“You’ve tried everything. Yoga. Acupuncture. Therapy. You floated in salt water in the pitch- black dark. You juiced, you cleansed, you journaled, you cut, you volunteered. You got a mattress that fitted itself to your fetal form. You ate only RINDS for three days and nights. You reached out, you looked within, You have tried. and yet here you are.”
So begins a new play by Olivier-nominated playwright John Kolvenbach.
On August 5, Vs. Theatre Company & Circle X Theatre Co. are bringing to the Atwater Theatre the West Coast premiere of this new play, STAND UP IF YOU’RE HERE TONIGHT, directed by Kolvenbach and starring Jim Ortlieb (Broadway’s The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin), who delivers a tour-de-force performance as a man desperate for connection, bent by isolation, and deeply in love with the audience itself. and featuring Rosie Narasaki. Set Design by Danny Cistone. Lighting Design by Derrick McDaniel.
photos of Jim Ortlieb by Carlos Hernandez
Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. in Los Angeles
previews August 5-7: plays August 12 thru September 26, 2021
for tickets ($20), visit Eventbrite
JOHN KOLVENBACH (Writer/Director) On the West End: Love Song (Olivier nomination, Best New Comedy, directed by John Crowley) and On an Average Day (with Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan, also directed by Mr. Crowley). Love Song premiered at Steppenwolf in 2006, directed by Austin Pendelton. It has been produced in New York, Zurich, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Seoul and Rome. There have been over fifty productions in the U.S. Average Day was produced in Los Angeles by VS. (with Johnny Clark and Stef Tovar) and in Chicago by VS. and Route 66. Average Day has been produced in Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Lisbon. Goldfish premiered at South Coast Repertory, then at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, directed by Loretta Greco. The play was done in repertory with Mrs. Whitney, which was directed by the author. Most recently, Reel to Reel received its premiere at the Magic and Sister Play and received its premier at The Harbor Stage Company and at the Magic, both productions directed by the author. Other plays include: Fabuloso, (Premiered at WHAT, subsequent productions in San Juan and Zurich, in Spanish and Swiss German) Bank Job (Amphibian Stages) and Marriage Play or Half ‘n Half ‘n Half (Merrimack Rep.) Film: “Clear Winter Noon,” an original screenplay, was selected for the Blacklist in 2008.
JIM ORTLIEB Broadway: The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin, Of Mice and Men directed by Anna Shapiro with James Franco, Chris O’Dowd, and Ron Cephas Jones, and Guys and Dolls with Lauren Graham, Oliver Platt, Craig Bierko. 1st National Tour: Billy Elliot in Chicago and Toronto. DC; Ford’s Theatre. Chicago- Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Northlight, Organic, Wisdom Bridge, American Blues Theatre Company. Paris and Ireland-; Gare St. Lazare Players. Film: “Drunkboat” with John Malkovich, John Goodman, and Dana Delaney, “Home Alone,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Flatliners,” “Magnolia,” and others. Television: “American Horror Story,” “911 Lonestar,” “Chicago Med,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The West Wing,” “The Closer,” “Roswell,” “Six Feet Under,” “The Rookie,” “The Shield” and others. Jim has been nominated for the Joseph Jefferson in Chicago and the IRNE award in Boston for John Kolvenbach’s Marriage Play or Half ’n Half ’n Half at Merrimack Rep.
ROSIE NARASAKI is a Los Angeles-based playwright and actor. As an actor, recent highlights include Little Women with Playwright’s Arena, and Two Mile Hollow and In Love and Warcraft with Artists at Play, as well as appearances on Shameless, Wisdom Of The Crowd, and For The People. As a writer, her play Unrivaled has been workshopped with EST/LA, Artists at Play, and the Road Theatre Company. She is a member of EST/LA’s New West Playwrights, the IAMA Under 30 Theatre Lab, and the Boston Court Pasadena Playwrights.
