Arena Stage to Open 2013-14 Kogod Cradle Series with dog & pony dc's TOAST, 12/5-8

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater ushers in the 2013/14 Kogod Cradle Series with workshop performances of the local ensemble-driven company dog & pony dc's newest show Toast, a participatory theatrical performance that asks the question: how is devising a play like developing new technology? dog & pony dc returns to Arena Stage following the successful 2012 workshop of their critically acclaimed A Killing Game. The following week, the series continues with a special new cabaret presentation directed by Signature Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner entitled The Power of Two, which reunites Arena Stage favorites Nicholas Rodriguez and Eleasha Gamble, who were last seen performing together as Curley and Laurey in Arena Stage's hit production Oklahoma!. Toast runs December 5-8, 2013 and The Power of Two runs December 11-15, 2013 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

"When the Kogod Cradle was envisioned, we imagined a space filled with first, second and thiRD Productions of new plays and audiences eager for new voices," shares Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith. "I am excited that the Kogod Cradle Series has emerged as a way to share this intimate theater with local companies and with artists near and dear to Arena's heart. We love to connect with dog & pony dc, whose method of devised work is admirable and always playful. It will be lovely to have Nick and Eleasha together again under the Mead Center roof after their extended run of Oklahoma!"

"dog & pony dc is committed to devising and premiering our new work in D.C., our home community," comments Rachel Grossman, Toast project co-director and dog & pony dc ring leader. "We couldn't be more honored to return to the Mead Center to release the prototype of our newest show Toast. Workshopping A Killing Game last season through the Kogod Cradle Series was instrumental to the completion of that show's 'version 1.0.' Toast is being presented much, much earlier in the creation process. As dog & pony dc grows artistically, it's vital we test the boundaries of our participatory approach to theatrical performance. We're handicapping ourselves if we only imagine and devise our productions for small environments and limited audience capacity. Participating in the Series this season provides a necessary canvas on which to sketch and experiment."

"Long before Oklahoma! ended, Nick and I knew we wanted to work together again and had already started thinking about the idea for a cabaret. It was really about finding the perfect fit for this to come together. We are so grateful that the Kogod Cradle Series has made it possible and the fact that it is a reunion for us at Arena could not be more fitting," says Gamble. "I can't wait to perform The Power of Two with one of my best friends in the intimacy of the Kogod Cradle," adds Rodriguez. "I sang in the Cradle for a gala dinner before the Mead Center officially opened, and the acoustics are incredible! I'm thrilled to be part of creating an evening of musical theater in such a special space."

Focused on the development of new and emerging work by artists from throughout Greater Washington and around the country, Arena Stage's Kogod Cradle Series invites artists and audiences to actively explore the development process through a series of workshops, readings and performances. For more information on the 2013/14 Kogod Cradle Series visit arenastage.org/artistic-development/new-play-institute/the-cradle-series.

ABOUT TOAST: Before electricity, how did people make toast? It's not a trick question. Think about it for a moment. Go look it up. The invention of the electric toaster and its widespread adoption wasn't as easy as sliding sliced bread between heated coils. It was a complex, non-linear process, a beautiful confluence of conditions, opportunities, discoveries and intensity. Piqued? Back after their hit show A Killing Game thrilled audiences in last season's Kogod Cradle Series, dog & pony dc returns for a workshop of their newest show Toast-a participatory theatrical performance meets science experiment exploring technological innovation, discovery, invention, consequences and the intricate networks that weave us all together.

With Toast, dog & pony dc is exploring a wholly new expression of "audience integration," its participatory approach to creating and performing theater. The company's previous shows, including Beertown and A Killing Game, cast the audience within the story of the performance, providing them agency to engage "in character" and positing their activity as necessary to the narrative arc. For Toast, the company is vitally interested in extending the boundaries of audience integration, aiming to fully and transparently harness the audience as a resource, integral for the creation and completion of the show.

In March 2013, dog & pony dc began actively devising Toast and invited the general public to join them. For the last nine months, 85% of dog & pony dc's devising meetings and rehearsals have been open to citizens across the area. More than 100 people have participated as "co-devisers," some attending once or twice and others attending every single event. A corps of science and technology scholars also joined in the process, including Dr. David LaCroix (education and learning strategist), Dr. Robert Friedel (technological historian, UMD) and Joe Palca (science correspondent, NPR).

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