Cutting Ball Stages New Translation of LIFE IS A DREAM, Starting Tonight

Cutting Ball Theater opens its 17th season with a new translation of LIFE IS A DREAM by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, running tonight, October 2 - November 1, 2015.

First published in 1635, LIFE IS A DREAM is a philosophical allegory regarding the human situation and the mystery of life. Often described as the supreme example of Spanish Golden Age drama, it tells the story of Segismundo, a Prince of Poland, who has been imprisoned in a tower by his father following a prophecy that the prince would bring disaster to the country and death to the King. When the prince is briefly freed and goes on a rampage, he is put back in jail, and persuaded that his momentary freedom was all a dream. Wrestling with free will and fate, LIFE IS A DREAM remains one of Calderón's best-known and most studied works.

Following the sold-out success of Antigone, Acting Artistic Director Paige Rogers helms this Calderón classic, in a new translation from resident playwright Andrew Saito commissioned by Cutting Ball. Featuring David Sinaiko, Asher Sinaiko, Grace Ng, Sango Tajima, Matthew Hannon, Justin Foster, and Barry Dispensa.

Co-founded in 1999 by theater artists Rob Melrose and Paige Rogers, Cutting Ball Theater presents avant-garde works of the past, present, and future by re-envisioning classics, exploring seminal avant-garde texts, and developing new experimental plays. The company has commissioned, developed, and produced new experimental plays, and has partnered with Playwrights Foundation, and the Magic Theatre/Z Space New Plays Initiative to commission new experimental works. In addition to producing West Coast Premieres and re-imaging various classics, Cutting Ball Theater has produced nine World Premieres and seven World Premiere translations. Cutting Ball received the 2008 San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie award for outstanding talent in the performing arts, and was voted "Best Theater Company" in the 2010 San Francisco Bay Guardian Best of the Bay issue. The company also earned the Best of SF award in 2006 and "Best Experimental Theater Company" in 2012 from SF Weekly, and was selected by San Francisco magazine as Best Classic Theater in 2007. Cutting Ball Theater was featured in the February 2010, 2012, and December 2014 issues of American Theatre Magazine. In 2012, Cutting Ball was awarded a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund a three-year residency for resident playwright Andrew Saito. The American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, awarded the company with a 2013 National Theatre Company grant. Cutting Ball was also featured in the February 2015 issue of American Theatre Magazine.

IF YOU GO:

LIFE IS A DREAM

DATES: Previews: October 2, 3 at 8pm; October 4, 5pm; Opens: October 8 (Press opening: October 8; Gala opening: October 9); Closes: November 1, 2015

TIMES: All performances Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 5pm

WHERE: The Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor St., San Francisco

TICKETS: For season membership, single tickets ($10-50), and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call 415-525-1205; group discounts available. Pay What You Can tickets are available to neighborhood residents for all productions. Free student rush tickets are available to students with valid student ID.