Winterfest 2012 — Immerse Yourself!!
Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA presents
staged readings of 47 new plays in 18 days
January 10-29
Three weeks of non-stop staged readings, including new works by playwrights Nicholas Kazan, Tom Jacobson, Richard Martin Hirsch, Jacqueline Wright, Colin Mitchell, Jonas Oppenheim and many more. Admission is free, with donations accepted at the door.
WHERE: 3269 Casitas Ave Los Angeles, CA 90039
Click images or scroll down for full schedule & play synopses
WEEK ONE:
Tuesday, January 10 7pm: Under Milk Weed by Nick Pernice A comedic literary, socio-political satire based on Dylan Thomas’s famed “Under Milk Wood.” Wednesday, January 11 7pm: The Judge’s Decision Former Olympic sprinter Candace Meriwether pleads with the audience, her family, field judges and ultimately with Death itself for just one more shot at the gold. 8pm: Billionaire$ by Michael Sargent Billionaires “play” each other for love and money in exotic locales. Thursday, January 12th 7pm: Only Say The Word by Colin Mitchell A red state family tries to survive an ever-enclosing sea of blue when two brothers and an unexpected guest return for the youngest daughter’s graduation from high school. 9pm: Human Services by Tom Baum A pop star gets sentenced to a halfway house. Friday, January 13 7pm: Asylum by Chuck Rose A mysterious man changes the lives of people he meets in a mental home. 9pm: House & Home by Charlie Parks A son returns home to find his parents literally in shambles. Saturday, January 14 1:30pm: Carrying by Melissa Jane Osborne A lesbian couple finds an unlikely surrogate in a middle-aged artist. 3pm: Night for Day by Nicholas Kazan Bad boy comes home. 6pm: House of Stone by Richard Martin Hirsch A self-proclaimed “Jew in atheist’s clothing” finds his sanity in doubt after an important woman in his life has died. 8:30pm: Agnes Under The Big Top by Aditi Brennan Kapil This tall tale explores the intersecting lives of four immigrants in America—a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, and an Indian call center escapee—a bedridden recluse and an itinerant subway busker in a matrix of identity and reinvention. Sunday, January 15 12:30pm: The Luckiest Girl by Kitty Felde Ten year-old Tahira moves from California to Holland and to the horror of her grandmother, becomes smitten with the politically incorrect Dutch holiday character in blackface, Zwarte Piet. 2pm: The Contract by James Webb An African-American pastor of a large Southern mega church has a sexual liason with a young male grad student at the behest of his wife, and as a result endangers the entire enterprise. 4pm: Total Power Exchange by Edith Freni Interconnected individuals face the fall-out of the sex industry. 6:30pm: Artifice by Anne Flanagan A classic farce, where telling lies gets everyone into deep trouble. 8:30pm: Morgenstern in Vienna by Alan Goodson An American author living in Vienna deals with his estranged daughter, a fan/journalist, and a glacier that will change his life forever.WEEK TWO:
Tuesday, January 17 7pm: The Happy Slave by Jonas Oppenheim A comedy about how history is taught—and mistaught—in America.8:15pm: Moments Before Medicine by Brian James Polak Trapped inside a mobile home with a baby on the way and her doctor as her sugar-daddy, Betsy relies on her fantasies of an idyllic life with Cody until the moment comes when they both realize there may be no such thing. Wednesday, January 18 8pm: Memorizing Rome by Richard Martin Hirsch Four women—and one unwilling fifteen year-old—vacation in Rome. Thursday, January 19 7pm: The Annual Meeting of the American Society of Lone Fisherman Who Have Found Dead Bodies by T.S. Cook A man goes fishing and catches some unexpected truths. 9pm: The Devil’s Sonata by Marek Glinski A violinist composes a sonata with the help of Satan. Friday, January 20 7pm: Accidentally, Like a Martyr by Grant James Varjas In a bar, men from different generations while away a winter evening revealing secrets, opening old wounds, and meeting new visitors in a funny and poignant manner. 9pm: The Suck by Chris Merrill The void left in the Andrews’ household from daughter Nicky’s departure for Hollywood is temporarily filled when an unsuspecting vacuum cleaner salesman comes knocking. Saturday January 21 12pm: Watching OJ by David McMillan On October 3rd, 1995, a group of friends and coworkers watch the infamous O.J. Simpson verdict—revealing racial tensions, differences of perspective, and secrets that will change their lives forever. 2:30pm: Deus Ex Machina by Tom Jacobson Archaeologists fulfill an ancient Roman prophecy that ends the world.
[Part of a triolgy that also includes Clytemnestra and The Rosy Fingers of Dawn, both showing on Saturday January 28] 5pm: Match by Jennifer Maisel A journey into the underbelly of bartering for your organs…and perhaps for your soul. 7:30pm: Like a Silica Milkshake by Karen Rizzo Two couples, two different lifestyles, two dead birds, and one feral cat. 9pm: Boundaries by Chris diGiovanni An artist’s plans are thwarted when a rancher becomes inquisitive. Sunday, January 22 1pm: A Scream by Gina Barnett A capricious look at art forgeries, authenticity, and legitimacy. 4pm: Mixquixtal by Jacqeline Wright Ann decends into the world of the dead to revenge her daughter’s death. 6pm: Live Girls by Tim Cummings A disillusioned young woman haunted by her sister’s death takes a job in a rundown porn theater in a seedy port city. 8pm: The Blood Poems by Garrett M. Brown A daughter’s poems, a father’s pain, colliding at a Sunday p.m. poetry read.
WEEK THREE:
Tuesday, January 24 8:00pm: Inconnu Special Event: Species Native to California by Dorothy FortenberryInspired by Anton Chekov’s classic play The Cherry Orchard, the play is epic and messy and features 8 beautiful actors speaking 2 languages. Wednesday, January 25 7:30pm: We Are The Great Granddaughters of Patrick Sarsfield Rail by Carole Real Two sisters, a cousin, and a dead ancestor regroup after a family reunion.8pm: The Fourth Estate by Colin Mitchell A disgraced journalist gets a second chance to redeem himself fifty years later, when a student researching his story goes missing. Thursday, January 26 7pm: Andrea Lane by Steve Serpas A comedy about personal values, mid-life awakenings, and the limits of friendship.
8:30pm: Shiner by Christian Durso Two thirteen year-old kids who bond over grunge music decide to make a pact to commit suicide after going to their hero’s concert. Friday, January 27 6pm: Family Planning by Michelle Kholos Brooks A broken family is forced to live together again.
8pm: Rescuers by Tom Baum Two lovers struggle to free themselves from their families. Saturday, January 28 1pm: Idols of the Cave by Keliher Walsh A family of cross-dressing, agoraphobic, ex-TV stars, holed up in the Valley, are confronted with the shame of the past and the whacky possibilities of the future.
3:30pm: Lucy’s Wedding by Randolyn Zinn The women of the family gather for the youngest daughter’s wedding.
5:30pm: Clytemnestra by Tom Jacobson Electra told from Clytemnestra’s point of view; an irreverent revision. Written by Tom Jacobsen
8pm: The Rosy Fingers of Dawn by Tom Jacobson A Roman family stages a fake Greek play in Pompeii in 79 AD. Sunday, January 29 1pm: The Great 11 by Lea Floden A twisted family comedy about the descendants of a mysterious 1920s cult.
3:30pm: Bela Lugosi’s Dead & Late Snow (two one-act plays) by James MacDonald 1986-three young guys; a NYC apt./2011-three middle-aged people; a chance encounter.
5pm: Apocrypha by Stephen Dierkes A spirtied and comedic romp through religious perception and history. 6:30pm: Ees Story Uff Poor Sea Village Gerl by Mara Lathrop Can poor gerl from teenytiny sea village become rich and faymoose, someday find happiness, maybe even luff? Please to join gerl — ees veryvery excitement!
Posted in 
House of Gold
LA TIMES - Critics Choice
LA Weekly “GO!”
“…ambitious, passionately well-realized…” — LA Times
“There are at least three reasons to check out EST/LA’s staging of Gregory Moss’ newish play…” — LA Weekly
“…intense, illuminating and powerful. A+ for all.” — LA Theatre Review
“… Jacqueline Wright’s performance is mesmerizing …”— LA Examiner
“…edgy and innovative…the actors and the tech work beautifully together
to fulfill the director’s vision…” — On Stage Los Angeles
WHEN:
Previews: October 15, 16, 21
Performances: October 22 –December 4
Fridays @ 8 pm: Oct. 21 (Preview), 28; Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25; Dec. 2
Saturdays @ 8 pm: Oct. 15 (Preview), 22 (Opening), 29; Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26; Dec. 3
Sundays @ 2 pm: Oct. 16 (Preview), Oct. 23, 30; Nov. 6, 13, 20, 27; Dec. 4
Sundays @ 7 pm: Oct. 16 (Preview), Oct. 23, 30; Nov. 6, 13, 20, 27; Dec. 4
HOW:
323-644-1929 or www.ensemblestudiotheatrela.org
or
http://www.goldstar.com/los-angeles/events?q=house+of+gold
* TICKETS:
General Admission: $25
Sundays @ 2 pm: Pay-what-you-can
Previews: $15
*$3.00 surcharge for credit card purchases @ the door
PARKING:
Free onsite
The Maiden’s Prayer
THE MAIDEN’S PRAYER follows Taylor and Cynthia, a golden couple beloved by everyone – almost. Libby, Cynthia’s hard-drinking sister, is in love with Taylor herself, as is Paul, Taylor’s best friend. Paul is a charming fellow who since childhood has harbored a secret love for Taylor himself. Paul, promiscuous by nature, finds himself pursued by a young man, Andrew, who seems at first less interested in true love than in available real estate. As Libby and Paul are forced to deal with unrequited love their lives change dramatically and the five of them struggle to learn the difference between loving someone and needing them.
Between Us Chickens
Buy tickets for Between Us Chickens
written by Sofia Alvarez • directed by Casey Stangl
Executive Producers Gates McFadden & Tim Wright
Associate Producer Tracey A. Leigh
starring
Amelia Alvarez • Annabelle Borke • Ben Huber
Fridays, May 20 & 27, June 3 & 10 @ 8 pm
Saturdays, May 21 & 28, June 4 & 11 @ 8 pm
Sundays, May 22 & 29, June 5 & 12 @ 2 pm
NEARBY RESTAURANTS
Hugo’s Tacos
3300 Glendale Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90039-1813 (323) 664-9400
Barbrix
2442 Hyperion Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027 (323) 662-2442
Indochine
3110 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039 (323) 667-9591
Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039-1831 (323) 666-7133
House Of The Rising Son
House Of The Rising Son
By Tom Jacobson Directed by Michael Michetti
April 23, 2011 – May 29, 2011 Presented by EST/LA
The Chinese Massacre
The Chinese Massacre (Annotated)
By Tom Jacobson Directed by Jeff Liu
April 22, 2011 – May 28, 2011 Presented by Circle X Theatre Co.
Buy Tickets: https://circlextheatre.secure.force.com/ticket