MET to Stage STUPID F***ING BIRD

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) is proud to present the funny and moving Stupid f-ing Bird. The show which is "sort of" adapted from Chekhov's The Seagull by Aaron Posner will be helmed by Gerard Stropnicky. The play will run at MET for four weeks beginning February 12.

In this irreverent, contemporary, and very funny remix of Chekhov's The Seagull, Aaron Posner stages a timeless battle between young and old, past and present, in search of the true meaning of it all. Stupid f-ing Bird will tickle, tantalize, and incite you to consider how art, love, and revolution fuel your own pursuit of happiness.

Stupid f-ing Bird premiered at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in 2013 and went on the win the Helen Hayes Awards for "Best Resident Play" and "Outstanding New Play or Musical". Aaron Posner is a Helen Hayes- and Barrymore Award-winning director and playwright. He is a founder and former Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Arden Theatre, an Associate Artist at both the Folger Theatre and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

Maryland Ensemble Theatre's production will be directed by Gerard Stropnicky. This is his second show with MET after directing last years successful production of The Arsonists. A multi-faceted theatre artist (director, writer and actor), he graduated from Northwestern, studied with Alvina Krause, and in 1978 co-founded Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble (BTE), where he worked for the next 34 years. In Appalachia, the deep south and Pennsylvania, he has used local story to create original large-scale, site-specific performances in communities facing crisis, transition, or change. For this work, as well as for his role in co-founding the national Network of Ensemble Theaters, Gerard was honored as a United States Artists Fellow in 2010. The USA program was created by the Ford, Rockefeller, Prudential and Rasmusen Foundations to identify and support "America's greatest living artists." With his wife Kathy Baas, he is also founder and director of Camp Emerge, a camp for families touched by autism. Last year

Stropnicky will direct a talented cast of Jack Evans, Devin Gaither, Julie Herber, Caitlyn Joy, Jeff Keilholtz, Tom Majarov, and Noah Sommer. The set will be designed by Doug Grove and Gerard Stropnicky, with costumes by Jennifer Adams, sound design from Jerry Matheny and lighting design by Giovanni Kavota.

Stupid f-ing Bird will run every Thursday through Sunday from February 12 to March 6 at MET, located in the historic FSK Hotel at 31 W Patrick Street in downtown Frederick, MD. There will be a pay-what-you-can preview on February 11 at 8pm (cash only/no reservations). The opening will be celebrated on February 12 with a pre-show reception at 7pm sponsored by Giant Eagle and hosted by MET Board Members Suzanne Beal and Jack Topchik and a post-show party with live music from Cheshi.

Tickets to Stupid f-ing Bird are $17 through $26 and can be purchased at 301-694-4744, marylandensemble.org or in person at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre box office. This show is made possible in part through MET's season sponsors including Comcast, Frederick Magazine, Key 103, Eagle 106.9, Maryland Oral Surgery Associates, The Frederick News Post and both the Frederick and Maryland Arts Councils. For more information on the MET's production of Stupid f-ing Bird or any of the MET's other programs including The Ensemble School, The Fun Company or The Comedy Pigs you can visit marylandensemble.org.

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