CYCLES

CYCLES

WORLD PREMIERE

EXTENDED!! “BY POPULAR DEMAND”

Written by Robert Litz
Directed by Stefan Lysenko
Starring: Alan Rosenberg and Dominic Rains

At Theatre Asylum Lab, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd 90038 (just West of Vine)

September 14 – October 7 (Fridays & Saturdays 8pm, Sundays
5pm). October 3 at 8pm. No Show September 16.

Tickets $15-

Additional Information – www.theatreasylum-la.com or www.combinedartform.com

CYCLES, Robert Litz’s often funny and explosive new play, makes its formal world premiere at Theatre Asylum, after a critically acclaimed, sold-out run as part of the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Directed by Stefan Lysenko, CYCLES stars Emmy-nominated stage/screen veteran (and former president of SAG) Alan Rosenberg opposite one of L.A.’s hottest young talents, Dominic Rains. CYCLES was named a “Best of Fringe at the Asylum” and is presented by Theatre Asylum and Combined Artform.

Set in a Boston Fitness Club, CYCLES flings us into the arena of the eternal conflict between youth and age. “Buzz” Burzini (Rains) and Jake Weisz (Rosenberg) are the only two patrons: Accidental encounter? Fated rendezvous? Or a well-laid deathtrap?

Litz is a resident playwright with the award-winning Elephant Theatre Company and Lysenko is a regular fixture at WriteAct. Both are members of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit where CYCLES was developed.
Rosenberg returned to the stage with CYCLES after the untimely demise of the HBO series LUCK in which he co-starred. Rains is, among other accomplishments (see below), a member of the Elephant Theatre Company.

WHO’S WHO

ROBERT J. LITZ (writer) is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. He’s written sixteen produced plays for Off, Off-Off Broadway, the regional theatres, and for the Elephant Theatre Company where he is a resident playwright. The Elephant premiered his critically-acclaimed One Fell Swoop. One World, directed by David Fofi, received NAACP nominations for Best Play and Best Ensemble. Douglas, about Justice William O. Douglas, was named Best New Play by the Portland Critics Circle. He’s also written five feature films, including House of Cards and the original script of Twister; seventeen shows for A&E, Biography, Discovery, and The History Channel on subjects ranging from Benjamin Franklin to Clipper Ships, the Vietnam War to the Chinese in America. Playing The Room, a feature-length documentary which he wrote and directed, about the making of a revolutionary recording of the complete Haydn solo keyboard works, was nominated for the prestigious Juno Award as Best Film on a musical subject. He recently won the 2012 Burger Prize for writing on the theatre. He is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit and LAStageAlliance.

STEFAN LYSENKO (director) is a member of the Playwright Director Unit of the Actors Studio and most recently directed Doris Roberts & Jack Betts at the Unit. In the past, Lysenko worked on the stage under the direction of Stella Adler for several years in the late 80’s. In 1990, the famous Playhouse West became another creative haven for Lysenko. During this period, he worked on the stage with such actors as Ashley Judd and Jeff Goldblum. Lysenko also starred in several feature films, including MAFIA! (Disney), THE LAST WILL (opposite Goran Visnjic,“ER”), INTERCEPTORS (opposite Ernie Hudson, “Oz”) and THE STRAY (opposite Michael Madsen and Angie Everheart). Currently, Lysenko is negotiating distribution on his third award-winning feature film, STARTING FROM SCRATCH, starring himself and Billy Zabka (THE KARATE KID) and is in production on his fourth feature film, THE NEXT CASSAVETES. www.blissing.com

ALAN ROSENBERG (Jake) began his career in 1976, at Syracuse Stage as Sebastian in Twelfth Night. The following year, he appeared at The New York Public Theatre in the world premiere of Thomas Babe’s A Prayer for my Daughter. Alan starred on Broadway as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers and in What’s Wrong with this Picture? In Los Angeles, Mr. Rosenberg appeared with Harold Gould in Old Business, and with S. Epatha Merkeson in Come Back, Little Sheba. He starred in Shem Bitterman’s Influence at the Skylight. On television, he is remembered as Eli Levenson on both Civil Wars and L.A. Law. He was also a series regular on Cybilll, Chicago Hope, and The Guardian. He notably guest starred on CSI and, in an Emmy-nominated performance on E.R.. Alan first appeared on film as Turkey in Philip Kaufman’s The Wanderers. His credits include Happy Birthday Gemini, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Righteous Kill. He also played a somewhat skewed version of himself in the indie film, Frankie and Johnny Are Married. He most recently co-starred in the HBO series, Luck.

DOMINIC RAINS (Buzz) is a member of the Elephant Theatre Company; Stage credits include: Block Nine (LAWeekly Award, production of the year), Love Bites (2010 writer) & 2011, Love Sick (2011), Baby Doll (2011, receiving Ticketholder Award). Dominic’s TV credits include Saving Jessica Lynch, LAX, 24, NCIS, Courting Alex, Flight 93, General Hospital, GH Nightshift, Flash Forward, Burn Notice, and Single Ladies (currently filming). His film credits include The Taqwacores (Sundance 2010) and JINN: The Ghost is Dead (Exxodus Pictures Fall 2012).

BRETT KERR (producer) Brett works extensively in film and video production. He managed Cross (with Vinnie Jones, Michael Clarke Duncan and Tom Sizemore); Rites of Passage (Christian Slater and Stephen Dorff); Benny Bliss and the Disciples of Greatness (Sundance Music Division). Brett has produced music videos for such Grammy-winning double-platinum bands as Train, Fallout Boy, Airbourne, and Megadeth. In addition to his screenwriting, Brett has directed short films, worked as a freelance copy writer for My Wife and Kids (Disney/Buena Vista) and The Tony Danza Show, and served as in-house studio production manager for the boutique studio, New Wave Entertainment. He is a UCLA graduate with a degree in East Asian Studies and Japanese language.

MATTHEW QUINN (producer- Combined Artform/Theatre Asylum) has been involved in theatre and multi-media for well over 20 years in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where he owns and operates Theatre Asylum. He created Combined Artform in 1998 to produce full and co-productions, explore multi-media, including live online internet programming and be an active member in the performance community. Stand out productions include Pulp Shakespeare. Santaland Diaries, now in its 10th year at the Eureka Theatre (SF) , BLINK & You Might Miss Me, Jane Austen Unscripted (w/Impro Theatre), A Tuna Christmas and Tilted Frame. He is on the advisory board and active supporter of the Hollywood Fringe Festival and on the NYU West Coast Gallatin Alumni Board. In 2010 he started the Combined Artform/Theatre Asylum’s Best of the Fringe. www.combinedartform.com / www.theatreasylum-la.com.

“perfectly calibrated…Rosenberg, as a been-there-done-that real estate maven is particularly good ”
Brad Schreiber, Huffington Post

“This is a must see play – kudos to the wonderful script of Litz, the directing, staging and lights of Stefan Lysenko, and the stirring performances of Rains and Rosenberg.”
Bob Leggit – Examiner

“explosive” “stellar performances” “palpable on-stage chemistry” “nuanced, well-paced”
Jesse Kemp, LifeInLA

“short but epic” “bursting with testosterone”
Brian Sonia-Wallace, LATheatreReview

" well acted, sharply directed and crisply written piece" Ernest Kearney, Bitter Lemons

“one of the finest things (I’ve seen) at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe”
“take-no-prisoners” “dynamic actors, pungent dialogue, and skillful direction”

Willard Manus, Total Theater

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-schreiber/12-shows-from-hollywood-f_b_1620611.html
http://lifeinla.com/7556/0/World+Premiere+of+Cycles+at+the++++++Hollywood+Fringe+Festival.html
http://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/4539

http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2012/06/24/fringe-reviews-cycles/
http://www.latheatrereview.com/2012/06/13/2012-fringe-day-1/

http://www.examiner.com/article/best-of-hollywood-fringe-12-weekend-one-recap?cid=rss