West Coast Premiere Of Sheila Callaghan's ELEVADA Starts 5/4

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is excited to announce the West Coast premiere of Elevada. This romantic comedy is written by Sheila Callaghan and directed by Nicholas C. Avila. Elevada will run from May 4 - June 3 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar.

What kind of tango partner are you looking for - one that will glide with you above all of life's messiness, or someone who will stay with you on the ground? It's only their first date, but Ramona and Khalil's time is already running out. Ramona has cancer. Khalil is selling his identity to a corporation. Typical relationship stuff. While they both seem set to vanish off this earth, they unexpectedly find themselves preparing to give love one more try. This warm, witty, and wise romantic comedy asserts that even in the potentially hazardous, high stakes game of love and relationships... the risk is worth it if it means finding your favorite dancing companion.

Do we fear being alone or do we fear not being alone?

As you may suspect from a Sheila Callaghan "romantic comedy," there is a lot more going on in Elevada besides meet-cutes and clever one-liners. Callaghan uses her acerbic wit (seen by television audiences on shows like Shameless and Casual) to take a deep-dive into modern day romance -- is it easier or harder to make a connection in a world where people increasingly look up less and less from their smartphone? With the right data plan, the world is at your fingertips. But how well do you really know it?

Callaghan's play dives deeper than romance, and asks us to take a hard look at ourselves. Are we who other people see? Are we what we do? Or what we don't do? Is our identity 1's and 0's in a computer, a commodity to be purchased by a corporation, or ... is it more than all of that? In Elevada, both Ramona and Khalil know who they are. They know what they want, and they know what will happen next... or so they think. When romance enters into any equation, unwanted truths can reveal themselves to complicate our lives. And, sometimes, it's so totally worth it.

MEET THE TEAM

Sheila Callaghan (Playwright) Her plays have been produced and developed with Soho Rep, Playwright's Horizons, Yale Rep, South Coast Repertory, Clubbed Thumb, The LARK, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, New Georges, The Flea, Woolly Mammoth, Boston Court, and Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre, among others. Sheila is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists, a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, a MacDowell Residency, a Cherry Lane Mentorship Fellowship, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and the prestigious Whiting Award. Her plays have been produced internationally in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Germany, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. These include Scab, Crawl Fade to White, Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), We Are Not These Hands, Dead City, Lascivious Something, Kate Crackernuts, That Pretty Pretty; or The Rape Play, Fever/Dream, Everything You Touch, Roadkill, Confidential, Elevada, Bed, and Women Laughing Alone with Salad. She is published with Playscripts.com and Samuel French, and several of her collected works are published with Counterpoint Press. She has taught playwriting at Columbia University, The University of Rochester, The College of New Jersey, Florida State University, and Spalding University. Sheila is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb and a member of the Obie winning playwright's organization

Nicholas C. Avila (Director) is honored to be making his Chance Theater production debut with Elevada having previously directed a reading of A. Rey Pamatmat's All The Terrible Things in the On The Radar Series. Nicholas is a freelance director currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area and has directed and or developed plays at theatres that include: The Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Foundation, The Magic Theatre, Son of Semele Ensemble, and Marin Theatre Company to name a few. Nicholas is proud to be a part of the Chance season and extended family and would like to give a special mention to dear friend Mary Kay Fyda Mar for her enduring support, generosity, and grace. This production celebrates the memory and influence of a true friend of the Chance Theater and its artists. Nicholas is a proud graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Elevada features all returning Chance artists -- Gracie Lacey (The Eight: Reindeer Monologues), Ahmed T. Brooks (Middletown), Lola Kelly (Middletown), and Jonathan Fisher (Tribes).

In addition to Avila, the creative team for Elevada includes choreographer Hazel Clarke (A Chorus Line), scenic designer Kristin Campbell, lighting designer David Aaron Hernandez, costume designer Adriana Lambarri, sound designer Vincent Olivieri, projection designer Shawn Duan, prop designer Megan Hill, dramaturg Jocelyn L. Buckner (In a Word), and stage manager Jazmin Pollinger.

Steve Brown is the Executive Producer. Bette & Wylie Aitken are the Season Producers for the entire 2018 schedule.

To schedule press interviews, request photos, schedule press comps or for any additional information, please contact Casey Long at (714) 900-3284 or by e-mail at casey@chancetheater.com.

ABOUT CHANCE THEATER

Proud to be one of the leading ensemble-driven theatre companies in Southern California, CHANCE THEATER recently received a National Theatre Company grant from American Theatre Wing. The Chance has won six Ovation Awards, including two for Best Production of a Musical - Intimate Theater for its West Coast premiere of Triassic Parq - The Musical and Southern California premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera, as well as four LADCC Awards, including the Polly Warfield Award for Outstanding Season. The Anaheim City Council named Chance Theater "the official resident theater company of Anaheim", and Arts Orange County has twice named the Chance as "Outstanding Arts Organization". Known for using bold and personal storytelling to promote dialogue and connection within the Southern California theatrical landscape, the Chance is committed to contributing to a more compassionate, connected and creative community. As a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Network of Ensemble Theaters, and the LA Stage Alliance, Chance Theater continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scenes.

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