Horse Trade Closes THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW: AMBER ALERT 10/23

THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW: AMBER ALERT offers five brand new, never performed before short stories "ripped from the headlines" by writer Clay McLeod Chapman - each isolating that moment where innocence curdles into something... much, much darker. High school wrestlers with contagious skin diseases, vaginal hymenoplasty, secret diaries from dead astronauts, chemical castration, and parent-teachers conferences - all within one show.

GLADIATORUM: A wrestler has been identified as the possible source of a skin herpes outbreak that prompted Minnesota high school officials to impose an eight-day suspension of wrestling competitions and contact practices. Associated Press, 2007

SIXTEEN AGAIN: ...(O)ne procedure, known as hymenoplasty, is performed primarily for the impression it will make on men. The surgery, which takes about 30 minutes, restores the hymen, the membrane that typically covers the vagina prior to first intercourse. The Washington Post, 2007

DIARY DEBRIS: Pages from an Israeli astronauts diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth are going on display this weekend for the first time in Jerusalem. Associated Press, 2003

PARENT/TEACHER: At least 150 Florida teachers have been disciplined in the past three years after being accused of sexual conduct with student's... female educators in particular. The Orlando Sentinel, 2008

DIMINISHING RETURNS: Based upon Candace Rondeaux's Can Castration Be a Solution for Sex Offenders? "The Washington Post, 2006

THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW: AMBER ALERT will feature Clay McLeod Chapman (Hostage Song, Fear Mongers at Dixon Place), Hanna Cheek* (Hostage Song, Marco Millions...based on lies) and Hannah Timmons (The Actors Studio) with an Original Musical Score by Drama Desk Nominees Dan Bianchi and Wes Shippee of RadioTheatre (The Haunting of 85 East 4th Street, King Kong). *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association

The production, presented by Horse Trade Theater Group will play at The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery), October 14-30, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm.Tickets ($18) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.horseTRADE.info.

Clay McLeod Chapman (Writer/Performer) is the creator of the rigorous storytelling session The Pumpkin Pie Show. He is also the author of two books, rest area, a collection of short stories, and miss corpus, a novel, both published by Hyperion books. He teaches writing at The Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University.

"[There is] a new generation of theater artists reared on a diet of vampires, zombies and charming serial killers. Call this movement the Theater of Blood, after the Vincent Price movie about a Shakespearean actor who kills critics, after torturing them with a hammy monologue. (It still gives me chills.) At the forefront is Clay McLeod Chapman, whose "Pumpkin Pie Show" channels the spirit of H. P. Lovecraft" The New York Times (2009)

"With the trembling voice of Vincent Price and the sinister presence of Boris Karloff, Clay McLeod Chapman... uses the macabre to explore the humanity of his characters and reveal an almost spiritual side to the horrific." The New York Times (2008)

Hanna Cheek (Performer) has been a part of The Pumpkin Pie Show since 2001. Most recently she was seen in last years The Pumpkin Pie Show: commencement at UNDER St. Marks. She also performed in the critically acclaimed Hostage Song at The Kraine Theater. Other Pumpkin Pie Shows include, Junta High (PS122), Cardiac Shadow (PS122), Saint Hanna...the patron saint of the PPS (The Kraine Theater), Ringside Seats (Belt Theatre), Rise Perverts Rise, Big Top, and Birds and the Bees (The Red Room). Hanna is also a member of the Drama Desk nominated Waterwell Theatre Company with whom she has devised and performed in The/King/Operetta (Barrow St. Theatre), Marco Millions...based on lies (Theatre Row), The Persians...a comedy about war with five songs (Perry Street Theatre), Sweetness & Light (Alternate Stages), and Chill & Serve (Ground Floor Theatre). Other NYC Credits include: The Amulet (78th Street Lab), First You're Born (Playwrights Horizons) and Broken Boughs (Blue Heron Arts Center). TV credits include: "Titus", MTV's "Undressed", and "The West Wing".

"Hanna Cheek is an actor of rare gifts, and someday Hollywood will steal her, so you have to snatch at every chance to see her onstage." HeLen Shaw, Time Out NY

"Another a cocktail of powerful emotion. Cheek's powerful, gripping performance... will leaving you wringing your hands in helpless empathy for each woman's pain." SEE Magazine (Commencement)

HANNAH TIMMONS (Performer) will graduate from The Actors Studio MFA program in May of 2011. At the Studio she has enjoyed performing parts such as Frankie, in The Member of the Wedding, Helen, in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Emily, in Hello Out There, and Nora, in A Doll's House. Hannah is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.

THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW Celebrating its second decade of performances, The Pumpkin Pie Show is a literary fist in the face. Part storytelling session, part boxing match, part shamanistic ritual, The Pumpkin Pie Show has established itself as an all-points artistic hodgepodge of theatre and literature. We pick and choose the essentials of each medium, channeling their rocking properties in order to create a more intimate relationship between performer and audience. We want to see the whites of our audience's eyes. Certain basic rules that we've set up for all our shows are: No sets. No costumes. No nothing beyond the text and the performance itself. Our goal is to strip away those elements that we find extraneous to the tale being told, conjuring up an atmosphere of "creating something out of nothing," as well as focusing on that ethereal connective tissue between the one telling the story and our audience. Packed with enough emotional intensity to feel like a rock concert rather than spinning a yarn, The Pumpkin Pie Show is pure bedtime stories for adults.

RADIOTHEATRE is an award-winning performance group that creates audio theatre, live on stage inspired by old time radio dramas, yet, does not seek to re create period radio programs, nor traditional plays. By combining 21st Century sound technology, uniquely written scripts, a cast of storytellers, original orchestral scores and a plethora of sound effects, RadioTheatre produces a new hybrid, environmental art form. Its content is also unique in that it draws its inspiration from pulp genres usually ignored by live theatre; ie, adventure, science fiction, horror, and crime. RadioTheatre has been nominated Best Performance Group for five years in a row, has garnered over 13 nominations in various categories, won Best Music and Best Sound Design in 2008 and was again nominated for two NYIT Awards as well as a Drama Desk Award in 2009.

HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP is a self-sustaining theater development group; with a focus on new work, it has produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. Horse Trade's Resident Artist Program offers a home to a select group of Independent Theater artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy. It is also the home of FRIGID New York - the first and only festival of its kind in New York City.

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