Wrecking Crew Presents Seattle Premiere of PUGILIST SPECIALIST, Now thru 5/19

Seattle-based theater ensemble The Wrecking Crew presents Pugilist Specialist, an award winning political theatre piece by Adriano Shaplin, starting tonight, Friday, May 11th. The production will run through Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at Stone Soup Theatre's DownStage on 4029 Stone Way North (between Fremont and Wallingford).

Pugilist Specialist tells the story of four highly trained U.S. Marines assigned the task of eliminating a Middle-Eastern leader. A microphone records their conversations as they meet, receive briefings, travel, and finally attempt to execute a modern political assassination. At the center of the mission is a female explosives expert with a bad reputation for following the rules.  "A beautiful, horrifying play with an ethical, tragic heart. I was bowled over by the performances, the staging and most of all by the writing - something new and exhilarating in the theater." – Tony Kushner

Pugilist Specialist is directed by Tyrone Brown. The production features the talents of four Seattle actors  – Andrew Tribolini, Colin Featherston-Wilkinson, John-Paul Wilson, and Lyam White. The creative team includes lighting design by John Clark and original soundscape design by Stuart McLeod.

Tyrone Brown (director) is a theatre director and producer. Directing credits include POOF! by Lynn Nottage, Hot Grits: A (Punk) Play On Music by Jude Hill, and Black To My Roots by Kathya Alexander and Reneschia Brown (Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe). Brown holds a MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University, Bachelors of Arts in Theatre from Fairhaven College, and is an alumni of the Drama League in New York. He is the artis- tic director oF Brownbox Theatre, a company dedicated to the creation, development, and production of re-imagined African American Theatre.

Mandy Bowyer (Stage Manager) graduated from San Francisco State University with BA in Theater Arts in 2000 and moved to Seattle soon after. Since then she's worked with many local theaters including ReAct, Taproot Theater, Theater Schmeater and Wooden O. She also stage manages Jet City Improv at Wing-It Presents. She's delight- ed to be working once again with the Wrecking Crew having previously stage managed their production ofMuch Ado About Nothing.
Stuart McLeod (Sound Designer): Stuart has composed music for film, the stage, and concert hall for classical, improv and rock groups. Works include an orchestral score for the short film The Knitter by Amanda England, music for several Brownbox Theatre productions and structured improv Game Pieces for SIL2K. He recently has played drums and percussion with Seattle School and for performances of Byron Au Yong's 3 Seasons at On The Boards and Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas.

John Clark (Light Designer) has been busy in Seattle theatre for quite some time now, on stage and off. He was last seen as The Old Man in Fool for Love at Stone Soup Theatre. He also has served as Technical Director for Village Theatre, Seattle U. and Seattle Musical Theatre (formerly CLO).

Colin Featherston-Wilkinson (Lt. Stein) is a founding member of the Wrecking Crew. She graduated from the University of Redlands with a B.A. in Theatre. While at Redlands she acted in many shows, including Midsummer Night's Dream (Herma), Pterodactyls (Emma), and Living Out (Linda). She also received training at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. Recent roles include Inez in the Wrecking Crew's inaugural production No Exit, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Evelyn in The Shape of Things.

Andrew Tribilini (Col. Johns) is excited to return to the stage with the Wrecking Crew as Colonel Johns in "Pugilist Specialist", having previously worked with them as the dysfunctional father, Arthur, in Pterodactyls. Most recently he was Robert In Proof with Blank Stage Theatre and Bertrand Russell in Bertie. Bertrand Russell's Excellent American Adventure with Outsiders Inn. Other favorite stage credits include Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, John in David Mamet's Oleanna, GenerAl Harrison Howell in Kiss Me Kate and Judge Hawthorne in The Crucible. Recent and upcoming film roles include Pastor Williams in Henryk, John in In the First Few Days, Mr. Palmer in The Name Game, Zorba in The MarQueen and Captain Smee in Becoming Hook. He can also be seen in June as the Captain in Anything Goes for Northwest Savoyards at Everett Historic Theater.

Lyam White (Lt. Studdard) is thrilled to be working with the Wrecking Crew on Pugilist Specialist. As a member of UMO Ensemble, Lyam performed in El Dorado! and Red Tiger Tales, both of which were mounted at ACT Theatre. He has worked with a wide range of companies, including Open Circle, Annex, Theater Schmeater, Joe Boston Productions, Fisher Ensemble, and Balagan. Favorite roles have included the Marquis de Sade in Marat-Sade, Edmond in David Mamet's Edmond, Bill in The Swan, and Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.

John-Paul Wilson (Lt. Freud) is an actor and co-founding member of the Wrecking Crew. He has co- produced and acted in all the group's plays (No Exit, Pterodactyls, Much Ado About Nothing, The Shape of things). John-Paul is a transplant to Seattle from Nebraska where he studied acting at the University of Nebraska. He is also a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method of somatic health and awareness, and an ardent believer in the power of art and movement to transform lives.

The Wrecking Crew is a Seattle-based theatre ensemble. Website: http://thewreckingcrewtheatreco.blogspot.com/
 
Performance Schedule and Ticket Information
Press Night / Opening Night: Friday, May 11th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Stone Soup Theatre's DownStage at 4029 Stone Way North
Run of Show: Friday, May 11th through Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Performance Times: Five performances. Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. with an additional show that last Saturday at 10:00p.m.
Ticket Prices: $15.00 to $25.00
Purchase Tickets: 1-800-838-2006 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/235404

Photo credit: Kenneth Shook

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