Season 22 (Fall 2018 - Summer 2019)
The Sacred Fools Theater Company is excited to announce its upcoming 22nd Season (2018-2019) along with the opener for its 23rd Season in the Fall of 2019. The announced shows include three World Premieres and a West Coast Premiere, plus a co-production of a local favorite that took home the Top of Fringe award from the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
"This season has so much of what Sacred Fools does best," says Artistic Director Aviva Pressman. "Shows that are different, push the envelope, take a stand, and are full of the best kind of foolishness."
Lars Mattsun's RESA FANTASTISKT MYSTISK
adapted, choreographed &
directed by Todd Merrill
a co-production with Burglars of Hamm
OPENING OCTOBER 2018
THE FRINGE HIT! The lost masterpiece returns. Art lovers, rejoice. "Consistently, smartly funny and delightfully original." -The New York Times / "...a smart, funny delight..." -Stage Raw
Collaborating again with Sacred Fools after the acclaimed co-productions Land of the Tigers and The Behavior of Broadus, Burglars of Hamm will present their acclaimed production of this previously unknown masterpiece by Swedish playwright/provocateur Lars Mattsun (1849-1912). Through Mattsun's surreal theatricality and stunning wordplay, the audience is engulfed in the tale of a troubled young man named Phillip, who follows a Mysterious Child into a world of art, sexuality and madness. Much of the original cast and production team return, including controversial director Todd Merrill. RESA has played to great acclaim in Los Angeles, Seattle, Edinburgh and New York, and won the Top of Fringe award at this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival.
"We are always thrilled to partner with Burglars of Hamm," notes Artistic Director Scott Leggett. "They are masters at holding the funhouse mirror up to nature, and Resa is a show that takes our artistic self-importance to task, in a clever and reflective way. We're delighted to bring this show to a wider audience."
Performing on the Broadwater Main Stage (Entrance at 1076 Lillian Way)
THE VALUE OF MOSCOW
by Amy Dellagiarino
directed by Carrie Keranen
OPENING NOVEMBER 2018
WORLD PREMIERE! Hell is... other siblings.
There's no place like home... to make you wanna kill somebody. Three grown "adult" sisters are thrust back into living together as a last resort after their various lives have fallen apart. This trio can't even agree on how to unpack their stuff much less their relationships and pasts. And before they can finish the bottle of vodka they found in the kitchen, everything goes from bad to worse, to a lot, LOT worse. Can they set aside their grievances long enough to work together and save themselves? Probably not. But with acerbic wit and an encounter with the pizza man, these three sisters aim to find out.
"I love three things about THE VALUE OF MOSCOW: The eldest sister, the middle sister and the youngest sister," explains Keranen. "In them I see women I know, women I have been, women I try so hard not to be, women I have yet to admit live inside me. If this play weren't so funny it would be downright tragic."
Performing on the Broadwater Second Stage (Entrance at 6320 Santa Monica Blvd.)
TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET
by Jiréh Breon Holder
directed by Michael A. Shepperd
OPENING FEBRUARY 2019
WEST COAST PREMIERE! In rural Tennessee, 1961, protesting is a privilege with unintended consequences. "...illuminating and moving." -The New York Times
In rural Tennessee at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, two young
African-American couples struggle to understand justice, love, and their own
responsibilities. TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET beautifully explores the sacrifices
and tolls in the fight for freedom and equality that are placed, not only on the
fighters, but the people they love. The play had its World Premiere at the
Alliance Theater in Atlanta before moving to the Roundabout Theater in New York
and won the 2017 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition.
"We have been tracking TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET since its world premiere, and
were deeply affected by the poetry and humanity on display in Jiréh's work,"
Artistic Director Bryan Bellomo says. "We are honored to bring a west coast
premiere to Los Angeles, and thrilled to finally have the opportunity to partner
with Michael A. Shepperd, the perfect director to tell this delicate story of
aspiration and familial love."
Performing in the Broadwater Black Box (Entrance at 6322 Santa Monica Blvd.)
TANGERINE SUNSET
by Peter Fluet
directed by JJ Mayes (Live! From the Last Night of My Life,
The Magic Bullet Theory)
OPENING MARCH 2019
WEST COAST PREMIERE! Every paradise has a tragic
comic dark side.
This homegrown play will close the 22nd Season in the Broadwater Main Stage. In the vein of Absolutely Filthy, Watson, A Kind of Love Story and Beaverquest!, Sacred Fools brings you another show created in its late-night comedy cauldron, Serial Killers. TANGERINE SUNSET tells the story of how, on a private island, on a palatial estate, a party attended by billionaire capitalists, movie stars, insane geniuses, and regular people cursed by fate, found themselves trapped on a dark intersection that led to murder, mayhem, and laughter. This show was part of the Fools' New Works Development Program and went through over a year-long process of workshops and re-writes.
"TANGERINE SUNSET is a larger than life, hilarious, Sacredly-Foolish play in every sense," producer Brian Wallis points out. "Peter Fluet and JJ Mayes have crafted a side-splitting, edge-of-your-seat, gothic horror-comedy that is truly worthy of a night at the theater. It's a fitting end to a Foolish season."
Performing on the Broadwater Main Stage (Entrance at 1076 Lillian Way)
plus a host of late-night, off-night and special event programming:
SERIAL KILLERS
Season 14
Saturdays @ 11pm
OUR LONG-RUNNING HIT SHOW! Five shows enter... three shows leave! Each week, three continuing stories face off against two new tales. At the end of the show, you vote for the three stories that you would like to see continue on to next Saturday night, where their subsequent episodes will then be pitted against two completely new storylines. Each week's serials could live on for weeks... or be quietly smothered in their sleep - it's up to you. But whichever pieces you vote for, one thing is for certain - by the end of the evening, you will be a Serial Killer. The season ends in a Playoffs in which 16 serials go head to head over the course of five weeks; the final two standing get to finish their storylines and win exciting new cash prizes, sponsored by the Broadwater Plunge!
Performing in the Broadwater Main Stage, Second Stage & Black Box (see schedule)
WE THE PEOPLE
Resist. Persist. Express It.
Bi-Monthly Wednesdays @ 8pm
This bi-monthly theatre action is a curated staged reading series of new works theatrically exploring - sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly, and everything in between - the social and political concerns facing our country today. We The People: Where artists and audiences come together to Resist, Persist, and Express It. To find hope, unity, and to take action. Every other month, artists receive a prompt and a deadline. The 3-5 minute pieces are then be curated into a night of theatre. All proceeds go to a related non-profit.
Performing in the Broadwater Black Box (Entrance at 6322 Santa Monica Blvd.)
THE JOE & JOSHUA SHOW
starring Joe Hernandez-Kolski & Joshua Silverstein
Last Fridays of the Month, 10pm
Following the success of their fringe shows, Sacred Fools is now presenting a late-night residency of THE JOE & JOSHUA SHOW! Almost every last Friday of the month at 10pm, comedy duo Joe Hernandez-Kolski & Joshua Silverstein will tackle a new topic with their brazen sense of comedy.
Performing in the Broadwater Studio (Entrance at 1078 Lillian Way)
TEN TOPS
Show Us What You've Got!
First Wednesdays of the Month @ 7pm
Ten performers get up to seven minutes each to do anything they want, from sketch comedy to dramatic readings to dance. (Well, almost anything. No pyrotechnics, no glitter, no expression of bodily fluids, and... no stand-up comedy.)
Performing in the Broadwater Plunge (Entrance at 6324 Santa Monica Blvd.)
THE LEAGUE OF FOOLS
Hosted by Lauren Van Kurin & Peter Fluet
Twice a Month!
Peter Fluet (Writer, Tangerine Sunset, Lamprey, Heyday) and Lauren Van Kurin (Director, The Art Couple, Writer, King of Kong: A Musical Parody, MAX) bring to the Sacred Fools stage a journey into an eclectic world of comedy. Hosted by Lauren and Peter, and anchored by two of Los Angeles' best improv teams, HeyDay and MAX, THE LEAGUE OF FOOLS is on the hunt for the best and most brazen comedy acts they can find: music, stand up, sketch, dance, magic - all forms of the foolish and funny are welcomed by The League of Fools in this 90 minute extravaganza of irreverence. Leave your sensibilities at the door, detach your sense of irony before entering, because it is The League of Fools' sacred mission to bring you a unique comedy experience twice a month that will leave you gasping for breath and demanding more.
Performing in the Broadwater Black Box & Second Stage
FAST & LOOSE
Overnight Theatre
New Year's Eve (Monday, Dec. 31 @ 8pm)
In this long-running Foolish mainstay, several new plays are created in just 24 hours. The night before, writers receive prompts, The next morning, directors and actors are assigned to the completed scripts at random, and rehearsal ensues. All the pieces are performed that evening, off-book, fully staged with light and sound cues. After the show, stay for a party to welcome in the New Year!
Performing in the Broadwater Black Box & Second Stage
NEW WORKS READING SERIES
Sundays @ 5pm
Jan. 20 & 27, Feb. 10 & 17, 2019
A sneak peak at just a few of scripts the Fools are considering for next season! The Sacred Fools New Works Reading Series presents four unproduced plays from emerging playwrights that embrace the theatrical form and speak to the diverse culture of contemporary society.
Performing in the Broadwater Black Box & Second Stage
And kicking off Season 23 in Fall 2019:
DEADLY
by Vanessa Claire Stewart (Louis & Keely,
Stoneface)
music by Ryan Thomas Johnson (Watson,
Stoneface)
directed by Jaime Robledo (Watson,
Stoneface, Mr. Burns)
OPENING FALL 2019
WORLD PREMIERE! H.H. Holmes wouldn't be history without them.
1893. A time of hope and optimism as the World's Fair turns the globe's eyes toward Chicago. But within this cultural explosion of art and technology, a demon lurks beneath. Taking advantage of the modern woman's adventuresome spirit, H.H. Holmes builds a hotel - a murder castle - to entrap and kill unsuspecting ladies new to the big city. From the team behind the critical and box-office hit Stoneface, DEADLY examines one of the most famous true crime cases in history, through the unlikely lens of the victims' experience.
"Much has been written and lionized about 'America's First Serial Killer,' H.H. Holmes. But in the age of Me Too, I wanted to give these brave women their voices by reframing the narrative," Stewart says. "I think it is time to reconsider the man whose legend has grown while these 'disposable women' have been forgotten. The victims had all dreamed big enough to adventure alone to a new city - what could they have become? And how would they have enacted revenge if they could?"
Performing on the Broadwater Main Stage (Entrance at 1076 Lillian Way)
