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Current Projects
FABLES DU THEATRE, by Brenda Varda
The Unknown Play Project is currently developing a new play by founding company member Brenda Varda, to be directed by Chris Covics, for production in our August and September of our current 2008 season. Readings of drafts continue this month and pre-rehearsal workshops begin in April.
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Past Projects 2008
NAKED YOGA, by Alex Carver
Our 2008 season featured this whimsical new comedy, in an experimental new performance slot during The 5th Wall comedy night. Visit the Main Event archive for more information.
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Past Projects 2007
WALKING INTO TRAFFIC, by Kyle T. Wilson
We wrapped up our 2007 season with this hilarious World Premiere. Visit the Main Event archive for more information.
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Past Projects 2006
2006 WITHIN THE UNKNOWN
New Play Festival
WITHIN THE UNKNOWN is the Unknown Play Project's annual new works festival - featuring plays at various stages of development - and designed to give the audience an inside look at the development process of a new play.
The 2006 festival took place at Unknown Theater from July 13 - July 16, and featured the following line-up:
THURSDAY, JULY 13TH
8PM
POSSESSION: THE LEGEND OF EL ROJO
A Workshop Performance of
A Musical Dance Drama featuring Incendio
Book & Lyrics by Mark Governor
Music by Incendio and Mark Governor
Directed and Choreographed by Janet Roston
FRIDAY, JULY 14TH
8PM
POSSESSION: THE LEGEND OF EL ROJO
A Workshop Performance of
A Musical Dance Drama featuring Incendio
Book & Lyrics by Mark Governor
Music by Incendio and Mark Governor
Directed and Choreographed by Janet Roston
SATURDAY, JULY 15TH
2PM
MCGOOGLE
A Reading
Written by Aaron Henne
Directed by Josh Romar
5PM
THE COBBLER'S SON
A Rehearsed Reading
Written by Hugh Fitzgerald
Directed by Kyle T. Wilson
8PM
DEVIL DOG SIX
A Staged Reading
Written by Mary Fengar Gail
Directed by Caprice Spencer Rothe
SUNDAY, JULY 16TH
2PM
MIND OVER MOTHER
A Reading
Written by Annie Reiner
Directed by Josh Romar
5PM
CUSTOMARY MONSTERS
A Rehearsed Reading
Written by Kyle T. Wilson
Directed by Diana Wyenn
8PM
AMERICA
A Staged Reading
Written by Kim Yaged
Directed by Tina Sanchez
MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS
Concert Reading
(based on the critically-acclaimed stage-play)
Unknown Play Project and Rogue Theatrics present...
A World Premiere Reading of the New Musical
By Jeff Goode & Jonathan Price
Directed by Dale Gregory
Music Direction by Beverly Crain
This two night only Concert Reading was performed on May 23rd and May 24th, 2006 to packed houses at Unknown Theater.
Featuring:
Michael Annetta, Nathan Bouldin, Tenaya Cleveland, Erika Davis-Marsh, Courtney DeCosky, Ellen Dostal, Kevin Fabian, David Fruechting, Chris Griffin, Shelby Janes, Eric Johnson, Debra Kay Lee, Benjamin Luker, Isaac Nippert, Jonna Price, Tina Sanchez, Jeffrey Stackhouse, Brett Webster, Jenn Webster, Ben Zolno
2006 LIVE RADIO PLAYS
In April of 2006, The Unknown Play Project presented the World Premiere of...
The Adventures of Daisy Roots & Her Cat Boots
(A Series of Live Radio Plays)
Daisy is a nice gal, but she just can't seem to get a handle on this thing called life.
Sure, she has her overly-medicated boyfriend Lane by her side...
And her orange tabby Boots at her feet...
…but…
Darn it if she can't land a job.
And double darn it if her landlady (Mrs. Klopper) is always threatening to evict her.
So, what happens when Daisy wakes up to find her beloved Boots missing...?
A new adventure begins!
A new journey commences!
A new radio play is born!
Featuring the Live Foley Artistry of Joel Spence!
And the Live Music of David Permenter!
Sunday, April 23rd, 2006 at 7:30PM
Episode 1: Boots & the Case of the Missing Booty
(by Ernessa T. Carter, Henry Ong, Dave Patterson, Brenda Varda, Brett Webster)
Thursday, April 27th, 2006 at 7:30PM
Episode 2: Daisy's Escapade with the Lesbian Zombie Superspooks
(by Johnna Adams, Bradley Jefferson, Rachel Parker, Brett Webster)
Sunday, April 30th, 2006 at 7:30PM
Episode 3: Daisy Undoes World Domination
(by Susan C. Hunter, Brett Webster, Kyle T. Wilson, Kim Yaged)
Check back soon to hear live recordings of all three episodes!
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Past Projects 2005
2005 White Elephant Plays
On December 4th, 2005 The Unknown Play Project presented its first annual holiday ten-minute play festival.
Unknown playwrights, company members, and a sold out house celebrated the Unknown Play Project’s first event on the new Unknown Theater stage. A holly, jolly festival of good old-fashioned holiday fun, where we threw back the Egg Nog, stuffed them stockings, and got the in-laws out of the house. Yes, sir. The White Elephant Plays came to town!
This one night only show consisted of 6 original, ten-minute, holiday-themed plays – all written, cast rehearsed, and performed in one week’s time. The show featured the writing of some LA’s best playwrights, including Jeff Goode (The Eight: Reindeer Monologues), Ernessa T. Carter (Grown-Ups on the Playrground – Edgefest), Kim Yaged, Dave Ulrich, Brenda Varda, and Brett Webster (Cold Coffee, Soap, and Self-help – Within the Unknown Play Festival).
TWELVE DAYS
Written by….Brett Webster
Directed by….Eric Michael Halderman
Featuring….Jill Fouts, Jamieson Price, Ivan Tether
Brett Webster
Brett Webster’s plays have been produced in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. His play Cold Coffee, Soap, and Self-help was a New South for the New Century award winner, and has been performed at FronteraFest and the Within the Unknown New Play Festival. His play Turtle Soup was a recent finalist for PlayLabs at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. Additionally, he has been a featured writer and producer for No Shame Theatre LA. Currently, Brett manages the Unknown Play Project, while his children’s play, Cock-A-Doodle-Don’t, manages to corrupt the minds of Los Angeles school children. When the ink runs dry, you can catch Brett performing stupid songs on his guitar under the pseudonym Brett Webster. Love that jcuz.
OPERATION SECRET SANTA
Written by….Kim Yaged
Directed by….Vanessa Waters
Featuring…. Morgan Brown, David Fruechting, Tara Jean O’Brien
Kim Yaged
Kim Yaged’s work has been performed throughout North America. Her one-woman show Hypocrites & Strippers was a finalist in the 28th Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Her chamber opera www.love was showcased by the New York City Opera and subsequently performed in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This production won four Best of Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Production. Kim received the Kennedy Center's Meritorious Achievement Award for the Diego Rivera Theatre's production of her play America. Her work has been published by Random House, Ballantine Books, Cleis Press, Arsenal Pulp Press, and Lodestar Quarterly. She’s thrilled to be venturing into the Unknown.
THIS OLD PLANET
Written by….Ernessa T. Carter
Directed by….Christopher Cappiello
Featuring…. Kirsten Beyer, Jason Gross, Josh Romar
Ernessa T. Carter
Ernessa was born to Betty and Ernest Carter of St. Louis, Missouri and began writing soon after. She has an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University, and she skates as Kid Vicious with the L.A. Derby Dolls. Check out her blog at www.ernessat.blogspot.com.
BIG BABY
Written by….Brenda Varda
Directed by….Paul Taviani
Featuring….Shelby Janes, Art Oden, David Permenter
Brenda Varda
Brenda Varda, director of Wordspace (a writer’s studio in Los Feliz), is a multi-disciplinary artist, creating music, text and visual imagery for various works. Her own plays include The Wench Upon the Stage and Mad Blue Demon of the Night at Sacred Fools, The Spanish Kitchen for the Los Angeles History Project, along with several one-acts at various theatres. As a composer and musical director she has worked with The Met, Zoo District, Sacred Fools and the Evidence Room and is currently Musical Director for 24th Street Theatre. She also helms L.A.’s longest running variety show for chicks - Women’s Night Out, currently at M-Bar. She’s performed as an actor, musician, singer and dancer for the past 20 years. Past theatre roles include work with LATW, Sacred Fools, ATC, The Met, The Hudson Theatre - and work in TV and film and selling products to America.
COLD
Written by….Dave Ulrich
Directed by….Kyle Ingleman
Featuring….Sean Michael Boozer, Trevor Torseth, Jennifer Webster
Dave Ulrich
Dave Ulrich, a writer-turned-actor-turned-writer again, has had plays produced here and abroad. In LA, he has written short plays for No Shame Theater, Sacred Fools, and Day Players. By day he sells his soul hawking products with his words & ideas for an ad agency. His one-act plays Repelling Objects & In The Chops and his full length plays The Harvey Project and The Passionates have been great warm-up for rushing to beat a 48 hour deadline imposed by Unknown Theater during the holidays. He's also written the short film CONDOR and is currently dabbling in the world of television... which means he'll have to actually watch it one of these days. Love to The Dream.
SMILES LIKE CHRISTMAS
Written by….Jeff Goode
Directed by….Tina Sanchez
Featuring….Tony DeCarlo, Maia Guest, John Payne
Jeff Goode
Jeff Goode is the author of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues and the creator of Disney's animated series American Dragon: Jake Long. He is a founder of the original No Shame Theatre, and the artistic director of No Shame Los Angeles. You can find him on the web at www.jeffgoode.com or just google "depraved playwright".
PRODUCTION STAFF
Chris Covics, Brett Webster, Erica Zuniga
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Past Projects 2004
2004 WITHIN THE UNKNOWN
New Play Festival
On May 2nd Unknown Theater kicked off The Unknown Play Project with a glimpse into our unique development process. As LA’s newest and hottest ticket to all things unknown, we have created a nurturing home for playwrights to develop and produce new work. In our first annual festival of new plays we showcased the work of three playwrights within the Unknown Theater Company. Each play was presented at a different stage of development within The Unknown Play Project – giving the audience a rare opportunity to see how a play goes from page to stage, from unknown to known.
PANDORA'S BOX
A Play in One Act by George Almond
Directed by Tia Odiam
Jamieson Price……….Edwin Booth
Abner Genece……… Garrie Davidson
Kyle Ingleman……... The Candybutcher / T. Rip Hawkins
Ed Sorrell…………... Junius Brutus Booth
Nathan Bouldin……..John Wilkes Booth
George Almond
Also a classically trained actor, George wrote Pandora's Box as the concluding part of a two part cycle about the Booth family. While the previous play, Go, Bid the Soldiers Shoot was a tragedy about self-delusion embodied by John Wilkes Booth, Pandora's Box is Edwin Booth's search for salvation from personal grief, aided by his manservant, Garrie Davidson. Still in development is Waiting for the Doctor's Wind a romantic comedy based on the life of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond. I am deeply grateful to UTC for embracing this play and helping to develop it to its best potential.
COLD COFFEE, SOAP AND SELF-HELP
Written by Brett Webster
Directed by Tiger Reel
Eric Baldwin…………George
Ed Dyer……………...Lenny
Brett Webster
Brett Webster’s plays have been featured at Horizon Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, Hyde Park Theatre in Austin, Texas, and Unknown Theater & No Shame Theatre in Los Angeles, California. His play Cold Coffee, Soap, & Self-help was honored by the New South for the New Century Play Festival, and received a workshop production during Austin’s FronteraFest. His play Turtle Soup was named a finalist for last year’s PlayLabs, at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Austin, Brett was a regular writer and performer for We Could Be Heroes Theater Company, in addition to the musical comedy show, One Night Band. In Los Angeles, he has served on No Shame Theatre’s Executive Board, and currently serves as Unknown Theater’s resident playwright and Unknown Play Project Director. Brett is currently working on several projects, which may or may not include a play, a novel, a musical, and a one-man show.
GETTING TO GO
Written and performed
by Christopher Cappiello
Christopher Cappiello
Christopher Cappiello – Getting to Go was first performed on a 2003 summer tour of Canada, premiering at the International Fringe Theatre Festival in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Today’s show is the first public performance in the United States. As an actor, Chris has worked extensively on both coasts, performing leading roles in classical and contemporary theatre. As a playwright, this is his first play since third grade when he wrote and directed Antonio’s Restaurant at his Catholic elementary school in the Bronx. He is currently working on a new play about a 19th-century American president, and a second solo show titled 1978.
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