'ALL WORK ALL PLAY' Live in HD Set for The Ridgefield Playhouse, 7/21

Open with a stadium full of screaming fans. Zoom in on the contestants, sweating from the intensity of the competition. Then comes the incredulous reveal: This isn't basketball or boxing or even billiards.... It's eSports-and the "athletes" are headset-wearing, energy-drink-guzzling gamers! ALL WORK ALL PLAY: The Pursuit of eSports Glory LIVE in HD at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Tuesday, July 21, at 8:30 p.m. will take you behind the scenes of Season Nine of the Intel Extreme Masters, a global pro-gaming tour that takes the hottest teams and players all around the world to compete for the championship title in their respective eSports. Following the 90-minute film there will be a LIVE all star gaming showdown - between the Joes and the Pros live out of the ESL studios in Burbank, CA, followed by an exclusive panel discussion with Michal "Carmac" Blicharz, Managing Director of Pro Gaming at Turtle Entertainment GmbH.

Tens of millions are watching online. One percent of the world population is playing the most popular competitive game. "The big events are already bigger than the biggest events in sports," said Kevin Lin, chief operating officer of Twitch, the world's largest videogame streaming platform. Not since the advent of television has a new entertainment medium so taken the world by storm. Meanwhile, players as young as seventeen are dropping everything to go pro, throwing all they have into a do-or-die race for the grand prize. Together, they have a common goal: to ensure that eSports remains more than a bright, burning fad. It's up to them to turn it into the sport of the future. They guide the scene as it explodes around them, molding it into a phenomenon that can last.

"Watching top gamers compete has become a truly entertaining experience. We are excited to take this from individual computer screens to the big screen for the gaming community to experience it together," said Fathom Events VP of Programming Kymberli Freuh-Owens. "This event offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at some of the greatest gaming teams in the world and provides exclusive live panel discussion and gaming demos."

"eSports is here and it's here to stay," said award-winning filmmaker Patrick Creadon, director of "ALL WORK ALL PLAY". "Our film offers an up close and personal look at this global phenomenon and provides a thrilling experience for gamers and non-gamers alike."

For tickets ($15), call the box office at 203-438-5795 or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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