ANDERSON LENA AND THE THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER Will Have West Coast Premiere

The Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre will present the west coast premiere of "Anderson Lena and the Things That Don't Matter", an eccentric romantic comedy that examines the inaccuracy of memory. The play, which opens on March 15th and runs through March 30th, was inspired by a revolutionary 2012 study from Northwestern University, in which researchers concluded that the hippocampus (a part of the brain essential to memory function) rewrites the past by inserting current information and emotions.

"Our brain is wired to help us adapt to an ever-changing environment," explains playwright and leading lady Ayden Skye. "Ergo, it reframes past events to create a story that fits your present world. So basically, your memory is Walter Murch and your brain is the edit suite and he's cutting an Oscar contender up there." When asked why she felt this topic was worth exploring, she offered a rather modern explanation: "Now more than ever, we live through memories. With the advent of social media, our pasts stare us in the face on a daily basis. The realization that memory is unreliable forces us to place more emphasis on the present, which, in my humble opinion, is the safest place to be."

Helming this production is director Mary Schaugh, who most recently directed a beautifully progressive take on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" at Long Beach Playhouse. Schaugh is particularly invested in the non-traditional structure of the play, and how that makes for a non-traditional theatergoing experience. "Ayden is primarily a film actress, so I think she instinctively infused some cinema into this piece. We've made it our mission to capture that level of nuance and authenticity, to the point where it does kind of feel like you're watching a movie -- a movie that happens to be taking place five feet away from you."

With award-winning runs at the Hudson Guild Theater and The Brick in New York City under its belt, and a new cast featuring some of LA's brightest young talent, "Anderson Lena and the Things That Don't Matter" is primed to take Los Angeles by storm. But, you know, in a cool way.

For more information and ticket sales, please visit https://alttdm.eventbrite.com.

"Fall in love. Don't tell him. Leave for foreign country. Lose touch. Come home. Recount every last detail of prior interactions in a blind attempt to figure out how he feels. Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

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