HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING Makes Southern California Premiere in August

Rogue Machine, renowned for its groundbreaking theatrical productions, announces dates for its most highly anticipated play of the season, "Heroes of the Fourth Turning." This gripping drama, written by Will Arbery and directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos, has captivated audiences with its thought-provoking exploration of ideology and identity.

On a dark night, in the middle of America, four young conservatives gather to toast the newly inducted president of their tiny Catholic college. Their reunion spirals into chaos and clashing generational politics, becoming less a celebration than a vicious fight to be understood. Will Arbery’s haunting Pulitzer Prize Finalist play speaks to the heart of a country at war with itself, offering both grace and disarming clarity.

"Heroes of the Fourth Turning," the fourth offering for Rogue Machine's 2023 Season, embarking on a journey into the complex world of conservative ideology and the clashes that arise within it. Set against the backdrop of a small Catholic college in western rural Wyoming, the play offers a deeply insightful and timely examination of the tensions that exist between personal beliefs and societal expectations.

The desire to fuse with other people has been a major theme in Arbery’s work, “I was raised by Catholic conservative academics. The conservatism modeled for me was poetic, passionate, and nuanced. As a boy, I would stay up past my bedtime, on porches and patios, listening to professors and students — debating. I barely knew what they were talking about, but I knew what it felt like to sit there and listen. It’s been a long journey from there to here. I uncoiled myself from their world. Now I’m circling back. Who was I? Where did I go? How long was I gone? My characters often want to disappear into someone else, or merge with the entire world. I find this impulse tragic, because not only is it impossible, but the attempt is very dangerous. You can’t fuse with other people. If you try, you — and everything that makes you you — might disappear. But then what are we doing here? How close can, or should, a playwright get to a fugue state? What about an actor? What about an audience?”

Will Arbery (Playwright) lives in Los Angeles. His work includes Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons), Plano (Clubbed Thumb), Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (New Neighborhood), Wheelchair (3 Hole Press). Arbery is currently under commission from Playwrights Horizons and Shadowcatcher Entertainment. He’s a member of New Dramatists, The Working Farm at SPACE on Ryder Farm, Page 73’s Interstate 73, Colt Coeur, Youngblood, and an alum of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group. His plays have been developed at Clubbed Thumb, Playwrights Horizons, NYTW, The Vineyard, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Cape Cod Theater Project, The New Group, EST/Youngblood, The Bushwick Starr, Alliance/Kendeda, and Tofte Lake Center. Arbery was a writer for the final season of HBO’s “Succession."

“Since our inception we have been committed to presenting challenging and controversial plays that closely examine who we are and where we are going. The following quote from the production mirrors our ambitions,” says director Cienfuegos: “To get in there, to meld, to fuse, to engage, to dance and laugh together on the street, to live our truth in the face of theirs, to let two competing facts exist in the same space, to imagine a heaven we can all graduate into.” 

Guillermo Cienfuegos (Director) serves as Artistic Director at Rogue Machine Theatre, along with Founding Artistic Director, John Perrin Flynn. Selected directing credits include Tim Venable’s The Beautiful People, Neil McGowan’s Disposable Necessities (Critic’s Choice – LA Times), the Los Angeles premiere of Greg Keller’s Dutch Masters (Ovation Nomination for Best Production, Stage Raw Award Winner for Best Two Person Performance) at Rogue Machine. At The Fountain Theatre, he directed the Los Angeles premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize winning Between Riverside and Crazy (7 Ovation Award Nominations including Best Director and Best Production), and most recently Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at A Noise Within. Cienfuegos won the “Best Director” Award from Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for his production of Shakespeare’s Henry V, he helmed Ionesco’s Rhinoceros (9 Stage Raw nominations including Best Director and Production of the Year), Pinter’s The Homecoming (4 Broadway World Awards, including Best Director and Best Play) and the world premiere of Safe at Home: An Evening with Orson Bean (LADCC Award for Best Solo Show, LA Times “Best of 2016”) at Pacific Resident Theatre. 

Cast: TBA

Creative Team: Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Scenic Design), Dan Weingarten (Lighting Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Christine Cover Ferro (Costume Design), John Perrin Flynn (Dramaturg), Victoria Hoffman (Casting Director), Justin Okin, John Perrin Flynn (Producers).

Rogue Machine produces new plays, primarily by Los Angeles based playwrights, and important contemporary plays not yet seen in Los Angeles. RMT won the Ovation Award for “Best Season” (2017) and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for “Best Season” twice (2011 & 2016). In the last 9 years, Rogue Machine has won three Ovation Awards and four LADCC awards for “Outstanding Production of the Year.” RMT has produced seventeen mainstage World Premieres, nine of which have been published by Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service or Broadway Play Publishing. Six of the productions have had subsequent productions at significant theatres, including Off Broadway, major regional houses and The Donmar Warehouse in London. Four world premieres, Razorback, Small Engine Repair, Lone-Anon, and One Night in Miami… were or are being made into feature films, and playwright Kemp Powers was nominated for an Academy Award. In recognition of its artistic achievement, administrative strength, development of new work and other significant contributions to the field of professional theatre in the United States, Rogue Machine is supported by the Shubert Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The David Lee Foundation, The City and County of Los Angeles, The Ahmanson Foundation, and The Richenthal Foundation. RMT is a recipient of the American Theatre Wing’s 2014 National Theatre Company Grant.  

“Heroes of the Fourth Turning” begins performances at 8pm on Saturday, August 19th and runs at 8pm Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 3pm Sundays through October 2, 2023. Rogue Machine (in the Matrix Theatre), is located at 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets are $45 for general seating. Seniors: $35 Students with ID: $25. Pay-What-You-Want Fridays: Sept 1 ($10+), Sept 8 (15+), Sept 15, 22 (20+). Reservations: https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/ or for more information 855-585-5185. 

Face masks are optional but encouraged. Rogue Machine has upgraded their HVAC system at the Matrix Theatre to exceed compliance with current COVID protocols. They have installed HEPA air purifiers in all public spaces. All staff and artists are fully vaccinated and boosted. 

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