Head down to The Ivy Substation for the return of The Actors’ Gang Afterschool Program holiday show, The State Family Holiday Party. This 45 minute production will come to life Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 at 2pm (2 performances only).
The State family has been divided into four households, Happy, Sad, Afraid, Angry, and….Confused? Wait a minute, there’s only supposed to be four. Confused must choose which State to be. With some help, the Confused State household invites the rest of the family to a holiday party. By hand delivering invitations, and creating a riddle for everyone to solve, they all come to the party and work together to find the solution. Now, with everyone there maybe Confused won’t have to be confused anymore.
Conceived and Directed by Adam J. Jefferis, Associate Director of Education, The State Family Holiday Party features a cast of 22 students (4th and 5th graders from CCUSD), 8 company members, pop music, singing, and dancing. The State Family Holiday Party was written in collaboration with company member, Lee Hanson, and Jefferis’ partner, Rynn Vogel. Together, this unique writing team incorporated text from the students’ imaginations as well as their own. “I wanted a way to for the students to feel a sense of ownership, to their role and the play we are creating together.” says Jefferis.
The students are a part of an on-going FREE Afterschool Program, taught by teaching artists within the company (this semester, Jefferis and Hanson). The focus of the Afterschool Program is to empower students to develop their own creative voices and artistic expression, through, improvisational exercises, ensemble building, character development, and theatre games. This year the students have created the characters in their play, by exploring the 14 stock characters from the Commedia dell’Arte and through guided creative writing exercises.
“The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble us and inspire us – asking us to believe in ourselves and in one another.
I have watched with awe as young people from all over the country and the world come together in the creative process – a process that breaks down walls and creates community. Work in this discipline helps these young people find relevance to their own lives as it develops self – expressing and self-confidence.”- Jeanette Horn, Education Director
For more information, visit www.theactorsgang.com
rte, based on our interpretation of the 16th century people’s theatre. In 10 week workshops either in our theater or at the schools we offer students the opportunity to explore and discover the essential skills involved in: creating an ensemble, individually exploring the 14 stock characters with an emphasis on finding the humanity in them, working through the four states (happy, sad, afraid and angry) i and finding their own voices to express their feelings and ideas on issues of relevance to them and their lives.
We work both on-site and in the schools or community centers.
We are committed to serving the youth of Los Angeles, particularly disenfranchised communities – children/teens who do not have the opportunity to participate in the creative process. We collaborate with the Education Foundation of Culver City schools in their awesome attempt to provide arts experiences for all the children in the CCUSD.
The Actors’ Gang Presents
The State Family Holiday Party
starring The 2015 Fall Afterschool Program
directed by Adam J. Jefferis
written by Adam J. Jefferis, Lee Hanson, and Rynn Vogel
December 19 & 20 at 2pm
Running Time: 45 Minutes
Ivy Substation
9070 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Parking
Metered street parking available on Culver Blvd., Venice Blvd., and surrounding streets. Two hour free parking available in the Ince Lot (above Trader Joe’s) – $1/hour thereafter.
Information
(310) 838-4264 | www.theactorsgang.com
Our daughter is participating in this after school program. She has had the best experience ever and looks forward to this every week. Everyone at The Actor’s Gang is wonderful and what a great way to give back to the community and our kids…. Thank you so much. We can’t wait to see the play!