ZENITH ENSEMBLE'S THE DEVIL & BILLY MARKHAM BEST OF FRINGE EXTENSION

ZENITH ENSEMBLE NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Aaron Lyons 310-902-3142 Email: [email protected]
JULY, 2013
ZENITH ENSEMBLE PRESENTS SHEL SILVERSTEIN’S
THE DEVIL AND BILLY MARKHAM
Hollywood Fringe Festival’s – BEST OF FRINGE SERIES – July/Aug 2013.
WHAT:
WHO:
WHERE:
WHEN: ADMISSION: RESERVATIONS: ONLINE TICKETS: FACEBOOK: TWITTER:
THE DEVIL AND BILLY MARKHAM
ZENITH ENSEMBLE
3 Clubs Bar, 1123 Vine St Hollywood, CA 90038. Sundays @ 7:15
$10
310-902-3142
www.hff13.org/1227 https://www.facebook.com/events/119427528227575/ @Devil_BillyM, @zenithensemble
“Aaron is a powerhouse of movement and voice and fully inhabits this thing from start to finish, the dancing by Ruth Fox was sexy and fit the narrative nicely and the band was just incredible, sassy and spontaneous, a perfect blend of mood and energy.” – See more at: http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2013/06/28/the-details-are-in-the-devil/#sthash.yU4s4QJd.dpuf
“Lyons took command and performed this play as only he can. Every stanza was brought alive, as Silverstein’s words and descriptions filled my mind with the visualization of every frame of this classic poem.” – Bob Leggitt, Examiner.com
“Aaron transitions from character to character as he describes them, giving them voice. Each character was painted perfectly. It’s as if each character had their own costume, only it was just one man changing his voice and gestures. Making it all the more impressive that you see so many colorful characters on stage. Everything about this show pulls you in. From the venue, to the music, the lighting, and even Billy’s Wife (Ruth Fox) seductively and silently dancing throughout the lounge. The world fades away and only the story in front of you exists.” – Spencer Cotter, The Detective

ZENITH ENSEMBLE NEWS RELEASE
Originally appearing in 6 installments of Playboy in the late 70s, this is Shel Silverstein’s epic dirty poem about a young blues musician who gambles with the devil and loses, twice. Mr. Silverstein then collaborated with David Mamet to adapt his story into a one man play.
It’s “O’ Brother Where Art Thou meets a speakeasy beatnik open mic”. One Man. A Live Band. A Red Velvet Dive.
Directed by Amanda McRaven Aaron Lyons as The Narrator Ruth Fox as Billy’s Wife Carlos Flores on Guitar Kevin Katich on Percussion Hank Doughan on Keys
ZENITH ENSEMBLE
After winning the “Best World Premiere” and “Best of the Fest” awards from the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival with their production of RISE, Zenith Ensemble returns to the Fringe with The Devil and Billy Markham, by Shel Silverstein. The venue is the 3 Clubs bar in Hollywood and audiences are already abuzz with the prospect of seeing veteran actor, Aaron Lyons, tell Billy’s story along with a handful of professional musicians from in and around Los Angeles.
Zenith Ensemble is an LA based theater company dedicated to creating a voraciously thought-provoking experience for both audience and artist alike. It is our mission to produce universally resonant works – ranging from classical to contemporary, as well as fostering the development of new theatrical voices.
AMANDA McRAVEN (Director)
Amanda McRaven (MFA Directing, MA Community-based Theater, Fulbright Award for Cultural Identity and Contemporary Performance, New Zealand) Her productions have received critical acclaim for energetic, passionate performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Virginia, and Wellington, New Zealand. Directing credits includeMuch Ado About Nothing, (Manawatu Summer Shakespeare, New Zealand), Macbeth: a love story, Heaven on Earth (Fugitive Kind, Los Angeles), Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Antony and Cleopatra(American Shakespeare Center Young Company), Famine Plays(Theater of Note, Los Angeles), Woof Daddy (San Francisco Fringe, New York Fringe). Other credits: Assistant Director and Dramaturg: Red Noses (The Actor’s Gang, Los Angeles), Assistant Director: Hamlet (South Coast Repertory Theatre), The Clean House (Lincoln Center Theater), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Producer, Los Angeles Lady Arm Wrestlers; Director of The Voice Project, a performance and writing ensemble for female inmates; Director of Youth Programs, American Shakespeare Center. She works on performance that uncovers the creative voice, explores the physical, and re-discovers the live audience. She is a member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab. amandamcraven.com, fugitivekind.com
AARON LYONS (Narrator, The Devil and Billy Markham, amongst others) is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts @ Amherst’s Theatre Department, where he began his training as an actor, director, designer, and production manager. He continued his training with the subsequent 120+ productions that have taken him to 48 States and 9 Countries. Further still, his education continued at the Antaeus Company in North Hollywood. He has been seen as Vincent de la Vega in the hit production of the critically acclaimed PULP SHAKESPEARE (Hollywood Fringe Festival 2011 “Best of Fringe” WINNER; and Nominated for two 2011 LA Weekly Awards- including Best Comedic Ensemble). Other works include The Crucible (NOW PLAYING with the Antaeus Company) , MacBeth (as MacBeth), Cousin Bette (with the Antaeus Company), Voices from Chornobyl, and Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union (LA Weekly Award Winner). At last years Hollywood Fringe Festival, Aaron’s directorial debut RISE went home with the Best World Premiere and the Best of the Fest awards. THIS YEAR, at the Fringe, Aaron is directing Sewer Rats @ Sea and Double Bind. He was recently hired to direct Sierra Madre Playhouse’s production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and What Kind of God, by Steve Julian, at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood.

ZENITH ENSEMBLE NEWS RELEASE AEA/SAG-AFTRA www.aaronlyons.net