Los Angeles Premiere

A satirical piece which turns its eye on office politics, sexual harrassment, religious persuasions, political correctness, and societal and cultural norms. The prodution throws 8 actors into the role of their lives. (They just don't know which role they have till the audience decides for them before each performance!) The actors will forge their own unique interpretations in any one of the 40,320 possible casting combinations that could confront them. A different show each night!

Sex, drugs and chamber music! Talent and temperaments collide in this amusing and compelling behind-the-scenes look at a "high-strung" string quartet. A world-famous ensemble threatens to unravel as it prepares for a high-profile performance at the White House when its most talented member goes missing and a young woman is hired to take his place. Smart, funny, entertaining and insightful - you'll never listen to a string quartet the same way again. In conjunction with the Los Angeles premiere of Opus, The Fountain Theater will present live concerts by Los Angeles-based string quartets at 8 pm on Sunday, June 27 and Sunday, July 11. June 19-July 25; Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8 pm and Sun at 2 pm; $15-$30; The Fountain Theatre , 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie), Los Angeles, CA 90029. (323) 663-1525 www.FountainTheatre.com.

SON OF SEMELE ENSEMBLE PRESENTS
THE LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF
"SLAUGHTER CITY" BY NAOMI WALLACE

Los Angeles, CA: Award-winning theatre company Son of Semele Ensemble (SOSE) is presenting the Los Angeles premiere of SLAUGHTER CITY by Naomi Wallace, a political fairytale about race, gender and class. SLAUGHTER CITy will run at Son of Semele Theater in Silver Lake from February 19th to March 21st 2010.

Set in a rural meat factory where management is trying to break the union, SLAUGHTER CITY explores the struggle to remain human in a mechanized, profit-driven culture. The play examines the interpersonal relationships between labor and management, as it focuses on the lives of four workers struggling to earn a living under hellish conditions. Roach and Maggot are childhood best friends, who have worked in the slaughterhouse their entire adult lives. Brandon is a smooth-talking kid who is quickly working his way up the factory ladder, and Cod is a relative new-comer, a non-union worker whom the others resent for crossing their pickets. Alliances shift when Maggot falls in love with Cod, and the labor situation heats up to the boiling point.

SLAUGHTER CITY was awarded the 1995 Mobil Prize and received its world premiere in January 1996 at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1999, Wallace received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

The production is directed by Barbara Kallir, with set design by Sarah Krainin, sound design by 2009 Ovation Award-nominee Joseph “Sloe“ Slawinski, costumes by Laura Wong, lighting by Barbara Kallir and Jonathan Williams, original music by Andrew Ingkavet, fight choreography by Edgar Landa and musical direction by Matthew McCray. The production stage manager is Flor San Roman and with production management by Ashley Steed. The cast of SLAUGHER CITY includes William Lewis Baker, Sarah Boughton, Elizabeth Clemmons, Christopher Emerson, Noelle Messier, Christina Ogunade, Bart Petty and LA Weekly Award-winner Alexander Wells.

A delightful, kaleidoscopic play, a fantastical road trip through the American landscape, written as Robert Rauschenberg, one of America's greatest living artists, might conceive it. Traveling easily through time, the play is a glorious collage of images and sensations - Rauschenberg's childhood home, a human martini, a pizza delivery boy, the world's worst collection of chicken jokes. More than a biographical portrait, bobrauschenbergamerica is a tribute to one artist's singular vision. "Brashly, unapologetically entertaining… a work that will resonate even with someone who has never seen one of Mr. Rauschenberg's famous collages." - The New York Times. Jan.21-Feb.28; Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8 pm; Suns at 3 pm & 7pm; $20, $12 for students and seniors, Pay-What-You-Can Sunday matinees & previews; .[Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068; free parking; 323.461.3673 or www.FordTheatres.org.

Hear the real story...
From a point of view you would never expect
Marley was dead to begin with... but when Scrooge's partner entered the afterlife, his story was only beginning a new chapter. We bring you the "real" story of A Christmas Carol - the story of Jacob Marley's heroic behind-the-scenes efforts to save old Scrooge's soul - and in the process, save his own. Irreverent, funny, and deeply moving for the whole family, you'll never watch the Dickens' tale the same way again.

Son of Semele Ensemble (SOSE) is presenting the Los Angeles premiere of "TRAGEDY: a tragedy" by Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Eno. "TRAGEDY: a tragedy" is a satire about the news media’s sensationalism of a mundane event which spirals into a deeply human exploration of uncertainty.

The sun has set. Night has fallen, perhaps for the last time. Journalists arrive in locations throughout the city to report on this disaster-of-darkness. As they search for newsworthy content to fill their televised program, the governor offers us encouraging and valiant words to sooth our broken spirits. All seems lost, yet the reporters must continue. If they don’t, they will have to accept that the worst possible scenario has become a reality: the sun will not come up and there is nothing left to say. TRAGEDY reflects the most absurd moments of Bill O’Reilly, Anderson Cooper and the like, while also speaking to a universal fear of nothingness.

From George W. to George Dubya!

43 PLAYS FOR 43 PRESIDENTS is exactly what the title says - 43 short plays, each dedicated to a U.S. President from George W. to George Dubya. Originally produced by Chicago's Neo-Futurists, this high-speed, high-energy evening uses a cast of six to tell the story of America and all of her Commanders-in-Chief through comedy, songs, drama and more! Before casting your vote this November, take a look back at where we've been and who's been in charge along the way!

L.A. Times CRITIC'S CHOICE!
"Vitally engaging... exhilarating... delightfully, thoughtfully provocative."

L.A. Weekly PICK OF THE WEEK!
"...witty, sardonic... adept at underscoring both the playful and the poignant."

BackStage West CRITIC'S PICK!
"...splendidly varied and imaginative... suffused with drama and humor."