Past Shows

Antelope Valley Thespians presents:

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, by Nathan Mayer.

Starring: Courtney Marietta, Derric Neal, and Joe Gruca.

Two dynamic lawyers are locked in a clash of wills and morality. Ruth Ballard is an embittered radical, now in jail, accused of participating in a bank robbery and a subsequent killing.  She chooses to represent herself as attorney. Kenneth Hayes is the assistant district attorney assigned to prosecute her. Once, they were classmates, and more,  in law school—now they are two lawyers with very different views on the nature of justice. Their conflicts, legal and personal, probe the nature of our criminal justice system.

Six shows:

Friday, June 4th, 2010 — 8pm [CLOSED]
Saturday, June 5th, 2010 — 8pm [SOLD OUT]
Sunday, June 6th, 2010 — 2pm [CLOSED]
Friday, June 11th, 2010 — 8pm [CLOSED]
Saturday, June 12th, 2010 — 8pm [CLOSED]
Sunday, June 13th, 2010 — 2pm [CLOSED]

Secure web ticketing via credit card is available through PayPal. A limited number of physical tickets are available at Sagebrush Cafe, coffee and art house, in Quartz Hill.

Location is in a black box theater built into a private residence in Quartz Hill.  Address and parking information will be sent to all ticket holders.

View photos from tech rehearsal on our Facebook Page.

Directed by Nalin A. Ratnayake.
Stage Manager: Karen Gruca.
Technical Director: Jeremy Bryon Gruca.

Produced by special  arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.

AVT’s debut full-length production closed today after a very successful six-show run.  We have been moved by, and are grateful for, the exuberant reaction from our fans and the support we have received from friends, family, and our local community.  Quartz Hill, we are excited to be your very own, homegrown theatre company!

AVT is pleased to announce that all ticket proceeds from the first, sold-out show will be donated to the American Red Cross for ongoing humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti.

You can check out photos, reviews, and comments from fans, cast, and crew on our Facebook Page.

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Crime and Punishment, By Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Adapted to the stage by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus.

Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.

Starring: Anna Delrosario, M. Steven Felty, Kevin J. Hogan, and Kara McCollum

Antelope Valley Thespians presents this new, award-winning stage adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece Crime and Punishment.  In 1860’s St. Petersburg, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov relives the thoughts, ideas and feelings that drove him to his horrible crime.  This 90-minute “conversation on the nature of evil” becomes a dark journey into the mind of a killer and his search for redemption. This is an intense psychological and spiritual journey which seeks to unveil hidden dimensions of the human condition, and the power of faith to heal even the gravest and most disturbing wounds of the soul.

Six shows:

Saturday, January 16th, 2pm and 7pm
Sunday, January 17th, 2pm
Friday, January 22nd, 7pm
Saturday, January 23rd, 7pm
Sunday, January 24th, 2pm

Producer and Artistic Director: Nalin A. Ratnayake
Operations Director: Courtney Marrietta
Production Stage Manager: Karen Gruca
Technical Director: Jeremy Gruca
Lighting Designers: Sarah Bialobroda, Jessica Katzman
Sound Designers: Courtney Marietta, Jeremy Gruca, Nalin A. Ratnayake
Scenic Designer / Jack of all Trades: Lucas Nemeth
Costume Design: Anna Delrosario
Production Assistant: Sarah Arnac

For those interested, a final report regarding the project, financials, and lessons learned as far as what it took to produce “Voices” and get our garage theatre project operational is posted in the AVT Forums at:

http://avthespians.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=607

Actresses Anna Delrosario (left) and Sarah Bialobroda in the midst of a scene.

Some closing thoughts from “Voices”, for posterity.  You can download the playbill if you’d like, in case you missed the show or forgot to take yours!

Both shows went very well, and I was extremely pleased with how everything came together.  At the receptions following the shows, we received many compliments, a few pledges of support, and general incredulity that anyone was able to produce a play in a garage of all places.  GO TEAM!

As of this point, finances are as follows:
Infrastructure: $910.53
Operations: $318.63
Production: $102.38
Patronage, Donations, and In-kind Support:  -$95.00
NET: $1236.54

I expect future productions to be less expensive overall due to (hopefully) increased and continuing patronage, as well as the fact that infrastructure costs have probably leveled off for the most part.  The plus side is, we now have a 9-piece lighting system and a very nice curtain setup!  Thanks to Courtney for the loan of all the sound equipment.

We have two patrons, who wish to remain anonymous, that have actually given money to us (thank you!), plus several more who have pledged their support in the near future.  There seem to be a couple local businesses at least interested in what we are doing, but I have yet to talk to them directly about partnerships.  Also, we now have three playwrights in various stages of tentativeness thinking about writing scripts we could potentially produce.  Not bad for a startup!

Wow, what a heady experience… may the garage theatre live long and prosper!  The production team will be taking a couple of weeks off for some well-deserved rest, and then we will be getting to work on the planning for our next production (look for a post soon).

Meanwhile, here are some photos and some playbill text from “Voices”:

Anna Delrosario, as the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc.

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“Voices”, by Hortense Flexner.

Yvonne, a young peasant girl, fears for her small town of Domremy, France, ravaged  by the shelling of World War I.  She stops to pray at the ancient church sacred to Jeanne D’Arc, a ruined basilica in the woods near her village.

This sacred ground, believed for centuries to be infused with the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc, is known for being the place where Jeanne first heard the voices from Heaven.

Yvonne speaks, and a Voice responds… we are offered a glimpse of  her county’s past, and learn of the power of the spirit to overcome life’s worst horrors.

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Shows are:
Saturday, June 20th, 7:00pm
Sunday, June 21st, 7:00pm
Running time is approximately one-half hour.

Sarah Bialobroda, as Yvonne the young peasant girl.

Tickets are FREE.

Prior reservation is REQUIRED.

Please RSVP to productions@avthespians.org with a firm head count. Your seats are not reserved until you receive a response email confirming that we can accommodate your party. Due to the small nature of our theater (27 seats), please do not reserve seats that are not definitely going to be filled.

Theater location is on the west side, near 65th W and Avenue L. Address and parking information will be sent out to all confirmed guests.

Reception to follow.

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Starring:
Sarah Bialobroda
Anna Delrosario

Yvonne and the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc before the church.

Producer & Artistic Director — Nalin A. Ratnayake
Production Stage Manager — Courtney Marietta
Technical Director — Jeremy Gruca
Scenic Design — Lucas Nemeth
Lighting Design — Jessica Katzman
Sound Design — Juliana Katzman
Costume & Properties — Anna Delrosario