SOSE Extends ON EMOTION Through 12/12

Award-winning theatre company Son of Semele Ensemble (SOSE) has extended the U.S. premiere of On Emotion by Mick Gordon and neuropsychologist Paul Broks at Son of Semele Theater in Silver Lake. Now playing through December 12, 2010, On Emotion is one of several pieces by Gordon who has written plays with Broks and other specialists in human behavior.
 
A unique mix of analysis and drama, On Emotion combines science and art to create a deeper understanding of our motives, desires and actions. When writing On Emotion Gordon and Broks began with the question "Are we the puppet master or the puppet itself?" to analytically and theatrically explore the ways human beings justify their own behaviors. On Emotion explores a concept called "cognitive dissonance," the conflict that occurs in humans when emotional impulses and rational thoughts are in opposition. In the play, puppets and puppet-metaphors aid in the exploration and examination of the cognitive dissonance of the play's four characters.
 
The character of Stephen in On Emotion is a cognitive behavioral therapist who is developing a lecture on human emotion. He's secretly attracted to Anna, his patient who is suffering from a deep sense of loss. As Stephen's daughter Lucy falls unexpectedly for an older man and Stephen struggles with his shameful feelings for his patient, his autistic son Mark begins to demonstrate increasingly concerning behavior that becomes the catalyst for an unexpected event.
 
Gordon was Trevor Nunn's Associate Director at the Royal National Theatre in London and is the former Artistic Director of London's acclaimed Gate Theatre. He is currently the Founding Artistic Director of On Theatre through which he has created nine plays, self-described as "theatre essays." He is also a Senior Researcher at the Theatre and Mind Unit at the University of Plymouth, England. For more information about Gordon and On Theatre, visit www.on-theatre.org.uk/.
 
The U.S. premiere of On Emotion is directed by SOSE Artistic Director Matthew McCray (director of The Designated Mourner and Iphigenia... A Rave Fable, which was recognized with four 2007 L.A. Weekly Theater Awards). The set design is by Sarah Krainin, with sound design by Joseph "Sloe" Slawinski (L.A. Weekly Award-winner), costumes by Laura Wong, video design by Adam Flemming, lighting by Ian Garrett and puppets by Moira Lael McDonald. The cast includes Melina Bielefelt (L.A. Weekly Award nominee), Sami Klein, Michael Nehring (L.A. Weekly Award-winner) and Alex Smith.                 
SOSE was profiled as one of the "hippest, hottest, most innovative theatre troupes in the U.S." by American Theatre, and featured on the magazine's cover. Over the past ten years the company's work has received 17 regional awards and award nominations including the Ovation Award, the L.A. Weekly Theatre Award and the NAACP Theatre Award. For the past three years, SOSE has been developing its own company-devised plays, one of which was created in collaboration with Center Theatre Group and another in collaboration with L.A. playwright Oliver Mayer. SOSE also sponsors the work of like-minded theater artists by offering their venue and resources for co-productions through SOSEhost, a year-round curated series of theatrical events. For additional information on SOSE and SOSEhost visit www.sonofsemele.org.
 
Performances of On Emotion run through December 12 on Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. There is also one Monday performance at 7:00 p.m. on November 15. Admission ranges from $17-26. Unsold seats at the time of curtain will be sold to local residents of zip codes 90004 and 90026 for $5.00 (I.D. required).  Tickets are available through the SOSE website at www.sonofsemele.org.  The box office opens one half hour prior to curtain.  Son of Semele Theater is located in Silver Lake at 3301 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA  90004 (one mile west of Alvarado).  For more information visit www.sonofsemele.org.

 

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