Furious Theatre Season to Open with Blackburn Winner 'U.S. Drag'

This first show in the Furious season is the West Coast premiere of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winning play, which recently finished an Off-Broadway run.

The hilarious and witty, jet-black comedy follows Angela and Allison, two young women in Manhattan seeking love and happiness, but they'll settle for rent money. Along the way, they volunteer for a community advocacy group called SAFE (Stay Away From Ed) named for an elusive serial attacker terrorizing the city. (There's a hefty reward for his capture...) Their new circle of “friends” includes their ruthless, socially stunted roommate; the celebrated author of a fictional memoir; a lonely man who feels kinship with crime victims; and a mousy "Ed survivor” reveling in her fifteen minutes of dubious fame. Everybody is looking for salvation in the arms of another in a group where no one has very much to give. And who is this "Ed" anyway? No one's ever seen his face, and everyone on stage is beginning to act eerily "Ed-like"... Join Furious behind the velvet rope for Gionfriddo’s sharp, sassy and biting satire on the modern quest for fame and fortune.

This production marks the first time Gina Gionfriddo's work will be produced in Los Angeles. “Gionfriddo is one of the most exciting new playwrights writing today." Furious co-artistic director Vonessa Martin said. "We feel very privileged to be the first company to bring her work to Los Angeles audiences.”

In another first, a director from outside the ensemble, Darin Anthony, will be helming U.S. DRAG. Prior to this production, all the directors have come from within the company. “I am truly honored to be the first outside director brought in to work with this wonderful ensemble,” Anthony said. “Gina, the writer, and this company are both on a rocket ascent and this play is the perfect expression of energized people on the rise.”

GINA GIONFRIDDO (Playwright). Gina’s plays include Becky Shaw (Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival, opening Off-Broadway at Second Stage in the winter of 2008-2009); After Ashley (Humana Festival; The Vineyard Theatre in New York, featuring Anna Paquin and Kieran Culkin; and many regional theatres across the country); U.S. Drag (Off-Broadway in 2007 with the stageFARM, directed by Trip Cullman); Squalor (a one-act play commissioned and presented by the stageFARM as part of Vengeance); and Guinevere (O’Neill Playwrights Conference). Gina has received an Obie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and an American Theatre Critics’ Association/Steinberg Citation. She is currently at work on a new play commissioned by Playwrights’ Horizons. Gina is currently a writer/producer for the NBC series, Law & Order. Her other television work includes Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2 seasons) and Cold Case. She has contributed essays on rock music to the literary journal, The Believer, and short fiction to Canteen. A graduate of Barnard College and the MFA Playwriting Program at Brown University, she has taught writing at Brown, Providence College, and Rhode Island College.

DARIN ANTHONY (Director) His production of HEADS by E.M Lewis was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the “Best of 2007.” Most recently he directed the My Thing of Love for the Syzygy Theatre Group. Other recent work includes the world premieres of Seven Santa’s by Jeff Goode at The Open Fist Theatre and E. M. Lewis’ HEADS at the Blank Theatre. Previous work at the Blank Theatre includes the West Coast premiere of A Hole in the Dark, (winner of a LADCC and two Garland awards), the runaway hit The Book of Liz (Los Angeles Times best of 2005), Fill in the Blank and developing and directing American Way. For four years Darin was the Artistic Director of the Blank Theatre’s new play workshop: The Living Room Series. Under his tenure, Darin oversaw over 100 readings and workshops. Darin also directed four plays for the The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival. Other recent work includes Burn This for Amalgam Theatre Company, the West Coast premiere of The Boarding House for Interact Theatre Company, the world premiere of The Street Angel Diaries at Boston Court and Talley’s Folly for Syzygy Theatre Group where he is a resident director. Past work includes Loot at Theatre East, Tape at the Lounge Theatre, Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare by the Sea, the world premiere’s Mileage and In the Absence of Angels at Write Repertory, Heathen Valley at the Elephant Asylum. Darin is proud to have been the assistant director on the first two shows at the Theatre of Boston Court, Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum 1936 and Cold/Tender as well as having assisted Art Manke on Taking Steps, Bach at Leipzig at South Coast Repertory and The Constant Wife at Pasadena Playhouse. Darin produced the new musical “The Smartest Man in the World” for the West Coast Jewish Theatre this last March. Darin is a proud member of the SSDC.

The cast of U.S. DRAG will feature: Nick Cernoch (Canned Peaches in Syrup, Furious Theatre; Orson's Shadow, Pasadena Playhouse), Katie Davies (The Fair Maid of the West, Parts Iⅈ Canned Peaches in Syrup), Megan Goodchild (Playboy of the Western World, Furious Theatre; Charlotte: Life or Theatre?, The Met Theatre), Noah Harpster (Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex, Sex & Sex, Matrix Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Santa Barbara) Saffron Henke (The Syringa Tree, Tartuffe, Sacramento Theatre Company) Shawn Lee (LADCC Award Winner, An Impending Rupture of the Belly; Saturday Night at the Palace), Johanna McKay (My Thing of Love, Syzygy Theatre; Love Loves a Pornographer, Circle X Theatre), Eric Pargac (An Impending Rupture of the Belly, Saturday Night at the Palace).

U.S. DRAG has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic and Lighting Design is by Dan Jenkins (Canned Peaches in Syrup, Furious Theatre; Orson's Shadow, Pasadena Playhouse). The
Costume Design is by Christy Hauptman (Canned Peaches in Syrup, An Impending Rupture of the Belly). The Sound Design is by Doug Newell (Canned Peaches in Syrup, Grace). Movement/Choreography by Jessica Hanna. The Production Manager is Christie Wright. The Stage Manager is Sudro Brown II (Canned Peaches in Syrup, Grace).

U.S. DRAG will preview on Saturday, October 18 at 8pm; Sunday, October 19 at 7:30; Wednesday, October 22; Thursday, October 23 and Friday, October 24 at 8 p.m. and will open on Saturday, October 25 at 8 p.m. and run for five weeks through Saturday, November 22 at the home of Furious Theatre Company, the Pasadena Playhouse Carrie Hamilton Theatre, 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.furioustheatre.org or www.tix.com or by calling the 24-hour ticket line at 1-800-595-4849. Single ticket prices are $30; Students $10 rush; Previews are $15.

The critically-acclaimed Furious Theatre Company are artists in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse committed to edgy, innovative and original works. The company debuted in April 2002 after they were generously granted the use of a 9,000 square foot section of Armory Northwest, a former plastics factory. The company converted the raw warehouse into an alternative performance space. Risers were constructed, the lighting grid hung and stage curtains built, all by the ensemble. In that converted warehouse, they rapidly produced five plays in 12 months. These productions earned 6 NAACP Theatre Award nominations, two LA Weekly Award nominations and numerous critics’ picks from the Los Angeles media. The company also received the Pasadena Arts Council’s Gold Crown Award and The Debut Award from Back Stage West. In September 2003, the City of Pasadena reclaimed the Armory Northwest and Furious needed to move. After a 13-month search, the Pasadena Playhouse granted

Furious a 4-year residency at its Balcony Theatre (recently renamed the Carrie Hamilton Theatre), the Playhouse's 99-seat second stage. Since its 2004 debut at the Playhouse, Furious Theatre Company has produced nine premieres, including the World Premieres of Alex Jones’ Canned Peaches in Syrup and Matt Pelfrey’s An Impending Rupture of the Belly (4 LA Weekly Award nominations) as well as Los Angeles Premieres of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things, Yussef El Guindi’s Back of the Throat (LA Weekly Award Winner: Best Playwright) and Craig Wright’s Grace (Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award Recipient: Best Production, Best Direction, Best Writing). Furious Theatre Company is led by co-founders and Artistic Council members: Sara Hennessy, Shawn Lee, Vonessa Martin, Eric Pargac, Brad Price and Dámaso Rodriguez. For more info visit www.furioustheatre.org.

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