PSITTACUS PRODUCTIONS

2012 - The end is just the beginning!

2012-01-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA at the NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL (NYMF)!Seriously! How did we get here?! I will quickly go through just how this all happened, month by month (and hopefully not bore you all stupid). August ’10: “A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT” closes. No next project in sight, though we're invited to present a new work at a

CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera review roundup!

2011-01-31T11:09:00.000-08:00

photo by Wenona Cole-MclaughlinWell, reviews for CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA are coming in. Here are the first..."Scintillating...wallows in hedonism with style and skill!" - Steven Leigh Morris, LA WEEKLY"The concept is genius!" - Anthony Byrnes, "Opening the Curtain" (NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9)"Vibrant, fun, and accessible!" - Patrick Varon, Los Angeles Theatre Blog"Saturates the audience in infinite

"A Tale Told By An Idiot" write-up in December '10 issue of New York Review of Science Fiction

2011-01-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

Review by Jen GunnelsPhotos by Wenona Cole-MclaughlinClick each page twice to zoom in and read. Our review begins on page 2.

Happy New Year, and Thanks, 2010!!

2010-12-31T15:16:00.000-08:00

Psittacus Productions is grateful to everyone who made our very first year of existence something truly special.This year we:Incorporated in the great state of California,Were approved by the IRS as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization,Premiered our first show, "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT," at the Hollywood Fringe Festival,Extended "IDIOT" twice at Son Of Semele Ensemble in Silverlake,Were nominated for

CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera teaser -- Happy Holidays from Psittacus Productions

2010-12-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Tickets for CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA, the latest Psittacus Production, are now on sale at the Son of Semele Ensemble Theater website! Click here to get yours today!Click "DONATE" to help make this happen.

Tickets for "CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA" Now on Sale!!!

2010-12-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Tickets for CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA, the latest Psittacus Production, are now on sale at the Son of Semele Ensemble Theater website! Click here to get yours today!Click "DONATE" to make this happen.

Creating Euripides' CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera

2010-11-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

Click the orange PayPal button to the rightto help us make this happen.Special sneak preview of music from "Cyclops"at the end of this post!!Artwork by Katharine LiBrettoBy Chas LiBrettoPeople have been asking me what I’ve been up to these last six weeks or so and I tell them I’ve been living in the Cyclops Cave. It’s not far from the truth. The windows of our living room are covered in

Of Satyrs, Scholars, and Clay

2010-09-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Exploring the Getty Villa’s Art of Ancient TheatreBy Chas LiBrettoWe’ve been spending a lot of time at the Getty Villa of late. Psittacus Productions friend and Advisory Board member Olympia Dukakis is currently starring as a single-woman Chorus in a fantastic new version of Sophocles’ Elektra, translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by ACT’s artistic director Carey Perloff, and we had

Psittacus Mentioned in LA Stage & Cinema!!

2010-09-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Harvey Perr and John Topping of the excellent blog, "Stage & Cinema" mentioned Psittacus Productions' "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT" in their latest post.The post also included a glowing review of the Getty Villa's production of "ELEKTRA," which stars Psittacus Advisory Board Member (and Academy Award winner) Olympia Dukakis as the whole of the Chorus. We saw the show and were blown away -

From Screenwriter Dionne O'Dell

2010-09-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Below is a guest blog post from screenwriter Dionne O'Dell. Psittacus Productions, in association with NewBourne Productions, will be shooting this short film in early 2011. More to come - stay tuned!!THE HAUNTING OF BEAUFORT CASTLE by Dionne O’DellPre-production has already begun for DREADFUL SORRY, my short film script awarded the extremely generous 2010-2011 SC Film Commission Production

New Project, New Artwork!!

2010-09-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

More info on this exciting new project to come. Stay tuned!!Thanks to the amazing Katharine LiBretto for this image.

Endings and Beginnings

2010-08-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

June 1st seems like forever ago, even though it wasn’t. That was the day we started rehearsals for A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT. April 18th, seems an age ago too. That was the day we held auditions at a high school on Fairfax, and first started getting to know our amazing ensemble of actors and artists. April 8th, too: that was when we learned the California Secretary of State had approved our

"A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT" -- Back for one last special engagement!

2010-08-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand! Following a sell-out closing weekend, A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT is coming back one last time (for now). If you missed A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, or during it's first run at Son of Semele, now is your chance to see the show Steven Leigh Morris at LA WEEKLY called "Mesmerizing -- Go!" and Jennie Webb of BACKSTAGE WEST called "Completely Gripping!

A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT is rated "GO!" in LA Weekly and "Critic's Pick" in Backstage.

2010-07-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

From LA WEEKLY, July 14, 2010by Steven Leigh MorrisNEW REVIEW "GO!" A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT A new L.A.-based ensemble called Psittacus Productions is extending a performance of A Tale Told by an Idiot from the Hollywood Fringe at Son of Semele Theater. It's a mash up of Shakespeare's Macbeth that includes the character of Guy Fawkes - which suggests an influence from Bill Cain's Equivocation.

Some Inspiration as Psittacus goes into Rehearsal for A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT

2010-07-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

USC School of Theatre Commencement SpeechBy José RiveraCongratulations, we’re all colleagues now.Having been perpetual students of an art form that can’t be fully learned because all the stories haven’t been told yet, we are now able practitioners.Not only that, we’re partisans in a great struggle that may seem holy to some and crazy to others, but is wildly quixotic even at the best of times.We’

A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT: New Poster Art

2010-06-30T21:15:00.001-07:00

For the extension of our show, A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT, at Son Of Semele Ensemble this July (click for tickets here), we decided that we needed a new image that would encapsulate the feel of the show: A Comic Book Come to Life.We were lucky enough to engage the time and talents of an amazing artist: Katharine LiBretto.Here's the new poster, hot off the presses...Needless to say, we're pretty

A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT: Promo Video!!

2010-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this excellent promo video for our July extension of "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT." Thanks to Daryl Crittenden and Mark Hampton for shooting and editing this.Click for tickets and info.

Some Thoughts on the Fringe Festival Experience

2010-06-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

by LBIn 2007, I played in a production of “Romeo & Juliet” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We were six actors, a stage manager, a TD and an intern, and we had spent the earlier part of the summer playing the show across Europe: at a recreation of the Globe Theatre in Neuss, Germany; in the courtyard of a castle in Gyula, Hungary; at the nation’s largest arts, culture, and food fest in Gdansk,

Hello, Kickstarter Backer!!

2010-06-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

Glad you made it this far, and thank you beyond all thanks for your support on this mad adventure.Please click the "Donate" button below to transfer your Kickstarter pledge into a tax decuctible donation to Psittacus Productions.With respect and thanks,Louis & ChasPsittacus ProductionsBy the way, should this all prove too ominous, please feel free to send a good old fashioned check to:Psittacus

Only 24 Hours To Go!!!

2010-06-08T23:50:00.001-07:00

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of you that have supported our project on our Kickstarter page.With your help, we have passed the $4000 mark.However, we still fall very short of our goal and, without your continued help, we run the risk of losing all that we have gained so far.Please - if you have not already made a pledge, do so now. If you have already made a pledge, please

A Tale Told By An Idiot - Part II

2010-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Check out our Kickstarter page to ensure new videos continue to happen!

Over $3000 Now Raised!!

2010-06-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to your belief in us, Psittacus Productions has now raised over $3000 on Kickstarter for our production of "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT," @The Hollywood Fringe Festival, and Live on the Internet.We still have a ways to goal to meet our goal...only 3 days left to meet our goal.We need your help! Visit our Kickstarter page today!!Click here to join the adventure!

Article about Psittacus Productions published in MuseumViews!

2010-06-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

Check out this fascinating article about Psittacus Productions and "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT" in Homa Nasab's excellent journal, "MuseumViews.""The rich theatrical heritage and vast body of experience of Psittacus’ creative members promise to inject much-needed life and vibrancy into the vanishing world of Classical Theatre. The company’s mission is “to create innovative theatre art to share with

2010-06-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

Psittacus Productionspresents"A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT"a comic book-styledeconstruction ofShakespeare'sMACBETHThe First Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival@THE LOUNGE THEATER6201 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038Friday, June 18 - 8pmSaturday, June 19 - 3pm & 8pmSunday, June 20 - 3pm & 8pmDon't miss out...$20 when you buy online now!Click Here!!!

Pssss-atikus.

2010-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

We have found that some people have a little difficulty in pronouncing the name of our theater and multimedia company.For the record, it's pronounced SIT-ih-kuss!Thanks to our dear friends at Theater Workshop Nantucket for helping us out with this one.

The Cyber Room Table

2010-05-23T07:39:00.001-07:00

By Chas LiBrettoIt’s surreal to be organizing a play in Hollywood from a small beach house on Nantucket. For one, the weather here is really not at all like what one finds in Los Angeles in May (or nearly all the time). Here it isn’t yet the on-season, and there’s always a chill in the air, and at night the tree branches scratch the window panes through all the hours. The ocean here is rough and

Behind The Scenes of A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT

2010-05-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Psittacus Productions proudly welcomes you to the first video of our "Behind The Scenes" series!As a part of our experiment in uniting the theatrical art form with the power and immediacy of the Internet and social networking, we will create a series of videos which take you step by step through the process of putting on our show, "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT" at the first annual Hollywood Fringe

Tips for [creating theater]

2010-05-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

A few months back, the Guardian published an article presenting a list of tips for writers from an astounding selection of authors. As one would expect, most of the tips are writer-specific, but many of them are good tips for artists-in-general, and some are simply good tips for life. We at Psittacus have culled the list down to what we feel are helpful lessons for theater artists starting a new

What is Good is Given Back: The Gift-Giving Circle and What it Means for the Arts

2010-04-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

By Chas LiBretto“The Gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him—it cannot fail…”- Walt Whitman“The gift must always move.” If you’ve read Lewis Hyde’s incredible book "The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World," you’ll be aware of this central, and oft-forgotten tenet of gift-giving and gift-receiving: that a gift in question cannot stand still. “As it is passed along,” he

Join us on an exciting adventure!!

2010-04-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

Here at PSITTACUS PRODUCTIONS, we are working around the clock to pull together all of the logistics and details for our premier performance of "A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT" at the first annual Hollywood Fringe Festival.The Festival is getting lots of buzz here in town, and is a great opportunity to share the company's work and reach out to audiences and students alike. Still, we can't do it without

PSITTACUS presents "A Tale Told By An Idiot"

2010-04-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

@ the first annual Hollywood Fringe FestivalInspired by William ShakespeareDirected by Robert RichmondThe Lounge Theatre6201 Santa Monica Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90038Friday, June 18 @ 8pmSaturday, June 19 @ 3pm and 8pmSunday, June 20 @ 3pm and 8pm* * *“Terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead…terrorism is theater.”- Brian Michael Jenkins, Adviser to U.S. Dept. of

Nightmares of the Dream City: Why a Gift to the Arts is More Important Than Ever

2010-04-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

O, but I seek and care! - Theodore RoethkeBy Chas LibrettoThere's something inherently deranged about starting a nonprofit in the midst of the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression. One is often told that this is a “reset,” a return to simpler times, where we'll spend what we have, and no

The Not-So-Lonesome Travelers: How Psittacus Came to Be

2010-04-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

By Chas LiBrettoIt began somewhere in the desert. We’d stayed at a motel located in a hard-hit industrial town called Deming, NM, whose apparent claim to fame is an event held in August called the Great American Duck Race, an event that is evidently exactly what it sounds like. As we drove through Wile E. Coyote country in our 26-foot Penske truck, containing just about every worldly belonging we

Nerd Power!!!

2010-04-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

By Chas LiBrettoA great deal has been written about Alex, the African grey Parrot who died a few years ago. Before Alex, it was believed that a large primate brain was required to handle difficult problems related to language and understanding, and that parrots were not intelligent, and could only use language through mindless mimicry. Alex’s trainer, animal psychologist