GRAPES OF WRATH, CHRISTMAS CAROL & More Set for A Noise Within's 2012-13 Season, Culver City

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, led by Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, has announced its 2012-13 Season featuring six masterworks linked by spiritual, physical and emotional journeys. Presented during the second season in the company's new 33,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art Pasadena venue are Shakespeare's CYMBELINE, George Bernard Shaw's THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA, Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL adapted by Geoff Elliott, John Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH adapted by Frank Galati, EURYDICE by Sarah Ruhl, and George Farquhar's THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig. The season runs from September 2012 to May 2013.

The season announcement comes on the heels of an exceptionally successful inaugural year in the permanent new home, during which time the number of subscribers nearly doubled, single ticket sales increased by 42% and the company played to 90% capacity in the 283-seat theatre, almost twice the size of ANW's previous home in Glendale. "The move to our new home has exceeded our expectations on every level," says Rodriguez-Elliott.

The venue's thrust stage, expansive backstage area and cutting-edge technology provide tremendous new opportunities for artistic exploration while preserving A Noise Within's unique theatrical communion between actors and audiences, with no seat further than seven rows from the stage.

"The feedback about the theatre from audiences, artists and staff has been extraordinarily positive," says Elliott. "We continue to discover all that the space offers, and the upcoming season taps the venue's depth and scale as we travel theatrical journeys ranging from fanciful with Cymbeline, moral with The Doctor's Dilemma and redemptive with A Christmas Carol To transformative with The Grapes of Wrath, mythically heart-wrenching with Eurydice, and geographic with The Beaux' Stratagem.

There are a variety of subscription packages, group rates, school group rates, and more. Free programs for audience members include pre- or post-performance conversations with scholars and/or ANW artists on selected dates throughout the season.

A Noise Within is the only year-round classical repertory company in Southern California and one of only a handful in the entire country dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature in the repertory tradition of rotating productions with a resident company of professional artists. Founded 20 years ago, ANW quickly established itself as one of the region's key theatre companies, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and consistently high praise from the media for its productions and as a key force in arts education. The company has presented more than 140 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing works from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw to Miller and Williams.

An integral element of A Noise Within's mission is to make the classics accessible to all audiences, with particular attention paid to leveraging the company's resources for the benefit of students and teachers. Committed since its inception to enhancing middle and high school students' classroom discovery of classic texts, ANW develops educational programming to complement classroom studies and enable teachers to promote literacy and cultural awareness. The company's educational programming serves a diverse population of students from middle school through college.

A Noise Within's new venue is located in the former Stuart Pharmaceutical building, a historic, mid-century modern masterpiece designed by celebrated architect Edward Durell Stone, known for landmark buildings around the country including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and Radio City Music Hall in New York. Constructed in the mid-1950s, the Stuart Pharmaceutical building was listed on the National Register in 1998 and features a striking landscape garden designed by Thomas Church. The completely new three-story theatre – which retains the building's original façade -- features support facilities, offices, rehearsal space, a classroom, considerable storage for costumes, props and scenery and large restrooms. There is plentiful, convenient, free parking in the adjacent Gold Line's Sierra Madre Villa Metro parking structure.

More Articles by This Author...