PITTSBURGH, PA: 12 Peers Theater announced its 2015 Season, which will feature exciting plays, all new to Pittsburgh audiences. 12 Peers will follow up on a well-received reading from the 2013 Summer Scribes Reading Series with the World Premiere of Existence and the Single Girl, directed by Todd Betker. After presenting the American Premiere of David Crawford’s Poe’s Last Night in 2012, David Crawford will return to 12 Peers to present the American Premiere of Lovecraft’s Monsters, fresh from a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 12 Peers will close its 2015 Season with the Pittsburgh Premiere of Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit, a 2011 Pulitzer Prize Nominee, directed by Founding Artistic Director, Vince Ventura.
Ventura said: “We chose these three plays for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they are all well written, and great examples of contemporary playwriting on a local and national level. We also chose these plays because they all deal, in some way, with disillusionment with modern life; from the unrealistic expectations of women in Existence, to empty relationships and deep, dark secrets in the suburbs in Detroit. Taken on their own, each play will be sure entertain, but as a season, I think we are offering a very specific message.”
Existence and the Single Girl
By Matt Henderson Directed by Todd Betker
Ashley is a 12-year-old girl with a severe psychological problem: she can’t stop pondering the meaning of life. Her long-suffering mother finally decides to call a psychologist for guidance, who provides her with the best treatment possible for a young girl with existential blues—she molds her into a pop culture phenomenon. Attempting to find her place in the world, Ashley adopts the various teen girl pop culture personas that are given to her, with the hope that she will discover the answer to the age-old question– can the secret to purpose and meaning in the universe be found in a Cosmo personality quiz?
Existence and the Single Girl performs Feb. 5-21, 2015. All shows at The Maker Theater, 5940 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh. Thurs – Sat., 8 p.m.; Industry Night, Monday Feb. 9; Tickets $17 Online, $20 at the door / $15 with student ID. Tickets & Info: 12peerstheater.org
Lovecraft’s Monsters
Written and Performed by David Crawford March 12-21, 2015
H. P. Lovecraft spent his life haunted by harsh, unrelenting demons. Their tentacles wrapped him in fear, pushed him into poverty, and filled his brain with horrors that found expression in some of the world’s greatest works of “weird fiction.”
Pittsburgh based actor David Crawford portrays Lovecraft in this one man show as he fights those demons and shapes their horrors into art.
Lovecraft’s Monsters performs March 12-21, 2015. All shows at The Maker Theater, 5940 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh. Thurs – Sat., 8 p.m.; Industry Night, Monday March 16; Tickets $17 Online, $20 at the door / $15 with student ID. Tickets & Info: 12peerstheater.org
Detroit
By Lisa D’Amour
May 14 – 30, 2015 Directed by Vince Ventura
In a first-ring suburb just outside a city that might be Detroit, Ben and Mary see sudden signs of life at the deserted house next door and invite their new neighbors Sharon and Kenny over for a barbecue. As the action unfolds we learn that Sharon and Kenny met at rehab, neither is employed, and they don’t own a stick of furniture. The quintessential American back-yard party quickly turns into something more dangerous—and filled with potential.
Detroit performs May 15-30, 2015. All shows at The Maker Theater, 5940 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh. Thurs – Sat., 8 p.m.; Industry Night, Monday May 18; Tickets $17 Online, $20 at the door / $15 with student ID. Tickets & Info: 12peerstheater.org.
About the Company
12 Peers Theater was founded in 2011. Taking the name from the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, its mission is to provide challenging and engaging theater for Pittsburgh audiences. 12 Peers Theater highlights social, political, and ethical issues in classical and contemporary works exploring myth and cultural identity, endeavoring to open a dialogue with the audience.
