For Immediate Release: August 1, 2006
Media Contact: Aileen McCulloch, Vagabond Acting Troupe, 610.823.5126

Vagabond Acting Troupe remounts their NEW WORKS FESTIVAL for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, with encore performances of their one act play festival winner, NEIGHBORS by Walt Vail, THE WEDDING CONSULTANT by Eric Singel and the winner of the company’s 10 minute play festival, COLOUR THEORY, by Stephan Tsapatoris. The First Annual New Works Festival ran from April 5 to April 28 on the Playground Stage of the Adrienne Theatre, and the company brings back three favorites from the festival for the four night run from September 13 to 16, to close out the Philadelphia Fringe.

The series includes three short works chosen from over 50 works by Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York playwrights.

“Vagabond was originally founded to focus on creating original works and approaching classical works with an eye towards exploration of new forms,” says Aileen McCulloch, the company’s founder and current Executive Artistic Director. “In the last three years we have created original theatrical children’s works for the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Penn, as well as creating our own works and inviting other Philadelphia artists in to share in the development process. Last season we ended our season by visiting the process from another direction, welcoming some completed works from our peers and seeing what the Vagabond process could bring to these new works!”

“All of the works we are remounting for the Fringe Festival were audience favorites during our Festival of New Works,” says McCulloch, who notes that NEIGHBORS was invited for presentation at other organizations, including Plays and Players monthly brunch theatre series earlier in the summer and possible performances on tour later in the season. “We had a lot of fun putting all of these short works together and are excited that we can expand their audience a bit more with a Fringe Festival run.”

Playwright Walt Vail received a $200 award for his play NEIGHBORS during the April festival, while Tsapatoris received a $50 prize for his ten minute play, COLOUR THEORY. Vagabond Acting Troupe will host another one act play festival this season, deadlines for submissions of work is February, 2007.

The evening features: Hannah and Makaria Tsapatoris in COLOUR THEORY, directed by Brenna Geffers, Eric Singel in THE WEDDING CONSULTANT directed by Gerre Garrett, and Aileen McCulloch, Scott Robertson, Steven Wright and Megan Hoke in NEIGHBORS, directed by Joanne Cunningham.

ALSO ON THE FRINGE: The company, which is venue manager of the second stage of the Adrienne Theatre, will also be presenting on other production as part of the festival. BY GRIMM, an exploration of the cautionary tales of the Brothers Grimm explored through the physical style of the master of physical theatre, Jerzy Grotowski, is Vagabond’s first show of the 2006/2007 Season. BY GRIMM runs from August 23 to August 31 during a pre-fringe run, and concludes with four 6:30 p.m. performances on the Fringe. BY GRIMM, along with the company’s production of NEIGHBORS and Friends!, is presented on the 2nd Stage of the Adrienne Theatre, at 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia.

ABOUT THE FRINGE FESTIVAL: The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Fringe Festival runs form September 1 to 16 2006. Ticket prices range from free to $25 for the festival productions and may be purchased online beginning August 8 at www.livearts-fringe.org or after August 21 by calling 215-413-1318. Fringe guides which include dates, times and venues for all performances for both festivals will be available in the Philadelphia City Paper on August 25, 2006 and after this at all festival venues.

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe were originally founded in 1997 as the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Today, the Live Arts Festival serves as a series of selected cutting-edge, boundary breaking performing arts events, created by some of the most renowned contemporary artists from our region and around the world.

The Fringe serves as a collective home for artists bringing their work to audiences in every conceivable form – in traditional and untraditional venues, using new artistic forms and established ones, breaking rules or refining them.

DETAILS: Vagabond Acting Troupe presents NEIGHBORS and Friends! - Three audience favorites from their Festival of New Works Series, including NEIGHBORS by Walt Vail, COLOUR THEORY by Stephan Tsapatoris and an encore presentation of Eric Singel’s original one act monologue play, THE WEDDING CONSULTANT. The evening of plays will run about an hour and 15 minutes with no intermission. Shows are September 13 and 14 at 6:30 p.m., September 15 at 9 p.m. and September 16 at 1 p.m. on the 2nd Stage of the Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA. Tickets for the one act festival are $10. For ticket times and ordering information visit the company’s website at www.vagabondactingtroupe.org, or visit the Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival website at www.livearts-fringe.org. Phone reservations may be made by calling 215-563-4330 ext. 3, via the Fringe Festival online ordering system, or via email at inthelime@aol.com.

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