Eye of the Puppet

The LAB
2948 16th Street @ Capp Street
San Francisco

Eye of the Puppet
The Case of the Sleepwalking Streetwalker

Gray Area Ensemble takes dictation from the underground once again. This time it's a murder mystery and suspects abound. The day breaks and the town shudders with a murder. Sheila and Pal, who carry the secrets of the night, have discovered a body somewhere near a rickety pier. Detective Esther Longdale has arrived to analyze the residue. With its compelling cast and stylish production, Eye of the Puppet asks, are we dead or alive? Sleeping or awake? The script for this production was generated by the ensemble using round-robin exquisite corpse exercises, and then methodically collaged together by director Adam Ansell. This new language challenges conventional ideas of authorship and narrative.

In the twenty years that Adam J. Ansell has been a theater director, he has developed a unique ability to coax original plays from any group of people, from preschoolers to transgender seniors in recovery. Adam’s poetic, painterly experimental performances that resemble plays, draw on his varied artistic background which includes theater, installation, writing, fashion, music, and painting. Ansell's passion and long-term vision is to integrate disadvantaged communities that have previously been excluded from the arts community.

Performances:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 8pm
Thursday, February 26, 8pm
Friday, February 27, 8pm
Saturday, February 28, 8pm
Sunday, March 1, 2pm
Admission by donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.

[text and graphic from The Lab Web site.]