THE COLLECTOR - LOS ANGELES PREMIER

The Collector

FOR REVIEW
April, 2012

Contact:
Bridget Rountree
Animal Cracker Conspiracy
619-770-7719

Los Angeles Premier of Hybrid Puppet Theatre Production, “The Collector”
Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Company and Sound Designer Margaret Noble partner for
Genre-stretching Multi-media performance
Directed by Lisa Berger

Los Angeles – "The Collector” is a contemporary puppet theatre-hybrid which encapsulates the audience in a projected reality; a detailed and gritty environment of toy theatre, animated objects, miniature protagonists and antagonists, unfolding in dialogue-less mystery! The agitprop nature of this alternate reality is underscored by original film and constructed soundscapes delivered in full surround sound.

“The Collector” is a tale of a lowly debt collector, who travels through the urban landscape, undergoing a radical transformation of spirit as the boundaries between object and self collide. The story unfolds into a multidimensional mixed media performance through Orwellian, neo-Victorian lenses.

Created and performed by Bridget Rountree and Iain Gunn of Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Company, this conceptual non-traditional theatre project features mixed surround sound designed by experimental composer, Margaret Noble.

The Los Angeles premier of “The Collector” has been made possible by grants from the Jim Henson Foundation, The Sator Arts Foundation, Synergy Art Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and continued support from the San Diego Guild of Puppetry. Animal Cracker Conspiracy is proud to present the L.A. Premier of “The Collector” at Artworks Theatre during the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival. This run has limited seating and is a limited engagement performance. Tickets are $15. For more information on the shows and tickets, visit www.thecollectorshow.info.

Show Times:
Thursday June 21st 10:30 p.m. showtime
Friday & Saturday June 22nd-23rd 8 p.m. showtime

Bio-Animal Cracker Conspiracy: Visual artists and performers, Bridget Rountree and Iain Gunn, joined forces in 2005 and began collaborating in a series of performance art pieces that combined mixed media, physical theatre, and puppetry. In 2007 they launched Animal Cracker Conspiracy a contemporary hybrid puppet company and co-founded Zirk Ubu: live arts ensemble. Zirk Ubu with a cast of nine performers produced over fifteen pieces of original work dedicated to physical theatre, puppetry, circus, and sideshow, from 2007-10 in San Diego and Mexico. In 2010 Bridget and Iain focused solely on Animal Cracker Conspiracy after receiving their first grant from the Sator Arts Foundation for an adult piece of puppet theater “The Collector”, which received two Jim Henson Foundation Grants in 2011 and 2012. In 2010 Animal Cracker Conspiracy began hosting quarterly shows, The Adult Puppet Cabaret, producing and fostering an audience for adult puppet performances in San Diego, which has received three Puppet Slam Network grants and has been highlighted in Puppetry International. During this time Animal Cracker Conspiracy has participated in both national and international artist residencies and workshops with Bread and Puppet, North American Creative Laboratories, La Pocha Nostra, RosenClaire, and the Old Trouts Puppet Collective.

Bio- Margret Noble: “In 2002, Margaret Noble started her career in the field of sound art performance as an electronic music DJ for the underground club community of Chicago. Her turntable shows led her to travel as a dance music DJ throughout the United States and Mexico. In 2005, she branched out into more experimental interests and began performing live soundscapes and electroacoustic music to new audiences. During this time, she also completed an MFA in sound art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Throughout this period, her new work received multiple write-ups in UR, Newcity, the Sun Times, the Reader and the Chicago Tribune. She now performs as an experimental composer and sound designer in solo and in collaboration with visual artists. Her sound works have been showcased in a variety of installations, experimental theater and dance productions nationally and internationally. Her artist residencies include the MAK museum of Vienna and the Salzburg Academy of Fine Art. She has also received the Hayward Prize and International Governor’s Grant both for her sound work.”

Bio- Lisa Berger: MFA, has taught for such organizations as The Metropolitan Opera, Theatre for a New Audience, Broadway’s The Lion King and the La Jolla Playhouse. She currently teaches at Grossmont College, Mira Costa College, San Diego City College and at New Villarge Arts. San Diego directing credits include Things We Want (New Village Arts), Killer Joe (Compass Theatre: Patte Award), Miss Julie and The Corpse Bride (Stone Soup), ANON and Crimes of the Heart (Canyon Crest Academy), Buried Child (UCSD), The Long Christmas Ride Home (Patte Award) and Looking for Normal (Diversionary Theatre), Handbag (AASD), The Pirates of Penzance (Lyric Opera Academy), and Islands of Repair (NYC Fringe).