Recent Cutbacks to Return to The PIT with Double Feature Fridays

The PIT (Stephen Stout, Artistic Director) is proud to announce the return of acclaimed company Recent Cutbacks with their hit film parodies Hold On To Your Butts and Fly, You Fools! for three Double Feature Fridays, starting June 23, 2017.

Each Double Feature Friday will begin with Fly, You Fools!, where three actors and a foley artist band together (in fellowship) to bring to life a LIVE shot-for-shot parody of the first chapter in the most epic fantasy trilogy of all time! Then, after intermission, Hold On To Your Butts, an intensely physical, imaginative and silly theatrical version of Jurassic Park, closes the night.

Fly, You Fools! and Hold On To Your Butts were created by Recent Cutbacks. Kristin McCarthy Parker directs both shows which star Nick Abeel and Kyle Schaefer with Matt Zambrano joining them for Fly, You Fools!. Blair Busbee creates live foley on stage for both shows. The creative team also includes Kelsey Didion (Foley Design/Musical Arrangements) and Lanie Zipoy (Producer).

Hold On To Your Butts has been a runaway hit from the moment it premiered in 2014. Time Out New York named it the #3 Comedy of the Year. The show has played to sold-out audiences in New York, Indianapolis and most recently Chicago at The Second City Training Center. Fly, You Fools! has developed a cult following over the past two years, and was hailed "a sugar rush of endearing, childish brilliance" by Onstageblog.com.

Double Feature Fridays of Hold On To Your Butts and Fly, You Fools! are June 23rd, July 28th, and October 13th. All performances are at 7:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, located at 123 E 24th St in New York, NY (Subway: N/R or 6 to 23rd). Tickets are $30 and includes both shows. Advance purchase is available at thepit-nyc.com/artists/recent-cutbacks. For more information, visit www.recentcutbacks.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Nick Abeel (Creator/Performer) is an actor and theater artist based in New York City. He's performed at HERE Arts, Dixon Place, 59E59, UCB, the PIT, The Duplex, Indiana Rep, Geva Theater, Denver Center, and the Kennedy Center. He's developed new work in NYC with New Dramatists, The Lark, MTC, NY Stage and Film, Partial Comfort, Primary Stages, and New Georges. Nick is also a company member with Broken Box Mime Theater and a voice over artist. Proud graduate of the University of Evansville.

Blair Busbee (Foley/Performer) recently graduated from American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and holds a BFA from the University of Evansville. Blair can carry a tune, play ukulele, and tap dance (at the same time). She can also balance unwieldy objects on her face. Proud member of AEA. blairbusbee.com

Kelsey Didion (Creator/Foley Design/Musical Arrangements) is an actress, teacher, musician, and big-time Packers fan. A graduate of the University of Evansville (BS) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MFA), she's worked with The New York Shakespeare Exchange, The PIT, The Studio Theatre/Theatre Row, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chautauqua Theatre Company, and the New Harmony Project. Kelsey is also a certified yoga instructor.

Kristin McCarthy Parker (Creator/Director) is a freelance director in New York City and founding member of Recent Cutbacks. Her work includes Matt Cox's Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (Off-Broadway at The Elektra Theatre), and Kapow-i GoGo. She has also directed and developed work at Ma-Yi, Primary Stages, The Amoralists, EST, 59E59, Three Day Hangover, Columbia University, Rutgers University, and the University of Florida, among others. Assistantships include Ed Iskandar, Michael Greif, Wendy Goldberg, and Trip Cullman. www.kristinmccarthyparker.com

Kyle Schaefer (Creator/Performer) was most recently seen in Hedda (Gabler) with Wandering Bark Theater Co. He co-created Fly, You Fools! and Hold Onto Your Butts with Recent Cutbacks, and is a founding member of the Group Lab. NEW YORK: Ivanov, True Love, Plunge, A Christmas Carol. REGIONAL: Tosca Cafe (American Conservatory Theater [World Premiere], Canadian Tour), Candide (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson (Williamstown Theater Festival Workshop), A Christmas Carol (ACT), and performances at Arkansas Rep, Shakespeare & Company, New Harmony Project, Kennedy Center, Williamstown Theater Festival, San Francisco Symphony, and College International de Cannes in France. FILM/TV/WEB: Float, Turnpike, Shaking, BokTV, We the Groupies, and Celebrity Ghost Stories. BS: University of Evansville. MFA: American Conservatory Theater. Proud member of AEA. www.kyleschaefer.com.

Matt Zambrano (Creator/Performer; Fly, You Fools!)is an Actor, Director, Writer, Spoken Word Artist and Improvisor who hails from Denver, Colorado. This is his first show with Recent Cutbacks, and as a Tolkien-fiend he couldn't be more excited. Currently he works as an ensemble member with The Story Pirates, Broken Box Mime Theater and Accomplice: The Show in New York. Other credits include: The People Vs. George Lucas (Film); Baskerville (Philadelphia Theater Co.); The Santaland Diaries, As You Like It, The Liar, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet (The Denver Center); Peter and the Starcatcher, Scapin, Loves Labours Lost (Utah Shakes). Matt graduated with an MFA in acting from the now defunct National Theater Conservatory, and was (alphabetically) their last student. www.mattzambrano.com

Lanie Zipoy's (Producer) theater credits include Laura Marks' Bethany, starring America Ferrera (Associate Producer, WP Theater, 2 Lortel nominations); Mac Rogers' Universal Robots (ITBA's Best Off-Off Broadway Play); Jelena Kajgo's Realists (HERE); RoseMary Moore's Side Street, directed by Ian Morgan; and the Brooklyn premiere of Caroline, or Change. Her recent film credits include Ben Barenholtz's Alina and April Flowers, starring Celina Jade and Keir Dullea. www.laniezipoy.com

Recent Cutbacks takes parody seriously. We're inspired by nostalgia, irreverence, pop culture, and high theatricality. For more information and to join our mailing list, check out: www.recentcutbacks.com

The Peoples Improv Theater strives to entertain and educate the community about the comedic arts in a safe and nurturing environment. The PIT is composed of three elements: a school that focuses on the craft of improvisation, an eclectic variety of electives, and an unparalleled professional writing program; a theater that presents original comedic shows seven nights a week; and a corporate and educational workshop program that offers team building, leadership, and business training. www.thepit-nyc.com