DISCOVERED

Discovered

PRESS RELEASE – “Discovered” – Written By Dufflyn Lammers – Directed By Jake Smith

“Amazing Insight and energy” – Reg Starkey – UK Health Triangle Magazine

The hilarious Hollywood-by-way-of-the-Deep-South story of a daughter who became an actor to win her mother’s love only to discover the one thing she had to do to succeed was stop acting.

“Discovered” is a poetic, comedic, autobiographical solo show narrated by Dufflyn Lammers. In this fearlessly personal tour-de-force, she explores addiction, identity, family history, and the ultimate truth of unconditional love.

Lammers also inhabits a few oddball supporting characters most prominently her own mother—a Blanche Du Bois meets Miss Havisham type who has abandoned her young daughter to chase fame and fortune.

Dufflyn grows up desperate for Mama’s attention and confused by her skewed—but entertaining— version of reality. At the unlikely age of thirty-two Dufflyn breaks free and sets out for Hollywood to pursue the same grandiose dreams Mama was after, but she actually has some success!

As she builds her career she struggles with her own demons—vanity, addiction, insecurity— but ultimately realizes the greatest obstacle she faces is her mother and the person she has been pretending to be in order to please her. It is the craft of acting itself that teaches her in the end that the one thing any good actor must first be able to play is herself.

Writer/Performer BIO: Dufflyn Lammers is best known for her unique brand of “page-to-stage” spoken word, combining profound insight and shameless comedy. She is a veteran performer, having appeared on Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on HBO, lead her team to the National Poetry Slam five years running, and brought her poetry show to Universities throughout the US. She has also appeared in BELLY from Artisan Films, and on CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS), ENTOURAGE (HBO), and in countless commercials and independent films. In 2011 Lammers wrote, produced, and starred in the short film “Raven” which won Best Experimental Short at the LA International Underground Film Festival. She is also a published poet, journalist and blogger; now a regular contributor at Thefix.com, the world’s leading magazine for addiction and recovery. She co-edited Chorus with Saul Williams and is anthologized in SLAM: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry. She blogs at www.recoverygirl.net and at www.thelaactorsblog.comLammers is now an International Recovery Coach, empowering others to move beyond substance use disorder. To find out more about her coaching practice visit www.dufflyn.com

Director BIO: Jake Smith is a Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre, London UK. He began his career at Hull Truck and was a founding member of Assemble Fest, a large-scale theatre festival launched following Hull’s winning City of Culture campaign. He was the Trainee Director in Residence at Chichester Festival Theatre from 2014-2016. Jake was recently Staff Director on Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Theatre Royal Haymarket and National Tour). Direction includes I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard (Finborough Theatre),The Tempest (Petersfield Shakespeare Festival), Citizenship (National Theatre Connections, Chichester Festival Youth Theatre and The Capitol Theatre, Horsham), The Boy Who Built Clock (Arts Theatre), Andy Capp The Musical (Finborough Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Chichester Festival Theatre), Smoke (and mirrors) (Derby Theatre for Theatre Uncut), The Little Match Girl (Assemble Fest, Hull), Alice’s Site (Hull Truck) and The Coronation of Poppea (Middleton Hall, Hull).