Friday, July 16, 2010

Open Circle's 2010-2011 Season and New Management Team!

Open Circle Theatre is thrilled to announce its 19th season of fantastical theater and with it our exciting new company changes. We are looking forward to surprising our audiences with tantalizing and compelling drama and unexpected choices.

9/10-10/2 Arcana by John Longenbaugh

Inspired by the images from the 22 cards of the Tarot deck, Arcana is a

piece constructed of short plays and monologues ranging across a series

of experiments in theatrical form. The short pieces represent the reshaping

of mythic figures and images into a social commentary on men and

women in modern society, sex, power and the continued difficulties of

making a meaningful connection with another human being.


10/15-11/13 H.P. Lovecraft: Pickman’s Model

Adapted by Dustin Engstrom, Vincent Kovar, John McKenna, and Ron Sandahl

Open Circle continues its annual tradition with the 8th installment of

bringing H.P. Lovecraft's horror stories to the stage. Richard Upton

Pickman is a painter who creates terrifying images. Everyone is

anticipating his new art opening; but then a dancer is dead, and Pickman

is missing. Two colleagues dare to find him deep under his studio and

may have uncovered something more horrible than either could ever

imagine…


11/26-12/18 Judy Garland Christmas Special

Now making its 4th appearance on the Open Circle stage is a Christmas

spectacle unlike any other. It’s 1963 and the producers of Judy’s show

have decided that what she needs is a Christmas special with her family:

lovely Liza, awkward Lorna and flamboyant Joey. But where the hell is

Judy?...on a bender! Directed by Ron Sandahl.


1/14-2/4 The Cut Based on the memoir by Dennis Bensie

Adapted for the stage by Dustin Engstrom

Based on a memoir by a local wigmaker, The Cut tells the story of a

man’s struggle growing up with a secret that may lead to his eventual

undoing. A doll from his childhood comes to life and leads the audience

down the man’s path as he deals with his compulsion to cut…hair.

Dark, funny and dangerous; The Cut is a fantastical yet human journey

into the heart of a fetish and a story rarely told.


3/25-4/16 The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien

A down and dirty version of the stage and screen classic filled with live

music and a dark take on an old favorite, will leave you titillated and

and possibly a little scared. Come and do “The Time Warp” and walk away

feeling like you just witnessed a dirty little secret. Directed by Gary Zinter

4/29-5/21 Ajax by Sophocles

From a translation of Sophocles’ The Ajax by Richard C. Jebb and

informed by Homer’s The Iliad and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, comes

an adaptation that seeks to resurrect a hero from ancient greek

mythology known as “Ajax the Greater”, “Ajax the godlike”, “The

Soldier”. Open Circle brings you the tragic tale of Ajax, maddened

by Athena after losing a competition with Odysseus for Achilles’

armor. Writer Todd van der Ark teams up with director Linda

Lombardi to bring this classic story to life through modern language,

while maintaining the eloquence of Sophocles’ original.


6/3-6/25 TBD

**Also look for our exciting late nights, brand new play reading series, new website and film festivals to be announced at a later time. You can look for this information, as well as links for tickets atwww.octheater.com.

This summer Ron Sandahl will be stepping down from his position as Artistic Director, and we are happy to announce that he will be staying on as company member and will be sharing his wisdom with the company and working with the current AD to ensure the continued success of Open Circle. Ron has been with Open Circle Theater since 1998. He acted in many productions such as Rock Boy: The Epic Rock Fable, Poona the Fuckdog, The Naked King, and Gorey Stories before becoming Managing Director in 2001. In 2003 he became the Artistic Director.

Stepping into the position of Artistic Director will be Open Circle's friend, favorite and former co-associate artistic director Gary Zinter. Gary Zinter has been active in Seattle fringe theater since 2000. He has acted, directed, and produced with a number of companies and individuals in town. He began working with Open Circle around five years ago and has been a company member the last few years. At OCT, Gary has directed School of Whoredom, Madness Out of Time, and 2010's critically acclaimed The Private Lives of Eskimos. In 2011, he will be directing OCT's production of Rocky Horror.

Staying on as Associate Artistic Director will be local playwright Dustin Engstrom . Dustin is the author of the plays In the Kafka Colony (produced by Open Circle in May-June, 2007) and The Center of the Universe (produced by Open Circle in April-May, 2009). He was also a co-writer onH.P. Lovecraft: Necronomican and H.P. Lovecraft: Madness Out of Time at OCT. He has also acted in their productions of In the Wabe, H.P. Lovecraft: The Colour Out of Space and R.U. R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). He has written a number of other full-length and short plays including Digging Graves (produced by Stone Soup Theatre, May 2010) Good to the Last Drop (Craig Lucas master class), George, Fruit Flies, Beth’s Day Out and Drinking You. His new play, The Cut will premiere at OCT, winter of 2011

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