FIVE UNEASY PIECES - HOW TODD WARING FOUND THE FRINGE
Five Uneasy Pieces
Hollywood, California – May 12, 2011 – After a soaring first run at the Santa Monica Playhouse, Todd Waring’s outrageous solo show FIVE UNEASY PIECES is coming to the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Hailing from a successful TV career on primetime shows including Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Guys, Nip/Tuck, Castle, and Desperate Housewives, Todd Waring never thought of himself as “fringy” until he signed up for the festival. “First of all I’m over 50, so I thought I left the fringe behind about the time I signed my second mortgage”, says Waring. But watching the world of auditions and work for actors change in recent years, Waring realized that it’s up to today’s performer to keep up instead of waiting for the phone to ring.
Waring developed FIVE UNEASY PIECES under the mentorship of actor Jeffrey Tambor in his renowned workshop at Santa Monica Playhouse. A high-powered one-man tour de force, FIVE UNEASY PIECES draws audiences into five exotic personalities at crucial points in their lives. Meet “Aunt Ruth”, a quaint old Southern lady who spins a tale of love, rhubarb pie and men with tattoos on their d***. “My Mate Roger,” an Australian art teacher, who needs more than a beer to face the canvas of his real life. “Cyril," a fading British theater critic-turned-babysitter, can’t help imparting inappropriate bedtime stories to his innocent charge. “Boney” is a gangsta whose good thing goes bad. In “Start Prayin,” the leader of special ops unit in Afghanistan gets more than what he prays for. And in a sixth “bonus” sketch “Mr. French,” a Jacques Brel knock-off, charms and astounds audiences with his sincere lack of talent.
Avoiding the pitfall of many solo performers that overindulge in their own creation, Waring gracefully moves in and out of each scene, grounding each character with just enough detail for audiences to let their imagination do the rest. Under the streamlined and poignant direction of Don McManus, Waring builds an evening of increasing moral danger while a moody live jazz accompaniment by bassist Lyman Medeiros fosters a sense of warmth to soothe emotions before plunging audiences into the next reality-suspending trance of delight, terror, laughter, and tears.
TODD WARING BIO:
Todd Waring is a writer and actor with a track record of dozens of television appearances including Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Guys, Nip/Tuck, Castle, Desperate Housewives, On the Lot, Boston Legal, Monk, Judging Amy, Cold Case, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Jag, Family Law, Wings, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Waring has also performed on Broadway in Mike Nichols’ The Real Thing and Garson Kanin’s Peccadillo, by as well as many Off-Broadway shows.
His story, ’I Finally Swore at my Daughter’, was published in Dani Klein’s Afterbirth: Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine. Recently, Waring has optioned Wise Men, a screenplay he co-wrote.
PRAISE FOR FIVE UNEASY PIECES:
“FIVE UNEASY PIECES is delightful, provocative, and joyously gratifying.” — LAist
For the full review, click here.
“Waring gives amazing renditions of several characters, each in a sketch of five to ten minute’s duration.” — Santa Monica Mirror
For the full review, click here.
“FIVE UNEASY PIECES presents a gallery of remarkable characters who represent a diverse array of human experiences.” — Socal
For the full review, click here.
“Out of uneasiness, laughter is made through the darkness of the night.” — LA Theatre Review
For the full review, click here.
Interview with Todd Waring on LA Stage Times: click here.
“It doesn’t get better than this.This is alive, vital theater with a capital T and smack dab on the cutting edge.” — Jeffrey Tambor, actor ‘Arrested Development’
“I laughed ‘til I cried. This is going to be a cult hit.” — Tony Shalhoub, actor ‘Monk’
“Words do not begin to describe the thrill I had watching Todd in Five Uneasy Pieces. He is a master, both as a writer and an actor. Do whatever you can to see this show!” –Jane Kaczmarek
“Todd Waring is like no one else in the world and his show is like nothing else out there. This is dangerous theater, queasy comedy of the first order. Five plays, one actor, no safety-net. Does our acrobat fall? Nope, Todd Waring soars!!!!” — Peter MacNicol, actor ‘24’, ‘Numbers’
“Smart, original, and clever. Even his French gibberish is witty.” — David Fury, Exec. Producer ‘24’
“I was gasping for breath I was laughing so hard.” — Stacey Travis, actress ’Fun With Dick and Jane’
“Fascinating. He completely transforms.” — Megan Gallagher, actress ‘Larry Sanders Show’
Visit the FIVE UNEASY PIECES website: http://www.fiveuneasypieces.com
FIVE UNEASY PIECES will play at the Elephant Space, 1076 North Lillian Way, Hollywood CA 90038 on Thursdays, June 9,16, and 23 at 8 pm and for a Saturday matinee, June 11, 18, 25 at 2 pm.
Listings Information:
FIVE UNEASY PIECES by Todd Waring
The Elephant Space
1076 North Lillian Way, Hollywood CA 90038
June 9,16, and 23 at 8 pm; June 11, 18, 25 at 2 pm.
$10.00 at the door or online www.hollywoodfringe.org
Contact
Julia Drake
[email protected]
323-304-2433
