Rogue Machine Presents THE WORD BEGINS 7/21

A free matinee performance of The Word Begins for up to 100 young, artists and organizers from all over Los Angeles and Sylmar will be offered on Thursday, July 21st. Youth attending the show come from a myriad of arts organizations such as A.R.M.A., Heart and Soul, School of Communications, New Media, Technology from Roosevelt High School, and Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural.

This free show is a core component of the mission of HIP HOP THEATER FESTIVAL which seeks to engage theater work with under-represented audiences and young people of color. The free show will be followed by a Q&A with the writers/performers - Steve Connell and Sekou Andrews.

Steve Connell and Sekou Andrews, the critically acclaimed and pioneering Spoken Word duo, bring their piece The Word Begins to the multi-award winning Rogue Machine for the production's West Coast Premiere. Performances of The Word Begins June 14-19, 2011, were seen as part of RADAR L.A., an international festival of contemporary theater presented by REDCAT in collaboration with Center Theatre Group and The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival. Visit www.radarla.org for more information.

Nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards, The Word Begins follows the hilarious and provocative journey of two men discovering the power of words to define love, faith, race and humanity in America. Mashing up theater, spoken word, comedy and Hip-Hop, Steve Connell and Sekou Andrews deliver a high-energy performance in this fresh new satire that examines the current cultural landscape.

Rogue Machine's recently extended run of Small Engine Repair (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times; GO- LA Weekly, CRITIC'S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED), now at Beverly Hills Playhouse, and the critically acclaimed Blackbird run simultaneously.

THE WORD BEGINS adds July 21st at 2pm to their current schedule at Rogue Machine, now running Thursdays - Sundays through July 24, 2011. ROGUE MACHINE is located at 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019. Tickets are $20-$35. FREE for the YOUTH performance on July 21st at 2pm. Reservations:855-585-5185 or at www.roguemachinetheatre.com

The Word Begins was originally produced at The Signature Theatre, Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director and was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Robert Egan, Artistic Director.

Robert Egan (Director) is a director, producer and dramaturge who serves as the Artistic Director/Producer of the Ojai Playwrights Conference. He was Producing Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum for 19 seasons and was Founding/Producing Artistic Director of its internationally acclaimed New Work Festival for 15 seasons. He has developed hundreds of new plays for the American Theatre. Directing credits include: Mark Taper Forum: Arcadia, Aristocrats, Closer, Dealer's Choice, Death and the Maiden, Hedda Gabler (at the Doolittle), Made in Bangkok, Measure for Measure, The Poison Tree, Richard II, Sansei, Skylight, Ten Unknowns and Widows. Kirk Douglas Theatre: Flight, Distant Shores. Taper, Too: Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Dream Coast, The Thrill and Weights. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Playwrights Horizons: Chinese Friends. Seattle Repertory Theatre: Savages, Translations, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, Buying Time, Salvation Now, The Grass Widow, Between East and West. Actors' Gang and Berkeley Rep: The Guys. Actor's Gang: Julian Fleisher and Martha Plimpton Live! U.S. Tour for Norman Lear: Declare Yourself Poets. HBO Aspen Comedy Festival: Norman Lear Presents Steve Connell and Sekou (tha Misfit). NYSF: The Ballad of Soapy Smith. LA Theatre Center: The Film Society. Naked Angels L.A.: Coq Au Vin. ACT Seattle: Night and Day. Oxford Playhouse: St. Joan and Idomineo. Oxford University Drama Society: They Shoot Horses Don't They (direction and adaptation). Theatreworks: The Merchant of Venice. La Jolla Playhouse: The Nightwatcher. Signature Theatre: The Word Begins. For television, Egan directed episodes of "Frasier" and "Stark Raving Mad."

HIP HOP THEATER FESTIVAL (Producer) Beginning in the summer of 2000, the annual Hip-Hop Theater Festival brings together the Hip-Hop generation and those interested in learning more about it in a celebration of the Hip-Hop culture. The non-profit festival has presented over 100 world-renown artists in festivals reaching major metropolitan audiences in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Since its inception, The Hip-Hop Theater Festival has grown into one of the most influential outlets showcasing Hip-Hop performing arts in the country and has become an important contributor to the cultural life of participating Festival cities. This influence has been extended through live, professionally executed theater performances written by and about the Hip-Hop generation. Often using the elements of Hip-Hop culture (including MCing, DJing, Hip-Hop dance, graffiti and Spoken Word), Hip-Hop Theater tells urgent stories seldom represented on stage, and through language that embraces Hip-Hop's multi-literate and poly-lingual vitality. Always imbued with an undercurrent of activism, Hip-Hop Theater ignites dialogue and social change through exciting, provocative and celebratory performance. For more information, go to www.hiphoptheaterfest.com.

PRANA THEATRE GROUP (Producer) has credits which include: 40 Days; The Word Begins; HBO's US Comedy Festival in Aspen: No Easy Choices.

John PerriN FLYNN (Producer/Artistic Director) is responsible for bringing the current WORLD PREMIERE hit play Small Engine Repair to Los Angeles. He directed the critically acclaimed Los Angeles premiere of THE SUNSET LIMITED, (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times; GO- LA Weekly, CRITIC'S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED), which played to sold out houses for nearly six months. He directed the multi-award winning World Premiere of Henry Murray's Treefall (now being produced regionally and published by the Dramatist Play Service in 2010) last season, and the critically acclaimed Los Angeles premiere of Rogue Machine's inaugural production Compleat Female Stage Beauty. John helmed the Craig Lucas' hit Small Tragedies at The Odyssey Theatre and the world premiere of John Pollono's Lost and Found at The Lounge Theatre. He is Rogue Machine's founding Artistic Director and has been the Executive Producer of all three successful seasons. John was the Executive Producer and director of Lifetime's long running award winning series Strong Medicine, has produced two other series and 14 television movies or miniseries including the Emmy nominated Burden of Proof. He attended The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has a MA degree in Theatre from Illinois State University.

ROGUE MACHINE presents plays that are new to Los Angeles.
Last season the company's staging of Four Places garnered the Ovation Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award and the Garland Award for Best Production. The cast received two LADCC Awards (Best Lead Performance, Best Ensemble), two Garland Awards (Performance, Ensemble), and three Ovation nominations (two for Best Lead Actress, and Best Supporting Actress).

Since 2008 Rogue Machine's over 50 events have included 7 West Coast Premiere (THE WORD BEGINS, WISH I HAD A SYLVIA PLATH, FOUR PLACES, MilkMilkLemonade, AMERICAN DEAD, BINGO WITH THE INDIANS, and HALF OF PLENTY), 3 Los Angeles Premiere (BLACKBIRD, STOP KISS, and COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY), 1 American Premiere (NEVERLAND), and 5World Premiere productions which include SMALL ENGINE REPAIR, YARD SALE SIGNS, RAZORBACK, SHORTS & SWEETS, and the multi-award winning production of Henry Murray's TREEFALL(Dramatist Play Services). Last year the company worked extensively with multi-award winner Steven Sater (Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Circle, Lucille Lortel awards for SPRING AWAKENING) in developing his play NEW YORK ANIMALS. Rogue Machine draws upon the diverse and extensive experience of its collective, while creating high-quality productions by contemporary playwrights who specifically address our culture and time.

OUR ENSEMBLE

STEVE CONNELL (Writer/Peformer) is a Rogue Machine company member. Featured on ABC World News, Good Morning America, HBO Def Poetry and others. He has created projects for such prestigious organizations as GlobAl Green, TEDMED, Sony/Universal, American Cancer Society, NCAA, PAVE, Declare Yourself, and Amnesty International...to name a few. Private highlights include performing at Oprah Winfrey's celebration of Maya Angelou, the Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Marion Anderson Gala (honoring Maya Angelou/Norman Lear) as well as special events for Senator Hillary Clinton, (special request: Quincy Jones) and President Barack Obama (special request: Oprah Winfrey). Together with Sekou Andrews, he has re-imagined the text for three beloved symphonies, including Peter and the Wolf, and has performed them alongside Rachel Worby and the Angeli Orchestra. He is currently collaborating with visionary choreographer Jacques Heim on a new piece to be performed with the world famous Diavolo Dance Company later this year. His first book of poems "Better Bound" was just released to great acclaim while his highly regarded spoken word album, "Intimate Nature of Knife Fights," remains in high demand. Steve's "riveting" performance in his smash hit one-man show 40 Days earned him Best Solo Performance of 2005. His newest solo work, Against Oblivion, was picked by South Coast Repertory to launch their Studio Series and his play The Word Begins (nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards) is following up a stint at the New York Public Theater with a run in the inaugural RADAR LA festival. www.Stevenconnell.com

SEKOU ANDREWS (Writer/Performer) is an award winning recording artist, accomplished actor, and two-time national poetry slam champion. He has recenty performed at Deepak Chopra's Sages & Scientist conference, TEDMED 2009 and 2010, and New York City's World Basketball Festival opening for Jay-Z. Having wrapped his first leading role in a feature film The Sea of Dreams (2011 release), currently working on a feature comedy, and the numerous radio/television projects now under his belt, confirms Sekou's extraordinary talents and his unique ablility to move efforlessless between the stage, the camera, and the microphone. His poetry has been featured on such diverse media outlets as ABC World News, Good Morning America, HBO, MSNBC, Showtime, MTV, and BET. Sekou has performed for such prominent individuals as Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Norman Lear, Maya Angelou, and Coretta Scott King. Sekou has created a unique business writing and delivering original and customized spoken word presentations for international corporations, and conferences such as eBay, Mayo Clinic, Nike, Time Warner, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, the NBA, and GlobAl Green. Along with partner Steve Connell, he has written and performed featured pieces for HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival, the Pasadena Pops Orchestra, and the national voting initiative "Declare Yourself," which registered over one million new voters. Sekou's CD releases, including his latest double CD "Poetic License," have won a record breaking list of Just Plain Folks music awards. This includes awards for Best Spoken Word Album, Album of the Year, and Male Artist of the Year, making him the most awarded artist in the largest independent music organization in the country. www.TheSekouEffect.com

ADAM PHALEN (Sound Design) has credits which include: Center Theatre Group: The Paris Letter, Flight, ¡Gaytino!, Live From The Front, Taking Flight, Of Equal Measure, Taking Over, Eclipsed, Bones, Titus Redux. New Works Festival, 365 Days/365 Plays. Fountain Theatre: And Her Hair Went With Her. Gangbusters Theatre: Hamlet, Woyzeck, Julius Caesar. Theatre of Note: Film, Kill Me, Deadly. The Hayworth Theatre: Eurydice. South Coast Rep: Against Oblivion. The Getty Villa: Hercules TV: Lalo Guerrero: Original Chicano. Resident sound designer and Technical Director for the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Head of audio at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre.

SARA RYUNG CLEMENT (Set and Costume Design) is a Los Angeles-based set and costume designer. Recent projects include costumes for the world premiere of Itamar Moses' Completeness and the West Coast premiere of Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw at South Coast Repertory. Regional and local credits include TheatreWorks, Cornerstone Theatre Company, The Denver Center, Yale Repertory, CenterStage, A Noise Within, Marin Theatre Company, SPF, The Elephant, and Deaf West. Sara holds a MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama and received her AB from Princeton University.

 

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