UnHip LA

I was a Shakespeare fiend last summer.  Click on my Theatre link for all the madness.  Here’s the Bard line-up for this summer.  A few of the productions have already started!

http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/calendar.html
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antony & Cleopatra. Venues all throughout Socal.

http://www.independentshakespeare.com/box-office/box-office.html
Excellent theatre company with attractive actors.  Probably the best Shakespeare ensemble in L.A.  At Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood.  Picture below and my previous post here with tips.

Woops!  I put the wrong Levitt Pasadena Link here.  It doesn’t look like the Levitt is doing Shakespeare this year.  What a shame.  When I hear otherwise, I’ll post it.  Sorry!  *** UPDATE ***  The LATimes has a listing of Shakespeare productions this summer.  There are free performances in Culver City, Downtown, and Long Beach, and in Orange/San Diego Counties.  Woopie!  Click here.  Also, the LATimes has an article about Summer Shakespeare in L.A.  If you’re overwhelmed by all the freebie Shakespeare offerings, I recommend just checking out the Independent Shakespeare Co. at Barnsdall. 

Not free, but a beautiful venue.  Macbeth’s on the line-up.
http://www.theatricum.com./   Topanga Canyon.

 

We saw Of Mice and Men at the Pasadena Playhouse.  It was short and sweet (in a devastating way), probably the best play I’ve seen at the PP.  The play was the book almost verbatim, with Spanish thrown in, and the acting was fine all around.  Lenny was exactly what I pictured Lenny as. The sets, as usual for PP, were great to look at. Most of the plays I’ve seen at the PP have had okay acting and seemed to last way too long.  I think one of reasons this worked was because how short it was. 

This Friday through Sunday (Oct 12,13,14), Pasadena’s celebrating the arts, with free activities on each night.  There will be free museum admissions (Friday, 6-10pm), an arts market, band performances (Dengue Fever), theatre, and a Latino history parade. Wow!  Pasadena is doing it up.

Click here for the fantabulous schedule:
www.pasadenaARTweekend.com 

If you haven’t OD’ed on Shakespeare yet, there’s one last hurrah happening in Pasadena at the Levitt this weekend and the next.  It’s Henry V and it’s free.  Details here.

Sorry to be so brief here but after seeing three Shakespeare productions this summer, I’ve had enough for now.  Till next summer Bard, till next time.

The Barnsdall Arts Market is this Sunday, August 19th, from 11am - 5pm.

MySpace profile for the market

http://www.barnsdall.org/artcenter/default.cfm 

Afterwards, catch Richard II which starts at 7:30 pm. Free!  Bring a picnic.

Both events happen at the Barnsdall Arts Park
4800 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Also, the Sunset Junction street festival is going on too.   

UnHip LA has been tracking a few events this summer, and here’s what’s up for this weekend, with links to my previous posts.

The Really Really Free Market Saturday morning in Pasadena.

The Independent Shakespeare Company performing Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Barnsdall.

Shakespeare by the Sea performing The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew in Torrance.

Levitt with all their free music concerts in Old Town Pasadena.

and last but not least JOAN JETT in Alhambra.

BTW, all these events are FREE! 

Take a look at Shakespeare by the Sea’s free summer performance schedule.  It’s nearly half over.   http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/calendar.html

The troupe roves all over So. Cal. and is making a pit stop in South Pasadena this Thursday, July 19, at Garfield Park, to perform The Taming of the Shrew.

7:00 pm
1000 Park Avenue
South Pas, CA 91030 

On August 10 and 11, the troupe will perform The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice in San Pedro, by the sea, the real sea.  See picture above.

Consult their website for their numerous performance venues.  For some venues, they have picnic-buying options.  I hope this troupe will be as good as Barnsdall’s performers.  Oh, it’s on!  Please click my Shakespeare category button on the left to see more posts on the Bard. 

I, however, get my great outdoors fix at all the night-time festivals happening in L.A.  I caught Richard II tonight at Barnsdall.  It’s not the perkiest of plays, but I did enjoy the performances of loony King Richard II, his steely cousin Henry IV, and the versatile actor who played Gaunt and other roles.  Much less people tonight than at Dream last weekend, so picnicking was very comfortable.  Also no bees attacked me as I did not wear red.  I think the best parts were the warm weather (though lots of dew so don’t leave electronics on the ground) and being able to watch Shakespeare in my socks while being surrounded by my encampment of blankets, food, chairs, and hot tea. Someone brought a large fuzzy brown bean bag chair for two.  I was so jealous! 

Please click on my Shakespeare category button to the left to read more about Shakespeare happenings in L.A.

This was a wonderful night.  I highly recommend Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park. The direction was assured; the performances lyrical and entertaining; the actors….hot. This is the first-time I’ve ever seen the Bard performed by ripped, shirtless male actors.  Seriously, it was like Chippendales on iambic pentameter, but with great acting. I don’t think there was a single weak link in the cast, okay, maybe one but I won’t name any names. The play within a play of Thisbe and Pyramus was hilarious; Titania, the queen of the fairies, falling in love with a donkey was hilarious, and the list goes on. The minimal set decoration - two ladders doubling as thrones, trees, you name it - worked, as did the modern wardrobe pieces mixed in with the whimisical costumes. Hermia’s bright, green sneakers, however, were a bit distracting, but the fairy wearing a purse on top her head was really cute.  Great imagination all night long!  The Dream is an amusingly delightful play about romantic relationships.

 

As far as picnicking, well, the space is small.  Imagine someone’s yard and then stuffing three hundred people on it, all picnic blanket to blanket.  Personally, I don’t like picnicking in tight quarters but others did not seem to mind.  Fortunately we got there early 6:00 pm and were able to get seats on risers.  6:00 pm is also a good arrival time for getting primo picnic spots and parking.  Well actually, it really doesn’t matter where you put your blanket because other people will cram up against you anyways. 

(
(The people on the left are the early birds.  More people came later.)

Do not wear the color bright red.  I did and a bee would not leave me alone, hence ruining my sushi dinner.  The theatre offers free bug spray to use but it didn’t help me.  I was quite impressed by people’s elaborate picnic spreads (wicker baskets, table settings, wine, cheese, salads, someone even brought their own coffee table), but my favorite was the Louise’s pizza box.  That’s what I’m going to do next time.  It’s simple and tasty.  Also, I have a feeling that Thursday nights might not be as crowded as Saturday night when we went.  The plays (Midsummer, Richard II, and Macbeth) run Thursday through Sunday, all summer.

The Independent Shakespeare Co. believes that great art should be enjoyed by all, so performances are free. Thanks to them, I can be a Shakespeare scholarship student all summer.  I made a donation though because this was definitely worth it.  Also, parking’s free so you could throw that into the bucket as well.  

Finally, being at Barnsdall at night - a haven of art, high atop a hill, in the midst of Hollywood - is quite romantic.  Barnsdall has creative grounds to walk around in and cafe-like seating about with great views of Los Angeles.  If you go early enough, you might be able to check out some of the art galleries and the Hollyhock House, which Frank Lloyd Wright designed for arts patron Aline Barnsdall.  Barnsdall also has an indoor theatre and a large schedule of art classes. Come early, wander around, relax, read, make art…

DETAILS:
Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park
by the Independent Shakespeare Co. 
July 5 - September 2, Thursday - Sunday, 7:30 pm, FREE but RSVP.
Barnsdall Art Park
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027

boxoffice@independentshakespeare.com
or call (818) 710-6306

Free parking at the top and bottom of Barnsdall. Arrive early to avoid walking up the mound.  Handicap parking is available at the top.  Bring a jacket, blanket, or whatever you might need to keep warm because it gets chilly. They sell concessions at a reasonable price, but next time I am going to bring a thermos of tea, to have with my pizza.  (TIP:  There are restrooms in the theatre building and the arts building.  Go to the arts building to avoid a line.)  

___________
Check out this calendar of Los Angeles area summer Shakespeare festivals:  http://golosangeles.about.com/od/losangelescalendar/a/TheatreFestival.htm

And also click on my Shakespeare category to the left for more Bard in L.A. 

 

My goal this summer is to hit every outdoor Shakespeare production in the So. Cal area.  I am going to start with Barnsdall Art Park; they have a really great-sounding line-up performed by the Independent Shakespeare Co.:  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard II, and Macbeth.  Tonight (Saturday) is A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 7:30 pm.  I have never been before to this festival, so I am not sure what the parking situation will be like.  The performance is free, too (donations appreciated)!  Nothing like free Bard, to make a good, unhip summer; performances run through the beginning of September.  The photo above of the park is from you-are-here.com, which has great photography of Los Angeles landmarks, shot by a German engineer who visits L.A. often.  Check it out!  Also, if you didn’t know, the Barnsdall Art Park has a museum, art center, and the Hollyhock House (above) which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

"Some seating is available, or bring a blanket and stretch out on the lawn.
Please dress warmly, and reservations are recommended."

boxoffice@independentshakespeare.com
or call (818) 710-6306

*** UPDATE *** 

I went, had an excellent time!  Here is my post on my experience with tips!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Barnsdall Park

Also please click on my Shakespeare link for more related posts.

Summer is here and Levitt Pavillion in Memorial Park (Old Town Pasadena) hosts a huge, free concert series, starting June 27th.  The series (five nights a week!) offers an eclectic line-up of world music, jazz, latin, R&B and children’s music. A performance of Shakespeare’s Henry V, beginning September 7, caps off the run.  I saw a great performance here last year of Hamlet in the Park.  With snacks from Famima (in Old Town) and cream puffs from Beard Papa (in San Gabriel), the evening was really pleasant.    The festival is a perfect time to picnic and it’s not a mob scene.  Take a date!  Afterwards, you can stroll through Old Town.

Levitt details here. 

July 12 sounds a lot of fun:
ARABIC WORLD PERCUSSIONS, DHOL DRUMS, BHANGRA DANCE TEAMS, AND ARAB, NORTH AFRICAN DANCE TROUPE + SURPRISES

Here is my review of the above show and also some Levitt tips.

Check out this calendar of Los Angeles area summer Shakespeare festivals:  http://golosangeles.about.com/od/losangelescalendar/a/TheatreFestival.htm

I cannot wait!  Shakespeare in the park - how romantic. 

click here for Shakespeare!

 

For my review of Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park:

http://unhipla.blogsome.com/2007/07/09/chippendales-on-iambic-pentameter-a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-barnsdall/