Rogue Artists Ensemble Presents WOOD BOY DOG FISH, Now thru 12/12

Award-winning artists' collective Rogue Artists Ensemble presents its most ambitious project to date in association with Bootleg Theater: a modern, mature and delightfully macabre adaptation of Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio." The world premiere of Wood Boy Dog Fish opens at the Bootleg tonight, November 13, with performances continuing through December 12.

In this new version of the classic tale for adult audiences, the cricket is killed, the blue ghost haunts us all and the legendary Dogfish monster preys on our greatest fears in the darkest corners of Shoreside, a tumbledown, tourist trap amusement park.

Written by Chelsea Sutton, directed by Rogue's artistic director Sean T. Cawelti, and featuring original music by Ego Plum and Adrien Prévost, Wood Boy Dog Fish is a visual feast that combines masks, highly expressive physical performance, dance, interactive sets, multiple puppetry traditions, projected media, and sophisticated special effects and illusions - including 3D enhancement to recreate a scene inside an old carnival ride. (ChromaDepth 3D glasses will be available at each performance for a suggested donation.)

The ensemble cast includes Sam Bianchini, Lisa Dring, Eric Fagundes, Jeremy Hohn, Willem Long, Stephanie O'Neill, Veronica Mannion, Rudy Martinez, Ben Messmer, Mark Royston, Nina Silver, Miles Taber and Paul Turbiak.

Scenic design is by Francois-Pierre Couture; lighting design is by Brandon Baruch; sound design is by Steve Swift; costume design is by Kerry Hennessy with Lori Meeker; video design is by Dallas Nichols; props design by Dillon Nelson; choreography is by Nate Hodges; and puppet and mask designs are by Greg Ballora, Sean Cawelti, Christine Papalexis, Jack Pullman, Lorne Reitzenstein, Miles Taber and Brian White. Wood Boy Dog Fish thanks the following for their support: Westlake North Neighborhood Council as community partner, American Paper Optics for sponsorship, and the Jim Henson Foundation, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, UnionBank, Macy's and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Rogue Artists Ensemble differs from other theater companies in that it's run by a collective of multi-disciplinary artists and designers rather than by actors, writers or directors. By combining ancient storytelling techniques (music, dance, masks, puppetry) with modern technology (digital media, special effects and theatrical illusions), the Rogues cultivate a unique style of live performance unlike any other. They define the combined use of these and other underrepresented art forms as Hyper-theater. Since 2002, the Rogues have created nearly twenty original new works and collaborated with hundreds of artists and community members. Past Rogue Artists Ensemble Hyper-theatrical productions include Zen Shorts, adapted from the book by Jon J. Muth, last seen in Tears of Joy Theater's 2015 season in Portland OR; Songs of Bilitis, commissioned by and workshopped at the Getty Villa, and later produced at South Coast Repertory and Bootleg Theater; D is for Dog, also produced at South Coast Repertory and designated one of the top-rated productions of 2011 by Bitter Lemons, a website that aggregates Los Angeles theater reviews; Gogol Project, adapted by Kitty Felde from three Gogol short stories (Los Angeles Times "Critic's Choice"; Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for adaptation and design; LA Weekly Award for design); The Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch, adapted from the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman (recipient of three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards and received an entire chapter in the book "Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman");The Victorian Hotel by Angus Oblong; and The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone, adapted from the book by Timothy Basil.

Wood Boy Dog Fish runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m.* (*please note early curtain time) from Nov. 13 through Dec. 12 (dark Nov, 26 and Nov. 27). There will be two matinee performances, on Saturday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 29, both at 2 p.m. Tickets to the opening night performance on Saturday, Nov. 13 are $50 and include a post-performance reception. Tickets to all other performances are $23 when purchased in advance online, and $25 the day of performance and at the door; seniors and students with valid ID are $18 with advance purchase and $20 the day of performance and at the door. The performance on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. will be Pay-What-You-Can. Low-priced previews on Friday, Nov. 6; Saturday, Nov. 7; and Thursday, Nov. 12, all at 7 p.m., are $15.

On Thursday, Nov. 19, Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, a special ticket price of $10 at the door will be available to residents of the surrounding Westlake North community (limited availability, proof of residence in zip codes 90017 and 90057 required).

Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90057. For reservations and information, call (213) 596-9468 or visit www.bootlegtheater.org.

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