Interview with ACME Playwright: Andrew Shanks


Annex’s Marketing Coordinator Emily Sershon sat down this week with ACME Playwright Andrew Shanks to find out more about ACME:

EMILY SERSHON: Hey Andrew! You wrote ACME! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

ANDREW SHANKS: Hey-O! I’m a writer and performer working here in Seattle. As a writer, you may have seen my work at Bumbershoot, Spin the Bottle, Pocket Theater, or more recently at Panel Jumper Live: Chapter IV. As an actor, I’ve recently had the great pleasure to work with Theater Schmeater, Sound Theatre Company, and Forward Flux Productions. You can also see me in the local webseries Northern Belles.

ES: And you’re our Company Manager!

AS: Yes I am! Viva Annex!

ES: Annex the world! What prompted you to write ACME? How is ACME similar to your other writing? Different?

AS: ACME has been percolating under the surface for a while. Elements came together over the years whether it was a writing exercise or a one-off performance (usually involving my overall fascination with nefarious organizations and a certain cartoon coyote). The real spark came when I started working for a tech service company a couple years ago. It was the perfect setting for a large ensemble-based satire about the inner workings of the tech industry. ACME is definitely the most ambitious show I’ve ever written.

ES: Well, it’s a big cast! Just knowing it’s a corporate tech-industry satire, I cannot wait to see the characters. What kinds of people do we meet inside ACME? Is there one specifically that you identify with?

AS: ACME’s got a little bit of everything! An eccentric CEO, an omnipresent H.R. representative, security guards with strange dietary habits, tech-bros, scientists in fear of being terminated at a moment’s notice, a gonzo journalist with a score to settle, and an intern with hidden connections to ACME’s sordid past. There’re plenty more cogs in the machine but what I love most about these characters is that, while they live in this ominous sinister world, they all seem pretty naive about it. It’s kind of like that one henchman in the Bond movies who questions whether he works for the bad guy or not: Dude, you work in a lair carved out of a volcano, what do you think?

ES: Hah!

AS: As far as identifying with one character specifically — definitely Jules, our intern in the show, wonderfully played by Nabilah Ahmed. I think we can all identify with feeling overwhelmed by situations we’re thrust into unexpectedly while still trying to keep a level head about it — except at ACME, you might literally lose your head. You have got to read those Terms and Conditions, people! I will say that director Mary Hubert has assembled one hell of a cast here. I’m in awe of how much commitment they have for creating this weird weird world.

ES: Yeah, I’m really enjoying seeing the cast and the science-gone-amok unfolding on Instagram. Can I just say your design team is killing it?

AS: Seriously. I’m in awe. You will believe that portals to another dimension exist.

ES: Apart from your experience in the tech industry, what are the artistic influences for ACME? It’s got a pretty unique aesthetic, hasn’t it?

AS: I tend to wear my influences on my sleeve at times; I’m sure you’ll be able to spot a few as you watch the show. The goal was always to create two very different worlds and smash them together. What happens when one bleeds into the other? I’d say what those worlds are but, much like company itself, there’s a lot of mystery in ACME. I like setting up these little puzzle boxes for audience members to get lost in. If they’re in for the journey, I think ACME will take them to unique places to get answers.

ES: So mysterious! I guess people will just have to come see it. Is there anything else you want folks to know before they come?

AS: Basically this show is an adaptation of “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” but instead of a cookie it’s a ray-gun.

ES: Haha, awesome! Thanks Andrew. I can’t wait.

AS: Thank you! Science!

ACME runs April 28 – May 20 2017
Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 pm
Tickets: bit.ly/ACMEAnnex
#ACMEAnnex

ACME



ACME

April 28 through May 20, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm.
Preview on Thursday, April 27, and Industry night on Monday, May 8 at 7:30pm.
$20 general/$12 TPS, senior, military/$5 students. All Thursdays Pay-What-You-Can

Chaos reigns in this ensemble satire about the trappings of technology, brand-allegiance, and science-gone-amok! Jules (Nabilah Ahmed, Waning), an MIT dropout with a chip on her shoulder, has just arrived for her first day of a lucrative internship at ACME: world-famous manufacturer of all things necessary. With every new face she meets, Jules falls deeper into the machinations of ACME and its peculiar past. Undeterred, Jules charges headfirst into the weird unknown. The question is: will she survive long enough to see day two?

Written by Andrew Shanks – 2017 Winner, Ghost Light Theatricals Battle of the Bards – ACME is a takedown of corporate innovation at its worst and weirdest. Shanks stretches theatrical limits just as the researchers inside the company’s walls stretch the boundaries of reality.

Directed by Mary Hubert, who led the ensemble that devised Girl for Annex, ACME is at once a broad spectacle and a dark mystery, touring unexpected locales as Jules quests for answers and dodges dangerous upgrades.

“Andrew has constructed a brilliant, sharply witty satire of corporate life that is more timely than ever with the changes that have been wrought upon Seattle in recent years. Plus, the amount of theatre magic, science, laugh-out-loud moments, and impossible circumstances make this one hell of a fun play to helm! I feel so incredibly lucky to work with such a dynamite ensemble and production team on ACME. This show presents a host of unique challenges – changing locations more than 10 times and characters that transcend the plane of realism entirely – and this team has risen to the challenge admirably.” – Mary Hubert, Director

CAST
  • Nabilah Ahmed as Jules
  • Aimee Filippi as Penny/iOS
  • Marcus Gorman as Coyote/Goss/Marvin
  • Madison Jade Jones as Remy
  • Jordi Montes as Jackie
  • Mandy Nichols as Lexi
  • Gianni Truzzi as Dee
  • Lyam White as Avery
  • Emma Wilkinson as Brenda/Dot/Bird
  • Nathan Wornian as Tech-Bro
DESIGN/PRODUCTION TEAM
  • Playwright – Andrew Shanks
  • Director – Mary Hubert
  • Scenic Designer – Jenna Ryan
  • Costume Designer – Kelly Caffey
  • Asst. Costume Designer – Sarah Hubert
  • Lighting Designer – Elizabeth Steele
  • Sound Designer – Erin Bednarz
  • Props Designer – Sophie Schwartz
  • Asst. Props Designer – Nick Kruger
  • Projections Designer – Darrin Schultz
  • Dramaturg – Erin Bednarz
  • Stage Manager – Jessi Marlow

Laugh Out Logic

Doors 7pm Show 7:30pm $10

Come watch 4 expert panelists from our talented community of Seattle Artists, compete against each other in the only way that we know how to express superiority over each other, in a verbal slap fight to the finish. Where one panelist will climp their way to the top and exclaim with a barbaric yawp that they are a Master Debater.

Find out important answers to questions like, is Bernie Sanders printing out tweets to make a point, or illustrate he doesn’t know how to make a power point. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, you’ll get laid*!

(* No gaurentees on any of these things, just friendly encouragement, oh except the laughs part)

Your panelists for January 2017 are Andrew Shanks, Abraham Tadesse,Corrina Lee Allen, and Henry Russell Stoddard. With your host and moderator Chris Leher attempting to keep things civil(ish)

Bunnies

BunniesBanner
Written by Keiko Green  |  Music by Jesse Smith
Directed by Pamala Mijatov  |  Choreography by Noah Duffy
 

April 24 – May 16
Thurs-Sat at 8 pm | Mon, May 11 industry night
All Thurs PWYC
$20 general | $18 advance tickets
$12 senior, military, TPS | $5 student

A warren of abandoned bunnies in Woodland Park evolves into a dark religious cult in this gleefully unsettling tale of revenge, sacrifice, and the most transgressive love of all. A world premiere with original music, inspired by the classic Greek tragedy The Bacchae.

“‘Bunnies’… is one of the most imaginative, entertaining and surprisingly substantial new shows of the season… ‘Bunnies’ is fun and entertaining throughout, but it also has real substance and allows us to leave the theater both entertained and inspired. This show allows us to revisit a sacred temple that we have not returned to in a very long time, but that still earns its place of reverence in our modern world. It’s a great achievement.” – Seattle Actor

“Keiko Green hits this one out of the park. The musical is engaging from start to finish, taking twists and turns and challenging audience members to reflect on how they interact with the natural world. Kudos to Annex for producing a new work with a powerhouse female ensemble. Simply put, this show doesn’t have a weak link. The script, music, choreography, design elements and performances converge to create a ferocious, furry musical infused with the macabre. You won’t want to miss this gem of a production!” – Copious Love

“Just when you think you’ve nailed down the tone of local playwright Keiko Green’s fractured fairy-tale musical ‘Bunnies,’ it takes a sharp left turn, hopping from baroque mythologizing to broad satire to shock-powered black comedy. It’s not quite Beatrix Potter on acid, but Green and director Pamala Mijatov’s stark vision of corrupted innocence is rarely less than intriguing.” – Seattle Times

CAST
The Bunnies
Yesenia Iglesias She
Pilar O’Connell Parsley/Lola
Kayla Walker John Wayne (Apr. 24-May 2, May 15-16)
Amy Escobar John Wayne (May 7-14)
Sarah Porkalob Dandelion
Ashlen Hodge Buddy
Erin Bednarz Whisper
Sam Routh Ash
Yana Kesala Oreo
The Humans
Andrew Shanks Tim
Libby Barnard Angela
André Nelson Dads, Cop, Veterinarian
DESIGN TEAM
Scenic Designer Robin Macartney
Lighting Designer Gwyn Skone
Sound Designer Jesse McNeece
Costume Designer Wanda Rodriquez
PRODUCTION TEAM
Stage Manager Robin Obourn
Assistant Director Mary Hubert
Photographer Joe Iano
Poster Designer Evelyn DeHais
Technical Director Emily Sershon
Production Manager Catherine Blake Smith