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A Noise Within
Langston Hughes: The Poetic Inspiration for Lorraine Hansberry
Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, a golden age of African American art in the 1920s that celebrated black life and culture through literature, music, stage performance, and visual art. Hughes’ poetry in particular was heavily influenced by jazz music, which he considered “one of the…
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A Noise Within
A Tale of Two Beneathas
Following a student matinee, cast members swarm the green room as they gather their things, exchange hugs, and poke fun at each other’s expense – much like they did as an onstage family. Sarah Hollis, who plays Beneatha Younger, talks about how during a Sunday performance she forgot her shirt onstage when she left to…
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A Noise Within
Q&A with Noises Off Set Designer Fred Kinney
Michael Frayn’s side-splitting, critically-acclaimed farce Noises Off is making its much-anticipated return to our stage this season, setting up for hysterical laughter, actors running amok, and drama both onstage and offstage. To prepare for the show, we went behind the proverbial curtain to talk to Fred Kinney, Set Designer for our production of Noises Off. Could you…
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A Noise Within
The King and the Tennis Ball
Did you know tennis balls can start a war? Just ask King Henry. At the beginning of Henry V, the prince of France sends Henry an insulting message via a bag of tennis balls that he is unfit to be king and is better off playing games and goofing around like he did during his youth….
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A Noise Within
Klint Flowers: Makeup is the most incredible accessory for storytelling
Our spring production of Henry V shows off a side of the Warrior King never seen before – more rock-n-roll than pomp & grandeur. The grittiness of our staging comes through especially in the makeup. Klint Flowers, Wig & Makeup Design for Henry V, reveals some insights into his approach to the show, and the details that…
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A Noise Within
Celebrate Lorraine Hansberry for Women’s History Month
Born Black and female on the Southside of Chicago in 1930, Lorraine Hansberry is best known for her masterpiece and first play, A Raisin in the Sun. After its opening in 1959, Hansberry was the first Black person, the fifth woman, and the youngest person ever to receive the New York Critic’s Circle Drama Desk…
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A Noise Within
Samantha Kofford: ‘Audiences Will Become Cognizant of What Happens After [Raisin]’
Female directors are a rare species in Hollywood and in the theatre, but this year has repeatedly proven that women are more than capable of taking the reigns and producing a compelling story. In the spirit of highlighting women in theatre, we sat down with Samantha Kofford, the assistant director for A Raisin in the Sun,…
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A Noise Within
Raisin is in Rehearsals
First rehearsal: the moment that sets our show’s production into motion. The director, the designers, and the actors gather in one room for the first time to visualize how they want to bring the show to the stage. Everyone gets a taste of each other’s ideas and begins to connect different areas of production into…
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A Noise Within
Rock on to Henry V’s Playlist
How does Resident Artist Rafael Goldstein step inside his character’s head? A rockin’ playlist. You too can gear up for Henry V by listening to Rafael’s character playlist—a diverse collection of punk rock, hip-hop, rap, and classical symphonies that help him get in the zone for his role. “I listen to it while driving from Malibu…
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A Noise Within
Behind the Scenes: Henry V Goes Rock ‘N’ Roll
As we wrapped up the heartfelt holiday classic A Christmas Carol, we also geared up our stage and Resident Artist Rafael Goldstein for a photo shoot for our upcoming production of Shakespeare’s Henry V. You might know Rafael from past shows, but you won’t recognize him after his transformation from the sweet-faced audience favorite to ferocious…
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Behind the Scenes
