Two new plays premiere simultaneously at Atwater Village Theatre

What do the first race riot in Los Angeles and gay life in steamy New Orleans have in common? Each is the subject of a new play by Tom Jacobson, one of Los Angeles' most acclaimed and prolific playwrights. Circle X Theatre Co. presents Jacobson's The Chinese Massacre (Annotated), directed by Jeff Liu, opening April 22, and Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA presents House of the Rising Son, directed by Michael Michetti, opening April 23, both at the new Atwater Village Theatre where the two companies offer a joint season in 2011.

The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) was commissioned by Circle X Theatre Co. and first workshopped in 2008 as part of the L.A. History Project. Based on historical incident, the play chronicles the first race riot in Los Angeles history: the 1871 lynching of 18 Chinese men by a mob of 500 "people from all nations." Jacobson's fiercely theatrical re-telling brings to light the remarkable, culturally diverse 19th-century Wild West town that exploded into the metropolis we know today.

"Although the entire population of Los Angeles in 1871 was only 6,000, it was, amazingly, as diverse then as it is today," explains Jacobson. "In the play you'll hear a cacophony of Cantonese, French, German, Spanish and English."

"This is a huge project for a theater company to tackle, with a multiracial cast of 14 actors playing 42 roles," asserts director Jeff Liu. "Tom has woven together multiple genres in a hugely theatrical way: it's a Western, an action drama, a revenge tale, and the very moving story of two immigrant brothers trying to make it in a new land."

The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) features Richard Azurdia, Warren Davis, Anna Douglas, Elizabeth Ho, Ross Kurt Le, Jully Lee, Alex Levin, West Liang, Johanna McKay, Silas Weir Mitchell, Gary Patent, Jack Sochet, Lisa Tharps, Marie-­Françoise Theodore and Ryun Yu. Set design is by Sibyl Wickersheimer; lighting design is by Tom Ontiveros; costume design is by Dianne K. Graebner; sound design is by Dennis Yen; dialect coach is Tracy Winters assisted by Tuffet Schmelzle; production stage manager is Katherine E. Haan.

Notes Circle X artistic director Tim Wright, "2011 marks the 140th anniversary of the Chinese Massacre in downtown Los Angeles; this is a play about a little-known piece of history that every Angeleno should see."

In The House of the Rising Son, Tennessee Williams meets Anne Rice in a subversive, Southern gothic romance. A parasitologist at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, Trent Varro brings his new lover home to meet the family in New Orleans. Populated with ghosts and parasites, Jacobson's play mixes the supernatural with science to illuminate hot button issues of gay marriage and equality in a whole new way. It's at once a ghost story, a love story, and a family story.

Director Michael Michetti says, "Tom is dealing with subject matter, imagery and themes that are dangerous, risky, sexual and even grotesque - and writes what winds up to be a play about family values. It's a wild ride."

"It's a play that shakes you awake, makes you laugh, and suggests you confront what you fear," contends Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA artistic director Gates McFadden. "It encourages you to embrace history and science in a way that allows the redefinition of the word family."

The House of the Rising Son stars Steve Coombs, Nicholas Hormann, Patrick John Hurley, Rod Menzies and Paul Witten. Set design is by Richard Hoover; lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick;original music and sound design are by Bruno Louchouarn; costume design is by Christina Haatainen-Jones; dialect coach is Tracy Winters assisted by Tuffet Schmelzle; the production stage manager is Nicole Rossi, and Sarah Malkin produces for EST/LA.

Tom Jacobson has had more than 70 productions of his plays in L.A. and around the country, including Sperm at Circle X Theatre Co.; The Orange Grove at Playwrights Arena; and the award-winning Bunbury, Tainted Blood and Ouroboros (all published by Broadway Play Publishing) at The Road Theatre Company. He has been a co-literary manager of The Theatre @ Boston Court, a founding member of Playwrights Ink, and a board member of Cornerstone Theater Company. He teaches playwriting and related courses for UCLA Extension. Recent productions: The Friendly Hour at The Road (LA Weekly Award for Best Ensemble); The Twentieth-Century Way at both The Theatre @ Boston Court and the New York International Fringe Festival (five Ovation and two LA Weekly award nominations, four Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle nominations, one GLAAD Award nomination, Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Production of a Play); and Making Paradise: The West Hollywood Musical for Cornerstone (Critic's Choice in Back Stage West).

Jeff Liu's directing credits include East West Players' world premieres of Ixnay and Wrinkles by Paul Kikuchi; Lodestone Theatre Ensemble's world premieres of Judy Soo Hoo's Texas and Solve for X; Matt Pelfrey's Murderobilia and Terminus Americana (Ovation Award nominee for Best World Premiere); Philip W. Chung's The Golden Hour and Grace Kim and the Spiders from Mars; and Week 20 of Suzan-Lori Park's National Play Festival, 365 Days/365 Plays. He has directed two short films, Qi Lime Pie and Great Moments in Asian American History, comedic satires that examine mis-perceptions of Asian culture and Asian Americans, respectively. He also co-wrote Charlotte Sometimes, a feature film that explores the complex relationships among four Asian Americans that won the Audience Award for Best First Feature at the South by Southwest Film Festival and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.Jeff is currently the literary manager at East West Players and served as resident director for Lodestone Theatre Ensemble throughout its ten-year run.

Michael Michetti is co-artistic director of The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena where he has directed Paradise Lost: Shadows & Wings, dark play or stories for boys, his own adaptation of A Picture of Dorian Gray, Pera Palas, Romeo and Juliet and others. A director of plays and musicals, new works and classics, his diverse credits include: The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Don Juan and As You Like It at A Noise Within; Carousel, Man of La Mancha and Li'l Abner at Reprise; Edward II and The Rover for Circle X; A Life in the Theatre starring Hal Holbrook at the Pasadena Playhouse; and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has received five Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards and two Ovation Awards. This is his fourth production with Tom Jacobson, having previously directed The Twentieth-Century Way at Boston Court, plus Tainted Blood and the world premiere of Ouroboros at the Road Theatre.

The Atwater Village Theatre complex is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Atwater Village, CA 90039. On-site parking is free.

The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays @ 8 pm and Sundays @ 2 pm & 7 pm, April 22 through May 28. Preview performances take place April 19, 20 and 21 @ 8 pm. General admission is $25; preview performances are $15; pay-what-you-can tickets are available for all Sunday matinees when purchased at the door (subject to availability). For reservations and information, call 323-644-1929 or go to www.circlextheatre.org.

House of the Rising Son runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays @ 8 pm andSundays @ 2 pm, April 23 through May 29. Preview performances take place April 14-22 on the same schedule. General admission is $25; preview performances are $15; pay-what-you-can tickets are available on Thursday, April 28 and Thursday, May 5 when purchased at the door (subject to availability). For reservations and information, call 323-644-1929 or go to www.ensemblestudiotheatrela.org