NEWS FLASH: OTE has just been granted the highly competitive West Coast Premiere rights to hot new playwright Sara Ruhl’s PULIZER PRIZE- nominated "THE CLEAN HOUSE"!!
Dear Beloved Odyssey Supporter,
Well… with your continued generous help and, undaunted by the financial health of the country, this last year the OTE held its ground, producing work every bit as challenging and adventurous as usual. From Brecht’s savage, but funny, "A MAN’S A MAN"; John Heard in Caryl Churchill’s haunting cloning tale, "A NUMBER"; another crazy Alan Ayckbourn in the farce-driven "TAKING STEPS"; the verbose and clever "BACH AT LEIPZIG"; the elegant and classical "THREE SISTERS"; to the current absolute runaway hit "THE RECEPTIONIST", starring Megan Mullally… and many others… it’s been a great Season!
But, WOW! Wait ‘til you see what we’ve already got cooking for 2010… a number of true "theatrical coups" that promise to rival this past year. From the magical chemistry of ALAN MANDEL and LAWRENCE PRESSMAN in PINTER’S "NO MAN’S LAND"; right on to an equally alchemical mix of ORSON BEAN, ALLEY MILLS and LAURIE O’BRIEN ("MARY BARNES") in the West Coast Premiere of NOEL COWARD’S newly unearthed final play; to an astounding VISITING POLISH PUPPET COMPANY, direct from the Wroclaw International Theatre Festival, starring a life-sized MARLENA DIETRICH; to the newest KOAN PROJECT (a witty new take on Swiss playwright Max Frisch’s uncannily timely "THE ARSONISTS"); to the highly coveted West Coast Premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s hilarious "THE CLEAN HOUSE" (prior to its release to numerous American regional theatres); to an equally exciting West Coast Premiere of an enormously successful OFF-BROADWAY HIT MUSICAL (can’t legally mention the title yet), personally directed by its creator; to yet another frothy ALAN AYCKBOURN romp. It’s going to be a ride!!!
And it doesn’t stop there, as we contemplate a few other mischievous choices!!!
Of course, in addition to all of this work for our Main Season, we remain most committed to an ongoing partnership with LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE, creating exciting new programs for graduating young actors, directors and playwrights… and showcasing this work on the Odyssey stages... pursuing a most important mission of nurturing exciting theatre talent of tomorrow, helping them make the difficult transition from academia to the professional world. Likewise, the ODDS project, our "hands on" High School program, attempts to "fill the gap" unfortunately created by ever decreasing arts education funding.
However, all of this… our MAIN SEASON and our EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS… all of it depends upon YOU! Ticket sales are still down 20-25% and grant money dried up… placing our continued work in day-to-day jeopardy. But, in spite of radical cost-cutting measures, we’re stubborn as ever and determined not to let the economy reduce the level of the art that we put on our stages… either in quality, scope, relevance or riskiness. We come out of the Sixties… and that spirit doesn’t die easily!
But, spirited commitment next to reduced ticket sales and meager grants won’t do it! It’s got to be YOU… your GENEROSITY keeps us producing adventurous and provocative work… often, things other theatres would not touch with a ten-foot pole! Help us continue to surge into this new era with that so-well-appreciated "END-OF-THE-YEAR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION, so vital to our creative health.
Thank you so much in advance… and let me wish you, well ahead of time, the happiest of Holiday Seasons!
Yours Truly,
RON SOSSI, Artistic Director
