Pointless Theatre Presents FOREST TREAS

Pointless Theatre presents the world premiere of a newly commissioned work, inspired by the DC Sniper events.

October 2002. The ongoing Beltway Sniper crisis looms over the residents of Forest Treàs, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Washington, DC. As the Neighborhood Association struggles to maintain a sense of calm and security, a documentary filmmaker proposes a radical solution: put cameras everywhere and live-stream their neighborhood. What could go wrong?

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood meets Dogville; with live video streaming as a form of post-modern puppetry.

Devised by Pointless company member, Navid Azeez - a Sri Lankan American multi-disciplinary artist, born and raised in Montgomery County, MD. Navid brings his outlandish range of skills and influences into writing, composing, and sound designing this original exploration of mass media and trauma.

"In most cases, violence happens absurdly quickly. The media response is the thing that sticks around, amplifying long after the event is over. With the Beltway Sniper, we have have a chance to examine an event where the violence and the media coverage surrounding it went hand in hand for a prolonged period of time, and explore how people interact with and respond to media in an ongoing time of crisis."

Kelly Colburn to direct. Kelly is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in P.G. County. She has a BFA in Theater from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts and an MFA in Projections and Multimedia Design from University of Maryland. She is a director, writer, designer, and performer.

"As a multimedia artist I am interested in how we engage, ignore, enhance, relive, and remember our history. Ranging from personal, global, physiological, emotional, or sensual, we paint the stage from a new perspective when investigating how each piece (dance, theater, or film) explores the subtle and complex matters of the human condition. We discover and respond to what has been, what will be, and what is now."

This work is funded in part through a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities grant and will include a series of free community engagement events - or "Pointed Conversations" - surrounding the themes of the show:

June 9: Post-Show discussion with the creative team behind Forest Treàs
June 13: Panel Discussion led by the Wendt Center discussing grief and trauma

More dates and details to be announced. Check the Pointless Facebook page for all Community Engagement events including workshops, exhibitions, and discussions.

Pay-What-You-Can Preview: May 31
$20 Previews: June 1 - 2, 6
Opening Night: June 7
Performances: June 8 - 29

Thursdays - Fridays, 8PM
Saturdays, 3PM + 8PM
Sundays, 7PM

Tickets are never more than $32.