'CEREMONY' NAMED BEST OF FRINGE AND EXTENDS INTO JULY
Ceremony
For press accommodations, interviews, photos, key art and additional information, please contact Michael Kass at 323-702-2357 or [email protected].
Los Angeles, CA // July 1, 2013 — Ceremony, a new solo show written & performed by Michael Kass and directed by Diana Wyenn, has been honored with a ‘Best of Fringe’ Extension after a sold out and critically acclaimed world premiere run at the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Ceremony takes audiences on a journey of adventure, love and fear as award-winning storyteller Michael Kass delves into the world of Andean shamanism in search of transformation. ‘Best of Fringe’ extension performances of Ceremony will be held at the Theater Asylum Lab (1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90038) on Friday, July 12 at 8 pm; Friday, July 19 at 8 pm; and Friday, July 26 at 10 pm.
Michael has written the show as an ‘intimate epic,’ an intensely personal story that grapples with universal themes of isolation, self doubt and coming of age in the context of a shamanic medicine ceremony. Grappling with heart break and depression, Michael quits his job in the midst of a historically awful recession and finds himself in Peru drinking a noxious tea as a shaman looks on with a smile. How far is he willing to go to find transformation? And will he be able to find his way back? It’s a roller coaster ride and along the way, we meet a homeless guide and fairie like yoga instructors and become intimately acquainted with both a red balloon and a blue bucket.
In addition to its ‘Best of Fringe’ distinction and 53 “loved it” audience reviews, Ceremony garnered a Best Solo Show nomination and won the Duende Distinction for Playwriting sponsored by The Vagrancy. Of the production LAist wrote “Absolutely wonderful…A worthy lineal descendant of Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia, this Ceremony is an occasion to savor and certainly not to miss.” The Examiner proclaimed, “Kass’ storytelling reminded me of a tribal elder, standing in the center of a gathering of his tribe as he led them through the images of his journey and the lessons learned…This is a story that must be experienced.”
Ceremony is Michael Kass’ first full-length solo show. He is a fixture in the Los Angeles storytelling community, having won multiple Moth StorySlams and appeared in shows including Spark Off Rose, Taboo Tales, I Love a Good Story and countless others. Also an actor, Michael most recently appeared in the World Premiere of Jami Brandli’s S.O.E. and has worked with companies including Son of Semele Ensemble, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater Company. Michael’s writing has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times and blogs including Thought Catalog and Fierce and Nerdy.
An incredible asset to the piece, director Diana Wyenn is a theater artist with a socially-driven practice who has collaborated as a director, choreographer, designer, producer, and performer on scores of productions with some of Los Angeles’ most daring theater companies, including Evidence Room, Theatre Dybbuk, Open Fist Theatre Company, Theatre of Note, Sacred Fools, Son of Semele Ensemble, and Unknown Theater where she also served as Associate Artistic Director. She received her BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Additional members of the Ceremony creative team include sound designer Martin Carillo and stage managers Chris-Gerard Heyward and Caitlin Rucker.
To learn more about the production and creative team, visit www.ceremonytheshow.com.
For press accommodations, interviews, photos, key art and additional information, please contact Michael Kass at 323-702-2357 or [email protected].
