Macha Monkey to Present World Premiere Comedy ...AND STARRING CLAIRE FROM HOLLYWOOD

Macha Monkey Productions presents the world premiere comedy ...And Starring Claire from Hollywood by Jim Moran. Directed by Amy Poisson, the show features Lisa Every as Claire, Laurence Hughes as Leo, Sean Schroeder as Brad, Emily Haver as Jana, and Stacey Bush as Kandi. The production runs May 5th through June 3rd at 18th & Union in the Central District.

In a world...specifically in a serene town on the Oregon coast, a formerly famous Hollywood actress, Claire Zimmer (Lisa Every), returns home for personal reasons, and agrees to star in the Prospect Cove Summer Theatre's production of Noel Coward's Private Lives. Not everyone is delighted with this turn of events including the long time local 'star' Leo Laraquette (Laurence Hughes) who will be playing Claire's leading man. Chaos ensues when Hollywood and community theatre egos clash in this farcical tale of coming home and starting again. Macha Monkey is producing ...And Starring Claire from Hollywood at 18th and Union, a performance space in Seattle's Central District that serves as a home for the arts, including theater, music, dance and comedy.

Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays starting May 5th and continuing through June 3rd. (Pay what you can preview on May 4th. No performances Memorial Day weekend.) Time: 8pm. Location: 18th and Union, 1406 18th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122. Tickets: $18 in advance; $20 at the door. Visit www.machamonkey.org for more.

Jim Moran received his MFA in Playwriting from University of Nevada, Las Vegas where his thesis play Emerald Eagle premiered at Nevada Conservatory Theatre. Shortly after, his play Martian Manhunter Lives was seen Off-Broadway at the Snapple Theater Center and he obtained a PONY Fellowship nomination from the LARK Play Development Center. Since returning to his native city of Seattle, Eclectic Theater has premiered three of his plays including September Skies ("...the writing is taut, witty, and true...a study in how desperately we flail for what we want during these few short years we call life" - Seattle Weekly) and Across A Little Red Marker (...a frisky and entertaining piece of work" - The Stranger) to critical acclaim. His work has also been presented or developed in Seattle at 14/48: The World's Quickest Theatre Festival, Akropolis Performance Lab, Bainbridge Performing Arts, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, Seattle Fringe Festival, and Sandbox Radio Live. He also served as the assistant to Tony AwardWinning playwright Terrence McNally for the book of Catch Me If You Can, the Musical when it debuted at 5th Avenue Theatre. Finally, he is a current card-carrying member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Macha Monkey is also thrilled to welcome Seattle director Amy Poisson into the fold. She will be taking over as Artistic Director as of June 2017 About the Director Amy Poisson, is a Seattle based director and the incoming Artistic Director of Macha Monkey Productions. She will take the helm starting in June of 2017. Amy's work focuses on world premiere plays by female artists. Most recently her work was seen at Theatre Off Jackson with A Hand of Talons, the final play in Maggie Lee's steampunk trilogy; (2016 Gregory Award Winner for Costumes as well as numerous Gypsy Rose Awards) Amy has also helmed The Twelfth Story by Rebecca Goldberg at Annex Theatre; Blood/Water/Paint by Joy McCullough-Carranza for Live Girls! Theater, Fast Company by Carla Ching (2014 Seattle Times Footlight Award), The Clockwork Professor and The Tumbleweed Zephyr (2016 Gregory Award Nominee for best new play) both by Maggie Lee produced by Pork-filled Productions. She has also directed These Streets by Gretta Harley & Sarah Rudinoff at Central Heating Lab at ACT and The Strange Misadventures of Patty by Allison Moore at Annex Theatre. She was the Associate Director for Robin Hood at Seattle Children's Theatre and Assistant Director on Elektra at Seattle Shakespeare Company. Amy is currently helping to bring forth three World Premiere plays: Serving Caleb by Jenn Ruzumna and Lisa Every, Untitled Holiday Play(Working Title) by Maggie Lee for Seattle Public Theatre, and Smoke and Dust (Working Title) by Joy McCullough-Carranza.

Founded in 2001 and based in Seattle Macha Monkey Productions is a non-profit arts organization showcasing exceptional artists, delivering innovative education programs, and staging new theatrical works which feature strong female characters. Macha Monkey Productions most recently produced the world premiere of Collaborator by award-winning playwright Yussef El Guindi at West of Lenin in 2016.

To post a comment, you must register and login.