Saturdays. August thru end of June.
In the 2016-17 season GRoW @ The Wallis joined with theater director Madeleine Dahm to launch an exciting new theater company in LA. The Wallis Youth Theater Company is a dynamic, groundbreaking ensemble for young actors committed to socially conscious practices and to creating cutting edge theatrical work.
Artistic Statement: The Wallis Youth Theater Company crosses boundaries and with an ethos of collaboration, creates thoughtful and provocative work that is rooted in examining our humanity.
The Story So Far:
Since its inception The Ensemble has presented four major productions at The Wallis and participated in two international performing arts festivals. 2018 saw the mounting of two productions: Douglas Adams environmental satire The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (LA Times ‘Pick of the Week’) - and Disposable, an original devised work that examined the intersection between environmental destruction and human displacement, also seen at The San Diego International Fringe Festival in June 2018.
In 2016/17 The Ensemble premiered Thebes by British playwright Gareth Jandrell, a contemporary re-imagining of the Greek classic Thebes, and their first original devised composition Word of Mouth, (an examination of Post-Truth) was not only featured on NPR by Priska Neely, but was also seen at The Rise Up Festival LA and The Crisis Art Festival in Tuscany, Italy - where the ensemble spent a week in residence in July 2017.
In addition to working on productions, ensemble members regularly attend performances at The Wallis, meet with visiting international artists, and participated in special events at The Wallis."
Creative Team:
Founding Company Director: Madeleine Dahm
Lighting Designer: Bosco Flanagan
Set Designer: Jeanne Schnidewind
Current Company Members: Olivia Buntaine, Trecey Dory, Nachaliah Duclerne, Matthew Greenwood, Malakai Jones, Jayde Kief, Danielle Koenig, Kelvin Morales, Mauricio Morazan, Madalina Nastase, Jordan Rodriguez, Helya Salarvand, Alexander Sheldon & Siera Williams.
Alumni Members: Clementine Turner, Sam Marino, Tristan McIntyre (now attending NYU, CSLB, and Boston Conservatory).
ABOUT MADELEINE DAHM
Madeleine Dahm is an internationally respected theatre director and choreographer. She has worked with some of the world’s leading theatres, performing companies, and training academies, and collaborated with renowned innovators in theater, dance, multi-media, music, and art. Madeleine started out as a professional dancer in England after studying with the legendary Martha Graham. Post-Graduate studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire led to training with theatre pioneer Lloyd Newson after which she began creating her own critically acclaimed physical theater works which were presented in concert venues in Europe, across the UK, and in the USA. Recent Credits include: Co - Director and Choreographer Salt, with Jon Kellam and the newly formed Italian theatre company Bamsemble, Director and choreographer Oktoberfest - The Musical: An Almost True Story - Book by Phillip LaZebnik (Disney’s Mulan and Prince of Egypt), and Music by Grammy winning film composer Harold Faltermeyer (Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop). Since 2015/16 she has been the Movement Director and Advisor for The House is Black, an installation opera created by world-renowned vocalist Sussan Deyhim, and Emmy award-winning composer Richard Horowitz. She is currently working with famed LA arts critic and journalist Victoria Looseleaf, to direct the staged play of her novel, Isn’t it Rich. Madeleine is the recipient of a Los Angeles Theatre Guild Award for directing, she is an Associate Member of The Stage Director and Choreographers Society of America, and she is a Founding Member of The British Association of Choreographers.
WORD OF MOUTH: A new youth theater company puts politics on stage
Q&A with GRoW @ The Wallis Resident Artist & The Wallis Youth Theater Company Artistic Director MADELEINE DAHM