NEWS RELEASE — BRIMMER STREET THEATRE CO. ANNOUNCES PUBLIC STAGED READINGS OF “THE SCRAMBLING CLASS” BY AMY TOFTE

BRIMMER STREET THEATRE COMPANY
ANNOUNCES PUBLIC STAGED READINGS OF
THE SCRAMBLING CLASS
A NEW PLAY BY AMY TOFTE
AS PART OF ITS
BREAKING GROUND PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

As part of its 2016 Breaking Ground play development program, Brimmer Street Theatre Company has announced two public staged readings of a new play, The Scrambling Class by Amy Tofte. The readings will be presented on Saturday, April 30 at 8pm and Sunday, May 1 at 8pm at 2123 Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake (this is a residential address and the performance space is outdoors). Running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Admission is free and no reservations are required. Following each reading, audiences will be invited to engage in a brief discussion with the playwright and participating artists.

Brimmer Street Theatre Company’s Breaking Ground play development initiative is dedicated to collaborative new play development. Over the course of the seven-week project, BSTC’s ensemble works with local playwrights to move drafts of original plays to finalized scripts through the discovery and collaboration of an abbreviated rehearsal process, design consultation, and finally a staged reading. The Scrambling Class was chosen by the BSTC ensemble from dozens of submissions.

In Amy Tofte’s The Scrambling Class, a group of best friends reunite on a camping trip with the intent of supporting a friend in need. But the unexpected responsibilities of adulthood and their complicit crimes are too much for all of them to take. So they kill the truth … and bury it. Directed by Eric Hunicutt, the reading will feature (in alphabetical order) Ben Fuller, Dan Gordon, Amy K. Harmon, Tyler Jenich, Emilia Richeson, Jessica Sherif, and Alex Whittington. Audience members who would like to read the play in advance may email djette@brimmerstreet.org for a script.

Brimmer Street Theatre Company is a non-profit ensemble theatre that creates and produces new works of theatre in order to cultivate artists and engage audiences in Los Angeles. By working from a select core of talented artists, BSTC aims to produce a unique brand of American theatre that is rooted in a common experience and driven by their commitment to building better theatre that is challenging, extraordinary, and inspiring.

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04-20-16

Announcing: Amy Tofte’s ‘FleshEatingTiger,’ Directed by Vincent Paterson, at Highways for 2 Perfs Only, June 21 & 22

FLESHEATINGTIGER
BY AMY TOFTE
DIRECTED BY VINCENT PATERSON

TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY
AT HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE
IN SANTA MONICA
JUNE 21 & 22 AT 8:30PM

Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica has announced two performances only of Amy Tofte’s FleshEatingTiger, directed by acclaimed director/choreographer Vincent Paterson, on Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22 at 8:30pm.

Vicious dark humor chronicles an affair under the influence in Amy Tofte’s FleshEatingTiger. The Man struggles with sobriety; The Woman is dependent on his affection. Scenes unravel between realism and absurdism, and the line between acting in the play and reality is relentlessly blurred, just as addiction blurs a healthy relationship. Of a 2011 production of FleshEatingTiger at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Scotsman said, “Tofte utilizes poignant monologues to contrast comedic double acts, helping create tenderly strong characters who drag the audience into the disorder.”

Director Vincent Paterson has directed and/or choreographed films, concert tours, Broadway shows, operas, music videos, television shows, and commercials. He is perhaps best known for his work with Michael Jackson and Madonna. For Jackson, Paterson directed the Bad Tour and choreographed several other iconic Jackson music videos and live performances; he conceived, choreographed and co-directed the Smooth Criminal number in the film Moonwalker as well as the video for Blood on the Dance Floor. He directed and choreographed Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour, which is featured in her Truth or Dare documentary, as well her Express Yourself and Vogue videos. Paterson also choreographed the films Evita and The Birdcage and he directed and choreographed the musical sequences for the film Dancer in the Dark. His choreography for Kiss of the Spider Woman on Broadway earned him a Tony Award nomination. Paterson wrote and directed the Cirque Du Soleil show Viva! Elvis that ran for over 1000 performances in Las Vegas. Paterson directed and choreographed Berlin’s first original production of the musical Cabaret at Bar Jeder-Vernunft, a mirror-tent from 1914. It is the longest running play in Berlin’s history.

The LA Weekly has called Amy Tofte’s writing “brutally funny” and “distinct while most definitely on key.” Her plays and solo pieces have been performed around the United States in locales such as Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, The Kennedy Center, Alaska, Mississippi, Iowa, Texas and internationally at the 2010 and 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. Tofte’s play The Course We Set was performed at various locations in England as part of Western Washington University’s annual touring company in 2012. Her play WhiteDevil-Loving Mother was recently presented as a staged reading by the Northwest Playwrights Alliance at Seattle Repertory. Tofte’s Relentless Pursuit of a Lady was a semi-finalist for the 2013 Source Festival in Washington, DC, and she was published in the Last Frontier Theatre Conference’s 2009 – 2012 Anthology.

The cast of FleshEatingTiger will feature (in alphabetical order) Sam Breen and Gabriela Trigo. Set design is by Sarah Krainin, lighting design is by Ryan Bona, costume design is by Jenny Foldenauer, sound design is by John Nobori, and video design is by Sean T. Cawelti. Original music is by Rene Lamontagne.

General admission is $20, with member, student, and senior discounts available at $15. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased online at www.highwaysperformance.org or via phone at (310) 315-1459. Highways Performance Space @ 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1651 18th Street, in Santa Monica, 90404. Onsite and street parking are available.

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05-14-13