Blackbird June 10, 2011

Rogue Machine presents the LOS ANGELES PREMIERE of
Blackbird
Written by David Harrower
Opening Friday, June 10, 2011 at 8pm with reception to follow
No performance on July 4th or July 18th
Los Angeles, CA – Multi-award winning Rogue Machine brings David Harrower’s critically acclaimed play, Blackbird, to Los Angeles for the first time. The company’s recently extended run of Small Engine Repair (CRITIC’S CHOICE-LA Times; GO – LA Weekly, CRITIC’S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED) will run simultaneously with this production, in Rogue Machine’s larger space at Theatre Theater, during the first few weeks in June.
This powerful piece begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing him to come to terms with the effects of their relationship. Una pulls Ray into an encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable.
DAVID HARROWER (Playwright) was born in Edinburgh, where his plays Knives in Hen, Dark Earth, and Kill the Old Torture Their Young were produced at the Traverse Theatre. His long relationship with London’s National Theatre includes writing a new version of Odon von Horvath's Tales from the Vienna Woods and Chekhov's Ivanov, as well as The Chrysalids, which he adapted from John Wyndham's novel. Presence, David’s third original play, was first performed at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, and his adaptation of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author was first staged at the Young Vic in London. Subsequent adaptations include Schiller's Mary Stuart and a new translation of Brecht's The Good Soul of Szechuan (2008), and Buchner's Woyzeck, performed at the Edinburgh Lyceum. His work 365 was presented at the Edinburgh International Festival before being produced at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. Blackbird was produced by the Edinburgh International Festival, directed by Peter Stein and transferred in February 2006 to the Albery Theatre in London’s West End. In the spring of 2007 the play received simultaneous American premieres by the Manhattan Theater Club and American Conservatory Theatre.
ROBIN LARSEN (Director) is a multi-award winner, recognized particularly in Los Angeles for helming critically acclaimed productions such as the (LA Times ‘Critics Pick,’ and Ovation Recommended) World Premiere of Pursued By Happiness by Keith Huff (Broadway’s A Steady Rain), currently at The Road Theatre Company. At Rogue Machine, Robin directed Joel Drake Johnson’s Four Places, one of the most lauded plays of the 2010 Los Angeles theatre season, winning the Ovation, the Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award and the Garland Award for Best Production. Robin’s cast won two LADCC Awards (Best Lead Performance, Best Ensemble), two Garlands (Performance, Ensemble), and three Ovation noms (two Best Lead Actress, and Best Supporting Actress). Robin’s directing was singled out with a Garland Award and an Ovation nomination. Her recent work at the Black Dahlia Theatre garnered them attention as “one of a dozen young American companies you need to know” by American Theater Magazine. At the Black Dahlia, Robin directed one of the most acclaimed productions the 2007 Los Angeles theater season, the West Coast Premiere of Karoline Leach’s Tryst (extended four times). Her production was nominated for 5 Ovation Awards and won two Garland Awards, including Best Director. In the Dahlia’s 2004 Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle Award winning season, Robin directed the Los Angeles Premiere of David Schulner’s An Infinite Ache, a ‘Critic’s Pick’ by the Los Angeles Times, the LA Weekly and Backstage, it appeared on five critics’ “Best of 2004” lists, and collected twelve Los Angeles Press awards and nominations, including awards for Best Direction and Production of the Year. Her first short film, Sombra, won the Student Academy Award, garnered the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Award, and screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. Robin’s next film Out of Habit won a Director’s Guild Film Award, the Princess Grace Award, and numerous ‘Best Short’ awards. Her latest short film No. 6 (starring Ron Perlman, Charlotte Ayanna, and Brian Baumgartner) won Best Short at the Sonoma Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short at Method Fest and the USA Film Festival, as well as being screened at the Bilbao, and Munich International Festivals, and Short Cuts Cologne. Robin’s screenwriting credits include the recent Women Project, for Imagine/Universal, which is set to star Diane Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Tracey Ullman, and Rita Wilson.
BLACKBIRD runs Sunday, June 5th at 5pm with press opening Friday, June 10th at 8pm with performance at 8pm Fridays, 5pm Saturdays and Sundays through June 19th when the schedule changes to 5pm Saturdays and Sundays, and 8pm on Mondays through July 24th (no performance July 4th or July 18th). ROGUE MACHINE is located at 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019. Tickets are $25-$30. Reservations: 855-585-5185 or at www.roguemachinetheatre.com
JOHN PERRIN FLYNN (Producer/Artistic Director) is responsible for bringing the current WORLD PREMIERE hit play Small Engine Repair to Los Angeles. He directed the critically acclaimed Los Angeles premiere of The Sunset Limited, (CRITIC’S CHOICE-LA Times; GO – LA Weekly, CRITIC’S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED) , which played to sold out houses for nearly six months. He directed the multi-award winning World Premiere of Henry Murray’s Treefall (now being produced regionally and published by the Dramatist Play Service in 2010) last season, and the critically acclaimed Los Angeles premiere of Rogue Machine’s inaugural production Compleat Female Stage Beauty. John helmed the Craig Lucas’ hit Small Tragedy at The Odyssey Theatre and the world premiere of John Pollono’s Lost and Found at The Lounge Theatre. He is Rogue Machine’s founding Artistic Director and has been the Executive Producer of all three successful seasons. John was the Executive Producer and director of Lifetime’s long running award winning series Strong Medicine, has produced two other series and 14 television movies or miniseries including the Emmy nominated Burden of Proof. He attended The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has a MA degree in Theatre from Illinois State University.
MATTHEW ELKINS (Producer/Producing Director) produced the World Premiere of Yard Sale Signs, the LA Premiere of Stop Kiss (co-director) and the inaugural award winning production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty at Rogue Machine. Matthew directed MilkMilkLemonade for Rogue Machine’s Off-The-Clock late night series which became so popular that it extended into a prime time slot for several weeks this season. Recent acting credits: A Chorus of Disapproval (Odyssey Theatre); Happy End, The Turn of the Screw (Pacific Resident Theatre); and NBC’s ER.
EDWARD TOURNIER (Producer) is a founding member of Rogue Machine. He appeared in the inaugural season production of Razorback by John Pollono, as well as the Round The Clock and Rogue’s Gallery Series. He served as Assistant Director on the long running and critically acclaimed production of Cormac McCarthy's The Sunset Limited. Other acting credits include plays at the Ahmanson, Theatre @ Boston Court, Black Dahlia, Elephant Theatre Co., Pacific Stages, needtheater, Theater of NOTE, and Odyssey Theater.
ROGUE MACHINE presents plays that are new to Los Angeles. Since 2008 this has included 7 West Coast Premiere (THE WORD BEGINS, WISH I HAD A SYLVIA PLATH, FOUR PLACES, MilkMilkLemonade, AMERICAN DEAD, BINGO WITH THE INDIANS, and HALF OF PLENTY), 3 Los Angeles Premiere COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY, STOP KISS, and BLACKBIRD), 1 American Premiere (NEVERLAND), and 5 World Premiere productions which includes SMALL ENGINE REPAIR, YARD SALE SIGNS, RAZORBACK, SHORTS & SWEETS, and the multi-award winning production of Henry Murray’s TREEFALL, now published by Dramatist Play Services. Last year the company worked extensively with multi-award winner Steven Sater (Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Circle, Lucille Lortel awards for SPRING AWAKENING) in developing his play NEW YORK ANIMALS. The company draws upon the diverse and extensive experience of its collective while creating high-quality productions by contemporary playwrights who specifically address our culture and time.
SAM ANDERSON (Ray) is the Co-Artistic Director of the Road Theatre Company, and can now be seen on the big screen as Mr. Hyde in Water For Elephants (with Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz), and starring in the independent film, Frankie Goes Boom. LA theatre credits include a five-month run of The Bird and Mr. Banks, for which he won Leading Actor Awards from the LA Drama Critics Circle and Backstage. His Ovation Award-winning turn came when he played the father in the Road’s Napoli Millionaria. Sam has often worked at the Odyssey, in Road to Nirva (LA Weekly Best Actor), Taking Sides, Rhinoceros, and in David Mamet’s Edmond (LA Weekly, Backstage West Awards). At LATC, Sam originated the role of Finney in Marlene Meyer’s Kingfish, and was directed by Simon Callow in Milan Kundera’s Jacques and His Master. At Antaeus he appeared in Cousin Bette. Sam recently completed a five-year run as Bernard on ABC’s megahit LOST. In a film and television career spanning close to 200 roles, some of his favorites are the Principal in Forrest Gump, the lethal attorney Holland Manners in Angel, Donna’s racist father in La Bamba, Dr. Fonzie in Friends, and roles in Everybody Loves Raymond, and Stephen King’s The Stand. He garnered a SAG Award (Best Ensemble) for his role on E.R.
CORRYN CUMMINS (UNA) is a Rogue Machine ensemble member, where her onstage work includes roles in Bingo with the Indians, Yard Sale Signs and Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath. Other Los Angeles theatre credits include: Killer Joe with Lost Angels (Ovation Awards: Ensemble Performance and Production), The Lonesome West (The Odyssey), A Hole in the Dark (The Blank), and Hotel Bardot and Neo-Sacred Revival (both with Padua Playwrights). Chicago Theatre credits include: a world premiere adaptation of Studs Terkel's Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession with Lookingglass Theatre, directed by David Schwimmer (Joseph Jefferson nomination, Ensemble Performance), Fahrenheit 451 (Steppenwolf), The Hot L Baltimore directed by David Cromer (Joseph Jefferson Award, Supporting Actress). She has appeared in over a dozen films, including voicing the lead character, Cee, in the animated feature From Inside (winner Grand Prix, Utopiales (France) and Best Animated Film Sitges Int'l Film Fest).
STEPHANIE KERLEY SCHWARTZ (Set Designer) is a multi- award winning costume and set designer. At CTG/Mark Taper Forum: Costume Design- Randy Newman’s Harps and Angels, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Resident Designer for Rogue Machine Theatre: Treefall (Scenery; LA Weekly Award, Garland Award, Backstage Award) Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Scenery and Costumes; Garland Award, Ovation Nomination) American Dead (Costumes), Yard Sale Signs (Scenery). Moving Arts: Song of Extinction (Scenery – LA Weekly Production of the Year). The Matrix Theatre: Scenery; Bold Girls, Dealing With Claire, and Honour. Pacific Resident Theatre: Scenery; Rocket to the Moon, Hogan’s Goat, Orpheus Descending and Entertaining Mr. Sloan. The Colony Theatre: Scenery - Bea[u]tiful in the Extreme. Other companies include: (Costumes and/or Scenery) Los Angeles Theatre Works, Naked Angels, Electric Lodge, The Met, among many others. Film and Television: TNT-Costume Design The Wizard of Oz in Concert at Avery Fisher Hall (with Jewel as Dorothy) Production Designer and/or Costume Designer Kingdom County Productions, Vermont; Where the Rivers Flow North and A Stranger in the Kingdom, among other film projects. She has published several short stories in the Santa Monica Review, and is at work on a play about Jack London, as well as a linked story collection and novella.

Official Website: http://www.roguemachinetheatre.com