Theatre Vet Kyla Garcia Premieres Solo Show at Hollywood Fringe Tonight

Kyla Garcia is the epitome of the well-rounded actor. She has performed Off Broadway, at the Globe in London, locally at Boston Court, in several indie films, digital works and most recently as Mrs. Zeller in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But now she's taking on a whole new (and deeply personal) challenge by debuting her solo show The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly at the Elephant @ Theatre Asylum as part of the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival.

The synopsis: From the moment Victoria could speak, she began telling stories. She weaved whimsical worlds of magic and fairy tales that traveled from her imagination to the page with ease. A lifelong dream of writing guided a clear path that no relationship could ever distract her from...until she meets the enigmatic Luna while still with her first love, Michael. Victoria is forced to decide which love is most important: the love for her high school sweetheart, the love for her soul mate, or the love of her destiny. This one-woman show takes patrons on a journey into one proverbial mermaid's descent into magic and madness.

The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly is a fantastical piece inspired by true events in Garcia's life. It's a one-woman journey into the depths of forgetting who we are and the heights of remembering. Audiences can expect a diverse array of characters played by Garcia living in both Victoria's wild fairy-tale imagination as well as her heartbreaking love-torn reality.

The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly began when Kyla took the "Soaring Solo" Workshop from director Jessica Lynn Johnson, who's seen success with her critically acclaimed shows Oblivious to Everyone and Ze. Kyla decided to go up one day in class and share the most personal poem she'd ever written during the most challenging time of her life. After the positive response she received from both Johnson and her classmates, suddenly, she knew she had to tell the story that inspired the poem. Utilizing her dance background, Garcia began to choreograph movement to the poetry and incorporate scenes into the piece as well. Over the next year, poem after poem was written and movement after movement was choreographed until slowly but surely the poems and movement transformed into her one woman show.

"I'm bringing The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly to the Fringe Festival because the Fringe is a safe creative environment where I feel like this piece can really take flight," Garcia said. "I love the supportive community of artists that come together during this exciting time. When I graduated Rutgers, the very first play I booked was in FringeNYC. There is something really sacred about this festival, it's almost like a rite of passage for all artists. So, to be debuting my very first one-woman show in the Hollywood Fringe feels like everything has come full circle."

Directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, THE MERMAID WHO LEARNED TO FLY tells the story of Victoria who, from the moment she could speak, began telling stories. She weaved whimsical worlds of magic and fairy tales that traveled from her imagination to the page with ease. A lifelong dream of writing guided a clear path that no relationship could ever distract her from...until she meets the enigmatic Luna while still with her first love, Michael. Victoria is forced to decide which love is most important: the love for her high school sweetheart, the love for her soul mate, or the love of her destiny. This one-woman show takes patrons on a journey into one proverbial mermaid's descent into magic and madness.

Performances will be held tonight, June 6th at 10:00pm (preview), Sunday, June 15th at 9:00pm, and Saturday, June 28th at 8:30pm at the Elephant Theater (6320 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angelas, CA 90038). Tickets are priced at $13.
*Order tickets by visiting http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1887?tab=tickets
**Tickets can also be purchased at the box office on the day of the show (if available).

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