Second Date

Co-produced by Rain City Projects
January 29 – February 13
Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 8pm
$10 general / $5 student, TPS, senior, military

Two people meet. Two people connect. Ordinarily, this might be a night out on the town, perhaps going bowling—but if those two people are a playwright and a director, it’s a very different game. These directors and playwrights have never worked together before, but we’re going to see what their chemistry will create. Co-produced by Rain City Projects, each night of SECOND DATE will feature these three one-act plays, which are being created as you read this:

BLACK LIKE US
written by Rachel Atkins
directed by Tyrone Brown
Featuring: Caitlin Gilman, Laurel Ryan, Qadriyyah Shabazz, Sarah Winsor, and Amber Wolfe

SKETCH
written by Tracy Vicory-Rosenquest
directed by Katherine Karaus
Featuring: Asa Bass, Laurence Hughes, Jana Hutchison and Joan Jankowski

THE SIBYL AT COMMOTION STREET
written by Jaime Cruz
directed by L. Nicol Cabe
Featuring: Andy Buffelen, Justine Freese, and Keiko Green

PRODUCTION TEAM
Bret Fetzer Producer
Catherine Blake Smith Production Manager
Michelle Berweiler Stage Manager
Danny Fisher-Bruns Lighting Designer
Samantha Armitage Costume Designer

Audrey & Nelson

Book & lyrics by Bret Fetzer
Music by Peter Richards
Directed by Bret Fetzer

Fri-Sat at 11 pm, Oct 26-Nov 16
$10 general / $5 student, TPS, senior, military
PWYC Industry Night: Monday, Nov 12 @ 8pm
No show on Fri, Nov 2

Audrey & Nelson

Audrey & Nelson starts with two hapless twentysomethings waking up in bed together with only the vaguest memories of how they got there. But Audrey and Nelson decide to explore the possibilities! What follows is a rueful comic musical about sex, traffic lights, bad language, singing penises, and broken hearts. All characters, including their talking genitalia, are portrayed by puppets. Book and lyrics by Bret Fetzer (writer of Planet Janet, Passport, and Blind Spot [co-written with Juliet Waller Pruzan]), music by Peter Richards (of the local band Dude York). Directed by Bret Fetzer.

CAST
Sann Hall Audrey
Ben Laurance Nelson
Rachel Jackson Taylor/Ensemble
Mike Gilson Phillip/Ensemble
Blair Feehan, Catherine Blake Smith, Ian Johnston The Band
CREW
Book & lyrics Bret Fetzer
Music Peter Richards
Director Bret Fetzer
Stage Manager Michelle Berweiler
Scenic & Props Designer Emily Sershon
Puppet Design Rachel Jackson & Sann Hall

A Mouse Who Knows Me

Book & lyrics by Scotto Moore
Music by Robertson Witmer
Directed by Kristina Sutherland

Thu-Sat at 8 pm, Oct 19-Nov 17 (Thu PWYC)
$15 general / $10 TPS, senior, military / $5 student
PWYC Industry Night: Monday, Nov 5

A Mouse Who Knows Me is a world premiere science fiction musical comedy with book & lyrics by Scotto Moore (Duel of the Linguist Mages), music by Robertson Witmer (of the band “Awesome”), & directed by Kristina Sutherland (artistic director of Macha Monkey Productions). In a genetics lab that is inserting human genes into mice to see what might happen, Dr. Audrey Whitman starts to believe that one of her mice has developed human empathy & intelligence and develops a strange relationship with the mouse she christens Romeo, to the chagrin of her colleagues in the lab. Her mentor secretly plots to use her intelligent mouse to breed a new form of war machine – but neither realize that the mice in the lab have their own plans for bloody revolution. It’s an inter-species West Side Story!

WHO’S INVOLVED

Scotto Mooreʼs previous plays at Annex include the Gregory-Award-nominated pair Duel of the Linguist Mages and When I Come to My Senses, Iʼm Alive!; interlace [falling star]; and Principia Discordia LIVE! (as well as having acted in such productions as The Front Page and Market Research Theatre). Mr. Moore is also the creator of the web series Cherub: The Vampire with Bunny Slippers and the forthcoming The Coffee Table, as well as a contributing writer to What the Funny (directed by Lynn Shelton, created by Wayne Rawley).

Robertson Witmer‘s recent work as a composer and sound designer includes I Am My Own Wife and Of Mice and Men at Seattle Rep; As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet for Seattle Shakespeare Company; and The Art of Racing in the Rain for Book-It. His recent performance credits include A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Intiman, Yale Rep and Berkeley Rep), Go, Dog. Go! (Seattle Children’s Theatre), and West (On the Boards). Rob also performs with many bands, including “Awesome,” the Love Markets and the Toucans.

Kristina Sutherland is the Director of Education at ACT and the co-founder and Artistic Director of Macha Monkey Productions. She is the author of several plays, most recently the critically acclaimed THEBES. She has also co-created four plays with Desiree Prewitt: Nancy, Frank, and Joe (nominated for the American Theatre Critics Association Award 2009 and a Gregory Award for playwriting in 2010), The Cowgirl Play, R (The Swashbuckling Tale of Anne Bonny and Mary Read) and Live Girls Do Elektra. Her recent directing credits include When I Come to My Senses, I’m Alive! by Scotto Moore at Annex Theatre, Franklin and Figaro by Kristina Sutherland at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Kid Simple, a radio play in the flesh by Jordan Harrison at Macha Monkey Productions, Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl (2004 Footlight Award Winner) at Macha Monkey Productions, and Dukthul by Kristina Sutherland and Red Eagle Soaring.

Reviews of ‘A Mouse Who Knows Me’:

“One of the wittiest, funniest and most topical musicals I have ever seen…this world premiere is not going to die in Seattle, but I suspect will soon be on Broadway and the West End. Hurry and get your tickets now, before it gets sold out.” – Drama In The Hood

Reviews of ‘Duel Of The Linguist Mages’:

“Moore’s success here, as both writer and director, is finding the humor in confrontational moments… [It’s] good entertainment, filled with thought-provoking notions and moments of sincere laughter.” – Seattle Weekly

“Moore’s writing is high-caliber, his dialogue and plot devices are smart, his concepts are clearly inventive. He’s one to watch, so this is recommended.” – Seattle Gay News

“‘Duel of the Linguist Mages’ is a nicely crafted PLAY with a clever theatrical format, witty dialogue, a topical premise and it’s smartly directed, designed and acted… the entire premise of the piece is original and highly charming and smart.” – Seattle Gay Scene

Reviews of ‘When I Come to My Senses, Iʼm Alive!’:

“One wants to see more plays like this in Seattle—smart science fiction about the amazing world we have found ourselves heading toward.” — The Stranger

“Fun, fascinating, thoughtful and delightful” — Seattle Gay News

Reviews of ‘interlace [falling star]’:

“[Writer/director] Moore conjures a fairly logical extension of our wired world with geeky authority and comic flair.” — Seattle Times

“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.” — The Stranger

PRESS PHOTOS

CAST
Sara Mountjoy-Pepka Dr. Audrey Whitman
Allison Standley Dr. Audrey Whitman (understudy, Oct 25-27)/Ensemble
K. Brian Neel Dr. Roland Grant/Romeo
Josh Hartvigson Dr. Robert Cramer
Pamala Mijatov Dr. Lorelei Meadow
Tadd Morgan D29-1/Ensemble
Leilani Berinobis Dr. Helena Warwick/D28-2
John McKenna Theodore Werner/D29-2
Amanda Lee Williams D29-3/Ensemble
Lissa Bak D29-4/Ensemble
MUSICIANS
Greg Fulton Guitar
Chris Monroe Drums
Dave Pascal Bass
Robertson Witmer Piano, accordion, woodwinds & percussion
CREW
Book & Lyrics Scotto Moore
Music Robertson Witmer
Director Kristina Sutherland
Assistant Director Catherine Blake Smith
Choreographer Allegra Searle-LeBel
Vocal Arranger Brian Kinyon
Concept & Genetics Consultant Jenny Rooke Ph.D.
Mouse Consultant Molly Nixon Ph.D.
Production Manager Meaghan Darling
Stage Manager Katie McKellar
Assistant Stage Manager Raymond Williams
Scenic & Props Designer Robin Macartney
Costume Designer Samantha Armitage
Lighting Designer Tess Malone
Sound Designer Robertson Witmer
Puppet Designer Paul Velasquez
Vocal Coach Allison Standley
Recording Engineer Pete Remine

El Ultimo Coconut

Written & performed by Gerald Alejandro Ford

Tue-Wed at 8 pm, July 31st-August 22nd
$10 General | $5 Student/Senior/TPS

Socially awkward Mexican American teenager Coco has no trouble talking to his blog follower “Minions”. Talking to his mother is a bit more difficult, especially as she makes him sit in his special chair.

El Ultimo Coconut is a coming of age tale about a young man navigating many different worlds. The massive multiplayer role playing game World of Warcraft, the Arizona/Mexico border, and the family dinner table all provide canvas for his incredible journey as he carves out a sense of identity and tries to get into MIT.

In this solo show, Gerald Alejandro Ford takes on the both family politics and cyber-nerdom with humor and humanity. Ford embodies all the characters, from the polar opposite twin brothers at the story’s core, to vigilante border patrols, Mexican strippers and the boy’s protective emotional mama.

“Ford shines in his own work. He nails a broad spectrum of comedy, leaping in and out of multiple characters in seconds, managing to make them all sympathetic but skewering all of them for their weaknesses—including the occasionally frightened and self-entitled coconut. El Ultimo Coconut feels a little rough-hewn in spots (it is an extension of a student project, after all) but is consistently entertaining and even shows glimmers of brilliance.” –The Stranger

“Ford’s work is well written and was executed with bold energy. Three seconds in and I wanted to hug him. SO ADORKABLE! …. If you ever tried to go against the grain of your heritage because the deep longing in your heart wouldn’t settle for anything else – you will relate. If you ever renounced your family, your past, your skin, your roots to save your own ass (or face) – you will relate to this show. Good art is like that… and ‘Coco’ is beautiful like that.” –Theater & Its Trouble

“[Ford’s] fish-out-of-water antics and double-takes provide many of the laughs, which burble forth throughout, but the howls of laughter come from his mom’s demand, when she has something weighty to say, that Coco sit in his chair. Without going into it, the chair has a way of symbolizing the way moms the world over fight the future in which their children have grown…. The strength of the show lies in how packed it is with candid observations of daily life for a Mexican-American family living in Arizona, and the multitude of borders jammed into a single living room.” –The Sunbreak

Gerald Alejandro Ford Writer and Performer
Catherine Blake Smith Stage Manager and Sound Design
Ian Johnston Set and Light Design
Lonnie Tristan Renteria Video