VISIT THE UCLA CENTRAL TICKET OFFICE
Parking: $15. Structure 3 (245 Charles E. Young Drive East)
SPRING 2023
MAINSTAGE (non-ticketed, no reservations)
Opera/Double Bill
Quake Conductor: Rakefet Hak
Les Mamelles de Tirésias Conductor: Jakub Rompczy
Conceived by: Mary Birnbaum
Stage Direction by: Alison Moritz and Staci Mize
In collaboration with the Herb Alpert School of Music, the UCLA Department of Theater presents two vastly different and unique one-act operas. The first, Quake, is a chamber opera for four singers, a four-member choir and chamber orchestra written by UCLA professor Kay Rhie. This will be followed by Les Mamelles de Tiresias, a French comedy or opera bouffe that is based on the surrealist play by poet Guillaume Apollinaire.
Performances
June 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
June 3, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
June 4, 2023, 2:00 p.m.
Freud Playhouse
OFF MAINSTAGE (non-ticketed, no reservations)
Keffiyeh/Made in China
By Dalia Taha
Directed by Yuval Zehavi
Keffiyeh/Made in China consists of 10 vignettes that depict slices of everyday Palestinian life. In each episode, these people experience everyday situations that become surreal as they try to cope with the oppressive forces of colonialism and capitalism — an inseparable part of life under a decades-long occupation.
Performances
May 18-19, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
May 20, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Macgowan 1340
Tell Me I'm Gorgeous at the End of the World: The Last Gay Play
By Aaron Coleman
Directed by David H. Parker
The Fire Island Pines, an intensely hedonistic and sexually liberated scene, welcomes gay men from all over—as long as they blend in. Tell Me I’m Gorgeous at the End of the World: The Last Gay Play is about the (sometimes literal) earth-moving influence that Black and brown Queer people have when they try to exist in white spaces not only unintended for them, but in which they are rendered completely invisible.
Performances
June 8-9, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
June 10, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Macgowan 1340
MFA Ones (Two plays)
Original work by M.F.A. playwriting students. More info TBA.
Performances
June 10, 2023, 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Macgowan 1330
OFF-OFF MAINSTAGE (non-ticketed, no reservations)
Undergrad One Acts (Three shows/One bill)
A series of one-acts directed and featuring undergraduate actors from UCLA Department of Theater.
Performances
May 11-13, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Macgowan 1330
EARLIER IN THE SEASON
Antigone
By Sophokles
Translated by Anne Carson
Directed by Staci Mize
This 21st century spin on a classic Greek myth zeroes in on the battle between what we are being told to see versus what is actually in front of us. This fresh take on Antigone’s story centers around the tension between media, government and the people — as well as the war over bodily autonomy and rights.
Performances
November 17-18, 21-22, 2022, 8:00 p.m.
November 19, 2022, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Little Theater
OFF MAINSTAGE (non-ticketed, no reservations)
Happy Birthday Mars Rover
By Preston Choi
Directed by Joe Olivieri
This other-worldly unpublished play takes a scathing and hysterical look at our universe and the meaning of life itself. The Mars Rover sings “Happy Birthday” to itself as it searches for life on Mars as humans back on Earth search to understand what life is. It's a medley of snapshots, from cave people naming abstract concepts, bubbles that scream when popped, housewives battling existential dread, cows trying to get to heaven, and the last human on Earth collecting jars of hair.
Performances
November 12 and 19, 2022, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
November 17-18, 2022, 8:00 p.m.
Macgowan 1340
OFF-OFF MAINSTAGE (non-ticketed, no reservations)
SuperAmerica (New Play Festival #1)
By Malick Ceesay
Directed by Bruce Lemon Jr.
A trio of co-workers devises a plan to throw a rap concert inside a gas station with high hopes to settle debts and pivot toward new horizons. Despite all efforts, the harsh realities of capitalism pin the workers against one another, questioning their ability to fully commit and find a collective rhythm.
Performances
February 23-24, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
February 25, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Macgowan 1340
Into the Woods
Music and Lyric by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Musical Director Jeremy Mann
Directed by Judith Moreland
The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch's curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.
Performances
March 3-4, 7-10, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
March 11, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Little Theater
A List of Happenings
(New Play Festival #2)
By Anna Watts
Directed by Alana Dietze
A List of Happenings opens the window on an apartment occupied by a group of women studying at the University of Colorado, Boulder during the 1955-1956 school year. Inspired by source material discovered in the belongings of the playwright's great aunt, this slice-of-life style piece is a hyper-naturalistic, high-energy portrayal of a short moment of freedom for these "strange women" living in a time that was hostile to strange women. Exploring themes of friendship, sexuality, gender roles, intellectualism and ambition, A List of Happenings is a playful gift that returns life to a group of people who were historically undermined, forgotten and oppressed.
Performances
March 16-17, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
March 18, 2023, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Macgowan 1340