Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2002 16:21:04 -0700
Subject: PUPT: VENTRILOQUIST SEX (new play, L.A.)


If you're in So. California and interested in seeing ventriloquism and 
puppetry
taken to places where they've never been, you should try to see 
VENTRILOQUIST SEX, a new play by Rick Mitchell, a critically 
acclaimed playwright who made his living as a ventriloquist/comedian 
throughout most of the 80s and 90s.

(note: play is for mature audiences)

URBAN ENSEMBLE
presents
the world premiere of
VENTRILOQUIST SEX
a dark comedy by
Rick Mitchell

Directed by ALEXA HUNTER
 
Starring:
BRENT BLAIR*
JOHN HANSEN*
KATRINKA WOLFSON*

* appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association 
-AT-
The Cast, 800 N. El Centro
Hollywood (1 block E. of Vine,
2 blocks N. of Melrose)
Resvervations: (323) 993-7160
 
www.edgeoftheworld.org
  
The play runs through Oct. 20th, the end of EdgeFest.  Fridays & 
Saturdays at 8:00 p.m; Sundays at 7:00 p.m.; and Thurs. at 7:00 p.m.  
Reservations, especially for Fri. and Sat. shows, are recommended.  
Tickets only 12 bucks; discount w/ EdgeFest passport.   Phone: (323) 
993-7160
  
Urban Ensemble's entry in last year's EdgeFest, a staged reading of 
Rick Mitchell's BRECHT IN L.A., is the recent winner of the 2002 SWTA
National New Play Contest and is currently in press.
 
Quote from review of BRECHT IN L.A.: "...in its present stripped-down
form, it's an uncut gem whose Brechtian brilliance will not be 
enhanced by additional polishing....  The fine script, superb acting, 
and engaging themes combined to make this a must see production."
Ralph Leck, review of Urban Ensemble's 2001 staged-reading EdgeFest
production which appears in the current issue of Communications, the
journal of the International Brecht Society.
  
Quote from Urban Ensemble's world premiere production of AMERICAN 
LABOR:
"(Mitchell's) plotting is surefooted, with some neat surprises near 
the end, and he has a wonderful sense of impatience which fuels some 
truly bizarre structural and visual stunts.... American Labor's many
inner-city in-jokes about Bridgeport...  will appeal mightily to the
locals..."
Christopher Arnott, New Haven Advocate
 
more info:
The world premiere of Ventriloquist Sex, a dark comedy by
award-winning playwright Rick Mitchell, runs for eight shows during 
Los Angeles' Edge of the World Theater Festival.  Directed by Alexa 
Hunter and produced by Urban Ensemble, a critically acclaimed theater 
company that recently relocated to Los Angeles from Connecticut, 
Ventriloquist Sex opens on October 1oth and runs through
October 20th.  Show times are Thursday at nine p.m., Fridays and
Saturdays at eight p.m., and Sundays at seven p.m. at
the Cast Theater, 804 N. El Centro, Hollywood.  Tickets for
Ventriloquist Sex are twelve dollars and discounts are available for
holders of EdgeFest passports. For reservations, call (323) 993-
7160.

Ventriloquist Sex, which features music by Carmen Balas, centers on
a struggle for domination between a ventriloquist, Bill, and his 
dummy, Ronny, who desires to perform "truthful," explicit material.  
The ventriloquist, on a sex- and alcohol-filled binge on an
Alaskan cruise ship, finds himself (and often his dummy) in 
compromising positions with live-sex performers, a promiscuous drag 
queen, and an Alaskan woman who lives in a tent.  Shortly after an 
impromptu performance in a Ketchikan bar, the ventriloquist's 
downward spiral rapidly accelerates.  The play is framed
by an ultra-conservative Texan speaking and singing at a men's 
revival, where--indirectly commenting on the play--he
encourages the spectators to allow the upper half to dominate the 
lower half.  Towards the end of Ventriloquist Sex, the struggle 
between upper and lower intensifies, resulting in a
showdown which is both funny and frightening.  Foregrounding
theatricality, the play features three actors who play numerous
characters, often transforming into different roles right on-stage.  
And the piece contains mature subject matter.  Ventriloquist Sex is a
visiting production of The Theatre District-AT-The Cast.
  
Urban Ensemble's first foray into the Los Angeles theater scene was
a staged reading of Mitchell's Brecht in L.A. during last year's
EdgeFest.  Brecht in L.A. subsequently won the 2002 SWTA National New
Play Contest and is currently in press.  Mitchell's previous play, The
Composition of Herman Melville (which also features a ventriloquist, 
was published this year in England by Intellect Books.  Mitchell, who 
has written numerous, critically acclaimed plays, is artistic 
director of Urban Ensemble.  Alexa Hunter, a resident actor at John 
Vaccaro's Obie-Award winning Playhouse of the Ridiculous and director 
of critical successes off-off Broadway and at Company of Angels, has 
worked extensively on both coasts.  John Hansen, who plays the lead, 
has recently starred at Yale Rep, San Jose Rep, the Oregon 
Shakespeare Festival, and Washington Shakespeare.  Katrinka Wolfson, 
who plays multiple roles, has starred at L.A. Women's Shakespeare, at 
regional theaters across the U.S., and at Shakespeare & Co.   Brent 
Blair, who also plays numerous characters, has performed classical 
theater around the country, was a long-time actor and teacher at 
Shakesepeare & Company in Massachusetts, and is presently a professor 
of acting at USC.

Rick Mitchell



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