Winter production features CSULA faculty, students and guest artists

Los Angeles, CA  -- California State University, Los Angeles’ Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will stage “The Wall: A Musical Misdeed” at the State Playhouse on campus for one weekend—Jan. 30, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Cal State L.A.’s Department Chair John M. Kennedy has composed a stirring musical score, based on the existentialist short story, The Wall, by Jean Paul Sartre, to MFA graduate Alicia Tycer’s poetic libretto. The multimedia production is directed by Professor Tanya Kane-Parry.

Breaking boundaries of sound and space, Kennedy’s avant-garde composition poetically mirrors the dark and unexpected realities of Sartre’s world. 

Tycer’s libretto deconstructs the original linear narrative to reflect the multiplicity of space and time, while Kane-Parry and members of her cutting-edge performance group, Opera del Espacio, create startling physical imagery, all supported by the Chamber Players of Los Angeles music ensemble.

“CSULA’s production is a provocative and haunting sensorial experience of space, sound and images,” said Kane-Parry.

Additionally, Cal State L.A. students from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance are participating in the development and workshop performances of this exciting new piece. They are also working alongside professional performing artists and designers, including Nicholas Isherwood, famed international opera singer; Gayle Fekete, member of Urban Bush Women and head of dance at Cal Poly Pomona; and video designer E. Martin Gimenez (LA Opera, Cirque du Soliel, The Industry).

Written in 1939, The Wall is set in the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War, when the Nationalists (Nacionales), led by General Francisco Franco, overcame the forces of the Spanish Republic and entered Madrid. The story is described as “coldly depicting a situation in which prisoners are condemned to death.” The title refers to the wall used by firing squads to execute prisoners.

Tickets are $12 for general admission, and $8 for seniors/students. For ticket reservations, go to www.calstatela.edu/academic/musictheatredance For ticket info, call (323) 343-4110.

CALENDAR LISTING

WHAT:           “The Wall: A Musical Misdeed,” presented by the Music, Theatre and Dance Department at Cal State L.A.

WHEN:           Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.                           

WHERE:         State Playhouse, on the Cal State L.A. campus. The University is located at the Eastern Avenue exit, San Bernardino (I-10) Freeway, at the interchange of the 10 and 710 Freeways. Public (permit dispenser) parking available in Lot 5 or upper level of Parking Structure C.  For campus map or directions: http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/maps/cslamap.php

INFO:             Tickets are $12 for general admission, and $8 for seniors/students. For ticket reservations, go to www.calstatela.edu/academic/musictheatredance For details, call Tanya Kane-Parry at (323) 343-6684.

#  #  #