Background

Our Mission

A Noise Within’s mission is to produce world-class performances of the great works of drama in rotating repertory with a resident company; to educate and inspire the public through programs that foster an understanding and appreciation of history’s great plays and playwrights; and to train the next generation of classical theatre artists.

Our Vision

A Noise Within performs and promotes classical theatre as an essential means for our community to confront the universal human experience, expand personal awareness and challenge individual perspectives.

A Noise Within was founded in 1992 by Geoff Elliott, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, and Art Manke. Operating out of a former Masonic Temple in Glendale, they staged a production of “Hamlet” that was accessible and relevant at a time when classic theatre was not widely performed in Los Angeles. The twenty-year evolution from a small neighborhood theatre to the current capital campaign has been marked by constantly raising the bar on what great classical theatre can be. The move to a new, permanent home provides A Noise Within with expanded artistic possibilities, a greater scope of educational opportunities, and the capacity to meet demand and reach its full potential.

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Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott are passionate in their belief that theatre can transform lives and better communities. Both hold a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Florida, and a master of fine arts from the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco: one of the leading theatre training programs in the country. During the theatre’s twenty-year history, they have mounted 141 productions and have consistently operated in the black maintaining good fiscal health for the organization.

A Noise Within’s company of resident artists perform classic works in the rotating repertory tradition, meaning that each individual actor has the opportunity to perform multiple roles in three thematically linked plays during the fall season, and again during the spring season. Classical rotating repertory is a time-tested tradition that has all but vanished from the regional theatre scene. Rotating repertory has the unique ability to build strong community among the artists, between the artists and their audience, and among audience members.

Over the past 20 years, A Noise Within has achieved prominence among Southern California’s best theatres, earning 26 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. In 2008, the LA Drama Critics Circle nominated Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” for two awards, Best Production and Best Adaptation. In 2009, Jean Anouilh’s “The Rehearsal” garnered three nominations from the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards, including Best Production of a Play. In 2010, Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing!” earned nominations for Best Production of a Play from both the LA Drama Critics Circle and the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards, and was honored with the McCulloh Award for Revival (shows between 1920 and 1980). A Noise Within has also received a Polly Warfield Award for Excellence, and was the youngest company ever to receive the Margaret Harford Award for Distinguished Achievement.

In 2012, A Noise Within Producing Artistic Directors, Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, were honored with the inaugural alumni “Contributions to the Field Award” by the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.). The “Contributions to the Field Award” honors distinguished alumni and supporters who have contributed significant leadership in the field of theatre locally and nationally beyond their role as actors and founders. Fellow honorees were The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Annette Bening, and Elizabeth Banks.

With generous help from a supportive community and a lead gift from The Ahmanson Foundation, A Noise Within’s Producing Artistic Directors realized a twenty-year dream of building a permanent home for their unique brand of classic theatre in October 2011. “When we started, people thought we were crazy for trying the classics in Glendale,” says Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, Producing Artistic Director. “Then we said we’d raise money to build a theatre in what turned out to be a terrible economy. Nothing’s been ideal. But we’ve had incredible good fortune, a great board and dedicated patrons and artists” (Los Angeles Times, July 2012).

The state-of-the-art theatre was built on the site of an historical landmark designed by acclaimed 20th century architect, Edward Durell Stone, most noted for Radio City Music Hall; the Center Theatre in Rockefeller Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. The three-story, 33,000-square-foot facility, includes a 283-seat theatre, rehearsal space, scene and costume shops, box office, administrative offices, storage space, classroom space, and a learning resource center open to all teachers and students.

Over the 2011/12 inaugural Pasadena season, A Noise Within served more than 27,000 theatre patrons of all ethnicities and ages, including 10,000 students, providing access to classic theatre rooted in the great literary traditions. The theatre experienced a stellar inaugural season nearly doubling its subscribers and operating at a capacity well above the national average. This reflects the quality of the work, the strength of the mission, the personal relationship with stakeholders, and the strong sense of community engendered by the organization and its programs.

During a time when arts education is an endangered species, A Noise Within dedicates 30% of its resources to education and outreach programs, and has served over 200,000 students over the past 20 years. Each year, the organization serves students from approximately 130 schools across more than 20 school districts. Through vital foundation and government support, A Noise Within provides scholarships to schools in need. Scholarships may include: busing to the theatre; reduced cost tickets to attend a live on-stage performance; post-show discussions with the artists; in-class workshops; and standards-based study guides. A Noise Within’s education program has five components: Classics Live!; Tickets for Teachers; Educator Professional Development Workshops; Study Guides; and the Classics Live! Learning Resource Center.

Through the leadership and vision of Producing Artistic Directors, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, A Noise Within continually raises the bar for what great classical theatre can be, establishing itself as a leader in the regional theatre community.

Coming Soon.

Current Season: 2012-13

  • Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
  • The Doctor’s Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Adapted for the stage by Geoff Elliott
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – Adapted for the stage by Frank Galati
  • Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
  • The Beaux’ Stratagem by George Farquhar – Adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig

2011 – 12 Inaugural Pasadena Season

  • Twelfth Night, Or What You Will by William Shakespeare
  • Desire Under the Elmsby Eugene O’Neill
  • Noises Off by Michael Frayn
  • Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
  • The Illusion by Pierre Corneille – Adapted by Tony Kushner
  • The Bungler by Moliere – Translated by Richard Wilbur

2010 – 11

  • Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
  • Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • Noises Off by Michael Frayn
  • The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
  • The Eccentricities of a Nightingale by Tennessee Williams
  • The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco

2009 – 10

  • The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
  • Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Adapted by Campell & Columbus
  • Noises Off by Michael Frayn
  • Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett?
  • Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
  • Awake & Sing! by Clifford Odets
  • The Playboy of the Western World by JM Synge

2008 – 09

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  • The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
  • Oliver Twist by Neil Bartlett
  • Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett?
  • The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
  • Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
  • The Rehearsal by Jean Anouilh

2007 – 08

  • The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare
  • Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett?
  • Dear Brutus by J. M. Barrie
  • Henry IV, Part One by William Shakespeare
  • Don Juan by Moliere
  • The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams

2006 – 07

  • Phaedra by Jean Racine
  • A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O’Neill
  • As You Like It by William Shakespeare
  • The Price* by Arthur Miller
  • Man of La Mancha book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion & music by Mitch Leigh
  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • Loot by Joe Orton

2005 – 06

  • Othello by William Shakespeare
  • Picnic by William Inge
  • The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen
  • The Price* by Arthur Miller
  • Ubu Roi by Alred Jarry
  • Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
  • The Tempest by William Shakespeare

2004 – 05

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
  • The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
  • A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau
  • Carrolling by Sabin Epstein & Laura Karpman
  • The Price* by Arthur Miller
  • Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
  • The School for Wives by Moliere
  • Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O’Neill

2003 – 04

  • Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
  • The Miser by Moliere
  • The Price* by Arthur Miller
  • O Pioneers!* by Willa Cather
  • A Wilde Holiday by Oscar Wilde
  • Electra by Euripides
  • Twelfth Night* by William Shakespeare
  • The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder

2002 – 03

  • Macbeth by William Shakespeare
  • The Triumph of Love by Pierre de Marivaux
  • The Cherry Orchard* by Anton Chekov
  • A Wilde Holiday by Oscar Wilde
  • Bus Stop* by William Inge
  • Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
  • O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
  • The King Stag by Carlo Gozzi

2001 – 02

  • Trelawny of the Walls by Arthur Pinero
  • Pericles by William Shakespeare
  • The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere
  • A Wilde Holiday by Oscar Wilde
  • Hay Fever* by Noel Coward
  • Love’s Labour’s Lost* by William Shakespeare
  • Bus Stop by William Inge
  • The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen

2000 – 01

  • The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof* by Tennessee Williams
  • The Comedy of Errors* by William Shakespeare
  • Hay Fever* by Noel Coward
  • Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

1999 – 2000

  • Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
  • Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
  • The Taming of the Shrew* by William Shakespeare
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
  • The Misanthrope by Moliere
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

1998 – 99

  • Much Ado About Nothing* by William Shakespeare
  • The Little Foxes* by Lillian Hellman
  • Another Part of the Forest by Lillian Hellman
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • Oedipus the King* by Sophocles
  • What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton
  • Hearbreak House by George Bernard Shaw

1997 – 98

  • King Richard III* by William Shakespeare
  • Design for Living* by Noel Coward
  • The Learned Ladies by Moliere
  • Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens
  • The Glass Menagerie* by Tennessee Williams
  • Volpone by Ben Jonson
  • Buried Child by Sam Shepard
  • The Seagull by Anton Chekov

1996 – 97

  • The Country Wife by William Wycherley
  • The Glass Menagerie* by Tennessee Williams
  • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
  • A Christmas Carol*by Charles Dickens
  • The Winter’s Tale* by William Shakespeare
  • So It Is!…If So It Seems To You by Luigi Pirandello
  • The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill

1995 – 96

  • A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
  • Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
  • Tartuffe* by Moliere
  • As You Like It* by William Shakespeare
  • Ah, Wilderness by Eugene O’Neill
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

1994 – 95

  • King Lear by William Shakespeare
  • The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  • The Importance of Being Earnest* by Oscar Wilde
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream* by William Shakespeare
  • The Three Sisters by Anton Chekov
  • Engaged by W.S. Gilbert

1993 – 94

  • The Tempest by William Shakespeare
  • Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca
  • The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
  • All My Sons by Arthur Miller
  • The School for Wives* by Moliere
  • All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

1992 – 93

  • Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
  • Tartuffe by Moliere
  • The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster
  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • Our Town by Thornton Wilder
  • Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw

1991 – 92

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  • The Way of the World by William Congreve
  • The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

* Denotes a touring production