INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. presents
A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH
CHARLES DICKENS
Directed by Melissa Chalsma
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of David Melville as
Charles Dickens
12 Performances Only at both The Village at Westfield Topanga
and at Independent Studio in Atwater Village!
November 13, 2015…Los Angeles… INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO.
(ISCLA), producers of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, presents the
10th anniversary production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES
DICKENS. In his lifetime, Charles Dickens was recognized not only as a great
writer, but as an actor. His greatest successes on the stages of Britain and the United
States were his solo performances of his own work. One of the first pieces he
presented to great acclaim was A Christmas Carol. A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH
CHARLES DICKENS will perform at two venues this season. ISCLA and Westfield
will present four admission-free performances at The Village at Westfield Topanga
from Thursday, December 3 - Sunday December 6, (Thursday and Friday at 7pm,
Saturday and Sunday at 6pm). Performances will also be presented at Independent
Studio from Thursday, December 10 - Sunday, December 20 (Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm) at Independent Studio in the
Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #168 in Atwater
Village.
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In what has become a holiday tradition, ISCLA re-creates (with a little artistic
license) the experience of a public reading given by Mr. Dickens himself. Based on
the novelist’s own adaptation, A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES
DICKENS is performed by ISCLA co-founder David Melville as Charles Dickens,
playing nearly every character in the story with musical accompaniment and
dramatic interjections by a young American actress, Miss Aks.
This is ISCLA’s tenth anniversary of presenting A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH
CHARLES DICKENS. Says David Melville, “In 2005, we put together this
production as a little experiment. It was really supposed to be a one-off but it
quickly became a holiday tradition for us and for audience members, many of whom
have become close friends over the years. We have performed in numerous venues
from living rooms to big theaters like The Geffen Playhouse and The Granada
Theatre in Santa Barbara, from The Huntington to a 9th century Saxon church in
Colchester, England. No matter where we are it is always a privilege to perform Mr.
Dickens’ wonderful words.”
The performance of A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES DICKENS is full
of the acting pyrotechnics Dickens was famous for as the two actors conjure a
magical evening full of wry humor, ghosts, romance, and redemption.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST
MELISSA CHALSMA (Director) is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of
Independent Shakespeare Co. Under Melissa’s leadership, the company created the
Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, which has grown into the largest theater
event of its kind in Los Angeles. She directs many ISCLA productions, including
last season’s Los Angeles Times Critic’s Choice Twelfth Night at the Griffith Park
Free Shakespeare Festival, and at Independent Studio, Romeo & Juliet and Doctor
Faustus. Other directing projects include the Western Premiere of Akio Miyazawa’s
Hinemi (California State University, Northridge).
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As an actor, she has been seen in leading roles in ISCLA productions, including
Katharine in last season’s The Taming of the Shrew and has performed at
Shakespeare festivals across the US, on Broadway (including the American
premiere of Harold Pinter’s Moonlight with Jason Robards, Blythe Danner and
Liev Schreiber) and in the UK, including at the Derby playhouse and London’s
Battersea Arts Center.
DAVID MELVILLE (Charles Dickens) is co-founder of Independent Shakespeare
Co. and the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Roles for ISCLA include
Hamlet, Richard II, Iago, Macbeth, Henry V, Benedick, Dr. Pinch, Feste, 10 seasons
as Charles Dickens performing A Christmas Carol, a one-person Nicholas Nickleby,
Charles Dickens in The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and
Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, WH Ireland in the one man show Solemn Mockeries and
Beauty Smith in the original musical Red Barn. Most recently, David starred in and
co-wrote, with William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, Strange Eventful
History. As a composer David has written the music for most of ISCLA’s
Shakespeare productions, Red Barn, and many of the songs for Dr. Pinch’s
vaudeville show. London appearances include the Almeida Theatre productions of
Hamlet (also Broadway) and Ivanov (both of which featured Ralph Fiennes), Mother
Courage (with Glenda Jackson) and Henry VI in The Wax King (The Man in the
Moon). TV and film includes: Lawrence of America; Ironclad; The Understudy and
Perfection. Earlier in his career, David was a private detective and then brand
ambassador for Bombay Sapphire – traveling the United States preaching the
virtues of gin and discussing golf with liquor executives. David trained at the
Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
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JULIA AKS (Miss Aks) is a Los Angeles-based singer/actress, with work spanning
Shakespeare, opera, musical theater, plays, and film. She is a proud member of the
Independent Shakespeare Co., and has performed as Helena in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Fabian in Twelfth Night, and Pimple in She Stoops To Conquer at the
Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. A trained mezzo-soprano, she has sung the
roles of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro , Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann,
Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. She also sings seasonally
with the L.A. Opera Chorus and the innovative contemporary opera company The
Industry, recently appearing in Hopscotch. Regional musical theater roles include
Cinderella in Into the Woods, Ulla in The Producers , and Mary Moore in the world
premiere musical Red Barn. Ms. Aks is also a member of the Ovation Awardwinning Fugitive Kind Theater Company, devoted to new works and reimagined
classics. On screen, Julia can be seen as Kelsey Peterson in the horror comedy
feature film Clinger and as The Artist in the feature The Watermelon. She is also
leading lady Scarlet Ruby Müller in the groundbreaking transmedia romance series
The Elements Club. Upcoming projects in 2016 include: Orfeus and Euridice with
Brava Opera Theater in Ashland, OR and La Bohème with the L.A. Opera Chorus.
SCHEDULE AND PRICING
A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES DICKENS will perform at two venues.
The Village at Westfield Topanga
Thursday, December 3 - Sunday, December 6.
Thursday & Friday at 7pm
Saturday & Sunday at 6pm
The Koi Pond,
6250 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Independent Studio
Thursday, December 10 – Sunday, December 20.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm
Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #168 in Atwater
Village, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Ample free lot and street parking.
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For tickets, please call (818) 710-6306 or buy online at www.iscla.org
ISCLA’s NEW TICKETING PRICES
Generous Admission - $35. Support ISCLA’s initiative to provide access across
income and age!
General Admission - $20. ISCLA’s affordable ticket price.
Free! 10 free tickets are available for each performance so that price is not an
obstacle to attending live theater. Call the office for information and to make a
reservation.
For tickets, please call (818) 710-6306 or buy online at www.iscla.org
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For more information, photos, press interviews or for press comps please contact
David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818-508-1754 or at davidelzer@me.com
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Calendar Listing:
A CHRISTMAS CAROL WITH CHARLES DICKENS
Directed by Melissa Chalsma
PERFORMANCES:
THE VILLAGE AT WESTFIELD TOPANGA
The Koi Pond, 6250 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Thursday, December 3 at 7pm
Friday, December 4 at 7pm
Saturday, December 5 at 6pm
Sunday, December 6 at 6pm
Admission is free.
INDEPENDENT STUDIO
3191 Casitas Ave. #168
(between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Blvd.)
At the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex
3191 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039
Thursday, December 10 at 7:30pm
Friday, December 11 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 12 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 13 at 2pm
Thursday, December 17 at 7:30pm
Friday, December 18 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 19 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 20 at 2pm
Ample free lot and street parking.
Tickets are $35 Generous Admission; $20 General Admission; Free – 10 tickets for
each performance (call for reservations).
For tickets, please call (818) 710-6306 or buy online at www.iscla.org
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INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. (ISCLA) was founded in 1998. We have been
producing accessible, imaginative performances of classical plays since that time. We
are the 2015 recipients of the LA Drama Critics Circle’s highest honor, the Margaret
Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater, a 2015 recipient of an NEA ArtWorks
grant and grantee recipient of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and
Management Program. Our first performances were located on the Lower East Side of
New York City. The stripped down production style of our early productions enabled us
to travel easily and we quickly found ourselves touring Europe, ending with an invitation
to perform our production of Macbeth for four weeks at The King’s Head Theatre in
London. In 2001 we relocated to Los Angeles and -- with the support of the Department
of Recreation and Parks and the Department of Cultural Affairs -- founded Free
Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park, in 2004. Because of audience demand, in 2010 we moved
to the significantly larger venue at the Old Zoo and re-christened the summer season the
Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. The growth in attendance is extraordinary: our
first season played to fewer than 1,000 people; by 2015 over 47,000 people came to
Griffith Park for 40 nights of free classical theater productions. In 2012, we expanded
our offerings with our indoor performance space, Independent Studio where we present
original work of , re-imagined stagings of classics, readings and classes. For more
information call 818-710-6306 or visit www.iscla.org.
The Village at Westfield Topanga is an outdoor social and street retail experience unlike
any other in the San Fernando Valley. Home to many celebrity concepts including Kate
Hudson’s Fabletics, Karina Smirnoff’s Dance Studio, Fred Levine’s M. Fredric and
celebrity florist Amy Marella’s Fleurish, The Village is also home to: exclusive personal
services providers including Juan Juan Salon, Blushington, Skin Laundry, Drybar and
Burke Williams Day Spa; home goods retailers including Sur La Table, Z Gallerie,
Jonathan Adler, Basset Furniture, Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel; fitness, lifestyle
and health options including YogaWorks, Flywheel, UCLA Health and a 24 Hour Fitness
Super-Sport; as well as REI and Costco. The property also offers 15 restaurants and
eateries (including Tender Greens, XOC Mex Cuisine, Eureka! Gourmet Burgers & Craft
Beer, Sushi Katsu-ya and Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern) with several alfresco
dining areas; walkable plazas and pathways lined with water features, a koi pond,
children’s play areas, bocce ball courts, outdoor lounges, fire pits, a walking path;
exhibitions by local artists such as Nova Jiang and Elk Pen, and a new on-site radio
station (KCSN 88.5 FM) offering live music performances each week.
Between The Village, neighboring Westfield Topanga and The Promenade, this combined
San Fernando Valley shopping mecca houses more than 300 tenants—making it one of
the top retail destinations in the United States.