The critically acclaimed Occidental Children’s Theater will present "1,001 Arabian Nights of the Living Dead," an original story, plus three adaptations of traditional folktales in its 14th season in the Remsen Bird Hillside Theater on the Occidental campus July 9 through Aug. 22.
In about an hour, a cast of six students and recent Occidental alumni perform four energetic, funny stories without props, sets or special costumes, relying only on their acting and acrobatic skills. "Occidental Children's Theater's rambunctious charm hasn't faded a whit. The company is still one of L.A.'s little gems, an acrobatic outdoor theater romp presented with imagination and whiz-bang physicality," says the Los Angeles Times.
The scripts for the tales – existing folk tales from around the world filtered through the troupe’s unique sensibilities -- are company-created and the result of weeks of improvisation and revision. They are "The Terrible Leak" (Japan); "Daughter and Stepdaughter" (Russia); and "Anansi and the Hungry Turtle" (Ashanti Tribe, West Africa). The title story was improvised by the actors and scripted by Jamie Angell, the theater’s founding artistic director.
This year’s cast includes Jeff Bee, Reba Buhr, Alana Dietze, Claudia Gomez, Daniele Manzin, and Kaja Martin.
Beginning July 9, "1,001 Arabian Nights of the Living Dead" will be performed in the Hillside Theater at 10 a.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through Aug. 22. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 2 through 12. Group rates are available. (Occidental employees and students receive a discount.) For more information, please call (323) 259-2771.
Occidental College is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock. A campus map and directions to the college are available at www.oxy.edu/x119.xml.
