Quantum Dragon Theatre Presents World Premiere of AGELESS

Quantum Dragon Theatre, the San Francisco Bay Area's premiere science-fiction/fantasy theatre company, begins its second season with a world-premiere of Bay-Area playwright Bridgette Dutta Portman's near-future, speculative-fiction play Ageless, or the Revolt of the Flesh. This limited-run production, directed by Katja Rivera, will open at The Phoenix Theatre- located at 414 Mason Street, San Francisco- on Friday, December 1st at 8pm.

Ageless takes place at the turn of the 22nd century, where a drug has been invented which imbues clinical immortality on any who consistently take it. The play follows Marin, who refuses to take the anti-aging drug, invokes her mother's ire, and risks becoming marginalized in a culture that worships youth, denies death, and treats old age as a malady. As Marin's choice begins to affect not only her but the people she loves, will she find the strength to hold out, or succumb to social pressure?

"Ageless was inspired, in part, by a philosophical question I think everyone has asked themselves at one time or other- 'if I could choose to live forever, would I do it?'" says playwright Bridgette Dutta Portman. "The characters in the world of Ageless are not immortal, but they are eternally youthful. I wanted to explore what the absence of aging would do to people's understanding of and relationship with death, both on a societal and an individual psychological level. Is aging, and mortality itself, something to be transcended, or is it something so intrinsically part of what it means to be human that to eliminate it would have unintended negative effects?"

"This play represents a great success for our Forge new play development program," adds QDT Artistic Director Sam Tillis. "The Forge was designed to help playwrights bring new works of science-fiction and fantasy theatre into the world, and watching Ageless evolve from inception through staged readings through this full production has been an absolute joy."

Two pillars of the Bay Area acting community-Mary Ann Rodgers and Annette Amelia Oliveira- bring their immense talents to the cast of Ageless as Marin 2 and Aged Marin. BATCC award winner (and TBA-award nominee) James Ard also joins the production as Sound Designer.

Ageless runs December 1st (8pm), 2nd (3pm and 8pm), 3rd (3pm), 6th (8pm), 7th (8pm), 8th (8pm), and 9th (3pm and 8pm). Tickets are available online at www.quantumdragon.org and will be available at the door for performances which are not sold out. All tickets are pay-what-you-want, with a suggested donation of $25.

About Katja Rivera
Director Katja Rivera is an actor/director/writer originally from Los Angeles. She is an artistic associate with Shotgun Players and Playground-SF, and a member of AEA. Directing credits include The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Eurydice, Three Tall Women, and How I Learned to Drive (Custom Made Theatre), The Road to Hades and Our Town (asst. director, Shotgun Players), Pleiades (Phoenix Theatre), staged readings of Grace and The How and the Why (Douglas Morrisson Theatre), and multiple new works at Playground SF. Katja is the proud mother of two grown daughters, has been practicing massage for over 30 years, and is a certified Vinyasa yoga instructor.

About Bridgette Dutta Portman
Playwright Bridgette Dutta Portman's plays have been read and produced in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the country, and overseas. She is currently president of the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco, a founding member of Ex Nihilo Theater, and a member of the Pear Writers' Guild. Bridgette has won numerous awards and honors for her plays, including 2013 Ohio State Newark New Play Contest and September 2012 Play of the Month, and has been a Finalist for many others. She is pursuing an MFA in playwriting from Spalding University and currently lives in Fremont, CA with her husband and their 3-year-old son.

About Quantum Dragon Theatre
Quantum Dragon Theatre is a theatre company dedicated to bringing new and classic works of science-fiction and fantasy to the SF stage, along with works in any other genre appealing to the Bay's 'nerdy' subculture. Following the successes of our first season- three plays ranging from high fantasy to space opera and our new works development program The Forge- we're proud to be able to present the first play of our three-play second season.

For more information visit www.quantumdragon.org, 'like' us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or send us an e-mail at info@quantumdragon.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.