Hit Show THE COLUMBINE PROJECT Returns for L.A. Run

One of the most widely acclaimed shows to address the issue of gun violence and mass school shootings in America is returning to the stage. And the reason for its return, according to producers, is simple: There is still so much more to say.

Paul Storiale's award-winning drama The Columbine Project runs April 7 - May 20 at the Loft Ensemble in Sherman Oaks. An atemporal retelling of the events leading up to, during and following the April 20, 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, The Columbine Project challenges what we think we know about the victims, families, teachers and the shooters themselves.

Praised by L.A theatre critics, survivors and families of the victims, The Columbine Project was created from direct correspondence with people involved in and affected by the event. Storiale happened to be driving from L.A. to Chicago in 1999 when he heard news of the Columbine shooting and out of morbid curiosity, he stopped in Littleton, Colorado just days after the massacre. What he saw in that community in those early days left an impression. Storiale put what he had learned into a collection of scenes and monologues, all based in the facts as he learned them from direct interviews, journal entries, police reports, etc., and The Columbine Project was born. Beyond its local runs in 2009, 2010 and 2014, The Columbine Project has also been produced and praised in New York and Baltimore. The show returns to L.A. during a time where society needs perspective and solace in regards to gun violence in schools now more than ever.

"After the 2014 production, I thought I had done all I needed to with this story," said director Bree Pavey, who has been involved with the show since its 2009 premiere. "But in the years that followed, as we saw more and more mass shootings happening in faster succession and with higher body counts, it began to itch at the back of my head again. With each production I get to know these characters better, and the mourning for their loss and the suffering of a community grows deeper and more painful. Every time there is another shooting in the news, the decade old family of artists this play has created reaches out to one another, remembering that talking about it, bringing it into the light, is our only hope of making progress."

This new production features a solid cast of theatre veterans: Marc Leclerc, Tor Jensen Brown, Victoria Anne Greenwood, Dantzen Debusk, Stephanie Jones, Bryan Rasmussen, Diane Renee, La'Vel Stacy, Benjamin David Rawls, Dray Debusk, Gary J. Clayton, Katy Laughlin, Madylin Sweeten, Max Marsh, Devan Schoelen, Danielle Power, Barbera Anne Howard, Cj Merriman, Matthew Wayne Roberts, Nora Yessayan and Sarah Nilsen.

Plus, this new production, led by designers Brown, Matt Richter and Adam Earle, will incorporate more multimedia with video screens showing a variety of images and Moving Pictures to add to the impact of a show that goes directly to the heart of gun violence in America.

"This event stands out as one of the first to have such widespread coverage that it was literally unescapable," Pavey said. "How that impacted the psyche and culture of America and subsequent generations is something I want to explore...The story told by The Columbine Project is 19 years old. But sadly, only the names of the killers and victims has changed, reminding us that we are ALL Columbine."

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