PANTHER HOLLOW to Play Arcade Comedy Theater, 1/15

From 1992 to 1996, David Lee White was a local actor and director in the Pittsburgh theatre scene and was part of the University of Pittsburgh's MFA program. On Friday, January 15th at 8:00 PM, White will proudly return to Pittsburgh to perform his one-person show Panther Hollow at the Arcade Comedy Theater at 811 Liberty Avenue. Tickets can be purchased online at arcadecomedytheater.com/events/ or by calling (412) 339-0608

Part stand-up comedy confessional, part examination of the cultural taboo of mental illness, Panther Hollow details White's struggle with clinical depression while living in a century-old house under a bridge in the eerie Panther Hollow neighborhood in Pittsburgh. White began working on the show in the Passage Theatre Play Lab where the piece attracted the attention of director John Augustine. The pair entered the piece in the United Solo Festival off-Broadway where it premiered on November 11th, 2015.

"Back in 1995, I had just finished grad school and was still living in this run down house in Panther Hollow. One morning, I found a dead body hanging from a tree down the street from my house. I spent the next year cruising therapists, popping meds and trying to piece my broken life back together. When I turned forty-five, I stumbled across my twenty-year old journal and starting piecing the story back together. This show is the result. I have such affection for Pittsburgh and the people I met there. I'm thrilled to be able to perform the show at Arcade."

"Unique, compelling and honest. I laughed forty-four times and cried twice, which is the perfect solo show ratio. Panther Hollow is a personal story of imperfect humanity, perfectly told." - Lauren Weedman, HBO's Looking.

"A tapestry of hilarious and poignant stories. White is an engaging storyteller who's expressive and fun to watch." - Nancy Giles, Commentator, CBS News Sunday Morning.

David Lee White is a New Jersey based playwright and educator who has worked with Passage Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Dreamcatcher Rep, PlayPenn, Rider University and Drexel. He was recently commissioned by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Passage Theatre to create the play Sanism, which will premiere in 2017. His play Blood: A Comedy was been produced at Passage Theatre (2009) and Dreamcatcher Rep (2012). His play Slippery As Sin also received its world premiere at Passage in 2011. David Lee White is the Associate Artistic Director and Resident Playwright at Passage Theatre in Trenton.

In addition to Panther Hollow, director John Augustine current projects include The Hummingbird Tour, currently running off-Broadway and he is working on a new play by actor/writer Dave Droxler, Walken on Sunshine. He has also directed Allison Janney in Window of Opportunity, Camryn Manheim in Pamper Island, and Sherry Andersen in Scab Writes a Song, Gerit Quealy in The Censorship Play, John McDonnell's Kaput and many other "downtown" plays. For television, Mr. Augustine wrote for the Fox TV show Titus and for Encore!Encore! with Nathan Lane and Joan Plowright.

Arcade Comedy Theater is a unique non-profit, comedy-centered arts organization founded in February 2013. This intimate 75-seat space hosts stand-up, improv, sketch comedy, variety acts, and more. With a BYOB policy and vintage video games in the lobby, the Arcade provides a fun and affordable addition to downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District. The Arcade Academy offers a range of comedy classes for learners of all levels. Arcade Comedy Theater was voted Best Comedy Venue of 2014 by the readers of Pittsburgh Magazine.

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