NEWS RELEASE — CRITICAL MASS PERFORMANCE GROUP ANNOUNCES PANELS & EVENTS TO ACCOMPANY THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF “AMERYKA” OPENING SATURDAY 2/6

CRITICAL MASS PERFORMANCE GROUP
ANNOUNCES PANELS AND EVENTS TO ACCOMPANY ITS
WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION 0F
AMERYKA
OPENING FEBRUARY 6
AT SHAKESPEARE CENTER OF LOS ANGELES

Critical Mass Performance Group has announced a slate of panels and events surrounding and enhancing the audience experience of Ameryka, its world premiere play opening at Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles on Saturday, February 6. Written and directed by Nancy Keystone in collaboration with the company, the cast of Ameryka will feature Curt Bonnem, Russell Edge, Ray Ford, Lorne Green, Drew Stafford Harper, Danielle K. Jones, Christopher Salazar, Nick Santoro, and Valerie Spencer.

Throughout the run of Ameryka, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, an exhibition of political posters from the Solidarity and American Civil Rights Movements (www.politicalgraphics.org) will be featured in the theatre lobby. Additionally, The Richard Velzen Trio will perform live jazz on Saturdays 2/13, 2/20, and 3/5. For more information and activities schedule updates, visit www.criticalmassperformancegroup.com.

FRIDAY 2/12 — POST SHOW PANEL
Pawel Leszkowicz and Tomasz Kitlinski will lead a conversation about current civil rights issues in Poland, focusing on the LGBT community. Leszkowicz is a Polish art historian and art curator. He works as a lecturer and researcher at the Department of History of Art, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and is an LGBT rights activist. Kitlinski is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Sociology, Marie Curie University, Lublin. He is an activist on behalf of labor rights and the equality of women and minorities in Poland and is the author of “The Stranger Is Within Us” (co- written with Leszkowicz) and “Love and Democracy: Reflections on the Queer Question in Poland.”

SATURDAY 2/13 — POST SHOW PANEL
YOU’RE PRODUCING WHAT?! — Producing Theatre in Los Angeles
With Nancy Keystone (Artistic Director, Critical Mass Performance Group) and artistic leaders from the Los Angeles intimate theatre scene.

SUNDAY 2/21 — FOLLOWING 2PM PERFORMANCE
Professor Jody David Armour will speak about the international impact of American racial and social justice and the current Black Lives Matter movement. Armour is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at USC, where he studies the intersection of race and legal decision making. A widely published scholar and popular lecturer, Armour is a Soros Justice Senior Fellow of The Open Society Institute’s Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture. His book Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America (New York University Press) addresses core concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement. Armour often appears as a legal analyst on a variety of national television and radio news programs.

SATURDAY 2/27 — 7PM (PRIOR TO PERFORMANCE)
Adam Michnik will speak before the 8pm performance. Michnik was a forceful leader of the Solidarity Movement, long-time dissident, writer, historian, and public intellectual. He was jailed multiple times during the Communist regime. He is the co-founder and editor of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s leading newspaper. Michnik is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a laureate of many awards and honors including a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He has also received a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, a Goethe Medal, and was named European of the Year.

MONDAY 2/29 — POST SHOW PANEL
YOU CALL THAT THEATRE?! — Devising Theatre in Los Angeles
With Nancy Keystone (Artistic Director, Critical Mass Performance Group), Sean Cawelti (Artistic Director, Rogue Artists Ensemble), Traci Kato-Kiriyama and Kennedy Kabasares (PULL Project), and Estela Garcia (independent artist).
Exploring the methods and madness of the collaborative creation process for new theatrical works. Ameryka is the product of five years of collaborative creation by Critical Mass Performance Group.

There will be one preview performance of Ameryka on Friday, February 5 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, February 6 at 8pm. The engagement will run through March 6 only with performances on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. There will be added performances on Sundays 2/14, 2/21, and 3/6 at 7pm, and on Mondays 2/22 and 2/29 at 8pm. Admission on Friday, Sunday, and Monday is $25; on Saturday it is $30. Student and senior discounts are available at all performances. Tickets are available online at http://critical-mass- performance-group.ticketleap.com/ameryka/ or by calling (323) 993-7263. Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles is located at 1238 W. 1st Street in LA, 90026.

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02-02-16

NEWS RELEASE — THE BLANK THEATRE PRESENTS A WORLD PREMIERE — “A SINGULAR THEY” BY ALIZA GOLDSTEIN, OPENING SATURDAY 3/26 at 8pm

CAST & DESIGNERS SET
FOR THE BLANK THEATRE’S
WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF
A SINGULAR THEY
BY ALIZA GOLDSTEIN
DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER J. RAYMOND

PERFORMANCES BEGIN MARCH 19
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE

The cast and designers have been set for The Blank Theatre’s world premiere production of A Singular They by Aliza Goldstein, directed by Christopher J. Raymond. Performances begin March 19 with opening night set for Saturday, March 26.

In alphabetical order, the cast will feature Wes McGee, Lily Nicksay, and Hannah Prichard. The design team includes Aaron Lyons (set), Donny Jackson (lighting), Allison Dillard (costumes), and Rebecca Kessin (sound). Nic Dressel is the stage manager. Producers are Daniel Henning, Noah Wyle, and Sarah A. Bauer.

Burbank is your typical high school student — worried about new haircuts, biology exams, losing one’s virginity, and whether to take the estrogen the doctors keep prescribing. Burbank was born “off the binary,” neither entirely male nor female biologically. “He” and “she” just don’t work to describe who Burbank is. “They” is the only appropriate label — A Singular They. They strike up a rapport with their Biology teacher who offers a sympathetic ear and opens Burbank’s eyes to a world outside their conservative suburban community. But after wrecking their social standing with their classmates, Burbank makes a request of Mr. Mazer that goes far beyond what is considered “normal.”

The opening of A Singular They will mark The Blank Theatre’s 20th anniversary at the 2nd Stage Theatre on Hollywood Theatre Row. The Blank took up residence in March of 1996 and in April of that year the LA premiere of Breaking the Code starring Dennis Christopher was a sold-out hit winning LA Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly, and Drama Logue Awards and two Ovation Award nominations. Since that time, The Blank has produced multiple award­-winning productions at the 2nd Stage, including David & Amy Sedaris’s The Book of Liz, and most recently the critically acclaimed Sons of the Prophet by Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam.

The Blank Theatre is committed to developing new plays and new artists. The Blank’s mainstage production of A Singular They is the culmination of its new play development program. This play was first presented in The Blank’s Living Room Series, a staged reading series of new plays. It was then produced in the new Living Room Series Plus, a process which takes a play further into development with more rehearsal time and a few performances in front of an audience. Author Aliza Goldstein, who makes her professional debut with this production, was a four-­time winner in The Blank’s Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival, having her first play produced in the YPF at age 15.

Aliza Goldstein is a playwright and video game writer based in Orange County, CA. Her work has been produced at theatres across the country including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She is a two-time finalist in the International Thespian Society’s Playworks Program (2008, 2009), a four-time winner in The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and a 2009 finalist in the Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition. Goldstein is also the recipient of the 2007 VSA Playwright Discovery Award, the 2013 John Golden Prize for Undergraduate Playwriting, and the 2015 Ebell of Los Angeles Playwright Prize.

Director Christopher J. Raymond is a graduate fellow of the American Film Institute and currently serves on The Blank’s Living Room Series Artistic Committee. He directed the world premiere of Michael Shaw Fisher’s rock opera Doomsday Cabaret at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival. In addition, he has directed numerous plays for the Living Room Series and the Young Playwrights Festival. He is currently in development for his directorial feature film debut of his adaptation of D.M. Thomas’ novel Flying Into Love. His award-winning screenplay and finalist for the Nicholls Fellowship, Daughter of Heaven, is also in development.

Preview performances of A Singular They begin on Saturday, March 19 at 8pm and continue on Sunday, March 20 at 2pm, and Tuesday through Friday, March 22—25 at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, March 26 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule will be Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through May 1. Tickets are $25 for previews and $30 for regular performances and may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com or via phone at (323) 661-9827.

The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (on Theatre Row at Wilcox), in Hollywood, 90038.

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02-02-16

NEWS RELEASE — MOTH THEATRE PRESENTS “MINE” BY RYAN SURRATT — OPENING FRIDAY 3/11 at 8pm

MOTH THEATRE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
RYDEMPTION ENTERTAINMENT
PRESENTS
MINE
A NEW PLAY BY RYAN SURRATT
DIRECTED BY JUSTIN HUEN

MARCH 10 — APRIL 16

Moth Theatre has announced the first production of its 2016 season, Mine by Ryan Surratt. Presented in association with Rydemption Entertainment and directed by Justin Huen, Mine will play one preview performance on March 10 and opening is set for Friday, March 11 at 8pm. The run will continue through April 16.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) James Oliver, Nicole Steinwedell, and Ryan Surratt. Production design is by Justin Huen and Ryan Surratt and the stage manager is Lauren Kelly.

Mine is the tale of two childhood friends who are forced to traverse the minefield of their relationship after a dangerous incident occurs. Run time is 70 minutes.

Ryan Surratt (Playwright) graduated from USC with degrees in Business and Film. Mine is the first play he has written for the stage. His film Fatherland is currently in pre-production. As an actor, Surratt’s stage credits include Glengarry Glen Ross, Extremities, Reasons To Be Pretty, The Crucible, Speed the Plow, and many others. Among his TV and film credits are MGM’s remake of Fame and Sony’s The Ugly Truth; CSI Cyber, Mistresses, and more.

Justin Huen (Director) is a multi-award-nominated actor/director/designer who has worked in intimate and regional theatres across the country. His work as a director has been seen in critically acclaimed productions including Their Eyes Saw Rain, Money Shot, and Dawgs. As an actor, Huen was recently seen in the Getty Villa production of Mojada. In January 2015, his set and lighting design work were featured in the Ovation Award-nominated production of Proof at Moth Theatre.

Mine is set to open on Friday, March 11 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm through April 16 only. Admission is $25 and tickets may be purchased online at picatic.com/mine.

The Moth Theatre is located at 4359 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, 90029. Entrance to the theatre is through the alley in the back, on Heliotrope.

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02-01-16