The Actors' Gang Theater Announces One Act Festival, March 14 - April 20

The Actors' Gang presents One Act Festival, featuring two contrasting programs performed in repertory. Show one, entitled The Classic, begins performances March 14th (press opening March 23) and features two classic one-act plays -- Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, directed by Brian T. Finney, and Samuel Beckett's Krapps's Last Tape, directed by Cynthia Ettinger. Show two, entitled The Original, begins performances March 16 (Press Opening March 29) and features three new one-act plays written, directed, and acted by The Actors Gang ensemble: Tradition, written by James Edward Bane and directed by Tess Vidal, A Perfect World, written by Lynde Houck and directed by Danielle Powell, and Clean Slate, written by Bob Turton and directed by Zoë Hall. Both programs will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through April 20th.

The First Program - The Classic
In Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, three sinners expecting hell, fire and damnation find themselves in a room Originally performed in Nazi-occupied Paris, in 1944, Jean-Paul Sartre wrote this Nobel Prize-winning play as a one-act to ensure that theater patrons made it home before curfew. The cast includes Pierre Adeli, Paulette Zubata, Cihan Sahin, and Hannah Chodos.

Long-time Gang member Brian T. Finney directs No Exit. He received an Ovation Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in Underneath the Lintel performed at the Gang. Also, with The Actors' Gang, he has traveled to New York and London to perform in Embedded, as well as Hong Kong, Melbourne, Athens, and all around the USA in the production of 1984, both directed by Tim Robbins.

On television, he has had a recurring role on Reno 911!, Turn and Chicago Justice, as well as numerous guest spots on shows like Modern Family, Maron, Weeds, Grimm, Fraser and many others. In film, he has worked with Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Cameron Crowe and many others. On stage he has worked with The Actors' Gang for close to 25 years on numerous productions including Embedded, 1984, Harlequino and On to Freedom (all directed by Artistic Director, Tim Robbins). His critically acclaimed solo show Heart of Darkness awarded him the LA Weekly award for 'Best Solo Show' and Underneath the Lintel won Finney the prestigious Ovation Award for best actor.

In Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, Krapp is sitting alone in his room late at night. It's his 69th birthday and he is preparing to record his memories of the past year, an old birthday habit of his, to 'separate the past year's 'grain from the husks'. He listens to a tape of his 39-year-old self and hears the voice of a confident, optimistic man in the prime of his life. He hardly recognizes himself and laughs ironically at his past ambitions and dreams. Krapp remembers a woman, who could have been the last great love of his life. Steven M Porter, who has been a member of The Actors' Gang since 1989 and appeared in over 40 plays with the company, plays the role of Krapp. Porter performed in The Actors' Gang first production of Krapp's Last Tape in 1995, directed by Tracy Young.

Cynthia Ettinger, who directs Krapp's Last Tape, has been with the Actors' Gang for 37 years. Past productions with The Actors' Gang include: As Actor - Violence, Carnage: A Comedy, Euphoria, Cool Cops, The Seagull, Mephisto and Self Defense; As Director - The Pursuit of Happiness Workshop Production, I Am Not a Racist, But..., The Exonerated, Harry Potter Hamlet, The Tempest: The Star Wars Edition, Twelfth Night: The Superhero Edition and Romeo & Juliet: Pokemon Go! and Dante. Cynthia is also a founding artist of The Actors' Gang Prison Project and The Education Department. Cythnia's film and television credits include Frailty, The Silence of the Lambs, Carnivale, Deadwood, Here & Now among others.

The Second Program -- The Original

The three one act plays featured in The Original - the second program of the One Act Festival, are original pieces written by The Actors' Gang Ensemble. They were initially part of the 11 original 10-minute plays mounted by The Actors' Gang last year (Angels, Devils and Other Things). These three works were developed and workshopped throughout 2018; The Original evening is meant to nurture and support a new generation of playwrights and directors.

Tradition, written by James Bane and directed by Tess Vidal, is the journey of James Edward Bane III as he seeks to answer this question What does it mean to be a man? From enlisting in the Marines, to his time during the war in Iraq and his re-entry to civilian life, we follow James as he encounters his doubts, fears and family secrets. Will he follow in the footsteps of his father, his grandfather, or his friends? Can he become his own man, more than just the tradition that has propelled him? In an unusual twist, Tradition features an all female cast - Quonta Beasley, Kaili Holliser. Guebri VanOver, and Andrea Monte Waren.

In A Perfect World, written by Lynde Houck and directed by Danielle Powell, a couple retreats to a fictional world occupied by games of their own imagination. We see them at various ages and stages of their journey, and as the fantasy world becomes a routine, the two struggle to break free and accept the perfect world of their life. The cast features Lee Margaret Hanson and Jeremie Loncka.

In Clean Slate, written by Bob Turton and directed by Zoë Hall, a woman wakes up to a solitary existence offering the promise of freedom. Will she embrace this minimalistic bliss? Or spin ever deeper into a hell of her own personal disasters? The cast includes Mary Eileen O'Donnell and Tom Szymanski.

Tickets for both programs are available by calling 310-838-4264 or online at www.TheActorsGang.com. Tickets range from $25 - $50 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Actors' Gang Theatre is located at The Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA, 90232.

The Actors' Gang 2018/2019 Season

The One Act Festival is the fourth production of The Actors' Gang 2018/19 season, following Accidental Death of an Anarchist directed by Will Thomas McFadden. The 2018/19 Season began on October 6th, with the critically acclaimed Johnny Got His Gun, and will conclude on June 22nd, 2019, with The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer (Formerly Violence), written by Adam Simon and Tim Robbins and directed by Bob Turton.

Tim Robbins (Artistic Director, The Actors' Gang)

For the past 37 years, Tim Robbins has served as Artistic Director for The Actors' Gang, a theater company formed in 1982 that has over 150 productions and more than 100 awards to their credit. Past productions with The Actors' Gang include: As Writer/Director - The New Colossus (2017-18), Harlequino On to Freedom
(2017), Break the Whip (2010-11), Embedded (2003-4), Mayhem, the Invasion (1992), Carnage, A Comedy (1988-89), Violence, The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer (1987) and Alagazam (1986). As Director -A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012-16), Orwells' 1984 (2006-16), Mephisto (2001), The Good Woman of Setzuan (1991), Methusalem, the Eternal Bourgeois (1985), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984), Ubu the King (1982); In addition to producing live theater throughout the year, The Actors' Gang provides arts education to thousands of Elementary, Middle and High School students working in 12 LA USD schools and in underserved communities in the L.A. area. Since 2006, The Actors' Gang's groundbreaking Prison Project provides theatrical workshops to incarcerated men and women in 12 California prisons.

As Actor, his credits include Here and Now, Marjorie Prime, The Brink, Mystic River, The Shawshank Redemption, The Player, Bull Durham and Jacob's Ladder. As a writer/director Dead Man Walking, The Cradle Will Rock, and Bob Roberts. Robbins has won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, the Prix d'Interprétation Masculine at the Cannes Film Festival
and the Officier de L'Ordre des Arts des Lettres from the Republic of France.

About The Actors' Gang

The Actors' Gang was founded in 1981 by a group of young actors looking to build a theater that would present relevant and vibrantly entertaining plays. Over the past 38 years, The Actors' Gang has performed for audiences in Los Angeles and throughout the world, on five continents and in 40 U.S. States. Our groundbreaking Prison Project is currently in twelve California prisons, serving incarcerated women, men and children with rehabilitation programs that significantly reduce the recidivism rate. Each year, thousands of children in Los Angeles public schools discover confidence and creativity with our Education Department through in-school immersion and after-school programs and by participating in classes that encourage acceptance, respect and team building in a fun and impactful way.

The theater company has presented the work of innovative theater artists including Georges Bigot, Simon Abkarian, Charles Mee, David Schweizer, Bill Rauch and the Cornerstone Theatre Company, Tracy Young, Roger Guenver Smith, Eric Bogosian, Oskar Eustis, Danny Hoch, Beth Milles, Brian Kulick, Stefan Haves, Namaste Theater Company, Culture Clash, Jason Reed, Michael Schlitt and Tenacious D.

The Actors' Gang ensemble has included accomplished actors such as Jack Black, Lee Arenberg, John Cusack, John C. Reilly, Brent Hinkley, Helen Hunt, Kate Walsh, Kyle Gass, Fisher Stevens, Ned Bellamy, Jeremy Piven, Ebbe Roe Smith, Kate Mulligan, and Tim Robbins. The theater company has presented the work of innovative theater artists including Georges Bigot, Simon Abkarian, Charles Mee, Culture Clash, Bill Rauch and The Cornerstone Theatre Company, Tracy Young, Namaste Theater Company, Roger Guenver Smith, Eric Bogosian, Oskar Eustis, Danny Hoch, Beth Milles, David Schweizer, Brian Kulick, Stefan Haves, Jason Reed, Michael Schlitt and Tenacious D.

Guest artists that have appeared on The Actors' Gang stage include: Jackson Browne, Sarah Silverman, Ben Gibbard, John Doe, Tom Morello, Jenny Lewis, Wayne Kramer, Paul Provenza, Zooey Deschanel, Serj Tankian, David Crosby, Pink, Felicity Huffman, Jill Sobule, William H. Macy, Phillip Baker Hall, Jeanne Tripplehorn, T.C. Boyle. and the late, beloved, Gore Vidal.

Recent touring productions include The New Colossus, Harlequino: On to Freedom, A Midsummer Night's Dream, George Orwell's 1984, The Exonerated, Tartuffe, Embedded, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine and The Guys. Over the last thirty years The Actors' Gang has toured the U.S. in forty-five states and on five continents, performing across the world from London to Milan, Bucharest, Athens, Madrid, Barcelona, Bogota, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Buenos Aires and recently, to Santiago and Concepcion, in Chile.

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