Rogue Artists Ensemble Takes HYPERBOLE: BARD On Tour Now thru 8/24

Rogue Artists EnsembleShakespeare remixed! Los Angeles' award-winning art collective Rogue Artists Ensemble takes its latest creation, HYPERBOLE: bard on tour to Orange County, Culver City, West Hollywood, Oakland, San Francisco and Oregon today, July 26 through Aug. 24.

In this hyper-fun, hyper-family-friendly performance, Rogue Artists Ensemble takes Shakespeare's best characters, poetry and plot devices and shuffles them up, twists them around, and shakes them down. Remixing Shakespeare with intricate mask work, original puppets and live music, the Rogues dig down to the heart of the Bard, sharing the joys, the sorrows and the non-stop action that everyone, from kids to Shakespeare aficionados, loves about the greatest playwright of all time.

"We've drawn on nearly twenty of Shakespeare's plays, singing the text, manipulating it with computers, altering words into rhythmic music, even rapping text to a home-brewed beat box score," says director Sean T. Cawelti. "The show is manic, musical, incredibly colorful and irreverent. We want to reinvigorate the Bard, to make him even more accessible for all ages."

Opening at the Chance Theatre in Anaheim with four performances (Saturdays and Sundays July 26, July 27, Aug. 2 and Aug. 3, all at 11 a.m.), Hyperbole: bard will also get four performances at the University of California Irvine campus as part of UCI's New Swan Shakespeare Festival (Sundays July 27, Aug. 3, Aug. 17 and Aug. 24, all at 5 p.m.). In between, the production will visit The Flight Deck in Oakland, CA (Thursday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.), Ashland, Oregon as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show (Friday, Aug. 8 and Sunday, Aug. 10, both at 6:45 p.m.) and Shelton Studios in San Francisco (Monday Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.). Two free performances will take place in Southern California at King's Road Park in West Hollywood (Saturday, Aug. 16 at 2 p.m.) and Carlson Park in Culver City (Saturday, Aug. 23 at 11 a.m.).

Rogue Artists Ensemble differs from other theater companies in that it's run by a collective of multi-disciplinary artists and designers rather than by actors, writers or directors. By combining ancient storytelling techniques (music, dance, masks, puppetry) with modern technology (digital media, special effects and theatrical illusions), the Rogues cultivate a unique style of live performance unlike any other. They define the combined use of these and other underrepresented art forms as Hyper-theater. Since 2002, the Rogues have created over a dozen original new works and collaborated with hundreds of artists and community members.

Past Rogue Artists Ensemble Hyper-theatrical productions include Zen Shorts, adapted from the book by Jon J. Muth and scheduled for Tears of Joy Theater's 2015 season in Portland OR; Songs of Bilitis, commissioned by and workshopped at the Getty Villa and later produced at the Bootleg Theater; D is for Dog, designated one of the top-rated productions of 2011 by Bitter Lemons, a website that aggregates Los Angeles theater reviews; Gogol Project, adapted by Kitty Felde from three Gogol short stories (Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice"; Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for adaptation and design; LA Weekly Award for design); The Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch, adapted from the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman (recipient of 3 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards and an entire chapter in the book "Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman");The Victorian Hotel by Angus Oblong; and The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone, adapted from the book by Timothy Basil. Previous HYPERBOLE productions include HYPERBOLE: origins, HYPERBOLE: epiphany and HYPERBOLE: changes.

For a complete list of locations and schedule of performances of HYPERBOLE: bard, please call 213-596-9468 or visit www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard

WHEN, WHERE AND HOW:

Chance Theatre @ Bette Aiken Theater Arts Center (indoor show*)
5222 E. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
Saturdays at 11 a.m.: July 26, Aug. 2
Sundays at 11 a.m.: July 27, Aug. 3
Tickets $8 - $20 at www.chancetheater.com

University of California, Irvine Campus (outdoor show)
Gateway Commons, next to Aldrich Park
Irvine, CA
Sundays at 5 p.m.: July 27; Aug. 3, 17, 24
Tickets $20 at www.newswanshakespeare.com

The Flight Deck (indoor show*)
540 Broadway
Oakland, CA
Thursday at 7 p.m.and 9 p.m.: Aug. 7
Tickets $10-$15 at www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show (outdoor show)
15 S. Pioneer St.
Ashland, OR 97520
Friday at 6:45 pm: Aug. 8
Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: Aug. 10
Admission is FREE; Tickets and information at www.OSFAshland.org

Shelton Studios (indoor show*)
533 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA
Monday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.: Aug. 11
Tickets $10-$15 at www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard

Kings Road Park** (outdoor show)
West Hollywood, CA
Saturday at 2 p.m.: Aug. 16
Admission is FREE; More information: www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
Bring a blanket or low chair to sit on

Carlson Park*** (outdoor show)
Culver City, CA
Saturday at 11 a.m.: Aug. 23
Admission is FREE; More information: www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard
Bring a blanket or low chair to sit on

OTHER:
*Indoor shows feature bonus scenes, shadow puppets and effects.
**The performance at West Hollywood's Kings Road Park is made possible in part by the Free Theatre in the Parks program.
***The performance at Culver City's Carlson Park is made possible in part by a Culver City Art in Public Places Program Performing Arts Grant with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

MORE INFORMATION: www.rogueartists.org/hyperbole-bard