MY FATHER'S BOOKSHELF Explores Alzheimer's Disease At Dowling Studio 6/18-28

The Guthrie is pleased to present My Father's Bookshelf, the new original production by up-and-coming Twin Cities theater makers Live Action Set. Brought to life through a uniquely creative process, the show brings the tragicomic exploration of Alzheimer's Disease to the Dowling Studio for 10 performances, June 18 - 28. Single tickets are priced from $18 to $30, with a limited number of premium tickets available for opening night. Tickets are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

In collaboration with members of the Minnesota Alzheimer's community, Live Action Set has created My Father's Bookshelf, a tragic comedy about our collective response to dementia. Follow the fluid reality of an extremely affable, optimistic man (Theatre de la Jeune Lune co-founder Bob Rosen) as he negotiates life with Alzheimer's disease. In a world of doctors, care providers, grocery clerks, dogs, people who can't remember and other people who try to take away the car keys, one man's desire to discover the joy of life is set against the struggles of his family and the passionate lecture of a neuroscientist searching for a cure.

Directed by Live Action Set Artistic Directors Noah Bremer and Galen Treuer, My Father's Bookshelf is created in the rehearsal room with the cast - anchored by Jeune Lune co-founders Rosen and Barbara Berlovitz, Live Action Set Artistic Director Megan Odell, Four Humors Artistic Director Jason Ballweber and Argentinean actor Dario Tangelson - from a script developed by Duluth writers Margi Preus and Jean Sramek. Paul Whitaker provides set and lighting design for his third Live Action Set production, with costumes by local fashion designer and Voltage founder Anna Lee, and stage management by Stacy Spensley.

Expanding Live Action Set's collaborative process to the dementia community, research for My Father's Bookshelf has been conducted with many care providers, scientists and family members across Minnesota. In rehearsals, the company will continue to work with professionals at the University of Minnesota, including members of Dr. Karen Hsaio Ashe's lab at the N Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care and Adine Stokes of the Wayne Caron Family Caregiving Center.

Post-show discussions with care providers, family members, doctors and scientists will follow most performances. Live Action Set invites members of the community and press to attend open rehearsals in May and June. Workshops for families, care providers and artists are being offered in June by Kairos Dance, Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater, and Live Action Set. For more information, visit www.liveactionset.org.

About Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's is a disease that eats at the essence of human society: our ability to communicate. An estimated 5 million Americans are living with the irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, while one in seven are closely related to someone with the disease. The yearly costs associated with Alzheimer's care exceed $148 billion and are expected to rise sharply in the next 10 years as baby boomers age.

About Live Action Set
Live Action Set is a Twin Cities-based performance company founded in 2004 when four directors/choreographers/performers - Noah Bremer, Megan Odell, Galen Treuer and Vanessa Voskuil - came together to create a vehicle for the expression of their artistic interest and impulses. Live Action Set believes that productive collaboration can make a difference in our community and is committed to using collaboration to create new work that dissolves boundaries between artistic disciplines. An ongoing experiment in collaboration, the company has created over 14 original performances, each combining the talents of a unique ensemble of performers, directors, choreographers, designers, writers and researchers. For more information on Live Action Set, visit www.liveactionset.org.

The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie opened a new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006.

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.guthrietheater.org.

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