Dark Humor

Three original short pieces from the brilliant minds at Fierce Backbone come together to represent writers' interpretations of the down and dirty LA Street Scene. Includes THE POOL OF GOLD IN THE SKY and DUSTED by Jan O'Connor, and TRIO by Amy Tofte.

Yes, Edgar Allan Poe is alive and he's a very bad guy. Not only does he steal the souls from young writers but he's also destroying Hollywood at the same time.

Multi-award-winning, nationally touring 4 Clowns is a physical, musical & emotional journey into what it is to be human. Follow 4 clowns - sad, mischievous, angry & nervous - as they tell their tales of woe & elation from childhood to adulthood we discover that they are all the same...and so are we.

A recent college grad returns home to New Orleans following news of her father's terminal illness. Rapidly spiraling in a storm of drugs, sex and deception in the notorious French Quarter, she must find her way toward the most painful decision of her life.

Patrick Bristow and the Improvatorium Players give you an hour long tilt at Old Testament story telling. Costumed and completely improvised, each performance is completely unique and made up on the spot based on audience suggestions. More naughty than blasphemous, but you never know!

Burnt's roommate, Randy, an uptight Born Again, has just found his stash and is calling the cops. What's a just-trying-to-make-tuition drug dealer to do? When Randy's little sister Gwen arrives, Burnt is forced to either bury the truth or bury himself in this bittersweet rush of almost-romance.

Expanded version of this intense/funny performance work developed in NYC & @ REDCAT Studio. Lolly (Betsy Moore), the short-circuiting housewife, shares her sexual adventures & fantastic schemes to escape domesticity. W/Paul Tucci. NYTheatre.com: "Tightly executed surrealism - well worth your time."

Two men travelling by boat become irrevocably linked at the crossroads of fate and coincidence. They find themselves forced to defend their starkly contrasting world views from attack by the other as the play builds to an unexpected and shattering denouement. "Clever and compelling."(The Scotsman)

A mysterious tale about a lowly debt collector, who, under the management of a tyrannical overseer, undergoes a radical transformation in the process of collecting debts. Performed with puppets, toy theatre, and stop motion animation. Sound by Margaret Noble. Funded by the Jim Henson Foundation.

A funny, yet intense, disturbing psychological 2-hander set in an atmospheric Victorian England. Holmes (John Mawson) and Watson (Mario Vernazza) are themselves under the famous magnifying glass. Amir Korangy is an experienced teacher and director. All are classically trained British actors.

“What’s a nice girl like you NOT drinking in a place like this?” Tara Handron discards clichėd depictions of recovery in her portrayal of Hope and numerous other female alcoholics (some sober and some not so sober) stemming from her thesis research on the subject.

Vicious dark humor chronicles an affair under the influence in this Los Angeles premiere from writer/director Amy Tofte. He struggles with sobriety, She's dependent on his affection.

"A bishop. A priest. A woman. A boy." Snatched from today's headlines, "Altarcations" examines lust, absolution, accepting apologies, and whether any place is safe. "Altarcations" is a project of the Pasadena Arts Council's EMERGE Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

Ganymede: Most beautiful mortal, abducted by the sky god, put in Heaven as Aquarius, god of service- a horrific ascent to spiritual perfection. Ben: Rational linguist, prone to madness, in the degenerate modern Age of Pisces, suffers Revelation into the Age of Aquarius. There's wine; praise Bacchus.

For the Roger’s family life is just like a 1950s sitcom—or is it, as they confront their history and identity before it is too late. Mixing puppetry, original music and video projection, taking you from the absurd to the terrifying, and everywhere in-between. Winner Ovation Award Puppet Design.