Sharp, Dark, Funny: "Adolescent Salvation" Debuts in Los Angeles

Rogue Machine will unveil the world premiere of Adolescent Salvation by Tim Venable-directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos-upstairs on the intimate Henry Murray Stage at the Matrix Theatre. Opening night is Friday, September 5, 2025 at 8:00 p.m., kicking off a limited engagement through October 12 at Rogue Machine at the Matrix, 7657 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046.

Over the course of one night, through a haze of tequila, texting, and Taylor Swift, three teens banter, bicker and push each other to the edge of danger - with consequences that could prove lethal by morning. This searingly funny and fearlessly inquisitive play examines the moral complexity of the kinds of characters we judge most harshly - and the fatal consequences of ignoring our own complicity in the deeds that we condemn.

Playwright Tim Venable and director Guillermo Cienfuegos team up for the third time at Rogue Machine. "I have a deep connection with the writing of Tim Venable - having directed the world premiere of his play The Beautiful People and produced the LA premiere of his play Baby Foot," says Cienfuegos. "Tim writes plays about lonely, soulful people - often trying to come to grips with the effects and consequences of terrible, sometimes unforgivable decisions. And he manages to find the vulnerable humanity and laugh out loud humor in the darkest of situations. That's why he fits in so well with our mission and aesthetic as a theatre. Adolescent Salvation is most definitely what we call a Rogue Machine play; it's dangerous, uncompromising and darkly funny. I'm thrilled (and terrified) at the challenge of directing it."

Tim Venable (Playwright) has written numerous plays, including two that were produced by Rogue Machine, The Beautiful People (dir. Guillermo Cienfuegos), Baby Foot (also produced in NY). Other plays include Blue Roses, Crystal Gayle is a Beautiful Lady, Handwriting, American Brutus, and Front Foot Impossible. His feature-length screenplay Singin' the Blues was a finalist in the ScreenCraft Drama Competition, and Tim is currently adapting his play Baby Foot into a feature film. Other screenplays include Pretty Good Year (feature), All Apologies (co-writer, pilot), Iowa (pilot), Brooklyn, Maybe (short film), and Front Foot Impossible (short film). As a director, Tim's production of Romeo and Juliet at the Hollywood Fringe Festival was hailed as "superb...incredibly exciting...a very rare experience." Other directing credits include Mouse in a Jar and Petty Harbor both by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Martyna Majok at The Road Theatre (staged readings), Tim is a multi-disciplined artist who works as a playwright, director, and actor.

"I can't say what Adolescent Salvation is "about," that's for audiences to decide," says Venable. "It is an expression of faith; an inherent belief in our human potential, in spite of (and because of) all the terrible, beautiful, hilarious, and devastating things we do, the heartache in bearing witness to our failures, and a fire of certainty that we can do better."