Former Daily Show Correspondent Brgins BUST To PCS, Previews 4/26/2011

Comedian, writer, and former Daily Show faux correspondent Lauren Weedman has transformed her experience straddling the line between jail and Hollyweird into a hilariously poignant one woman show that will join the PCS 2010/2011 season, replacing Itamar Moses' Love/Stories in the Ellyn Bye Studio this April. Bust will preview on Tuesday April 26, opens on Friday, April 29 and runs through June 19, 2011. Tickets will start at $23, and will go on sale to the general public starting on September 1. Tickets for Bust are available now by purchasing a Portland Center Stage season subscription, with prices starting at just $52.50 for the 3 show Ellyn Bye Studio season.

Writer/performer Lauren Weedman has been described variously as a female David Sedaris or "this generation's Robin Williams." In her one-woman show, Bust, she describes her work with Friends Outside, a volunteer support service in the L.A. jail system. Her job? Providing emotional support to female inmates, while also trying to maneuver her way as an actress-writer through the superficiality of Hollywood. Weedman jokes that she signed up "because a women's jail is the only place where I have a shot at being the prettiest girl in the room."
But when a fashion magazine article about a lie she told as a troubled college freshman blows up into a full blown scandal (complete with hate mail), Weedman discovers she has more in common with the misunderstood women she's trying to help than she suspected. Throughout Bust, Weedman plays dozens of characters, switching from prostitute to parole officer, addict to editor, Latina to Valley Girl in a matter of seconds.

Bust had a brief two day performance showcase, presented by Backfence PDX, at The Woods in Portland this April. Portland Center Stage Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan had the opportunity to see that performance, and immediately opened a dialogue about bringing Weedman to the Ellyn Bye Studio, potentially as part of the 2011/2012 season. When Weedman's schedule opened up unexpectedly for this season it created a perfect opportunity to simultaneously lower the season budget and present an exciting national theater artist to PCS audiences. The previously planned production of Itamar Moses' Love/Stories will be postponed to a future season.

Lauren Weedman's book, A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body: (Tales from a Life of Cringe), was published last year. In addition to the Daily Show, she has been seen often on Comedy Central shows such as Almost Live, Reno 911, and Night Writer by T. Sean Shannon. Lauren was a regular on NPR's political satire show Rewind and has also appeared on Bravo's The Great Things About Being..., VH1's Best Week Ever, I Love the 90s, A2Z, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Talk Show with Spike Ferestein. This year she performed with Eddie Griffin in Pryor Offenses, a half-hour pilot for Showtime based on Richard Pryor's life, and a pilot for Oxygen based on her web episodes Our Bodies, Myself . The Fox Network is producing a pilot that Lauren is writing based on her short stories in A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body. Her other one-woman shows include Wreckage, Rash, and Homecoming. Visit www.laurenweedman.net for much more.

Portland Center Stage inspires our community by bringing stories to life in unexpected ways. Established in 1988 as an off shoot of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, PCS became an independent theater in 1994 and has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Coleman since May 2000. The company presents a blend of classic, contemporary and original productions in a conscious effort to appeal to the eclectic palate of theatergoers in Portland. PCS also offers a variety of education and outreach programs for curious minds from six to 106, including discussions, classes, workshops and partnerships with organizations throughout the Portland metro area.

THE GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY houses a 599-seat Main Stage and the 200-seat black box Ellyn Bye Studio. It was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the first performing arts venue, to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. The Gerding Theater at the Armory opened to the public on Oct. 1, 2006. The capital campaign to fund the renovation of this hub for community artistic activity continues.

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