SHAKESPEARE(ISH) Set for Hollywood Fringe, 6/8-28

Shakespeare gets remixed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival! After last summer's successful tour of Southern California, the Bay Area and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles' award-winning art collective Rogue Artists Ensemble takes its hit Shakespeare project Shakespeare(ish) to the Fringe, running June 8 through June 28 at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood.

Shakespeare(ish) is twisted love poetry on the edge of madness and merriment - a sword fight with masked kings, prophesying puppets and singing clowns. In this hyper-fun, hyper-family-friendly performance, Rogue Artists Ensemble digs down to the heart of the Bard, sharing the joys, the sorrows and the non-stop action of the greatest playwright of all time. The Rogues bring their "whirligig of ferocious creativity" (LA Weekly) to remix Shakespeare's iconic scenes and make the Bard roll over in, and out of, his grave.

"We've drawn on nearly tof 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."

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, last seen as part of 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, recipient of a Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice," Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for adaptation and design, and an 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.

Shakespeare(ish) will have a five-performance run as part of the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival, with shows on Monday, June 8 at 8:45 p.m.; Saturday, June 13 at 12:45 p.m.; Monday, June 15 at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, June 27 at 5:45 p.m.; and Sunday, June 28 at 7:45 p.m. Theatre Asylum is located at 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038 (1½ blocks west of Vine). For reservations and information, call 213-596-9468 or visit rogueartists.org/shakespeareish.

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