NOHO'S BARD FROM SHAKESPEARE TO ARTHUR MILLER, LANKERSHIM IS BECOMING THE VALLEY'S OFF-BROADWAY.Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer ONCE AGAIN, creative types within the area known as NoHo will spend a weekend spilling onto Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards in a celebration of all things artistic. And once again, as the NoHo Theatre & Arts Festival An arts festival or art fair is a festival that focuses on the visual arts, but which may also focus on other arts. Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions. revs up this weekend, NoHo artists say the square-mile cluster of small playhouses, art galleries and restaurants - the closest thing the city has to an actual theater district - is ``ready for its close-up.'' For a frenzied two weekend days, audiences can catch a free daytime performance between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., or take in an evening show at one of the nearly 20 performance houses - many at discounted rates. From Shakespeare to Arthur Miller Noun 1. Arthur Miller - United States playwright (1915-2005) Miller , from sketch comedy “Sketch Show” redirects here. For for the British TV programme, see The Sketch Show. Sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes, or 'sketches', commonly between one and ten minutes long. to performance art and dance, this weekend, you'll probably find it in NoHo. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to pay a visit to NoHo during the weekend festival, says director Don Eitner. The kids? They won't feel left out. Not only does the free daily lineup of continuous performances contain children's theater offerings, but the specially designated Kids Kourt will include storytelling, puppetry puppetry Art of creating and manipulating puppets in a theatrical show. Puppets are figures that are moved by human rather than mechanical aid. They may be controlled by one or several puppeteers, who are screened from the spectators. , finger painting, music, dance and arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. . The place for theater Of course, even without concentrated festival bustle, folks who call the district home will tell you there has never been time that the district wasn't! thriving. Or welcoming. Actress/director Carol Kiernan, a Chicago transplant, moved to NoHo in 1993. Even nine years ago, Kiernan said, the burgeoning district was where she wanted to be. ``You can tell me there's better theater in New York There are many famous theaters in New York, most notably the Broadway theatres in New York City.
Unlike the Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. Boulevard ``theater row'' in Hollywood, NoHo offers more plentiful parking, safe neighborhoods and, generally speaking, a better nightlife atmosphere. ``Most of what you've got in L.A. is driving communities,'' says Lee Wochner Lee Wochner is a Los Angeles, California-based playwright, producer, and theatre director. In 1992 he cofounded Moving Arts theatre, where he served as founding artistic director from 1992 to 2002. , president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Theatre League Alliance of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``What you've got in NoHo is an arts and culture hub in a walking environment that's not only supported by local businesses, but that supports local businesses, and that's important.'' A regular patron of the Road Theatre Company on Lankershim, Wochner finds he enjoys both the experience within the playhouse ... and the accompanying visit to the region. ``When I think about NoHo,'' he says, ``there are lots of places to park my car. It's safe. There are places to get a cup of coffee afterward or go out for a bite to eat and probably meet some cast members. They have all the necessary ingredients.'' The quality of the shows? Aye, there's the rub. Lots of performances in countless storefront theaters can mean lots of junk. Nobody is spending a lot of money on productions or getting rich. Ask stage aficionados to rate the cream of the NoHo crop and chances are you'll hear the same names repeated: The Road, Interact Theatre Company and Deaf West Theatre Founded in 1991, Deaf West Theatre Company has become a cultural institution serving as a model for deaf theatre worldwide. It is noted for being the first professional resident Sign Language Theatre in the western half of the United States. . All three are multiple-award-winning organizations. Deaf West, in its third year in the district, recently announced that its critically acclaimed production of the musical ``Big River'' will play an engagement at the Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a small thrust stage with 745 seats at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Beckett and Associates. It has presented innovative plays since 1967. The world premiere of Angels In America was produced here. toward the end of the year. ``Big River'' will be the first production from a 99-seat theater to transfer to the Taper. During the festival, Interact will have Miller's ``Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller and is considered a classic of American theater. Viewed by many as a caustic attack on the American Dream of achieving wealth and success without regard for principle, Death of a Salesman ,'' while Deaf West - which casts hearing and nonhearing actors - offers Sam Shepard's ``True West.'' NoHo may ultimately welcome another venerable company to the neighborhood. Stephen Sachs, artistic director of the Hollywood-based Fountain Theatre, said his company is looking to expand to a second venue and has been looking at NoHo. ``The staff here has always been looking to connect with a theater community, and a neighborhood community, and it looks like NoHo is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of blossoming into all the things it can and will be,'' said Sachs, who co-founded the Fountain in 1990. ``That's attractive to us.'' 10TH ANNUAL NOHO THEATRE & ARTS FESTIVAL Where: Corner of Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards. When: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets: Free. Information: www.nohoartsdistrict.com. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, map Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) for ART'S sake NoHo will be dancing as fast as it can at this weekend's Theatre & Arts Festival (2) A mural of masks along Lankershim Boulevard south of Weddington Street marks the NoHo theater district. (3) Another part of the arts community in NoHo is the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, fronted by a statue of Lucille Ball. John McCoy/Staff Photographer (4) Carol Kiernan is the organizer of the theater portion of the 10th annual NoHo Theatrer & Arts Festival. David Sprague/Staff Photographer Map: NOHO FESTIVAL |
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