Photo Flash: ELAN Ensemble Presents HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT FROM ANIMALS

ÉLAN Ensemble has announced its inaugural production, the world premiere of How We're Different from Animals, based on short stories from "No One Belongs Here More Than You" by Miranda July. Under the direction of Ovation Award nominee Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), the production is set to open on Friday, February 22, at 8pm and run through March 24 only at the Atwater Village Theatre.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Julian Juaquin, Adam Lebowitz-Lockard, Tarah Pollock, Elmira Rahim, and Danielle Reynolds. The set design is by Ryan Reynolds, lighting design is by Karyn Lawrence, costume design is by Melanie Fairchild-Dzanis, and sound design is by multi Ovation Award-winner John Zalewski.

Over three years in the making, ÉLAN Ensemble's inaugural production is the culmination of the company's work, adapting Miranda July's book of short stories "No One Belongs Here More Than You." The show breathes life into July's quirky, lonely, odd, lovable characters in an oddly hilarious tapestry that reflects the complexity, isolation, and unexpected connectivity of life in Los Angeles.

Miranda July is a film director, screenwriter, singer, actress, author, and artist. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital media presentations, and live performance art. She wrote, directed, and starred in the films Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) and The Future (2011). Along with her book of short stories "No One Belongs Here More Than You" (2007) she wrote the novel "The First Bad Man" (2015).

Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx is an Ovation Award nominated director and serves as Director of Cultural Programming at A Noise Within. He has worked as adjunct MFA faculty at USC School of Dramatic Arts. He has served on the California Arts Council and the LA County Arts Commission grant review panels. He is on the Latinx Theatre Commons National Advisory Committee and held the position of Vice Chair of the Alliance of LA Playwrights for five years. He has worked with Center Theatre Group, East West Players, Boston Court Theatre, Skylight Theatre Company, 24th Street Theatre, Playwrights' Arena, Pacific Resident Theatre, Chalk Rep, EST/LA, Bootleg Theater, Coeurage Theatre Company, Company of Angels, and Watts Village Theatre Company, among others. He is a National Directors Fellowship finalist.

ÉLAN is a deeply diverse ensemble of actors rooted in the innovative physical approach to theatrical creation taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Acting program at USC. The company always begins work from a state of alive readiness (élan) and then brings itself, body-and-soul, to the collaborative process of devising theatrical works and adaptations. Rooted in Los Angeles, ÉLAN pushes the limits of naturalism and brings text to life through the human body to create a surprising and deeply felt collective experience. The mission is to create innovative theatrical productions based in a physical approach to text in order to provide LA audiences with a deep collective experience that reflects us as a community.

The running schedule for How We're Different from Animals is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through March 24. General admission seating is $25 and tickets may be purchased online at www.elanensemble.com or by calling (310) 990-2023. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Avenue in Los Angeles, 90039.

Photos Credit: Meredith Adelaide

Julian Juaquin, Elmira Rahim

Julian Juaquin, Elmira Rahim, Adam LeBowitz-Lockard, Danielle Reynolds

Julian Juaquin, Elmira Rahim

Elmira Rahim, Julian Juaquin, Adam LeBowitz-Lockard, Tarah Pollock, Danielle Reynolds

Danielle Reynolds, Julian Juaquin, Tarah Pollock, Elmira Rahim

Julian Juaquin, Tarah Pollock, Danielle Reynolds, Elmira Rahim

Danielle Reynolds, Elmira Rahim, Julian Juaquin, Adam LeBowitz-Lockard

Tarah Pollock, Julian Juaquin

Julian Juaquin, Tarah Pollock, Adam LeBowitz-Lockard