Announcing: Elephant Theatre Company Announces ‘Poker Royale’ Benefit – Saturday 8/18 at 6pm

ELEPHANT THEATRE COMPANY
ANNOUNCES POKER ROYALE BENEFIT
ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
★ FIRST ANNUAL TEXAS HOLD ‘EM TOURNAMENT ★

The award-winning Elephant Theatre Company, David Fofi and Lindsay Allbaugh, Artistic Directors, has announced its first annual Poker Royale benefit. The Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament will be held on Saturday, August 18, beginning at 6pm. All proceeds will go toward shows in the highly anticipated 2013 season of the critically acclaimed company.

Poker Royale will be a star-studded night of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Blackjack, raffles, food, drink, and surprise celebrity guests. The tournament will be a World Series of Poker style event, coordinated by West LA Poker, and valuable prizes for top winners include gift cards valued at hundreds of dollars, tickets to various shows, restaurant gift cards, and much more. Food at the event will be provided by Big Wangs, beer provided by Black Star, and cocktails by Karma Tequila and Devotion Vodka.

The Elephant Theatre Company is a staple of the Los Angeles theatre community. Known for developing and producing new work, the company has been named three years in a row by Back Stage as ‘Favorite Theatre Company to See and Work With,’ as well as receiving multiple Ovation, LADCC, and LA Weekly Award nominations and wins. Last season’s west coast premiere of Kate Fodor’s 100 Saints You Should Know was nominated for four LA Weekly Awards, winning Best Supporting Female Performance (Kate Huffman), and was also nominated for one LADCC Award. The Elephant concluded its very successful 15th season in December 2011, with the world premiere play Love Sick by Kristina Poe, and the rarely produced Baby Doll by Tennessee Williams, both of which had extended, sold-out runs.

The doors for Poker Royale will open at 6pm on Saturday, August 18. Poker lessons begin at 6:30pm, and the tournament starts promptly at 7pm. (Players can enter the tournament up to 8pm.) Tickets are $80, including poker tournament entry and all you can eat and drink. Spectator tickets are available for $25, which include Fun-Play Blackjack along with food and drink. Admission prices will be $10 higher at the door. Tickets are available now at www.ElephantTheatreCompany.com. For information on sponsorship opportunities, email rick@elephanttheatre.org.

Poker Royale will take place at 6314 Santa Monica Boulevard (one block west of Vine), two doors down from the Elephant Theatre. Valet parking will be available. Visit the Elephant on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @elephanttheatre.

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07-31-12

Announcing: Rain Nightclub and Outfest Benefit Oscar Party Sun 2/26

RAIN NIGHTCLUB IN STUDIO CITY AND OUTFEST
PRESENT AN OFFICIAL OSCAR VIEWING PARTY TO BENEFIT
THE LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER
DOORS OPEN AT 2PM, RED CARPET AT 4PM
84TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY AT 5:30PM

Rain, the San Fernando Valley’s first upscale gay restaurant and nightclub, in collaboration with Outfest, has announced a benefit Oscar viewing and cocktail party to benefit the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s Outset Film Mentoring Program. The doors at Rain will open at 2pm on Sunday, February 26, with red carpet coverage beginning at 4pm. The 84th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, begins at 5:30pm. The Rain event will feature a hosted vodka bar with passed hors d’oeuvres during the red carpet activities, Oscar ballots with prizes in each category (courtesy of Outfest), and more surprises.

“Our relationship with the community is very important to us, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be hosting this important benefit event,” says Rain proprietor Mathieu McBee. “Rain is a brand new nightclub, and we want our patrons to know that we are about giving back to the community that supports us.”

All proceeds from the Oscar event will benefit the Outset Film Mentoring Program. LifeWorks, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s development and mentoring program for LGBTQ youth, has partnered with Outfest to create this short film curriculum, followed by shooting and editing short films. Fifteen LGBTQ youths from the LifeWorks program have been selected to participate in this new, innovative, program. The Outset classes are taught by industry professionals who provide program participants hands-on tools to write, shoot and edit their own films. The films will be screened at the Outfest Film Festival in July, 2012. Additional information on this program can be found at www.modelsofpride.org/lifeworks.

For entry to this 84th Annual Academy Awards fundraising event, a $25 donation is suggested ($20 in advance at www.lagaycenter.org/oscars). VIP bottle service, dinner, or large party reservations can be made by contacting Rain Nightclub directly via email at mb @ rain-la.com, or by phone at 323-863-3443.

Rain Nightclub (www.facebook.com/rainonventura) is located at 12215 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, adjacent to the famed Chin Chin Chinese Restaurant. Ample parking is provided in the complex, and valet parking is also available.

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02-20-12

Announcing: February 11 Performance of “God’s Ear” Benefits “Peace Over Violence” Social Service Agency

NON-PROFIT ASSISTS NON-PROFIT
SATURDAY 2/11 PERFORMANCE OF THE ECHO THEATER COMPANY’S PRODUCTION OF “GOD’S EAR”
WILL BENEFIT PEACE OVER VIOLENCE, A SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY
DEDICATED TO THE ELIMINATION OF SEXUAL AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
FRANCES FISHER IS HONORARY EVENT CHAIR

The Saturday, February 11 performance of God’s Ear, a play by Jenny Schwartz, directed by Rory Kozoll, is set to benefit Peace Over Violence, a social service agency dedicated to the elimination of sexual and domestic violence; dedicated to a world without violence. Theatre, film, and television actress Frances Fisher serves as honorary chairperson for the evening.

Peace Over Violence provides crisis intervention services and violence prevention education, along with one-on-one counseling and guidance to heal survivors of violence. Teens are taught about healthy relationships; girls are trained in self-defense, boys are taught conflict resolution, and all are given advice on public policy. The organization believes, above all, that violence is preventable. For more information, visit www.peaceoverviolence.org, or call (213) 955-9090.

In God’s Ear, a couple suffers a tragic accident, and their grief propels them into a fantastical world where the Tooth Fairy sings, their flight attendant is a cross dresser, and GI Joe offers family counseling. It’s a lyrically absurd journey of love, loss, and laughter.

Of the Echo Theater Company’s production, which opened on January 14, Back Stage said, “Director Rory Kozoll skillfully moves the action along and brings out every bit of dark (and light) humor.” Said the LA Weekly, “With a nod to the absurdist canon, and perhaps Lewis Carroll, Jenny Schwartz’s use of clichés, idiom and chatter is … brilliant and funny.” God’s Ear is produced for the Echo Theater Company by Lauren Bass and Chris Fields.

Tickets for the Peace Over Violence benefit performance on Saturday, February 11 at 8pm are $40, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased (as well as regular priced tickets for remaining performances of God’s Ear through February 19), by visiting www.echotheatercompany.com or by calling (877) 369-9112. The regular running schedule is Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 7:00pm, and tickets are $25. The Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, 90046. Street parking is available.

The multiple award-winning Echo Theater Company has presented 47 Los Angeles premiere productions, 37 world premieres, and 22 commissions. These productions introduced Los Angeles to the work of David Lindsay-Abaire, Sarah Ruhl, Adam Rapp, Adam Bock, Cusi Cram, Gary Sunshine, Ron Fitzgerald, Tanya Barfield, and Mike Batistick, among many others. Most recently, the Echo was nominated for three Ovation Awards including Best Ensemble and Best Play for its West Coast premiere of Mark Schultz’s Everything Will Be Different. The company also received seven LA Weekly Award nominations for its world premiere production of Matt Benjamin and Logan Brown’s Wirehead. The West Coast premiere of Jessica Goldberg’s Body Politic garnered Ovation nominations for Best Play and Best Ensemble. The Echo also engages in community outreach programs including a free public reading series, ActOut, an educational outreach program dedicated to helping at-risk youth, and PlayTime, an outreach program in which Echo members perform fairy tales, nursery rhymes and theater pieces for sick children of all ages in a number of facilities and hospitals in Los Angeles.

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01-27-12