World Premiere Dramedy DOG DOOR Has Its Day at Neo Ensemble Theatre

NEO Ensemble Theatre will present world premiere of Grant Gottschall's Dog Door. Directed by Genny Wilson, Dog Door is a funny, smart and ultimately moving play about radical acceptance and the power of telling your own story. Dog Door is produced for NEO by David St. James and Grant Gottschall and runs weekends from October 7th through October 29th at the McCadden Theatre in Hollywood. 

Five seemingly random dogs find themselves in a room with only one way out - and they can't leave until they've bonded together as a Pack. Fortunately, a sixth dog, Stella, a former military K-9, is there to help. But when an uncontrollable and foul-smelling stray joins them, the group is thrown into chaos. Can these canines discover the one thing that unites them? 

“This play is a love letter to every dog I've ever known, met, or petted.”, says Playwright Grant Gottschall. “As our closest non-human friends, they enrich our lives immeasurably. With Dog Door, I want to honor their spirit and reflect on how their behavior, needs, and emotions intersect with our own.”

Who

Grant Gottschall (playwright) is the award-winning author of numerous short plays such as The Thing of It, Merciful Stalagmites, Collateral Damage, and Sex in the Title. A collection of his short plays and monologues, Grantwritings, was produced by NEO Ensemble Theatre in Los Angeles in 1999, after which he took a two-decade-plus writing hiatus. When Grant resurfaced, he went to work on Dog Door, his first full-length play, which he considers a love letter to every dog he's ever known or met.

Genny Wilson (director) is proud to direct NEO Ensemble Theatre's production of Dog Door.  She previously directed She Kills Monsters for The Hollywood Fringe Festival, a project she collaborated on with her artistic family at Stuart Rogers Studios. As an actor, Genny is known for The Young & The Restless, The Bold & The Beautiful and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and is always eager to tell the next story.    

Jerry Weil (King Rex) performed at The Fountain Theatre last year in the hit show If I Forget, directed by Jason Alexander. A long time member of NEO Ensemble Theatre, Jerry has performed in most of the NEO productions over the past decade. On TV, Jerry has been seen in Elemental, Without A Trace, CSI, and Babylon V. On the big screen, he has acted in a slew of independent films including Behind the Red Motel Door and The Last Gamble. Jerry's short film Birthday Suit which he wrote, directed, and acted in, recently played in several festivals.

Sheila Sawhny (Stella) hailed from Bombay, India until she moved to America as a teenager. She is a winner of the Slamdance Feature Screenwriting Competition a Fellow of the Outfest Screenwriting Lab and DreamAgo Plume et Pellicule Screenwriting Lab in Switzerland. A founding member of Synchronicity Theatre Group NY and long time member of NEO Ensemble she has acted, written, directed and produced in NY, LA and Europe. Sheila executive produced and starred in the short film Stay With Me, currently screening at film festivals nationwide.

Moira Rogers (Happy) is an LA native and a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College '22. During her college career, she studied abroad at the British American Drama Academy. She has background in poetry, movement theatre, and puppetry. Previously she attended Los Angeles High School for the Arts majoring in theatre and musical theatre. In 2018, she performed the revival of Resa Fantastiskt Mystisk with the Burglars of Hamm in the Hollywood Fringe Festival which was named Top of the Fringe. Moira is a new member of Theatre of NOTE.

Alexis C Martino (Lily) is honored to be a part of Dog Door with NEO Ensemble Theatre. She recently performed in NEO's Inappropriate! in The 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Alexis is a NEO Board Member as well as co-producer of the monthly NEO Fest.

Ernie Silva (Bogie) is a product of the Bushwick projects in Brooklyn, New York. His creative career started at the age of 12. Eventually, his musical side came calling to be recognized throughout his life, which he developed while sleeping on odd couches, random nights at hostels and homeless shelters, and a few nights riding freight trains around the country. Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame, his one man show, was co-written with author James Gabriel. 

Jason Paul Evans' (Bubba Joe) credits include Hamlet (Laertes, ACTC), King Kong (Driscoll, Maverick Theatre), The Great Gatsby (Gatsby, Maverick Theatre). TV/Film Wizards of Waverly Place, Parks and Recreation, Gandhi at the Bat (Hollyshorts Winner - Best Comedic Short), Five Love Pieces, The Burden of Being (Best Short - Skins Fest). Jason is a proud SAG-AFTRA and IATSE member #unionstrong.

Under the leadership of current Artistic Director David St. James, the award-winning theater company NEO Ensemble Theatre continues its 20-plus year tradition as a collaborative and diverse company of artists committed to educating and inspiring the community through the celebration of humor within the human condition. For more information visit www.neoensembletheatre.org 

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