Our Summer Intern Shares Some Thoughts

Cristina Bringas lives in Mexico where she studies - and teaches - film criticism. she also has a Masters Degree in Cultural Management, which was invaluable when she worked as a Marketing Intern at the Playhouse during the Summer of 2010. Here, she shares some thoughts about her experience.

Hi! My name is Cristina and I spent six weeks as an intern during the Summer. I came with a lot of expectations and desires to learn about theater management and working in another culture. I must say that everything was better than I expected.

Having the opportunity to live in LA and work in San Gabriel was a huge and indescribable opportunity to learn about Cultural Diversity as a basis for running a theater. I never imagined how a city with such a wide range of cultures could be managed, but in San Gabriel, they do it greatly in order to have such an outstanding city to live and work in.

The Mission Playhouse is a magical space with deep roots and they create possibilities and encourage every kind of show for every kind of artist who provide a piece of the identity of the communities that live in the City.

As someone who believes that the Arts have the power to enrich and strengthen the human spirit, I can see that how important the Mission Playhouse is to the continuing development of the City of San Gabriel.

Being here in San Gabriel for a month and a half, producing the brochure, knowing all these great people, is definitely one of the best things that ever happened to me. I am looking forward to the time when I can come back to California and experience more of this great world that surrounds us. I feel very proud to know that I was helpful to the Mission Playhouse, and that my small contribution helped to bring Arts and Culture to the City.

Now, after my return to Mexico, and after a while since I left Los Angeles and San Gabriel, I know that I am a better person, because I learned things about the Theatre, about myself, and of course, about the world itself. I can't be grateful enough for this opportunity.

Enjoy this World of Arts and Culture that lives at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse - it's yours!

Cristina  

Playhouse Launches a New Logo

Look out for our brand new logo as we roll it out over the coming weeks and months. The new design was developed during July through a detailed dialogue between playhouse staff and Mexico-based graphic designer Denisse Pina. In a series of discussions staff focussed in on what we wanted to achieve, and our wonderful Marketing intern Cristina Bringas relayed our thoughts to Denisse as she offered a number of concepts and renderings to choose from.

The logo will appear on our new season brochure- also completely redesigned by Denisse - which'll be hitting over 30,000 doormats in August. Following that, you'll begin to see it on our other communication materials like our e-newsletter and website.

We think the logo really speaks to our vision for the theater and our committment to diversity, to a sense of history, and to a contemporary outllook. We love it! We hope you like it too.

Mission Playhouse Plays Host to Major New HBO Movie

July 12th and 13th saw the Playhouse parking lot full to the brim with Starwagons and wardrobe trucks, generators and all manner of movie-making equipment as the production team for a major new HBO movie rolled into the Mission District.

The film entitled Cinema Verite stars Academy Award and Golden Globe Winners Diane Lane, and Tim Robbins and Golden Globe Winner James Gandolfini, star of The Soprano’s.

Cinema Verite charts the story of the making of An American Family, the Oscar-winning 1973 groundbreaking documentary centered on Santa Barbara couple Pat Loud (Lane) and Bill Loud (Robbins), who split up during the filming, and their children, the eldest of whom, son Lance, became TV's first openly gay character. Gandolfini plays the documentary’s producer.

The cast is joined by Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit and Swingtown star Shanna Collins. Look out for familiar San Gabriel scenes in the film in 2012.

From Miss Saigon to Buster Keaton

There was a huge buzz in the air at Saturday's performances of Miss Saigon presented by San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre as the packed houses listened the wonderful sounds of the Wurlitzer organ in a special pre-show performance courtesy of LATOS (Los Angeles Theatre Organ Society).

There's another opportunity to hear this wonderful instrument coming up Sunday, May 9th when LATOS present the silent movie classic "The Cameraman" starring Buster Keaton.

The show begins at 2.30pm and tickets are available from LATOS via our website www.missionplayhouse.org

Miss Saigon Opens Saturday!

The excitement builds in the last few days before this maginificent production opens on Saturday, May 1st.

Check http://www.missionplayhouse.org/ for seat availabilty or book your tickets on the highlighted link below

https://www.plays411.net/newsite/show/plays.asp?skin_show_id=

Shows are at 2PM and 8PM, and ticket prices range from $20-$60.

Behind the Scenes - Miss Saigon Press Launch

On 12th April, press and guests were invited to a sneak preview of San Gabriel Valley Music Theatres brand new production of the hugely successful Miss Saigon.
Producer Bobby Hundley and Director Ray Rochelle were on hand to detail their vision for this exciting new production and were joined other members of the creative team and cast. Guests were visibly emotionally moved as they were treated to an off-the-cuff performance of two numbers from the show.
Check out our Facebook pages for more photo's...Tickets are selling fast for the show on May 1st, so book yours now!

http://www.missionplayhouse.org/

(Photo's by kind permission of Terry Miller - Beacon Media)

Behind the Scenes - A Man with a Vision

Building Our Community One Musical at a Time...

Ray A. Rochelle is a man with a vision, a vision borne of a lifetime in music theatre, steeped in all the glamour, heartache, blood, sweat and tears that it takes to make a successful career in this uniquely demanding and wonderfully rewarding world.

He’s a man with a plan and the kind of unstoppable energy which lets you know right away that the plan is going to work. You could say “failure is not an option” but failure is not even in his vocabulary.

Rochelle’s plan is to bring a unique Concert Performance of Miss Saigon to the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse on Saturday May 1st and raise funds for the long-established much-loved San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre.

But if bringing a superbly realized, ambitious and unique performance to this historic and hugely atmospheric venue wasn’t enough, Rochelle’s vision isn’t just plucked out of the air – his relationships with both venue and show are as deep as they are long.

Rochelle started as a young ensemble performer back in 1984 in San Gabriel Civic Light Opera’s production of Music Man on the stage of the Mission Playhouse (then known as the Civic Auditorium). Again for the SGVCLO, he won a Dramalogue Award for his performance of Paul in their production of A Chorus Line.

In the ten year period until 1999, Rochelle performed in a staggering 26 of the 54 SGVCLO/Music Theatre productions.

In 1992, he became a member of the original First National Company of Miss Saigon and in 2000, joined the Stuttgart company of Miss Saigon for Stella Productions, singing the whole score in German before becoming Associate Director/Choreographer for Fullerton Light Opera’s 2005 Western Regional Premiere which won four LA Ovation Awards. The show received 11 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Actor and Best Choreography.

So 26 shows later and almost 26 years on to the date, Rochelle premieres his stunning new production at the venue steeped in both theatre history and personal memories. Rochelle says: “It’s a huge dream of mine – to leave a legacy to the theatre that helped me get to Miss Saigon – the show that put me on the map and on the road to launch my professional career.”

When he’s not creating theater, Rochelle is a private life coach, an inspirational speaker, for those “seeking to turn dreams into reality.” Just watch him. And if you want to see a vision made manifest – a dream truly realized, visit the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse for one of two very special performances of Miss Saigon on May 1st at 2pm & 8pm.

Getting to know SGMP's Managing Director, Anna Cross

Q: What is your background (schooling, previous jobs?)

A: I was born in England, near a place called High Wycombe and moved to the US when I was 7 years old, first to Wisconsin, then to Half Moon Bay, about 400 miles north of LA.

I attended UC Santa Barbara and studied for a BA in Music with a specialism in Ethnomusicology.

Following that, I worked in the Community School of Music in Arts Monterey and then at UCLA Performing Arts (now UCLA Live) first as an Assistant to the Director of Designed for Sharing, the community outreach initiative of UCLA Live, then as Theatre Rental Coordinator, which I did for 8 years.

I've been Managing Director at the Mission Playhouse since 2007.

Q: What are your hobbies & interests?

A: I sing with the Eastern European Women's folk Choir, Nevenka (www.nevenka.org). The ensembles repertoire includes songs from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Albania, Russia, Greece, and Georgia, as well as Ladino Sephardic and Rom (Gypsy) songs. I also enjoy photography, focusing on shooting geometric patterns and shapes I come across in the urban and natural environment.

Q: If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?

A: Egypt. I studied the music when I was at university and I loved it. I'd love to explore the country, its history and, of course, visit the pyramids.

Q: What have your favourite theatre performances/event been? (At the Playhouse and elsewhere?)

A: Without question, Sankai Juku Butoh Dance Company at UCLA Royce Hall. At the Mission Playhouse, my favourite performances have been The Diablo Dance Theatre of Taiwan and the LA Phil who performed at the Gala Event to mark the re-naming of the venue as the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in the fall of 2007.

Q: What is your favourite music?

A: I have favourites in almost every genre! I have really broad taste when it comes to music -- I listen to a really wide range, from Hip-Hop to American Folk, from Classical to Indie Rock.

Q: What is your favourite place in San Gabriel/LA?

A: The Mission Playhouse of course! Apart from that, my favourite place in San Gabriel is the all-vegetarian Chinese Restaurant The Fine Garden on Las Tunas. In LA, it's the beach-- Venice Beach in particular, and the Getty-- a wonderful museum with a spectacular view.

Q: If you were stuck on an island, what are 3 things you'd want to have in your possession?

A: My laptop! And an internet connection. And my Flat-Coated Retriever. I hope my friends and loved ones would come and visit me too!

Q: What is the best part of your job? Why theatre?

A: We are host to so many different types of performances from all over the world and I love that I can not only see these performances, but that I'm instrumental in making them happen. It's not just theatre, but music, dance and all kinds of live performance, which is truly my passion.

Q: What is your vision for the future of the Mission Playhouse?

A: I'd like us to be locally, nationally and internationally recognized for continuing to attract the highest profile international artists and performers and to be available for members of our local community too.