A Noise Within

Glendale, CA

Founded in 1991, A Noise Within is southern California's only company dedicated solely to producing classical dramatic literature. Each season, A Noise Within produces a minimum of six classical plays including two works by Shakespeare, one American classic, and four plays from the world canon by playwrights such as Moliere, Ibsen, Shaw, Pirandello, Ionesco, Feydeau, Calderón de la Barca, García Lorca, and Euripedes. The company works with a core group of professional, classically trained, resident artists with extensive national theater credits and performs in the rotating repertory tradition. Thirty percent of the company's audience is composed of students; A Noise Within has a successful history of engaging students' imagination and literary curiosity through the performance of the great classics. Programs are developed to complement classroom studies, promote literacy and cultural awareness, and to give students exposure to classical dramatic literature. Educational programs include subsidized tickets to performances, classroom workshops, in-depth study guides, professional development opportunities for teachers, and conservatory classes. The company annually reaches approximately 10,000 students and partners (6 th grade through college-age) with more 100 schools across 22 school districts throughout southern California.

Support from Shakespeare for a New Generation will enable A Noise Within to provide 800 Classics Live! scholarships to students from 10 to 13 middle and high schools in the Pasadena Unified School District. Scholarships include tickets to Hamlet and/or The Taming of the Shrew, free bussing, a one-hour classroom workshop, California standards–compliant study guides, and post-show discussions with the cast and co-directors. Classics Live! has three key components: enhancing classroom studies, engaging through live performance, and empowering through an understanding of the classics. A key strategy of A Noise Within is to provide students the opportunity to experience Shakespeare's text in the environment in which it was intended to be viewed. Students attend full productions that are not abridged or modified, nor is there a substitute cast. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the classic dramatic texts, A Noise Within employs the use of in-depth study guides, interactive classroom workshops, and facilitated post-show discussions with the cast.

Visit them at: www.anoisewithin.org