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OC WEEKLY
It’s the 2001 OC Weekly Theater Awards!
Time flies at speeds measured in light-years when you’re awarding laurels to the finest theater in Orange County (with Long Beach tossed in just because our hearts are so damn big). How else can we explain the fact that OC Weekly is already in its sixth year of hosting the OC Weekly Theater Awards? Why, it was just a few years ago that some 30-odd thespians were crammed into a Laguna Beach restaurant as a wacky ukulele player named King Kukulele serenaded the winners of the very first OC Weekly Theater Awards, the OCies—pronounced "Okies," as in denizens of Oklahoma (the state, not the Broadway show).
The event has grown until it almost feels legit. This year, for the second straight year, we invited more than 100 people from the local theater community to the Grove Theater Center in Garden Grove to rub shoulders, lift their elbows and clap their hands to celebrate the best and the brightest of 2001.
The awards presentation, held Feb. 25, were well-attended and muchly enjoyed. Food courtesy of Mark’s Restaurant was consumed, and music courtesy of the Todd Oliver Quartet was enjoyed. And then no one’s favorite theatrical curmudgeon, Joel Beers, presented the awards.
We’ve never made a distinction between big and small theaters, and this year, smaller theaters claimed as many nominations—and earned as many awards—as the big venues. Here’s who was nominated, who won and what our reviewers thought were the best of the class of Orange County Theater 2001.
...BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
"Unrelenting Relaxation", The Chance Theater. "The best ensemble acting of the year, period." (Dave Barton)
NOMINEES: "Angels in America", Cal State Long Beach; "American Buffalo", Laguna Playhouse; "Romeo Hall & Juliet Oates", Troubadour Theater Co. at Grove Theater Center; "Shopping and Fucking", Rude Guerrilla.
BEST NEW PLAY
WINNER: "Cold/Tender" by Cody Henderson, Cypress College. "Henderson pieced together this story with a puzzle-master’s skill. Unique and constantly engaging, even at this embryonic stage." (Joel Beers)
NOMINEES: "The Beard of Avon" by Amy Freed, South Coast Repertory; "For Pete’s Sake" by J.R. Sussman, Chance Theater; "Grasmere" by Kristina Leach, Cal State Fullerton; "Nostalgia" by Lucinda Coxon, South Coast Repertory; "October" by Brook Stowe, Empire Theatre.
...BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
WINNER: Kimberly K. King, "Hold Please", SCR. "King’s portrayal of the desperate conscience for an aging generation was a finely measured balance between professional restraint and emotional ketchup burst." (Joel Beers)
NOMINEES: Kandis Chappell, "A Delicate Balance", SCR; Rachel Davenport, "House of Yes", Rude Guerrilla; Lily Jha, "Beast on the Moon", Long Beach Playhouse; Liz Simmons, "Therese Raquin", Chance Theater.
BEST DIRECTION
WINNER: Michael Serna, "Charge" and "the Exploded View", 6 Chairs and a Couple of Artists. "Serna’s direction of Erik Ramsey’s dazzlingly smart, powerful and off-center diagram of life, The Exploded View, was far and away the best small theater production of the year." (Joseph Sirota)
NOMINEES: Joseph Arnold, "Grasmere", Cal State Fullerton; Andrew Barnicle, "American Buffalo", Laguna Playhouse; Gavin Carlton, "Elephant Man", Stages; Amanda DeMaio, "Unrelenting Relaxation", Chance Theater.
THE HELENA MODJESKA CONTRIBUTION TO ORANGE COUNTY THEATER AWARD
Jim Book. Our version of a lifetime achievement award always seems to go to a person still very much involved in local theater. Consider Book. As set and light guru at Fullerton College for the past 20 years, he has had an immense impact on that school’s fertile theater department. But his influence stretches far beyond those walls. He helped build the Chance Theater from the ground up, was intimately involved in the formation of Stages, and has volunteered his time and expertise to more than a dozen other theaters.
Bob Jensen, a Fullerton theater instructor and longtime friend and colleague of Book’s, delivered a humorous yet sincere speech, recounting the first time Book introduced himself in a college classroom: he said, "Hello, I’m Jim Book, and I like to blow things up."
"There’s nothing Jim can’t take apart or put back together," Jensen said.
What did he think of his award? Who knows—he’s vacationing in Hawaii, wearing corduroy pants on the beach, no doubt.
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NORTHERN LIGHTS
Chance founder and artistic director ready to branch out from stage in former warehouse in the Hills Although his current production is "Trail of Tears", Oanh Nguyen is all smiles at The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills.
Life is good for the founder of the Chance and Spare Change Productions. The theater he started in an empty warehouse in 1999 is thriving. He is happily married to singer/actress Erika Ceporius, 25. And, if everything works out as promised, he will soon be the crowned King of Cambodia -- at least in his next feature film.
Nguyen, 29, came to California from Vietnam at the age of four. His family settled in Anaheim. While attending Anaheim High School, he saw the 1950s classic film "Rebel Without a Cause". By the time the final credits rolled, he had found his career. "I enrolled in drama the very next day," he said.
Nguyen's passion for acting and directing awakened his talents in both areas. In his first outing as a director in a high school theater competition, he earned an award for Outstanding Direction. Not long after graduation, he returned to teach drama for a couple of years.
Nguyen knew almost from the moment he stepped on stage he would not only become a working actor, but would have a professional theater of his own. One day he and others, bursting with talent and a passion for performing, would create a spot where they could both entertain and explore theatrical horizons. "We built this theater from a bare warehouse," Nguyen said. "We put up the walls. We installed the seats. We painted. We work with people who really want to do theater, as opposed to those who just want to showcase so they can find an agent."
He opened the 80-seat theater in 1999 using whatever extra money he and his three partners had in their jeans or could charge to their credit cards. That's why they called their company, Spare Change Productions. At one time, they were close to $45,000 in debt.
"We planned to be out of debt in five years, "Nguyen said. "We are one year ahead of that plan." Adding to that achievement -- the theater is one of the few in Orange County that exists almost exclusively on ticket sales.
Now debt free, Nguyen is enjoying the fruits of his labors. On Aug. 9, the theater was the site of the world premiere of "Trail of Tears", a saga of the Cherokee Indians' forced march from their Tennessee homeland to government reservations in Oklahoma in 1838. The journey resulted in 5,000 deaths and roughly paralleled the genocide that accompanied the German invasion of Austria in 1938.
"Tears" is the third Joseph Hullett play to premiere at the 80-seat theater at 5576 E, La Palma Ave. Nguyen has also produced "Wish You Were Here" and "Confirmation" for the Irvine playwright.
'"We have a lot of dreams in this little group," Nguyen said. We are an open house to creativity. We'd like to become a regional theater." Toward that end, Nguyen plans to file for non-profit status next year so that he can apply for arts grants and corporate sponsorships. He has lots o ideas on how the city or local corporations can get involved with his ensemble theater group.
"We've been looking for a larger space," he said. "A couple of spots may pan out but we have another years on our lease.
"Eventually," Nguyen said, "we'd like a space where people aren't building motorcycles next door. A place where we could have a rehearsal hall and a classroom.
Both Nguyen and Ceporius are eager to share their expertise and passion for theater with other young people, particularly teen-agers. "We bring in groups of kids from schools like Canyon High," Nguyen said. "We sit them down with a copy of a script and let them talk to the director and set designers. Then we bring them back for the show and let them talk to the actors afterward."
The Chance offers discounts and events for senior, too. The carefully selected group of 12 talented young people that operates the theater wants to offer something for everyone. They acknowledge, however, that the present theater has some limitations.
It is tucked away in the back of a light industrial park, for openers. "We have very little visibility," Ceporius said. "The only time we can bring our signs out (to the street) is when a show is running."
So, they keep the stage busy. In four years they have produced 50 shows, an average of 14 per year. In between, they offer other performances that range from improvisational comedy nights to Sunday poetry readings. "We've also done silent movie shows," Ceporius said. "And a solo percussionist group."
In the planning stages is something the couple calls "Java Drama", a kind of retro coffeehouse idea that will be produced either on a Thursday night or Sunday.
Many of the principals of the theater group have show business careers of their own, including Nguyen and his wife.
He is a SAG/AFTRA actor whose credits are highlighted by the feature film "Clockstoppers", the pilot for "The Beast" and a Super Bowl commercial for 7-UP. Ceporius who played "Annie" as a child, has sung on several movie soundtracks and a Doc Sevenson album. She was singing in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat", at Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera, when she met her husband in 1996.
Nguyen will direct Ceporius in "The Angel and the Fiend", an original work by Antony Penrose at the Getty Museum next spring. Ceporius will play Penrose's mother, photographer Lee Miller. The show will be presented in conjunction with a showing of Miller's work.
Before that, Nguyen is off to Cambodia for a couple of months of acting in a feature film.
--Diane Reed, Northern Lights, August 15, 2002
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ORANGE COAST MAGAZINE
Theater Gets Up Close and Personal at These 10 Small Venues Watching a theatrical performance is always more entertaining when you can see the tiny droplets of sweat beading up on the actor's forehead, or the spray of saliva shoot out during an impassioned speech. It creates an intimacy that audiences crave, even if it is a bit voyeuristic. If you are interested in viewing a play or musical from a more intimate perspective -- in a theater that seats less than a hundred -- then try catching a show at one of the 10 hidden treasures listed. The theaters will give you an up-close-and-personal experience -- no binoculars required.
...Chance Theater, Seats: 54
Although this is one of Orange County's smallest venues, it's also one of its busiest. The theater, now entering its fourth season, mounts fourteen productions each year. The primary focus has been on original plays, but musicals have recently been added to the mix, including "Nine" and "Pippin". For 2003, the theater pledges to produce three original plays; interested writers can submit potential plays online at the Chance Theater Web site. As Production Manager Casey Long says, "We are continuing to grow and change."
--Kristin Edelhauser and Laura L. Gaghan, Orange Coast Magazine
September 1, 2002
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smaller venues are trying edgy and experimental works. The big story on the small, non-Equity theater scene continues to be the status of the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble, still up in the air after the troupe vacated its Fullerton industrial park home of 10 years this past spring.
Once VTE's old space became available, Hunger Artists vacated its overpriced Artists Village space and moved there, taking co-producing partner Insurgo Theater Movement along for the move.
After seeing its rent temporarily lowered and then raised, Rude Guerrilla Theater Company has just signed a new three-year lease at its Artists Village home. It enters its sixth season with several plays artistic director Dave Barton said are all "brand new or relatively new enough" to pique audience interest, with several premieres, mixing social conscience with the troupe's envelope-pushing sexual content and violence.
Following up on last season's "Shopping and F------" by Mark Ravenhill is the British playwright's "Some Explicit Polaroids." "It's as dramatic and more overtly political than 'Shopping,'." Barton said. "It's got the same level of sadness but is also a very black comedy."
Also at Rude G.: Ken Urban's experimental, avant-garde "New Jersey Trilogy," whose "Three Plays for the Garden State" include "Halo," described as "a pageant in 29 scenes" that may remind some of the mosaic-like approach of filmmaker Robert Altman.
The work of The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills has grown increasingly impressive. Now in its fourth season, the Chance's work is thought-provoking and intelligent on an almost uniform level, bringing passion to the craft of live theater.
"We have a new approach to our original works for next year," artistic director Oanh Nguyen announced. "We'll be doing a series of Monday night staged readings of our original works finalists all through early 2003, culminating in our first annual New Works Festival in September. It will consist of three full lengths and about six short pieces running in repertory for five weeks."
Still awaiting rights approval on most shows, The Chance's schedule now includes Kenneth Lonergan's "This Our Youth," Sam Shepard's "The Curse of the Starving Class" and a new version of "A Midsummer Night Dream" set in Las Vegas, opening in May. Also in May is Nguyen's production of Tony Penrose's "The Angel and The Fiend," coming off a two-weekend engagement at The Getty Museum's 500-seat theater.
--Eric Marchese, Orange County Register
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OC WEEKLY
The Chance Theater
Lots of local theaters produce original plays, but the Chance shot to the head of that class over the past two years with 10 new or very-new plays produced on its Anaheim Hills stage, many written by local playwrights. There’s nothing quite like a new play in its first incarnation— sometimes it’s harrowing, sometimes it’s heroic—and the county’s playwrights are fortunate that a storefront theater like the Chance has the dedication and people power needed to produce new work.
--Joel Beers, OC Weekly, October 18, 2002
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NORTHERN LIGHTS
Five of the area's top entertainers return to the spotlight
Take a burgeoning teenage pop idol, a blues-rocker going gospel, a multi-talented actress who touches lives, an award-winning actor taking a huge leap forward, and a smooth, old-school singer with charity in his heart, and what to you have?
The answer is simple and "heavenly." This is a Galaxy of Rising Stars!
In the past, these five entertainers have been profiled on the Entertainment pages of our community papers - singled out as sensational stars on the rise. Thus, people often ask, "What ever happened to that kid they call 'Hot Sauce'?" Or "How can I get in touch with the Mo Evans Band?"
For Evan Saucedo, Erika Ceporius, Evans, Omid Abtahi and Darvi Traylor, the answers follow:
...Erika Ceporius
This classically trained actor, singer and dancer is one of the owners and founders of The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. Since last profiled, she has appeared in "Pippin", "The Gondoliers", "Nine" and Shakespeare's "As You Like It". Ceporius also has made a name for herself as an imaginative costume designer.
Next year, she will tackle the heartfelt "role of a lifetime," explaining: "In April, I will be playing the part of my great aunt Lee Miller, a famous model and photographer. I'm so excited."
Her husband, Oanh Nguyen, will direct "Lee Miller: The Angel and the Fiend," at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It will coincide with an exhibit of her artworks.
Whatever project I'm working on, I hope the audience leaves with their souls touched or a joyfulness that they didn't have before they came into the theater."
Erika is as compassionate as she is talented. It's a great combination and something we've come to expect from this very classy lady.
--Chris Creson, Northern Lights, November 28, 2002
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smaller troupes show they can match the pace set by larger outfits
For Orange County theater this year, it was a case of getting older and getting better.
Time was when strong outings by north county troupes Stages, Vanguard and Fullerton Civic Light and occasional good work by various small troupes were all you could expect.
Now, a cadre of independent storefront theater troupes leads the charge with a muscular command of theater. They're well-schooled in the art form's demands and aren't afraid to take chances.
Shaken loose from its home of nine years, Vanguard had its scheduled season disrupted and has yet to find a new home. Now occupying its old venue are Hunger Artists, who offer works of varied quality regardless of audience turnout, and the upstart Insurgo Theatre Movement, a small company to keep an eye on.
The Chance, Rude Guerilla Theater Company and Stages Theatre are the nucleus of the county's best small theater groups. All three have enjoyed banner years. Rude Guerilla in particular has had an exceptional season at its Empire Theater in downtown Santa Ana: Seven of its nine productions were worthy of note.
Pro troupes Fullerton Civic Light Opera and McCoy Rigby Entertainment succeeded with warhorses old and new: FCLO with "The Scarlet Pimpernel," McCoy Rigby with a new touring production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."
In nearby Long Beach, International City Theatre (downtown) and the city's only professional musical theater group, Musical Theatre West (at Carpenter Center), did substantial work. At its two venues, the venerated Long Beach Playhouse had one of its best years in recent memory, with too many good shows to list, while at the Edison Theatre downtown, Cal Rep offered intriguing works like "Elfriede's Story" and "Willie, Mickey and the Duke."
THE TOP TEN
1. "'Master Harold'... and the boys" (International City Theatre)
2. "Taking Sides" (Rude Guerilla)
3. "Dealer's Choice" (Stages)
4. "Triumph of Love" (International City Theatre)
5. "Art" (Rude Guerilla)
6. "She Stoops to Conquer" (Long Beach Playhouse)
7. "Three Days of Rain" (The Chance Theater) Director Oanh Nguyen magnified the nuances of this tragic psychological study, with subtle, versatile performances from his three leads.
8. "Sleeping Around" (Rude Guerilla)
9. "All's Well That Ends Well" (Grove Theater Co.)
10. "The Sound of Music" (Saddleback Civic Light Opera)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
"Amy's View" (International City Theatre); "Cleansed" (Rude Guerilla); "David's Mother" (Rude Guerilla); "The Gondoliers" (The Chance Theater); "Hamlet" (The Hunger Artists); "Henry V" (Insurgo Theatre Movement); "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" (Musical Theatre West); "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" (Long Beach Playhouse); "The Misanthrope - The Karaoke Musical" (Stages); "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" (Stages); "Putting it Together" (International City Theatre); "Scales of Justice" (Long Beach Playhouse); "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (FCLO); "Show Boat" (Musical Theatre West); "Smash" (Long Beach Playhouse); "Suburb" (Long Beach Playhouse); "Truth & Beauty" (Rude Guerilla)
BEST PERFORMANCES
Erika Amato ("Nine"); Michael Carr, Nicole Ann Mohr ("Smash"); Richard Comeau ("Jake's Women", 'Trail of Tears"); Mark Coyan, Kimberly Fisher ("Cockfighters", "Hamlet"); Abbie de Vera ("All's Well That Ends Well"); Eric Eisenbrey ("David's Mother"); Ramlah Frediani, Erika Ceporius ("As You Like It"); T. Eric Hart ("The Scarlet Pimpernel"); Joseph Horn ("Three Days of Rain", "As You Like It"); Donald Kindle ("Last Night of Ballyhoo"); Jill Cary Martin, Tom Turnley ("Molly Sweeney"); Jack Messenger ("The Young Man from Atlanta"); Eddie Nickerson ("Dealer's Choice")
BEST DIRECTION
Dave Barton ("Cleansed"); John Beane ("Hamlet", "Henry V"); Sharyn Case ("Taking Sides"); Greg Cohen ("Biloxi Blues"); caryn morse desai ("'Master Harold'..."); Sheryl Donchey ("The Sound of Music"); Phyllis Gitlin ("Last Night of Ballyhoo", "Broadway Bound"); Steven John ("Dealer's Choice"); Oanh Nguyen ("Three Days of Rain")
--Eric Marchese, Orange County Register, December 29, 2002
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