The Marsh Extends STEVE SEABROOK: BETTER THAN YOU Through 5/18

Kurt Bodden's STEVE SEABROOK: BETTER THAN YOU, a satire of the self-help industry, has extended its run at The Marsh San Francisco through May 18, 2012. Called "very funny" by the San Francisco Chronicle, and "filled with laughs" by the San Francisco Examiner, STEVE SEABROOK: BETTER THAN YOU takes audiences to a safe, nurturing place where they can examine why they're vaguely disappointing. Directed by Mark Kenward, the show takes on a new schedule beginning April 4, playing Thursdays at 8pm and Saturdays at 8:30pm in the upstairs Studio Theater at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia Street. For tickets, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Bodden's comically absurd one man show immediately breaks the fourth wall and places the audience in the "personal-growth workshop" of Steve Seabrook. Throughout the workshop the character offers his earnestly illogical tips, encouraging the audience to enjoy procrastination while it lasts, and "live vicariously through yourself." Steve Seabrook doesn't ask people to change, he just wants them to blossom into a "you... that's better than you!"

Playing it straight and never saying anything an actual motivational speaker wouldn't, Bodden's Seabrook walks the line between plausibility and absurdity in this show the San Francisco Examiner's Leslie Katz declared, "Filled with laughs. Bodden is pitch perfect." The San Francisco Chronicle's Robert Hurwitt wrote, "'Steve Seabrook' is very funny." Throughout the performance, audiences may catch themselves actually following happily along and believing Seabrook's inane advice. The real magic of the piece lies when the fourth wall comes up, creating a contrast between the "workshop" and the revealing moments when Seabrook is on his break. At these times, the audience catches a glimpse of the man behind the façade - his capacity for self reflection (such as it is), his insecurities, and his own need for connection.

STEVE SEABROOK: BETTER THAN YOU was inspired by Bodden's own experience. Bodden, who trained in sketch comedy at The Groundlings in Los Angeles and has toured as a stand up comedian, based the character of Seabrook on his own tenure leading corporate workshops in team-building and creativity and his time spent (for better and for worse) as an erstwhile consumer of personal coaching and transformation seminars. The genuine level of authenticity is evident in every moment of his performance.

"He totally nails the wee bit of creepiness needed," raved a San Francisco Fringe Festival audience member. "If this were any more real, I would have thought I was in a self-help workshop."

Kurt Bodden is an accomplished writer, comedian, and actor. He is a former member of the company at BATS Improv and has performed improv at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He recently completed two years of training in physical theater at Flying Actor Studio, has hosted his own live talk show at the legendary Purple Onion nightclub (complete with interviews, house band, and cocktails), and has provided warm-up comedy for television audiences (The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, America's Funniest Home Videos). His previous solo show was Class Notes: True Tales from Harvard's Alumni Magazine. Bodden's Marsh Rising performance of STEVE SEABROOK: BETTER THAN YOU was greeted with wild applause by a standing room only crowd at The Marsh last fall. For more information, visit www.kurtbodden.com.

Director Mark Kenward is the creator of seven solo shows. He has performed his work in over thirty cities throughout the US and Canada, including several runs at The Marsh. Among the successful solo shows Kenward has directed are: Wayne Harris' Tyrone "Short Leg" Johnson (Best of Fringe, San Francisco), David Caggiano's Jurassic Ark (Best of Fringe, San Francisco), and Howard Petrick's Breaking Rank (Outstanding Solo Performance, Cincinnati Fringe).

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