stage matters / By William Kowinski

‘The Golden State’ Heads South: Dell’Arte returns to L.A.

“The Golden State is perfect for Los Angeles,” Fields added, “because it’s funny, it’s something in the physical style you don’t often see there, and it happens to be about a number of hot topics in southern California, like the wildfires and the immigration issue. Part of our impetus for commissioning this was because of what we saw then of the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. And that’s only gotten worse.”

But why the return to L.A. now? It started this summer with the Occidental College booking. “That was a pretty good anchor gig, so we thought, why not run again? We talked with the people at the 24th Street Theatre, and we just really hit it off.”

The theatre is a former carriage house located near USC and the convergence of Highway 110 with “the 10.” “It’s a gorgeous space in a beautiful neighborhood,” Fields said. “Not big — about 100 seats — but a big stage area, especially for L.A. These small houses there are often tiny all around. That was a big problem in the old days — we couldn’t fit our sets in half the houses.”

Dell’Arte was able to return partly because of changes in technology that make it more affordable, and partly because it’s the shared risk of a co-production with a real partner who knows the terrain. “They were great about promotion. In L.A. the preponderance of promotion is done by radio, because everybody sits in their cars. It’s a whole different way of looking at how you get audience there.”

“The nature of touring has changed so much. Now it’s really about establishing ongoing relationships with theatres, especially in big cities. We’ve started doing that in San Francisco and now L.A. We’re already talking with the 24th Street Theatre about another production in 2009.”

Dell’Arte also needs to return to the road. “We are touring more,” Fields confirmed. “It’s also about keeping the profile of the company up. The students we get for our school, the funding bases of the company — they don’t all exist here in Humboldt County. So we have to put our work into the theatrical marketplace.”

“And it also helps us,” Fields added. “It’s a reality check on our own work — to put it into a critical environment like a big city.”

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night probably premiered in wintry London exactly 406 years before North Coast Prep presented their shorter version, when on the North Coast, too, “… the rain it raineth everyday.” One characteristic of this somewhat bitter comedy is the number of roles that allow the actors to shine, and several talented students did. Though the words were not always intelligible, the direction was so clear and the actors so prepared that the audience was able to follow the action. Special credit therefore goes to director Jeanne Bazemore, who may have set a North Coast record with three shows in three weeks, and to assistant director Gretha Omey.

1 2 SHARE