Bola Ogun to Direct Isa Briones in GRAVES by Ellie Pyle

BESPOKE PLAYS - a bicoastal new play development series - has announced BOLA OGUN (Shadow and Bone, The Witcher) will direct Isa Briones (Star Trek: Picard, Hamilton National Tour, Next to Normal) in the first staged readings of GRAVES by ELLIE PYLE. The cast is completed by THOMAS CUNNINGHAM, ADRIANA ISABEL, JUSTIN LAWRENCE BARNES, and VONDEXTER MONTEGUT II.

They call him "Graves" and if it's a ghost story you're looking for, he spins a tale so well you won't care whether it's true. He's mentored a lot of Savannah's best ghost guides over the years, but his latest collection of stray arts students is different: they want to learn magic. Thus far, he's been able to keep them distracted: a bit of Hermeticism here, a little Wicca there, never mind the root working born into these parts. But when a new girl joins the group, her innate gifts threaten to awaken things Graves buried long ago.

Set over the course of five ghost hunts, Graves is a haunting work of magical realism uniquely suited to Bespoke's "forget it's not a production" staged reading style.

The readings will take place April 29 and 30 at 8pm at The Pico (10508 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064). Masks and proof of vaccination will be required. General admission tickets are $20, with some $10 tickets available for each performance. As part of our commitment to accessibility, Bespoke Plays also offers virtual tickets which may be purchased for any date to watch On Demand for a limited time after the initial run. Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/graves-by-ellie-pyle-tickets-321898877207

BOLA OGUN is a first generation Nigerian-American Director, who recently finished the second season premiere block of Netflix's Shadow & Bone from Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer and will be gearing up for the season three finale block of Witcher. She has previously directed the season finale of Raising Dion, episodes of Lucifer, Charmed, Siren, Walker, Legacies, Big Shot, Two Sentence Horror Stories and God Friended Me.

Isa Briones won the Ovation Award for Featured Actress In a Musical for Next to Normal in 2018 in Los Angeles. Afterward, she returned to New York and became the youngest performer in the first touring company of Hamilton, playing multiple roles and earning praise for her "sultry alto" voice. In addition to multiple acting performances in Star Trek: Picard, Briones sang a new arrangement of Blue Skies by Irving Berlin for the season one finale.

ELLIE PYLE is a writer, actress, director and co-founder of Bespoke Plays. Recent plays include Sources, Heretics and the musical Whiterock Cliff which she co-wrote with Ryan McCurdy. She has published two novels: Southern Girls with Big Vocabularies and The Men in Between (from which Graves was partially adapted). She used to be a Savannah ghost tour guide, and since then has worked in narrative for podcasts, video games, and TV. She currently co-hosts Women of Marvel and has edited a lot of comics.

BESPOKE PLAYS is a bicoastal industry reading series founded by Christine Boylan and Ellie Pyle. We seek to create opportunities for exchange between Los Angeles and NYC for writers with diverse stories and worldviews using staged readings customized to the goals of the writer and readiness of the play. The direct intention is getting new plays published and programmed. Find out more at www.bespokeplays.com

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