From our friends at dog & pony dc...
dog & pony dc presents two of its original devised productions, Beertown and A Killing Game, running in rep October 3 – 19, 2013 at Round House Theatre Silver Spring.
dog & pony dc defines its mission as providing audiences new ways to experience theatre, and the residency will give audiences a new chance to explore the methodology behind dog & pony dc’s productions. Audiences will again become part of the changing landscape of the two plays, both which have consistently evolved since their original runs. Each production will feature new actors and characters, and the company will host discussions that explore larger themes in the plays.
Beertown is an interactive exploration of history, community, and memory that incorporates live music, dance, and group song. Part-civic ceremony, part-theatrical pageant, the show welcomes audiences into the 20th Beertown Time Capsule Day celebration, where every five years the imagined small American town unearths its beloved Time Capsule and ritualistically reviews its contents. The ceremony engages the audience as town citizens, leading the debate and voting on the contents of the time capsule. Beertown continues to include a number of social media components to allow for audience integration inside and outside the theatre walls, leading with the town's website: visitbeertown.com. As always, the show will begin with a dessert potluck.
In preparation for Beertown’s 2014 out-of-area engagements, beginning with New York’s 59E59 Theaters in February 2014 , dog & pony dc will be mixing up the Beertonian characters DC audiences have come to know since the show’s 2011 premiere. Included in the roster of new characters: a new Mayor (“Megan Soch”) to be performed by company member Wyckham Avery and a new State Representative (“Lawrence Pickel-Cooper”) to be played by an original member of the Beertown devising team Max Freedman.
The cast of Beertown welcomes a number of additional new performers. Pete Miller, self-confessed “chaplain of the American theatre,” a board member at Woolly Mammoth, and avid supporter of the DC theatre, will fill the role of reporter Arthur Whiting. WAMU Metro Connection host and dog & pony dc company member Rebecca Sheir joins the cast as Representative Laura Pickel-Cooper. Yasmin Tuazon, known to A Killing Game fans as Miss Pink, will play townsperson Karine Oppenheim.
Exploring the elastic relationship between performer and audience further, A Killing Game is an absurdist-play-meets-party-game that promises audiences the most fun they’ll ever have dying. The show, and the game within it, begins with the outbreak of a deadly disease. Audience and performers play along together in series of scenes, contests, and songs. A Killing Game creates a thrilling, playful brand of storytelling and ultimately celebrates life while playing at death. The Washington Post wrote that A Killing Game (2nd Edition July 2013) “…expresses its macabre cheer… elicits consistently witty contributions from its extended supporting cast — the audience.”
Karen Lange will join the cast of A Killing Game as Miss Orange. Lange is well-known to East Coast audiences as actress, singer and improv artist, and is also the co-artistic director of Pinky Swear Productions. Rachel Grossman, Beertown Director and dog & pony Founder/Ring Leader will perform the role as Miss Purple (as well as her original role in Beertown, MJ Soch).
Both Beertown and A Killing Game had critically acclaimed and popular runs—Beertown in 2011 and 2012 and A Killing Game in 2012 and 2013. The company will embark on out of state tours for both shows in 2014. The 59E59 Theaters in New York City will host Beertown for a three-week run in January, and Cleveland Public Theatre welcomes A Killing Game to its stages in April.
Funding for additional engagement programming around dog & pony dc’s repertory performances made by a grant from the Maryland Humanities Council.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:
LOCATION:
Round House Theatre Silver Spring, 8641 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
SCHEDULE:
Beertown: Thursday October 3 at 8:00 pm, Sat. 10/5 at 8:00 pm, Tues. 10/8 at 8:00 pm; Thur. 10/10 at 8:00 pm, Sat. 10/12 at 8:00 pm; Wed. 10/16 at 8:00 pm; Fri. 10/18 at 8:00 pm; Sat. 10/19 at 2:30 pm and Sat. 10/19 at 8:00 pm
A Killing Game: Friday October 4 at 8:00 pm; Sun. 10/6 at 2:30pm; Wed. 10/9 at 8:00 pm; Friday 10/11 at 8:00 pm; Sun. 10/13 at 2:30 pm; Tues. 10/15 at 8:00 pm and Thur. 10/17 at 8:00 pm
TICKETS:
Tickets for Beertown and A Killing Game may be purchased through Round House Theatre. $20 general admission; $15 students, seniors, and members of the military.
