May 16, 2017 (Playa Jaco, Costa Rica) – After an intensive three-year dramatic training program, and a three-country preview tour in Costa Rica, Portugal and Spain, the program’s Artistic Director, Darren Lee Cole, is proud to announce the player’s world premier project of The Actor’s Nightmare to be performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017, Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre beginning Monday, August 7, 2017.
This will be the first time a company comprised of students from Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast will present at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play is written by off-Broadway legend Christopher Durang. The players chose this project because of its status as one of Off-Broadway’s iconic plays. Allowing the company to demonstrate their skills in drama, comedy, absurdism and almost every other theatrical style imaginable. Drama Desk Award-nominee Darren Lee Cole is the artistic director of SoHo Playhouse in New York City as well as being the founder of Teatro Jaco in Costa Rica. This project represents SoHo Playhouse’s commitment to bringing the unique style of Off-Broadway theatre to an international audience. The result is one third talented young actors from Central America, one third New York Director, and one-third internationally relevant script, adding up to a whole new species of off-Broadway Theater.
The Actor’s Nightmare takes you on a nightmarish odyssey, but also a very funny one, seeking to expose the dreaded dreams virtually every actor has endured. Our hero is an accounting student (or is he?). He is on the cusp of graduation and he has some big decisions to make about his future. He goes to bed and something very strange happens… He is abruptly awakened by the stage manager! “The lead actor has been injured you’re on in 5 minutes!”. Wait! What show am I supposed to be doing? I’m not an actor! I thought I went to accounting school like my parents wanted? Why am I in this crazy costume? Who’s line is it? Anyone who has ever trodden the boards knows the dreaded dream we all have… What if you were thrust into the wrong show with no rehearsal? See how our hero manages to pull off Noel Coward, William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett and Sir Thomas Moore… without knowing the lines!
The show explores and spoofs a variety of famous scripts. Noel Coward’s Private Lives, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the immortal tale of Sir Thomas Moore, A Man For All Seasons are all mastered by this amazing troop of young actors! Well if not exactly mastered, certainly remastered.
Incorporating multimedia, hip-hop, updated references and comedy, The Actor’s Nightmare is not your typical theatre experience. Mr. Cole, who also directed the piece, says, “This is now the third year I have taught and collaborated with this great group of teen actors. I’ve had an incredible experience and it is really exciting assisting them in bringing their fresh ideas and concepts to a theatrical platform. While the work is always challenging, I find it one of the most interesting and engaging expressions of theatre I have ever experienced.”
The Actor’s Nightmare will play the following schedule: Monday – Saturday at 12:00 pm (noon), beginning August 7 ending August 11.
Tickets are available at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22The%20Actor%27s%20Nightmare%22
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