Danika Sudik Director~Producer~Dramaturg
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WHAT WE GROW
Now, more than ever, it is vital we create platforms for people and stories that have too long gone unheard. This begins with leadership. In 2017, 100% of the produced GFTF plays were directed by female or non-binary identifying artists. In our inaugural season, directors & co-founders, Tom Burmester, Mindy Cooper, Lisa Quoresimo, and Danika Sudik brought four new plays and musicals to production in front of packed houses. This ambitious program of workshops and readings brought 14 playwrights and composers closer to achieving their vision of the work, some of which will move on to its next stage of development in the 2018 season. Learn more: Ground & Field Theatre Festival |
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At a small U.S. Army outpost at the mouth of Afghanistan’s deadly Korengal Valley, a squad of battle-hardened soldiers anxiously await their imminent return to the States. When a human terrain specialist assigned to First Squad reveals a fanatically religious ideology, everyone takes a side. The cracks widen as First Squad gears up for a last minute, unexpected patrol into a hotly contested remote village enshrouded in the fog of war, where the fate of the squad hinges on the interpretation of a contentious story.http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20160914/FEATURES/160919957
http://www.davisenterprise.com/arts/theater/war-drama-gospel-according-to-first-squad-is-not-pretty-but-its-real/ http://www.laweekly.com/arts/gospel-according-to-first-squad-2171844http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/08/theater-review-gospel-according-to-first-squad-at-the-powerhouse.html GOSPEL ACCORDING TO FIRST SQUAD - A LIVE AUDIO PERFORMANCEThe University of California at Davis Department of Theatre and Dance, and the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts co-sponsor an Inside Acting Podcast presentation of Gospel According to First Squad - a live audio performance at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, CA. Members of the Ovation Nominated Best Ensemble Cast are joined by actors from the recent UC Davis production, and alumni of the USC Acting Program, to perform a revised version of Gospel for the first time before a Los Angeles audience. The reading is directed by UC Davis MFA candidate Danika Sudik, who received a Best Director Ovation Nomination for her work on Gospel.. This performance will be recorded before a live audience and featured on Inside Acting Podcast.
Link Audio What happens when Tibb the pretty rich girl dares Chase the slut to seduce Gabe the good virgin? The last thing everyone expects: Chase the slut falls in love.
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(photos in PDF) The Naked Army by Matthew James Weedman dir. Weedman (producer) (link to reviews)
https://www.backstage.com/review/la-theater/the-naked-army/ https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/The-Powerhouse-Presents-THE-NAKED-ARMY-69-72-20110530 http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Los_Angeles_Entertainment_109/the-naked-army-at-the-powerhouse-review.php |
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The Briars by Briandaniel Ogelsby tells the story of a town’s hero and villain: Buddy Briar. Loosely inspired by Asa Candler, Jr., heir to Coca Cola, The Briars explores economic inequality and the American obsession to build. Peppered with his own experience of being half-Latino and queer, the playwright’s comedic epic also illuminates the beauty of accepting a person as they are and, conversely, the devastation to the human spirit when a community expels anything, “other.” https://briandanieloglesby.com |
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The second installment of Tom Burmester's, War Cycle, NATION OF TWO follows the lives of the Harper family as they prepare to scatter the ashes of 24 year old Lt. Michael Harper on the anniversary of his combat-related death in the Iraq War. A surprise visit from a soldier who served with Michael at the time of his death ignites a powder keg of emotion and throws the family into crisis as they strive to preserve their memories of Michael while learning to let go. http://www.laweekly.com/arts/the-war-within-us-2166594 |
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I’ll Be Waiting by Adam Emperor Southard (director/producer) Reading KDT
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(photos online) Group: The Musical by Adam Emperor Southard dir. Richard Tatum (producer/dramaturg) (link to reviews)—nomination (actor) https://adamemperorsouthard.com/tag/group-the-musical/
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/users/1539?tab=show Group is a new musical that chronicles seven strangers’ path to love and acceptance in a college music therapy group. While navigating emotional turmoil in his own life, Dr. Allen fights to help the group find peace within thems |
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(photos in PDF) Monkey Madness by Daisuke Tsuji dir. by Tsuji (link to reviews)—nominations
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/07/review-monkey-madness-at-powerhouse-theatre.html http://cristinatbercovitz.com/Monkey-Madness (cristina bercovitz win best puppetry) http://www.laweekly.com/arts/monkey-madness-2160596 https://www.backstage.com/review/la-theater/monkey-madness/ |
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Sock in Shoe by Daisuke Tsuji (producer) (reviewed?) (before moving to Actor’s Gang)
http://www.playbill.com/article/la-actors-gang-to-present-the-need-to-know-and-sock-and-shoe-com-164168 “Tsuji takes us on a physical journey without words in an evening of two unique performance pieces developed in collaboration with Three Chairs Theatre Company. Sole Mate is a love song of simple means and large hope told through the manipulation of found object puppets. Death and Giggles mixes clowning, puppetry and modern dance to explore the absurdity of death with a story of one man's journey through the afterlife.” |
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Exiles by Jonathan Redding (director/co-producer) A poetic exploration of the Dark Night of the Soul. http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1336 (take artwork for photo) |
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The Hiding (co-producer/production design) Think Ten Media Directed by Ramon Hamilton (link trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1085518/videoplayer/vi2848064281?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1)
When tragedy strikes a family on the verge of a new beginning, they are forced to face the demons of their past in order to still have a chance at a future. |
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Trog & Clay: An Imagined History of the Electric Chair by Michael Vukadinovich "Trog and Clay" is a wildly imaginative retelling of the genesis of the electric chair. Based on the actual trial transcripts of William Kemmler, the first person put to death by electrocution, this skewed comedy obscures the line between fact and invention, while wryly looking into America’s grim history. The bumbling duo, Trog and Clay, unwittingly get caught up in the rivalry between two inventors, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. While one is destined to create the electrical system that will power America, the other will be remembered for killing criminals in a way that isn't as painless as is initially claimed.
“… powered by boisterous dialogue and some great moments of physical comedy.” —The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival Review “a worthy new play.” —Backstage “one of L.A.’s most imaginative young playwrights” —Stage Scene LA |
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The Good Prisoner by Kit Steinkellner Dir. Louise Hung (producer)—(link reviews)
https://www.backstage.com/review/la-theater/the-good-prisoner/ https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Powerhouse-Theater-Presents-THE-GOOD-PRISONER-1014-20101011-page7 http://www.laweekly.com/arts/2017s-best-and-most-notable-art-exhibitions-and-events-8999237 |
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http://www.davisenterprise.com/arts/theater/davis-burmester-inspired-to-tell-stories-of-wars-overlooked/ http://www.laweekly.com/arts/the-war-within-us-2166594 |
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A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare Dir. by Drew Shirley (producer) http://www.stageandcinema.com/2011/09/08/comedy-of-errors-late/ |
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A Giant Arc in the Skyspace of Direction by Michael Vukadinovich Dir. by Efrain Schunior(producer)A mesh of Old Testament stories, fairy tales and magical realism, A Giant Arc in the Skyspace of Directions is about the impossibility of miracles and the loss of wonder in a world of science. It is outside of the world, in the imagination of a child, where those from before still live and miracles are still possible. Sarah and Abe want nothing more than a child, but their age is making their dream an impossibility. When she becomes pregnant and years pass with no baby, she finds herself an unfinished miracle. Eamon, a priest of sorts, wants nothing more than to believe again, but his church keeps disappearing into thin air. The blind Rebecca and her blind seeing eye dog experience the worst of misfortunes but somehow sees more wonder than anyone, but is unable to see the secret of her son. And Jacob comes back from a war disguised as his dead brother with warnings of danger. Can this world survive? http://www.stagescenela.com/2010/03/a-giant-arc-in-the-skycape-of-directions/
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