CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts
Junior Drama Academy
presents
“The Winter’s Tale”
“And the King shall live without an heir, if that which is lost be not found.”
Traverse two fantastical worlds and sixteen years to meet a jealous king and his graceful queen, a maligned brother and devoted counselor, a frail son and a lost babe. The performing arts students at CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts present William Shakespeare’s magical fantasy, The Winter’s Tale. Department co-chair Dawn Lisell directs the Junior Drama Academy in eight performances at the NOHO Arts Center in North Hollywood, January 17-22.
The story of a king’s irrational jealous rage and its consequences, The Winter’s Tale combines high drama, low comedy and romantic love in a rich theatrical feast that moves from the winter of estrangement and bitter loss to the summer of reconciliation and renewal.
One of Shakespeare’s last plays, The Winter’s Tale was written about 1610, based on a novella by Shakespeare’s enemy and arch rival Robert Greene. It was performed at the Globe Theatre and at court in 1611, and first published in 1623. Shakespeare’s later plays, including The Winter’s Tale, Pericles, Cymbeline, and The Tempest, defy classification. Many scholars now regard these works as the culmination of his brilliance as he combined his mastery over many different genres into single works.
The Drama Academy at CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts is a professional, conservatory-style training program for students passionate about the craft of acting. CHAMPS was started in 2005 by a group of dedicated parents with the help of Dr. Norm Isaacs, former principal at the Robert A. Millikan Middle School Performing Arts Magnet in Sherman Oaks. The goal was to create a high school in the San Fernando Valley that would offer a quality curriculum for students of the arts, including academies in drama, dance, music and film, while maintaining rigorous and challenging academic standards. CHAMPS students have been accepted to some of the country’s top universities, liberal arts colleges, and conservatory programs including Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Pomona College, Sarah Lawrence College, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, California Institute of the Arts, and USC’s Schools of Film and Theatre.
Trained at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Dawn Lisell spent nine years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, America’s largest regional rotating repertory theater, where she performed leading roles including Lady Anne in Richard III, Ophelia in Hamlet, Emily in Our Town, and The Wife in Blood Wedding. During her tenure at the OSF, she also adapted, devised and performed American Literature and Shakespeare performance pieces for six educational outreach tours teaching K-12 students across the Pacific Northwest from the San Francisco Bay to Inuit villages in Alaska. She directed two middle school productions for the California Shakespeare Festival’s Young Performer’s Conservatory and has adapted classics for two productions at Portland Community College. Dawn has taught drama at Charter High School of the Arts since 2007.
Assistant director for The Winter’s Tale is CHAMPS Drama Academy co-chair Anthony Cantrell; Original Music and Sound Design are by Frank Becker and the Level 3 and 4 Music Academy students; Costume Design is by Brandy Smith and the Costume Design students; Dance Choreography is by Brandy Smith; Technical Design is by Caroline Law and the Theater Arts’ students; and Media Design is by Vince Campi and the New Media Academy students.
Eight performances of The Winter’s Tale take place January 17-22 on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday @ 7:30 pm and Wednesday @ 3 pm, with additional matinees on Saturday and Sunday @ 2 pm. Tickets range from $10-$25. The NOHO Arts Center is located at 11136 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601. To purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.
WHO:
Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Dawn Lisell
Assistant Director Anthony Cantrell
Original Music and Sound Design by Frank Becker and Level 3 and 4 Music Academy students
Costume Design by Brandy Smith and the Costume Design students
Dance Choreography by Brandy Smith
Technical Design by Caroline Law and the Theater Arts’ students
Media Design by Vince Campi and the New Media Academy students
WHEN:
Tuesday, Jan. 17 @ 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Jan. 18 @ 3 pm
Thursday, Jan. 19 @ 7:30 pm
Friday, Jan. 20 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, Jan. 21 @ 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, Jan. 22 @ 2 pm & 7:30 pm
WHERE: NOHO Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601
HOW: 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com
TICKETS: $10-$25