YEAR OF THE ROOSTER Opens Tonight at Ensemble Studio Theatre

Year of the Rooster by Youngblood playwright Eric Dufault, directed by John Giampietro, opens tonight at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street. Year of the Rooster is a comic, mythic elevation of the gritty subculture of American cockfighting by a 25-year-old playwright and its opening marks the Ensemble Studio Theatre's 46th season.

Playing characters both human and/or animal are Denny Dale Bess, Delphi Harrington, Thomas Lyons, Bobby Moreno, and Megan Tusing.

"Two years ago when we workshopped an early draft of Year of The Rooster, the energy from the play was like a small volcano erupting on our stage," said Ensemble Studio Theatre Artistic Director William Carden. "Eric Dufault is a daring, original voice writing in a comic, mythic and scintillating vein. He takes us into the peculiar sub-culture of c*ckfighting and finds in that fierce and funny world dark resonances of ambition, winning and losing that reach us all. We knew then this was a voice to be heard."

Year of the Rooster, is a combination of lowbrow, foul-mouthed humor and hyper-articulate references to Greek myths and legends. The play centers on the regularly ridiculed Gil (Thomas Lyons) who now, with his new rooster, a fearsome killing machine named Odysseus Rex (Bobby Moreno), is experiencing things he's never had in his life -- hope, victory, and revenge.

Year of the Rooster was presented at the Ensemble Studio Theatre as a part of Unfiltered 2012. The word-of-mouth buzz from this limited, minimally-staged workshop was staggering. Mounting a fully-staged production of Year of the Rooster is part of the Ensemble Studio Theatre's ongoing mission to develop and produce original, provocative, and authentic new plays that engage and challenge audiences. This year is particularly focused on fully realizing those collaborations on its main stage.

Eric Dufault is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. His plays include The Tomb of King Tot, American Girls, and The Desert Play. His plays have been performed at the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood as part of their 34th Annual Marathon of One Act Plays and Unfiltered series. Additionally, his work has been performed at the Flea Theatre, the 52nd Street Project, the Magnet Theatre, the Lark Play Development Center, and the Great Plains Theatre Conference. He is the recipient of a 2013 Sloan Commission, the 2010 Lipkin Playwriting Award, and the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Harle Adair Damann Playwriting Award. His play Something Fine will be published in the Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2014 anthology. He is a member of the Obie award-winning Youngblood Playwriting Group at the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Scenery is by Alexis Distler, lighting by Greg MacPherson, sound by Shane Rettig, and costumes by Sydney Maresca. Fight Director is Qui Nguyen and the production stage manager is Eileen Lalley

Year of the Rooster performs Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:00pm and Sundays at 5:00pm except there is no performance Sunday, November 3.

Regular tickets are $25, students and seniors $18. To order tickets call 866.811.4111 or www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/134. The final performance is November 24.

Photo by: Russ Kuhner

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