Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company Presents A PLAY BY FRANCO VITELLA, Now thru 2/22

Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company of Detroit presents A Play by Franco Vitella, by Franco Vitella, directed by Jonathan Davidson. The show runs from today, January 31-February 22, 2014. Tickets are $15-$18, with pay-what-you-can tickets available to all performances. Tickets may be reserved by phone at 313-408-7269 or at www.magentagiraffe.org. A Play by Franco Vitella will be Magenta Giraffe's fifth production in residence at the Abreact Performance Space (1301 W. Lafayette, #113, Detroit, MI 48226). As the space is very intimate, reservations are strongly suggested.

This new piece from local playwright Franco Vitella follows a team of actors, director and crew as they repeatedly try and fail to stage a new play by... Franco Vitella. The problem is that Franco has no clear vision for his play. Nothing he writes seems to be working, and frustrations are mounting. This unusual piece breaks down theatrical barriers by blending characters with their real-life counterparts and examining what it means to be an actor, writer, and audience member. Magenta Giraffe welcomes its audience to take part in developing this new piece not only by seeing the show, which will itself be a process, but by contributing feedback afterward.

According to Vitella, "The play was born in my own struggles with writer's block and the countless unfinished drafts I've started, only to abandon after a few pages. And then I thought about how when it comes down to it, an audience gathering to see a play is sort of a strange thing. Even more strange is the fact that actors shed themselves to become other people for a few hours and as a playwright, I have control over what they say and do. So I wanted to take the theatricality of it all, director and actors, the audience, myself, and throw them into this experiment to see what happened."

The cast of A Play by Franco Vitella includes Keith Kalinowski (Ypsilanti), Artun Kircali (Novi), Alexis Mabry (Detroit), Joel Mitchell (Berkley), Holly Portman (Hamtramck), and Adam Schrader (Rochester). Scenic design is by Gwen Lindsay (Grosse Pointe), and costumes are by Katie Casebolt (Saint Clair Shores).

Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's production of A Play by Franco Vitella will take place at the Abreact Performance Space: 1301 W. Lafayette, #113, Detroit, MI 48226. Reservations are available via phone at 313-408-7269, at www.magentagiraffe.org, or at the door the day of the performance. Cash or check preferred, but credit cards will be accepted. Tickets are $18/$15 Student/Senior/Industry, and are also available on a pay-what-you-can basis at all performances.

A Play by Franco Vitella will run Fridays at 8:00 pm and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. There will be one matinee at 3:00 pm on Sunday, November 3.

Dates and times are: Friday, January 31, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 1, at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 7, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 8, at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 14, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 15, at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, February 16, at 3:00 p.m. Friday, February 21, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 22, at 8:00 p.m.

For more information, please visit www.MittensForDetroit.org.

Photo by Chuk Nowak

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