Rogue Machine presents the World Premiere of The Beautiful People
It's the late '90's and you're hanging out in the basement of an average home, somewhere in suburban America, with two teenagers as they stay up on a school night; chugging soda, watching MTV and preparing for the future. As the morning approaches, their seemingly innocent sleepover reveals another purpose...what are they doing down here?
"I felt like I knew these boys, that my friends and I weren't that different," says playwright Tim Venable. "And, like me and my friends, they must have had fun. Were they into watching MTV, drinking soda, quoting movies, yet all the while they were harboring this terrible plan? I wanted to explore that duality."
Tim Venable (Playwright) is a Los Angeles playwright whose works include American Brutus (Son of Semele Ensemble - Solo Creation Festival), Crystal Gayle is a Beautiful Lady, Baby Foot, Jim; Or I'll Be Smiling Forever. His play Handwriting (received a staged reading at The Road Theatre for the Summer Playwrights Festivaland Shakespeare & Co., with a workshop performance done at the Mary Arrchie Theatre in Chicago. Screenplays include Singin' the Blues (Finalist, ScreenCraft Drama Competition), and Pretty Good Year. Tim has performed at Antaeus, A Noise Within, Shakespeare & Co., Portland Stage Company, Son of Semele Ensemble, The Road Theatre. He is currently in development on two pilots for television, and a solo play based on the life of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
"This season at Rogue Machine we've committed ourselves to having difficult conversations, stated director Guillermo Cienfuegos. "That doesn't mean being provocative for its own sake - it means presenting stories and posing questions that don't have easy answers. I don't know how audiences will respond to this play - but I do know that the conversation needs to happen, and I am powerfully drawn to directing this piece because I know that is its mission.
Guillermo Cienfuegos (Director/Co-Artistic Director at Rogue Machine) has helmed the award-winning productions of Disposable Necessities, Dutch Masters (CRITICS' CHOICE - LA Times; TOP TEN - Stage Raw) and Ready Steady Yeti Go at Rogue Machine. He won both the Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Director for his production of Shakespeare's Henry V at Pacific Resident Theatre. Cienfuegos has directed numerous productions at PRT, including Ionesco's Rhinoceros, Pinter's The Homecoming and Safe at Home: An Evening with Orson Bean, and Julia, both at PRT (all received CRITICS' CHOICE - LA Times) and Off-Broadway at New York's 59E59 Theatre, Christmas Contigo at Oregon Cabaret Theatre, the Los Angeles Premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize winning Between Riverside and Crazy at The Fountain Theatre, as well as projects at the Blank Theatre Company, Chalk Repertory and the USC School of Dramatic Arts. His on camera directing credits include the pilot for the upcoming comedy series Boned, the multiple award-winning short film The Pear and the Rogue Machine collaborations with exiled playwright Andrei Kureichik, Insulted and Voices of the New Belarus. Cienfuegos was featured in the 'Roll Call: People to Watch' issue of American Theatre magazine and is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre.
The Cast includes Alexander Neher (as E - he/him/his) who recently appeared in Tambo and Bones (Kirk Douglas Theatre), John Proctor is the Villain (Ojai Playwright's Conference), and Shiner (NOLA Project). Selected film and TV credits include For All Mankind, The Sex Lives of College Girls, The Birch, 9-1-1: Lonestar, Grey's Anatomy, Station 19, Grown-ish, Bosch, Inventing Anna, and GLOW.
Justin Preston (as D) made his theatrical debut as the 16-year-old Taplow in The Browning Version at Pacific Resident Theatre (Stage Scene LA Award - Outstanding Featured Actor) where he also performed as Young Lou in Julia, which moved Off-Broadway to 59E59. Justin starred in the MTV TV Movie "DisCONNECTED". He is a member of Pacific Resident Theatre and Rogue Machine.
Produced by John Flynn and Rebecca Larsen as a Rogue Machine Production. The creative team includes David Mauer (Production Design), Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design), Jonathan Rider (Fight Choreographer), Michelle Hanzelova (Video Design), Ramón Valdez (Stage Manager).
The Beautiful People opens at 8pm on Saturday, June 11th and runs Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm through July 25th (No performance July 4th). Rogue Machine (in the Matrix Theatre), 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets are $45 general admission ($35 seniors, $25 students with proof) with Pay-What-You-Can June 17, 24, and July 1, 8.