Black Lab Theatre to Present TIGERS BE STILL Next Month

Black Lab Theatre has become well known for showcasing the city's funniest young talents, and this season's January regional premiere of Kim Rosenstock's Tigers Be Still will be no exception. Black Lab artistic director Jordan Jaffe will delight Houston audiences with the city's most dynamic father-son acting combo, pairing the award winning talents of Justin Doran and his son, Ty Doran in an endearing and humorous look at family dysfunction and high school art instruction. Doran, a resident director at Black Lab Theatre and frequent star at Stages Repertory Theatre and the Alley Theatre, will star together with his son Ty in Tigers Be Still with the senior Doran playing Joseph Moore, a high school principal and young Ty his wayward son Zach.

Ty Doran was named to the Houston Press's prestigious "100 Creatives" list in 2013 and is a student at Kinkaid school. He delighted Houston audiences with his role as "Boy" in Catastrophic Theatre's production of Waiting for Godot and at the Alley Theater in A Christmas Carol and Much Ado About Nothing, among other productions. Ty's father Justin Doran was named best local actor by the Houston Press in 2008 and was noted for his performance earlier this year in Stark Naked Theater Company's The God Game. Justin manages the theater program at Kinkaid School and is co-chair for Fine Arts. He has taught acting at Rice University, University of St. Thomas among other institutions and has a master's degree in Fine Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The Tigers cast will also feature Samantha Slater (Off-Broadway: TESLA) and Lindsay Ehrhardt (Black Lab: Boom, Assistance) as Sherry and her sister klepto sister Grace respectively.

Critically acclaimed in its 2010 New York premiere, Tiger Be Still is a quirky and deliciously dark Off-Broadway hit about two families who turn to art therapy as a means to get out of a rut of bad luck. Tiger Be Still follows the travails of Sherry, a newly graduated art therapist, whose luck turns around when she gets hired as a substitute teacher. Now, if only her mother would get out of bed, her sister would stop stealing her ex-boyfriends dogs to get his attention, and her first therapy patient would do his homework. "Tigers Be Still is the funniest play about dealing with depression while a tiger is on the loose you'll ever see," jokes Black Lab's artistic director Jordan Jaffe about the humorous premise for Rosenstock's comedy. "I have a very positive memory of the role my Middle School art teacher played in our lives. I think Tigers Be Still taps that sentimental place and in a way that keeps the audience laughing."

Tigers Be Still, to be directed by Jordan Jaffe, will run at Wildfish Theater in the Galleria Area January 15 through January 31 at 8pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Tigers Be Still continues Black Lab's commitment to millennial-centered dramatic works. Founded in 2011 by Rice University graduate Jordan Jaffe, Black Lab Theatre focuses on bringing newer, socially conscious shows to audiences in fresh and innovative ways. For more information, please contact artistic director Jordan Jaffe at 713-417-3552.

General admission tickets are available for each show as well as season ticket packages. Tickets may be purchased at the door, by phone or via www.blacklabtheatre.com. Box office number: 713-515-4028

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