BASH Theatre and Radial Theater Project Debuts New Play BEATING UP BACHMAN, Now thru 2/16

BASH Theatre and Radial Theater Project present Beating Up Bachman, a new play by Seattle-based playwright Wayne Rawley. The world premiere of Beating Up Bachman will be presented tonight, January 25 - February 16, 2013 at West of Lenin in Fremont ('the center of the universe"), Seattle, Washington.

When the three sisters of a small town dysfunctional family are set upon by emotional disaster and financial ruin, the men decide the best course of action is to find the son of a bitch responsible and kick his bony ass squarely into next week. The oldest sister desperately tries to hold everything together when all she really wants is just for everyone to get the hell out of her goddamn kitchen.

Beating Up Bachman is Radial Theater Project's third collaboration between Seattle-based performers and playwrights. Past commissions and world premiere productions include the solo performance Karaoke Suicide is Painless by Celene Ramadan, featuring Teri Weagant, and 99 Layoffs by Vincent Delaney, featuring Aimée Bruneau and K. Brian Neel (co-produced with ACT Theatre's Central Heating Lab).

Beating Up Bachman features members of BASH Theatre, which most recently produced The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman. The ensemble cast includes Cristopher Berns, Elizabeth Deutsch, Lisa Every, Chris Macdonald, Jenn Ruzumna, Ryan Sanders, Lori Stein and Sara Thiessen. David Gassner, Radial Theater Project's Producing Director, directs the production. The creative team includes Julia Evanovich (costumes), Terra Morgan (lighting), and Suzi Tucker (set).

The characters and relationships in Beating Up Bachman were developed in improvisational workshops conducted by the director, the playwright and The Acting Company beginning in late 2011. Playwright Wayne Rawley then wrote the script over the summer of 2012.

Beating Up Bachman opens tonight, January 25, 2013, and runs through Saturday, February 16. Performances are at 7:30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, plus a special Monday performance on February 4. Performances are at West of Lenin in Fremont, 203 N. 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103. Tickets are $15- $20 in advance and $17-$22 at the door. Advance ticket sales are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. The performance on Monday, February 4 is pay-what-you-can at the door for any remaining tickets.

For more information, visit www.bashtheatre.org or www.radialtheater.org.

Radial Theater Project is a Seattle-based Production Company, dedicated to creating new theatrical works in partnership with local playwrights and performers. Past commissions and world premiere productions include Karaoke Suicide is Painless by Celene Ramadan, and 99 Layoffs by Vincent Delaney (co-produced with ACT Theatre's Central Heating Lab).

BASH Theatre, formerly known as The Community Theatre, is a non-profit company committed to producing exceptional theatre. Past productions include The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman, Wrecks by Neil LaBute (Seattle Times Footlight Awards, Best of Fringe and Bravura Acting), Other Places by Harold Pinter, Carver's Pieces, and a series of one-act plays by Thornton Wilder.

West of Lenin was established by AJ Epstein in 2011, and exists to offer a venue for Seattle's most interesting and adventurous artists, as well as the re-establishment of a permanent live performance venue in Fremont. In its first year, West of Lenin has premiered six brand new works for the stage, as well as showing new films and multimedia works. West of Lenin is a five-minute walk from the statue of Lenin and directly across the street from the George & Dragon Pub.

Wayne Rawley (playwright) won the 2012 Gregory Award for Outstanding New Play for Live! From the Last Night of my Life, which he directed at Theater Schmeater. Other plays include Money & Run: An Action Adventure Serial for the Stage, a present-day adaptation of The Seagull, a multi-media adaptation of Orwell's 1984. His short play Controlling Interest was produced by The Actors Theatre of Louisville and is published in the collectionLaugh Lines: Short Comic Plays. Mr. Rawley was the 2010 Faith Broome Playwright-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma.

David Gassner (director) is Producing Director of Radial Theater Project, a member of Sandbox Artists Collective, and former Artistic Director of Theater Schmeater (2009 Seattle Times Footlight Award, "Friskiest" Fringe Theater). He's directed world premieres of Karaoke Suicide is Painless and 99 Layoffs for Radial Theater Project, and Seattle premieres of The American Pilot, Maria/Stuart (Footlight Award, Outstanding Fringe Production), Trout Stanley (Balagan Theatre), and The Happy Ones (Seattle Public Theater). As an actor, he played the role of the Hypnotist in the Seattle premiere of Tim Crouch's An Oak Tree, the Librarian in the San Francisco premiere of Glen Berger's Underneath the Lintel, and was a member of the acting ensemble in Pony World's Suffering Inc.

Radial Theater Project is an associated program of Shunpike. Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that fuel innovation in the arts by building productive partnerships, cultivating leadership and providing direct services to arts groups of all kinds. Learn more at www.shunpike.org.