GOLDEN BOY

Wow, what a show. We are selling out most performances, the audiences are thrilled, and we set a record for single day ticket sales last Sunday (for a matinee!!) I hope you all have your reservations - you truly do not want to miss this one. The show runs 2 hours and 40 minutes. We do still have tickets left for every show, but they are going fast.

Eddie Yaroch (who plays Roxy Gottleib in Golden Boy) having a very good opening night…

Also pictured: Frankie Regal (who sponsored the opening weekend events), Amanda Dane (Anna in GB), Amanda Sitton (Lorna in GB), Kristianne, Susanna Kurner and Box Office Manager Kelly Iversen. Did I mention we have the best looking team in San Diego??

A big thank you to the members of the Board who sponsored our Equity actor, Eric Poppick (he plays Mr. Bonaparte). His performance is wonderful, and he has been thrilled with his experience at NVA. He took Joshua and I out to lunch this week as a thank you, and commented so highly about NVA. His credits include work on Seinfeld, NYPD Blue and the movie Hero with Dustin Hoffman. Cool.

NVA’s FIRST SUMMER STOCK ACTOR!!

We figured since we convinced Joshua Everett Johnson to stay in town, we’d use him as much as possible. It helps that he’s a damn good actor. During the next two months, Joshua will be in not one but TWO shows with us! We have him lined up to be one of the three actors in Compleat Works, and we just decided to cast him in Sailor’s Song as well (it’s going to be so great!). Manny Fernandes, who previously played Rich, is going to move to the role of Uncle John, and Joshua will come in as Rich. We had an informal reading last night, and it is so exciting!

CARLSBAD MAGAZINE

Those great guys at Carlsbad Magazine, Troy and Tim, included NVA as #6 in the Locals’ Top 25 Things to do in Carlsbad (this was after the top ten, so I guess we’re actually #16, but that’s still good)! They produce our season guide as well, and it has been a successful partnership.

MANAGING DIRECTOR SEARCH

As Interim Managing Director Elaine Gingery comes to the end of her stay here at NVA we’re in the process of interviewing for a full time MD and have already seen some great candidates. You can check out the listing at the San Diego Performing Arts League website if you or someone you know might be a good fit. But move quickly, the deadline for applications is July 15, so we hope to have a decision made by August 1.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

July 4th: Happy Fourth Of July (no Golden Boy performance)

July 8: First Read of Sailor’s Song: 7 PM at theatre

July 13: Closing performance of Golden Boy: Strike Set

July 14: Ensemble Workshop 6:30 - 10:30

July 15: First Read of Compleat Works: 12:30 PM at theatre

August 2: Sailor’s Song opens

August 10: Compleat Works opens

September 6 & 7: Fundraiser at the Munk’s in La Jolla

Have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July.

All the best-

Kristianne

Cast, crew make this boxing tale into a contender

By James Hebert

UNION-TRIBUNE THEATER CRITIC

June 23, 2008

The boxer at the center of “Golden Boy” is a lightweight. Clifford Odets’ play definitely is anything but.

This moody piece about pugs and palookas and a fiddle-playing champ has been through more than a few rounds (it was first produced more than 70 years ago), but it still fills a stage with its bracing wit and rough-and-ready sense of poetry.

Speaking of filling a stage: You would think New Village Arts Theatre must have been punch-drunk to take on this sprawling three-act work, featuring enough characters to populate a week’s worth of undercards.

It’s a seriously ambitious undertaking for a small theater – even one as accomplished as NVA, which just marked its seventh anniversary (and its first at the company’s downtown Carlsbad space).

But director Joshua Everett Johnson, his cast and an able creative team pull it off in grand style. Their own sweet science is in keeping the play’s feel intimate, even with 15 actors and an epic, Greek-tragedy thematic sense.

Joe Bonaparte (Michael Zlotnik) is a boxer from a poor New York family who has the chops and brash ambition to become lightweight champ. Trouble is, he’s a little too talented: When he’s not giving opponents chin music, he’s showcasing his virtuoso touch on the violin.

His wrenching choice between the fist and the fiddle – between a lust for money and a devotion to art – is at the heart of this tough-minded but often mordantly comic play.Joe knows he can’t do both; boxing will ruin his hands for music. But he carries a deeply buried streak of violence (or self-destruction) that he seems helpless to prevent from overpowering his love for the violin.

“If music shot bullets, I’d like it better,” as he puts it, in one of Odets’ jab-like lines.

Zlotnik at first seems impossibly young and slight as Joe, but he makes the role his own with an understated sarcasm and a way of conveying inner turmoil with an economy of expression (in what could be an easy role to ham up). He makes it easy to believe in a kid who can’t stop picking fights even when there’s no ring in sight.

Versatile Manny Fernandes, an NVA regular, steps deftly into the shoes of Tom, Joe’s at-first-reluctant manager; he’s a schemer and a shlub who decides this new kid is “everything we want, everything we need from life.”

No one seems more perfectly in period, though, than Amanda Sitton as Lorna, the “tramp from Newark” (a self-description she wields like a doctor’s note for chronic failure) who is the married Tom’s squeeze. She’s a doll turning into a moll, with her wisecracks and the pugnacious set of her jaw.

Director Johnson, an actor who never fails to be interesting onstage, brings a whole weather system of weirdness when he arrives in Act 2 as the spooky Eddie. He’s a promoter who seems more professional extortionist; Johnson plays him like a snake about to molt a fresh pinstriped suit.

The play, a bit long but with enough momentum to sustain the slow moments, boasts plenty of other sharp performances: Eddie Yaroch as the excitable business partner Roxie; Jeff Anthony Miller as the good-hearted, bemused trainer Tokio; Eric Poppick as Joe’s devoted but heartbroken dad; and Greg Wittman as a comical brother-in-law.

The inventive set by NVA executive artistic director Kristianne Kurner and Tim Wallace includes a loft where boxers perform in nickelodeon-esque vignettes behind a scrim; the effect is a technical knockout.

From early on, Odets makes it clear that the golden boy will pay a price for the life he chooses. Though Joe’s love for music can feel glossed over – as though it’s a matter we should take on the playwright’s word – Odets’ indelible characters and NVA’s expert staging still make this show a winner.

Writer: Clifford Odets. Director: Joshua Everett Johnson. Sets: Kristianne Kurner, Tim Wallace. Lighting: Nate Parde. Costumes: Mary Larson. Sound: Adam Lansky. Cast: Michael Zlotnik, Amanda Sitton, Manny Fernandes, Joshua Everett Johnson, Eric Poppick, Jeff Anthony Miller, Eddie Yaroch, Greg Wittman, Ryan Lahetta, Pat Moran, Ryan Hunter Lee, John DeCarlo, Amanda Dane, Carlos Darze, Sassan Saffari.

James Hebert: (619) 293-2040; jim.hebert@uniontrib.com

Joshua Everett Johnson, right, directs and co-stars in “Golden Boy” for New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad.

By PATRICIA MORRIS BUCKLEY - For the North County Times | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:28 AM PDT

Joshua Everett Johnson admits that Clifford Odets’ “Golden Boy” is just the type of show that scares theater companies —- even New Village Arts Theatre.

“This isn’t a play that you just throw together,” said Johnson, who both directs and acts in the production. “It’s scary to do, but we’ve always been a theater company that lives on the edge of our seats. It’s very close to the kind of theater we do —- theater inspired by the Actor’s Studio. It felt time to tackle it.”

First produced in 1937, “Golden Boy” is the story of Joe Bonaparte, a promising violinist who has another talent —- boxing. The lure of boxing is the opportunity to make big money. But it also holds the threat of hurting his hands so that he can no longer play the violin.

The play also follows a real struggle in Odets’ life. He had started to dabble in Hollywood after the success of his plays, “Waiting for Lefty” and “Awake and Sing!” Hollywood, like boxing, held the promise of big money, while theater meant a more satisfying artistic experience to him. Interestingly enough, the play eventually became a movie, which starred a young William Holden in his first starring role.

“This play originated with Odets’ work in New York City with the Group Theatre,” said Johnson, who plays Joe’s prizefighting promoter. “It was during a very inspiring time for American theater. We are such fans of the Group Theatre, and you can see its influence all over this work.”

The writing is what makes the play special, he pointed out.

“This is a play that’s simultaneously of the streets and poetic. It’s a combination of beauty and street smarts, of guts and softness. It’s like a great slice of humanity. It’s so unbelievably beautiful and alive,” said Johnson, a longtime New Village Arts company member who became the company’s artistic associate this past spring.

It’s also one of the largest casts ever assembled for a New Village Arts production. Originally written for 19 actors, this production features 14 actors.

“The greatest challenge of the show is the size,” he said. “It’s a three-act play with a large cast. Even the set is huge. It can be really intimidating unless you get a firm grasp of the language. But the same things that make it challenging are the things that make it exciting.”

The play is set during the Depression era of the 1930s in New York City.

“It’s soaked in that time and place,” he noted. “It couldn’t be in any other place or time.”

The ultimate message is clear: “We all fight to become someone bigger or better, but perhaps you need to stop,” he said. “You might already be who you want to be. And you might lose your humanity in the struggle for material things. This play shows how there’s such beauty in strength itself.”

“Golden Boy”

When: Opens Saturday and runs through July 31; showtimes, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 B State St., Carlsbad

Tickets: $26, general; $22, seniors, students and military

Phone: (760) 433-3245

Web: NewVillageArts.org

Tim Parker, Joshua Everett Johnson & Adam Brick checking out the view at the Munk’s home. The trio is set to appear there in a pair of performances to benefit the theatre.

We’re holding this years fund raiser at the Munk’s, a home in La Jolla with a beautiful amphitheater in the backyard that overlooks a lush canyon that leads to the sparkling sea. Sound divine? That’s because it is.

We’ll be doing two nights of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) here in September and so went to check out the venue and shoot some of the guys doing the show: Tim Parker, Adam Brick & Joshua Everett Johnson. Click on the photo above to take you to the Flickr site with all the shots!

Ensemble Retreat

We had a wonderful Ensemble Retreat at the Creekstone Inn in Idyllwild from June 1-4. Ensemble member Jack Missett was generous enough to sponsor the retreat (we had the entire Inn to ourselves) and we got a lot of work done and had a ton of fun. Here’s a photo from our night out at Cafe Aroma:

Amanda Sitton, Amanda Morrow, Tom Zohar, Joshua Everett Johnson, Kristianne Kurner, Wendy Waddell & Jack Missett. (Also attended but not in photo: Manny Fernandes & Adam Brick. Not able to attend: Dana Case, Rachael VanWormer, Ron Choularton, Daren Scott & Sandra Ellis-Troy).

We worked on defining what it is that New Village Arts does that is unique, what we believe as theatre artists, and the kind of environment we want to create to enable that art to happen.

Check out our Ensemble Members in the following shows:

Amanda Sitton, Joshua Everett Johnson & Manny Fernandes: Golden Boy at NVA

Tom Zohar: Yank! at Diversionary Theatre (opens in July)

Sandra Ellis-Troy: Crazy for You at Starlight Theatre

Rachael VanWormer: The Listener at Moxie Theatre

Shakespeare Switcheroo

Look below this post for the press release explaining the change in the Shakespeare for this year. We are thrilled with the cast and elated that Rob Salas, who originally signed on to direct The Tempest, will be able to direct The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) for us.

2008-2009 Season

We have selected the upcoming season. We shared it with a very enthusiastic Ensemble over the weekend, and are looking forward to sharing it with you all. We’re working on the press release now and we will be doing a full season announcement on June 16th before the reading of Woman Before a Glass (featuring Sandra Ellis-Troy).

Staff Changes. Again.

We’ll be announcing a new, full-time staff position shortly. We’re really excited about making some shifts around here and look forward to seeing who steps up for the job. We’ll announce as soon as we hammer out the details but if you’re on the hunt for a dynamic, exciting, face paced and challenging position with one of the hottest theatres in town, watch this space.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the theatre!

Kristianne

Carlsbad, CA. New Village Arts Theatre is pleased to announce our summer fling with Shakespeare with The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) in rep with Sailor’s Song on our resident stage in Carlsbad Village. Sailor’s Song will open as scheduled on Saturday, August 2^nd at 8pm while The Compleat Works... will open on Sunday, August 10^th at 7pm and run for only eleven performances on the main stage with an additional two performances to be performed as a fundraiser at another location. Performances of The Compleat Works… will be free to subscribers and will be Pay-What-You-Can for everyone else. Ticket prices and location for the fundraiser performances will be announced at another time. Reservations can be made by calling NVA’s box office at 760/433.3245 or visiting www.NewVillageArts.org.

The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) will replace the scheduled outdoor production of The Tempest.

“We love the idea of performing free Shakespeare in the park but for the last two seasons, that simply hasn’t been in the cards,” remarked Interim Managing Director Elaine Gingery. “With the economy as it is, raising money for a large, outdoor production has been challenging as people divert their charitable giving to disaster relief. Choice locations have been demanding a higher price for performance space as well. Since we were unable to come up with a reasonable location to give away great theatre, we decided to just have some fun, move Shakespeare back to our resident stage and produce an exciting event that everyone can enjoy.”

The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) will star Artistic Associate Joshua Everett Johnson, Tim Parker who recently appeared with NVA in PRELUDE TO A KISS and Ensemble Member Adam Brick. The production will be directed by Rob Salas, a recent Harvard grad who was previously scheduled to direct The Tempest for NVA.

Artistic Associate Joshua Everett Johnson, who brought the idea of The Compleat Works… to the table, remarked that,” The Compleat Works… is such a fun script, like a summer fling with Shakespeare! Not to mention the fact that the audience gets involved every night; it’s going to be impossible not to have a good time!”

Performances of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) will take place at NVA’s beautiful new theatre space in Carlsbad Village August 10^th – 31^st, 2008, Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7pm through the 24^th as well as, August 28^th at 8pm, Friday the 29^th at 8pm, Saturday the 30^th at 8pm and Sunday the 31^st at 2pm. General admission tickets are all Pay-What-You-Can. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 760/433.3245 or visiting www.NewVillageArts.org where $5 & $10 donation prices are offered. Audience members who’d like to pay a different amount may simply make a reservation over the phone and pay with cash at the door. No credit cards will be accepted at the door but can be used online.

ABOUT THE PLAY:

The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) was written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987. Within the span of the evening every single Shakespeare play is covered as well as a nod given to the sonnets. It is notable for holding the (self-proclaimed) world record for the shortest-ever performance of HAMLET, clocking in at 43 seconds. We’re thinking we can beat the record.

CALENDAR (SS = Sailor’s Song; CW = Compleat Works…)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, 2008

Carlsbad, CA. The award-winning New Village Arts Theatre takes on an American classic with the 1930’s love story GOLDEN BOY by Clifford Odets playing at NVA’s theatrical home at 2787 State Street in Carlsbad Village. Opening June 21^st, 2008 GOLDEN BOY will run through July 13^th with two Pay-What-You-Can Previews on June 19^th and 20^th. Artistic Associate Joshua Everett Johnson will direct the production. Mr. Johnson has been the recipient of a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Acting every year for the past three years, and has been with New Village Arts since 2002. Reservations can be made by calling NVA’s box office at 760/433.3245 or visiting www.NewVillageArts.org.

The cast of GOLDEN BOY will be lead by newcomer to NVA Michael Zlotnik, playing violinist turned boxer Joe Bonaparte. Anchoring the cast will be Ensemble Members Amanda Sitton* as Lorna Moon, Manny Fernandes* as Tom Moody, Joshua Everett Johnson* as Eddie Fuseli and Actor’s Equity Member Eric Poppick as Mr. Bonaparte. Other talented actors lending themselves to this play are Amanda Dane (Anna), John DeCarlo (Frank Bonaparte/Mickey), Ryan Lahetta (Pepper White), Ryan Lee (Drake), Jeff Anthony Miller (Tokio), Pat Moran (Mr. Carp/Driscoll), Greg Wittman (Siggie) and Eddie Yaroch (Roxy Gottleib). Rounding out the Ensemble are Carlos Darze and Sassan Saffari.

Performances of GOLDEN BOY will take place at NVA’s beautiful new theatre space in Carlsbad Village June 21^st - July 13^th, 2008, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 3 PM and 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. General admission tickets are $26, with a discounted $22 ticket price for Seniors (65+), Students (Full time with ID) and Active Military. Groups of six or more are $20. San Diego residents are encouraged to take advantage of Coaster train service to and from the Saturday 3 PM matinees. There are also two Pay-What-You-Can Previews on Thursday, June 19^th at 8 PM and Friday, June 20^th at 8 PM. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 760/433.3245 or visiting www.NewVillageArts.org.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
American playwright Clifford Odets crafted this 1930’s love story about a classically trained violinist with a unique attribute: the skill and strength to become the lightweight champion of the world. In a New York City dominated by Odets’ quirky characters and street poetry, he must choose between the fists and the fiddle, the glamorous and the gutsy, what he needs and the woman he wants.

GOLDEN BOY was first produced in November of 1937 by The Group Theatre, a company Clifford Odets helped found along with Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford. It has been said that Odets own struggle between art and materialism was the basis for GOLDEN BOY as Odets struggled to support his theatre habit with Hollywood success. His previous work included a great deal of social criticism where GOLDEN BOY was acclaimed for its intricate personal relationships and psychological conflict. Translating these complicated themes to the stage is a Cracker Jack creative team brought together by director Joshua Everett Johnson*: NVA’s Executive Artistic Director Kristianne Kurner* will co-design the set along with scenic artist Tim Wallace. Nate Parde, recently named Lighting Director at the Old Globe, will add to the mood with his Lighting Design; Costumes will be designed by Mary Larson and Props by Bonnie Durben.

*Member of NVA’s Ensemble

Whoa. Kinda fell off the radar there for a wee bit. Sorry. Things have been, as always, busy. We closed Prelude to a Kiss and realized it was one of our best selling productions of all time. It’s amazing to see that each show we produce in our new space does so well, far surpassing the turnout we’ve had in the past. We’re beginning to wonder if we’re going to outgrow our space!

Rehearsals have started for Golden Boy and the design team has come up with some deliciously dark ideas for this film noir style, 1930’s play. The cast makes us giddy, they’re so awesome. Can’t wait for Opening Night on June 21, but you’ll have to if you don’t already have your tickets: we’re sold out.

We also have some exciting news about Shakespeare this year but are still working out the kinks. We can tell you that it’s not what you’re expecting but other than that, you get to sit and ponder what the heck we’re up to.

The offices are expanding as we try to find space for all the people we have working with us. We now have three desks in the main office and are carving out space in the conference room for the others. It’s thrilling to have some many artist working to help the theatre grow.

Upcoming is the Ensemble Retreat where our favorite actors will get together to work on their craft and talk about the future of the company, a topic that is in a lovely space of flux as new opportunities keep cropping up. Things just keep changing around here and all of it in a most excellent way. So far the only thing that hasn’t changed is the quality of the work. For that, we’re steady on.

We’d love to hear from you about your experience with the theatre. So far the only comments we’ve gotten on this here blog have been of the spam variety, but please drop in and say hi anytime. Just hit the comment link and tell us your thoughts. We hope to see you in the theatre soon!

Yesterday we posted about the Carlsbad Village Street Faire and how we had a lucky little drawing for free tickets to see Golden Boy, coming up in June. Today we pulled four winners and so that you can see how very fair we are about the faire, here was the process:

First we counted up our stack on entries. Wow, you people like the idea of free theatre:

Then, using Random.Org we made the computer pick four numbers:

Then we counted out the given numbers:

And arrived at four winners:

You SO want my job right now. It’s all sitting around and playing with bits of paper and the internet and making sarcastic remarks. Sometimes, we do a show!

In any event, if you happen to recognize your scrawl in that blurred out bunch, check your email. We’ll be contacting you shortly to set you up for Golden Boy! Congrats, I just KNEW you’d win!

Today was the Carlsbad Village Street Faire, an event that takes place twice a year and draws people from all over the state (and some neighboring states as well) for fun, food and crafts beyond compare. We were lucky enough to get a booth at the end of the street facing the theatre and so were pointing people on over for tours while preaching the good word of NVA. We also had a couple awesome specials available only to Street Faire attendees.

Had you been there you could have enjoyed any of the following:
Special pricing for tonights 7pm performance
Discount coupons for Prelude to a Kiss
A chance to win two free tickets to Golden Boy. On that note, if you did enter to win, we’ll be drawing four winners tomorrow and contacting them by phone or email. Fingers are totally crossed for you. Yes, you.

The next fair is in November and we’ll likely do this again. If we do, COME. We’ll totally make it worth your while.