REEL TO REEL Comes to Los Angeles

Rogue Machine has added a co-production with HorseChart Theatre alongside their 2025 Season. Directed by Matthew McCray, the production will feature Samantha Klein, Brett Aune, Alley Mills Bean, and Jim Ortlieb.  

Reel to Reel by John Kolvenbach is a 90-minute play that explores a 55-year marriage through a collage of memories, sounds, and moments. Told non-linearly, the story follows Maggie and Walter at ages 27, 42, and 82, revealing the evolution of their relationship. Maggie, a sound artist, captures everyday noises and weaves them into evocative performance pieces, while Walter, an aspiring but reluctant filmmaker, becomes her partner in documenting their life. Blending humor, tenderness, and emotional complexity, the play is uniquely theatrical: Every sound in the world of the show is created live onstage by the actors, providing a foley backdrop for the production and exploring how memory and love are shaped by the sounds that surround us. 

“This play is a theatrical journey exploring a love affair over 50+ years,” says Matthew McCray, director of Reel to Reel. “Enduring love is something the world could use more of, and it feels wonderful to elevate this kind of story right now. Reel to Reel is a play that explores the ways that relationships evolve over decades, while love remains constant. The play outlines a unique set of parameters related to sound and foley, and it will be thrilling to work with our amazing cast to explore the ways that live sound and sound effects become the soundtrack of this show." 

John Kolvenbach (Playwright) is an Olivier Award-nominated writer whose play Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight premiered in LA and at Harbor Stage, subsequently running at American Blues in Chicago, in Paris, and at the Huntington Theatre in Boston. West End: Love Song (with Cillian Murphy, Olivier nomination, Best New Comedy, directed by John Crowley) and On an Average Day (with Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan, directed by John Crowley.) Love Song premiered at Steppenwolf, directed by Austin Pendleton, and has been produced in New York, Zurich, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Seoul and Rome. There have been over fifty productions in the U.S. Average Day was produced in Los Angeles by VS. and in Chicago by VS. and Route 66. Average Day has been produced in Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Lisbon. Goldfish premiered at South Coast Repertory, then at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, directed by Loretta Greco. The play was done in repertory with Mrs. Whitney, which was directed by the author. Reel to Reel received its premiere at the Magic. Sister Play received its premiere at Harbor Stage Company and at the Magic, both productions directed by the author. Other plays include: Fabuloso premiered at WHAT, with subsequent productions in San Juan and Zurich, in Spanish and Swiss German. Gizmo Love (with Pedro Pascal at WHAT), Bank Job at Amphibian Stages, and Marriage Play or Half 'n Half 'n Half at Merrimack Rep. Film: Clear Winter Noon, an original screenplay, was selected for The Black List in 2008.

Matthew McCray (Director) has helmed productions, concerts, and workshops at premier Los Angeles institutions including Center Theatre Group, LA Philharmonic, South Coast Repertory, and Deaf West Theatre. His projects have featured nationally celebrated performers such as Vanessa Williams, Bob Weir, and beloved Los Angeles artists. Matthew has received grants from EST/Sloan, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and CCI/Durfee ARC. He was a finalist for the Sherwood Award. As Founding Artistic Director of the award-winning Son of Semele Ensemble, he produced 20 seasons of theatre, supported by local to national funding. KCRW called Matthew "one of the most plugged-in theatre makers in L.A." Notable directing credits include Our Class (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, SAGE Award, Ovation & LA Weekly nominations), Next to Normal (OCTG nomination, Scenie Award), The City (LA Weekly nomination), and The Other Place (Top OC Production of 2019). Matthew has directed at Theatre @ Boston Court, Lewis Family Playhouse, Muse/ique, REDCAT, Chance Theater, Circle X, and Rogue Machine. As a performer, he has appeared onstage at REDCAT, Reprise!, and more, and on TV in Parenthood, New Girl, Will & Grace, Boston Legal, The Cure (pilot), and the film The Commission (with Martin Sheen and Edward Asner). Matthew writes regularly for the LA Philharmonic’s Symphony for Youth. His original works have been produced or developed by Center Theatre Group, South Coast Rep, London Theatre Workshop, and Son of Semele.

CAST: Samantha Klein as Maggie 1 (LADCC award for If I Forget at The Fountain Theatre; selected credits include A Shayna Maidel at Laguna Playhouse, Their Eyes Saw Rain, On Emotion, Trip to Bountiful, Into the Woods, Chapter Two); Brett Aune as Walter 1 (Denver Center, Arvada Center, Curious Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, and others, including regional premieres of Constellations, Venus in Fur, Proof, Inventing Van Gogh, The Swan and How I Learned to Drive, as well as Waiting for Godot, Death of a Salesman, Last Train to Nibroc, Ghosts, Cabaret, Hurlyburly, Deep Throat Sex Scandal, Henry V, Metamorphoses, Alarms and Excursions); Alley Mills Bean as Maggie 2 (selected theatre credits include starring roles at the Mark Taper Forum, Odyssey Theatre and at Pacific Resident Theatre in Candida, There's One in Every Marriage, Hogan's Goat, often alongside her late husband, Orson Bean; most recently Morning’s at Seven in New York, reuniting with The Wonder Years co-star Dan Lauria. TV: Norma Arnold on The Wonder Years); Jim Ortlieb as Walter 2 (Broadway: Guys and Dolls 2009 revival, The Farnsworth Invention, and Of Mice and Men; Goodman Theatre: Blind Date, Northlight Theatre: The Book of Will. LADCC award - Best Actor for Stand Up If You're Here Tonight). 

Production Team: Jeff Gardner (Sound and Foley Design), Evan Bartoletti (Scenic Design), Azra King-Abadi (Lighting Design), Vicki Conrad (Costume Design), Nicole Bernardini (Prop Design/Foley Design), Grant Gerrard (Technical Director), Brett Aune (Producer), Michelle Hanzelova-Bierbauer (Producer), Ivan Rivas (Associate Producer). 

Reel to Reel is a love story told with live sound foley work. Rogue Machine x HorseChart are proud to have that aspect of the play designed by one of the best sound designers in town. Jeff Gardner is an acclaimed Los Angeles-based sound designer and foley artist, celebrated for his innovative contributions to theater. He has received multiple honors, including the 2019 Ovation Award for Best Sound Design for August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Native Son. His work on Les Blancs earned him the NAACP Theatre Award for Best Sound. Gardner's extensive portfolio includes productions at esteemed venues such as The Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, A Noise Within, and the Kennedy Center. Renowned for his live foley artistry with L.A. Theatre Works, where he has performed in over 50 recordings, Gardner's dynamic soundscapes continue to enrich theatrical storytelling nationwide.