Stage Raw: Angels in Poland

The latest NEW THEATER REVIEWS are embedded in this coming week's COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGS; Also, see this week's  THEATER FEATURE on Oleanna at the Taper

ANGELS IN POLAND

Madonna and child in Wroclaw, Poland, where L.A.'s theater directors are making a strong showing as "core participants" and "guests" for the Wroclaw segment (June 14-30) of the Grotowski International Theaer Festival. The effort to bring Americans to Poland has been sponsored by organizations ranging from the U.S. Embassy to Arden 2 to L.A.'s Cultural Affairs Department to the Polish government. Angelenos present include UCLA Live's David Sefton, REDCAT's Mark Murphy and George Lugg, director Nancy Keystone, Open Fist artistic director Martha Demson, the Odyssey Theater's Ron Sossi and Beth Hogan, Ghost Road Theatre Company co-artistic directors Katharine Noon and Mark Seldis, ARTEL's Olya Petrakova and Bryan Brown, and Playwirights Arena's Jon Lawrence Rivera.

From beyond our region, participants and guests include Rob Melrose and Paige Roberts (Cutting Ball Theater, San Francisco) Lee Breuer (Mabou Mines), Philip Arnould (Center for Internatinoal Theatre Development), author Kathleen Cioffi, Robert Cohen (UC Irvine), John Freedman (Theater critic for the Moscow Times), Jim O'Quinn (American Theatre Magazine), NYC director Stephanie Gilman, Stephen Legawiec (formerly of L.A.'s Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble, Brian Fairly (Dougle Edge Theatre, Ashfield, MA), and Dan Rothernberg of Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia

Artists presenting productions include Peter Brook, Pina Bausch, Anatoly Vassiliev, Richard Schechner and Tadashi Suzuki.

Just got in after 23 hours of travel. More on Friday, plus the upcoming week's theater reviews.