PITTSBURGH, PA – 12 Peers Theater announces their sixth season featuring the continuing Modern Myths Podcast; Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing); Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; a benefit performance of Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit, Red Rabbit; and Mythburgh, a new site-specific performance series.
“12 Peers Theater’s 2017 Season focuses on building myth from the ground up” says 12 Peers Theater Artistic Director, Vince Ventura. “This season is about exploring myth at the individual, local, national, and cultural levels, both through live performance and through digital storytelling. Through The Modern Myths Podcast we will continue to highlight playwrights as we bring myths from all around the country to our audiences on demand. In Mythburgh, we ask our audiences to tell us their experiences, and we spin myths based on the stories that make Pittsburgh unique. Thom Pain (based on nothing) is an extremely private and individual, but entirely universal myth. Lastly, Mr. Burns, a post-electric play shows how even pop culture myths can change over time to suit the needs of its audience.”
12 PEERS THEATER 2017 SEASON
MYTHBURGH
Throughout 2017
Locations and Dates TBA
Telling the stories that make Pittsburgh unique, online and in person.
MYTHBURGH finds myth and inspiration in the creepy, epic, weird, and truly Pittsburgh stories, told by Pittsburghers and adapted by local playwrights into short plays and digital content. Featuring a recurring cast of characters with their own online lives and a site-specific location, Mythburgh will push the limits of live theatre and engage audiences online and in person.
THE MODERN MYTHS PODCAST
Throughout 2017
Available at www.12peerstheater.org and on iTunes
Live play readings on demand.
12 Peers Theater continues its groundbreaking year-round podcast featuring readings of mythic new plays and exclusive interviews with the playwrights. The Modern Myths Podcast brings live theatre to you on demand and features some of the most exciting playwrights from across the country.
THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)
By Will Eno
Directed by Vince Ventura
Featuring Matt Henderson
June 1 – 18, 2017
The University of Pittsburgh Studio Theatre
A moving solo show and Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
He’s just like you, except worse. He is trying to save his life, to save your life—in that order. In his quest for salvation, he’ll stop at nothing, be distracted by nothing, except maybe a piece of lint, or the woman in the second row. Thom Pain (based on nothing) is one man’s attempt to mythologize the loss of innocence we all experience when we shift, sometimes in a single moment, from child to adult.
MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY
By Anne Washburn
Directed by Vince Ventura
August 3 – 20, 2017
The University of Pittsburgh Studio Theatre
A “pop culture comedy” in post-apocalyptic America.
After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors share a campfire and begin to piece together the plot of “The Simpsons” episode “Cape Feare” entirely from memory. 7 years later, this and other snippets of pop culture (sitcom plots, commercials, jingles, and pop songs) have become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society, sincerely trying to hold onto its past. 75 years later, these are the myths and legends from which new forms of performance are created. Mr. Burns, a post-electric play turns an eye to the communal creation of myth by exploring a post-apocalyptic landscape where yesterday’s pop culture (an episode of “The Simpsons” pieced together entirely from memory) is rehashed as a myth of perseverance.
SPECIAL BENEFIT PERFORMANCE
WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT
March 27, 2017
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre
Last year’s hit production by experimental playwright Nassim Soleimanpour.
Imagine being 29 years old and unable to leave your country. Iranian Nassim Soleimanpour is a conscientious objector who refused to take part in military service, mandatory for all Iranian men. Soleimanpour turned his isolation to his advantage with a wild, utterly original play, an absurdist adventure that blends comedy and drama. In White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, he distills the experience of an entire generation born amid the hardship of the Iran-Iraq war—computer-literate, well-informed young people who have never known an Iran other than the Islamic Republic.
With no director, no set, and a different guest performer each night, this play is performed by distinct local actors reading a script they see for the first time as they step onstage in front of a live audience. Using a menagerie of allegorical animals, the play is “not about Iran,” but grapples with the social phenomena of power, obedience, and manipulation.
TICKETS
Season Passes: $30 (including THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) and MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY)
Flex Passes: $30 (including two ticket vouchers to be used at any 2017 main stage performance)
Single Tickets range from Name Your Own Price to $20 and go on sale December 1, 2016.
MYTHBURGH tickets are always Name Your Own Price
THE MODERN MYTHS PODCAST is available for free at www.12peerstheater.org or on iTunes
WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT Benefit Performance tickets are $25
All Sunday and Monday performances in the 2017 main stage season are Name Your Own Price.
Season Passes, Flex Passes, Single Tickets, or Reservations for Name Your Own Price performances can be made by calling 412.626.6784 or online at www.12peerstheater.org starting December 1, 2017
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Founded in 2011, and taking their name from the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, 12 Peers Theater is a 501(c)(3) organization operating in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. 12 Peers Theater’s mission is to provide challenging and engaging theater through contemporary works exploring myth and cultural identity.
