Rogue Machine Presents NICE THINGS, Now thru 11/23

Rogue Machine presents the World Premiere of NICE THINGS by Vince Melocchi, opening tonight, October 4, 2014 with reception to follow 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm on Sundays through November 23, 2014 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019

As the economy falls apart, military recruiters are offering paychecks and school tuition with the promise of a better life. But, at what cost? Nice Things explores the changing and diminishing options available for today's young men and women in small town America. Rogue Machine continues with their distinctive 2014 season after receiving honors in the past (BEST PRODUCTION award winner 2013, 2011 and 2010 - Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Ovation) and will now be including c*ckby Mike Bartlett (Olivier Award winner), running concurrently at their theater.

Amy Mellinger lost her fiancée Danny to the war in Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Bobbie Jo Gunning recruited him. Neither of them are able to sleep well these days. Amy, because of what she's done. Bobbie Jo, because of something she hasn't dealt with. In order to move on and live their lives they will need to come to terms with the past and the present.

"In working class towns the factories have left, never to return. Minimum wage service jobs have started to retreat, like the McDonalds and Pizza Hut that vacated my hometown recently. So what opportunities exist if you're a kid from a multi-generational low-income family and you haven't been given the tools to find a way out of this cycle? You need a job, but nobody seems to need you except the military. They'll give you money for schooling, a chance at a lifetime career, a steady paycheck and a chance for you to help keep your country strong. Better life...but at what cost? Nothing costs nothing" - Vince Melocchi, Playwright

Vince Melocchi (Playwright) received nominations for both Ovation and LA Weekly Awards in the Playwriting category for his plays Julia (2010) and Lions (2009). Samuel French included Vince's work in their release of Exceptional Monologues for Men and Women 2, and Smith & Kraus Publishers printed excerpts from his plays in The Best Men's Stage Monologues and Scenes 2010. Footlights Magazine recognized Vince as one of the important "Voices of LA Theatre." Other works include The Last Linen Day, Figures, and Making Moves. Last season he was nominated for an LA Weekly Award (Best Actor) for his role as Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge at Pacific Resident Theatre. Vince appeared in Robert Schenkkan's Pulitzer Prize winning play, The Kentucky Cycle, at the Mark Taper Forum.

NICE THINGS opens October 4th at 8pm and runs at 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm on Sundays through November 23, 2014. ROGUE MACHINE is located at 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019. Tickets are $30 (discounts for military & students). Reservations: 855-585-5185 or at www.roguemachinetheatre.com

Elina de Santos (Director/Co-Artistic Director/Producer) is a multi-award-winning director receiving the Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle's Katselas Career Achievement Award in Directing last season. For Skylight Theatre Company she recently directed the World Premiere of The Sexual Life of Savages. At Rogue Machine, Elina recently helmed the West Coast Premiere of Falling by Deanna Jent and the World Premiere productions of Dirty Filthy Love Story by Rob Mersola (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA TIMES, OVATION RECOMMENDED, NOMINATED LA WEEKLY PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR, winning for Set Design), Razorback by John Pollono (who garnered the LADCC, Ovation, and LA Weekly Awards - Playwriting, for Small Engine Repair) and Yard Sale Signs by Jennie Webb. Also for Rogue she directed the West Coast Premieres of Bhutan by Daisy Foote, Vivien by Rick Foster (Critic's Pick-Backstage), and Stop Kiss by Diana Son, which she co-directed with Matthew Elkins. For West Coast Jewish Theatre, the highly acclaimed New Jerusalem by David Ives and the award winning Broken Glass by Arthur Miller. For the Pasadena Playhouse, she directed the West Coast Premiere of Vincent in Brixton by Nicolas Wright starring Stephanie Zimbalist. At the Odyssey, multi-award winning productions of Speed the Plow by David Mamet, Clifford Odets' Awake & Sing! and Arthur Miller's All My Sons. For Pacific Resident Theatre, Odets' Rocket to the Moon (LADCC direction nominee and winner Best Revival), the highly acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending (LADCC Awards for direction, performance, and production) and the LA premiere of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. Ark Theatre, A Doll's House by Henrick Ibsen (LA Weekly Best Direction, production and ensemble nominations). Other regional credits include Orphans by Lyle Kessler for International City Theatre (OC Weekly Best Production, LA TIMES CRITIC'S CHOICE, LADCC NOMIMATIONS FOR PRODUCTION and WIN for Performance), Romeo & Juliet: Circus Verona, and work at Deaf West Theatre (Ovation Nomination).

John Perrin Flynn (Artistic Director/Producer) is Rogue Machine's founding Artistic Director and has produced all 27 of the main stage productions, including (LA Times - CRITICS' CHOICE) productions of Dying City, One Night In Miami, and Lost Girls. He directed The New Electric Ballroom by Enda Walsh, Three Views Of The Same Object by Henry Murray, and A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter (all named - LA Times CRITICS' CHOICE). John received the LA Weekly Career Achievement Award in 2012. 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 ran for six months. John directed the award winning World Premiere of Henry Murray's Treefall (published by the Dramatists Play Service in 2010) as well as the critically acclaimed Los Angeles premiere of Rogue Machine's inaugural production, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, by Jeffrey Hatcher. He 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.

Laura Hill (Managing Director/Producer) began her professional career in management consulting and became involved with Deaf West Theatre in many capacities as well as Managing Director until 2011. She has worked at Center Theatre Group, Pasadena Playhouse, Antaeus, and EST/LA. Laura recently produced the world premieres of CRE Outreach's Beyond Sight at the Stella Adler and Murray Mednick's Villon for Padua Playwrights, Deaf West Theatre's Flowers for Algernon and Cyrano (LADCC Production Winner) and Rogue Machine's Ovation Award winning Best Production, Dying City.

Marni Ayers (Producer) is a playwright, producer and freelance writer. In New York, she was a member of the Westbeth Writers Group. She was the Co-Artistic Director for Nailing the Kipper Presents, a Los Angles theatre company (now defunct). As a playwright, her plays have been produced in LA, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and Buffalo. Her play Break won the Strawberry One-Act Festival and The Interview, which was directed by the late Rue Mc Clanahan, took third place at the Lamia Ink Playwriting Festival (both in New York City).

ROGUE MACHINE THEATRE (BEST PRODUCTION 3 years - Ovation, LADCC Awards) is a collective of award winning and prominent Los Angeles based directors, writers, designers, and actors. Rogue Machine believes theatre to be an integral part of community life, a sacred space where audiences gather to be challenged, inspired, entertained, and provoked. By nurturing and introducing new works, Rogue Machine engages this community with arts that create dialogue and resonate long after the curtain closes.

OUR CAST:

Jonathan Lipnicki (Justin) received global acclaim in his portrayal of "Ray" when he carried his own next to Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger in the Academy Award-winning film Jerry Maguire. He has since starred in Stuart Little, Stuart Little 2, Like Mike, Little Vampire, For the Love of Money, and Tag, as well as series-regular roles on The Jeff Foxworthy Show and Meego, and guest-starring roles on shows such as Monk, and Family Guy. He was cast in the award-winning Indie When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. Jonathan has garnered awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, The Young Artist Awards, and The Young Star Awards. In 2013, he will be seen in the SYFY Channel thriller Bearing Sea Beast, co-starring Cassie Scerbo.

Rebekah Tripp (Bobbie Jo) is a company member at Antaeus where she portrayed Janet Braid in the 2012 Ovation Award winning production of Peace in Our Time. Recent credits include: Lucrece in The Liar at The Ensemble Theatre, Angela in Belfry at Malibu Playhouse, Josie in A Moon for The Misbegotten at the Rubicon Theatre, and as Tamora in Coeurage Theatre Company's Andronicus. She recently received a nomination from the Desert Theatre League for her performance in a staged reading of The Fox.

Melanie Lyons (Sandy) received critical acclaim for her performance as Laura in The Glass Menagerie and she won the Best Actress Award (WA Theatre Guild) for her portrayal of Evelyn in The Shape of Things, both for Perth's State Theatre Company. Melanie starred as Lisa in the award winning television series Lockie Leonard, as Ruth in the television series All Saints, and Marjorie Clay in the award winning Showtime miniseries Cloudstreet. Her film work in Australia includes lead roles in The Director's Cut, Esoterica, and Little Sparrows (currently streaming on Netflix). She received the Best Actress Award (WA Screen Awards) in 2010 for her portrayal of Barbara in the film Trinkets and another Best Actress nomination from Maverick Movie Awards for her work in Terms of Service.

Connor Kelly-Eiding (Amy) was awarded the Blankenchip-White Award for Acting and has worked with the Antaeus Company, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Road Theatre Company (of which she is a member), Theatricum Botanicum, the Mechanicals, the Vagrancy, and Better Than Shakespeare. Last summer she participated in the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival in Steamboat Springs, CO, as an actor for South Coast Repertory, work-shopping a new play by Noah Haidle with the playwright himself and director Marc Masterson. Connor has provided narration for several audiobooks, produced for Harper Audio, Penguin Audio, and Audible, Inc. She appeared on season 3 of Showtime's House of Lies, and will be seen in the upcoming web series for the Syfy channel, Tesla and Twain, as well as two other upcoming web series, Empty Space and Richual.

DESIGNERS:

Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Set Design) is a multi-award winning costume and set designer, most recently recognize for her set concept skills for Stupid f-ing Bird with A Noise Within at The Theatre @ Boston Court (with Circle X). Selected credits at Rogue Machine includes Blackbird (LA Weekly Award), Monkey Adored, and The Sunset Limited. At CTG/Mark Taper Forum: Costume Design-Randy Newman's Harps and Angels, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Resident Designer for Rogue Machine Theatre: Treefall (Scenery; LA Weekly Award, Garland Award) Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Scenery and Costumes; Garland Award, Ovation Nomination), American Dead (Costumes), Yard Sale Signs (Scenery). Moving Arts: Song of Extinction (Scenery - LA Weekly Production of the Year). The Matrix Theatre: Scenery; Bold Girls, Dealing With Claire, and Honour. Pacific Resident Theatre: Scenery; Rocket to the Moon, Hogan's Goat, Orpheus Descending and Entertaining Mr. Sloane. The Colony Theatre: Scenery - Bea[u]tiful in the Extreme. Film and Television: TNT-Costume Design The Wizard of Oz in Concert at Avery Fisher Hall (with Jewel as Dorothy).

Leigh Allen (Lighting Design) returns to Rogue Machine after her highly acclaimed designs for Dying City, One Night In Miami..., The New Electric Ballroom, Bhutan, New York Animals, Treefall (LA Weekly Award), Stop Kiss, Half of Plenty, Razorback and American Dead. Other credits include: Beauty and the Beast (Musical Theatre West), Champagne (Regent Cruise Lines), Shimmy! (Princess Cruise Lines), Snoopy on Ice, The Read Road (Native Voices), Killer Joe (Ovation Award: Production of the Year), The Price of LA (The Old Globe in San Diego), and Vincent in Brixton (Pasadena Playhouse). Leigh received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and LA Weekly Lighting Design Awards for Johnny Got His Gun and is a recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the LA Drama Critics Circle.

Christopher Moscatiello (Sound Design) is an Ovation-nominated sound designer, composer, and music editor/director for theater, television and film. TV credits include The Walking Dead, Psych, Eureka, Human Target, The Cape, Caprica, Trauma, and he has scored full series, specials and promos for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, HBO, BBC, Animal Planet, MSNBC, The History Channel, and others. Theater credits include The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Olney Theatre Center, Rogue Machine, Pacific Resident Theatre, The Odyssey Theatre, The Road Theatre, and he served as assistant conductor on the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera. Chris was formerly the Associate Artistic Director and Conductor of the Boston Chamber Ensemble.

Dianne K. Graebner (Costume Design) designed costumes for Rogue Machine's productions of Dying City (Ovation Winner- Production of the Year) and The New Electric Ballroom. She has designed and created costumes nationwide in theatre, film and television, is a member of the Circle X Theatre and was nominated for an Ovation Award for her work on The Brothers Karamazov and a L.A. Weekly Award for Battle Hymn. A few of her recent credits include: Red, Frankie and Johnny, Opus and Bell, Book and Candle at the Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, Breath and Imagination, Sex and Education, Falling for Make Believe, Shooting Star and many others at The Colony Theatre Co., Dogeaters and Clay at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, A Delicate Balance at The Odyssey Theatre, Bright Light City at LATC, opening and closing weeks of 365 Days/365 Plays at Center Theatre Group.

Nick Santiago (Video Design) has worked on numerous productions including American Misfit, The Twentieth Century Way (The Theatre @ Boston Court), The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (Debbie Allen Dance Company), Trojan Women, Fortinbras, On the Town (USC), and Penelope, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tartuffe Lab (Cal State Long Beach). At Crossroads School of the Arts & Sciences he teaches Entertainment Design and serves as one of their resident designers.

Ned Mochel (Violence Designer), Sharron Shayne (Properties), and Jerry Della Salla (military consultant).

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