2018 – THE YEAR of SHAKESPEARE'S WARRIORS

“I do love

My country's good with a respect more tender,

More holy and profound, than mine own life....”

Coriolanus (Act 3,Sc.3)

In 2018, The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles will focus on the theme of the warrior/soldier's relationship to his society as depicted in the works of William Shakespeare. We will be especially focusing on the question posed by Sir John Falstaff before the battle of Shrewsbury – "What is honor?"

In exploration of the 2018 theme, Shakespeare's Warriors, we will be presenting staged readings with high profile casts directed by internationally acclaimed Shakespeare scholar Louis Fantasia. The first of these will be Julius Caesar at L.A. City Hall on Sunday, March 18th, (just a few days following the Ides of March). This reading celebrates the twentieth anniversary of our landmark production of Julius Caesar on the City Hall steps in 1998. It will be followed later in the year by readings of Titus Andronicus (Sunday, September 16th) and Coriolanus (Sunday, November 4th). We will also present sponsored productions from Los Angeles' vibrant independent theater community, and an immersive encounter with the warrior Macbeth in October.

From June 4th to July 1st it will be our great honor to present a world-class, fully professional production of Henry IV, with Tom Hanks and Joe Morton. Tom Hanks will be playing Falstaff. Henry IV condenses Henry IV, Parts One and Two into one evening. It will be staged by Tony Award winning Broadway director Daniel Sullivan. The show will be presented at the Japanese Gardens on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Healthcare Center, where an outdoor theater will be constructed specifically for the show by a staff of veterans trained through our Veterans In Art program. Two thousand complimentary tickets are set aside for active members and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Project Proposals

“Can honor set to a leg? no: or an arm? no: or take away the grief of a wound? no..... What is honor? ”

Falstaff, before the battle of Shrewsbury - Henry IV Part 1 (Act 5 scene 1)

SCLA will curate projects from the Los Angeles theater community and provide rehearsal and performance time in our downtown theater; and, in some instances, a limited development budget. We are interested in independent productions of Shakespeare's works, and Shakespeare-inspired work. These should explore and illuminate the soldier/warrior's relationship to the mainstream civilian community, as well as our community's responsibility to the warriors.

Requests for support should specifically address how the proposed production will connect the sixteenth century Elizabethan text to the twenty-first century American experience. We are especially interested in projects which involve or address the issues of the contemporary American military veteran.

Proposals should include: a brief description of the project; a rehearsal and performance schedule; staffing requirements; and a budget showing possible sources of supplementary support. A marketing plan would also be helpful. Projects should plan to begin after June 1st, 2018, and conclude before the end of 2018.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, contact Paul Mackley. (paul@shakespearecenter.org)

Some of Shakespeare's Plays with Warrior Themes: Troilus and Cressida, Titus Andronicus, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, King John, (Edward III), Richard II, Henry IV (1 & 2), Henry V, Henry VI Part 3, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, All's Well That Ends Well, Othello