STAGE TUBE: Behind the Scenes with Aritsts Rep's FOXFINDER

Foxfinder by Dawn King at Artists Rep, Oct. 29-Dec. 1 from Artists Repertory Theatre on Vimeo.

With seven premieres on its stages this year, Artists Rep's 2013/14 season reinforces the theatre's longstanding commitment to producing new plays in Portland. With the U.S. premiere of Foxfinder starting October 29, Artists Rep aims to give this play national recognition and offer West Coast audiences the first look at this up-and-coming playwright. Go behind the scenes in the video!

At the heart of Dawn King's gripping, futuristic parable beats an incendiary plot that pulses with menace and suspicion. In rural England, a blight of bad luck has befallen the countryside and a fox infestation may be to blame. The totalitarian government sends an agent, a "foxfinder," into the home of Judith and Samuel Covey and the invasive inspection whirls simple lives into a frenzy of finger-pointing and distrust. As the bizarre scrutiny intensifies, guilt, fear and distorted realities fuel a feverish hunt to explain the unknown.

"Dawn King has crafted a parable that feels somehow classical and yet urgently contemporary," said Director Dámaso Rodriguez at the productions' first rehearsal. "It strikes me as a play that could have been written several decades in the past or sometime in the future, and its themes are infinitely relatable." Talking about the play and his directorial intentions to the group of staff, donors and friends at the first rehearsal, he said, "The world of this play is unlike anything else in Artists Rep's season or most of the plays written today."

Strong design themes that reflect "this world," working with the ideas of future present and future past will be crafted by: Kristeen Willis Crosser (Scenic and Lighting Design), Doug Newell (Sound Design), Gregory Pulver (Costume Design) and Rusty Tennant (Properties Design). The Stage Manager is Tozzi McDowell and Stephanie Mulligan is the Production Manager.

The U.S. premiere of Foxfinder is produced in association with L.A.'s Furious Theatre Company. The cast and design team features a mix of Portland and L.A.-based artists, who will remount the play following the Portland run, January through February 2014, in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Foxfinder is written by Dawn King and directed by: Dámaso Rodriguez, featuring: Sara Hennessy, Shawn Lee, Amanda Soden, Joshua Weinstein. Performance Dates: Oct. 29 - Dec. 1; Preview performances are Oct. 29, 30, 31 & Nov. 1; Opening Night is Saturday, November 2; Show runs Wednesday through Sunday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm. All performances take place at Artists Repertory Theatre - Alder Stage (16th and Alder St.). Tickets: $25-$55. Box Office: 503.241.1278 or www.artistsrep.org.

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