Penn Jillette Lends Voice To STORMY WEATHER At Rave Theater Festival

Famed magician and television personality Penn Jillette will be lending his voice to STORMY WEATHER, a ferocious new comedy written by Michael Mackenzie Wills and Directed by Jacob Demlow, that will be making its world premiere in a limited engagement run August 12 - 25 as part of the Rave Theater Festival at the Teatro Latea Theater, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street, 2nd Floor. In the play, Mr Jillette takes on the role of a weather announcer who alerts residents in the Fire Island Pines about an impending storm. STORMY WEATHER contains nudity and adult situations, and is recommended for adults only.

"I've known Pie (Michael Wills) for 37 years, says Jillette. "I've seen a lot of his work over the years. He directed two plays that I wrote - even took one of them to the Edinburgh festival. I've always been impressed with his ability and talent. He's been behind the scenes developing other people's work most of his career, so I'm very happy to be a part of his first foray in putting himself out there with his own work. Go Pie!"

In addition to Mr. Jillette, the cast of STORMY WEATHERalso features Robert Bradvica, Tim Burke (Naked Boys Singingoriginal cast), Kristina Dizon, Dillion Everett, Charles Manning, Noah Pyzik (Naked Boys Singing), Michael O. Tubman and Zach Reyes. The Production Stage Manager is Seth Betzler. General Management is provided by Visceral Entertainment (Michael Chase Gosselin / Tim Sulka). STORMY WEATHER is produced by Rabbit Hole Theatricks, Inc.

In STORMY WEATHER, a ferocious storm rages outside the Fire Island beach house of Tim Bailey, a 40-year-old gay man having a mid-life crisis - He's lost his job, his husband started divorce proceedings, and his adopted daughter will soon leave the nest. When a yacht gets struck by lightning and everyone is washed overboard, a night of surprise visitors begins as each nearly drowned passenger, which include Tim's ex-boss and ex-husband, make their way to Tim's front door. As calamity ensues Tim is forced to face his demons and hilariously fight to regain control of his life.

Michael Mackenzie Wills has worked with several cutting-edge icons such as Penn & Teller, Blue Man Group, MTV Networks, and FUSE TV. His award-winning show Operation Opera has played in various venues in New York City such as Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, The National Opera Center, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. He was the co-founder, Artistic Director, and Resident Director of Playful Theatre Productions in NYC where Theatre Row and The Currican Theatre was PTP's home for over 10 years. Premiere productions in New York include developing and directing James Gandolfini in Tarantulas Dancing, Liev Schreiber in G-Force, Jamy Ian Swiss in The Honest Liar, Recreation by Penn Jillette, Hunting Humans by Richard Thompson, Fixing Frankby Ken Hanes, and the original NYCproduction of The Last Session. He has written the book and lyrics to several children's musicals including the musical farce A Cow Named Cow, The Adventures of Superbunny, A Superbunny Christmas, Superbunny's Pirate Vacation, Superbunny Meets the Mummy, The Princess The Cow and the Corn Maze, Cow Goes to the Opera,and POE: An Introduction to Edgar Allan. His film GRINCH, won honors at FILMEX, the International Film Festival in Los Angeles. He is a member of The Actors Studio and belongs to SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society) and The Dramatist Guild. Education: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, UCLA (Michael Gordon), Gordon Hunt, and Playwrights Horizons Professional Theatre Program (Bob Moss). He is also an illustrator of children's books where his work can be seen not only in print but also on Chinese to English bilingual reading apps available from Neumedias.

Jacob Demlow is a Theatre Director and Educator who recently moved to the Big Apple! Before moving to New York Jacob was the Founding Assistant Artistic Director and Head of Education at Out Front Theatre Company, Atlanta's LGBTQIA Theatre. Director: RED: A Crayons Musical(Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival); Dog Sees God, Zanna Don't: A Quantum Football Fable, Sordid Lives, Abraham Lincoln was a Faggot (Out Front); The Laramie Project, 35mm: a Musical Exhibition(Independent Artists Playhouse); Mulan Jr., Little Shop of Horrors (Mable House Arts); Into The Woods(Newnan Theatre). Associate Director: Fat Kid Rules the World (Dancing Play Productions); A Kid Like Jake, Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Out Front); This Bitter Earth (True Colors); Street Theatre 2019 Tour (The Other Side of Silence). Currently Serves as Kenny Leon's Personal Assistant. Broadway: Children of a Lesser God, American Son.Off-Broadway: Much Ado About Nothing (The Public). @DatDemlow

Rave Theater Festival's inaugural year will feature 20 new shows from across the country and internationally. The festival will run August 9-25th at Teatro SEA and Teatro LaTea Theatres at The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (107 Suffolk Street). Spearheaded by Tony Award-winning Broadway Producer, Ken Davenport, the festival aims to provide theatre-makers with an outlet to get their shows up on a New York stage

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