Whidbey Island Presents The Bad Horse Project: A Joss Whedon Double Feature

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, under the leadership of Executive Director Stacie Burgua, launches its 2010-2011 Season with The Bad Horse Project featuring Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling October 15 - 30, 2010.

Conceived as an "online miniseries event" during the 2008 writers' strike, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 45-minute musical romp that bears the distinctive stamp of Joss Whedon. Billy (Dr. Horrible) video-blogs about his twin goals to join the Evil League of Evil and to woo the fair Penny, a woman he met at the local laundromat. Dr. Horrible is foiled on both fronts, however, by his arch-nemesis, the self-absorbed superhero Captain Hammer.

Faced with the task of impressing the League, can Horrible overcome his own incompetence to ruin the day, kill the hero, and still get the girl?

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is directed by Jason Dittmer (The Rocky Horror Show) with musical direction by Robert W. Prosch; and features David Mayer as Billy/Dr.Horrible, Morgan Bondelid as Penny, and Michael Morgen as Captain Hammer. The cast includes Jacob Bloom (Moist), Zachary Schneider, Jim Simpson, MichaEl Thompson (The Bad Horse Chorus), Patsy Brereton, MichaEl Thompson (Newscasters), Megan Besst, Evan Hoke, Ambria Prosch, Daniella Rose, Zachary Schneider (The Groupies), Bristol Bloom (Mayor), Cameron Baldwin, Anthony Caldwell, Gwen Jones, Sophia Larson-Wickman, Jan Simpson (The Ensemble).

Following Dr. Horrible, the WICA Chamber Singers will lead the audience in a sing-along to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling.

Penned by Buffy series creator-producer Joss Whedon, Once More, With Feeling is a loving, loopy musical pastiche that takes potshots at everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber to alt-rock. Paralleling the show's lovable pop culture tweaking, the musical styles here (the episode's musical conceit is a curse visited upon Buffy's hometown of Sunnydale) range from a patent footlight chorus of demons being interrupted by Buffy's hard-rocking stake thrusts on "Going Through the Motions" to Spike the Vampire's goth-metal complaint "Rest in Peace," with everything from parking tickets and mustard stain removal to climactic duels with the supernatural getting the Broadway send-up.

Once More, With Feeling is conducted by Robert W. Prosch and features members of the WICA Chamber Singers: Al Benson, Megan Besst, Morgan Bondelid, Anthony Caldwell, Kimberly Cerra, Christina Parker, and Susan Sandri.

Tickets range in price from $12 to $16, with discounts available for seniors, military, youth and groups, and are available from www.WICAonline.com or 360.221.8268 - 800/638.7631.

 

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"The times are chaotic. For me, I would hope that people look at my heroes and see people struggling to live decent, moral lives in a completely chaotic world. They see how hard it is, how often they fail, and how they get up and keep trying. That, to me, is the most important message I'm ever going to tell." - Joss Whedon

'The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the writers' strike.' - Joss Whedon"

"After just a bit of research it's clear that Dr. Horrible is on the verge of being either a major theatre piece or a motion picture (Whedon will announce early next year if the full production is going to Broadway or movie theaters.) WICA has always taken pride in being a home to new work and supporting emerging playwrights. We strive to produce at least one original piece a season." -- Deana Duncan, WICA Producing Artistic Director

"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is more experimental than anything we've had on the main stage to this point in the fact that it was not written for the stage. We've stayed true to the original Video Script but adapted it to the stage with the use of multi-media tools and constant vigilance to Whedon's original vision. Supporting this work means supporting emerging artists and being part of the birth of a production. We're trying new technology, we've had to write and adapt new music, we've got lots of new faces on the stage. We're re-envisioning what is possible in local theatre.-it doesn't have to be a two or three hour perfectly choreographed classic piece of theatre to be legitimate. This is much closer to what's happening in our region's Fringe Theatres and an exciting step for local theatre artists." -- Deana Duncan, WICA Producing Artistic Director

"Our vision is the same as Whedon's; small, inexpensive, professionally done and a whole lot of fun. Our actors and creative team have poured over the original and researched everything we can about Joss Whedon and his work. Dr. Horrible is fast, 47-minutes long, funny, thought provoking, and sweet. The themes are easy to get behind: good vs. evil, super villains fighting for world dominance, and the lovelorn sweetness of that first crush." -- Deana Duncan, WICA Producing Artistic Director

About Joss Whedon

Joss was born in New York City in 1964. His grandfather was a successful sitcom writer in the 1950s and '60s on "The Donna Reed Show" (1958) and "Leave it to Beaver" (1957), and his father wrote for "The Dick Cavett Show" (1968), "Alice" (1976) and "Benson" (1979).

After receiving a degree in film studies from Wesleyan University in 1987, Whedon moved to Los Angeles and landed his first writing job on the staff of "Roseanne" (1988), working as a story editor and writing several episodes of the top-rated series. However, Whedon is most well known for writing hit TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Firefly," and "Dollhouse."

When asked why he writes these types of stories Joss has said that he created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to be an 'alternative feminist icon'.

On October 31, 2008, Time magazine named "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" #15 in its Top 50 Inventions of 2008. "Dr. Horrible" also won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Online Sensation", and the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. In the inaugural 2009 Streamy Awards for web television, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" won seven awards: Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series, Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series, Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series, Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series (Harris), Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Music. It also won a 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs."

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WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS - FACT SHEET

"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling"

WHAT: WICA's The Bad Horse Project presents "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" and

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling"

WHERE: Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, 565 Camano Avenue, Langley, Washington.
WHEN: All Performances: October 15 - 30, 2010

Evening (Fri - Sat) performances @ 7.30pm

Matinee (Sun) performances @ 2.00pm

TICKETS: Tickets range in price from $12 to $16, with discounts available for seniors,

military, youth and groups, and are available from www.WICAonline.com or

360.221.8268 - 800/638.7631.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Friday, October 15: Opening Night Reception

The Edgecliff Restaurant Grill will host the Opening Night (post-show) reception at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.

Sunday, October 17, 12.30pm: Brown Bag Prologue

A pre-show Brown Bag lunch and discussion with members of the Creative Team in Zech Hall.
Sunday, October 24: Talk Back Sunday

A post-show discussion with members of the Creative Team and Cast on the Michael Nutt Main Stage.

SCHEDULE:
Friday, October 15 at 7.30pm (Opening Night) Saturday, October 16 at 7.30pm Sunday, October 17 at 2pm

Friday, October 22 at 7.30pm Saturday, October 23 at 7.30pm Sunday, October 24 at 2pm

Friday, October 29 at 7.30pm Saturday, October 30 at 7.30pm

2010/11 SEASON SPONSORS: The City of Langley, 2009 Producers Circle, Friends of WICA, Intermec Foundation, Washington State Arts Commission, The NEA, US Bank, Inn at Langley, The Edgecliff Restaurant, Whidbey Coffee, Parallax Consulting, Whidbey-SeaTac Shuttle, The Star Store, The Law Offices of Kelly and Harvey, Catherine DeWitt Framing, Boomerang Korner, Island Asphalt, and Whidbey Telecom, Whidbey Marketplace and News