All the Rats and Rags Plays 3LD Art and Technology Center 11/17-20

Karina Martins and McKenna Dabbs in conjunction with Fresh Ground Pepper, present a limited engagement of "All the Rats and Rags" at 3LD Art and Technology Center from November 17-20.

This Sci-fi musical, directed by Andrew Scoville (John Faustus and the Overclocked Death Drive,
Assistant Director of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Associate Director of The Tenant), explores human evolution and the growing divide between the rich and poor. Loosely based off of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, "All the Rats and Rags" follows the creation and destruction of a robot named Twizt.

Snippets of the show have been presented in growing increments at multiple Fresh Ground Pepper events over the past year. With Tim Fite's support, the team has been working to create dystrophic world far in the future where humans have evolved to two different species: The Elite (techno-human hybrids) and the Rats (animalistic underground dwellers). This production is a workshop meant to shed further light on the emerging possibilities for Sci-fi Theater. The staging of this classic tale is taken to new heights with the use of an X-Box Kinect and video projections from Room 404 Media.

Scoville and ensemble, who have written and devised the script together, use the words of the past, the music of the present and the technology of the future to bring to life this very pertinent tale of what happens when the poor realize they have strength in numbers. Set at 3LD, in the financial district, the center of a present day battle between the classes, "All the Rats and Rags" tells the story of a society fed up with their own circumstances and ready to take matters into their own hands.

Director Andrew Scoville is a Brooklyn based theater artist. He recently directed John Faustus and the Overclocked Death Drive for a four week run at the Tank last January, as well as served as an associate director for the Woodshed Collective's The Tenant this fall. He graduated NYU in 2008 with a BFA in Theater Arts. He has held internships with Theater Mitu, The Wooster Group and Temporary Distortion and has studied in Bangkok, Thailand at the Theater Mitu Artist Intensive. He is a co-Founder/co-Director of Fresh Ground Pepper, a monthly series that curates a wide variety of theatrical experiments. He has served as a Teaching Assistant for the Directing program at Playwrights Horizons Theater School (NYU) and currently is a project mentor to their Devised Theater Program. He assistant directed Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Jacobs Theater on Broadway (directed by Alex Timbers), and is working with Mr. Timber's again on David Byrne's Here Lies Love. He has completed an observership with Canadian based group Ex Machina at the Metropolitan Opera viewing rehearsals and tech runs for Das Rheingold and Die Walkure, directed by Robert Lepage. He is a member of the 2011 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.

The set design will be by Peter Adams, the costume design by Emily Peterson with wearable costume technology by Suzan Erslan, the lighting design by Andrew Neisler and Chris Bowser, musical arrangements by Adam Cochran and musical direction by Joseph Hendel. The video designers will be Kate Freer and Dave Tennent (Room 404 Media). Morgan Murphey is the dramaturg for "All the Rats and Rags."

"All the Rats and Rags" will run its workshop production from November 17-20, 2011 with all performances at 8pm. Admission will be free but seating is limited and reservations are suggested. Email alltheratsandrags@gmail.com to reserve tickets.

BIO INFORMATION (not included above):
Fresh Ground Pepper is a not-for-profit arts community focused on the development of emerging art. The company's goal is to provide a forum for artists of all mediums to experiment, collaborate and grow. Based out of Brooklyn, they have been curating events all over New York City for over three years in spaces such as The People's Improv Theater, Irondale Arts Center, Soho Repertory Theater, The Grace Exhibition Space and more. Their monthly event series invites artists to submit both works-in-progress and brand new ideas to be tested and developed in front of a live audience. These monthly events always function around a New Medium or theme creating and bring together multiple companies, such as Pipeline Theater Company and Political Subversities, and individuals who must collaborate to create a full evening of performances.

3-Legged Dog Media + Theater Group (www.3ldnyc.org) is a not-for-profit arts organization that operates 3LD Art & Technology Center where it produces new, original works in theater, performance, media and hybrid forms. Their mission is to explore the narrative possibilities created by digital technology, and to provide an environment for curated resident artists to create new tools and modes of expression so that they can excel across a range of disciplines. With this residency program 3-Legged Dog has transformed a tightly knit producing company into an international community that directly facilitates the work of approximately 650 artists a year from 23 countries around the world. 3-Legged Dog's own productions and installations have been seen at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Venice Biennale, Signature Theatre, The Kitchen, PS 122, La Mama, the Ontological Theater, and at their home 3LD Art & Technology Center. In 2011, 3-Legged Dog productions, Losing Something and Fire Island will be featured at the Prague Quadrennial Exhibition of Performance Design. The company has won numerous awards
including the American Theatre Wing's Hewes Design Award and The Rockefeller Foundation Cultural Innovation Fund Award.

Karina Martins (producer) is a New York based designer, producer, and manager. She has stage managed in over two-dozen venues in New York City including Madison Square Garden, The Skirball Center for the Arts, and Cherry Lane Theater. She has also produced works at multiple venues including 59E59 Street and 3LD Art & Technology Center. Karina currently works as both the Company Manager/ Associate Producer for 3-Legged Dog, a non-profit arts group, and as the Producing Assistant for Little Benita Productions. She has recently begun to work as a producer for
independent films and commercials including videos for The Brooklyn Salsa Company and LadyBoi. She received a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts where she studied directing and design at Playwrights Horizons Theater School.

McKenna Dabbs (co-producer) is a director, producer and writer based in New York City. She spent this summer at the Lincoln Center Director's Lab. She has produced work at such venues as Theatre for a New City Looking Glass Theater, and The Tank. Directing Credits include: New York: At The Edge (The Tank),At The Edge (TNC), What the Butler Saw (Secret Theatre), Less Talk More Efficiency, Behind the Scene (Looking Glass Theatre) Suicide Note (Tip My Cup Productions), Regional: Doubt, Rumplestiltskin, 7/10 Split (B Street Theatre), For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls (Blue Jacket Outdoor Drama). She proudly graduated Catawba College with a BFA in
Directing/Performance. She has interned at New York Women in Film and Television, Fincannon and Associates Casting and The B Street Theatre. You can see her Blindfolded Director web series at www.mckennadabbs.com