The Alley Theater is proud to host as ShoeString Productions returns to the stage with Marie Jones’ Stones in His Pockets. Directed by Kathi E.B. Ellis, the production showcases Shoestring actors Lee Look and Doug Sumey as two extras on a movie set who meet all the other personalities involved in making the movie.
Dates: December 15, 16, 17, 29, 30 and January 1
All Shows begin at 7:30p.m.
Ticket prices are $15.00 advance, $18.00 at the door. $12.00 advance for seniors and students with valid id, $15.00 at the door.
*Not Season Ticket eligible
As much as this is a tour de force for the two actors, Ms. Jones script also comments on the insidious, and blatant, effects of the Hollywood machine on hitherto off-the-beaten track communities.
The Americans are interested in things Irish inasmuch as this will sell the movie – not because of the inherent integrity of place or history. As for the Irish characters, mid-level in the film’s hierarchy, they’re caught between working for the machine and being Irish…It’s the oldest extra who draws the parallels between the historical-romantic movie being shot and the consequences of actions taken in and around the set today. “You know imagination can be a damned curse in this country” says one of the minor characters in Stones in his Pockets. Ms. Jones’ imagination and sharp observations make this palpable as we follow Jake and Charlie around the set of “The Quiet Valley”.
Stones in his Pockets won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy in London, and was also produced on Broadway.
Look and Sumey team up again with Ellis for this fourth ShoeString production. Previously, Albee’s The Zoo Story was described by the Lexington Herald-Leader as, “compelling, funny, thought-provoking, and ultimately shocking”; Art, as a “social comedy...[that] depends only on the dialog among the three men to succeed, and succeed it does”, according to an email from an audience member; of The Glass Menagerie, Theatre Louisville said, “True to its name, ShoeString offers up a minimalist production, with the emphasis placed squarely on fine talent and direction.” For this production Ellis, Look, and Sumey embrace the challenge of portraying multiple characters from different countries without costume or scene changes. “We wanted to try something a little different from our previous collaborations,” says Ellis, “and Ms. Jones’ writing gives us the opportunity to have great fun navigating through the different characters, and also to experience a serious side to the disruption a movie can make in a small rural environment.”
The roles of Charlie (et al) and Jake (et al) are played by Lee Look and Doug Sumey respectively. Look brings national and regional movie and television experience to ShoeString, including “Sesame Street,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “E!’s True Hollwood Stories,” “Profiler,” “General Hospital,” “Port Charles,” “The Wildcard,” “The Witchcatcher,” “Speed Limit,” “More Than Puppy Love” and Dead Silence.” Look also creates fight choreography for productions directed by Ellis. Sumey’s professional acting experience began in the Kansas City area, including with the Missouri Repertory Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Coterie Children's Theatre, Theatre for Young America, Alpha/Omega Theatre and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He has also appeared locally in staged readings directed by Ellis. Sumey is Theatre Producer at Assumption High School, where he has created the award-winning BLOOM Theatre Project, and is president of the Kentucky Theatre Association.
Kathi E.B. Ellis is a member of the Lincoln Center and Chicago Directors’ Labs and an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Ellis directs throughout the country, and has been recognized with nominations for the South Florida Regional Theatre Carbonell Award. Regionally she has directed for Kentucky Repertory Theatre, Actors Guild of Lexington, Balagula Theatre, and many Louisville-area theatres, including Actors Theatre of Louisville where she was assistant director to both Susan K. Booth and Seret Scott. Ellis was the lead collaborator for the NEA-funded original work Alice Moments: Echoes, Ripples, and Light for Pleiades Theatre, and part of the devising team and director for the recent Looking for Lilith original work, Fabric, Flames, and Fervor: Girls of the Triangle, that was performed in NYC March 2011, as part of the official events commemorating the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
ShoeString Productions, an informal collective, ShoeStringProductions
