SpringFEST
Live theatre is a transformative experience, be it from the perspective of artist or audience member. Therefore, The Western Stage SpringFEST at Hartnell College ensures that every member of our community has a way into this experience, no matter what age, experience or culture.
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I believe passionately in art as a form of salvation, and that the little things – beauty and spiritual growth – are the most important things in human life. – Margo Jones, stage director & producer / launched the American regional theater movement & introduced theatre-in-the-round.
2019
Red Altar
a special, one-night only presentation by San Francisco’s Eth-Noh-Tec co-directors Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo.
The Red Altar is a multi-media performance about six teenagers who crossed the ocean from China, crashed in the MontereyBay of California, and began the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay area in 1850. In the face of anti-Chinese legislation, media propaganda with racist caricatures, and outright violence, they persevered with courage and ingenuity in an effort to lay down roots in their volatile new home. Seven generations later, their story is finally being told. http://www.ethnohtec.org/
April 20th (7:30pm)
Quilters
written by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek and Lyrics by Barbara Damashek
A musical about the lives of women who settled America, based on the book The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen. Presented in a series of short tales and tableaus matched with musical num- bers, “Quilters” is a celebration of women told through their quilts. Presented with special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY OF Woodstock, Illinois
April 26th (7:30pm), April 27th-28th (2:00pm & 6:00pm)
CELEBRATION ‘69
Conceived and presented by Mark Shilstone-Laurent
2019 marks the Golden Anniversary of 1969, the single most amazing year of the 20th century. CELEBRATION ’69 is a multi- media presentation that tries to capture the essence of that crazy year through a combination of images from the times, a live band playing music released in 1969, and colorful narration. CELEBRATION ’69 focuses on six iconic events from 1969: Nixon becomes president, man walks on the moon, Charles Manson masterminds a series of gruesome murders, The Woodstock Music Festival plays to half a million blissful hipsters, the Beatles record Abbey Road, their final album, and the peace and love sixties die a miserable death at a Rolling Stones concert outside the Altamont Speedway in northern California.
February 8th and 9th
Ubu Roi
Written by Alfred Jarry, presented by Hartnell’s Theatre Arts & Cinema Department
Hartnell College Theatre & Cinema Program’s 2018 adaptation of Alfred Jarry’s 1896 absurdist adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This all-student production is sponsored by the HC Theatre & Cinema Team, and features a talented group of student writers, designers, actors, and producers.
February 23rd (7:30pm) and 24th (2:00pm)
Legacy Players in Performance
TWS’ LegacyPlayers is a group of twelve veteran actors from Monterey County that combined have over five centuries of theatre experience. The LegacyPlayers are area favorites who offer staged readings that illuminate and enrich the lives of our community.
March 2nd and 3rd (2:00pm)
ReAlisal: Stories from East Salinas
Written by Luis Xago Juarez
Full of history and stories of the Alisal Community, Baktun12 and Artists Ink have come together to produce “ReAlisal: Stories from East Salinas”, a production that tells about the unsung heroes of our community that have made and continue to make an everlasting impact while breaking down the history and stigmas com- monly placed on the Eastside.
March 9th
South: A Nautical Musical
Written by Carmen Borgia
A wandering sailor named Ed Wheeler searches for his long-lost mother who vanished leaving him only a locket as a tantalizing clue to her identity and possible whereabouts. “South” is a theatrical musical commissioned by Dixon Place in New York city and written by TWS alumnus and Emmy-nominated Carmen Borgia, who is now a singer, songwriter, sound mixer and film sound designer residing in NYC.
April 6th (7:30pm) and 7th (2:00pm)
Breakfast at Nudleman's
Written by Harvey Landa
TWS’s resident playwright, Harvey Landa, presents Breakfast at Nudlemans, a kooky story of a young woman and older man whose paths are tied with one another in more than one way.
April 13th
2018
Of Thee I Sing
A dramatized interpretation of Claudia Ranke's nationally recognized novel, "Citizen: An American Lyric." This powerful, illuminating, and subversive piece is told through lyric, movement, and imagery, and is not to be missed! Performance dates:
February 10 & 11
Alma
Presented by TWS’ LegacyPlayers, "Alma" chronicles the adventures of Alma deBretteville Spreckels, a wealthy socialite and philanthropist who persuaded by her first husband, sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels, to donate the California Palace of the Legion of Honors to the city of San Francisco.
March 10 & 11
The Princess Who Lost Her Hair
Based on an Akamba legend, this is a beautiful story of Princess Kalinda, whose selfishness causes not only causes her to lose all of her precious hair, but also bring famine to her village, until a generous beggars teachers her kindness and compassion.
March 17-23
Live: A Musical Showcase 2018
A showcase is an introduction of a new singer and an opportunity for an established actor to present new material.
April 7 & 8
Nevertheless, She Persisted
A playwrighting workshop, based on a concept used in TWS's past. Solo Flights invites first-time and veteran playwrights to create new and original stageworks that focus on women’s stories, told from the woman’s point of view. Led by actor and playwright, Cheryl Lilko-Games, the group will present their works-in-progress in whatever stage they're in (concept proposal, story research, storyboard, first monologue, first dialogue, first scene, etc.).
April 15 & 16
EMMA! A Pop Musical
By Eric Price
Based on Jane Austin's Novel, this new musical is set in a prep high school and features hit songs from legendary girl groups & iconic singers.
April 27-May 5