Ragged Wing Ensemble Presents A DIFFERENT LONG STRETCH OF EARTH

Ragged Wing Ensemble, known throughout the Bay Area for its original, ensemble-driven productions, presents A Different Long Stretch of Earth, an original play written by Addie Ulrey for Ragged Wing's core company (and directed by Amy Sass). Inspired by her work at the intersection of arts nonprofits and social justice as well as her fickle and persistent love of the Old West, Ulrey takes us into the contemporary American West where a group of characters wrestle with the mindsets and mythologies of our collective past and explore how they shape our ability to envision the future.

Taxidermy. Decolonization. Kink. Apocalypse.

The American cowboy. Hero or villain? Casanova or colonizer? Either way, his myth rides on. And in this rural Montana town, everyone must reckon with his long, stooped shadow. But Brucie has other plans. The resident 13-year-old with an appetite for apocalypse is throwing a birthday party. The theme: Doomsday.

Be there...or else.

About Ragged Wing Ensemble (RWE):

Ragged Wing Ensemble's mission is to rouse the human spirit through artistic action. RWE practices the art of fierce play, hatching the myths of our time. Co-founded by Anna Shneiderman, Amy Sass, and Keith Cory Davis, Ragged Wing Ensemble is a physical, ensemble theater company, that began producing original work in the East Bay in 2004. Since then, Ragged Wing has produced dozens of professional shows, (most of them world premieres), several immersive art & performance installations, enchanted tens of thousands of audience members, established a thriving education program, and conceived and built a shared, multidisciplinary arts venue in downtown Oakland, The Flight Deck, which is currently home to 14 local theater, dance, music and film organizations. Ragged Wing has been honored as the "Best New Theater Company in the East Bay" by the East Bay Express in 2006, with a "50/50 Applause Award" for 2012-2013 from The International Centre of Women Playwrights for gender parity in producing the work of women playwrights, and The Flight Deck was named "Best New Arts Venue" by the readers of the East Bay Express in its 2014 and 2015 Best Of poll. www.raggedwing.org/home/about

Ensemble Member Bios:

Rachel Brown is a member of Ragged Wing Ensemble's Performance Core. She has appeared with local companies including the Aurora Theatre Company, the American Conservatory Theater, TheatreWorks, and the Exit Theatre. Brown was most recently a member of the writing/directing/performing team that created Ragged Wing's devised piece, Multiverse, and as Paulina and Camillo in their production of The Winter's Tale. She frequently performs as Wilson in the original clown duo Olive & Wilson with Julie Douglas. She received her MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre.

Keith Cory Davis began studying theater at the HS for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and continued at the University of Northern Colorado, majoring in both acting and directing. He has been in the Bay Area since 1997 performing with many theater companies. A co-founder of Ragged Wing, Keith has performed in The Serpent, Splinters... and Other F- Words, Alice in Wonderland, Clive Barker's The History of the Devil, Handless, Open, Maybe Baby, Inanna's Descent, Time Sensitive, Redwolf, and Whale's Wake. He also directed Ragged Wing's The Tempest and The Winter's Tale and wrote and directed The Clearing (Fierce Play 2014). As a director and teacher, he has worked with Ragazzi Peninsula Boys Choir, Education Unlimited Acting Intensive in Berkeley, Albany HS and MLK Middle School. He currently teaches a drama program at Prospect Sierra School in El Cerrito.

Fenner is a member of Ragged Wing's Performance Core. Past Ragged Wing roles include "no name" in How to Ripen, Agnes in Through the Wall, and Alex in Overnight. Other multifaceted artistic achievements include: pedaling a play from here to NYC as a founding artist in Agile Rascal Bicycle Touring Theatre and producing/directing Picasso's fever dream play Desire Caught By the Tale at the Lottie Rose House in Oakland.

Akaina Ghosh trained with One Year Lease and New York Stage and Film while attending Vassar College in New York, where they received a BA in Drama as well as a BA in Philosophy. Akaina's specialties include devised theater, playwriting, directing, and ensemble performance. Akaina is a member of the Ragged Wing Ensemble Performance Core and performs regularly with various companies across the Bay Area. Recent performances include Tybalt & Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (SF Shakes), Beatrice in Infernal Motel (Epic Immersive) and Bonnie in How to Be a White Man (FaultLine Theater). www.akainaghosh.com

Mary Matabor, a member of Ragged Wing's Performance Core, is also a founding member of improvisational theater troupes Chick Flick and Mashed Potatoes. You can catch her in various theater productions around the Bay Area.

Emmy Elizabeth Pierce is a member of Ragged Wing's Performance Core. She began working with Ragged Wing as an apprentice, when she wrote and performed in You Are Not Here with Nick Mwaluko. She most recently appeared in, and collaborated in the creation of, Multiverse. Prior roles include one half of a Greek chorus/hipster barista duo in Overnight, a clown in Clown Mama, and Tina in Through the Wall. www.EmmyElizabethPierce.com

Amy Sass (Director; Dramaturg). As playwright, director, actor, choreographer, and visual artist, Artistic Director, Amy Sass, brings a fierce voracity to her creative practice. She specializes in creating new methods of artistic collaboration and story building, designing Ragged Wing Ensemble's multidisciplinary approach to the development of original work. Recent credits include Dramaturg for Multiverse and Overnight, Writer & Director of Whale's Wake, and Co-Writer & Director of RedWolf in collaboration with Anthony Clarvoe. Her plays have appeared in PlayGround's Spring Festival, the Bay Area One Acts, Fury Factory, and the Eugene O'Neill Foundation Selected Shorts. In all her endeavors, Amy works from the gut, using theater art art as vehicles for healing, empowerment and social change.

Ryan Takemiya recently played Joe Yamaguchi in the world premiere of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed Valley of the Heart and has appeared on screen as Detective Johnny Okada in the award-winning Gold Mountain web series. Ryan is proud to be a member of Ragged Wing's Performance Core, having performed in both The Winter's Tale and Multiverse. He is also an accomplished writer, public speaker, and master of ceremonies. www.ryantakemiya.com

Addie Ulrey was raised by farmers, house painters, meditators, and real-life radicals in Charlotte, Michigan. She has been making theater with Ragged Wing in different capacities for 8 years. She holds a BA in Theater from Oberlin College and has trained at the Eugene O'Neill Center, the Moscow Art Theatre, and Double Edge Theatre Laboratory. She recently spent a season at Cal Shakes as the Artistic Engagement Fellow.

TICKETS: $25- $45 • Students & Seniors (at the door): $20, www.raggedwing.org or (510) 320-3370. INFO: www.raggedwing.org/shows/a_different_long_stretch_of_earth

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