Chimera Productions to Present Sarah Ruhl's DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE

New Jersey-based theater company Chimera Productions will present its 12th production, Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, in Princeton, New Jersey on July 20, 21 and 22, 2017, in conjunction with The Arts Council of Princeton.

The play, presented in the intimate 60-seat theater inside Princeton's Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, is a fast and witty dive into isolationism, mortality, and the vice grip that modern technology has on all of us.

Longtime friends and collaborators Jeffrey Davis, a high school drama teacher, and Drew Griffiths, a playwright, actor and author, are the founders of Chimera Productions. Both are especially looking forward to bringing this humorous play to the stage alongside a talented cast. "We had read Dead Man's Cell Phone a few years back and fell in love with its weird, witty, insightful humor and language," said Griffiths. "So much of Ruhl's insights and choices align with the ideals of Chimera Productions' desire to take theater in challenging new directions for the audience and the cast."

Davis echoEd Griffiths' enthusiasm in his description of the play: "It is funny, fun, dark at times (though not as dark as we usually go). It attracted me both because it has a deeper message about society, but also a sweetness and innocence to it that is a different note for us to play with."

Griffiths called Dead Man's Cell Phone a departure for Chimera, noting, "This is definitely the most outright comedy we have ever done. In the past our shows have always have elements of a dark comedy. But Dead Man's Cell Phone is a comedy from start to finish, although with some serious insights, especially in our current climate of technology and politics. You will walk out laughing and engaged."

The pair are committed to keeping theater affordable, with tickets available for only $15, comparable to a movie ticket, thereby opening the art form to a wide range of audiences. "We are dedicated to only putting up work that we believe in. You will never see a Chimera performance and feel you just watched something we did just to pay some bills. Our heart and souls are in every second of that show," said Davis.

This production of Dead Man's Cell Phone stars Nishika Bagchi, Paul Rogozenski, David Sullivan, Teresa Welby, Devin Massih and Marilyn Ryan. Tickets will be available at the door starting at 7:30 p.m. each night of the performance for $15 each (cash only) or can be purchased in advance via Chimera Productions' Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which runs through July 19).

Chimera Productions was founded by a group of New Jersey artists, spearheaded by Drew Griffiths and Jeffrey Davis, who produce plays solely for their artistic merit. Why Chimera Productions? A Chimera is an imaginary monster comprised of incongruous parts; an illusion or fabrication of the mind; something that is fantastically visionary, improbable or the product of an unchecked imagination.

The company's goal is to only produce work that is interesting, enlightening, and not often seen; to explore the power of theater, and the bond between artist and live audience. Dead Man's Cell Phone is their 12th consecutive production at the Arts Council of Princeton.

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