Special Engagement! A professional collaboration with North Coast Repertory Theatre!

Shakespeare's Greatest History Play

Henry IV, Part 1

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David Ellenstein

King Henry faces rebellion from the noblemen who helped him seize the crown. Meanwhile, his son, Prince Hal, the heir to the throne, is a fifteenth century wild child who carouses with the rascal Sir John Falstaff, criminals and commoners, helps his rogue chums rob his father's treasury, and spends all his time in seedy bars. The rebels boast the impetuous young warrior, Hotspur, to lead their fight. When the battle is finally joined, Prince Hal and Hotspur square off in a life-or-death duel and Falstaff feigns valour, anticipates reward, and dreams gladly of merry England when Prince Hal will someday be King. Henry IV Part 1 introduces one of the greatest and most talked about comedic figures of all time: Falstaff, who has inspired everything from Verdi's opera to the name of a U.S. brewing company.

March 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 @ 7:30 pm

March 4, 11, 17, 18 @ 2:00 pm
Preview performance, March 1 @ 7:30 pm
General Admission, $25; Seniors/Staff, $20; Students, $15; Preview night: All seats, $15

Real Women Have Curves

By Josefina Lopez
Directed by Tracy Williams

Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the outrageously funny story of five full-figured Mexican-American women who are racing to meet nearly impossible production deadlines in order to keep their tiny factory from going under. And while they work, hiding from the INS, they talk... about their husbands and lovers, their children, their cellulite and their dreams for the future.

           
April 27, 28, May 3, 4, 5 @ 7:30 pm
April 29 May 5, 6 @ 2:00 pm
Preview performance, April 26 @ 7:30 pm
General Admission, $12; Seniors/Staff, $10; Students, $8; Preview night: All seats, $8

MiraCosta Theatre Student wins National Kennedy Center Award for Playwrighting

MiraCosta College theatre student and standout actor Sassan Saffari has been awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival’s (KC/ACTF) Award and scholarship for a play he authored entitled “Beacons of Hope.” The award is given to just four undergraduate students in the nation, as part of The Presidency of John F. Kennedy: A 50th Anniversary Celebration, which commemorates the anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.

A panel chosen by members of the Kennedy family made selection for this honor. Saffari will receive his award and scholarship at the Kennedy Center celebration in Washington D.C. on January 31, during which the winners’ works, including Saffari’s, will be presented in concert-reading format, performed by a Washington D.C.-based company of artists. The event will be held at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington DC. As a Millennium Stage event, the ceremony will be simulcast on the Web and archived on the Kennedy Center’s Web site.

Saffari will also receive a $1,000 scholarship and travel expenses so that he may attend the January 31 event.
“I'm very humbled and honored to receive this award. I moved from Massachusetts three years ago and will always have a strong connection to Boston,” says Saffari. “I feel a strong connection to JFK (he was born in Brookline and I in Dorchester) and felt like I had a responsibility to pay homage to his legacy.”

Saffari’s 20-minute play blends history with fiction. “Beacons of Hope” takes place in October of 2004, a time Saffari characterizes as one of national division, when the U.S economy was in shambles, and people were losing hope in our government and our country. At the same time, The Boston Red Sox were down three games in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees, but later came back to win four games and then to win the World Series. In the play, JFK and his father are immersed in conversation while attending a Boston Red Sox game. In the telling of the story, Saffari imagines the impact on history the conversation could have had, given the difficult relationship Kennedy had with his father.

“I wanted JFK and his father to play a part in helping the Red Sox win that crucial game 4; to instill hope in the Red Sox nation and a country that had lost that sense of hope,” explains Saffari. “If one team could dig themselves out of that hole, defy history, and the odds against them...then people could regain that hope. I also wanted to show the relationship that never happened. I'm very close to my own father and I felt saddened by the fact that JFK and his father never had the opportunity to bond...and what better way to spend time together than at a ball game.”
Saffari has become a fixture in the Drama Department at MiraCosta College. He has performed in many of the college’s recent plays, including Electra, Proposals, Charlie's Aunt, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Distracted and 1940's Radio Hour. He was also an Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship nominee and a finalist in the KC/ACTF Directing competition last year. He is cast in MiraCosta’s spring production of She Loves Me and has just recently worked for Intrepid Shakespeare. He will also be in a production of Death of a Salesman at New Village Arts Theatre in the spring. His ultimate goal is to pursue film and television work.

As a student, Saffari is an Actor's Academy graduate and the recipient of several Spotlight Circle Merit Awards. He has shown a tremendous work ethic, dedication, professionalism, desire and burgeoning talent as a theatre artist. He recently has worked in area theatres including Carlsbad Playreaders and New Village Arts.
For more information on Saffari, the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, or MiraCosta College’s theatre program, contact Tracy Williams at 760.757.2121, ext. 6448.

MiraCosta students perform at the Kennedy Center

Anyelid Meneses & Kyle Lucy perform in Washington DC after winning the prestigious Irene Ryan acting competition

Anyelid Meneses with partner Kyle Lucy (both center), beat out 248 students and returned home from the American College Theatre Festival in Utah victorious as the Irene Ryan acting scholarship WINNER! She is the second MiraCosta student to be selected to attend the Kennedy Center since 2006. They performed for the top national honors in acting at the Kennedy Center in April 17 and were the lone representatives of California. They also spent much of the week in performance workshops with prestigious presenters.

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KC/ACTF Awards

2011

• Playwrighting National Finalist (Kennedy Center) for The Presidency of John F. Kennedy: A 50th Anniversary Celebration- Sassan Saffari, Beacons of Hope
• 3 Irene Ryan acting competition semi-finalists (top 32), Sassan Saffari (partner: Adam Oliveras), Richard Johnson (partner: Adam Oliveras), Dana Fares (partner: Caroline Floto)
• Irene Ryan acting competition finalist (top 16), Sassan Saffari (partner: Adam Oliveras)
• Best Partner Award, Adam Oliveras
• Directing competition finalist (top 5), Sassan Saffari

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2001

Recognition

2005 - Fuente Ovejuna was named a "Top Ten Pick" by the North County Times

2007 - Electra won a Patte' Award for "Outstanding Direction."