Dirty Story By John Patrick Shanley

Dirty Story by John Patrick Shanley, is a turbulent yet poignant satire that undresses and then mocks some of the dirtiest characteristics of politics and humanity. This proposed mainstage production begins as an earnest desire to connect with an admired author over ideals, but quickly turns into a fascinating and bizarre take on a conflict in which the whole world is enmeshed. No participant is without ridicule. Take away the bigger allegory, and Dirty Story still delivers an intimate to thought-provokingly ridiculous piece of theatre as we watch Wanda and Brutus terrorize each other and slowly destroy the very thing over which they are fighting. The conflict becomes the thing for which they live.

“All I ever wanted was a place to call my own.” ~Wanda “Out of the rough stuff of injustice, we resolved to make practical an ideal.” ~Wanda “Story invades experience, reshapes it into its own cultural likeness, and then moves on.” ~Brutus “Invigorating, enlightening, and entertaining,” Dirty Story speaks directly to the Sacred Fools mission statement. It needs an unapologetically fearless company to deliver it to Los Angeles for the very first time. I believe Sacred Fools is the only company that can do it justice.

A hope. A claim. A vile conflict. Right? Wanda just wants a home she can call her own. Doesn't everyone deserve that? After Wanda is traumatized by her idol, Brutus (a successful yet cynical author), she decides to stake her claim and move into his apartment. Her ex-boyfriend, Frank, arms her to the teeth, but Frank may have his own motives for getting involved. Everything crashes together in an electrifying struggle. Surely they can find a solution...

Dirty Story presents an opportunity to engage activists in our community. Due to the November 4th elections, ideally Dirty Story would open during the early part of the season. This time period would augment the political themes of the play, but it is not absolutely necessary. Dirty Story is political without being issue-y, and will offer wicked entertainment while giving people a chance to indulge in discussion and debate after the show. Fools regulars and new patrons alike will appreciate the theatricality of Dirty Story and be stretched to think about the ugliness of political, religious, and violent conflict...perhaps even think about the ugliness of personal conflict. For it is only when we can admit our own contributions to the turmoil in our lives and others’ lives, that we can clear the way for true peace.

Production Details Wanda-Female Brutus-Male Frank-Male Lawrence/Watson-Male Approximate running time: 1:45 with a “10” minute intermission.

The production design concept is simple and sparse. Minimal and clean…at first. The play takes place in the present day and has 3 different locations: a park, a bar, and a loft type apartment. As the play progressively becomes more harsh and unhinged, the design elements follow suit. The locations should suggest reality, but be slightly "off" in order to reflect the allegorical nature of the play. The story, dialogue, and all of the elements begin very safe, open, and natural. As we progress, the stage becomes more colorless with shades of grey becoming more evident. Exposed wire. Sections of walls missing. Stark light. The transitions into new locations are sudden and explode with character driven choreography, surreal lighting, and music compositions ranging from Rock to Classical before snapping into the next scene. Sharp and clean. Dirty Story is provocative. The ideas and themes are volatile. The energy and the heart of the show is in the conflict between the characters. The idea is for the design to outline the parameters of the world and get out of the way of the characters and the brutality of their conflict.

Materials, props, and costumes are already being sourced for a theoretical production of Dirty Story. Having viewed the LASA catalogue, researched specialty items, and communicated with designers already, this production team is aware of what is needed to stay on budget. By meticulous pre-production planning by our experienced team, clear communication, and utilization of all of our current resources Dirty Story will be a very tight ship.

The Production Team Director ~ Scott Leggett Producer & Actor ~ Monica Greene Producer ~ Annette Fasone Associate Producer ~ DeAnne Millais Stage Manager ~ Ari Radousky Choreographer ~ Natasha Norman Fight Choreographer ~ Sondra Mayer Assistant Director ~ Cj Merriman Composer ~ Ryan Johnson Lighting Designer ~ Matt Richter Set Designer ~ Michael James Schneider Costume Designer ~ Linda Muggeridge

Scott Leggett ~ Director Scott Leggett is an actor, director and writer living and working in Los Angeles. Over the past several years, he has been a fixture at the critically acclaimed and award-winning Sacred Fools Theater Company where he has served as Co-Artistic Director. A proud military brat who grew up “all over the place’, Leggett studied theater at Penn State University where he found a passion for all creative aspects and styles of the stage. At Sacred Fools, Leggett staged the adaptation of Richard Elfman's cult film Forbidden Zone: Live in the 6th Dimension. The production was a freefall celebration of weirdness that proved to be a huge commercial success and extended for several weeks. He received critical acclaim with an LA Weekly Theater Award nomination for his direction of the world premiere of Beaverquest! The Musical. Most recently, Leggett received praise for his direction of Rob Kauzlaric's adaptation of Neverwhere based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. A sprawling fantasy taking place in London and the magical world beneath it, Backstage said: "Under the resourceful leadership of director Scott Leggett, utilizing every inventive trick the creative nutjobs who populate Scared Fools have to conjure, “Neverwhere” goes everywhere the imagination can take it". Neverwhere proved to be a tremendous box-office success.

Monica Greene ~ Producer & Actor A graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a BA in Theatre, Monica joined Sacred Fools in 2008 as a stage manager (Endgame, Forever! The Musical, 43 Plays For 43 Presidents). Her evolution as a member and as an artist has led her from board operator, to production manager, to assistant director, (Watson & The Dark Art of Harry Houdini, Watson: The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes, Baal) to producer (Neverwhere, A Kind of Love Story, Fast & Loose NYE, Baal, Madness in Valencia). She currently serves as the master carpenter and the office manager for Sacred Fools. An actor and a dancer, Monica has performed here in (Live! From the Last Night of My Life, Absolutely Filthy, The Magic Bullet Theory, Serial Killers). About town, she has worked with The Pasadena Musical Theatre Program, The West Coast Jewish Theatre, Athena Theatre Company, The Knightsbridge Theatre, Theatre of Note, Lonnie Chapman Theater, and The Next Stage Theater as either a performer, stage manager, or company manager. Dirty Story has been a passion project for Monica since she first read it in early Attached as a producer, she will also play the role of Wanda.

Annette Fasone ~ Producer Annette Fasone is a company member at Sacred Fools. She produced Live! From the Last Night of My Life, Puzzler and The Magic Bullet Theory and worked as an associate producer on A Kind of Love Story. She is the current Events Co-Coordinator at Sacred Fools and was House Manager for Forbidden Zone: Live From the 6th Dimension. She also works as a Voiceover Agent at SBV Talent and mentors teenage girls in her other free time.

DeAnne Millais ~ Associate Producer DeAnne Millais is a proud Bruin and Angeleno with extensive experience in project management, event production and set design. In 2011, she joined Sacred Fools Theater as the design assistant to Ovation-award-winning set designer Joel Daavid for the musical CarnEvil, and then apprenticed under Joel for Baby Doll (Lillian Theater), Deathtrap (Davidson/Valenti Theater), and Stoneface (Sacred Fools), the latter achieving “Best Production Design” and “Production of the Year” by LA Weekly among many other accolades. She has designed the sets for the west coast premiere of Edward Einhorn’s adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Sacred Fools Theater), the remount of Doomsday Cabaret (Blank Theater), and the world premiere of Hearts Like Fists (Theatre of NOTE). As an event producer, DeAnne has worked throughout California and the southwest for corporate, non-profit and entertainment clientele and recently produced the successful 17th Season Launch Party for Sacred Fools Theater Company.

Ari Radousky ~ Stage Manager As a member of Sacred Fools, Ari has Stage Managed two runs of The Christmas Present, produced six evenings of Fast and Loose, run seven company meetings (in his capacity as the company's Sergeant At Arms), and done some other stuff. He's recently Stage Managed professionally for Interact theater company and JVO productions. He has also worked in various capacities with several other Los Angeles theater companies, most notably the Sons of Beckett and the Independent Shakespeare Company. Natasha Norman ~ Choreographer Natasha is a Sacred Fools member and two-time LA Weekly Award Choreography Nominee. Credits include: Stoneface (LA Weekly Production of the Year), Watson, Sketches From the National Lampoon, Live! From the Last Night of My Life, The Magic Bullet Theory, Forbidden Zone: Live in the 6th Dimension, Land of the Tigers, Beaverquest.

Sondra Mayer ~ Fight Choreographer BA in Liberal Arts/ Theatre Major from Columbia College Chicago. Trained by Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) David Woolley. Teacher's Assistant for David Woolley for Stage Combat 1 Level and 2 Level Classes for Junior and Senior Year. SAFD Certified Advanced Actor/Combatant in Unarmed, Rapier & Dagger, Smallsword, Broadsword, Sword & Shield, Quarterstaff. Additional SAFD Workshops: Winter Wonderland, Crawfish Boil and The Boushey Way for film stunts. Additional training and experience in High Falls up to 20', stair falls, Mini-Tramp, Knife Fighting, Found Weapon Fighting, Melees & Street/Gang fights, Fire Work, Water Work and Small Firearms. Stunt work: Haunted, Freaky Friday, Starship Troopers 2, Dragonfly; Stunt Coodinator: In Lucidity, Apptmnt, One Bad Day; Fight Director/Choreographer: Peter Pan (The Blank Theatre); Wolves, The Color Purple, Revolver, What's Wrong With Angry (Celebration Theatre); Scardycats (The Falcon); Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Richard III (Shakespeare By The Sea); Dog Sees God (Theatre 180); Richard III, Baal, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Crime Scene, CarnEvil, Night at the Fights (Sacred Fools).

Cj Merriman ~ Assistant Director A member of Sacred Fools for almost 6 years, Cj Merriman joins us as our Assistant Director. She recently began choreographing, and her work was seen in The Poe Show, Serial Killers, and the Suffragette workshop performance. She has performed as an actor in Watson & The Dark Art of Harry Houdini, The Magic Bullet Theory (Sacred Fools/The Matrix Theatre), Watson: The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes, and Magnum Opus. Cj regularly performed with Theatricum Botanicum, and has stage managed for Sacred Fools, and production managed at the Bootleg Theatre, and she is looking forward to exploring the craft of directing under Scott Leggett with whom she has worked closely on many projects over the last few years.

Ryan Johnson ~ Composer Ryan Johnson is the Ovation-winning composer of Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton, playing this summer at the Pasadena Playhouse. As a composer, he has written music for Neverwhere and Watson at Sacred Fools and The Sherlock Holmes Playreading Series at Contrapuntal Hall. He has served as music director for Joseph Gordon-Levitt's HitRECord Fall Formal at the Orpheum Theater and Forbidden Zone at Sacred Fools. As a rock musician, he has played in four countries, countless punk clubs, and two weddings.

Matt Richter ~ Lighting Designer Illuminating our production is Matt Richter. Matt has designed multiple shows here at Sacred Fools, Theatre of Note, The Elephant, and Theatre 68. His recent Foolish credits include: Bill & Joan, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Watson & The Dark Art of Harry Houdini, and Neverwhere. Matt currently serves at the master electrician for Sacred Fools and the technical director for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Michael James Schneider ~ Set Designer Michael James Schneider is a Sacred Fools company member with a background in interior and scenic design. One of his more recently known sets was for Neverwhere, where he used the artwork of Lee Bontecou as a jumping-off point for his design inspiration. This set was notable in not only its artistic and creative ambition, but also in its pioneering use of materials at Sacred Fools. He also designed the set for Watson And The Dark Art of Harry Houdini. This project was unique because it was a prototype for how he hopes to participate in Sacred Fools in the future, and retain his membership despite recent relocation. The scenic design was completed while Michael was in Portland, OR, through much prework, Skype communication with director Jaime Robledo, and coordination with the master builder and technical director. Both sets received critical accolades, and Mike used learnings from these projects to influence future projects' budgeting, timetables, and scope.

Linda Muggeridge ~ Costume Designer Linda Muggeridge has designed productions in the Southern California area for 20 years, with dozens of dramatic and musical productions to her credit. Most recently at Sacred Fools, her designs were featured in Watson & the Dark Art of Houdini and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, both directed by Jaime Robledo. Her season includes twelve productions and a summer residency at Idyllwild Arts. Linda started her professional life as Director of Education for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where she produced all youth programs including Open House at Hollywood Bowl. She served on the governor’s panel for arts excellence and was a founding member of Children’s Hospital LA’s Mark Taper Artists Program. Linda’s costume company, MizZee’s Costumes (Facebook) is located in Los Angeles with an inventory of thousands of proprietary items

“My grandfather lived there long before this guy.” ~ Wanda “I’m in a fight to the death with a squatter.” ~ Brutus “What are the stakes?” ~ Watson “I know you have a problem, but this is some rum tum yummy olive oil.” ~ Frank

Dirty Story By John Patrick Shanley Proposed by Monica Greene