H.P. Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian!

Written by Scotto Moore
Directed by K. Brian Neel

April 28 – May 13
Tues-Wed at 8 pm
$10 gen | $5 stu

Instead of expressing his terrifying vision of malevolent, eldritch gods via horror stories in the early twentieth century, H.P. (“Howie” to his friends) Lovecraft expresses his terrifying vision in the present day via stand-up comedy. But an ancient evil stirs beneath the sea— can Howie pull off one last sold-out gig before the human race is destroyed?

Instead of expressing his terrifying vision of malevolent, eldritch gods via horror stories in the early twentieth century, H.P. (“Howie” to his friends) Lovecraft expresses his terrifying vision in the present day via stand-up comedy. But an ancient evil stirs beneath the sea— can Howie pull off one last sold-out gig before the human race is destroyed?

Press Photo: Andy Buffelen, Scotto Moore, Erin Ison; photo by Ian Johnston

CAST
Scotto Moore Howie Lovecraft
Erin Ison Sonia Greene
Andy Buffelen Gus
Tim Moore Narrator
DESIGN TEAM
Set/Props Zane Exactly
Lighting Designer Gwyn Skone
Costume Designer Michael Notestine
Sound Designer Kyle Thompson
PRODUCTION TEAM
Stage Manager Katie McKellar
Poster Designer Peter Hon
Photographer Ian Johnston
Technical Director Emily Sershon
Production Manager Katie McKellar

A Mouse Who Knows Me

Book & lyrics by Scotto Moore
Music by Robertson Witmer
Directed by Kristina Sutherland

Thu-Sat at 8 pm, Oct 19-Nov 17 (Thu PWYC)
$15 general / $10 TPS, senior, military / $5 student
PWYC Industry Night: Monday, Nov 5

A Mouse Who Knows Me is a world premiere science fiction musical comedy with book & lyrics by Scotto Moore (Duel of the Linguist Mages), music by Robertson Witmer (of the band “Awesome”), & directed by Kristina Sutherland (artistic director of Macha Monkey Productions). In a genetics lab that is inserting human genes into mice to see what might happen, Dr. Audrey Whitman starts to believe that one of her mice has developed human empathy & intelligence and develops a strange relationship with the mouse she christens Romeo, to the chagrin of her colleagues in the lab. Her mentor secretly plots to use her intelligent mouse to breed a new form of war machine – but neither realize that the mice in the lab have their own plans for bloody revolution. It’s an inter-species West Side Story!

WHO’S INVOLVED

Scotto Mooreʼs previous plays at Annex include the Gregory-Award-nominated pair Duel of the Linguist Mages and When I Come to My Senses, Iʼm Alive!; interlace [falling star]; and Principia Discordia LIVE! (as well as having acted in such productions as The Front Page and Market Research Theatre). Mr. Moore is also the creator of the web series Cherub: The Vampire with Bunny Slippers and the forthcoming The Coffee Table, as well as a contributing writer to What the Funny (directed by Lynn Shelton, created by Wayne Rawley).

Robertson Witmer‘s recent work as a composer and sound designer includes I Am My Own Wife and Of Mice and Men at Seattle Rep; As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet for Seattle Shakespeare Company; and The Art of Racing in the Rain for Book-It. His recent performance credits include A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Intiman, Yale Rep and Berkeley Rep), Go, Dog. Go! (Seattle Children’s Theatre), and West (On the Boards). Rob also performs with many bands, including “Awesome,” the Love Markets and the Toucans.

Kristina Sutherland is the Director of Education at ACT and the co-founder and Artistic Director of Macha Monkey Productions. She is the author of several plays, most recently the critically acclaimed THEBES. She has also co-created four plays with Desiree Prewitt: Nancy, Frank, and Joe (nominated for the American Theatre Critics Association Award 2009 and a Gregory Award for playwriting in 2010), The Cowgirl Play, R (The Swashbuckling Tale of Anne Bonny and Mary Read) and Live Girls Do Elektra. Her recent directing credits include When I Come to My Senses, I’m Alive! by Scotto Moore at Annex Theatre, Franklin and Figaro by Kristina Sutherland at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Kid Simple, a radio play in the flesh by Jordan Harrison at Macha Monkey Productions, Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl (2004 Footlight Award Winner) at Macha Monkey Productions, and Dukthul by Kristina Sutherland and Red Eagle Soaring.

Reviews of ‘A Mouse Who Knows Me’:

“One of the wittiest, funniest and most topical musicals I have ever seen…this world premiere is not going to die in Seattle, but I suspect will soon be on Broadway and the West End. Hurry and get your tickets now, before it gets sold out.” – Drama In The Hood

Reviews of ‘Duel Of The Linguist Mages’:

“Moore’s success here, as both writer and director, is finding the humor in confrontational moments… [It’s] good entertainment, filled with thought-provoking notions and moments of sincere laughter.” – Seattle Weekly

“Moore’s writing is high-caliber, his dialogue and plot devices are smart, his concepts are clearly inventive. He’s one to watch, so this is recommended.” – Seattle Gay News

“‘Duel of the Linguist Mages’ is a nicely crafted PLAY with a clever theatrical format, witty dialogue, a topical premise and it’s smartly directed, designed and acted… the entire premise of the piece is original and highly charming and smart.” – Seattle Gay Scene

Reviews of ‘When I Come to My Senses, Iʼm Alive!’:

“One wants to see more plays like this in Seattle—smart science fiction about the amazing world we have found ourselves heading toward.” — The Stranger

“Fun, fascinating, thoughtful and delightful” — Seattle Gay News

Reviews of ‘interlace [falling star]’:

“[Writer/director] Moore conjures a fairly logical extension of our wired world with geeky authority and comic flair.” — Seattle Times

“Beautiful imagining… Next to the shine of speculative nodes are jokes that snap, crackle, and pop… The presentation of this fantastic fusion, which also includes theological thought experiments and the narrative structure of a thriller, is strong all around… The pleasures of ‘interlace [falling star]’ are more than plenty.” — The Stranger

PRESS PHOTOS

CAST
Sara Mountjoy-Pepka Dr. Audrey Whitman
Allison Standley Dr. Audrey Whitman (understudy, Oct 25-27)/Ensemble
K. Brian Neel Dr. Roland Grant/Romeo
Josh Hartvigson Dr. Robert Cramer
Pamala Mijatov Dr. Lorelei Meadow
Tadd Morgan D29-1/Ensemble
Leilani Berinobis Dr. Helena Warwick/D28-2
John McKenna Theodore Werner/D29-2
Amanda Lee Williams D29-3/Ensemble
Lissa Bak D29-4/Ensemble
MUSICIANS
Greg Fulton Guitar
Chris Monroe Drums
Dave Pascal Bass
Robertson Witmer Piano, accordion, woodwinds & percussion
CREW
Book & Lyrics Scotto Moore
Music Robertson Witmer
Director Kristina Sutherland
Assistant Director Catherine Blake Smith
Choreographer Allegra Searle-LeBel
Vocal Arranger Brian Kinyon
Concept & Genetics Consultant Jenny Rooke Ph.D.
Mouse Consultant Molly Nixon Ph.D.
Production Manager Meaghan Darling
Stage Manager Katie McKellar
Assistant Stage Manager Raymond Williams
Scenic & Props Designer Robin Macartney
Costume Designer Samantha Armitage
Lighting Designer Tess Malone
Sound Designer Robertson Witmer
Puppet Designer Paul Velasquez
Vocal Coach Allison Standley
Recording Engineer Pete Remine

Evenings with Carlotta

created and performed by Troy Mink | directed by K. Brian Neel
Apr 30 – May 21, 2009 | Fri-Sat at 11 pm
Industry Night: May 17 at 8pm | No Show May 7
$10 gen | $5 stu

Troy Mink in Evenings with Carlotta

Welcome to a very ‘spayshul’ evening with Carlotta Sue Philpott. What makes this night any more special than any other night? Is it the Vienna Sausages & Rice Crispie Treats? No, Carlotta always has those on hand… Carlotta’s good natured smile or slight gleam of mischievousness? No, Carlotta’s always had her rascally un-P.C. ways. Carlotta staying up ‘extry’ late? No… she’s been stayin’ up past dark-thirty for YEARS! What makes this evening so special is that YOU have decided to come visit… & Carlotta LOVES havin’ company & a good story to tell. So why don’t you come on over, wipe yer feet off on the door mat, plop down your BE-hind on your fancy theater seat & let Carlotta take good care of you for an evening? Plenty of laughs (& maybe even a tear) plus a hearty heapin’ helpin’ of hospitality await you when you spend “Evenings with Carlotta.”


WHAT THE CRITICS SAY…

“Southern fried genius. Mink is a true local treasure.”
-The Stranger

“Phenomenally talented… anarchic, dangerous, and fun.”
-Seattle Weekly


I Feel Fine

Led by Mike Pham and Rachel Hynes
October 12 – November 10, 2007 | 8pm


I Feel Fine is a “neo-Brechtian…song-and-dance orgy…vibrant and even heartwarming in its messy, festive aliveness”! – Misha Berson, Seattle Times

I Feel Fine is a new collaborative performance collage using found objects, dance, music, and food to fiddle like Nero with the dynamic tension created when apocalyptic social collapse meets fin de siècle decadence. Fabulous fashion parades! Delicious party food! Bang-up karaoke numbers! It’s all there!

I Feel Fine catapults the audience into a whimsical world of electrical wonder and human disaster set in a universe on the edge of total collapse. Mixing the quaint and the adorable with fear and desperation, this original new work explores the quagmire between reasonable science and Mr. Id, as they meet on death row in this stylish, dreamy, and dynamic performance collaboration. Be the cat’s pajamas, have a little knosh, and see a few electrocutions in the process.

Light up your life. Reduce regret. Experience the magic of I Feel Fine!

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Local performers Rachel Hynes and Mike Pham have been working together for several years, creating, developing, and producing under the performance art collective moniker Helsinki Syndrome. An outgrowth of their previous performance work with High Kindergarten Performance Group, Rachel and Mike produce non-linear, ensemble driven theater pieces that incorporate text, movement, music and imagery into bold, rigorous, imaginative performance works.

Previous works include True North (Open Circle Theater), Off the Double (Henry Art Gallery), Sideshow (On the Boards’ 12 Minutes Max), Main Event (On the Boards’ Northwest New Works Festival), and This Is Not A Test (Instant Coffee + Henry Art Gallery at Bumbershoot 2007).

CAST & CREW

I Feel Fine features the talents of Ciara Griffin, Brynn Hambly, Rachel Hynes, Andy Loviska, K. Brian Neel, Mike Pham, Jennifer Pratt, Jaime Roberts, Mara Siciliano, and Justin Tracy, with food creations by Pamala Mijatov. Scenic Design by Bret Fetzer, Lighting Design by Chrystian Shepperd, and Sound Design by Michael Hayes White. Kristina Volkman is the Stage Manager.

SPECIAL THANKS

This production is presented as part of Annex Theatre’s ongoing “Oyster Series” Program. Annex Theatre’s 21st Season is generously supported by: 4Culture, Flintridge Foundation, Seattle Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

The cast of I Feel Fine