07/31/2015
Malibu Playhouse Sets Precedent in LA Intimate Theater
2015-2016 New Leadership Model, New Vision
July 29, 2015 (Los Angeles, CA) The Malibu Playhouse is breaking new ground in the LA 99-seat and under theater scene. Malibu Playhouse will be hosting a series of Guest Artistic Directors to bring a variety of expertise and fresh artistic visions. Each Guest Artistic Director will oversee a six-month period of programming. Jeremy Skidmore, a world-renowned theater director and formerly Artistic Director of Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C. will blaze the trail as inaugural Guest Artistic Director. His programming will launch on Thanksgiving Day weekend and go through June 2016 (Additional events will be listed on the Malibu Playhouse website and page throughout the season).
“The major drive behind the change in model is to attract artistic talent among those working in a variety of industries who may not be able to commit to yearlong or full-time employment,” said Jeremy Skidmore, the company’s first choice to begin this new venture. “I just moved here from the East Coast where I have been producing and directing theater for more than 16 years. The reason for my move was to diversify the kind of work I am doing across theater, film, television and education. So this opportunity could not be more perfect or well timed.”
"We're delighted to have Jeremy at the helm for the new direction the Malibu Playhouse is taking. This is a very exciting time for us as there are many great things coming this next year!” Andi Howard-Ringe, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Malibu Playhouse.
The Playhouse 2015-2016 season, under Jeremy’s direction, will include three limited-run critically acclaimed productions: “Wonderful Life!” (An instant holiday classic one-man show based on the film “It’s A Wonderful Life”), “Mary’s Wedding,” and “Pavillion.” Other projects include several one-night benefits, a multi-disciplinary new work mini-festival, collaborations with area universities, and Members Only promotional events (i.e. private dinners with Jeremy and casts, private cocktail parties and “meet and greets.”). There will also be a film screening of "It’s a Wonderful Life," an actual wedding to precede the “Mary’s Wedding” show and a high school reunion party unlike any other (since you never know which of Malibu’s celebrity local heroes will show up) to get audiences in the right frame of mind for Pavillion. For information about how to become a member, please go to: www.malibuplayhouse.org or contact: [email protected].
Before Skidmore's programming begins on Thanksgiving weekend, Malibu Playhouse will feature a series of one-night events starting with:
STAND UP! A Night of Comedy with headliner, Jimmy Dore (The Jimmy Dore Show), Friday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. The evening of laughs, featuring LA’s new wave of comedians, with special guest Laura Kightlinger (Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman), hosted and produced by up and coming writer- producer-comedian, Michael Schirtzer (one of Malibu’s own).
THE GUYS by Anne Nelson, A Reading Tribute to Firefighters, Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Starring Ray Abruzzo (SOPRANOS and TRANSPARENT) and Wendie Malick (HOT IN CLEVELAND), directed by Dan Lauria. An editor and a Fire Chief come together in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy to write the eulogies for 8 of the men lost in the rescue. A benefit for the Playhouse in which a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
OCTOBER OPEN HOUSE
A "Welcome Jeremy to the Playhouse" event
Details will be available on the Malibu Playhouse website
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW - COSTUME PARTY and SCREENING, Saturday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. with a gift bag of throwable objects.
About Jeremy Skidmore:
Before moving to Los Angeles this year, Jeremy Skidmore was based in Washington, DC where he served for six years as the Artistic Director of Theater Alliance, two years as Artistic Producer of the Source Festival, and two years as Co-Founder and President of the Capital Talent Agency. As a freelance director and producer in the Washington area his productions have received 34 Helen Hayes nominations. He is an Associate Artist with the Tony Award winning Signature Theatre and is a company member at Keegan Theatre were he directed the Irish national tours of both A Few Good Men and Glengarry Glen Ross. Outside of DC, Jeremy has directed or taught in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Nebraska, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, London, Oslo, Galway, Kilimanjaro, Tokyo, Macau and Tai Pei. Jeremy was the first American to assistant direct at the Globe Theatre in London and the Subaru Theatre in Tokyo. He is a Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and an alumnus of the North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) and American University (MBA). Later this fall he will be directing Mansfield Park with the BFA actors at the University of Southern California.
About Malibu Playhouse:
Malibu Playhouse, (formerly known as the Malibu Stage Company) was founded by Charles Marowitz and Jacqueline Bridgeman in 1990 as Malibu’s only professional theater company. Mr. Marowitz, an internationally renowned director, playwright, author and theater critic, served as Artistic Director until 2002. Productions were staged at Pepperdine University until 2002 when the company took up residence at the former Shepherd-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church, which was converted into a fully equipped, state-of-the-art 99-seat Equity theater. In 2013, the Malibu Stage Company board of directors elected to change the name of the company to Malibu Playhouse. From 2002 until 2014, the artistic leadership has changed multiple times, leading to the decision by the Board of Director to assume control of the organization for 2014-2015 and institute the current business model of hosting a Guest Artistic Director. Jeremy Skidmore is the first person to assume this role. Malibu Stage has been nominated for many Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovations Awards, winning for “Featured Actress in a Play” for Tasha Ames’ performance in Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay Abaire and directed by former Malibu Playhouse board member, acclaimed film director, Graeme Clifford.
The Lineup:
August 28 – 8 p.m.
STAND UP! A Night of Comedy
Headliner: Jimmy Dore of The Jimmy Dore Show
Special Guest: Laura Kightlinger (Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman)
Hosted and Produced by: Michael Schirtzer
September 12 – 8 p.m.
THE GUYS - Reading in Tribute to the Emergency Workers of 9/11
Directed by Dan Lauria
A benefit for the Playhouse in which a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles County Fire Department
Starring Ray Abruzzo and Wendie Malick
October 1 through November 15
MONSTER! A You, the Jury/West of Broadway co-production with the Playhouse
Shows by appointment only, geared to students fourth grade and up, an interactive production designed to generate social and civic responsibility through stage.
Adaptation of Walter Dean Myers’ National Book Award finalist YA novel by Diane Namm
Directed by Shoshana Kuttner
October 31 at 8 p.m.
Film Night: ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW - screening
Costume Party with gift bag of throwing items
November 28 – December 20, 2015
WONDERFUL LIFE - A new holiday classic!
Adapted by Jason Lott and Helen Pafumi
Performed by Jason Lott
Directed by Helen Pafumi
“A lively and appealing actor…Wonderful Life could well have an active future on stages around the country.” The Washington Post
George Bailey's struggle to grasp why life is worth living finds a fresh voice in this enchanting one-person retelling of Frank Capra's classic film "It's A Wonderful Life." Wonderful Life reinterprets the well-known screenplay and reintroduces audiences to the residents of Bedford Falls, New York on a fateful Christmas Eve in 1945. Audiences, young and old, well versed in the movie and not, will find plenty to love.
January 29 – February 21, 2016
MARY’S WEDDING
By Stephen Massicotte
Directed by Jeremy Skidmore
“One of those theatre experiences to which you can wholly give yourself over with no fear of disappointment. If this production had been a film I would have watched the whole thing all over again the minute it ended.” – New York Theatre Wire
A brilliant, romantic and historical dream play.
When Mary and Charlie unexpectedly find one another sheltered in a barn during a thunderstorm, a tentative love is born. But the year is 1914, and their first flirtations ignite right as World War I begins to engulf the western world. Nevertheless, their bond begins to fracture the hard rules of time as their story unfolds across vast prairies, on the decks of silently sailing war ships, and entwined with the chaotic trenches of Europe's no-man's land. Mary’s Wedding captures an extraordinary moment of innocence and courage with rare sensitivity and beauty.
May 6 – May 29, 2016
THE PAVILLION
By Craig Wright
Directed by Jeremy Skidmore
“A gloriously theatrical treat by Craig Wright, The Pavilion turns the dramas of ordinary lives into the patchwork pattern of the universe." South Florida Sun-Sentinel
From the Emmy nominated and WGA winning writer for Six Feet Under and Lost
Peter returns to his twenty-year high school reunion with dreams of winning back Kari, the girl he left behind after an unexpected pregnancy ended their relationship. Standing in Peter's way are the mistakes of the past, an entire village of characters (all played by a single virtuosic Narrator), and the momentum of space and time as it converges on a single moment in one small American town.
Masters One-Day Workshop Series: (dates and info coming soon to the website)
Acting for Daytime – September
Drake Hogestyn
Auditioning Techniques - October
A Hollywood Casting Director – to be announced
Artistic Blind Dates - June
A multi-disciplinary mini-festival of new works curated by Jeremy Skidmore
Stay tuned for Acting Workshops to be announced
Theater Location:
29243 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90265
Ticket Information:
Ticket prices will vary.
Purchase tickets: www.malibuplayhouse.org or email: [email protected]
PRESS INQUIRIES:
The Media Hound PR
Marina Anderson
(818) 570-0320
[email protected]
Malibu Playhouse is a 99-seat theater dedicated to producing professional productions of new plays and musicals and contemporary classics.
