inspired... brilliant... genius at work... a must see...

WAITING FOR WAITING FOR GODOT returns for two shows this week!

Doesn't seem so absurd to me... Waiting for Waiting for Godot returns this Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and the early reviews are raves across the board!  I'll be hanging out at the Plunge after the show Friday if you want to say Hi! If those are tough times, we still have two Sunday shows coming up:  Dec 1st and 8th at 5pm.  Come soon! The Broadwater Second Stage 6320 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles CA 90038 http://www.sacredfools.org/mainstage/19/godot/ Bruno Oliver as Ester and Joe Hernandez-Kolski as Val, photo by Jessica Sherman "This production is blessed with two extraordinary comedic actors... under the inspired direction of Jacob Sidney..." "It would take pages to describe the show's inspired physical comedy... " "There is genius at work here." - Paul Myrvold's TheatreNotes   Get $15 Tickets for the run  Julie Marchiano as Laura, photo by Jessica Sherman "Banter and hijinx prevail without a hitch... " "We are taken to school by the intrusion of ASM (assistant stage manager) Laura... " "Brilliant." "Director Jacob Sidney has this essentially two hander well under control as it bustles apace." "WFWFGodot is a must see." - On Stage Los Angeles   I've got a slightly new schedule at The Broadwater Plunge!  Catch me Wed-Thu-Fri and SUNday nights... I hope you're staying dry!  - j Copyright © 2019 Jacob Sidney, All rights reserved.

Sacred Fools Season Launch, and the cast of Waiting for Waiting for Godot!

Announcing the cast of Waiting for Waiting for Godot, and an invitation to our Season Launch Party...

I can sum up most of my beliefs with a good acronym. Introducing the cast of WAITING FOR WAITING FOR GODOT,  opening 8 November in the Broadwater Second Stage! CAST: Bruno Oliver as Ester Joe Hernandez-Kolski as Val Julie Marchiano as Laura UNDERSTUDIES: Steve N. Bradford as Ester Zach Smith as Val Marian Gonzalez as Laura This will be the second full production I've directed for Sacred Fools (following Rose and the Rime in 2017), and it's no exaggeration to say that this scrappy, volunteer theatre company has made my directing career possible. I'm so grateful, and I'm asking for your support as Sacred Fools launches its 23rd Season. The BEST way you can support me and our production of Waiting for Waiting for Godot is by coming to the Season Launch Party on September 13th!  We Fools always throw a great party.  Just $10 gets you in the door, with drinks, games, and entertainment available all night.  I'll be working at the Plunge:  Come say Hi! Attend the Season Launch Party > If you can't make it on the 13th, a donation of any amount will support not just me and my show, but every artist involved in our season.  As a reminder, Sacred Fools is committing once again to offering every seat we sell for NO MORE THAN $15.  Your support helps us keep new, innovative theatre accessible to all income levels.  Thank you. Donate to our 23rd Season > As always, catch me at The Broadwater Plunge Wednesday through Saturday night! I hope you're staying cool!  - j Copyright © 2019 Jacob Sidney, All rights reserved.

New Year, New Plays! (Plus video from The Messiah)

SFNW2019, and me singing my face off...

You think you're talking to robots. Hello, and Happy New Year!  I'm starting off 2019 with a return to the world of new-play development I love so much, producing the first ever Sacred Fools New Works Reading Series (SFNW)! (Scroll down to watch me sing The Messiah :) I'm really excited about launching this first-of-its-kind effort by Sacred Fools to share exciting new plays with our community at such an early stage, and I can't think of four better playwrights to help us do it.  They're talented, playful, and fearless writers, joined in an effort to discover and reveal the future of the form. We kick off January 20th at 5pm, and follow up with three more readings Sundays at 5, all in the Broadwater Second Stage.  Click over to bitly.com/SFNW2019 to reserve your free seats today, and read on to learn more about these exciting plays! Sunday, January 20th @ 5pm MONKEY LOVE by Madhuri Shekar Directed by Reena Dutt Featuring Kapil Talwalkar, Ulka Mohanty, Troy Blendell, Lauren Van Kurin, Jax Ball Deep in the jungles of East India, two different couples (of the monkey and of the human persuasion) experience an eventful night of falling in, and out, and back into love. Finding your soulmate is tricky enough – the real challenge is holding on to them. Sunday, January 27th @ 5pm: BABEL by Jacqueline Goldfinger Directed by Shaela Cook Featuring Libby Baker, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Lynn Adriana, Crystal Keith, Rowan Hall A talking stork, lesbian moms, and the power to build your own baby... Two couples, both early in their pregnancies, collide over what to do with their test results. With rapid advances in reproductive technology, modern eugenics is science's Wild West. How far will we go when playing God? SFNW Reservations Sunday, February 10th @ 5pm: THE COUCHES by David Jacobi Directed by Travis Snyder-Eaton Cast TBD Ethan Couch has lived in a bubble of pampered privilege for his entire life, so when he's convicted of killing four people while driving drunk, he and his mother Tonya flee to a resort in Mexico rather than face the consequences. In this self-imposed state of limbo, Ethan pays hotel clerk Daniel $1000 to be his friend and help maintain the facade of his prior life. Sunday, February 17th @ 5pm: U-R-U by Julia Lederer Directed by Jacob Sidney Cast TBD What happens when the powers of machines exceed those of nature? At what point will A.I. resemble humans enough to deserve human rights? Absurdly comic and existentially chilling, U-R-U examines the societal obsession with progress at all costs and the decreasing worth of humanity in this increasingly artificial world. Last month I sang the bass solos in The Messiah even though I'm a baritone and I lived to tell the tale though you might not be able to tell from the look on my face :) Here's to a prosperous and happy new year!  - j Copyright © 2019 Jacob Sidney, All rights reserved.

The African Mahler, Shakespeare's JFK, & directing at Sacred Fools

Singing, Acting, and Directing, Oh My!

Catch me as McGeorge Bundy in support of a stunning lead cast in Daniel Henning's fascinating application of Julius Caesar to the assassination of our 35th President.  Half-price previews of  THE TRAGEDY OF JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) at the Skylight Theatre start 9/24 with the code blankblast at theblank.com. 

I'm opening my second year as Bass Section Leader with San Gabriel Valley Choral Company:  Dr. Zanaida Robles, Artistic Director, Conductor. On TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016, 8:00 pm, at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church: 122 S. California Ave., Monrovia CA 91016 (Reception to follow), we launched our season with the 3rd Annual Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Project: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (pictured below) lived and succeeded as an African-British composer and conductor in London's Golden Age of choral music from 1875 to 1912. This project, dedicated to composers of African descent, kicks off our fundraising efforts toward a concert at Carnegie Hall in 2018.   Get your tickets now! Share Tweet Forward It's a great pleasure to announce that I'm directing in the mainstage series in Sacred Fools' 20th season!  ROSE AND THE RIME is a lyrical and poignant contemporary fairy tale developed by Chicago's House Theatre.  This West Coast Premiere will feature physical, ensemble theatricality supported by animated projection design.  We open January 20th, 2017, and I very much hope to see you there.   Help support our entire 20th season by making a contribution today! I had an amazing time running social media and taking archival photography for Ojai Playwrights Conference!  Below are a couple of my favorites; follow us on FB, IG, and TW @ojaiplays to see more, and keep up with this amazing organization.

Copyright © 2016 Jacob Sidney, All rights reserved.