The Actors' Gang Presents ANGELS, DEVILS AND OTHER THINGS

The Actors' Gang presents ANGELS, DEVILS AND OTHER THINGS, an evening of eleven original short plays written and directed by The Actors' Gang ensemble that begins previews on Thursday, May 17, has its world premiere on Saturday, May 19 and runs through Saturday, June 16, 2018.

This "festival" production of short original plays is written and directed by The Actors' Gang ensemble. The evening is a tour of the human landscape: habit, compulsion, anger, trauma, acceptance, chance, liberty, nature and the unnatural are some of the themes explored in the eleven plays.

This is an original and unique evening displaying the multi-faceted talents of the company. It's a production meant to nurture and push forward a new generation of playwrights and directors from within The Actors' Gang.

"When I asked the company to all write plays last year I had no idea that we had such talented playwrights within the company. What was doubly impressive though, was how much the plays had in common: themes of life and death, judgment and the afterlife, the anxiety and struggle of everyday survival, all written with intelligence and humor. A theme began to emerge that unified them, and Angels, Devils, and Other Things was born," said Tim Robbins, artistic director of The Actors' Gang.

Robbins continued, "Throughout the Actors' Gang history we have always encouraged the expansion of our ensemble's talent into other disciplines, and it is my belief that this production will result in the emergence of a creative new voice and a new generation of playwrights and directors."

Long-time Gang member Brian T. Finney has been instrumental in shaping the production. He received an Ovation Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in Underneath the Lintel performed at the Gang. Also, with The Actors' Gang, he has traveled to New York and London to perform in Embedded, as well as Hong Kong, Melbourne, Athens, and all around the USA in the production of 1984, both directed by Tim Robbins. On television, he has had a recurring role on Reno 911!, Turn and Chicago Justice, as well as numerous guest spots on shows like Modern Family, Maron, Weeds, Grimm, Fraser and many others. In film, he has worked with Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Cameron Crowe and many others.

On stage he has worked with The Actors' Gang for close to 25 years on numerous productions, including; Embedded, 1984, Harlequino: and On to Freedom (all directed by Artistic Director, Tim Robbins). His critically acclaimed solo show Heart of Darkness, awarded him the LA WEEKLY award for BEST SOLO SHOW and Underneath the Lintel won Finney the prestigious OVATION AWARD for best actor.

The plays include:

"The Gardeners" by Adam Bennett is the story of two celestial bureaucrats fighting over the fate of a newly deceased person's soul. The deceased man must choose between a future life of comfort or a life of productive struggle. Directed by Bob Turton

"A Perfect World" by Lynde Houke centers around a conversation between a couple as they go about their day, a conversation that appears to be repeating itself continually. They seem to be content in their repetitive lifestyle, but an alternate description is purgatory on earth. Directed by Will McFadden

"James' Play" by James Bane is about one man's battle against a dark family tradition, the Sirens call and Veteran Suicide. James leads us through his paternal suicide lineage as well as the suicide of his best friend, a fellow combat Marine, and the shared temptation of life or death. Directed by Tess Vidal

"Special Powers" written by Guebri VanOver is a journey into the mind a woman with super natural powers who is struggling to resist her demons while trying to demonstrate proof of her telepathy. Directed by Adam J. Jefferis

"Clean Slate" by Bob Turton is about a woman who wakes up to a solitary existence offering her the promise of absolute freedom of choice. However, her newly found freedom turns out to be more restrictive than her previous everyday life. Will she embrace minimalistic bliss? Or protest against a personal hell of repetition? Directed by Ethan Corn

"Intimacy Why" by Cady Zuckerman is an experimental examination of the complexities of intimacy, love addiction, and unhealthy relationships, a woman's quest for reason in her dysfunctional relationship with intimacy, through the lens of Aristotle's causes for action. Directed by Zöe Hall

"Have You Even Done This Before" written by Mashka Wolfe. A newly separated woman and a prostitute meet to spend the night together, but personal problems and unplanned interruptions soon creep into the mix. A short play about women, men, sex workers, and the entertainment industry. Directed by Bronwyn Leland Watson

"See Bots Chat" by Will McFadden is a thrilling romantic dramedy about two androids falling in love and discovering what it means to be human. Based on actual events. Directed by Jason Ryan Lovett

"Futurist Manifesto" by Brian T. Finney - On a late night in 1909 Italy, a group of young male friends excitedly draw up their vision of the future. It encompasses the destruction of all previous art and literature, the cleansing of humanity by use of war, and the subjugation of women. They believe these ideas will usher in a great new era of art and literature and will ride to the forefront on man made electricity, speed and flight, influencing the beginnings of twentieth century fascism. Each doctrine of the Manifesto is directed by one of the ten directors of the evening. Directed by the ensemble

"The Cat Play" by Della Saba and Chas Harvey is the story of a man and his judgmental talking cat and their struggle to live together harmoniously while pursuing their dreams. Directed by Adam Bennett

"Just Be Worthy" by Dora Kiss is a nightmare look at the waiting line in heaven and what is to be expected in purgatory and hell; a world of lotteries, contests, and selfies with Jesus. Who knew purgatory had hot yoga? Directed by Pierre Adeli

The 2017/18 Actors' Gang season is about grifters, dreamers, fighters, cowards, con men and saints, our ancestors, their poetry, our story, their dance, our winter solstice and a spring of brand newly hatched plays developed, nurtured, and incubated at The Actors' Gang Theater.

General tickets are available for $34,99. Seniors may purchase $30.00 tickets and young adults under 30 years of age, and full-time students may purchase tickets for $20.00. Thursday evenings are "Pay-What-You-Can." For tickets, please call 310-838-4264 or visit www.theactorsgang.com to purchase tickets online or to view the complete Season of Thugs, Outcasts and Heavenly Myths schedule. The Actors' Gang Theatre is located at The Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA, 90232.

Tim Robbins (Artistic Director, The Actors' Gang)

For the past 36 years, Tim Robbins has served as Artistic Director for The Actors' Gang, a theater company formed in 1982 that has over 150 productions and more than 100 awards to their credit. Past productions with The Actors' Gang include: As Writer/Director - Harlequino On to Freedom (2017), Break the Whip (2010-11), Embedded (2003-4), Mayhem, the Invasion (1992), Carnage, A Comedy (1988-89), Violence, The Misadventures of Spike Spangle Farmer (1987) and Alagazam (1986). As Director -A Midsummer Night's Dream (2012-16), Orwells' 1984 (2006-16), Mephisto (2001), The Good Woman of Setzuan (1991), Methusalem, the Eternal Bourgeois (1985), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984), Ubu the King (1982); In addition to producing live theater throughout the year, The Actors' Gang provides arts education to thousands of Elementary, Middle and High School students working in 12 LA USD schools and in underserved communities in the L.A. area. Since 2006, The Actors' Gang's groundbreaking Prison Project provides theatrical workshops to incarcerated men and women in 12 California prisons. Beginning in 2014, Robbins and former Prison Project director, Sabra Williams, were instrumental in reinstating a line item into the California State budget for Arts in Corrections, that has currently reached 6 million dollars.

As Actor, credits include Here and Now, Marjorie Prime, The Brink, Mystic River, The Shawshank Redemption, The Player, Bull Durham and Jacob's Ladder and as a Writer/Director, Dead Man Walking, Cradle Will Rock and Bob Roberts. Robbins has won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, Sag Award and the Prix d'Interprétation Masculine at the Cannes Film Festival and the Officier de L'Ordre des Arts des Lettres from the Republic of France.

ABOUT THE Actors' Gang

Over the past 37 years, The Actors' Gang has produced over 200 plays in Los Angeles, in forty-five US states, and on five continents. The company was founded in 1981 by a group of young artists looking to build a theatre that would present relevant and vibrantly entertaining plays. Guided by Founding Artistic Director, Tim Robbins, the company provides a supportive environment for a diverse ensemble of artists and the development of their groundbreaking work.

The theater company has presented the work of innovative theater artists including Georges Bigot, Simon Abkarian, Charles Mee, David Schweizer, Bill Rauch and the Cornerstone Theatre Company, Tracy Young, Roger Guenver Smith, Eric Bogosian, Oskar Eustis, Danny Hoch, Beth Milles, Brian Kulick, Stefan Haves, Namaste Theater Company, Culture Clash, Jason Reed, Michael Schlitt and Tenacious D.

The Actors' Gang ensemble has included accomplished actors such as Jack Black, John Cusack, John C. Reilly, Helen Hunt, Kate Walsh, Fisher Stevens, Jeremy Piven, Ebbe Roe Smith, Jon Favreau, Brent Hinkley, Kate Mulligan, Lee Arenberg, Kyle Gass and Tim Robbins.

Guest artists that have appeared on The Actors' Gang stage include: Jackson Browne, Sarah Silverman, Ben Gibbard, John Doe, Tom Morello, Jenny Lewis, Wayne Kramer, Paul Provenza, Zooey Deschanel, Serj Tankian, David Crosby, Pink, Felicity Huffman, Jill Sobule, William H. Macy, Phillip Baker Hall, Jeanne Tripplehorn, T.C. Boyle. and the late, beloved, Gore Vidal.

Recent touring productions include Harlequino: On to Freedom, A Midsummer Night's Dream, George Orwell's 1984, The Exonerated, Tartuffe, Embedded, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine and The Guys. Over the last thirty years The Actors' Gang has toured the U.S. in forty-five states and on five continents, performing across the world from London to Milan, Bucharest, Athens, Madrid, Barcelona, Bogota, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Buenos Aires.

With our productions, education, outreach programs and tours we strive to strengthen communities in a way that only the medium of theater can. We produce plays that contribute to the ongoing dialogue about our society and culture, while never forgetting that theaters primary purpose is to entertain.

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