Director's Notes
Whether staging large cast, classical plays or intimate one-person contemporary plays, I love balancing bold storytelling with nuance and character detail. I love honoring the text and letting it guide the process.
Susan Angelo
◆ ◆ ◆
Please Do Not Sing by Michael Bofshever
◆ ◆ ◆
Barbarians by Maxim Gorky
USC McClintock Theatre
USC School of Dramatic Arts
Interview with Bryce Stephens
SDA: You recently performed in the Barbarians by Maxim Gorky. Can you tell us about the rehearsal process?
Stephens: The process was incredible...It was also my first time working with a director from outside of the school, Susan Angelo. The perspectives that she brought in were just as valuable and pertinent as those of my professors.
◆ ◆ ◆
Women of Shakespeare
Warriors for Peace Theatre
Women of Shakespeare: Loss & Reconciliation
Adapted & Directed
by Susan Angelo
Women of Shakespeare: Loss & Reconciliation
at the historic
Hollywood American Legion Post 43
Over and again, William Shakespeare writes of love and loss. His characters yearn and pine for it, and in their never-ending search for it, see relationships and countries torn asunder. Yet, Shakespeare ultimately restores all through compassion and forgiveness. In adapting this piece, I was intrigued by the themes of loss and reconciliation that ebb and flow throughout the entire canon. I was reminded that after each storm, there is a calm; that after conflict, there is resolution; and that after pain, there can be the healing balm of transformation. Warriors For Peace recognizes that such healing is vital to our community and to the world. Women of Shakespeare celebrates the human spirit that endeavors to embark upon such a journey. -- Susan Angelo
Christopher Loverro
Founder,
Warriors for Peace
"Seldom have I seen a director so universally loved and respected! Susan Angelo's vision, mastery of teaching, and experience with Shakespeare made this production a magical event."
Chip Largman
Senior VP, Universal Creative
Universal Studios
"...one must acknowledge the mastery of Susan Angelo skillfully influencing, guiding and perfecting the evolution of the individual characters and dynamics of their engagement. It was believable; it was real; a significant accomplishment."
Armin Shimerman
actor, Shakespeare teacher
"The ensemble hit just the right note of compassion that leads to understanding. I have rarely seen Shakespeare performed so well."
Victor Dwayne Little
Navy vet, actor
"Such a pleasure to witness Susan Angelo's creativity, wonderful staging and material selections. It was an inspiring evening for an exceptional cause. "
Susan Angelo, Armin Shimerman, Christopher Loverro at Women of Shakespeare, Warriors for Peace
◆ ◆ ◆
"Skilled director Susan Angelo coaxes every emotion from talented actor Shor, who weathers each and every storm while holding onto her true identity as a French emigre in a strange land. "
- Splash Magazine
“A fascinating journey into what constitutes an individual, and how one is defined not only by society but in one’s innermost self. “
- Los Angeles Times
"Director Susan Angelo gets the story beneath the story, and creates a sense of movement...to make Sophie’s journey from discovery to comfort, to true self-acceptance animated, emotional, and consistently engaging.".
- Stage Struck Review
◆ ◆ ◆
The Chalk Garden
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
"Susan Angelo angelically directs ... WGTB’s thoroughly enjoyable, well-played production ... with underlying dramatic points about mother-daughter relations, the class structure, the prison and legal systems and more. Chalk it up to perfection."
- Ed Rampell, Hollywood Progressive
"Under Susan Angelo’s deft direction, the cast delivers one sparkling performance after another."
- Steven Stanley, StageScene, LA
"Under the adroit guidance of Director Susan Angelo, the ensemble cast brings these unpredictable, sometimes lovable, never boring characters to life. But secrets abound in this windy seaside community."
- Elaine Mura, Splash Magazine
photos: Liam Flanders
◆ ◆ ◆
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare Orange County
"This broad reimagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Susan Angelo pays off in ways both spectacular and intriguing."
- Orange County Register
"It is a remarkable achievement that all starts with the intoxicating world created by director Susan Angelo."
-Shakespeare in LA
"A triumph of imagination! Stunning! Spectacular!"
-Los Angeles Times
"Director Susan Angelo’s interpretation creates cohesion out of chaos... celebrating many cultures. The show is truly a multi-cultural experience."
-PlayShakespeare.com
"You will walk away thinking about the kaleidoscope of colors and cultures."
- Melissa Crimson
"....brilliantly staged....courtesy of a talented, multi-ethnic cast and Susan Angelo's deft direction. As a critically acclaimed stage actress, Angelo’s eye and instincts are razor sharp when it comes to exploring the fine intricacies of the characters she has played in the past. Her sense of precise control and mercurial creativity is amazingly shown in this production, which flows as though it were a symphony going from one movement to another without slowing down. With a cast of over 60 actors and dancers, Angelo succeeds in tapping into the nuances and pacing of this popular comedy."
- LA Splash Magazine
photos: Jordan Kubat
◆ ◆ ◆
The Winter's Tale
Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival
"Under the guidance of director Susan Angelo, the play’s dubious changes in place, time and character motivation become the cornerstones of an unfaltering and believable production."
- Encore Magazine
"...the swift, clear line provided by director Susan Angelo puts the emphasis exactly where it belongs, on assured and powerful acting and pungent text."
- Ventura County Star"
"Under Susan Angelo's direction, the story is tragic and comic, solemn and irreverent."
- Art Predator
photos: Brian Stetham
◆ ◆ ◆
The Royal Family,
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
“The Royal Family has a unique affection for its subject that director Susan Angelo and her large, energetic cast poignantly bring to life: the passionate devotion to the art of theater that drives these actors and redeems their comic excesses."
- Los Angeles Times
"Well directed by Susan Angelo, this enduring production will keep you laughing, and the beautiful setting will lull you into feeling the magic."
- Los Angeles Post
"Director Susan Angelo and her stellar cast set a just-right buoyant mood from the get-go!"
- Stage Scene, LA
“Susan Angelo is to be commended for keeping Kaufman and Ferber's 1927 vintage comedy very fast-paced...constantly running up and down flights of stairs as if they were flying... organized disorder presented in the highest artistic form.”
- Broadway World
“Susan Angelo attains an almost Noises Off cacophony of activity that is balanced brilliantly with the quieter, smaller moments. “
- Culver City News
photos: Miriam Geer.
◆ ◆ ◆
My Name is Rachel Corrie,
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
"The controversy surrounding My Name is Rachel Corrie will not likely dissipate with its forthright Los Angeles premiere… director Susan Angelo focuses on Corrie’s mercurial, questing personality…”
- Los Angeles Times
“Susan Angelo's smart direction keeps this one-woman show dynamic, using the full range of Theatricum's outdoor arena. Angelo has a nuanced gift for bridging from the mundane details of life to an expansive contemplation of a human's place and purpose in the cosmos.”
- Edge Media Entertainment
“Director Susan Angelo successfully navigates the disappearance of the fourth wall….this departure from realism is successful because of its unapologetic transparency.”
- Levantine Cultural News
photos: Ian Flanders
Productions:
Barbarians
USC
McClintock Theatre
2019
Women of Shakespeare:
Loss & Reconciliation
Warriors For Peace Theatre
2019
I Am Sophie
Pacific Resident Theatre
2018, 2019
The Chalk Garden
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
2018
I Am Sophie
The Pico
2018
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare Orange County
2014
The Royal Family
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
2013
My Name is Rachel Corrie, LA premiere
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
2011
Summer and Smoke
California Lutheran University
2011
My Name is Rachel Corrie
University of LaVerne
2012
The Winter's Tale
Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival
2010
Twelfth Night
Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival
2003
Twelfth Night
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
2001
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
1999, 2000
Youth/Teen Productions:
Tales of King Arthur
Much Ado About Nothing
As You Like It
Loves Labours Lost
Romeo & Juliet
Greek Mythology
Egyptian Mythology
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Twelfth Night
Cymbeline
Richard III
MacBeth