Woolly Mammoth Introduces POWERBOMB! Video Game Inspired by 'CHAD DEITY'

Following the launch of The Black Women Playwrights Group's Cyber Narrative Project at Woolly Mammoth last February, the theatre has introduced DC audiences to Powerbomb!, an online video game inspired by Woolly's season opener, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz.

In Powerbomb!, players are introduced to "THE Wrestling Champion Chad Deity" and "The Mace", the hardworking "jobber" who makes the champ look good in the ring. Players who successfully "put over" Chad Deity win a discounted ticket to the production at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, which begins performances September 3. Audience members will also be given the opportunity to play in the lobby before seeing the show and win a discounted Flex Pass to the rest of Woolly's season.

You can play the game at wrestling.woollymammoth.net.

The video game is a result of The Black Women Playwrights' Group's Cyber Narrative Project, an initiative aimed at partnering playwrights of color with technology students to create cyber-narrative tools that enhance live productions of their plays.

Says Karen Evans, the president of BWPG, "The Cyber Narrative Project came together to address one of the highest priorities of our membership: creating art and reaching new audiences through digital media. We are thrilled to see it yield such wonderful results. Kris, the engineering teams, and Woolly Mammoth have all contributed incredible vision and support for this project."

The project is funded by The Joyce Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Dreyfus Foundation, and Bloomberg BNA. Engineering support for the project was provided Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center-Global, George Mason University, Nick Chang and FUNRGaming.

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity runs September 3 - 30, 2012; Wednesdays–Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. Monday, September 3 and Tuesday, September 4 will both be Pay-What-You-Can performances beginning at 8pm.

In addition to Powerbomb!, Woolly Mammoth will be presenting a number of initiatives in collaboration with Chad Deity. These include wrestling themed Trivia Nights in partnership with Trivia Kings, at bars throughout DC, from August 19 – 30; Wrestling Workshops for all ages and experiences on September 8 at 4pm and September 19 at 6:30pm; and a panel discussion with professional wrestlers about "Making It Big As A Bad Guy."

Additionally, audiences are invited to make their mark on our End to End Graffiti Wall, a larger-than-life art installation where members of the public can name their "inner champion" and tag it on our hip hop-flavored urban art canvas. Finally, the theatre will host a post show conversation following EVERY performance. These audience exchanges will be moderated by members of Woolly's community and will get fellow audience members talking around the questions of what they saw, what spoke to them, and what they are left thinking about. Concessions will remain open for these conversations.

For more information, visit www.woollymammoth.net.

Now in its 33 Season, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company continues to hold its place at the leading edge of American theatre. Acknowledged as "one of the most influential outposts for the best new American plays" (The Washington Post), and "known for its productions of innovative new plays" (The New York Times), Woolly Mammoth is a national leader in the development of new plays, and one of the best known and most influential mid-sized theatres in America.

Woolly Mammoth's Season 33, My Roots, My Revolution, is a passionate exploration of the decisions we make when our emotions are bombarded by complex forces of religion, heritage, values, and ethnicity. What do we inherit from our family, our culture, and our homeland? And how does this impact the choices we make for our future? With a unique global perspective, these ambitious new works carry us to far flung destinations including Africa, Korea, Disneyworld, Burning Man, and the world of professional wrestling.

In the six works that make up Woolly's Season 33, a group of unforgettable characters choose whether to embrace their legacies, run from them, or invent a whole new future. They include Kristoffer Diaz's The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Sept 3 – 30), Mia Chung's You For Me For You (Nov 5 – Dec 2), Danai Gurira's The Convert (Feb 11 – Mar 10), Mike Daisey's American Utopias (Mar 19 – Apr 14), and Aaron Posner's Stupid f-ing Bird (May 27 – June 23). Coming to Woolly this holiday season is Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez's The Pajama Men: In The Middle of No One (Dec 11 – Jan 6).

 

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