NEWS RELEASE – LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER PRESENTS “THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE: REVISITED — OPENS SATURDAY 10/8 at 8pm

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s
Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center
Presents
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited

By Jane Wagner
Directed by Ken Sawyer

PREVIEWS BEGIN OCTOBER 4
OPENS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 AT 8PM

For the first time in the 35-year history of Jane Wagner’s iconic play The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, the author and her creative and life partner Lily Tomlin have given their approval for it to be reinvented as a fully staged production performed by a company of 12 actors as opposed to its original solo format. This first-ever fully cast production will be directed by Ovation Award-winner Ken Sawyer with previews beginning October 4. Opening is set for Saturday, October 8 at 8pm at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Over the last four years, the Center’s Cultural Arts Program’s creative collaboration of Artistic Director Jon Imparato and director Ken Sawyer has presented the critically-acclaimed hits Deathtrap; The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later; The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?; and Hit the Wall (which won Sawyer LADCC and Stage Raw Awards for Best Director and a Best Production of the Year Award for the Center). The new staging of Wagner’s play is titled The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited. Said Imparato, “It was important to give our production a new name so that audiences are aware this is not a solo performance but a reimagined version of the play with different actors playing the many roles.”

In The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe: Revisited audiences will embark on a hilarious, tender, and profound journey through the streets, across the world, and far beyond. The cast will include (in alphabetical order) Julia Aks, Charlotte Gulezian, Joe Hart, Julanne Chidi Hill, Kristina Johnson, Kimberly Jürgen, Bellini Logan, Jeremy Luke, Ann Noble, Sasha Pasternak, Anny Rosario, and Rachel Sorsa.

The design team: Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (set), Matt Richter and Adam Earle (lighting), Paula Higgins (costumes), Matt Richter (sound), Nick Santiago (projection design), Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey (original music and underscore), Yusif Nasir (choreography), and Mo Gaffney (mime instruction). The producer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center is Jon Imparato, and Rebecca Schoenberg serves as stage manager.

Preview performances begin on October 4 at 8pm and continue on October 5, 6, and 7 at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, October 8 at 8pm. The engagement will run through December 11 with no performances over Thanksgiving weekend. General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or by phone at (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038. Free onsite parking is available.

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09-06-16

About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s more than 500 employees and 3,000 volunteers provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, and Leadership and Advocacy. The Center is an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world — a world in which LGBT people can be healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at http://lalgbtcenter.org

NEWS RELEASE — LA NEW COURT THEATRE PRESENTS “ATLAS PIT or THE GARBAGE MAN’S SON” — OPENS FRIDAY 9/30 at 8pm

LOS ANGELES NEW COURT THEATRE
Theatre for Everyone Under the Sun
PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF

ATLAS PIT
or THE GARBAGE MAN’S SON
WRITTEN BY ALEX BURKART
DIRECTED BY BETH LOPES
ORIGINAL SONGS BY KYLE ACHESON

SEPTEMBER 30 — OCTOBER 23
AT WORKING STAGE THEATER

Los Angeles New Court Theatre has announced its world premiere production of Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son, a new play by Alex Burkart at Working Stage Theater from September 30 through October 23. Directed by Beth Lopes and featuring original songs by Kyle Acheson, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Daniel Braunstein, Michael Chandler, Devereau Chumrau, Herman Johansen, Josey Montana McCoy, and Nancy Stone. Opening is set for Friday, September 30 at 8pm and the strictly limited engagement of 12 performances will run through October 23 only.

Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son is the tale of 18-year-old Ozzy, whose girlfriend Gray drowns in an old gravel quarry in Milton, Wisconsin. Gray’s sudden death sends Ozzy into a severe depression; he runs away from home and shuts himself up in a seedy apartment. In his continued quest to find escape, Ozzy stumbles upon a brand of heroin that brings users so close to death that “they see those waiting for them on the other side.” Atlas Pit is inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and explores the ideas of addiction, love, life, and faith. The scenic design is by Morgan Lindsey Price, lighting design is by Toranj Noroozi, costume design is by Emily Fisher, and sound design is by Isaiah Howell. The assistant director is Josh Gannon and the stage manager is Rebekah York.

Playwright Alex Burkart is a co-founder of the Los Angeles New Court Theatre and is currently its board president. He also works as the manager at ZBS Acting Studios. His acting work has been seen across the country, including the American premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Pirandello’s Henry IV at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, and a reading of Edward Albee’s Me, Myself, and I at Playwrights Horizons alongside Elizabeth Ashley and Brian Murray. Burkart’s directing credits include Neil Simon’s Fools and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for Los Angeles New Court Theatre as well as It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play for TheatreVCU. Originally from Wisconsin, Atlas Pit has been a bold and personal stroke for him; it is his first full-length play. For more, visit www.alexburkart.com.

Director Beth Lopes directed last year’s Jason & (Medea) for Los Angeles New Court Theatre. Some of her recent projects include Hamlet with New Swan Shakespeare Festival, The Winter’s Tale with San Antonio Shakespeare in the Park, and the development of the new rock musical The Merry Lives of Windsor High with Los Angeles company mediaV. For more, visit www.bethlopes.com.

The opening of The Atlas Pit or The Garbage Man’s Son is set for Friday, September 30 at 8pm. All seating is general admission and tickets are $20. The running schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through October 23 only. Tickets may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2593462 or by calling (303) 619-0203.

Working Stage Theater is located at 1516 N. Gardner Street in Los Angeles. Street parking is available.

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08-30-16

NEWS RELEASE — KURTIS SIMMONS SET FOR LA SOLO DEBUT AT ROCKWELL TABLE & STAGE — MONDAY 8/29 at 8pm

RECORDING ARTIST KURTIS SIMMONS
SET TO MAKE LA SOLO DEBUT
AT ROCKWELL TABLE & STAGE IN LOS FELIZ
MONDAY, AUGUST 29 AT 8PM

Recording artist Kurtis Simmons will make his LA solo debut at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Feliz on Monday, August 29 at 8pm. With music direction by Sean Bart, Simmons will perform songs from his critically acclaimed pop/rock CD Fraction of a Thread along with some tunes from his original musical Hipster Sweatshop (co-written with Kyle Puccia and Darryl Stephens).

As a recording artist, Kurtis Simmons has worked with Grammy Award-winner Melissa Manchester, Lawrence Welk star Ralna English, jazz artist Scott Dreier, and Swedish metal band Ghost, among others. Along with producing his own CD, Simmons co-produced The Doris Day Project, a jazz CD for performer Scott Dreier. He served as co-producer on the stage production Doris and Me and is currently co-producing his new musical Hipster Sweatshop (which recently enjoyed a tremendously well-received workshop presentation at Rockwell Table & Stage). Of his debut CD Fraction of a Thread, Frontiers Magazine said, “Simmons has a crystal clear voice and a great gift for melody” and that the CD itself is, “chock-full of pristine production and flawless performances.” As an actor, director, and music director, Simmons has worked on stage productions of Forever Plaid, Legally Blonde, Into the Woods, Cabaret, She Loves Me, Children of Eden, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, to name only a few.

Under the direction of Sean Bart, the band for Kurtis Simmons’ performance at Rockwell Table & Stage will feature Sean Hurwitz (lead guitar), Vivi Rama (bass guitar), and Stefan Litrownik (drums). Performers Jordan Kai Burnett and Nicci Claspell will also join Simmons onstage.

Admission is $25 and tickets are on sale now (food and drink minimums apply). Order online at tickets.rockwell-la.com or by phone at (323) 669-1550. Rockwell Table & Stage is located at 1714 N. Vermont in Los Feliz. Valet parking is available behind the restaurant.

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08-08-16

^{Kurtis Simmons. Photo courtesy of Ken Werther Publicity.}