All Entries in the "amy tofte" Category
A Thank You
For the parents, the siblings and all the extended family who donated to the Kickstarter or the Raffle or the Silent Auction or all of the above. For booking the plane ticket to make it on opening weekend (or closing) and then taking the cast out for dinner. For spotting the gas/grocery/internet bill money during [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: The Poetry Store
Need to kill some time between shows at the Fringe? You can always order up some thoughtful imagery from the Poetry Store located at a TV tray and folding chair in the ArtWorks parking lot. I met the store’s proprietor, Brian Sonia-Wallace, last night as I waited for the start of a 10:30pm show. He [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: The Charm and Awe of Button Wagon
There are rare moments in life when you meet true artists. I know many, many artists. But I’m talking about people who do something so exquisitely you are captivated and cannot imagine them doing anything else. They were born to do exactly this. That’s how one might feel when watching the physical performance piece Button [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: A Clown for all Seasons
Four Clowns is an award-winning Los Angeles theater company specializing in performances of… Wait for it… Clowns. Jeremy Aluma serves as Four Clowns’ razor-sharp founder/artistic director and he seems to be everywhere at once at this year’s Fringe—taking in shows and making the rounds at Fringe Central Station. His potent energy matches his ideas and [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: Freakazoid Creator sees the Edinburgh in LA
Writer/director/actor Richard Crawford and his international band of performers who comprise the Brooklyn Studio Lab are performing Diary of a Sociopathic Freakazoid at the Hollywood Fringe after a successful premiere at New York’s View Theatre. Crawford, a native of Edinburgh, currently splits his time between London and New York. As his first Hollywood Fringe, you [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: Those Boys from Cardiff
If you haven’t caught the two-person play Richard Parker (alternating performances at Open Fist and Theatre of Note), you might want to catch it before it leaves Hollywood. Imported from the UK and fresh from a well-received run at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival, the artists behind the U.S. premiere of Parker are racking up critical [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: Anaconda Invites Controversy and Conversation
Writer/director Sarah Doyle has some things for you to think about. Her new play, Anaconda—inspired by a 2001 sexually charged bullying scandal at a posh Australian school—premiered tonight at the Hollywood Fringe. And in the tradition of art imitating life, Doyle sees a connection between what happened 10 years ago in Australia and our stateside [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: Actor’s Circle Ensemble
“Do you like drama?” I was browsing through piles of postcards on the big table at Fringe Central Station last night. “Sure,” I said and turned to have a postcard placed in my hand. Thus began my 30-minute or so conversation with director Tamiko Washington (UC Irvine alum) and one of her actors, the charming [...]
Hollywood Fringe Profile: Three Tables at the Asylum
I met director Sam Vieira at Fringe Central Station on Tuesday night and we chatted about juggling day jobs, living room rehearsals and herding cats—you know, doing theater in LA. Vieira (everything you think of when you think of a nice guy) and his producer, Dina Kampmeyer (“She‘s the organizing brains and I’m the passion,” [...]
Hollywood Fringe: Insides and Outsides
It has begun. The shows. The audiences. The scramble. The pitch to see. The pleasant surprise. The what-were-they-thinking? The aftermath chit chat and 20/20 hindsight quarterbacking…Thespian-style. Oh…and The Reviews. In Alcoholics Anonymous there is a great phrase of wisdom: “Don’t judge your insides by other people’s outsides.” What better phrase for an artist to tell [...]
Hollywood Fringe: Pony Up and Own Our Fringe
The Hollywood Fringe started in 2010. And it was about damn time. Because of that “other” little Hollywood industry some of us live off of, Los Angeles boasts some of the most talented, trained and hungry artists in the country. We are diverse in our voices and our backgrounds. We are fertile ground for all [...]
Hollywood Fringe: Rockin’ it at The Underground
It may be a little off the beaten Fringe path, but The Underground Theatre in Hollywood is serving up an eclectic mix of 8 Fringe shows exploring fractured relationships, therapeutic laughter, spooking you out, sexing you up and the flat out experimental. Carpe Noctem Get your French on with feathers, the cancan and dancing girl [...]
Hollywood Fringe: 24-Hour Play Date with Theatre Unleashed
If you’ve never participated as an artist or audience member for a 24-hour playwriting stint, here’s your chance coming up at the Hollywood Fringe. Theatre Unleashed, led by Gregory Crafts and his band of LA theater rats, will be hosting such a venture starting with the artists gathering the evening of June 17th, writing through [...]
The Mike Daisey Affair or Why you should have an opinion about Mike Daisey and his recent antics.
You could say art is always in danger and that’s what makes it art. That’s what makes it a rare, important, special thing. But it seems two art forms truly suffering right now are: compelling, socially-conscious theater and good journalism. Mike Daisey has damaged them both. And he has done so in really terrible ways. [...]
10 Things That Destroy Theater Companies
I’m sure there are hundreds of things we do within our theater companies of all sizes that eventually shoot us in the, um…you get the idea. I don’t mean to preach to the choir, but maybe some of you out there can help me complete this list? These are the ones on my mind [...]
The Giving Rebellion by Amy Tofte
There was a time in this country when teaching a black man (or woman) to read was an act of rebellion. When women living alone, earning their own income was revolutionary. There are still places in the world where following the religion of your choice might get you threatened, taunted, killed. As Americans, we are [...]
What the F*ck was that? Digesting the Experimental – by Amy Tofte
Yes, I went to an experimental art school. No, I’m not always an experimental artist. But I’ve been around some pretty crazy ones. Experimental often gets a bad rap in art, sometimes deservedly so. For some communities “experimental” means doing Streetcar with an all black cast. While for others, being “experimental” would be just DOING [...]
Overheard in the Theater
Overheard last night at STOP KISS now playing at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood… HER: I know the play. HIM: Oh, you’ve seen it before? HER: No. I’ve read it. So I know it. HIM: No one does lesbian theater in LA. HER: I know. But I like it as a– HIM: You like it [...]
The C-Word – by Amy Tofte
It’s a word that makes even a nice floozy like me cringe. It’s also debilitating. It’s a killer. And we are all victims. You know what word I’m talking about…COMPS. Comps (or complimentary tickets) are a cancer and they are killing small theaters every single day. Especially 99-seat plans in Los Angeles. Did you know [...]
Overheard in the Theater
Overheard before 9 Circles at Bootleg… MAN: You want wine or a beer? WOMAN: Water. MAN: Do they have water? WOMAN: How can they not have water? MAN: Why would you want it? WOMAN: I want water. What’s wrong with water? MAN: Woa…I think there’s a costume thing later. Check it out. WOMAN: Oh, no. [...]
Good Reviews and Bad Sex – by Amy Tofte
A Good Review is like Good Sex. You feel affirmed, happy, thrilled, all is right with the world and you can conquer any challenge with your belief in all that is wonderful. Conversely, a Bad Review, of course, is like Bad Sex. It can range from embarrassing to upsetting to frustrating to—in some cases, yes—infuriating. [...]
Overheard in the Theater
Overheard at CARNEVIL at Sacred Fools HIM: What do you think? HER: I like the costumes and choreography. HIM: I like that dancing. HER: That’s choreography, honey. HIM: No. Not that part. HER: Then what part? HIM: The part where they just shook everything in the snake outfits. HER: That’s dancing. HIM: That’s what I [...]
Defending my M*ther F*cking Arts (MFA) Degree
As schools across the country wade knee-deep into classes, I offer some words to those pursuing advanced degrees in the arts. WE NEED YOU. BAD. We need you so fucking bad. Last summer there was chatter about the value of higher education in the wake of rising tuition costs. Yes, rising tuition sucks. For everyone. [...]
Turning Passion, Inspiration and Craft into a Bake Sale – by Amy Tofte
I know the 16th century painter was often forced to paint the commissioned portrait of the client’s wife cradling the baby Jesus and looking far more attractive than she really did. The painter did this so he could go off and actually paint his masterpiece on his own time. We artists will always be struggling [...]
