FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ann Kelly Paul Tei
(305) 799-2746 (954) 980-1871
[email protected] [email protected]
Miami Light Project presents
Mad Cat Theatre Company’s production of
WORLD PREMIERE COMEDY!
SO MY GRANDMOTHER DIED, BLAH BLAH BLAH
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY PAUL TEI
AUGUST 19, 2011 TO SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse
Miami, Florida
MIAMI, FL July 21, 2011 – Miami’s Mad Cat Theatre Company has been committed to creating an alternate theatrical universe for eleven years now by specializing in their own brand of irreverent and always evolving, never arriving original plays. Now Mad Cat is continuing that tradition with the Miami Light Project which is presenting So My Grandmother Died, Blah Blah Blah at the new Light Box at Goldman Warehouse located at 404 NW 26th Street in the Wynwood Art Gallery District in Miami.
So My Grandmother Died, Blah Blah Blah written and directed by Mad Cat’s founder and artistic director Paul Tei (who moonlight’s on Burn Notice as Barry the money launderer), is no exception to the above ideology. So My Grandmother Died, Blah Blah Blah is the story of Polly Chekhov, a comedy writer in Hollywood, California who comes back to Hollywood, Florida for the wake of her beloved grandmother Mary. The play is about the deconstruction of a euolgy. A syncopated exposition of three sisters, the youngest Polly and her two older sisters. Polly has writer’s block which becomes the instigating action which is responsible for most of the conflict. Multiple characters, Polly’s eccentric family, a chorus of deconstructionists and a musician, carry you over the debris of endless cultural accumulations through a labyrinth of iconology. So put on your best blacks and head on over to The Light Box at the Goldman Warehouse because the pipes, the pipes are calling.
First test driven for one night, and called the Preservation Society as a part of the South Beach Comedy Festival, Tei has re-titled, re-worked and re-cast ½ of the original cast members (five to be exact) this inventive new play.
Now featuring Mad Cat Company members and some of Miami’s hot, hip and offbeat talent with Melissa Almaguer, Erin Joy Schmidt * and Deborah L. Sherman as the three sisters with George Schiavone and Beverly Blanchette as their parents, along with Anne Chamberlain, Troy Davidson*, Ricky Waugh as the chorus (a.k.a. the deconstructions) and Brian Sayre as the musician.
* Mad Cat Company Members
Tickets are on sale now! General Admission Tickets are $25, Student $12 (with valid ID) and Opening Night $50 (August 19) with applicable service charges, and may be purchased online at www.madcattheatre.org or calling OvationTix at 866.811.4111.
This production was made possible by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, WLRN and Delaplaine Champagne.
Paul Tei: Born and raised in Hollywood, Florida, Paul is the founder and Artistic Director of Mad Cat Theatre Company. Having produced 30 shows in 11 years, mostly original works, written by himself and other company members, and providing South Florida audiences with an opportunity to engage in the type of low budget/high value theatre usually associated with Chicago, L.A.’s theatre row, and off off Broadway, Mad Cat has become a staple part of the ever growing cultural entre that is Miami. As an actor/director/designer/writer, Paul has worked all over South Florida’s theatre’s ranging from GableStage to Florida Stage, having appeared in about 50 productions and collecting a dozen awards including 7 Carbonell Awards (South Florida’s Tony Awards). He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA and has appeared in several films, several national commercials and has guest starred on the TV shows CSI Miami, CSI, Going to California, and most notably his recurring roles on USA’s Burn Notice as Barry the money launderer and Disney’s Zeke & Luther as Eddie Coletti. Paul received his MFA in directing at The Theatre School at De Paul University and his BA in Theatre from Barry University. He currently resides in LA.
ABOUT MAD CAT THEATRE COMPANY
Mad Cat Theatre Company was founded in Miami in the fall of 2000 by actor/director/writer Paul Tei. Its mission remains the same to this day: to create something new that’s exciting for you, us and them. A core group of designers and actors with one artistic director and eleven years later and 30 productions under its belt, Mad Cat is still clawing its way into the cultural consciousness of the citizens of Miami with original works such as “Shepherd’s Pie”, “Here in my Car”, “Tin Box Boomerang”, “Artful Dodgers”, “Terminal Baggage”, “Mixtape”, “Viva Bourgeois” and “Going Green the Wong Way” mixed with their renditions of previous produced play such as “70 Scenes of Halloween”, “Matt & Ben”, “Mr. Marmalade”, “Animals & Plants” and “Some Girls(s)”. Mad Cat has brought originality, vitality and bite to everything they have done. They’ve been received rave reviews and have been decorated with such accolades as best new works, best productions, best fringe theatre, best ensembles, best designers, best director from the Carbonell Committee, the Miami Herald, the Sun Sentinel, the Miami New Times and the Sun Post, but its the respect and return engagement of its fan base that makes Mad Cat purr.
For information on Mad Cat visit www.madcattheatre.org
ABOUT MIAMI LIGHT PROJECT
Miami Light Project is a not-for-profit cultural organization which presents live performances by innovative dance, music and theatre artists; supports the development of new work by performing artists; provides workshops for local artists and educational programs for students of every age. Since MLP’s inception in 1989, they have reached out to under-served communities through an extensive outreach effort that includes partnerships with other arts organizations, universities and social service agencies. MLP is a cultural forum to explore some of the issues that define contemporary society.
In early 2011, MLP moved into their new Wynwood home, The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse. Envisioned by Miami Light Project Artistic & Executive Director Elizabeth Boone as a laboratory for artists and an intimate place of gathering where new work is experienced in its various stages of development, The Light Box provides a creative setting in which artists are able to intersect with audiences in new ways. The Light Box is a place where audiences gain a deeper understanding of how work is created and what motivates an artist to make new work.
The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse is made possible through support from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Knight Arts Partnership Program and Goldman Properties.
For more information about MLP visit www.miamilightproject.com