Following its tremendously successful run four years ago in Santa Monica, One Way Ticket to Oregon, written by BC Caldwell, is now at The Blue Door in Culver City. The play wrestles with topics of mortality, faith and the limited options when it comes to “dying with dignity.” Directed by JJ Mayes and produced by BC Caldwell and Jeremy Aldridge, the cast features Ethan Aldridge, Travis Goodman, Synthia L. Hardy, Matt Jennings, Kate Krieger, Rick Steadman, Carl Wientraub, and Eve Sigall as Leigh Anne Rainey, each of whom bring heartfelt, realistic characters to the stage.
One Way Ticket to Oregon centers on Leigh Anne Rainey who receives the diagnosis that her cancer has returned, forcing her to confront her own mortality. A proper Southern belle with a rebel heart, Leigh Anne frets over what her end is going to look like and how it will affect her son Bobby who relies on her stability, as well as his wife Eve and their young autistic son Duke. With help from her friend June, Leigh Anne explores her limited options, including the use of medical marijuana to curb her symptoms. After learning about doctors in Oregon who can legally help her “die with dignity,” Leigh Anne begins to wrestle with her faith. In the midst of her existential turmoil, unresolved issues of race and heritage threaten to unravel the core of her fragile family as she must choose how to end her own pain without hurting the family and friends she loves.
Playwright BC Caldwell is Co-Founder and Executive Director of ArtsUP! LA, a non-profit performing arts organization dedicated to empowering underserved youth, individuals with special needs, and military veterans in greater Los Angeles. As a graduate of Tulane University, Caldwell combines his personal understanding of the people of Louisiana with his genuine desire to help others in One Way Ticket to Oregon. Performancesat 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7pm on Mondays through April 24 at The Blue Door, 9617 Venice Blvd., Culver City 90232. Tickets are $20, available at the door or online at https://www.bluedoorculver.com. All audience members must be vaccinated or have a negative test in the previous 48 hours for the safety of the actors, and must wear a mask inside the theater.
My Mom and I both really enjoyed the Complexions Contemporary Ballet during its recent three-day visit at The Wallis in Beverly Hills, offering a production filled with incredibly athletic dancers who totally engaged the audience with their soulful and heartfelt performances. Act 1: The West Coast Premiere of Snatched Back from the Edges by Dwight Rhoden, examined living in a world turned upside down during the past two years. Act 2: StarDust choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, offered a real treat for David Bowie fans with his music interpreted by such talented modern ballet performers representing love is love in all its variations, each covered in glitter with streaks of all colors of the rainbow in their hair. See them next in Dance for Life, a dance festival to fight HIV/AIDS and Covid-19, on Saturday, April 23 at 2pm and 7pm at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in association with Ebony Repertory Theatre, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016. Tickets at https://bit.ly/DFL-1004. Learn more about the group and future performances at https://www.complexionsdance.org.
After a career helping actors, Michelle Danner has found ways to fulfill her own dreams, most recently by opening The Creative Center for the Arts, located at 10820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City 90232. After several years at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, the successful performer, teacher, storyteller, entrepreneur, and expert acting teacher brings a theater for upcoming performances as well as two acting schools to town: The Los Angeles Acting Conservatory (for conservatory classes and international students), and the Michelle Danner Acting Studio (for single courses, coaching and children’s classes).
Coursework at the Creative Center for the Arts includes classes in Film and TV On-Camera Acting, Improvisation Workout, Scene Study, Creating a Demo Reel, Breaking into Hollywood, Method Acting, Stella Adler Technique, Meisner Acting Technique, and The Stanislavski Technique. Both in-person and virtual classes are offered along with classes for adults, teens and children. More information at https://creativecenterforthearts.com
