The Firehouse Theatre Project Presents One for the Road 4/20

The Firehouse Theatre Project is pleased to announce One for the Road, a one-man-show starring and written by Bill Patton on Wednesday, April 20 at 8:00 p.m. at the Firehouse Theatre.

The performance is directed by Paul Nicholas. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and subscribers, and available by calling the box office, 804-355-2001, or online at www.firehousetheatre.org:

One for the Road was first developed and performed last spring at the Firehouse Theatre Project under the Working Title, Epiphany 50. Patton states that the origin of the piece centered on speaking at his own wake, but much like his life, One for the Road is a work in progress. Today, Patton's one-act play has grown into a dynamic and unique performance of a despairing actor contemplating his own fate. Dealing at last with life-long conflicts between love and lust, bondage and freedom, and faith and doubt, the protagonist explores political tensions of the Deep South through complex interactions with his own ghost.

Unlike some autobiographical works, One for the Road is sincere and engaging, without being self-absorbed. In contemplating his death, he glides right over the night he sipped bourbon with the late, great Tennessee Williams, but spares no detail in revisiting the skeletons in his closet. Patton's humility throughout is infectious, and he enthralls audiences with his charismatic confessions and incredibly diverse history.

Since it's debut at the Firehouse in March 2010, One for the Road has been performed at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA and in Bridgehampton, NY as part of the Naked Stage series at the Bridgehampton Community House. After the April 20 Firehouse performance, Patton will again take One For The Road on the road, literally, to perform the show nationally in Ketchikan, AK on May 7th, and five performances in Charleston, SC, where he has been selected to be part of the 35th annual Spoleto/Picolo Festival, which is internationally recognized as America's premier performing arts festival.

"Like Faulkner, actor-playwright Bill Patton is an introspective son of the American South, South Carolina to be precise, and while the South is not the sole topic of his one-man performance, One for the Road, its culture and history deeply inform and engage Patton's autobiography of an actor coming to grips with mortality and the consequences of his own actions." - Harcum College Review

ABOUT BILL

"What do you get when you put a director, an actor, a teacher, a counselor, a writer, a coach, a minister - and, oh, say, a commerciAl Fisherman - in the same room? It's not a joke. The answer's Bill Patton." - Cynthia McMullen, Richmond Times Dispatch

Bill Patton has directed more than a dozen plays for the Firehouse, including Kingdom of Earth, The Heidi Chronicles, Speed-the-Plow, The Big Slam, Lebensraum, Buried Child, Edmond, Because He Can, Death of Bessie Smith, This is How it Goes and most recently, Something Intangible. The Firehouse was honored to have him back to perform in The Late Henry Moss, which won the 2008 RTCC award for Best Play. Previously, Patton resided in Bryn Mawr, PA, where he taught English and Humanities at Harcum College. Other places and experiences from which he has come to direct and act at Firehouse are The College of Charleston where he taught courses in acting and theatre, Beaufort Marine Institute where he taught seamanship and sailing to youth at risk, Alexandria, Va. where he was a director in residence at Episcopal Hight School and taught tennis at Hank Harris' Tennis Academy, and The Sea of Alaska, where he was a commerciAl Fisherman and charter boat captain.

WHERE
Firehouse Theatre Project
1609 W. Broad Street
Richmond, Va. 23220
804-355-2001
www.firehousetheatre.org
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WHEN
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
TICKETS
All proceeds benefit the Firehouse Theatre Project!
Adults: $15
Students & Subscribers: $10
Purchases may be made by calling the box office:804-355-2001 or online: www.firehousetheatre.org
To discuss group rates, please contact Margie Gilbert by email: margie@firehousetheatre.org