvarez\, THE ANATOMY OF GAZELLAS by Janine Salinas Sc hoenberg. Recipient of a NY Fringe Festival Award\, an LA Weekly Award\, a nd a five-time Ovation Award nominee\, Rivera is the founding artistic dir ector of Playwrights’ Arena.\n\nGabby Shawcross\, Gensler Digital Experi ence Design\, Los Angeles\nGabby Shawcross is Design Director of Gensler ’s Digital Experience Design (DXD) Team in Los Angeles. He is interested in exploring the integration of digital technologies in physical experien ce to activate public space and enhance the built environment. His work fu ses cinematic story-telling with spatial design\, discovering new ways of bringing people together for unique shared experiences.\n\nBefore joining Gensler\, Gabby created artworks and installations for respected instituti ons and international brands including Bloomberg\, World Wildlife Fund\, a nd Mayor Of London. He trained as an architect at the Bartlett School of A rchitecture\, UCL and as a production designer at the National Film and Te levision School in the UK. He has also taught experimental postgraduate ar chitecture studios at UCL and University of Westminster in the UK\, and mo st recently at UCLA\, here in Los Angeles.  \n\nMadhuri Shekar\, Playwri ght\nMadhuri Shekar is the 2020 recipient of the Lanford Wilson Award for playwriting. Her plays include Evil Eye\, In Love and Warcraft\, A Nice In dian Boy\, Queen\, House of Joy and Dhaba on Devon Avenue. Her new film wi th Blumhouse\, EVIL EYE\, is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime.\ n\nSean Stewart\, Author &\; Experience Designer\nSean Stewart is one o f the world’s most influential interactive storytellers.  He co-created the Alternate Reality Game (ARG) genre\, and served as the lead writer on groundbreaking collaborations with Steven Spielberg\, Halo\, and Nine Inc h Nails.\n\nStewart is the author of twelve novels\, including Galveston\, winner of the World Fantasy Award. He has an Emmy Award for interactive t elevision\, and this summer he partnered with NIDA to write and direct Rou ndabout\, an interactive farce live-streamed on Twitch.\n\nStewart has con sulted on immersive story projects for Disney\, the Royal Shakespeare Comp any\, Amazon\, Warner Brothers\, and many others.\n\nArtist Presentation T itles &\; Bios\n\nAnnie Loui\, University of California and Artistic Di rector\, CounterBalance Theater\nOvid: the mythological link between Spain and Italy\nAnnie Loui works as a director/choreographer\, and is the Arti stic Director of Counter-Balance Theater.  She trained with dancer Caroly n Carlson (at the Paris Opera)\, and studied in France with Etienne Decrou x\,  Ella Jarosivitcz and Jerzy Grotowski.  Original physical theater pi eces have been seen in France\, Monaco\, West Germany\, Italy\, and in the United States at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival\, among other venues. Sh e was the resident choreographer at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T. )\, Boston and taught extensively for Brandeis and ART Harvard\, before co ming to the University of California\, Irvine where she is Head of Acting for the MFA Actor Training Program.  Her book The Physical Actor is publi shed by Routledge Press.  \n\nAllan Flores and Fernando Villa\, Efe Tres Teatro\nLa firmeza en la ausencia\n\nEfe Tres Teatro is a company formed in 2012 by a team of scenic artists with the aim of showing in a fun way h ow the classics\, especially from the Baroque era\, still have a lot to te ll us. So far our montages rescue the style of the ñaque and the bululú. \n\nWe are a company committed to the dissemination of classical Spanish t heater. We create contemporary montages: agile and playful to dialogue wit h the public of the 21st century. With minimal scenic elements we appeal t o the spectator's imagination\, inviting them to watch from an active role . We want to erase the public's prejudices against classical theater by sh owing that it is current\, fun and universal.\n\nIn 2013 we premiered El P ríncipe Ynocente by Lope de Vega. In 2016 we partnered with the Mexican c ompany Cabaret Misterio to produce Qué Con Quique Quinto?\, a version for the whole family by Andrés Carreño\, adapted from William Shakespeare ’s Henry V. In the same year we were part of the production team that ac hieved great success with the first edition of the International Classic T heater Festival Mx. In 2017 we premiered our latest show\, El Merolico\, i n which we take up Cervantes's hors d'oeuvres in a boisterous one-man show .\n\nElena Araoz\, Princeton University\nOur presentation will be about ou t our short production of The Portrait of Juan Rana by Villaviciosa\, tran slated by Dr. Peter E. Thompson\ndirected by Elena Araoz\, director of t heatre and opera\, writer\, performer\, and faculty member at Princeton U niversity\n\nElena Araoz directs theatre and opera internationally\, Off-B roadway\, regionally. Upcoming: Anna in the Tropics (Barrington Stage)\, o nline interactive experience Manic Monologues (McCarter)\, audio drama Nig htfall (Audible)\, world premiere Garbologists (City Theatre)\, opera I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams (Resonance Works). A virtual production of Araoz’s Sugar Skull replaced its second national tour. Her virtual a fa rm for meme was dubbed by The New York Times as “form-busting” for its unique combination of “box puppets\, shadow play\, live film and archiv al footage into a gorgeous mise-en-scène that feels theatrical in its pur posefully homemade aesthetic.” The Wall Street Journal raved\, “A rema rkable new environment for operatic experimentation\,” about her virtual CGI/motion-capture Alice in the Pandemic (White Snake). At Princeton she leads Innovations in Socially Distant Performance.\n\n\n\nImage: Alegoría de la vanidad (supuesto retrato de la Calderona)\, courtesy of Patrimonio Nacional de España. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://1718.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09 /20-21-core-_website.jpg CATEGORIES:Core Program END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20201101T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR