Carla Ching's New Play FAST COMPANY to Premiere During South Coast Repertory's 50th Season, 10/6-27

Carla Ching's new play is a theatrical crime caper that's fast, funny, dark and dangerous. Fast Company is the first of the four world premieres on the Julianne Argyros stage during South Coast Repertory's 50th season. The show runs Oct. 6-27. Tickets are available online: www.scr.org.

Mable Kwan is the best grifter who ever lived. She's a tough cookie who raised her kids to be just like her: Son Francis is the top roper around and H is the number one fixer. But daughter Blue is the one who surprises them all by putting together the score of the decade. In the end, the question becomes: will the entire family get in on the action or will one of them walk away with it all? Fast Company is a skewed look at family and ambition, and Ching keeps the audience guessing about who's on top and who's getting conned.

Ching says the Fast Company staged reading in April at SCR's Pacific Playwrights Festival helped her craft a thrilling story.

"I spent a long time building each of these characters," said Ching. "I think the one thing I love the most is that they're all dreamers - trying to make the big time. I could say that this play is about grifts, game theory and magic. And it is. But at its essence, it's about family."

Director Bart DeLorenzo and his design team bring style and speed to a game theory-inspired set design that uses many video projections and automation.

The cast includes: Jackie Chung, Lawrence Kao, Emily Kuroda, and Nelson Lee.

The design and creative team includes Keith Mitchell, scenic design; Ann Closs-Farley, costume design; Tom Ontiveros, lighting; John Ballinger, composer/ sound design; Jason Thompson, projections designer; Kelly L. Miller, dramaturg; and Jenny Butler, stage manager.

Ching also is part of SCR's CrossRoads Commissioning Project. Through this new initiative, SCR commissioned eight playwrights, locally and nationally, to create new works inspired by residencies that explore the diversity of Orange County. CrossRoads is made possible by a generous grant from the Time Warner Foundation.

Fast Company is generously supported by The Edgerton Foundation and Funded in part by The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the Box Office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances run Oct. 6-27. Ticket prices start at $22. Low-priced preview performances run Oct. 6-10. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, fulltime educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. For complete information, visit: www.scr.org.

Special Events

Post-Show Discussions: Tuesday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Oct. 16. Discuss the play with cast members of Fast Companyduring free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team. Julianne Argyros Stage.

Inside the Season: Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Led by members of SCR's literary staff, this lively two-hour session features in-depth interviews with cast members and artists from SCR's production staff, revealing secrets and offering insights into SCR's production of Fast Company. The event includes a guided tour of the set. Julianne Argyros Stage. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased in advance or at the door.

Pictured: Nelson Lee, Jackie Chung, Emily Kuroda and Lawrence Kao in South Coast Repertory's 2013 world premiere production of Fast Company by Carla Ching. Photo by Debora Robinson/SCR.

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