STAGE TUBE: PigPen Theatre Co. Debuts 'Bremen' Short as Prelude to THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON

The critically acclaimed troupe PigPen Theatre Co. has premiered its first foray into animation with the short film Bremen, which serves as a companion piece and introduction to the epic world of their upcoming Off-Broadway debut production, The Old Man and the Old Moon, a co-production of Britt Lafield/BKL Productions, Soho Playhouse, Inc., Aaron Glick and The PigPen Company. The animated short features music from PigPen's first album, also called Bremen, the same music prominently featured in The Old Man and the Old Moon, which will play The Gym at Judson(243 Thompson Street at Washington Square South) beginning September 26th, with an official opening on October 7th. Check out the video!

PigPen's animated short Bremen (produced in partnership with Buffalo Picture House, directed and animated by Brandon Roots, with character design by Wylie Beckert, produced by Gabrielle Nadig), introduces us to the magical world that audiences will encounter in the fully theatricalized production, The Old Man and the Old Moon.

The Old Man and the Old Moon is the tale of an old man who must abandon his duties of filling up the moon every month to cross the seas in search of his missing wife, who left home in search of a mysterious melody carried in the ocean breeze. On his journey, the Old Man will encounter titanic leviathans of the deep, apocalyptic storms, civil wars, cantankerous ghosts and other startling and fantastical creatures. The upcoming production features PigPen's signature blend of original music, shadow puppetry, live action, and clever lighting effects, and marks the company's first large-scale Off-Broadway production.

The original music featured in the animated short-which will also appear in The Old Man and the Old Moon-was first heard on PigPen's 2012 debut album, also called Bremen, a collection of original indie-folk compositions that combines the bold theatricality of their stage work with the subtlety of their expressive storytelling voice, often heard through a mix of playful melodies matched with haunting lyrics. In conjunction with The Old Man and the Old Moon, PigPen will re-released the album Bremen on October 9th and perform a Bremen Live Concert Series at the famed Joe's Pub (www.joespub.com) on Monday evenings in October, November, and December.

PigPen Theatre Co. was formed at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2008, PigPen has toured nationally and became the first company in history to win the top honor for a play at the New York City International Fringe Festival two years in a row, in 2010 (The Nightmare Story) and 2011 (The Mountain Song). The troupe first performed professionally in Chicago and have gone on to perform at New York's Barrow Street Theatre, the Boston Center for the Arts, and The Irondale Center in Brooklyn. The seven founding members of PigPen are Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Chris Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi, and Dan Weschler.

For more information on PigPen, visit www.pigpentheatre.com.