All Entries in the "colin mitchell" Category
The 11 Rules for Having a Good Time at the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival
Some have referred to me as “Fringe Obsessed”. I believe that’s a new mental disorder recently added to the DSM III – or whatever they are calling it now – and to be honest I fully embrace the description. “But why?” You may ask, “Why be Fringe Obsessed, when so much of the work is [...]
Writer for National Review Destroys Annoying Audience Member’s Cell Phone During Live Performance
Saw this great story on the LAist wire. Kevin Williamson, writer for the National Review and other publications, just couldn’t take it any longer and finally grabbed some chick’s cell phone and tossed it into oblivion. I know the feeling, Kevin. As do most of you reading this. It’s is still astonishing to me that [...]
Theater as Church
The Mad Genius of MadTheatrics, Andrew Moore, recently wrote a very compelling article on the Parallels of Theater Companies and Church Communities. He references a powerful article called Autopsy of a Deceased Church. In the article, author Thom S. Rainer, lists 11 important points he gleaned from the death of a particular church community. What Andrew [...]
![LA’s Top Small Theater Companies According to CBS LA [UPDATED]](http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/files/2013/05/images1-100x100.jpeg)
LA’s Top Small Theater Companies According to CBS LA [UPDATED]
This is a pretty solid list from CBS LA and the Lemon approves. From top to bottom they are: The Fountain Theatre Odyssey Theatre Ensemble The Antaeus Company 24th Street Theatre Ensemble Studio Theatre L.A. Long Beach Playhouse If I could add four more to make it a solid ten I’d probably go with, Sacred Fools, [...]
Critique of the Week
This one from Anthony Byrnes is more conversational in tone – probably due to the fact that he actually READS these on air at KCRW – but in the writing it’s an interesting and engaging style as well, kind of like a folksy storyteller pulling up by the fire. This praise is in direct contrast [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
The two critiques that stood out for me this week were both praises, but differed widely in their presentation, which I like. This one here from Myron Meisel is a veritable burst of intellectual joy and Myron’s writing is always smart and curious. JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter The [...]
The 99-Seat Transitional Committee has Some News for the Los Angeles Theater Community
And it sounds pretty good. At long last. Results. Results that we – all of us – can see and actually vote on. That’s right. All y’all, actors, writers, directors, producers, artistic directors, everybody who considers themselves a part of the Los Angeles Theater Community, this is your opportunity to take a look at the [...]
Hey Alec Baldwin Maybe Your Show Just Sucked?
I noticed when I got back from Virginia that a lot of people had been drinking deep from actor Alec Baldwin’s vintage whine that he recently crafted for the Huffington Post entitled How Broadway Has Changed. In it Alec laments how Broadway has changed and how those that write about Broadway and those that administrate [...]
Wondering Why Your Show Isn’t Getting a LemonMeter Rating? Because You’re Not Helping! [UPDATED)
Well most of you aren’t. Some of you have figured it out, and yes, we’re at fault as well. It’s not like we have a large staff here at the Lemon (don’t ask) and we could be doing better with our communications and business operations and whanot. Nevertheless, some of you have figured out the [...]
The Antaeus Company Shows Us How to do the Teaser Trailer
It’s a little long – they’ll figure that out as well – but clearly what the The Antaeus Company has already figured out – and what we’ve been pushing here for years at the Lemon – is that the teaser trailer for theater needs to ENTERTAIN. It needs to entertain to such a degree that [...]
Critique of the Week
Like a master class in theater history every time this dude deigns to offer us a morsel. Too few and far between for my tastes. Ernest! Pick it up for Chrissakes! HURACLOWN Ernest Kearney – Working Author Clowning is a very serious business. Emmett Kelly, Bill Irwin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, the great Vyacheslav [...]
5 Better Ways to Revive Reviewing than Ken Davenport’s 5 Ways to Revive Reviewing
Some interesting grist here from Ken, and the effort is much appreciated, but there are better ways. So here are my top five: Allow the producer to challenge the negative reviewer to 3 minutes in the octagon to settle the matter. I’d pay to see Dave Fofi and Jason Rohrer get in the ring. Or hell, [...]
Off to Virginia to Bury My Dad
Saturday I fly to Northern Virginia and on Monday, May 6th, 2013, at approximately 9:30am EST, surrounded by hundreds of family and friends and attended by the United States Army’s best, my father Major General John Henderson Mitchell will be laid to his final rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. I’m bringing [...]
Newest BLIP: Which traits make you care about a character?
But first a quick analysis of our last BLIP which we left up there for almost three months. Thanks to everyone who participated. Here are the results (remember you can’t see the results unless you vote and you can actually still vote RIGHT NOW!): As you can see the vast majority chose “to separate the [...]
Shakespeare Created Modern Man and Modern Language
I remember I read a book many years ago where the hypothesis was basically Shakespeare created Modern Man. All the archetypes and personalities that we now simply use in our lexicon without even thinking about them, the Falstaffian character, Hamletesque, MacBethian, the tragic romance of Romeo & Juliet, the villainy of Richard III, and on [...]
Critique of the Week
This is something new for Bob Verini. I’ve always thought of Bob as a master of the shorter form review, along with Bill Raden of LA Weekly. They are able to say a lot about a show in a very short time. But now that Bob is writing more and more for ArtsInLA, he is [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
Andrew Moore gets down and dirty with the Red Bastard. RED BASTARD Andrew Moore – MadTheatrics There’s a nagging little imp inside our minds that is telling us we could do more, accomplish more, be more. We try to shut him up with pills or alcohol or simply being “too busy,” but he’s there, waiting [...]
Happy Fifth Anniversary Bitter Lemons!
Yup. Hard to believe, but it’s true. Back on this day five years ago, April 24th, 2008, I published this measly first post. The topic? Quality. Seems like not much has changed in five years. It feels like we’re barely hanging on here at times, but I must say, it has been quite a ride. [...]
Get To The Part Where I Care
Saw a couple of incredibly compelling plays over the last couple weeks, Boston Court’s wildly eclectic American Misfit and Center Theatre Group’s The Nether at the Kirk Douglas, both well reviewed and deservedly so. For those of you who were able to catch The Nether (closed on Sunday) you know what a mind-blowing play it is. [...]
Critique of the Week
Just an incredibly incisive and personal critique from Editor-in-Chief, Ramona. This little site Playwriting in the City is beginning to churn out some top notch talent. MELANCHOLIA Ramona Pilar Gonzales – PLAywriting in the City I participated in the Los Angeles Theatre Center Young Conservatory in the early 90s. I spent the summer before my [...]
Critique of the Week – Runner Up
And the bizarro world of Randall Gray keeps on spinnin’…I’m looking forward to the other reviews of this particular production…for those of you critics out there who dare enter the parallel universe… TRUE WEST Michael Sheehan – On Stage Los Angeles Director Randall Gray announced in his curtain speech that this production of Sam Shepard’s [...]
Critique of the Week
I dunno, could be me, usually is, but this particular review sounds like a critic giving a show a pass. I could be wrong, it’s happened before, but I’m not even sure I know what “pleasant populist entertainment” is so… Anyhow. I provide, you decide. ASSISTED LIVING David C. Nichols – LA Times Two sets [...]
More Reaction to the BackStage Controversy
New stories for Los Angeles Magazine, IndieWire and another from The Wicked Stage in reaction to the BackStage story. This from Jenny Lower at Los Angeles Magazine: The public value placed on institutional opinion has declined across the board—witness the rise of social media and its effecting on every outlet from the Economist to the [...]
International Business Times picks up on the Back Stage Story
International Business Times picked up on our Back Stage scoop and gave us a very nice mention. Though the emphasis of course is on how New York is responding to the news. That’s fine. While they’re responding, we’ll be doing something about it here in Los Angeles. C’mon now! Sorry, think I just pulled something. [...]
“Stoneface” Owns the 2013 LA Weekly Awards
Fun time at the Lawees last night, thanks so much Steven Leigh Morris and all the peeps who put the extravaganza together. Special congrats to pals Tim Cummings and Diarra Kilpatrick on their wins. Congrats to the “Stoneface” production for all of their love. Lost Moon did another fine job though I think the choice [...]
The Blogosphere is Set Ablaze by BackStage Theater Review Policy Change
Rob Weinert-Kendt over at his Wicked Stage site pivots off the news and the Twitter frenzy to this and questions the very necessity of the critic. Here is the essence of his article: What I didn’t realize I was taking for granted, and I guess it was staring me right in the face, was the intrinsic value [...]
BackStage Theater Review Policy Change Sets Twitter A-flutter
Found this bevy of tweets on a site called Storify. The Tweeting was strong after we broke the news nationally that Back Stage would no longer be reviewing theater and film. That’s right, the little old Lemon got the scoop on this one thanks to our sources in the field. Love saying that. This long page [...]
Critique of the Week
I’m a little late on this one but better late than never. This finely crafted piece from Steven Leigh once again shows he is the master of context. Unfortunately, Steven’s bosses have forbade me to use their entire reviews here at the Lemon so I’m only posting a portion of it. You’ll have to click [...]
LASA Launches LA Stage Space – New Co-op Warehouse Facility in Atwater Village
I find this to be a really good thing. It’s something I know that people have been talking about for a while and LASA should be applauded for putting it together. Here’s what it’s all about: The Space is designed to promote collaboration between members of the theater community in Los Angeles. Our large warehouse [...]
