Photo Flash: First Look at Pop Up Theater, Inc.'s PIZZA MAN

POP UP THEATER, INC. presents the second play in their 2017-2018 season, PIZZA MAN, written by Darlene Craviotto, directed by Jamie Lou and produced by Grafton Doyle & Melanie Weisner. PIZZA MAN will preview on Wednesday, January 24 & Thursday, January 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, February 2 at 8pm and runs through Saturday, February 24 at The Loft in Hollywood, 5426 Flemish Lane, Los Angeles 90029.

Step inside a Hollywood loft for an experience where instead of viewing the action from a distance, you become immersed in it! In this site-specific production, the audience themselves are part of the 1980s apartment where Julie Rodgers is on the verge of a breakdown. Her boss made a pass at her that she rejected, so now Julie is without a job, broke, disillusioned, and drinking. Her roommate, Alice, is at an equally low point coping with romantic troubles. The pair of Los Angeles women decide to take revenge on the entire opposite sex, and the unsuspecting pizza delivery man is just the vehicle for this descent into comedic chaos!

DARLENE CRAVIOTTO (Playwright) has worked professionally in the entertainment industry for over twenty-five years. After starring opposite Don Knotts in the play, A Good Look At Boney Kearns and co-starring with Bibi Anderson and Kathleen Quinlan in the film, "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden," the debilitating effects of a car accident made her switch from acting to screenwriting. She wrote Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Love Is Never Silent," which won an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. Her feature film, "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale," a Walt Disney Film, garnered a Teddy Award for Best Family Film. Her award-winning play, PIZZA MAN, has been performed all over the world. Ms. Craviotto is married, has two children, and lives in Santa Barbara, California.

JAMIE LOU (Director) films and web series' have been in festivals around the globe. Her one-act play, Let's Have a Baby, was produced as part of the women's playwright festival, She Wrights, at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. "Lady Bits," Jamie's online sketch comedy channel, has one goal: to "change the world, one vagina joke at a time." Her latest sketch series, "Vageniuses," was recognized at Raindance Webfest in London, the Chicago Comedy Film Festival, the Broad Humor Film Festival (where she won the Artisan Award), and the Albuquerque Film Festival. Jamie has two screenplays in development: a comedy based on her web series, Vageniuses, and Lady Lazarus, a dramedy which placed in the top 15% at the Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship in 2017.

Grafton Doyle (Producer) is the co-founder of Pop-Up Theater LA as well as an actor, improviser, writer, producer, and director for varied mediums. Over the course of his career, Grafton has produced and directed several shows throughout San Francisco and Los Angeles Most recent works were for The Hollywood Fringe Festival, Avery Schreiber Playhouse, and Pop-Up Theater LA's productions at The Culver Studios. He has just finished his internship at Marc Platt Productions and now working as a producer for Tomorrowland Productions.

MELANIE WEISNER (Producer) is a co-creator, producer, and director for Pop Up Theater LA. She directed Nicky Silver's Pterodactyls and Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, both at The Culver Studios. She graduated from New York University's musical theater program and in addition to her artistic talents is an internationally acclaimed professional poker player.

The cast of PIZZA MAN features (in alphabetical order): Emma Chandler, Freddy Giorlando and Raleigh West.

PIZZA MAN will preview on Wednesday, January 24 & Thursday, January 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, February 2 at 8pm and runs through Saturday, February 24 at The Loft in Hollywood, 5426 Flemish Lane, Los Angeles 90029.

Performances are Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm.

Ticket prices are $25.00 for general admission tickets; $35.00 for reserved seating. Tickets are available online at thepopuptheater.org and pizzaman.eventbrite.com.

The Pop Up Theatre season will also include:

TRUE WEST by Sam Shepard - April, 2018

SEMINAR by Theresa Rebeck - August, 2018

Pop Up Theater LA was founded in 2014 by a group of thespians who realized that exciting theater in LA needed attention and created a company that brings immersive and interactive performances to the audience. It is a unique theater experience combining the intimacy of film with the power of live performance. We bring life to non-traditional performance spaces that embody the character of the work and make both site and audience part of the story.

Pop Up Theater LA has performed at The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Palm Springs Art Museum, SpaceBohemia, Bunker Hill Towers in DTLA, The Culver Studios, and for non-profits such as The Actors Fund and Palm Springs Photography Council.

Photo Credit: Grafton Doyle