Back in the days Pendragon’s Post, I had the chance to interview the amazing Gabriel Diani and Etta Devine, the minds behind the horror/comedy “The Selling.” Well, this amazing duo is back working with Armin Shimerman, the former actor who brought Quark to life on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE.
Shimerman is working directing an adaption of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in North Hollywood. Check out the video and if you live in the area, stop by!
North Hollywood, Calif. – The Antaeus Company, L.A.’s multiple award-winning classical theater company, has launched an untraditional viral promo for their untraditional staging of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
Starring co-directors Armin Shimerman and Geoffrey Wade, the video takes a comedic mockumentary style look at the behind the scenes of the production showing the directors bickering, giving actors line readings, and eventually even showering together.
“Old school advertising is out the window,” says Rob Nagle, one of the three co-artistic directors of the company, “It’s now about paying attention, listening, and interacting. This new frontier requires inventiveness, as well as profound originality. We must provide viewers with content that they want to watch and will share.”
This marks the Antaeus Company’s second experiment with viral marketing after a successful end of the year donor campaign featuring Nagle and fellow co-artistic directors Bill Brochtrup and John Sloan interrupting performances of the company’s production of “You Can’t Take It With You,” not being able to remember the names of key staff members, and barging in on actors in their dressing rooms.
It’s an unconventional approach to marketing given the less than humorous subject matter of the current production but Shimerman says, “We take the work very seriously. We don’t take ourselves very seriously.”
The video was written and directed by filmmakers and actors Gabriel Diani and Etta Devine and features members of The Crucible ensemble appearing as befuddled versions of themselves, including Bo Foxworth, Christopher Guilmet, Devon Sorvari, Ann Noble, John Prosky, John Allee, Joe Delafield, Rhonda Aldrich, Lily Knight, Fran Bennett, Dawn Didawick, Shannon Lee Clair, and Alexandra Goodman.
Antaeus is a cooperative theater ensemble founded to empower the actor and to bring classical theater to Los Angeles. The company exists to create a family of artists and audiences and is dedicated to exploring stories with enduring themes. Taking their company name from the Titan who gained strength by touching the Earth, Antaeus members—many of whom are familiar to film and television audiences—regain their creative strength by returning to the wellspring of their craft: live theater. Members of the company span a wide range of age, ethnicity and experience; they have performed on Broadway, at major regional theaters across the country, in film, television and on local stages, and are the recipients of numerous accolades including Tony, Los Angeles and New York Drama Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly, and Back Stage Garland nominations and awards. Audiences, who never see an understudy due to Antaeus’s trademark “partner casting,” frequently return to see the same play in the hands of an equally excellent but very different set of actors.
Performances of The Crucible take place May 16 through July 7 on Thursdays and Fridays @ 8 pm; Saturdays @ 2 pm and 8 pm (no matinee performance on Saturday, May 18); and Sundays @ 2 pm. There will be six previews, May 9-15: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all at @ 8 pm, and Sunday @ 2 pm. Tickets to the Opening Night performances on May 16 and 17 are $34, after which all tickets are $30 on Thursdays and Fridays and $34 on Saturdays and Sundays; previews are $15. The Antaeus Company is located at 5112 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, CA 91601. Parking is available for $7 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia. The theater is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call 818-506-1983 or go to www.antaeus.org.
Details for Calendar Listings
“The Crucible”
The Crucible –.Set in 1692 and written in reaction to the McCarthyism that gripped America in the 1950s, Arthur Miller’s parable of mass hysteria offers a frightening depiction of what can happen when fear clouds fact and reason is replaced by blame. The fully double-cast Antaeus production aims to highlight the play’s universal and timeless themes.
WHO:
Written by Arthur Miller
Co-Directed by Armin Shimerman and Geoffrey Wade
Presented by The Antaeus Company
WHEN:
Previews: May 9-15
Performances: May 16-July 7:
Tuesday @ 8 pm: May 14 only (preview)
Wednesday @ 8 pm: May 15 only (preview)
Thursdays @ 8 pm: May 9 (preview), 16 (opening), 23, 30; June 6, 13, 20, 27; (dark July 4)
Fridays @ 8 pm: May 10 (preview), 17 (opening), 24, 31; June 7, 14, 21, 28; July 5
Saturdays @ 2 pm: May 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; July 6 (no matinee on May 11 or 18)
Saturdays @ 8 pm: May 11 (preview), 18, 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22. 29; July 6
Sundays @ 2 pm: May 12 (preview), 19, 26; June 2, 9, 16, 23. 30; July 7
WHERE:
THE ANTAEUS COMPANY
5112 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood CA, 91601
HOW:
(818) 506-1983 or www.Antaeus.org
Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AntaeusTheater
Follow us on Twitter @AntaeusTheater
TICKETS:
Opening Night performances on May 16 & 17: $34 (includes a post-show reception with the actors)
Thursdays and Fridays: $30 (except May 16 & 17)
Saturdays and Sundays: $34
Previews: $15
PARKING:
$7 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia.
Dan Kleiner 
Newsdesk