Circle X Theatre Presents LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING; Opens March 27

On a secluded Greek island, an American ex-pat pursues his passions: winemaking and his breathtaking young wife. Then, on the eve of his first tasting, an old lover reappears bringing with her a wild and violent past. Circle X Theatre Co. presents the Debut Production of Lascivious Something by Sheila Callaghan. Paul Willis directs Alana Dietze, Olivia Henry, Silas Weir Mitchell and Alina Phelan in a six-week run opening March 27 at [Inside] the Ford. Low-priced previews begin March 18.

Inspired by Greek tragedy, Lascivious Something combines evocative language with sympathetic yet deeply flawed characters straight out of Euripides. Playwright Sheila Callaghan sets the scene on a remote island in the Mediterranean where August, an American looking to escape his radical past, has started a small winery with Daphne, his new Greek bride. The ripening of their first harvest coincides with new political currents in the U.S. On the eve of Reagan's inauguration, the first tasting of the new wine is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of August's former lover.

"Sheila's writing is breathless and intelligent," says Circle X artistic director Tim Wright. "In many ways the play is an investigation of the time before Reagan took office, setting the stage for the events of the last 30 years. Her work fits with what we do here at Circle X: combining well-developed characters and innovative storytelling with larger political and social themes."

"Lascivious Something is Sheila's most timeless play to date with the creation of these extraordinary characters and lush, provocative story," agrees Willis. "The play confronts the most primal natures of human beings, yet somehow keeps its wits about it. And that makes the work of bringing it to the stage a uniquely satisfying and thrilling experience, especially with such a gifted cast."

The action takes place at a vineyard in Greece, so there is much drinking and discussion of wine. Check back at www.FordTheatres.com after March 27 for information regarding scheduled wine tastings and other wine-themed events. K&L Wine Merchants (www.klwines.com) will sponsor the opening night reception on March 27.

Lascivious Something was first commissioned by South Coast Repertory in 2002. Since then, it has been workshopped at the Bay Area Playwright's Festival and was developed with Soho Rep and the Cherry Lane Theatre. It is scheduled to receive a New York production from the Women's Project and The Cherry Lane Theatre in May.

Sheila Callaghan is currently a writer on the Showtime series The United States of Tara. In addition to Soho Rep, hers plays have been produced and developed with Playwright's Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, The LARK, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, New Georges, Woolly Mammoth, and Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre, among others. Sheila is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists, a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, a MacDowell Residency, a 2005 Cherry Lane Mentorship Fellowship, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and the prestigious Whiting Award. She has received grants from NYFA, NYSCA, and the MAP Foundation. Her plays have been produced internationally in New Zealand, Norway, Germany, and the Czech Republic. In addition to South Coast Repertory, she has been commissioned by Playwright's Horizons, The Playwright's Foundation, Clubbed Thumb, and EST/Sloan. Her full-length plays include Scab; Crawl, Fade to White; Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake); We Are Not These Hands; Dead City; Kate Crackernut; That Pretty Pretty, Or The Rape Play; and Fever/Dream. She has taught playwriting at Columbia University, University of Rochester, The College of New Jersey and Florida State University, and she is currently on the faculty at Spalding University's MFA program in creative writing. Sheila is a resident artist at HERE Arts Center and a member of the Obie-winning playwright's organization 13P. She is also a resident of New Dramatists.
Paul Willis most recently directed Sheila Callaghan's Crawl, Fade to White for 13P in NYC. Other recent NYC credits include One Thing I Like to Say Is by Amy Fox for Clubbed Thumb; Aaron Landsman's Open House with The Foundry (actor); Kristen Kosmas's Chapter of Accidents with CSC; and multiple workshops with SohoRep's Writer/Director Lab, Culture Project, St. Ann's Puppet Lab, and The New Group. Originally from the Northwest, Paul Willis co-founded Seattle's acclaimed Printer's Devil Theatre in 1996, where he served as co-Artistic Director for five years. In addition, Willis has worked at The Seattle Rep, A Contemporary Theatre, Annex, Empty Space, CTG/Mark Taper Forum, and The Public. In 2002, Willis was honored to be one of 16 directors from the Northwest selected for a master directors' workshop with Peter Brook. He has served on grant panels for King County Council of the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council and Northwest Film Forum.

Silas Weir Mitchell (August) Southern CA: La Jolla Playhouse, The Actors' Gang, The MET Theatre, Stella Adler Theatre; Ohio: The Porthouse Theatre; Off-Broadway: HERE Theatre, WPA Theatre, Harold Clurman Theatre and Playwright's Horizons. Mr. Mitchell has worked with such directors as RoBert Woodruff, Michael Greif, Mark Brokaw, Harry Mastrogeorge, Lisa Peterson, and Brent Hinkley. TV credits include recurring roles on My Name is Earl, Prison Break, and Burn Notice, and movies of the week such as Johnson County War, A Painted House, The Absence of the Good, Prairie Fever, Life on Liberty Street. Films include: A Fork in the Road, Ticket Out, Flags of Our Fathers, Wisteria, Crazy, The Whole Ten Yards, Rat Race, The Patriot, Private Parts.

Olivia Henry (Daphne) A recent Cal Arts graduate, credits include: Helen in Trojan Women, Sooze in Suburbia, Mrs. X in The Stronger and, most recently, Paul Mullin's The Sequence (Boston Court). Her voice can be heard in the up-and-coming Square Enix video game Front Mission Evolved as Adele, Gloria and Wizard. Also a musician, Olivia plays piano and is the vocalist and lyricist for acclaimed jazz band Nightbyrd (Gemini Sun Records).

Alina Phelan (Liza): Family Planning (Chalk Rep - Ovation nominee); Love Water (Open Fist); the title role in Hamlet (Garland Award for Best Lead Actor), Erik Patterson's Yellow Flesh/Alabaster Rose, Bing, Fish Without His Flippers (all at Theatre of NOTE where she is a member). Film and TV: Lake City (with Sissy Spacek), Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek 2, Lie To Me, Criminal Minds and the upcoming comedy/horror film The Selling.

Alana Dietze (Boy) Los Angeles stage: NIBBLER (Theatre of NOTE); Doomsday Kiss! (REPO Division and Bootleg Theater); I Know Who You Are, Hartshorne (Echo Theater Company). Alana has a B.A. in Theater from Occidental College, has studied at the British American Drama Academy in London, is an alumna of the comedy improv troupe Fantastiprov!, and is a company member at both the Echo Theater Company (where she is also the literary coordinator) and Theatre of NOTE.

The set designer for Lascivious Something is Sibyl Wickersheimer; lighting design is by Thomas Ontiveros; costume design is by Dianne K. Graebner; sound design is by John Zalewski; Tim Wright and Jennifer A. Skinner produce for Circle X Theatre Co.

Circle X Theatre Co. is a not-for-profit ensemble dedicated to highly provocative and boldly theatrical productions of new and rarely-seen plays. The company's emphasis on innovation goes beyond the selection of thought-provoking, highly challenging plays and extends into everything from design, performance and direction to administration and marketing, creating the unique aesthetic for which Circle X is known. Circle X has been described as "ferocious," "idealistic," "adventurous," "whimsical," "courageous," "talented," "selfless, "a reminder of how good theater can be" and as aspiring to "a level of both sturdy professionalism and imaginative stagecraft that seems almost dangerously, headily high." Circle X's production of Battle Hymn by Jim Leonard, which was part of last year's three-play season at [Inside] the Ford, has been nominated for seven LA Weekly 'LAWEE' awards, including 2009 Production of the Year.

Lascivious Something is the final production of the 2009-10 Season at [Inside] the Ford, a three-play, curated series of new works from three L.A.-based theater companies. The 2009-10 Season at [Inside] the Ford is supported by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Ford Theatre Foundation, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Performances of Lascivious Something take place Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm and 7pm, March 27 through May 1, with previews scheduled March 18-26. General admission is $20;seniors and full-time students with ID are $12; Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available for the previews and all Sunday matinee performances when purchased at the door (subject to availability). Recommended for mature audiences due to strong language and adult situations.

[Inside] the Ford is located in the Ford Theatres complex at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios. On-site, non-stacked parking is free. For reservations and information, call the Ford Theatres Box Office at 323.461.3673 (323.GO1.FORD) or go to www.FordTheatres.org.

 

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