Put a Little Drama in your Life
KPBS AIRDATE: May 17, 2002 Sometimes there are secrets you keep even from those you love. Behind the scenes, actors harbor hidden talents and deep-seated dramatic ambitions. And onstage, there's a skeleton in every family closet. In the San Diego Actors Festival, local artists get to stretch their wings and fly with their fantasies. Actors who've always wanted to write or direct Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: May 10, 2002 It's the age-old dichotomy between entertainment and enlightenment. And it's not confined to theater; it can take physical as well as linguistic or dramatic form. There is, of course, a place for sheer, senseless diversion. But though it may amuse or amaze you, it doesn't leave you thinking or touch your soul, make you contemplate your history or humanity. Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: May 3, 2002 Culture Clash captures America, one critical city at a time. And of course, there IS a culture clash in America -- rich vs. poor, old vs. young, white vs. black, gay vs. straight, Latino vs. Anglo, immigrant vs. native-born, even immigrant vs. immigrant. They're all here. In this pastiche of past pieces, Culture Clash is serving up their Read More →
AIRDATE: April 26, 2002 On stages near and far, brotherly love is looking a lot like fratricide. Siblings under stress feature in two new plays and a West Coast premiere. Up at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, we have the Collyer Brothers, the subject of acclaimed playwright Richard Greenberg's latest venture, "The Dazzle." Three years ago, Greenberg dazzled local audiences Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: April 19, 2002 "I am a man's creation; I am the woman every man wants." The quote comes from one play, but it applies to two. In either case, the character speaking would be… a man. In Caryl Churchill's acclaimed 1979 "Cloud Nine" and Jeffrey Hatcher's world premiere "Compleat Female Stage Beauty," it is men who define what it means to be a woman. But then, Read More →
KPBS AIRDATE: April 12, 2002 The cast comes down the aisles, steps onto the stage and faces the audience, glaring. They examine us, one by one. And then they launch into the hard-edged, aggressive opening number, "Come Look at the Freaks." And who are the freaks, anyway? The congenitally disfigured or their gapers and gawkers? This is just one of the powerful questions subtly asked in "Side Show," Read More →
“San Diego is a hotbed of theater. Every year, I see 200-250 productions. This is fertile ground for new work. In addition to the prodigious local talent, theatermakers from around the country come here to premiere their latest creations. San Diego sends more shows to Broadway than nearly any other city in the U.S.”
-Pat Launer