PRESS RELEASE — “MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH” SET FOR INDUSTRY READING ON MONDAY 10/27 IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA

WARP GRAPHICS PRESENTS

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
A MUSICAL THRILLER

BOOK AND LYRICS BY WENDY PINI
MUSIC AND ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY GREGORY NABOURS
DIRECTED BY CALVIN REMSBERG

EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE INDUSTRY READING
SET FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

Warp Graphics has announced a world premiere industry reading of Masque of the Red Death, a musical thriller with book and lyrics by Wendy Pini, music and additional lyrics by Gregory Nabours, and directed by Calvin Remsberg, on Monday, October 27 at 7:30pm at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood, CA.

Epic in sweep and scope, Wendy Pini and Greg Nabours’ musical thriller Masque of the Red Death is based on Pini’s graphic novel of the same name (based on The Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe) which employs a Japanese anime style of art, and this new musical expands on this adaptation. Set in a decadent, perfect future, Anton Prosper uses his vast fortune and scientific genius to seek the ultimate power of life over death. But when the stunning prodigy Steffan Kabala enters Prosper’s life, he unlocks a tempestuous passion that may send the entire planet hurtling into a bloody maelstrom of destruction.

Writer/Artist Wendy Pini has worked for nearly all of the major comics publishers such as Marvel, First Comics, Comico, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. In 1977, she created the best-selling high fantasy comic series Elfquest, the first Japanese anime-influenced graphic novel series to be published in America. Pini’s adults-only graphic novel based on Edgar Allan Poe’s horror story The Mask of the Red Death (1842) serves as the foundation for this new musical thriller.

Gregory Nabours is a composer/lyricist and music director. Musical Direction credits include The Color Purple (2012 Ovation, LADCC, LA Weekly, and NAACP Awards), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Falsettos, Rent, The Wild Party, A New Brain, Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Assassins, and The Full Monty. Nabours’ song cycle, The Trouble With Words, was awarded the 2011 Ovation Award for Best Music and Lyrics for an Original Musical, as well as Best Musical in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. This November, an evening of his work will be performed and broadcast at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Nabours is a founding member and resident composer of Coeurage Theatre Company.

Calvin Remsberg is known both as an accomplished actor and noted theatre director. His directing credits include the revival of Bare, the LA premiere of Glory Days, Into the Woods starring Anthony Geary, Hello, Dolly! for 3-D Theatricals, Sweeney Todd for Musical Theatre West, the 20th Anniversary production of Sweeney Todd for Reprise!, the West Coast Ensemble production of Sunday in the Park with George, and Interact Theatre Company’s Urinetown. For Musical Theatre Guild, Remsberg has directed Shenandoah, Parade, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Street Scene, Aspects of Love, Titanic, The Most Happy Fella, and Death Takes a Holiday.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Heather Ayers, Benai Boyd, Rich Brunner, Emma Degerstedt, Tawny Dolley, Ben Gibson, Steven Good, Steve B. Green, Paulette Ivory, Ashley Jones, Jeffrey Landman, Tyler Ledon, Jamison Lingle, Jacob Lusk, Marco Ramos, Aaron Scheff, Rebecca Spencer, Zach Spound, and Zach Villa.

The reading will take place on Monday, October 27 at 7:30pm. For more information, contact kenwertherpr@gmail.com. The NoHo Arts Center is located at 11136 Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, CA, 91601.

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10-03-14

PRESS RELEASE: “THE PROTAGONIST” SET FOR LA PREMIERE JULY 24 — AUGUST 9 AT LILLIAN THEATRE

THE PROTAGONIST
BY TIM LIVINGSTON
DIRECTED BY JEREMY GUSKIN

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
SET FOR LIMITED THREE WEEK RUN
OPENS JULY 25 AT THE LILLIAN THEATRE

Carthay Films has announced the Los Angeles premiere of The Protagonist, a new comic play by Tim Livingston, directed by Jeremy Guskin. There will be one preview performance on Thursday, July 24 at 8pm and opening is set for Friday, July 25 at 8pm. The Protagonist will run through August 9 only.

The Protagonist is a comedy that audaciously attempts to inspire its audience. It wants to make people laugh, make people think, and balance profundity with levity in a unique poetic style. The story focuses on two brothers living their own version of the American dream — one with a lucrative job in finance, the other striving to be creative, both unable to understand the rationale of the other. As they trek along their disparate paths, they realize how far they’ve drifted apart, how much they’ve changed, and finally, how much they need each other.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Libe Barer, Keenan Jolliff, Joey Livingston, and Christian Roberts. The design team includes Grant Gorrell (set and lighting), Alyson Wheeler (costumes), and Jaymes Wheeler (sound).

Playwright Tim Livingston is a Los Angeles-based writer who has garnered success in television where he has been commissioned to write several pilots, and in sports journalism where his articles have gained national attention and led to interviews with some of the biggest names in basketball, baseball, and football.

Director Jeremy Guskin is an actor, director, and writer. His film credits include Art School Confidential, Pulse, The Hero Of Color City, Get Dead, and Simone. On television — Rizzoli & Isles, ‘Til Death, General Hospital, Roswell, Raising Hope, The Mentalist, The Finder, Life, NCIS, Alias, NYPD Blue, Angel, Six Feet Under, E.R., and King Of Queens. Theatre in Los Angeles and New York — Shakespearience (Alex), The Curse Of Ravensdurn (Barnsdall Gallery), Nothing Sacred (South Coast Rep), You Can’t Take It With You (Antaeus), The Lower Depths (MXAT), Basketball Jones (New Victory). Guskin currently teaches and directs at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

There will be one preview performance of The Protagonist on Thursday, July 24 at 8pm and opening is set for Friday, July 25 at 8pm. The regular running schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm through August 9 only. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased online at www.theprotagonist.ticketleap.com, or via phone at (323) 571-2288. For more information, go to www.theprotagonistplay.com. Visit The Protagonist on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theprotagonistplay and follow us on Twitter @protagonistplay.

The Lillian Theatre at the Elephant Stages is located at 1076 Lillian Way, (off Santa Monica Boulevard, one block west of Vine), in Hollywood. Street parking is available.

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07-14-14

PRESS RELEASE — WORLD PREMIERE PLAY “LAND LINE” OPENS JUNE 14 — EST/LA AT ATWATER VILLAGE THEATRE SPEAKEASY

Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA
Presents the World Premiere of
LAND LINE
Written by Stephen Dierkes
Directed by William Charlton

OPENS JUNE 14 AT 8PM
AT THE SPEAKEASY
ATWATER VILLAGE THEATRE

Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA has announced the world premiere of Land Line, a new play by Stephen Dierkes, directed by William Charlton, and featuring Katherine Cortez, John Dennis Johnston, Gary Patent, and Peter James Smith. Land Line is set to open Saturday, June 14 at 8pm and the limited engagement will run through July 21.

When a health crisis forces Terry to move back into his parents’ basement, his best friend John supports him with laughter, sympathy, bravado, and finally, honesty.

Playwright Stephen Dierkes is an associate member of Ensemble Studio Theatre/Los Angeles, a member of the EST/LA Playwrights Unit, and a member of the Dramatists Guild. He has had productions and readings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, St. Louis, Spokane, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Reno, Ohio, and Los Angeles. His play Ape and Apple was a semi-finalist for the National Arts Club’s Playwrights First Award, and his 10-Minute Antigone won the Audience Favorite Award at Colby-Sawyer College’s SNAFU Festival (New London, NH). His farce Crabs: A Love Story was the St. Louis Playwrights Festival’s inaugural production, and his twin one-acts, Apocrypha and Heterodoxy, were given readings in two EST/LA Winterfest events.

Director William Charlton is an actor and director who has acted on stage in NYC, LA, and at various theatres across the country. He has directed at EST/LA and Playwright’s Horizons in NYC, and he is a member of EST/LA. Television: recurring on The Shield and Law & Order; guest appearances include Parks & Recreation, Criminal Minds, Monday Mornings, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, House, Numb3rs, Medium, and My Name is Earl, among many others. Film: The Rum Diary, The Changeling, Flags of Our Fathers, Money Train, Get Smart. Training: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Director’s Lab West 2010.

Set and lighting design for Land Line are by William Sammons, costume design is by Catherine Baumgardner, sound design is by Joseph ‘Sloe’ Slawinski, and the stage manager is Marissa Drammissi. Producer for EST/LA is Mina Sharpe.

The opening of Land Line is set for Saturday, June 14 at 8pm. The running schedule will then be Saturday at 5pm, Sunday at 7pm, and Monday at 8pm through July 21, with the following exceptions — no performance on Friday, July 4; curtain time on Saturday, July 5 is 8pm; and there will be added matinees on Sundays, July 13 and 20 at 2pm. Tickets are $25, and all seats are general admission. Tickets may be purchased online at www.EnsembleStudioTheatreLA.org or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/680900 or by calling (323) 644-1929. The EST/LA Speakeasy at Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Avenue, in Los Angeles.

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05-08-14