Actors Co-op Theatre Company Opens its 26th Season with THE 39 STEPS

Actors Co-0p Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2014 Best Intimate Theatre Musical for 110 in the Shade) presents the first show in its 26th Season with THE 39 STEPS, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and film by Alfred Hitchcock, directed by Kevin Chesley, produced by Jorie Janeway. THE 39 STEPS will preview on Thursday, September 21 at 8pm and will open Friday, September 22 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 29 at the Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St. 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

Winner of the Drama Desk Award and the Laurence Olivier Award, this crazy, over-the-top spy novel-type mystery comes to life with flashes of Hitchcock movies, sprinkles of Monty Python humor and a good dose of romance to boot. This thrilling and humorous noir adventure is set in the world of an ordinary man forced on the run after aiding a mysterious woman. From the shadowy streets of 1930s London to the wild moors of Scotland and beyond, The 39 Steps traces the man's madcap quest to keep government secrets out of the wrong hands.

Patrick Barlow (Author) is renowned for his four-person adaptation of The 39 Steps which has played in over forty countries world-wide. It has won Olivier, Helpmann, Moliere and Tony Awards and made Patrick the most performed playwright in America for 2012. Patrick is celebrated in the UK for his two-man theatre company National Theatre of Brent, whose comedy epics include Wagner's Ring Cycle, The Charles and Diana Story, The Messiah, The Wonder of Sex, The Arts and How They Was Done, The Black Hole of Calcutta, The Life and Times of the Dalai Lama and Zulu! They have won two Sony Gold Awards, a Premier Ondas Award for Best

European Comedy and The New York FestivAl Gold Award for Best Comedy. Other screenwriting includes Van Gogh (Prix Futura Berlin Film Festival), Revolution!! (Best Comedy Jerusalem Film Festival) and the BAFTA-winning Young Visitors. Publications include Shakespeare: The Truth! and The Complete History of the Whole World. Patrick has also appeared in "Absolutely Fabulous," "Shakespeare in Love," "Notting Hill," "Nanny McPhee" and "Bridget Jones' Diary." On stage he has appeared as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Truscott in Joe Orton's Loot, Humphry in Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit and Toad in the Royal National Theatre's The Wind in the Willows. He is currently writing two further four person epics, A Christmas Carol, Ben-Hurand The Hound of the Baskervilles.

KEVIN CHESLEY (Director) has directed, written and performed sketch comedy for stages like The Upright Citizens Brigade (both LA and NYC), The iO Theater (Chicago and West), and the Vancouver Comedy Festival. He is a confounder of TROOP! and The Riot Act, troupes that have performed in venues like The Comedy Central Stage, The Vancouver Comedy Festival, The HBO Workspace, and The Chicago Improv Festival. For almost ten years he has directed The Apple Sisters, a staged 1943 radio show that very much helped prepare him to dive into the 1935 world of The 39 Steps. He was also a director for The Hampstead Players Theater Company. A screenwriter, Kevin has written for The Onion, National Lampoon, and MTV's "The Hard Times of RJ Berger," as well as screenplays for Warner Brothers, Paramount, Bad Robot, Happy Madison, and 20th Century Fox. He has Executive Produced pilots for both NBC and Cartoon Network. Training: Act One - Hollywood, BFA - Emerson College.

The cast features the talent of Lauren Thompson, Kevin Shewey*, Carly Lopez and Townsend Coleman*.

The award-winning design team includes Stephen Gifford* (Scenic Designer), Andrew Schmedake (Lighting Designer), Vicki Conrad (Costumer Designer/Hair & Make-up), and Warren Davis (Sound Designer).

The 39 Steps production team includes Selah Victor * (Production Manager), Lori Berg (Props Master), and Adam Michael Rose (Dialect Coach), Derek R. Copenhaver (Stage Manager), Tintin Nguyen (Stage Manager) and Matthew Gilmore (PR Manager).

About Show Times and Tickets: The 39 Steps will preview Thursday, September 21 at 8:00 pm and will open on Friday, September 22 at 8 pm and run through October 29, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 2:30 pm. Saturday Matinees are September 30 and October 7 at 2:30 pm. Tickets: $30.00. Seniors (60+): $25.00. Students: $20.00. Group rates available for parties of 6 or more. To buy tickets or make reservations please visit www.ActorsCo-op.org or call (323) 462-8460. Actors Co-op Crossley Theatre. 1760 N. Gower St. 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

Actors Co-op operates two 99-seat Equity-approved theatres on the campus of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. Actors Co-op began in 1987 with a dozen actors. Currently, its membership exceeds 50 professionals. Called "a 99-seat miracle" by Daily Variety, Actors Co-op's numerous awards for theatre excellence include the Los Angeles Drama Critics Polly Warfield Award for "Outstanding Season" (2013) in a small to mid-sized theatre, the Margaret Harford Award for "Sustained Achievement" in smaller theatre from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, the Charlie Award for "Excellence in the Arts" by the Hollywood Arts Council, as well as numerous Ovation Award nominations and wins including a nomination for "Best Season" (2013-2014) and win for Best Musical (2014). Since the Crossley Theatre opened its doors in April of 1989 and its second theatre, the David Schall Theatre opened February of 1995, Actors Co-op has produced over 100 main stage productions, over 40 Second Stage productions, staged readings of original works, and has received 23 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards (seven wins), 34 LA Weekly Award nominations (six wins), 38 Ovation Award nominations (five wins), five Garland Awards and 125 Drama-Logue Awards. Actors Co-op is located at 1760 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, CA 90028, on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, one block north of Hollywood Boulevard, just off the Gower Street exit of the 101 Hollywood Freeway. Free, well-lit parking is available on Carlos Street (1/2 block east of Gower). Entrance to the theatre is on Carlos Avenue.

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