BEERTOWN RETURNS TO DC IN JULY FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT RUN
CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SHOW PROMOTES CIVIC PARTICIPATION THROUGH THEATRE THE SUMMER BEFORE THE ELECTION
How do individuals navigate community? dog & pony dc’s charming, imaginative, and involving production—Beertown—places audience and performers on an even playing-field to actively explore the dynamic and tenuous relationship between individuals and their community. Beertown was created by dog & pony dc’s ensemble of 17 theatre artists. Beertown will perform in Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s Rehearsal Hall (641 D Street NW, Washington, DC) July 12 – 22; Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30pm. It will transfer to Round House Theatre Silver Spring (8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD) for one show on Saturday July 28 at 4pm. Every show begins with a dessert potluck. Ticket information at dogandponydc.com.
Description: Welcome to Beertown’s 20th Quinquennial Time Capsule Day! Every five years this small American town unearths its beloved Time Capsule and ritualistically reviews its contents. But celebrating the past is not enough for this community. On Time Capsule Day Beertonians not only remember their history, but they also revise it by voting new items into the capsule. Which tells the story of our town better: A pair of glasses or a family bible? A license plate or a bottle of beer? Visit a place where remembering is a communal act, and everyone’s opinion is heard and counted: Beertown.
Beertown is an interactive exploration of history, civic ritual, identity, community, and memory that incorporates live music, dance, group song… and a dessert potluck. Part-civic ceremony, part-theatrical pageant, Beertown welcomes audiences into an imagined town and engages them as its citizens in revisiting and revising its history. The framework of the performance is a town celebration, held every five years, to unearth the town’s time capsule and review the items entombed within. Woven into the framework are “antecedents,” theatrical moments that provide insider perspective into the town, its citizens, and history.
Beertown premiered in November 2011 and the DC-area was instantly charmed. Audiences debated earnestly, playfully, and fiercely throughout the show’s second act. “I cared so much about something I knew nothing about 90 minutes prior,” was a commonly heard comment following every show. “The incredible power of [Beertown],” an audience member noted in an online survey, “was how you got the audience reflecting on what was important to each of us.”
As always, dog & pony dc seeks to reflect and interrogate the current social and political zeitgeist of the Washington, DC area. The summer before the presidential elections, Beertown engages audiences in a values-based conversation on “neutral” territory. Company member and performer Elaine Qualter reflected: “We’re tapping into the region’s political energy and are focused on inspiring positive participation. Beertown reminds us that our individual votes count and we can have civil, high-impact debate with our neighbors.” “The show doesn’t just encourage civic engagement,” says Rachel Grossman, dog & pony dc Ring Leader and Beertown director and performer, “Beertown is civic engagement.”
Beertown was nominated for the Charles McArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical in 2011 by the Helen Hayes Awards. It is the first ever ensemble-devised show to receive this nomination.
Beertown includes a number of social media components to allow for audience integration outside the theatre walls, leading with the town’s website: visitbeertown.com.
All performances of Beertown open with a dessert potluck; attendees are encouraged to bring a dessert to share.
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Beertown
Devised by dog & pony dc
Directed by Rachel Grossman
Original Music by: Wyckham Avery, J. Argyl Plath, Mitch Mattson & Jon Reynolds
CAST
Karine Oppenheim ……….. Wyckham Avery
Michael Soch ……………… Joshua Drew
Michael Soch, Jr ………… Rachel Grossman
Rep. Lara Pickel-Cooper… Jessica Lefkow
Joann Ryals ………………. Elaine Yuko Qualter
David Guy …………….…… Jon Reynolds
Arthur Whiting …………… Colin Hovde
Edwin McFarlan ………….. J. Argyl Plath
PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS
Beertown will perform July 12 – 22, 2012 at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company’s Rehearsal Hall (641 D Street NW, Washington, DC).
Beertown will be performed July 28, 2012 at Round House Theatre Silver Spring (8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD).
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULES
July 12 – 22, 2012; Tuesday – Sunday nights; Woolly Mammoth Rehearsal Hall
Performance begins at 7:30pm (arrive as early as 7pm for dessert potluck).
Note: there is no performance Saturday, July 14.
July 28, 2012; Saturday afternoon; Round House Theatre Silver Spring
Performance begins at 4:00pm (arrive as early as 3:30pm for dessert potluck).
TICKETS FOR WOOLLY MAMMOTH RUN
General Admission: $15; Generous Admission (a rate that shows you support the art–and then some): $25.
Available at www.dogandponydc.com
Tickets also available through Capital Fringe box office as of June 18: www.capfringe.org
Beertown is being presented as part of the 7th annual Capital Fringe Festival and so all attendees will need to purchase or show a fringe button.
TICKETS FOR ROUND HOUSE THEATRE SILVER SPRING RUN
General Admission: $15
Available at http://www.roundhousetheatre.org/over-the-line-festival-2/
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.dogandponydc.com
