Carla Ching's THE TWO KIDS THAT BLOW SHIT UP to Make World Premiere in Los Angeles

Tumultuous relationships, spin-outs and epic life fails forge an unlikely friendship in The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up by Carla Ching, a play about falling in and out of love with your best friend. Artists at Play (AAP) presents this world premiere at the Lounge Theatre, Aug. 18-Sept. 11. Tickets are available online.

Diana and Max meet at 9 years old - the day their parents start dating. In the ensuing decades, their parents break up, get back together, marry and divorce. And they see each other through it all - trying not to make the same mistakes their parents did. But when they fall for each other, will they lose the only family they've ever known?

A Los Angeles native, Ching's plays include Nomad Motel (2015 O'Neill Playwrights Conference), Fast Company (South Coast Repertory, Ensemble Studio Theatre; Lyric Stage; Pork Filled Productions; recipient of The Edgerton New American Play Award), TBA (Second Generation), The Sugar House at The Edge of the Wilderness (Ma-Yi Theater Company) and The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up (also forthcoming at Mu Performing Arts). Artists at Play worked with Ching in 2015 to develop and present a public reading of The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up.

"It's exciting to continue the development of this play all the way to production," said Producer Nicholas Pilapil. "This is a first for AAP and I think it's an important next step for us as curators of theatre in Los Angeles. In order to have diversity and inclusion onstage, you have to start with the things that are being created off stage."

Ching is the former Artistic Director of Asian American Theater Company, Second Generation and a member of New Dramatists and The Kilroys. On television, Carla has written on USA's "Graceland," AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead" and currently writes on Amazon's "I Love Dick."

"We have been fans of Carla for a while - drawn to the raw and painfully real voices of her characters," said Producing Artistic Leader Marie-Reine Velez. "She creates unique Asian American characters that we don't see in American Theatre."

The cast includes Nelson Lee as Max and Julia Cho as Diana.

Lee's theatre credits include Carla Ching's Fast Company (South Coast Repertory), Maple and Vine (The City Theatre in Pittsburgh; A.C.T.) and Outside People (Naked Angles/Vineyard Theatre). His film and television credits include "Stitchers," "Oz," "NCIS: New Orleans," "Covert Affairs" and Virtuality.

Cho's film and television credits include "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries," "Goliath," "Scandal," and Sounds We Have No Letters For. Cho has performed and toured with East West Players, Will & Company and Word for Word (San Francisco). Other theatre credits include multiple Artists at Play productions and readings for Playwrights' Arena, Pasadena Playhouse and Center Theatre Group. She is a founding member of AAP and a Producing Artistic Leader. Cho originated the role of Diana in AAP's 2015 staged reading of The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up.

Jeremy Lelliott directs this world premiere. He is the founding artistic director of Coeurage Theatre Company where he has overseen more than 30 mainstage productions. Directing highlights for the company include Romeo & Juliet, Andronicus, The Woodsman and Vieux Carré.

The creative team includes Se Oh, scenic/properties design; Rachel Stivers, costume design; Alexander Freer, lighting design; Jesse Mandapat, sound design; Erin Walley, props coordinator; Donna Eshelman, movement specialist; and Andy Knight, dramaturg. Jenna Riley is the production manager, Cailin Luneburg is the assistant stage manager and Jonathan Castanien is the stage manager.

Founded in 2011 by Julia Cho, Peter J. Kuo, Stefanie Wong Lau and Marie-Reine Velez, Artists at Play is a collective of Asian American creative professionals who have come together to curate quality theatre in Los Angeles. Producing Member Nicholas Pilapil joined Artists at Play in 2013. Artists at Play presents theatrical productions missing from Los Angeles' local landscape to tell the stories of communities underrepresented in theatre, with a focus on the Asian American experience. Past productions include Lauren Yee's Ching Chong Chinaman, A. Rey Pamatmat's Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them, Michael Golamco's Cowboy Versus Samurai, playwright Julia Cho's 99 Histories and most recently the West Coast premiere of In Love and Warcraft by Madhuri Shekar. Dedicated to new play development, Artists at Play has also developed new works by Boni B. Alvarez, Carla Ching, Sanaz Toossi, Alice Tuan and Leah Nanako Winkler, among others as part of their Artists at Play Readings.

IF YOU GO:

THE TWO KIDS THAT BLOW SHIT UP

by Carla Ching

directed by Jeremy Lelliott

Venue: The Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Dates: Preview performances Aug. 18-20; regular performances Aug. 21-Sept. 11

Showtimes: Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Tickets: $20-$32 general admission

Purchase online: http://bit.ly/AAP2Kids

Link: http://bit.ly/29CchFK

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