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Tim Robbins & the Actor's Gang presents: WTF?! Festival!
Thursday, October 29, 2009 WTF?! Festival
Eclectic line up will feature the likes of Tenacious D, Jackson Browne, Gore Vidal, Sarah Silverman, Naomi Klein, Tom Morello, Sej Tankian, John Doe, Jill Sobule
CULVER CITY, CA The Actors' Gang presents the WTF?! Festival, Weds thru Sats, Oct. 13 – Dec 19.
"The name of this festival came to me after a recent board meeting where I was told that due to the economic downswing and recent reduction in donations that we can no longer afford to produce theater.” explains Actors' Gang Artistic Director, Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins. “ I was told it would be less expensive to do nothing” The WTF?! Festival was Robbins answer to the board. “We’re not very good at doing nothing. We have seventy members and we are fired up to go into production on a major piece in January so in the spirit of rebellion and our history of survival we are going to produce 3 plays, host great artists and authors, screen free documentaries, have open forums for Veterans, have live music nights with great songwriters, present poetry and dance, screen ridiculously funny movies, host talkbacks with directors and try to raise enough money to survive this crap economy, We are offering a wide variety of events that will fire up new audiences, help them to discover The Gang, and support our community outreach."
To that end, the WTF?! Festival is composed of a singer/songwriter series, film talkback series, and a theater and dance series, each curated by Robbins and featuring members and friends of The Actors' Gang. All proceeds will benefit The Gang's many outreach programs, such as theater residencies in public schools; a free Summer-in-the Park family theater series; free holiday shows for families; a theater in prisons program focused on rehabilitation through the arts; and pay-what-you-can nights for Actors' Gang productions on the main stage.
Musicians set to perform acoustic sets at The Gang's intimate, 99-seat performance venue for the Festival include Jackson Browne, Tenacious D, Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, and X's John Doe with Jill Sobule
The Film Talkback Series will feature screenings of George Carlin: Jammin' in NY (1992), followed by a reading of his soon-to-be released memoir by his daughter, Kelly Carlin McCall; the provocative and outrageously hilarious The Aristocrats (2005), followed by a talkback with director Paul Provenza and members of the cast; William Kuntsler: Disturbing the Universe (Sundance Film Festival, 2009), followed by a talkback with director Emily Kuntsler; and Iraq war documentariyThe Ground Truth (2006), followed by talkback with director Patricia Foulkrod.
On Tuesdays in November we host intimate discussions with celebrated author Gore Vidal and journalist and author Naomi Klein ("The Shock Doctrine"), and present the reading of prizewinning work from PEN's Prison Writing Program by members of the cast of The Shawshank Redemption; We are also presenting Teen Poetry Slam, an evening of poetry that matters performed by the teenage participants of GET LIT.!
The Theater and Dance series opens with performances of the previously announced solo shows The Need to Know: A Veteran's Journey from Fear to Freedom, written and performed by April Fitzsimmons and Death and Giggles: from Cirque du Soleil performer Daisuke Tsuji. We will then present Donna Jo Thorndale show All Cake No File, a Johnny Cash Tribute Show with live cooking and live music as well as a performance of Mental Head Circus, an intoxicating creation of vaudeville circus from The Terry Beeman Dance Company and Saturnalia;
The Festival will close on December 19th with Vox Femina, a choral group that will perform and then lead the audience on a caroling expedition throughout Culver City.
In addition, WTF?! Saturday nights will feature "The After Gang," an outdoor lounge offering audiences a unique opportunity to hang out before and after the show, have a drink or three, enjoy a few laughs, and meet and mingle with the artists/musicians.
The Actors' Gang is located in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd. (near the intersection of Culver and Venice Blvds.) in Culver City. Two hours free parking is available throughout downtown Culver City; the Ince Parking Lot (corner of Culver and Ince) is directly across the street from the theater. In addition, several restaurants (Italian, French, Thai, Japanese, and more) are only a few blocks' walk from The Actors' Gang and offer a variety of dining options before and after the theater. The Ivy Substation is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.
The WTF?! Festival takes place Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm; "Late Start Fridays" at 9 pm; and Saturdays at 2 pm, and 8 pm. All proceeds benefit community outreach programs at The Actors' Gang. For details, ticket prices and a complete schedule, call The Actors' Gang Box Office at 310-838-GANG (310-838-4264) or go to www.theactorsgang.com <http://www.theactorsgang.com> <http://www.theactirsgang.com/>.
DETAILS FOR CALENDAR LISTINGS
WTF Festival
WHAT:
WTF?! Festival - a singer/songwriter series, film talkback series, and a theater and dance series, each curated by Actors' Gang Artistic Director, Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins and featuring members and friends of The Actors' Gang. All proceeds will benefit The Gang's community outreach programs.
WHO:
WHEN:
October 13th thru December 19th
· Tuesdays at 8
· Wednesdays at 8 pm
Visit the website at www.wtffestival.com <http://www.wtffestival.com> <http://www.wtffestival.com/> for the most up-to-date line-up and schedule.
HOW:
310-838-GANG (310-838-4264) or www.theactorsgang.com <http://www.theactorsgang.com> <http://www.theactorsgang.com/>
WHERE:
THE ACTORS' GANG
9070 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(corner of Culver & Venice Blvds; two hours free parking available across the street in Ince Parking Lot, corner of Culver & Ince)
TICKETS:
MORE INFORMATION:
www.wtffestival.com <http://www.wtffestival.com> <http://www.wtffestival.com/> .
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