sq product theatre Presents the World Premiere of SLAB, Now thru 8/16

square product theatre kicks off its 9th Season with the World Premiere of SLAB, adapted by Gleason Bauer and Emily K. Harrison from the forthcoming novel by Mississippi born, Denver-based writer Selah Saterstrom. SLAB will be presented in the ATLAS Black Box theater on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, today, July 31-August 16, 2014.

SLAB follows the story of Tiger, a plucky ex-stripper whose impoverished American existence is turned upside down after a hurricane destroys her town. As Tiger waits for salvation on the slabthat is all that remains of her home, she begins to tell her story, her memories flashing to life before the audience's eyes. Born of the debris of Hurricane Katrina, SLAB explores the essential human need to create narrative as a means of survival and transition, honoring what we can take with us when there is nothing left to take: our story.

A sensory experience on multiple levels, SLAB has been in development since early 2011, and incorporates a film/video installation shot and designed by Christina Battle and sound score composed by Janet Feder and Paul Fowler.

Associated programming:
square product theatre is partnering with Denver-based civic health club Warm Cookies of the Revolution to host a SundaySchool for Atheists post show discussion on the topic of "Transition" a prominent theme in the play. The discussion will immediately follow the performance on Friday August 8, and will be free and open to the public, with an estimated start time of 9:45 p.m. For more information on the fine folks at Warm Cookies of the Revolution and their popular Sunday School for Atheists series, please visit: http://www.warmcookiesoftherevolution.org/

square product theatre's Mission: The mission of square product theatre is to create and collaborate on original, honest and innovative works of theatre and performance with local and national artists. We strive to continue to create and produce new works, as well as to present innovative productions of existing dramatic texts. We dedicate ourselves fully to the beauty of simplicity and the importance of theatre and performance as a vehicle for communication, relation and change. For more information on square product theatre, visit squareproducttheatre.org

About the collaborators:

Originally from Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Christina Battle's film, video, and installation works are often inspired by the role of non-official archives, our notions of evidence and explore themes of history and counter-memory, political mythology, and environmental catastrophe. Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council, her artworks have exhibited internationally in festivals and galleries including: The Images Festival(Toronto); The London Film Festival (London, England); The Toronto International Film Festival (wavelengths); the Festival du Nouveau Cinema (Montreal); The International Film Festival Rotterdam (The Netherlands); the Jihlava Documentary Festival (Czech Republic); the 2006Whitney Biennial: "Day for Night" (New York); YYZ Artists' Outlet (Toronto); Mount Saint Vincent Art Gallery (Halifax, NS); Espace Virtuel (Chicoutimi QC); White Box (New York); Deluge Contemporary Art (Victoria, BC), The Foreman Art Gallery (Sherbrooke, QC); MCA Denver; the Aspen Art Museum; and the Ryerson Image Centre (Toronto). cbattle.com

Gleason Bauer (director/designer/co-writer) is a Los Angeles-based theatre artist and educator. For many years, Gleason was the Artistic Director of Zoo District, a multi-award winning theatre company based in Los Angeles. She directed, designed and performed in a number of Zoo District productions, including: Tennessee Williams' THE TWO-CHARACTER PLAY, for which her direction and production design won Best of Downtown in 2000; [ h o m e ], for which she won the LA Weekly Award for Best Production Design of 2004; and HEART OF A DOG, which had its World Premiere at the First Annual Bulgakov Festival in Kiev, Ukraine. Gleason has also directed, devised, designed, produced, and/or performed with a variety of other artists, companies and presenters throughout the United States, including: Tectonic Theatre Project, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Public Theatre, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, Manbitesdog, Theatre of NOTE, Sacred Fools, and Wolfskill Theatre (LA Weekly Award for Best Costume Design of 1997). Gleason is currently a resident director and designer with the Marlborough School in Los Angeles and an Artistic Associate of Boulder, Colorado-based square product theatre.

Janet Feder is a Denver, Colorado-based composer and guitarist best known for pioneering composition for prepared guitar. Solo projects include Songs with Words (2012), Ironic Universe, a CD & DVD featuring Fred Frith (AdHoc Records/USA 2006), and Speak Puppet (Recommended Records/UK 2001), as well as many compilations for Zerx Records (Albuquerque, NM; 1999-07). She was recently featured as part of The $100 Guitar Project and also appears on 156 Strings produced byHenry Kaiser for Cuneiform Records (USA, 2002) and I Never Meta Guitar produced by Elliott Sharp for Clean Feed Records(Portugal, 2010). Feder has performed and collaborated with Fred Frith, Nels Cline, Henry Kaiser, Bill Frisell, Elliott Sharp,Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller, Amy Denio, Chris Cutler, Mike Johnson/Thinking Plague, Susie Asado, Nikmat Hatraktor, Paolo Angeli, Wu Fei, Thomas Dimuzzio, Tatsuya Nakatani, Erin McKeown, and poet Anne Waldman. Feder's solo work was featured in a June 2012 Tiny Desk Concert on NPR, as well as in a July 2012 episode of NPR's Weekend Edition. Feder is also currently half of Denver-based duo Cowhause with Colin Bricker and an Artistic Associate of Boulder, Colorado-based squareproduct theatre. janetfeder.com

Sourcing materials parsed from the world's spiritual traditions and natural beauty, Boulder-basedPaul Fowler's music occupies a unique space that invokes our shared human experience. The New York Times has described his music as "radiant, ghostly, and shimmering." Drawing on his fascination with esoteric systems of harmony and pitch and his regular work as an improvising pianist, vocalist, and electronic musician, Fowler's music straddles old and new in a highly personal and integrative way. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Park Avenue Armory, the National Concert Hall of Taiwan, and Japan's Suntory Hall, among others, and have been featured at Music from Angel Fire, Norway's Borealis Festival, the MATA Festival, and Belgium's International Marimba Festival. Recent projects include a choral work on Shakespeare, premiered in its entirety by the Ars Nova Singers in June of 2012, and a large-scale collaborative composition with Paul Haas and Bora Yoon, commissioned by and premiering at the Park Avenue Armory, for their Tune-In New Music Festival. With a keen interest in the computer as a creative instrument, Fowler has composed electronic works for dance, remixed Chaplin videos for his percussion ensemble piece, "Benzi: Chaplin," and currently, is developing a live laptop improvisational setup that incorporates a visual interface. paulfowler.net

Emily K. Harrison is the founder and producing artistic director of Boulder-based, award-winningsquare product theatre. Emily works as a collaborator with theatre companies and individuals across the nation. Recent collaborations include work with, Buntport Theater Company (Peggy Jo & the Desolate Nothing, co-created by square product theatre), Off-Center at the Denver Center (Wheel of MISFORTUNE), and Screw Tooth Productions (Some Kind of Fun). Emily teaches for the Theatre & Dance Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and for the School of the Arts at Naropa University, in addition to serving as the Project Manager for Boulder Arts Week. Emily was recently featured as part of Westword's "100 Colorado Creatives" series, and was recognized by The Denver Post as a 2011 Pathmaker. emilykharrison.com

Originally from Natchez and Pass Christian, Mississippi, Selah Saterstrom is the author of The Meat & Spirit Plan (2007), The Pink Institution (2004), and SLAB (forthcoming, 2015), all published by Coffee House Press. Her first two novels were nominated for Believer Magazine's Believer Book Award, and her debut novel was recognized as a Critic's Pick in Top Ten Books of 2004 by The Gambit (New Orleans). Selah co-curates SLAB Projects, an artist/writer initiative concerned with exploring the gaps between decay and reconstruction in ruined or abandoned landscapes, and has done site specific work in the Ukraine, Poland, Cambodia, and New Orleans. Her work has been anthologized in numerous books, including the Marcel Press Anthology and The Awkward Anthology(both forthcoming), as well as Primal Picnics (2011), Heads and Tales: The Art of Heide Hatry(2009), and the ASH Anthology. Recent work can be found in Bombay Gin, Versal International Journal, and Fourteen Hills, among others. Selah is the Director of Creative Writing at the University of Denver. She serves on the advisory board of Tarpaulin Sky Press and Trickhouse Journal, and teaches and lectures widely. selahsaterstrom.org

Directions to the Roser ATLAS building:
1125 18th Street Boulder, CO 80309
From the U.S. 36 Exit:
• Take the Baseline Road exit heading west.
• Turn right (north) onto Broadway.
• Turn right (east) onto Euclid Ave.
• Park in the Euclid Avenue parking structure.
• Walk less than one block north to the ATLAS building.
(See first map below showing the construction and obstructions on 18th street and the most direct walking paths from Euclid Parking.)

Additionally, patrons can park for FREE after 7 p.m. in the city lot directly behind the Starbucks located on the corner of College and 14th St. (where the iconic Jones Camera and Drug used to be), and use the pedestrian underpass to cross Broadway and take a pleasant stroll straight through campus to the Roser ATLAS Building. It's a straight shot and about a 5 minute walk.

One feature of the building to watch for is its unique glass tower, lit in a rich range of color at night. The main lobby entrance is directly below the tower, however some of its doorways may be obstructed or have limited access during the construction on 18th street through August 2014. The Black Box theater is downstairs, lowest basement level B2, two floors down from the lobby.

Please note: Heavy construction is taking place on 18th street, directly in front of the ATLAS building's east side through August 2014. Access to the east entrances of ATLAS are closed off or limited. Click the link below for a map of the most direct walking paths to the west entrances of the building from CU's nearest paid parking structure, Euclid Avenue Parking.
http://atlas.colorado.edu/wordpress/?page_id=102

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