Sweet Nothing, a (grim) fairytale

Presented by Macha Monkey Productions
Written by Stephanie Timm
Directed by Laurel Pilar Garcia

Fri-Sat at 8 pm, June 1-23, 2012
Special Industry Performance Monday June 11 at 8pm
$15 in advance or $18 at the door

Macha Monkey is proud to present the northwest premiere of Stephanie Timm’s Sweet Nothing, a (grim) fairytale at Annex Theatre’s space in June 2012. Sweet Nothing explores the repercussions of violence and war through a fairytale lens. Once upon a time in a raped and pillaged land, the youngest of three sisters weds herself to a man she’s never met who lives across the sea. When the next youngest is offered a similar promise of living happily ever after, she discovers that hope might just be her worst enemy.

“…there really wasn’t an aspect of this production that didn’t appeal to me. From the outstanding script by Timm and direction by Garcia to the stunning cast to the gorgeously designed show make this one an absolute winner!” –Broadway World

“Timm is a smart, gifted writer and nicely sets up all the archetypal bowling pins—the three sisters, their ravaged land, the mysterious other-land where the youngest sister goes, the dangerous yet attractive wolf-man, the mute and sweet-hearted woodsboy, the alliteration and rhyming…” –The Stranger

“It’s a lovely evening’s entertainment, a little sticky in the chewing but tasty and a bit dark without being especially heavy.” –The Sunbreak

Photo gallery from the production

Playwright Stephanie Timm is company playwright for New Century Theatre Company, and recently finished a year-long residency with ACT Theatre. She was commissioned by 5th Avenue Musical Theatre to write Rosie the Riveter! with composer Albert Evans. She was nominated for a Gregory Award for New Century Theatre Company’s premiere of On the Nature of Dust. Her play Crumbs Are Also Bread was published in the Rain City Projects Manifesto Series, edited by Steven Dietz. Her plays have been produced and developed at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Icicle Creek Theatre Festival, Kennedy Center, Lark Theatre, Boots Up Theatre Company, Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Live Girls! among others. Stephanie also teaches at Cornish College of the Arts, and writes for video games. Stephanie received her MFA from UC San Diego.

Director Laurel Pilar Garcia most recently directed a reading of Royal Blood by Sonya Schneider with Northwest Playwright Alliance, Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl for Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Center of the Universe by Dustin Engstrom at Open Circle Theatre. Additional credits include directing and producing WAKE by Sonya Schneider at the Little Theatre with Onward Ho! Productions, The Diary of Anne Frank for the Driftwood Players, Zapatista for Teatro Milagro in Portland, Ore., Two Rooms by Lee Blessing at the Freehold Studio Series, Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies and A Christmas Carol, both at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Her assistant directing credits include several productions with former Intiman Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, including Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Shakespeare’s Richard III and Chekhov’s Three Sisters. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Lewis & Clark College.

CAST
Monica Finney Iris
Libby Barnard Lily
Samantha Leeds Violet
Quinn Armstrong Woodsboy
Jason Sharp Wolf
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright Stephanie Timm
Director Laurel Pilar Garcia
Assistant Director Courtney Meaker
Movement Juliet Waller Pruzan
Set Design Montana Tippett
Sound Design Joseph Swartz
Light Design Danny Fisher-Bruns
Costume Design Kelsey McCornack
Fight Choreography Stephen Scheide
Stage Manager Catrina Vroman
Assistant Stage Manager Seayoung Yim
Production Management Alexis Holzer, Kristina Sutherland

Macha Monkey Productions is a nonprofit arts organization showcasing exceptional artists, delivering innovative educational programs, and producing new theatrical work that features strong female characters.

The Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Lewis & Clark!

Written by Nick Poling and Alex DeRoest
Directed by Collin Schreiber
Fri-Sat at 11 pm, Feb 4-Feb 24
$10 gen / $5 TPS/senior/student
PWYC Industry Night: Monday, Feb 13
What do Fu Manchu, Zorro, and the Barbary Pirates have to do with charting the Louisiana Purchase?

Find out in The Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Lewis & Clark! – a smart mouthed, fast paced, omnisciently narrated, fight-a-minute treatment of the great Northwest expedition.

Annex Theatre is bringing this crazy cacophony of blatant historical inaccuracy to its late night stage. Intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark battle not only our preconceptions, and each other, but also Spanish Conquistadores, Chinese super villains, Ninjas, Mormons, and a Dragon.

Along the way they acquire guide Sacajawea, who is surprisingly telepathic and not surprisingly gifted at poker and smarter than both explorers combined.

The Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Lewis & Clark! is written by Nick Poling and Alex DeRoest, who were inspired by early 1930’s movie serials like Zorro and Flash Gordon and adventure movies like Indiana Jones and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Rather than acts, the play is divided into three episodes, each bringing a fresh round of disaster, adventure and resolution, with all three safely contained within one evening’s entertainment.

Poling and DeRoest previously self-produced Lewis & Clark in Everett in 2011. The production thrived on positive word of mouth and played to enthusiastic houses and a sold out closing night. Annex Theatre is excited to bring this show to Seattle, feeling that its high energy and zany sensibility will be a perfect fit for a late night audience.

Lewis & Clark is directed by Collin Schreiber and features fight choreography by John W. Lynch. Schreiber is young director and college friend of Poling and DeRoest, who brings to the project a veteran’s knowledge of the material and a newcomer’s enthusiasm for the craft. Lynch has been a member of the Society of American Fight Directors for well over a decade. He’s done fight choreography for Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Renton Civic Theater, Driftwood Players, Annex and many more.

CAST
Joe Heil Clark
Micheal LaDell Harris Lewis
Lily Cohen Sacajawea
Geoffry Kuth Fu Man Chu
Chris Maxfield Quintero
Brenan Grant Diego/Zorro
Stephen Scheide Seattle, Ensemble
John W. Lynch Captain Skullbeard, Ensemble
Grace Xie Yu, Ensemble
Jon-Erik Hegstad Basil Rathbone, Ensemble
Zachary Simonson Chief Sealth, Ensemble
CREW
Writers Nick Poling and Alex DeRoest
Director Collin Schreiber
Stage Manager Catherine Smith
Properties Master Nathaniel Porter
Costume Design Bethany Hightower
Fight Choreographer John W. Lynch
Lighting Design Tess Malone