Photo Flash: HERE Arts Center Presents ALICE IN SLASHERLAND

When young Lewis Diaz (Carlo Alban) accidentally resurrects the soul of a brutally slain girl named Alice (Amy Kim Waschke), he unwittingly unleashes a literal hell on Earth. Now with every sort of demon, monster, and killer ravaging his small town, Lewis along with his new girlfriend must find a way to close the rift before the big bad evil devil himself shows up and totally ruins their senior prom. Mixing slasher with Sam Raimi in Vampire Cowboys' signature aesthetic, this show guarantees one bloody good time!

Qui Nguyen (Playwright/Fight Director) is an award-winning writer and fight director. His scripts include the critically acclaimed Vampire Cowboys productions of Soul Samurai (nominated for a 2010 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off-Broadway); Fight Girl Battle World (nominated for Best Full Length Script by the 2008 NY Innovative Theatre Awards); Men of Steel (Cited as 2007's Best Adaptation of Comics into Other Media by ComicCritique.com); Living Dead in Denmark; StaiNed Glass Ugly; A Beginner's Guide to Deicide; and Vampire Cowboy Trilogy. Other plays include Bike Wreck (Youngblood; Metropolitan Playhouse) and the Off-Broadway production of Trial By Water directed by John Gould Rubin (Ma-Yi Theater/Queens Theatre in the Park). His plays have been published by Broadway Play Publishing, Playscripts.com, and can be found in the anthologies, Savage Stage and Plays & Playwrights 2005. As a choreographer, Qui is an Advanced Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and has worked as an instructor & fight director for such places as LAByrinth Theater, Ma-Yi Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Public, HERE Arts Center, Partial Comfort Productions, The Brick, Nosedive Productions, Katharsis Theater, City Lights Youth Theatre, The Rabid Vamps Fight Studio, and others. He is a member of New Dramatists.

Robert Ross Parker (Director) is a director, writer, and actor. For Vampire Cowboys, he has directed the critically acclaimed productions of Soul Samurai, Fight Girl Battle World (nominated for Best Direction by the 2008 NY Innovative Theatre Awards), Men of Steel, Living Dead in Denmark, Vampire Cowboy Trilogy, A Beginner's Guide to Deicide, and StaiNed Glass Ugly. Recent directing credits include Goodbye Cruel World (Roundtable Ensemble at the ArcLight); Hamlet (solo) starring Raoul Bhaneja (Hope and Hell), A Political Party!, the national tour of Children's Letters to God (Lamb's Theatre/Broadway Overseas Management), the Off-Broadway premiere of My Fake ID's (Lamb's Theatre), Lady Convoy (FringeNYC), and Justin Reinsilber's F*cking Love (Wej Productions). Robert was recognized as one of NYTheatre.com's People of the Year in 2004 as was Mr. Nguyen.

Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company (www.vampirecowboys.com) was founded in 2000 with the first collaboration between playwright/fight director Qui Nguyen and director Robert Ross Parker. Their highly physical shows actively use modern pop-culture as a vehicle to explore more weighty subjects. The company's work has included: Soul Samurai (2009 in a co-production with Ma-Yi Theater Company), Fight Girl Battle World (2008), Men of Steel (2007), Living Dead in Denmark (2006), A Beginner's Guide to Deicide (2005), Vampire Cowboy Trilogy (2004), and StaiNed Glass Ugly (2003). In 2006, the company was awarded the Caffe Cino Fellowship from The New York Innovative Theatre Awards for outstanding continued production of theatre and Mr. Nguyen was featured as one of "ten playwrights to watch" by Time Out New York.

The six-member cast for "ALICE IN SLASHERLAND" includes: Carlo Alban (Lewis), Sheldon Best (Edgar/Duncan), Tom Myers (Jacob/Tommy/Sheriff Dunwoody), Bonnie Sherman (Margaret), Andrea Marie Smith (Tina), and Amy Kim Waschke (Alice). Mr. Alban was seen most recently seen in Drew Barrymore's directorial film debut Whip It, opposite Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat. Other film work includes 21 Grams, Strangers with Candy, Hurricane Streets, and the soon to be released Margaret, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, and starring Matt Damon. Earlier in his career Carlo was a series regular on "Sesame Street" for five seasons. Since then he has worked on shows ranging from "Touched by an Angel," "Oz," and "Prison Break." He continues to perform in theaters around the country, most recently in the world premiere of Lydia at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Yale Repertory Theater, and The Mark Taper Forum. He is a proud member of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. Mr. Best returns to Vampire Cowboys after having appeared in last season's production of Soul Samurai. He was recently seen in MCC Theater's FreshPlay Festival in Diary and Underground Bound. His Boston credits include the world premiere of Joyce van Dyke's The Oil Thief and the Boston premiere of Alan Bennett's The History Boys. Ms. Sherman has performed in various Saturday Night Saloons with VCTC, appeared in the company's productions of Fight Girl Battle World and Soul Samurai and is a founding member of Apothecary Theatre Company. Mr. Myer's appearance in this show marks his fourth show with Vampire Cowboys (previously: A Beginner's Guide to Deicide, Living Dead in Denmark, and Men of Steel). Most recently he has been working with the New York City Opera and has appeared in such recent productions as Candide, Tosca, and Esther. In 2009, he was featured in the short film Moment of Silence that was selected to the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. Ms. Smith is an Artistic Associate with Vampire Cowboys and is returning for her fifth show. She was most recently seen in the company production of Fight Girl Battle World. Other NYC credits include: Slicing Andre, St. Hollywood, The Kung Fu Importance of Being Earnest, and most recently The Brokenhearteds. Ms. Waschke has previously appeared with VCTC in Living Dead in Denmark. Other NYC credits include: The Water Station at the Pacific Performance Project at HERE and in Grief at Manhattan Theatre Source. She appears frequently in Shakespeare and the classics in regional theaters around the country including the Seattle Shakespeare Theatre, Merrimack Repertory, The Hangar Theatre, and the Arizona Theatre Company.

The scenic and lighting design will be by Nick Francone, the multi-media design by Matthew Tennie, the costume design by Sarah Laux and Jessica Shay, the puppet design by David Valentine, and the sound design by Shane Rettig. The production stage manager will be Danielle Buccino.

This production is being presented through HERE's Supported Artist Program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support. Since 1993, the OBIE-winning HERE Arts Center has been a premier arts organization in NYC and a leader in the field of new, hybrid performance work. Under leadership of Founding Artistic Director Kristin Marting and Producing Director Kim Whitener, HERE has served over 12,000 emerging to mid-career artists developing work that does not fit a conventional programming agenda. Work presented at HERE has garnered 14 OBIE awards, including the 2009 Ross Wetzsteon Award, an OBIE grant for artistic achievement, three Drama Desk nominations, two Berrilla Kerr Awards, three NY Innovative Theatre Awards, supports artists at all stages in their careers through full productions, artist residency programs, festivals and subsidized performance and rehearsal space. Work at HERE is curated based on the strength and uniqueness of the artist's vision. HERE's Artist Residency Program (HARP) provides development, commissions and full production for up to 20 artists over one-to-three years. In 2005, with the support of the FJC, a foundation of donor advised funds, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the City of New York, HERE Arts Center purchased its long-time home as part of a five-year "Secure HERE's Future" campaign. With full-scale renovations to the space concluding in June 2008, thanks to generous support from the City of New York, HERE is poised to continue and expand its role as a downtown haven for the finest emerging art. Offering a comfortable, eclectic setting for artists and audiences alike, HERE features a café and two state-of-the-art performance spaces.

The complete performance schedule for "ALICE IN SLASHERLAND" (thru April 10) will be: Thursdays through Sundays at 8:30 p.m. There will be one additional performance on Saturday, April 10 at 4:00 p.m.. Tickets will be $18.00. To reserve tickets, please visit www.here.org or call 212-352-3101.

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