dog & pony dc's A KILLING GAME Heads to Capital Fringe and Beyond, Beg. Today

dog & pony dc will present a "second edition" of their original play, A Killing Game, in conjunction with Washington, DC's Capital Fringe Festival in July of 2013. An absurdist-play-meets-party-game that The Washington Post noted "the gratification is immediate" and dubbed it "more Airplane than Andromeda Strain," A Killing Game promises audiences the most fun they'll ever have dying. The show, and the game within it, begins with the outbreak of a deadly disease. Audience and performers together play along in series of scenes, contests, and songs led by game show host, Mr. Chrome, and the seductive but elusive "Our Friend in Black."

First produced in December of 2012 to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences, the ensemble-devised show has been revised by the company to reflect artistic and audience response. Noting that the show will be 30-50% different from its "1.0" edition in 2012, A Killing Game "2.0" features an amped-up game-playing aspect, an added points section and an ending completely unlike it's predecessor. A Killing Game will run today, July 11 to 28, Tuesday through Friday nights at 8:30pm and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30, at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's Rehearsal Hall, 641 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. Tickets are available at dogandponydc.com now and at capitalfringe.org on June 17.

Description: In a not-so-distant time and place, a deadly plague begins killing the citizenry-inexplicably, indiscriminately, and fast! Can you play against death, and win? How far will you go? How much fun can you have? Who knows when you'll have another chance? Besides: we can't all die, can we? A Killing Game is dog & pony dc's rave-reviewed absurdist-play-meets-party-game that promises the most fun dying...ever.

All of dog & pony dc's productions explore the elastic relationship between performer and audience with "Audience Integration"-the engagement of audience in the narrative or experiential arc of a performance.

A Killing Game extends Audience Integration into the world of transmedia, weaving smartphone-based media-Twitter, texts, good old-fashioned calls-into the narrative. As in a real emergency, these unrehearsed and surprising elements add to the fun and unpredictable nature of the production.

Ultimately, A Killing Game celebrates life while playing at death. "The show invites the audience to play alongside the performers, at death," says director Colin K. Bills. "In fact, A Killing Game openly and warmly challenges everyone to see how far they'll go and how hard they'll play. It's entirely up to the audience... and their spontaneity and enthusiasm is one of the joys of the show for everyone." DC Theatre Scene proclaimed, "It's all grand fun...not to mention inventive theatre," and Bills is quick to add, "Like any great party game, the fun is just as much in the playing as it is the winning."

A Killing Game takes its inspiration from Eugene Ionesco's Jeu de Massacre ("Killing Game"), Orson Welles' War of the Worlds 1938 radio broadcast, and the games Clue, Fluxx and Werewolves, and creates a thrilling, playful brand of storytelling.

For insight into the creation of A Killing Game, visit dogandponydc.tumblr.com or #killinginggame or @dogandponydc on Twitter. d&pdc highly encourages audiences to bring a smart device (iPhone, Android, iPad, tablet etc) when attending A Killing Game.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Directed by Colin K. Bills

Originally Developed & Scripted by: Colin K. Bills, Rachel Grossman, Lorraine Ressegger-Slone, J. Argyl Plath, Jon Reynolds, Rebecca Sheir, Gwydion Suilebhan

Performed by: Wyckham Avery, Sean Paul Ellis, Jessica Lefkow, J. Argyl Plath, Jon Reynolds, Rebecca Sheir, Yasmin Tuazon

Designed by: Colin K. Bills & Ivania Stack, with Christopher Baine

Stage Management: Melanie Harker, with Jordan Beck

A Killing Game ensemble: Wyckham Avery, Christopher Baine, Colin K. Bills, Genna Davidson, Sean Paul Ellis, Rachel Grossman, Melanie Harker, Jessica Lefkow, Shannon Davies Mancus, Elaine Yuko Qualter, J. Argyl Plath, Lorraine Ressegger-Slone, Jon Reynolds, Rebecca Sheir, Ivania Stack, Gwydion Suilebhan, Yasmin Tuazon. Aptly supported by: Ellys Abrams. Graphics by: Kate Ahern Loveric.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

July 11 to 28, Tuesday through Friday nights at 8:30pm and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30, as follows:

Thursday, July 11, 8:30 PM

Friday, July 12, 8:30 PM

Sunday, July 14, 2:30 PM

Sunday, July 14, 7:30 PM

Tuesday, July 16, 8:30 PM

Wednesday, July 17, 8:30 PM

Thursday, July 18, 8:30 PM

Friday, July 19, 8:30 PM

Sunday, July 21, 2:30 PM

Sunday, July 21, 7:30 PM

Tuesday, July 23, 8:30 PM

Wednesday, July 24, 8:30 PM

Thursday, July 25, 8:30 PM

Sunday, July 28 2:30 PM

Sunday, July 28, 7:30 PM

Tickets are $17 online with a Fringe Button at capitalfringe.com, at the Fort Fringe Box Office, 607 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001 or on 866-811-4111 after June 17. All seats are General Admission.

This production is presented as a part of the Capital Fringe Festival - today, July 11 to 28, 2013. A program of the Washington, DC non-profit Capital Fringe.

dog & pony dc is an ensemble-based devised theatre company focused on providing audiences new ways to experience theatre. We create ("devise") new plays as a collective ("ensemble"). Whether it's an ultra-violent live-action version of the Punch and Judy puppet show, or an imagined civic ceremony that incites community debate about a time capsule's content, dog & pony dc shows playfully explore the elastic relationship between artist and audience. dog & pony dc has been recognized as the "upstart company" blazing a new path for audience engagement in performance. The company was highlighted in the Washington Post as one of the local companies working on "broadening playgoers' understanding of the riddles theater can unravel." It's show Beertown was the first ever ensemble-devised play to receive a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding New Play (2011) and Beertown's re-mount made the Washington Post's Top 10 shows list for 2012. Arena Stage invited d&pdc to workshop A Killing Game as part of The Kogod Cradle Series in advance of the show's (predominantly sold-out) December 2012 premiere run. dog & pony dc has presented it's work locally (Shakespeare Theatre, Capital Fringe) and nationally (Theatre Communications Group, Animating Democracy, Assoc. for Theater in Higher Education). Most recently the company was included in American Theatre magazine's March 2013 cover story on ensemble theatre and will be featured in an upcoming article in the July issue. The company is currently developing its next theatre piece, Toast, for 2014. Visit dogandponydc.com for more information.

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