Chance Theatre Presents NERVE Through 2/27

It's quirky, it's funny, it's edgy, and it's getting rave reviews and standing ovations. It's the West Coast premiere of Nerve by Adam Szymkowicz that runs through February 27 at Chance Theater. The play is directed by Marya Mazor.
 
Nerve is a dark comedy about falling into a relationship on the first date. Elliot has never had an online date before-at least not one that showed up. Susan has had far too many but would prefer not to discuss them. When they meet in a bar one night, all their personality flaws are revealed, along with a puppet, some modern dance, and a desperation that may or may not be love.
 
The Orange County Register calls Nerve "a rapidly paced play that's both darkly funny in a twisted sort of way and darkly disturbing precisely because of its accurate take on human nature... like all Chance Theater Productions, the show's technical elements are superb, bolstering every aspect of the script, story and characters."
 
StageSceneLA says that Nerve is a "disturbing but oh-so-romantic comedy...that can appeal equally to those who enjoy taking a walk on the wild side when they go to the theater, and those whose eyes tear up when they recall a rain-soaked Audrey Hepburn embracing George Peppard and that lost-and-found Cat in Breakfast At Tiffany's... If casting the right leads is essential in any romcom, it's even more critical in a two-character one-act with characters as problematic as Elliot and Susan, and in Casey Long and Jessie Withers, The Chance has hit the jackpot...Director Marya Mazor proves once again, as she did in The Chance's recent production of Edward Albee's The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?, that she is not afraid to explore our darker natures, keeping performances grounded in reality even as characters reveal their unsettling secrets."
 
Nerve was written in 2003/04 as Szymkowicz's thesis play at Columbia for his MFA.  It was workshopped in 2005 and produced in New York City by Packawallop in 2006. It has had subsequent Popular Productions on the East Coast and in London. 
 
Following every performance of Nerve, there will be a special hosted "2nd Story" Event with the cast, directed by Khanisha Foster. Audience members are invited to join the cast onstage to hang out, drink wine and listen to music. During the event the actors will share dating stories during designated times, and a host will read excerpts of audience member's real-life stories in an effort to increase dialogue among Chance patrons. Not to mention, it's a great way to get to know someone on a first date!
 
ABOUT ADAM SZYMKOWICZ
Adam Szymkowicz's plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, The Netherlands and Lithuania. His work has been presented or developed at such places as MCC Theater, Ars Nova, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Horizons, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Kitchen Dog, HotINK, Theatre of Note and Studio Dante. His plays include Deflowering Waldo, Open Minds, Anne, The Art Machine, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Herbie, Incendiary, Old Fashioned Cold Fusion, Bee Eater, Temporary Everything, Susan Gets Some Play, Fat Cat Killers, Elsewhere, and Nerve. Several of his plays have been published by Dramatists Play Service and Samuel French. He received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University where he was the Dean's Fellow. Szymkowicz is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, a member of the Dramatists Guild, the MCC Playwright's Coalition and was a founding member of the Ars Nova Play Group.  He has been commissioned by South Coast Repertory. For more, go to www.adamszymkowicz.com.

 

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