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Glen Hagen Theatrical presents
DEN OF THIEVES
Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
ONCE A THIEF, ALWAYS A THIEF?
PLAYWRIGHT USED TO STEAL TOILET PAPER!
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL FOR THOSE WHO WERE
BORN TO LOSE
IN
STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS’ DEN OF THIEVES
(New York, New York, July 13, 2010) Glen
Hagen Theatrical, a newly created theatrical production company presents
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Den of Thieves, directed by David Triacca. Den Of
Thieves opens August 19, 2010 and runs through August 29, at The American
Theater of Actors, The Chernuchin Theater, 2nd floor, 314 West 54 Street,
New York, New York 10019.
Glen Hagen, President of Glen Hagen Theatrical
has been an avid theatergoer for the past 40 years and always wanted to
get involved in the theater community. Hagen said, “I knew I did not have
the acting skills, but I was interested in the possibility of producing.”
Hagen said, he and his associates chose
Den of Thieves as their first production after reading over 300 scripts,
because “they wanted it to be easily manageable” - they didn’t want
to produce a show with a large ensemble. “Our group of investors come
from a very diverse group of backgrounds, so we looked for a script that
offers cast diversity and a story that anyone can relate to.” They chose
Den Of Thieves, as not only did it meet their criteria, “but without a
doubt it’s the best,” said Hagen. “I very much like the script, it has
a lot of contemporary meanings, and it’s extremely humorous. Even as someone
who knows next to nothing about the 12-step program, I was drawn into it
and I imagine my audience would feel the same.”
Stephen Adly Guirgis (Jesus Hopped the
‘A’ Train and Our Lady of 121st Street), outrageous black comedy takes
us into the world of Maggie, a shoplifter looking to change her life. Paul
is her sponsor in a twelve-step program. Flaco is her charismatic but jealous
drug dealing-boyfriend. Boochie, Flaco’s girlfriend, is a topless dancer.
When this unlikely squad gets together to steal $750,000 in unprotected
drug money, they become prisoners in a mob boss’ basement. Told that they
have until sunrise to choose one person to die and three to donate their
thumbs, the four engage in verbal gymnastics as they struggle for self-awareness
and self-acceptance in a high-octane battle for survival.
Guirgis told Catherine Foster of the Boston
Globe in her 2005 interview with him that “he has always identified with
the underdog.” When he wrote "Den of Thieves" in 1996, he was
working with a violence-prevention program in New York prisons, hospitals,
and shelters. At night, he lived in a government-owned building housing
people who were HIV positive, mentally ill, or just poor.
In the same interview Guirgis says “he
used to go to the West Bank Cafe and steal rolls of toilet paper from supplies
stacked in the bathroom. What I realized was, what am I saying about myself
here? That I'd rather feel bad about myself and get some free toilet paper
than actually go to the store and buy some?” “Once he quit stealing”,
he says, "I felt a lot better.” I felt like a loser, like someone
on the lower end of the spectrum. But a loser who's fighting for something."
Triacca says, “Den Of Thieves is a play
about a group that were “born to lose.”
The struggle for self- awareness, self-acceptance, and self-love, deception,
redemption, forgiveness, and tolerance, are concurrent themes in Den Of
Thieves. The play is driven by a bunch of dysfunctional characters trying
to survive, change and take control of their lives. It reveals the characters’
vulnerability, and the truth about who and what they really are.”
Triacca says he is very excited about directing
Den of Thieves because “Guirgis writes plays about the kind of theatre
I like to make and the kind of theatre I like to see - pushing limits and
banging heads together. His plays are about my fears, my ideas, my uncertainty,
and my isolation. So, I could either go to therapy or direct his play.
I chose the latter. So once it opens, I’ll see if I stop stealing toilet
paper. “
Den Of Thieves cast: Peter Carlaftes, Michelle
Cox, Wesley Curtis, Ralph John (RJ) Lucci, Giovanni Rho, Julia Sun, and
Chris Triana. Director: David Triacca. Producer: Glen Hagen Theatrical.
Stage Manager: Estie Sarvasy. Lighting and Sound Designer: Shelly Rodriguez.
Set Designer: Jason Simms. Casting Director: Celine Crisman. Casting Associate:
Emily Padden.
Tickets are: $24.00, $27.00 in advance,
or $30.00 at the box office, night of the performance. Tickets can be purchased
online from http://www.smarttix.com
, or by phone at 212-868-4444.
Further information can be found at: http://www.denofthievesnyc.com
.
About Glen Hagen Theatrical: Glen Hagen
Theatrical was founded in 2010 to produce to Den Of Thieves. Hagen is currently
an international business consultant. He served as the Assistant Commissioner
of the State of California, as well as the CEO of two companies in the
healthcare industry. This is their first production and they hope it is
one of many to come in the future.
About David Triacca: David Triacca (Director)
is also a professional actor and acclaimed acting coach. Currently he is
a resident instructor and director for both the Living Theatre Conservatory
and Bilingual Acting Workshop (New York/Paris). David is also a produced
writer and the artistic director of Groundworks Acting Ensemble which performs
original showcases that have been highly acclaimed by industry professionals
both in New York and Los Angeles. Comprised of an ensemble of actors, David’s
focus is to bring an understanding of commitment and expertise to the actor’s
own style and individual process making sure each actor’s work is passionate,
personal and principled. Both current and former award-winning members
are now working in film, television and theatre, including Broadway and
Off Broadway.
About Stephen Adly Guirgis: Stephen Adly
Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He has been
a member of New York City's LAByrinth Company since 1994. His plays have
been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. His
most recent play, The Little Flower of East Orange, starring Ellen Burstyn
and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, just completed an extended run
at The Public Theater. Other plays include Our Lady of 121st Street (10
best plays of 2003; Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle
Best Play Nominations), Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Edinburgh Festival
Fringe First Award, Laurence Olivier Nomination for London's Best New Play),
In Arabia,We’d All Be Kings (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, Best Writing
Award), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (10 best Time Magazine &
Entertainment Weekly), produced by LAByrinth in collaboration with The
Public Theater in 2005. On May 10,2008 Judas Iscariot completed a one-month
run in London at the Almeida Theater[1]. All five plays were originally
produced by LAByrinth and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Television
writing credits include NYPD Blue, The Sopranos, David Milch's CBS drama
Big Apple, and Shane Salerno's NBC series UC: Undercover. Stephen was awarded
a 2006 PEN/Laura Pels Award, a 2006 Whiting Award, and a 2004 TCG fellowship.
He attended the 2004 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, and was named one of
2004's 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. He is the
recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Center Theater
Group, and South Coast Repertory, and is a member of New Dramatists, MCC's
Playwright's Coalition, New River Dramatists, Primary Stages, and The Actor's
Studio Playwright/Directors Unit. He developed and directed Liza Colón-Zayas'
Sistah Supreme for Danny Hoch's Hip Hop Theater Festival, and Marco Greco's
award-winning Behind the Counter with Mussolini in New York and Los Angeles.
As an actor, he appeared in Guinea Pig Solo, produced by LAByrinth at the
Public Theatre, and has leading roles in Todd Solondz's Palindromes, Brett
C. Leonard's Jailbait opposite Michael Pitt, and in Kenneth Lonergan's
Margaret. Other film credits include Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New
York, Adam Rapp's Blackbird, Noah Buschel's Neal Cassady, as well as Meet
Joe Black, Noise, and Trainwreck: My Life as an Idiot. A former Violence
Prevention Specialist/H.I.V. Educator, he has facilitated numerous workshops
in New York City area prisons, schools, shelters, and hospitals. He is
currently writing a screenplay based on the life of six-time world champion
boxer Emile Griffith for Scott Rudin Productions.
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