Del Shores To Direct Off-Broadway Debut Of WOUNDED At SoHo Playhouse

For its premiere at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Jiggs Burgess’ new play WOUNDED took home the prestigious 2023 International Fringe Encore Series Award, awarding it an Off-Broadway run at the Soho Playhouse in New York City with previews on Jan. 24, 25 and 26, and opening on Jan. 27 with performances running through Feb. 11, 2024. Wounded marks the first time that award-winning director/playwright/filmmaker Del Shores (Sordid Lives, Southern Baptist Sissies) has directed and produced a play in New York City. Wounded is produced by Beard Collins Shores Productions in association with P3 Theatre Company, and starring Craig Taggart (“Sordid Lives: The Series”) and Shaw Jones (“Blue”), Wounded also won the Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Pick of the Fringe Award, Best of Broadwater Award and Hollywood Encore Producers’ Award and is produced by Emerson Collins, Louise H. Beard and Del Shores. Tickets are now on sale here.

SYNOPSIS: A repressed nobody who thinks of himself as somebody. An addict. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? played out between hummingbirds. And a pussy eating dog. This is Wounded. Carrol could’ve been somebody, after all his book, The Crimson Valise, was made into a movie. Yet somehow Carrol’s unhealed past, and an aging mother, got in the way. On the other hand, Carrol’s classmate, Robert, was smart and driven. Went to one of the best private universities in the country on scholarship. But his damage led him down the path of addiction and eventually prison. In this darkest of comedies, the bleak paths our lives can lead us down are on full display. ***Warning: Recommended for adult audiences. Contains language of a sexual and violent nature.***

“What a thrill it is to direct these two brilliant actors, Craig Taggart and Shaw Jones, in a play I consider to be a masterpiece of psychological warfare. In his new play Wounded, Jiggs Burgess is proving once again that he is our new important voice in American theater by mixing elements of Southern Gothic and Texas comedy,” said Del Shores.

CAST:

Craig Taggart (“Carrol”) made his Los Angeles stage debut in the revival of Del Shores’ Southern Baptist Sissies in 2002. Wounded marks a poetic full-circle moment for Taggart in that it unites two of his most creatively rewarding experiences. Taggart has also taken to the stage in Sordid Lives at the Zephyr Theatre and as ‘Miss Bible Belt’ in the Los Angeles premiere of Bill Russell’s Pageant and in The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Musical at The Cavern Club Theatre with Julie Brown. “Sordid Lives: The Series” introduced him to television audiences, and in 2017 he made his stage directorial debut by directing and starring in Assassins at The Hyperion Lyric Theatre. He had the good sense of hiring Shaw Jones in that production and is beyond delighted to share the stage once again with such an artistic killer. Despite being a brand-new piece, Wounded feels like a reunion. A genuine homecoming for this team of artists. Craig wishes to thank Del Shores for giving him his first break and for offering his genius insight into this piece, and for Mr. Burgess’s wonderfully warped imagination for creating it. He is immensely appreciative to Jon Peterson for producing, and to Darren Lee Cole and the team at SoHo Playhouse for the invitation to come play in New York. He extends his love and appreciation to his phenomenal partner on stage by saying: “Shaw, I will always be your ‘Tator Bean.’ And my everlasting gratitude to the Theatre itself. For the platform and oasis it offers to all inside the fringe and out. To all the ‘lil hummingbirds that need a place to be seen and have a little drink: “welcome home.” Follow: IG: craigggart FB: craigtaggart

Shaw Jones (“Robert”) has brought his talents to the stage starring as Lee Harvey Oswald in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, No Place To Be Somebody at the WACO Theater and Birdland Blue at the Paul Robeson Theater. He can be seen on Amazon with leading roles in the features “Proximity,” which he garnered praise from Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers and “Blue,” which he has been honored with two Best Actor Awards. Television work includes “Your Honor,” “Star Trek: Picard,” “The Upshaws,” “NCIS,” “Criminal Minds,” “Snowfall,” “Grace and Frankie,” “The Affair,” “911,” “The Cool Kids,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “For All Mankind” and a recurring player on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Shaw would like to extend his gratitude to Craig Taggart for his endless talent and inviting him on this journey; Jiggs Burgess for his poignant, powerful script; Del Shores for his unique insight and leadership; Jon Peterson for starting us on this exciting path and of course Darren Lee Cole for this incredible opportunity of bringing Wounded to a larger audience. Shaw would also like to especially thank his wife, Heather, for her unconditional support and love. Shaw is represented by Debbie Britt at CornerstoneTalent Management. Follow: IG: shawzyjones FB: shawjonesactor

CREATIVE TEAM:

Jiggs Burgess (Playwright) was the inaugural winner of the 2022 Del Shores Foundation Writers Search for The Red Suitcase. In 2023, P3 Theatre Company produced the World Premiere of The Red Suitcase, directed by Del Shores with additional staging by Blake McIver Ewing. Jiggs’ work was also a finalist in the Eugene O’Neill play writing competition. Produced by P3 Theatre Company, Wounded, act two of his play Wounded/Sparrow, was performed to great acclaim at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe festival. Other works, including The Girl In The White Pinafore, The Book of Dog and Anna Mae continue to be produced coast to coast in educational theater. Follow: IG: jiggsb1 FB: jiggsb12

Del Shores (Director/Producer) is the writer/director/producer of the films “Sordid Lives,” “Blues for Willadean,” “Southern Baptist Sissies” and “A Very Sordid Wedding.” He wrote and executive produced the MGM feature “Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got The Will?” His plays Cheatin’, Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The Will?), Daughters of the Lone Star State, Sordid Lives, Southern Baptist Sissies, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, Yellow, This Side of Crazy and A Very Sordid Wedding are all published by Concord/Samuel French. In television, Del Shores wrote, directed, executive produced and created the LOGO series, “Sordid Lives: The Series.” He also wrote and executive produced Showtime's groundbreaking “Queer As Folk'' for the last three seasons, wrote and produced for “Dharma & Greg” and “Ned & Stacey.” He has directed Academy Award winners Octavia Spencer and Whoopi Goldberg, Grammy Award winner Olivia Newton-John; Emmy winners/nominees Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Leslie Jordan, Bonnie Bedelia, Bobbie Eakes, Patrika Darbo and Rue McClanahan; Spirit Award winner Dale Dickey; Screen Actors Guild Award-winner Beth Grant; as well as Caroline Rhea, Debby Holiday and David Steen.

As a performer, Shores has performed in hundreds of standup gigs and in 2018 completed a national tour of his critically acclaimed award-winning one-man play Six Characters In Search Of A Play directed by Emerson Collins. The play was filmed and is now streaming worldwide.  His standup shows Del Shores: My Sordid Life, Del Shores: Sordid Confessions and Del Shores: Naked.Sordid.Reality were filmed, also directed by Collins, and are distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. His 10th play A Very Sordid Wedding (based on his 2017 film), which he directed, had its world premiere September 2021, playing to sold out houses at Kalita Humphreys Theater in Dallas for Uptown Players. In November 2021, he directed his 11th play In Memoriam of Lena at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he teaches Playwriting and Acting For The Camera yearly as a guest artist. Lena marked his first world premiere with a cast of students. Shores has won multiple awards for his plays and films, including a GLAAD Award, an NAACP Award and an LA Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2023 he was awarded The Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award by LA’s’ The Celebration Theatre.

Shores shares the passion of The Del Shores Foundation in “finding and facilitating success for the next generation of Southern LGBTQ+ writers.” Shores resides in Los Angeles with his three little bitches: Bitsy Mae, Gracie Louise and Sissy Marie. He is the proud father of two grown daughters Rebecca and Caroline. Del is represented by Cindy Mintz at The Kaplan-Stahler Agency as a writer-director, by Linda McAlister Talent as an actor and is managed by Michael Warwick for personal appearances. His publisher for all of his plays is Concord/Samuel French, Inc. Follow: IG: delshores FB: delshoresofficial

Emerson Collins (Producer) is a producer, director and actor. In theater, Emerson produced the world premiere of Del Shores’ Yellow, winner of the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production, the national tour of Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies, the national tour of A Sordid Affair starring Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan and Rue McClanahan and the Los Angeles premiere of Shores’ This Side of Crazy. Emerson directed and produced both the world premiere play of Six Characters in Search of a Play and the award-winning film adaptation. Emerson directed and produced the 20th Anniversary of the Gertrude C. Center for the Performing Arts benefit hosted by Morgan Freeman, Debbie Allen and Christine Baranski. Emerson assistant directed the world premiere stage adaptation of A Very Sordid Wedding.

In film and TV, Emerson was Executive Producer for the “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” telethon raising $600,000 for LGBTQ+ organizations. Emerson produced and starred in A Very Sordid Wedding, which opened number one at the specialty box office, produced and starred with Leslie Jordan and Dale Dickey in Southern Baptist Sissies, which won 15 film festival awards including one for Emerson as Best Actor, and he produced Blues For Willadean, starring Beth Grant and Octavia Spencer. Emerson also co-produced and recurred in "Sordid Lives: The Series" for MTV’s LOGO. Emerson co-directed his first short film Shafted which has played 40 film festivals, winning five Best Short awards and three Best Director awards for Emerson with Del Shores.

As a host and performer, Emerson is best known for four seasons of BRAVO’s "The People’s Couch" and being featured as “Steve” performing “Will I?” in RENT on FOX. Emerson won the Desert Theatre League Award for Best Actor in a Comedy for the first Regional Theatre Premiere of Buyer & Cellar in Palm Springs then again at the Laguna Playhouse. Follow: Website: emersoncollins.com IG: EmersonCollins FB: EmersonCollinsOfficial

Louise H. Beard (Producer) is a Tony-winning producer for A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder and produced the world premiere of the three-time Tony nominated A Christmas Story. Broadway producing credits include Ragtime (7 Tony/8 Drama Desk nominations), Finian’s Rainbow (3 Tony/8 Drama Desk nominations), The Pee-Wee Herman Show, The Scottsboro Boys, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Porgy and Bess, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Ghost, the Musical. Off Broadway and National Tour producing work includes Through the Night, Leslie Jordan’s My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, A Sordid Affair and the LA Drama Critic’s Circle Award-winning world premiere of Del Shores’ Yellow. She produced the DVD’s of Del Shores: My Sordid Life, Del Shores: Sordid Confessions, and Six Characters in Search of a Play and was an Executive Producer for the films A Very Sordid Wedding and Blues For Willadean.

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