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
“Invigorating, enlightening, and entertaining,” Dirty Story speaks directly
“Out of the
rough an
stuffunapologetically
of injustice, we resolved to
to the Sacred Fools mission statement.
It needs
make
ideal.”
~Wanda
fearless company to deliver it to Los Angeles for
the practical
very first an
time.
I
believe Sacred Fools is the only company that can do it justice.
“Story invades experience, reshapes it into its own cultural likeness,
and then moves on.” ~Brutus
A hope. A claim. A vile conflict.
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...
Right?
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 2008.
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 2013-14 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 know you have a problem, but this is some rum tum
yummy
olive~ oil.”
~ Frank
“What are the
stakes?”
Watson
“I’m in a fight to the death with a squatter.” ~ Brutus
Dirty Story
By John Patrick Shanley
Proposed by Monica Greene
monica@monicagreene.com
818-514-5651