THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS to Play Byham Theater, 11/14

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces the Pittsburgh premiere of The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth, written by Chad Nichols and Jason Neulander. This production-reminiscent of old fashioned radio theater with live actors, original sound effects and a live score-will take place on Friday, November 14 at the Byham Theater, 101 6th Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh. The performance is part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series.

Telling an all-ages adventure story set in the 1930s, The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth mashes up comic-book and radio-play formats into a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience, a new art form, the Live-Action Graphic Novel.

Three actors voice the dozens of characters, a Foley artist creates all the sound effects, and a pianist plays a cinematic score, while more than 1,250 individual full-color hi-res comic book panels tell a hilarious sci-fi adventure story visually from an enormous movie screen, and it's all done live in front of your eyes.

Tickets ($14-$45) are available at www.TrustArts.org, by calling 412-456-6666, or in person at Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue. Groups of 10 or more, call 412-471-6930 or visit online www.TrustArts.org/groupsales. All children must have a ticket. Tickets may not be purchased for children under the age of 3 years. Comic books, sound-effects gadgets, posters, shirts, and Zygonian Slime will all be available in the lobby at intermission and after the performance. The cast will be signing books following the show.

Patrons are encouraged to visit www.TrustArts.org/Accessibility for full information on accessible accommodations, and use www.ParkPGH.org to find local parking availability.

A Brief History of The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth
In 1996, Ray Colgan approached Jason Neulander about the idea of creating a science-fiction radio serial to be performed live in installments and maybe event to be aired on the radio. Neulander jumped on the idea. He invited Jessica Reisman, Julia Edwards, and Lisa D'Amour to join Ray on the writing team and The Intergalactic Nemesis was born. The original concept was that the writers would provide two 15-minute scripts per week for five weeks. Neulander got these scripts on a Friday, rehearsed with actors and sound on Saturday, and performed the two episodes on Sunday for five weeks at Little City coffeehouse. Because the process was so quick, the writers named the main characters after the actors who played them: Ben Willcott, Molly Rice, and Japhy Fernandez. Buzz Moran grabbed stuff out of his kitchen to make the last-minute sound effects. The first week, more than 100 people showed up at Little City to catch the show and week after week the crowds stuck it out. Moran captured the show on a cassette-tape four track and the next summer KUT aired the show in serial format on their Sunday morning show Soundsight. And that was that. Or so they thought...

In 2000, Buzz bought a portable digital recording studio and suggested to Jason that SVT remount the show, cut it down to an evening-length format, perform it again and record a true broadcast-quality recording. Again, Neulander jumped and asked Ray and Jessica to help him rewrite it. On Memorial Day 2000, the crew set up shop at the State Theatre to a capacity crowd. The only original cast member was Ben Willcott, so the names of the other two main characters were changed. The performance was received so well that Ray and Jason immediately knew that the next summer they would have to create a sequel, which they did. Return of the Intergalactic Nemesis was performed and recorded in June 2001, both shows were performed in rep in 2002, and KUT aired a three-part edit of the show on its "Best of Public Radio" series. And that was that. Or so they thought...

In January 2009, Neulander approached artist Tim Doyle, who had created the backdrops for various productions, about developing a comic-book version of the story. As the two collaborators began work on the comic-book, Cliff Redd asked Neulander to bring the show into Dell Hall at the Long Center. In that meeting, Neulander came up with the idea of combining the comic-book artwork with the live show. In September 2010, the Long Center premiered this new form of entertainment to an audience of over 2,100 people. Currently, the project has spawned two sequels and is in the midst of a multi-year international tour, including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the New Victory in New York City, and more than 100 venues around the globe.

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