Sossy Mechanics' TRICK BOXING Comes to COCA, 6/7 & 6/14

COCA presents Sossy Mechanics' Trick Boxing, June 7 and 14, 2014, in COCA's Founders' Theatre.

Originating at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, this beautiful piece of comedic storytelling from Sossy Mechanics is a high- powered combination of physical comedy, rapid-fire dialogue, dance, puppetry, true love and...boxing! A fan favorite from London to New York, Trick Boxing is the brainchild of husband and wife duo Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan. The story follows David Danielovich, a down-on-his-luck apple seller who is bamboozled into becoming a boxer by a shady hustler and ends up swinging his way to the championship with the aid of a wily dance hall girl named Bella. The 75- minute performance is recommended for teens and adults.

Sossy Mechanics' Trick Boxing is set for the Founders' Theatre at COCA, 524 Trinity Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63130, on Saturday, June 7, 7:00pm Saturday, June 14, 7:00pm. Tickets ($14-18) are available for purchase online at www.cocastl.org, by phone at 314.561.4877 or in person at COCA during box office hours.

ABOUT COCA PRESENTS: COCA Presents is COCA's new performance series. It includes the quality family theatre for which COCA is known, but now also includes offerings for older children, teens and adults. Comprised of shows created and produced by COCA, as well as the best touring productions from around the world, COCA Presents offers bold, cross-disciplinary performances for all ages. COCA Presents 2013-2014 is presented by Wells Fargo Advisors, with additional support provided by Edward Jones, Mary Strauss, The Cheshire and St. Louis Public Radio.

ABOUT SOSSY MECHANICS: Sossy Mechanics is a Minnesota-based theater and dance company combining the energetic and charismatic forces of Brian Sostek and Megan McClellan, two seasoned creators and performers who happened to meet one day in a dance company. Their whimsical sensibilities, exacting standards and cinematic aesthetic have earned them an award-winning reputation for both their storytelling and dancing. Transforming the stage together since 2000, the Sossy Mechanics have developed a devoted public following and garnered critical acclaim wherever they have performed, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edinburgh, Prague, London, Vancouver, Seattle, New York City and Thunder Bay, Ontario. The company's original shows include Trick Boxing and Pieces of Eight.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: Brian Sostek has parlayed his background in various dance forms, his life-long experience with comedy and his fascination with verbal and physical play into a successful and constantly expanding career in the arts as a writer, director, choreographer, performer and teacher since the late 1980s. Brian's exploits range from acting in some of Hollywood's most quickly cancelled sitcoms, to touring internationally with percussive dance-theater company Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum, to staging the King Boreas coronation ceremony at the St. Winter Carnival, to teaching elementary school kids how to make puppets and BFA acting students how to dance with a partner. Brian can frequently be seen on various stages in the Twin Cities including the Guthrie Theater, Children's Theater Company and Ordway Center for Performing Arts. He can occasionally be heard on television and the radio. Brian is a recipient of the 2005 Sage Award for Performance and the 2010 Minnesota Bride Magazine Award for Best Dance Instructor. In 2000, Brian joined forces with Megan McClellan to create Sossy Mechanics.

Megan McClellan's performance range includes pounding out percussive dance with Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum, performing the contemporary repertoires of Shapiro & Smith Dance and Black Label Movement, cheerleading for Miss Richfield in 1981 and executing the tango in Los Angeles night clubs. Since joining forces with Brian Sostek in 2000, Megan has added writing, acting and choreography to her repertoire. Together they have created work for several theater companies in Minneapolis and St. Paul and have toured their own shows at theaters and festivals across Canada, the United States and Europe. In 2003, Megan was awarded a McKnight Artist Fellowship in Dance, previously administered by the Southern Theater and funded by the McKnight Foundation.

COCA-Center of Creative Arts is a non-profit community arts center with a mission to enrich lives and build community through the arts. COCA connects our community to the arts through programs that emphasize social and artistic diversity, economic and cultural accessibility, hands-on experience of the artistic process, and the highest quality in our faculty. Founded in 1986, COCA is a national leader in innovative community arts education. COCA annually serves more than 50,000 area residents of all ages through multidisciplinary, multi-cultural arts programs that include educational classes, camps and workshops, both on-site and in community venues; COCAbiz; COCAedu; COCA Presents; and exhibitions of contemporary art in the Millstone Gallery.