James Roday and Michael Weston Star In EXTINCTION 11/21-12/13

James Roday (USA Network's Psych), Michael Weston (Fox's House) and Amanda Detmer (ABC's Private Practice) star in the world premiere of Gabe McKinley's Extinction, a darkly funny exploration of the evolution of friendships - and the lengths to which we go to save them from dying out. Wayne Kasserman directs the Red Dog Squadron production, which also features Stefanie E. Frame. Performances take place November 21 through December 13 at Elephant Space in Hollywood.

College buddies Max (Weston) and Finn (Roday) meet in Atlantic City, where they traditionally spend their vacations in the fast lane, religiously drinking, drugging and chasing women. But this time something is different, and thwarted expectations precipitate a dangerous showdown between the two friends.

"I'm fascinated by the way men behave behind closed doors," McKinley explains. "I believe that most of us have a dark, socially unacceptable side that we rarely share with anyone but ourselves. I like the grittiness of Atlantic City - it's a run down, old world version of Vegas, a Vegas with more edge. That is the dark and disturbing world these characters inhabit."

Roday, who is co-artistic director of Red Dog Squadron, was looking for a contemporary play that would resonate with audiences in their 30s. "Cultivating new work is an important piece of the engine for this company," he says. "I've known Gabe since our undergrad days at NYU Tisch, and I've been following his work for years. When I read Extinction, it was pretty clear that this is the play that will announce him as a new and exciting voice. This play is his calling card."

In Los Angeles, Red Dog Squadron previously produced the critically acclaimed world premiere of David Rock's raucous World War I farce, Grand Delusion, starring Kurt Fuller, Xander Berkeley, and Timothy Omundson ("Recommended" - Los Angeles Times). Founded in New York City in 1999, Red Dog is committed to producing artist-driven, ensemble based theater.

Gabe McKinley's plays include The Kitchen Sink Play, Welcome Home Rock Rogers, Flannel, Funny, and Floodplains. His short play The Grave was the winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival and is published by Samuel French. His short play Hero's Grave was recently performed at London's Old Vic as part of the Symposium on Creationism vs. Darwinism. Gabe is a member of the Old Vic New Voices program hosted by London's Old Vic Theatre.

James Roday stars as 'Shawn Spencer' in the fourth season of the USA Network original series Psych. Roday began his career studying theater at New York University's Experimental Theatre Wing and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. From there, he garnered a slew of New York theater production credits both in classical (The Three Sisters, Twelfth Night, A Respectable Wedding) and contemporary (Severity's Mistress, Sexual Perversity in Chicago) material. Roday went on to star in several feature film roles including Wim Wenders' Don't Come Knocking, Rolling Kansas directed by Thomas Haden Church, and the Warner Bros. film adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard, as Billy Prickett, in 2005. Roday's other credits include Jay Chandreskhar's Beerfest and the NBC anthology series Fear Itself directed by John Landis. In addition to acting, Roday and his writing partners Todd Harthan and James DeMonaco wrote the screenplay for the Lionsgate film Skinwalkers. Also, he will next star in and direct the film Gravy, which he and Harthan wrote, currently in pre-production. Roday co-wrote both the Season 1 and 2 finales of Psych as well as episodes in Seasons 3 and 4. Additionally, Roday directed the 'Tuesday the 17th' episode in the 3rd season of the show and will direct episodes in the upcoming season as well. Along with partner Brad Raider, Roday runs the Los Angeles based non-profit theater company Red Dog Squadron.

On stage, Michael Weston starred in Kenny Lonnergan's The Waverly Gallery at the Pasadena Playhouse, the Off-Broadway production of Snakebit, and several plays at the Williamstown Theater Festival, including The Matchmaker, Johnny On A Spot, Misha's Party, and Dead End. Weston was last seen in the feature film State of Play starring Russell Crowe and directed by Kevin MacDonald. Other film credits include The Last Kiss, Pathology, Garden State, Dukes of Hazzard, Hart's War, Getting To Know You, Lucky Numbers, Cherry Falls, Sally, Looking For Sunday, Wedding Daze, Coyote Ugly and others. Michael Weston garnered much recognition for his role as Jake in HBO's acclaimed series Six Feet Under. Other television credits include Burn Notice, Psych, Saved, ER, Monk, Frasier, the CBS telefilm Helter Skelter, and recurring roles on the hit shows Scrubs, Law and Order: SVU, and, currently, House.

Amanda Detmer earned her MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and after graduation immediately landed the role of Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, where she also played Constanza in Amadeus. She made her onscreen debut in the television movie Stolen Innocence and her big screen debut playing Miss Minneapolis in the beauty pageant-set comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous. She has also made notable film appearances in Final Destination, Saving Silverman, The Majestic, and Big Fat Liar. She played Deena Greco on the ABC drama What About Brian and currently has a recurring role as Morgan Gellman on Private Practice. Amanda appeared previously with Red Dog Squadron in Grand Delusion and sustenance.

Based in New York, Stefanie E. Frame's credits include Lily in The Fun Part (Access Theater), Jinx in Love Sick (FringeNYC), Maria in Twelfth Night (Lake George Theatre Lab; Lake George, NY), and improv and sketch theater at such NYC comedy clubs as UCB and the PIT. She appeared in the films You Don't Know Me (Audience Choice Award, NYC Downtown Short Film Festival), Babyland, Chasing Zero, and Unseen. Stefanie narrated Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives for PBS NOVA and played Renee in The Kill Point for Spike TV.

An actor and musician, Wayne Kasserman is Executive Producer and Creative Director for the New York Collective for the Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to providing emerging artists with additional platforms for their work. He holds his MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and his BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and has performed at many leading theaters in the U.S. and internationally, including The Public, Lincoln Center Theater, and The Royal Shakespeare Company. Mr. Kasserman recently starred in NBC's two-hour movie remake of Knight Rider, and he has guest-starred on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, The Jury, The Kill Point, and Crash. His film credits include Ashes and Imaginary Heroes.

Scenic Design for Extinction is by Kurt Boetcher; Costume Design is by Gali Noy; Lighting Design is by Mike Durst; Technical Director is Steve Barr; Production Stage Manager is Susan K. Coulter; and Breanne Mowdy produces for Red Dog Squadron.

Performances of Extinction take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm, November 21 through December 13. There will be one preview performance on Friday, November 20 at 8 pm. General admission is $18.00; students (with valid ID) and seniors are $15.00. Elephant Space is located at 6322 Santa Monica Blvd.
in Hollywood, 90038. For reservations and information, call (323) 960-7784 or go to www.plays411.com/Extinction.

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