RLTP Presents Internal Continuity As Part Of Curtain Up!, Opens 9/9

Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) today announced its 2011 Curtain Up! offering: the world premiere of Shaun McLaughlin's Internal Continuity . McLaughlin developed this offbeat comedy in RLTP's 2010 Emanuel Fried New Play Workshop. The production will open on Friday, September 9 th , 2011 at the Road Less Traveled Theater (RLTT) in Downtown Buffalo and run through Sunday, October 2 nd , 2011.

RLTP encapsulates the play with: "It might be the end of the Golden Age for nerdy thirtysomething fanboys Efrin, Shelby, and Buster when Efrin finally discovers the fairer sex. Will Shelby and Buster be able to dissuade their lifelong friend from the Dark Side of the Force? Will tabletop gaming night survive?!" Internal Continuity will star popular RLTP regulars Matt Witten, Dave Hayes, and RLTP Resident Actor Bob Grabowski as the central trio, and also introduces Sara Kow-Falcone, Aaron Krygier, and Bethany Sparacio to the RLTT stage for the first time. RLTP Artistic Director Scott Behrend helms the production.

Playwright McLaughlin said the idea for the play originated not just from his love of movies, TV, and comics - all of which he has written for in the past - but also from his relationships. "I realized that I have several long-standing friendships that were centered on a few specific topics, but I didn't know much about these friends otherwise. I started wondering what these people did with the rest of their lives," said McLaughlin. "Then I started to laugh."

That inspiration allows the play to mine humor not just from the protagonists' peculiar hobbies, offered Behrend, but also organically from their characters. "The comedy starts out very specific, observing these developmentally stunted guys and their geeky interests," Behrend said, "but then becomes much more universal as they meet women, try to expand their horizons, and finally attempt to relate to each other as human beings instead of just as fellow connoisseurs of trivia."

" Internal Continuity offers both the highly referential cultural comedy made popular by shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy while simultaneously remaining steeped in classic character-driven humor in the Neil Simon vein," continued Behrend. "As a result, every patron will find a lot at which to laugh."

"I think, at its core, this is a play that's not about making fun of people who are different," McLaughlin added, "but about finding common ground with people who are different... after making fun of them." "You have to start someplace," he said, shrugging.

Playwright Shaun McLaughlin recently returned to WNY after a long stint in Los Angeles, where he either wrote or produced over 400 episodes of television shows, including Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain , Batman Beyond , Static Shock , that won, among others, Emmy Awards® and Humanitas Prizes. Shaun also has performed as a stand-up comic at legendary venues such as The Icehouse and The Comedy Store. In 2008, Shaun produced the motion picture Gene-Fusion from Gabriel Benson's script; the film currently is in negotiation for distribution. In 2009, McLaughlin received his MFA in creative writing with a concentration

in stage and screen from the University of British Columbia. In 2010, he formed Cheapjack Partners, an entertainment company that develops properties for graphic novels, television, movies, and stage. His play, Cheapjack Shakespeare , premiered in the fall of 2010 at the Alt Theatre in Buffalo, NY.

Internal Continuity reunites actors Dave Hayes and Matt Witten following their work together in the hit RLTP productions of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot and A.R. Gurney's Light Lunch; Hayes and RLTP Resident Actor Bob Grabowski last teamed up onstage for Gurney's Screen Play, while Grabowski and Witten co-starred in RLTP's The Man Who Had All The Luck, by Arthur Miller. Internal Continuity will assemble all three theatre veterans for the first time onstage.

Internal Continuity will run Friday, September 9 th through Sunday, October, 2 nd - performances will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $30 for Adults, $25 for Seniors, and $15 for Students w/ valid IDs. Students w/ valid IDs pay only $5 on Thursdays. Tickets are available at the RLTT Box Office, online at www.ticketmaster.com , or by calling 1-800-745-3000. The RLTT is located across from Shea's at 639 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14205 (inside the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre) in the Downtown Buffalo Theatre District.

About Road Less Traveled Productions

Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) is a professional theatre company founded by Scott Behrend and Jon Elston. RLTP is dedicated to the development and production of new theatrical works by Western New York playwrights as well as presentations of esteemed modern dramas of outstanding literary merit. RLTP is located at 639 Main Street in the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre in the Downtown Buffalo Theatre District. For ticketing information, please visit www.RoadLessTraveledProductions.org or call (716) 629-3069. Tickets also may be purchased online via www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. RLTP's work is made possible through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

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