ACT Features DR. HORRIBLE, SOIL, et al. This February

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre celebrates new work in the month of February. This month, ACT's Mainstage play series kicks off with ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Vanities: A New Musical, the life-affirming journey of three women, three decades, and one friendship; The Hansberry Project returns to the stage with its overwhelmingly popular You Really Got a Hold on Me, along with a new partner, Danceable Planet with Poetry + Motion; Balagan Theatre's smash hit guest production Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog continues its quest for world domination; and The Central Heating Lab at ACT cooks up art installations, dance theatre, confidential confessions, and Culture Clashes. SOIL Artist-Run Gallery unveils all-new performance-inspired installation art along 7th Avenue. Cornish Dance Theater presents The Merce Cunningham minEvent Project with a special site-specific performance in ACT's Bullitt Cabaret. In Seattle Confidential, local actors give voice to Seattle's secrets in a tell-all evening of anonymous divulgence hosted by Ian Bell. ACT also welcomes cutting edge new films by RAWSTOCK, plus two new Theatre Partners: ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani's new play, Mother in Another Language by Taniya Hossain, and eSe Teatro's staged reading of the poignant play Passport by Gustavo Ott.Balagan Theatre:

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
A Guest Production
January 28 - February 12
Tickets: start at $20, or included with the ACTPass
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog tells the incredible story of an aspiring villain...who blogs and sings. In this backwards world, the villain is the hero, and the hero is the villain. But which one will get the girl? Created by Joss Whedon, best known as the creator and showrunner of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse, this Internet sensation combines catchy music, wry humor, and comic book archetypes into a show that is now ready to be experienced in a whole new way - on a live stage!
 
SOIL Artist-Run Gallery
A Central Heating Lab Event
February 3 - June 30     
Tickets: FREE, or included with the ACTPass
ACT's ongoing collaboration with SOIL Artist-Run Gallery brings innovative (and occasionally interactive) installation art pieces into our large 7th Avenue windows. This collaboration hopes to offer more and more opportunities to local artists, as well as bringing the Central Heating Lab mission to life while adding to the downtown Seattle experience. Starting February 3, ACT will feature five installations by artists Julie Alpert and Chauney Peck, Timothy Cross, Julia Freeman, Christian French, and Allyce Wood. Each installation piece is roughly 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide, and can be seen from both 7th Avenue downtown and inside ACT's Upper Falls Lobby.  Opening Reception: Thurs, Feb 3, 4:00 -6:00 p.m., includes food, drink, meet the artists - all part of Downtown Art Walk!

Cornish Dance Theater: The Merce Cunningham minEvent Project
A Central Heating Lab Event
February 4 - 5
Tickets: FREE, or included with the ACTPass
This year, Cornish College of the Arts celebrates one of the creative giants of the Twentieth Century: Cornish alumnus Merce Cunningham (1919 - 2009). The minEvent Project commemorates Cunningham's artistic legacy, honoring his creative partnership with composer John Cage, and their association with Cornish and the Northwest. The Merce Cunningham minEvent Project is a dance of uninterrupted excerpts drawn from three Cunningham masterworks: Roaratorio (1983), Fabrications (1987), and Enter (1993) to music by John Cage performed by the Cornish Music Department's Indeterminacy Ensemble under the direction of Music faculty Jarrad Powell.
 
Vanities: A New Musical
A Mainstage Play
Book by Jack Heifner
Music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum
Directed by David Armstrong
Produced by ACT and The 5th  Avenue Theatre
February 4 - May 1 | NORTHWEST PREMIERE!
Tickets: Tickets start at $55, $15 for 25 and younger, $10 for students w/ ID, or included with the ACTPass
Set off on a life-affirming journey through the turbulent '60s to the late '80s and discover how three friends face life's defining moments: growing up, getting older and getting over it. Vanities: A New Musical is a funny and poignant look at three women who discover that, even in 30 years of rapidly changing times, the one thing they can rely on is each other.
Curated by Ian Bell: Seattle Confidential
A Central Heating Lab Event
February 7         
Tickets: Adults $15, $10 students w/ ID, seniors 65+, or included with the ACTPass
Everyone has a few stories that they would never tell their family, should never tell their friends...but perhaps they could tell a room full of strangers. Seattle Confidential makes this a reality - with the help of Seattle's finest actors and a cloak of anonymity. A new quarterly series, Seattle Confidential will present a different provocative topic on which Seattleites are invited to anonymously share their most personal stories. Drop-boxes are placed throughout the city, and a secure website is set up to accept anonymous submissions. For the premiere show, February will focus on the theme: Virginity Lost. Host Ian Bell and Seattle's finest actors (Mark Chamberlin, Emily Chisholm, Nick Garrison, Gretchen Krich) bring the most intriguing stories to life, on the stage.
 
The Hansberry Project and Danceable Planet: You Really Got a Hold on Me and Poetry + Motion
A Hansberry Project Event
February 13
Tickets: $20, or included with the ACTPass
The Hansberry Project at ACT presents the return of the overwhelmingly popular staged reading of selected writings on love from African American writers and poets, plus a new collaboration with Danceable Planet, titled Poetry + Motion. This double bill program will showcase local African American arts organizations while celebrating both literary and performance expressions on love. You Really Got a Hold on Me includes writings read by local actors and couples set to popular rhythm and blues love songs. Poetry + Motion will present works from the African American Writers Alliance expressed through dance and movement presented by performers from the Nu Black Arts West Dance Company.
 
ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani: Mother in Another Language by Taniya HossainA Central Heating Lab Event
February 18 - March 6
Tickets: Adults $15, $12 for 17 and younger, students w/ ID, Seniors 65+, and Industry/TPS, or included with the ACTPass
When Tarak, a Bengali expatriate, and Karen, an American, decide to get married, they know they're in for some cultural difficulties. But when Tarak buys them a brownstone and asks permission to move his mother into the basement apartment, Karen knows she's getting more than she bargained for. Presented by ReAct Theatre, Pratidhwani and The Central Heating Lab at ACT, this comedy explores the challenges and joys of coming together in love - for us as individuals, and our families.

RAWSTOCK Short Film Festival
A Central Heating Lab Event
February 23
Tickets: $10, or included with the ACTPass
Now in its fourth year of partnership with ACT's Central Heating Lab, RAWSTOCK Short Film Festival
continues to be Seattle's destination for cutting-edge animation, politically incorrect comedy, and
relentless grindhouse cinema. This February, RAWSTOCK features the premiere of local director Christian Palmer's new tragicomic film, William Never Married.
eSe Teatro: Passport by Gustavo Ott
Translated by Heather L McKayDirected by Arlene Martinez-Vickers
Performed bilingually (Spanish/English)
A Central Heating Lab Event                                                      
February 26
Tickets: $5.00, or included with ACTPass
In this staged reading performed in Spanish/English by Latino theatre collective eSe, Eugene is falsely imprisoned while in a foreign country, with a language he can't understand. In a foreign country with a language he can't understand, Eugene lands himself in prison after a simple misunderstanding. A search for answers becomes a desperate journey to comprehend beyond language and cultural barriers.Cast: Erwin Galan, Michael Blum and Gerald Alejandro Ford
 
Launched in 2008, The Central Heating Lab at ACT serves as an incubator and catalyst for new works. ACT cultivates, produces, and presents artists working in all performance genres and provides an artistic home for a variety of local performance groups and artists. Relationships develop daily with individual actors, performers and playwrights while established partnerships with groups such as the Contemporary Classics, 14/48, RAWSTOCK, Seattle Dance Project, and Icicle Creek Theatre Festival deepen. New programs are added throughout the year.
With year-round programming produced by The Central Heating Lab at ACT alongside ACT's Mainstage plays, ACT offers its patrons a unique opportunity to maximize their theatre experience - the ACTPass: all you can see for only $25 per month ($20 for age 30 and under)! ACTPass Members can attend any ACT produced performance throughout any given month, provided tickets are available. It is the new, more flexible, more affordable way to see more performances for one low price, and is the first of its kind in the region. ACTPass members may cancel at any time, and there is no limit to the number of times a card holder can attend. For the month of February, that means an ACTPass member can see all our shows, if they so choose, for only $25 vs. paying the single ticket price of at least $145 (if buyer would choose to see all offerings).  For more information about February programming, the ACTPass, or to arrange interviews, please contact Jennifer Rice at (206) 285-5175 or rice1234@yahoo.com.
 
 
February 2011 Summary
 
Balagan Theatre: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along BlogJanuary 28 - February 12Tickets: Adults $25, $20 for 17 and younger, students w/ ID, Seniors 65+, and Day-of-Show, or included with the ACTPass
 
SOIL Artist-Run GalleryFebruary 3 - June 30     
Tickets: FREE, or included with the ACTPass 
Cornish Dance Theater: The Merce Cunningham minEvent Project
February 4 - 5
Tickets: FREE, or included with the ACTPass
 
Vanities: A New Musical
Produced by ACT & The 5th Avenue TheatreFebruary 4 - May 1Tickets: Tickets start at $55, $15 for 25 and younger, $10 for students w/ ID, or included with the ACTPass
 
Curated by Ian Bell: Seattle Confidential
February 7         
Tickets: Adults $15, $10 students w/ ID, seniors 65+, or included with the ACTPass
 
The Hansberry Project and Danceable Planet: You Really Got a Hold on Me and Poetry + Motion
February 13Tickets: $20, or included with the ACTPass
 
ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani: Mother in Another Language by Taniya HossainFebruary 18 - March 6Tickets: Adults $15, $12 for 17 and younger, students w/ ID, Seniors 65+, and Industry/TPS, or included with the ACTPass

RAWSTOCK Short Film Festival
February 23
Tickets: $10, or included with the ACTPass

eSe Teatro: Passport by Gustavo Ott
February 26
Tickets: $5.00, or included with ACTPass
 
ACT Theatre
Ticket Office: (206) 292-7676 
Group Sales (12 or more): (253) 839-4204
700 Union Street, Seattle WA 98101
www.acttheatre.org
 
About ACT: A Theatre of New Ideas - Raising Consciousness Through Theatre
Located in the heart of downtown Seattle and serving a population of curious, open-minded, and brave audiences, ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is the only theatre in Seattle dedicated to producing contemporary work with promising playwrights and local performing artists since 1965. A theatre of new ideas, ACT serves as a cultural engine that makes plays, dance, music, and film that touch us. Because contemporary life demands examination, ACT is driven to inspire and strengthen our diverse community through works that advance our understanding of human life. With more than 100,000 people who attend shows annually, ACT is an interactive community where artists and the public witness, contemplate, and engage in dialogue on today's thought-provoking issues, ideas and art, presented with intelligence, insight, and humor.
 

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