Penguins 1: Roll Away The Rock

written by Scot Augustson, directed by Bret Fetzer
LATE NIGHT: Nov 27–Dec 19, 2009, Fri-Sat at 11 pm
(no show Friday, Dec 4)
$10 gen / $5 stu


A gang war twixt nuns and priests!

A gang war twixt nuns and priests!

Annex Theatre’s smash success, Penguins, returns! To consolidate his power over the parish, Father Jones decides to rid himself of the meddlesome Sister Bernadette – setting off an ecclesiastical turf war of biblical proportions! Featuring blasphemy, heresy, dancing, guns, organ music, puppet sex, and much much more, Penguins will shock and delight Catholics and non-Catholics alike! Written by Scot Augustson (Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes), directed by Bret Fetzer (director of Small Town by Kelleen Conway Blanchard), featuring Daniel Christensen, Chris Dietz, Teri Lazzara, Sophie Lowenstein, Jenny Schmidt, Jillian Vashro, Lisa Viertel, and Clayton Weller! See the first episode before the second rolls around in January!

“Brawny, brogue-brandishing badass Sister Bernadette (Lisa Viertel) demands some basic rights for nuns, which triggers a priest/nun gang war that makes last year’s pitiless Cannes winner Gomorrah look like an afterschool special…We’re talking Doubt on Ecstasy, smack, and aerosol cheese…The hour-long show felt like half that, and I wished Penguins: Episode 2 would have begun immediately after.”
— Seattle Weekly

“Ultra-lowbrow, extreme Catholic camp…[director] Fetzer keeps his cast moving full-tilt…You wouldn’t think there’d be any thrill (perverse or otherwise) left in priest-and-nun exploitation, but [playwright] Augustson mines the veins of altar-boy molestation and convent lesbianism with such fervor, he might win you over.”
— SunBreak

“A bottomless well of depravity…Helping things immensely is the cast, a uniformly excellent crew…Chris Dietz cements the show’s comic tone with his masterful performance as Father Jones…a dark comic marvel.”
— The Stranger

“I thought it was absolutely fucking great…If all late-night theater were like this, it would devour prime-time theater, which would be fantastic.”
— monologist Mike Daisey

Stage Manager — Jillian Vashro
All-Purpose Tech Stud — Ian Johnston

Blind Spot

written by Bret Fetzer & Juliet Waller Pruzan
directed by Rachel Katz Carey
with songs by Rick Miller
Jan. 16 – Feb. 14, 2009

When 8 year old Kirsty Vanderkamp finds a hidden world in the nooks and crannies of her house — dust bunny farmers under the bed, a burlesque show in the butter compartment, a tabloid published in the china cabinet — she also finds herself caught up the wake of Aura Rotter, an ambitious social climber working her way up the rungs of society, and the lovelorn Iota Potts, a farmboy who risks everything that ever mattered to him to win Aura’s heart. Kirsty travels from the depths of the drains to the heights of the lighting fixture as she tries to make sense of this miniature world — and her own.

REVIEWS

“Blind Spot wends its way into your imagination… I found Blind Spot something of a revelation: I saw new life and new civilizations, and boldly went where no man had gone before. Way cool.” — Seattle Weekly

“The play reinvents the house in a childlike way as a rich, surprising place and satirizes all kind of adults, from the poor devout to the filthy rich.” — The Stranger


The cast of Blind Spot

CAST
Kirsty Vanderkamp Jennifer Pratt
Astor Potts, Sheriff Whilk, Escrow Deshabille, Dr. Churlish, Gamut Tawdry John Bianchi
Sella Stringley Potts, Deputy Gall, Peril, Jolly Deshabille, Summit Tawdry Sara Balcaitis
Iota Potts Joe Feeney
Onus, Vigor Potts, Tubly, Announcer, Luster Wedge, Waifish/Snit Seanjohn Walsh
Aura Rotter Alissa Mortenson
Bib Clad, Deputy Hisk, Burn, Escrow Deshabille III, Yodel, Spat Mayhap Daniel Christensen
Protestor, Volly Smirk, Dulcet Expiration, Fernel Spriggs, Pasty Sann Hall
Glee Patina, Booboo Expiration, Uvula Bestwick, Illicit Deshabille Ellie McKay
CREW
Production Manager Kristina Volkman
Stage Manager Meg Tully
Assistant Stage Manager David Roby
Costume Design Juliet Waller Pruzan
Pamala Mijatov
Lighting Design Matt Shannon
Properties Design Ashley Born
Set Design Bret Fetzer
Sound Design Brian Christian
Song Recording Michael Hayes
Build Team Ron Darling
Max Reichlin
Costume Team Jen Moon
K.D. Schill
Properties Team Sean Kauffman
Allison Lizott
Gabby
Meryl Roth
Poster Design Susannah Anderson
Bret Fetzer
Amber Zipperer
Special Painting Susannah Anderson
BUILD CREW

Chris Bell, Daniel Christensen, Chris Comte, Meghan Darling, John DeShazo, Ciara Griffin, Allie Hankins, Sandy Kopriva, Todd Kopriva, Jem Lewis, Gary Menendez, David Roby, Matt Shannon, Suja Hart, David Otten, and Kristina Volkman

SPECIAL THANKS

14/48, Wendy and Marc Barrington, Ruth Baugh, David Baum, Lyssa Browne, Nicholas Carey, Stanley and Arlene Cohen, Chris Comte, John DeShazo, Eglantine, Ilene Fins, Anne Fitzgerald, Ted Ford, Susan Freccia, the Katz Foundation, Nebunele Theatre, Alan Pruzan, Brandon Simmons, Crispin Spaeth, Roy Stanton, Alia Swersky, Theater Schmeater, theater simple (Llysa Holland and Andrew Litzky), Sulo Turner

interlace [falling star]

written & directed by Scotto Moore
August 1 – 30, 2008 – Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m.

In this epic blend of science-fiction and fantasy, a mysterious amnesiac finds herself in the lobby of an infinitely tall building located in the center of the multiverse, the headquarters of the United Association of Interdimensionary Travelers.

Her unexplained presence sets off a series of increasingly catastrophic events that not only compromise the security of the Association, but threaten to unravel the entire fabric of creation itself!

Can a superhero with a divine pedigree, an android companion, and archangels and devils together combine forces to help “Andrea Change” find her true identity, and prevent the impending apocalypse?

Drawing on influences as diverse as the metaphysical explorations of Philip K. Dick, and the scrappy tradition of low-budget sci-fi television, interlace [falling star] is a unique saga of love, loss, and redemption.

REVIEWS

“Beautiful imagining…. Next to the shine of speculative nodes are jokes that snap, crackle, and pop…. The presentation of this fantastic fusion, which also includes theological thought experiments and the narrative structure of a thriller, is strong all around…. The pleasures of interlace [falling star] are more than plenty.”
Charles Mudede, The Stranger

The Stranger Suggests, August 15:
“Like life itself, this new play by local writer/director Scotto Moore is silly, in both the ancient (spiritually touched) and modern (frivolous) senses of that word. It is also serious (history has not changed the sense of that word). Set in an infinitely tall building – one that might resemble a new tower in Dubai or a tower Frank Lloyd Wright once imagined in a moment of madness – interlace is a tireless narrative machine that generates comic nonsense and cosmic concepts.”
Charles Mudede, The Stranger Suggests

“Just go see it and enjoy yourself. Jen Moon’s performance as the nameless amnesiac heroine is smart and funny. LaChrista Borgers’s turn as the robot companion Trickle confirms that women in pink wigs make us think bad thoughts. Stan Shields brings all the gravitas and physical presence you could want to his super-hero character The Amazing Dr. X, while capturing his vulnerable side. And Kristina Sutherland, who has yet to disappoint us, recalls what Deckard must have been like before he became the burned-out shell of a man we meet in Blade Runner, with her hard-as-nails performance as psychic security officer Agent Grey.”
Jeremy M. Barker, Seattlest

“Clever, amusing…. Sardonic bon mots are scattered throughout…. [Writer/director] Moore conjures…with geeky authority and natural comic flair.”
Misha Berson, Seattle Times

“This trippy, smart, new sci-fi fantasy…uses futuristic techno-speak cleverly, and often keeps you guessing.”
Seattle Times

In this “bent science-fiction vision of the godly plane”, the “characters joust with jaded irreverence and are skeptical of their own tropes.” The show is “zany fun…as if Joseph Campbell wrote an episode of Red Dwarf.”
Giani Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Jen Moon [as] ‘Andrea Change’…is wonderful to watch…. The very strong cast…takes a very funny journey into Infinity…. The journey is worth taking.”
Miryam Gordon, Seattle Gay News

interlace [falling star] delivers “a cheerful blend of horror and humor, fueled by a heady mixture of future shock and super-heroics. Gotta say this about Annex: For a company that just reached the advanced age of 21, it’s still unafraid to tackle weird material and provocative ideas.”
John Longenbaugh, Seattle Weekly

“Behind the absurdity, sci-fi mystery takes on serious questions about God and faith”
Preview article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer


Kristina Sutherland, Jen Moon & Stan Shields

CAST
Jesus / Ramon / Attendant / Murray Chris Bell
Trickle LaChrista Borgers
Johnny / Ansel Daniel Christensen
Satan Isaiah Crowson
Princess / Reporter Yana Kesala
Ialdabaoth / Waiter John McKenna
Andrea Change Jen Moon
Sophia / Kiosk Jennifer Pratt
The Amazing Dr. X Stan Shields
Agent Grey / Carissa Kristina Sutherland
Michael / Magus / Kellin Spencer Thorson
Jayce Allison Wooldridge
CREW
Assistant Director Chris Comte
Stage Manager Meredith Nichole
Set Design Bret Fetzer
Light Design Max Reichlin
Costume Design Kimberley Newton
Props Design Heather Mayhew
Sound Design Larry Ryan
Assistant Sound Design Scotto Moore
Original Music Paul Fly
Production Manager Ellie McKay

SPECIAL THANKS

Annex Theatre wishes to acknowledge the generous contributions of 4Culture, The Flintridge Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, The Seattle Foundation, The Boeing Company, ActiveMac, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs for their support of this production.

Naked Ladies

written by Paul Gude & Ben Laurance | directed by Bret Fetzer
May 16-31, 2008 | Fri-Sat 11pm

Two hack comedians, wandering in the desert, find a briefcase labeled NAKED LADIES – but they live in a world that’s never known naked ladies, so what could possibly be inside? And why does that coyote want so badly to steal it? Every presentation of NAKED LADIES features an opening extravaganza by six-year-old performance artist Kitty Poole!

CAST
Paul Gude
Ben Laurance
Becky Poole

Keep The Light On

created by Max Reichlin | directed by Ellie McKay
written by Scot Augustson (1001), Elizabeth Heffron (Foxy Populi), Bret Fetzer & Juliet Waller Pruzan (ElectriCity)
Feb 8-March 8, 2008

To keep spirits high after a world-changing catastrophe, a small group of hardy survivors have put together a theatre troupe to entertain their community. This evening of three new plays is presented using only the electricity created by two human-powered generators operated by the actors.

Each of the three scripts in Keep the Light On takes a different approach toward entertainment in a disastrously changed world, offering a variety of ways “to remember, and to forget”:

  • 1001 by Scot Augustson celebrates the act of storytelling as a young delivery boy falls into the path of danger and has to talk his way out of it. Tales fold in on each other like origami, featuring sudden kisses, pearl-handled revolvers, dust on the ceiling of a Thai hotel, and a Mexican widow with a Castilian lisp.
  • Foxy Populi by Elizabeth Heffron is a wild musical that looks back to the extravagent days before the apocalypse when we all had iPods, SUVs, and stock options.
  • ElectriCity by Bret Fetzer and Juliet Waller Pruzan takes us on a journey with a mother and her daughter as they visit the last amusement park on earth.
ORIGINS

Keep the Light On began as an experiment in human-powered lighting. The show’s creator, Max Reichlin, wanted to discover what could be done on stage when all electricity is provided by actors pedaling custom-made generators.

“It turns out that it’s tricky – people don’t make much power,” Max said. “So the show would look different from a traditional play in terms of the lighting.”

This line of thinking led Max to a conclusion about the content of the show:

“I thought ‘When would people actually use people to power a theatre?’ I’ve always enjoyed apocalyptic literature and I realized that in a post-apocalyptic world, with no electricity, somebody just might perform theatre this way. So that’s why the evening is composed of three plays presented by an imaginary, post-apocalyptic, theatre company.”

OFF THE GRID

Keep the Light On will provide a total-immersion experience in the world of the future, according to director Ellie McKay:

“Our dream is to take Annex Theatre ‘off the grid’ for each performance,” she said. “This means that the moment the audience enters our space, there is no outside electricity entering the building. To light the hall, we will hook up a car battery to some lights. Actors will be riding the generators on the stage to light the audience’s seats. Bathrooms will be lit by the users providing light with hand-crank flashlights. Instead of programs we will have a wall with hand-written information on recycled paper for people to read.”

SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Watch a 5-minute television feature about the Max and the show from KING-5 TV’s Evening Magazine by reporter Jim Dever, broadcast February 8. Click here to watch.
  • Listen to a February 6 interview with Max on Seattle’s NPR station KUOW. Click here to listen to Max’s segment in Real Player format. Or visit KUOW’s web site for an MP3 of the entire broadcast.
  • Read the January Spotlight at GreenIsSexy.org for an extensive interview with Max and Ellie!
  • Check out the YouTube video of Max demonstrating a generator in action!

REVIEWS

Misha Berson, The Seattle Times:

“If you gotta have a gimmick, the one Annex Theatre employs in Keep the Light On is an eco-friendly dandy. … What a novelty, in an age of digital and automatic everything, to see the cheerful, muscle-toned cast members take turns whirring away on stationary bikes.”

Foxy Populi “is a hilarious, sharp-fanged satire on the downfall of Western civilization, through the meltdown of a crazed blond pop star…, a swift, smash-mouthed portrait of celeb self-destruction. … Even people who wouldn’t be caught dead reading People magazine at the supermarket should know enough about Britney Spears to find this whipsaw version of her saga smart, funny and horrifying.”

1001 is “a skein of surreal scenes spun by a Scheherazade-like delivery boy who tangles with a one-eyed pharmacist, a homicidal client and a lisping Mexican widow.”

ElectriCity is “sweet and twisted, a puppet/human chronicle of a curious child and her mother visiting the world’s last remaining amusement park.”

“Bravo to Annex for continuing its irreverent explorations – and for ‘going green’ in a whole new way.”

Miryam Gordon, Seattle Gay News:

Foxy Populi is “fast and furious and sad and strange. … Megan Ahiers channels Britney [Spears]…as if Britney had suddenly shown up to be in this play.”

ElectriCity “had the most intriguing contexts and the best acting from Pamala Mijatov as a little girl who visits this strange amusement park. She has a particularly haunting little girl voice, as she observes too much for her own good.”

Keep the Light On is “a worthy effort, an interesting evening and a challenge to think about.”

Joe Adcock, Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Keep the Light On “is an exercise in anti-conventional comedy…. The show is made up of three darkly comic one-acts…overwhelmed with shadows.” Keep the Light On “is a uniquely theatrical take on the familiar theme of a dystopian future…. Six plucky performers struggle to put on a show. Their hands, faces and clothes are smudged with dirt, but their creative spirits are unblemished.”

Neil Corcoran, Seattle Weekly:

Keep the Light On is “a well-done and novel sort of play-within-a-play which channels three curious vignettes of imagination and moral wonder.”


Foxy (Megan Ahiers) and her asset manager Jett Alamo (Alex Garnett) feel each other, while Sam Wilson pedals for power.

CAST
Megan Ahiers
Deniece Bleha
Alex Garnett
Ciara Griffin
Pamala Mijatov
Beverly Ann Thompson
Julie Westlin-Naigus
Sam Wilson
CREW
Stage Manager Kristina Volkman
Set Design Max Reichlin
Light Design Max Reichlin
Costume Design Emily Carlsen
Props Design Alex Harris
Sound Design Jason Miller
Dramaturg Brendan Healy

SPECIAL THANKS

Annex Theatre’s 21st Season is generously supported by: 4Culture, Flintridge Foundation, Seattle Foundation, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Microsoft, and The Boeing Company.

Thanks to GreenIsSexy.org for featuring KTLO as their Spotlight of the Month for January 2008!

Special thanks to Wright Brothers Cycle Works in Seattle for their support and donations to this project.

Thanks to Cranked Magazine for blogging about KTLO.