SCHLITZIE: ALIVE AND INSIDE Comes to Rogue Artists Ensemble
Previews begin March 13 at the Heritage Square Museum.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 27, 2025
Rogue Artists Ensemble will present a limited engagement production of Schlitzie: Alive and Inside, by Eric Fagundes and directed by Nikki DiLoreto. Previews begin March 13 at the Heritage Square Museum (Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St, Los Angeles, CA 90031), with an Opening Night set for March 21 and running through March 30.
Schlitzie: Alive and Inside follows the true story of Schlitzie, an iconic and often misunderstood performer who was a star of the sideshow circuit during its heyday in the first half of the 20th century. Audiences step into a memory collage of Schlitzie’s life, from his sideshow persona where he was billed as a “pinhead” due to a rare condition called microcephaly, to his appearance in Todd Browning’s 1932 film Freaks, to his time in Los Angeles performing in McArthur Park. Along the way, Schlitzie’s sideshow became more than a way to make a buck — it became a space where marginalized performers and artists with disabilities could find safety, friendship, and a sustainable way of life. In a world that aims to label, ignore, or forget folks who don’t fit in, Schlitzie’s is a story of a special family surviving – together.
“For many, Schlitzie’s history has been reduced to the iconic image of his persona, but Schlitzie’s true story is one of resilience and joy,” says playwright Eric Fagundes. “I want to take audiences behind the curtain, giving them an understanding of how he continued to be the heart of the sideshow as it was threatened by cultural and social change.”
“Rogue Artists has always been dedicated to impossible plays – plays that require a herculean amount of imagination, whimsy, and experimentation to find the story’s true form,” says Chelsea Sutton, Rogue’s Interim Artistic Director. “I consider this production the first big leap of the play’s continued development. Schlitzie: Alive and Inside is one of those new plays that needs the visual lifeblood of design and the full force of a realized staging to push its voice forward – and we are lucky enough to do that work against the beautiful backdrop of the Heritage Square Museum.”
The ensemble cast includes Carlos Chavez, Patricia Ann Eyerman, James Ian, Tane Kawasaki, Ishika Muchhal, Madeleine Shallan, Mak Shealy, and Mark McLain Wilson. The artistic team includes Stephanie O’Neill (Producing Ensemble Member & Production Manager), Estela Garcia (Puppet Director), Elena Flores (Costume Designer), Dillon Nelson (Scenic Designer), Rebecca Bonebrake (Lighting Designer), M. Glenn Schuster (Sound Designer), Ellen Warkentine (Composer), Brittney Talbot (Shadow Puppet Designer), Jacob Surovsky (Puppet Designer), and Michael Dougherty (Disability Consultant).
Tickets start at $36. Tickets and information will be available at rogueartists.org. A calendar of pre-show discussions, post-show talkbacks, and pre-show community events will be updated on the website. Performances are at 8pm except for Sundays which are at 7pm.
Schlitzie: Alive and Inside is made possible in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency; the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation; and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
Eric Fagundes (Playwright) is a writer and actor based out of Los Angeles. He earned his B.A. in English Literature with a concentration in creative writing at UCLA. He has had several one acts produced on stages across LA. Eric most recently wrote The Goblin Market, as part of the Rogue Lab New Play Incubator, culminating in its premiere reading in West Hollywood’s Plummer Park. His one man show, Tin Voices, based on the life of Robin William, is currently being developed with Z/A Studios. Eric has also worked in the film industry as a script reader, analyst, and polisher for contests, production companies, and managers in Hollywood.
Nikki DiLoreto (Director) is a creative leader, producer, and director with a passion for cultivating form-defying stories with uniquely voiced artists. As a director and associate director, Nikki has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, The West End, and on regional theater productions across North America, including SIX: The Musical, the recent Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Soft Power. She is a SDC Associate Member, an alum of the Williamstown Theatre Festival Directing Corps, a participant in the SDCF Observership Program, and received her BFA from Boston University and Master’s from USC in Arts Leadership. While Nikki works on a great variety of genres in theaters across the nation, she is particularly dedicated to the continued development of new work and the new play & musical development process. She currently resides in Los Angeles and New York, and works around the country.
Rogue Artists Ensemble creates Hyper-theater: original, multi-dimensional experiences that celebrate the complexity and diversity of Los Angeles. Rogue is the only company on the west coast dedicated to the creation of original theater spectacles with puppetry, mask and physical performance telling stories intended for adult audiences. Rogue created over 25 original productions that have been seen by over 200K audience members throughout Los Angeles; Rogue’s work has toured to Orange County, San Diego, Ashland, Seattle, Atlanta and Portland, and the company has received accolades from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and LA Stage Alliance Awards, and a UNIMA Citation of Excellence, the highest honor within the puppetry community.
Heritage Square Museum explores the settlement and development of Southern California during its first 100 years of statehood through historic restoration and preservation. The eight historic structures located at the museum, constructed during the Victorian Era, were saved from demolition and serve as a perfect background to educate the public about the everyday lives of Southern Californians from the close of the 19th Century into the early decades of the 20th Century. Over the past fifty years, Heritage Square Museum has acquired and begun the restoration of eight historically significant buildings from different Los Angeles neighborhoods. Located on acres of period appropriate landscaped grounds, the museum is the place where history comes alive!
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