The Moveable Theatre Company

The Moveable Theatre Company presented ART, a play by Yasmina Reza, Translation by Christopher Hampton on September 23 and 24, 2010 at the gallery of LA Contemporary Exhibitions in the heart of Hollywood.  Beneficiary Charities of this show were:  Being Alive - People With HIV/AIDS Action Coalition  www.beingalivela.org and LACE www.welcometolace.org.

Directed by Holly Witham, comedy revolves around three friends—Serge, Marc and Yvan—who find their previously solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes "art."

Three friends, Serge, Yvan and Marc find themselves at odds when Serge buys an all-white painting.

Director Holly Witham, J. Todd Howell (Yvan) and Mary Casey pose before a performance.

Friendship can be as contextual as art - as Serge, Yvan & Marc discover.

Well-deserved applause for a job well done! 

What audience members said about ART: 

"...the play...was layered, nuanced and well performed."

"Nicholas Hosking, John Balma, and J. Todd Howell are hilarious, touching, and perfectly cast. This was the most entertaining play reading I've been to in a long time."

Meet the cast of ART:

John Balma as Serge

Raised to be a cowboy, John fled his family’s horse-drawn dreams and headed to San Francisco to pursue a career in theater. He studied at San Francisco State University and trained privately with David Dower (Arena Stage), Amy Freed (Stanford University), Patsy Rodenburg (Royal National Theater of Britain) and Marcus Stern (American Repertory Theater).  He was a founding member of San Francisco’s Reflex Action Theater and The Z Collective, with whom he acted and directed for seven years. John performed in over 35 plays at Magic Theater, Berkeley Rep, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, The Asian American Theater and others around the Bay Area, as well as touring two seasons of famous American short stories with Word for Word in Europe. Now a resident of LosAngeles, John makes frequent guest appearances in TV and Film (Parks and Recreation, Grey’s Anatomy, The West Wing, Friends, Stick It, Super Bad, Just Add Water, Moonlight Mile). John works as the HIV Prevention Educator at Being Alive, and recently filmed five episodes of The Majestic, a new Web series.

Nicholas Hosking as Marc 

Nicholas recently wrote, produced and directed the short film Go West.  His credits include film: We Were Soldiers, Old School; television: Alias, E-Ring, Jimmy Kimmel Live!; theatre: Steve Allen’s A Meeting of the Minds, Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, George Bernard Shaw’s Don Juan In Hell. A co-founder of TMTC, he directed and appeared in Two, Times Three and recently directed the world premiere of Surprise Valley, winner of The Zane Grey Playwriting Contest – a benefit for the Altadena Library Foundation.

J Todd Howell as Yvan

J. Todd last appeared as Lassiter, the tender-hearted hero of Zane Grey’s “Riders of the Purple Sage” in TMTC’s world premiere of Surprise Valley, a benefit for the Altadena Library Foundation.  He has appeared on Broadway in the Revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, The Bow Wow Club (a role he reprised in L.A.) and playwright Levy Lee Simon’s Haitian historical drama For the Love of Freedom.  He appeared as jazz singer Scott Pierson in the feature film The Falls (www.thefallsmovie.com) and has a recurring role on Days of Our Lives as Frank the Chez Rouge bartender. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and taught at two universities in his hometown Arkadelphia, Arkansas.  He is a member of SAG, AFTRA and AEA.  Please visit www.jtoddhowell.com for additional information.

The Moveable Theatre Company presented Two, Times Three - a Program of One-Act Plays from the 1920s on October 23, 24 & 25, 2009 at the Beckman Institute at Caltech and the Pasadena Senior Center.  Beneficiary Charities of this show were:  Being Alive - People With HIV/AIDS Action Coalition  www.beingalivela.org and Pasadena Senior Center www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org 

Works by Alice Gerstenberg, Floyd Dell, Neith Boyce, Hutchins Hapgood and Colin Campbell Clemens blended for a program of touching drama and lively humor. 

The talented cast included, front row, left to right:  Luce Morgan, Bruce Nehlsen, Shirley McConnell.  Back row, left to right: Joe Medalis, Nicholas Hosking, Cheryl Dent, Holly Witham( Producer/Director).

The Illuminati in Drama Libre (1921)  a man...a woman...the Tango...who needs many words?

 Enemies (1921) a long-married couple finds a reason to remain...for now. 

(Pictured:  Bruce Nehlsen and Shirley McConnell).

                Bruce Nehlson                      Shirley McConnell                  

Yesterday (1923) a man attends a ball hoping to find something of his youth.

(Pitcured:  Joe Medalis and Luce Morgan).

 
                     Joe Medalis                              Luce Morgan

Enigma (1922)  How many times does it take to end a romance....

Once? - Silent Film Stars Nora Maude Bowman-Lester and Charles Ramone Howard Bennett attempt to do a live performance of their classic scene from their hit film - with hilarious results!

(Pictured:  Bruce Nehlsen and Shirley McConnell).

Twice?  - While attending a movie, a couple has a spat that soon turns into an audience participation spectacle!

Thrice? - a man learns that his mistress has more feelings for her stuffed bear than for him.

 (Pictured:  Cheryl Dent and Nicholas Hosking.)

                Cheryl Dent                           Nicholas Hosking