International Theatre Festival Returns This Weekend

The third annual California International Theatre Festival will unfold at several local venues beginning this weekend with a smorgasbord of global flavors and talent.

The brainchild of founders M. Edgar Rosenblum and Linda Purl, the thespian carnival aims to bridge a cultural divide between local theatre aficionados and, well, the rest of the world. 

Featured theatre companies will run the gamut from 300-year-old Beijing opera to Israeli living sculpture to an Irish dramatization of a little-known short story by Samuel Beckett.

Festival Director Purl said that the genesis of the festival lay in the shattering of the nation's complacency following the events of 9/11.

"Our rose colored glasses were removed," Purl said."We saw there are people out there with skewed views of Americans, so this is an effort to reach out to other cultures. Art is borderless."

Purl has moved comfortably in international society since her childhood in Japan, where she began her theatrical career.

She said that traveling to theatre festivals around the world to search for exciting events to present was the easier task in producing the festival.

"We have something for everyone," Purl said. "The great thing about L.A. audiences is that they are willing and unpretentious."

Accordingly, the eclectic mix of performances includes "Tempting Providence," a Canadian play about the true story of a pioneering nurse on the Newfoundland frontier in the early 20th century; "Catch the Light," a cabaret performance by Tony and Emmy-nominated diva Michele Lee; "The Ring Road," a modern-day Chinese interpretation of the scandalous 1900 Arthur Schnitzler play "La Ronde;" and "Around the World in 80 Minutes," a spectacle created by international director Ron Popenhagen for the Apprentice Program, sponsored by the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation.

There are returning artists as well. Irish actor Conor Lovett is a third-year veteran of the festival, bringing alive the works of Samuel Beckett, the celebrated Irish playwright whose 1953 play "Waiting for Godot" was rated by the Royal National Theatre as the greatest play of the 20th century.

Lovett will be performing "The End," a funny story about an older man cast out from an institutional hospital and left to fend for himself.

"To keep the balance of comedy and poignancy is the greatest challenge with Beckett," Lovett said in an e-mail. "For me, it's like performing a piece of music. If I respect the structure and the rhythms and listen to my wonderful director (Judy Hegarty Lovett), I should be OK."

"Working with Pinter" is one of the productions that will be free to attend.

Also free is "Essence of China," in which Briton Ghaffar Pourazar becomes the first westerner to complete the rigorous training course at the National Academy for Beijing Opera and performs this spectacle of Chinese culture, history, mythology and poetry.

The city of Calabasas is sponsoring the festival, a circumstance that makes Purl's yearlong fund raising efforts slightly easier. The perpetual search for sponsorship is frustratingly short sighted she believes.

"Never mind the arts, the culture, the documented raising of test scores in children who are exposed to the theatre," Purl said. "The economics for the host community of a theatre festival are staggering. For every dollar spent on a ticket, it is estimated to bring eleven dollars into the community for hotels and restaurants and other commercial centers. The Spoleto Festival (in Charleston, South Carolina) generates $75 million in economic activity. And, finally, theatre festivals are a way for businesses to reach markets they wouldn't automatically reach."

Lovett said that the strength in live performance was in gathering a group of people together in a ritual where storytelling can help us to better understand ourselves.

"I think festivals such as CITF are a brilliant way of keeping theatre fresh as there can be a great exchange of ideas," Lovett said.

But the ultimate benefit of a theatre festival lies in the cross-cultural dialogue that engages a community, she said, touting theatre as the great cultural equalizer.

"In theatre, we speak different languages, but we all understand each other," Purl said.

 For venues, tickets, and showtimes, click here.