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For immediate release!!
Rude Guerrilla presents the World Premiere of HELLTOWN BUFFET
September 19!
Rude Guerrilla Theater Company is pleased to announce the World
Premiere of playwright Aurelio Locsin's black comedy HELLTOWN BUFFET
as the ninth production in its eleventh season. Can a Hometown Buffet
manager and his hunky demon seducer fall in love through their real
and imagined histories? This dark comedy propels them from Orange
County to several afterlives, prompting encounters with a sexy
demoness, a fabulous stylist, bewildered tribesmen, and talking
trees. The production is directed by the playwright. PLEASE NOTE:
This production is for mature audiences and is not for children.
The production opens Friday, September 19, 2008 and runs thru
Saturday, October 18 for 14 performances at 202 N. Broadway, in Santa
Ana. Show times are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 pm., with
Sunday matinees @ 2:30 p.m. beginning September 28th. There is one
Thursday performance, October 16th at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $20
general admission, $15 for seniors and an inexpensive $10 for
students with an ID.
Rude Guerrilla Theater Company member, playwright and director
Aurelio Locsin comes from a long line of Filipino writers: his
father, grandfather, and uncle were all journalists, and his
grandmother completed a much-praised translation from Spanish to
English of Noli Mi Tangere, the seminal Filipino novel. His mostly
Filipino ancestry is enriched with DNA from mainland China on his
father's side and from Germany and the Republic of Texas on his
mother's side.
Aurelio started his American life when his family moved from Manila
to Seattle during his early teens. With a compatible degree from the
University of Washington, he began his professional writing career as
a technical writer with detours into magazine articles and a game
book on the Aztecs. In 1997, bored with the world of computer
manuals, he turned to acting and graduated from the South Coast Rep
Professional Conservatory.
Among his more memorable acting gigs were a year of Improv with the
Berubians and a month at the 2000 Edinburgh International Fringe
Festival. "One of the reasons I turned to acting was because I got
tired of writing," he says, "but after a few people suggested that my
writing might be better than my acting, I tried playwriting."
His first-produced play, Asian Acting, was nominated for Best New
Play at the 2005 OC Weekly Theater Awards. Last year, his full-length
directorial debut of Chay Yew's Language of Their Own proved also to
be a critical and financial success.
His contributions to the Asian community in Orange County include the
founding of an Asian AIDS Response program in the 80s and helping to
form Asian Pacific Crossroads, a gay Asian support group that existed
for a dozen years. He lives in Placentia with his partner, Anthony,
five computers, and several MMORPG characters.
"Hometown Buffet" is one of my favorite places to eat, even without
the 99-cent coupon," says playwright/director Locsin. "During one of
these food orgies, I noticed how a huge number of larger-than-normal
people left uneaten food on their plate, which the servers promptly
threw away. I thought, wouldn't it have been better to give all that
food to hungry and homeless people? When I asked the employees, it
turns out it was against health department regulations.
Those images put together produced the opening buffet scene in one
inspired sitting. That scene remained a stand-alone short without
dialog until I took it to the playwriting class of East-West Players
in Los Angeles, where playwright/instructor Prince Gomolvilas advised
his students to write the first scene of the play and then continue
with the ending of the play before filling in the remaining scenes.
That unusual technique produced the script for this production.
People who specialize in such things will find all kinds of
symbolism, social commentary, and educational messages in HELLTOWN
BUFFET, but my main goal was to create something fun and entertaining
for the audience. If anything more than that comes out, it's a happy
accident."
The cast of nine includes RGTC member Alexander Price (last seen in
CHAIR). Returning is Frank Aranda (last seen in THE SEVEN DEADLY
SINS), Trina Estanislao (last seen in MAN OF LA MANCHA) and Rick
Kopps (last seen in NOCTURNE). Making their debut on the Rude
Guerrilla stage is Jason Luna, Ashley Jo Navarro, Brian Chayane
Salero, David Tran and Maggie Zamora.
HELLTOWN BUFFET's choreography is by Assistant Director Lee Samuel
Tanng, Costumes are by Sarah Boros, Lighting Design is by Ryan
Joyner, Sound and Projection Design by Aurelio Locsin and Stage
Manager is Brenda Kenworthy.
If you'd like to arrange an interview with the cast or director, or
want more information, reservations or complimentary press passes,
please call 714-547-4688, send us an email at Rudegrrlla@Aol.com or
visit Rude Guerrilla's website at http://www.rudeguerrilla.org
More information about the play is at rgasian.blogspot.com
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