28 SEEDS

An Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Steampunk Musical

28 Seeds

ABOUT THE SHOW

What happens when an experimental theatre company gets together with a steampunk musical phenomenon? Let’s just say, it’s not the end of the world.

Oh wait, it is…

Liars & Believers and Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys present an Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Steampunk Musical.

ARTISTIC TEAM

SET DESIGNER - Zeynep Bakkal
Zeynep Bakkal holds an MFA degree from the University of Iowa in theatre design. She has taught at Northeastern and Tufts universities. Her work as a professional set designer in Boston and surrounding areas includes designs for Emerson Majestic, Boston Conservatory, Boston Theatre Works, Gordon College and Gloucester Stage. She lives and dreams in Rockport.
COSTUME DESIGNER - Kendra Bell
Kendra is on the theatre faculty of Tufts University. She has worked for Huntington Theater Company, Stonehill College, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Glimmerglass Opera, and Hubbard Street Dance.u00a0 Some of her design work includes Song of Songs (LAB), The Fantasticks (Prometheus), Cosi Fan Tutte (Millikin University), and Peter (Braintree Films). She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Millikin University and a MFA in Theatrical Design from Rutgers University.
PROPS - Tyler Brown
After majoring in Studio Arts at the University of Maine, Tyler Brown moved to Boston to try to make it in the big city as a mixed media visual artist. Here, Tyler found himself drawn into the world of theater. He has worked on scenic production for Central Square Theater, the Actors Shakespeare Project, and the Boston Conservatory. He has worked as the Props Master for such fine institutions as the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (Falstaff), Liars & Believers (28 Seeds, Song of Songs, Le Cabaret Grimm), and the Actors Shakespeare Project (Merry Wives of Windsor). He served the Properties Intern at the American Repertory Theatre in the fall of 2010 (Cabaret, Alice vs. Wonderland). Tyler is currently working on expanding into film.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR - Jared Coffin
Jared Coffin is a native of Boston, MA. Currently holding the position as the Technical Director for The Actors Shakespeare Project and The Open Road Theatre. As well as technical direction he enjoys scenic design and sound design. Recent technical direction credits include Actors Shakespeare Project (Timon of Athens, Hotel Nepenthe, Merry Wives of Windsor, Medea, and Twelfth Night), and The Open Road Theatre (The Odyssey, The Chronicles of Narnia (Set Design), Snow White, and The Three Musketeers). Additional projects include Commonwealth Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors (Technical Direction), and The Onteora Theatre (Putnam County Spelling (Set Design), and Hayfever (Set Design).
STAGE MANAGER - Marc Ewart
Marc Ewart has worked in many departments of theatre production throughout his education and start of his career. He attended Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH where he graduated in 2005 cum laude with a B.A. in Theatre Arts with a concentration in directing. During his four years at F.P.C. he performed in many productions while also working in the costume and prop shop. There he appeared in productions of You Can’t Take It With You, The Laramie Project, Vertical Talking, Blood Brothers, and The Death of Don Juan. In 2003 he was honored to be a cast member in but the rain is full of ghosts by Robert Lawson, which attended the American College Theatre National Festival and performed on stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has worked on many productions around Boston in many different departments including stage management, carpentry, set design, lighting design, costume design, and also selling tickets in the box office. He currently works freelance technical theatre and ushering in the Boston area. He is also the site manager of Pioneer Village: Salem 1630 in Salem, MA. With Liars&Believers he has stage managed Song of Songs: A LoveRomp and was ASM for Le Cabaret Grimm. He attributes much of his success in technical theatre to owning a pick-up truck.
CHOREOGRAPHER - Jamie Horban
Jamie Horban is excited to be joining the Boston Dance Community this year after living and working in both Atlanta and Chicago. She trained in Chicago for many years in chechetti ballet, jazz, tap, modern, tango, belly dance, flamenco, hip-hop, Musical Theater, aerial acrobatics, African dance, salsa and Latin. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BS in dance and film. She has danced with numerous dance companies including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dance Chicago, White Oak Dance Project, and Latin American Dance Company. She has taught at Interlochen Arts Academy, Atlanta Ballet, Dance 411, Korean Dance Company, Angel Chinese Dance Theater, Northlight Theater, and Ballet Legere just to name a few. She has choreographed for many dance companies, theaters and production companies around the United States including the Atlanta Ballet Pre Pros, The Chicago Cultural Center, Dance Chicago, Jean Ann Ryan Productions , Stone Mountain Park, The Actor’s Gymnasium, Northlight Theatre, Northbrook Theatre, Bailiwick Theater, Watertown Children’s Theater, Point Sebago Resort,  Metropolis Performing Arts Center, Ethnic Exposure Dance Company, Ballet Legere and CK Dance Company in Palm Springs, California among many others. Jamie is the artistic director of Solestance Productions, that has produced festivals nationwide for 12 years and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, WZRD Radio,The Daily Herald, Pioneer Press, Channel 11 WTTW Chicago, Channel 9 WGN Chicago, Chicago Public Radio, and Creative Loafing Atlanta.
SOUND DESIGNER - Aaron Mack
Aaron Mack is thrilled to be working on his first production with Liars and Believers.  Aaron is a sound designer and composer with credits in Boston, New York, and Providence and a regular audio engineer at Club Oberon. Notable work includes: Adding Machine: A Musical (Sound Design, SpeakEasy, 2010 Elliot Norton for Best Design) The Aliens (Composition, Company One, 2011 Elliot Norton for Best Design) The Snow Queen (Sound Design and Composition, A.R.T.), Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom (Sound Design and Composition, Apollinaire) and Futurity (Assistant Sound Design, A.R.T.). Aaron would like to thank his family and friends for their support, and all of the people that make Boston a great place for theatre.
LIGHTING DESIGNER - Aaron Sherkow
Aaron Sherkow has been designing shows since 2001. He has designed for theatre, dance and opera companies around Wisconsin, including Cornerstone Theatre, Danceworks, Nevermore Theatre, Attic Theatre Inc and Chamber Theatre. In 2008, he moved to Boston to pursue his MFA in Design at Boston University. He received his BA in Theatre with a Music minor from Lawrence University in 2004. In 2006, he joined the staff of Ripon College’s Theatre Department. He is currently on the design faculty of Lawrence University.
DIRECTOR - Jason Slavick
Jason Slavick is the Artistic Director of Liars & Believers. He is a director, writer and educator. For the LAB, he conceived and directed Who Would Be King, Yellow Bird Chase, and ICARUS, which premiered in Cambridge, played Outside The Box in Boston and made an acclaimed New York debut at the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival (honorable mention for book and design). Jason directed 28 Seeds, he co-wrote and directed, Song of Songs: a LoveRomp, and wrote and directed Le Cabaret Grimm: a punk cabaret fairy tale {sans fairies}, which premiered in Boston and played at the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival (best featured performer and best design, honorable mention for choreography). Jason also directed the LAB’s experimental project, Talk to Strangers. Jason wrote and directed Heaven & Hell u2013 The Fantastical Temptation of the 7 Deadly Sins, a musical excursion commissioned by The Boston Conservatory. As a company member of Boston Theatre Works, Jason directed Othello (Elliot Norton Award nominated for Best Production and Best Actor), The Tempest, Antony & Cleopatra, and Macbeth. He developed and directed Emily Mann’s critically acclaimed Meshugah, Olga Humphrey’s Veronika Vavoom Volcanologist, and his own play J: a one-act improvised tragi-comedy. He also directed numerous developmental workshops and readings including Joyce Carol Oates’ The Tattooed Girl. Jason has directed throughout New England, in Tel Aviv, and in Philadelphia. Besides the shows above, Jason has written and directed The Golem, Icaphish, and Alice: a Grotesque Turn in Twelve Scenes. Jason has taught at colleges and schools throughout New England. He earned his MFA in directing from The Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, where he was awarded the inaugural Pell Scholar Award.

There he had the great fortune to work with Oskar Eustis, Brian Kulick, and Kevin Moriarity. Jason also studied at the Dell Arte International School of Physical Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute, and the Warsaw Theatre Academy in Warsaw, Poland.

CAST

ENSEMBLE - Lisa Dempsey

Lisa Dempsey is thrilled to be making her LAB debut in this amazing collaboration with Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys. Select professional credits include A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theatre), The Sound of Music (Reagle Players), The Seven Year Itch, Summer and Smoke (New Village Arts), and The Great Heathersby Heist (11:11 Theatre Company). Lisa holds a BA in Theater performance from Northeastern University. www.LisaCDempsey.com.

ENSEMBLE - Stephen Emanuelson
L. Emanuelson holds a B.S. in acting from Illinois State University and an M.F.A. in Theatre Performance from The University of Georgia. After graduating with his Master’s in 2001, Steve pursued a professional acting and teaching career in Atlanta where he worked for such companies as: The Alliance Theatre (recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award®) in Shear Madness, Actor’s Express Theatre in bothBent and Some Men, Dad’s Garage Theatre inArchie’s Weird Fantasy, Debbie Does Dallas (The Musical), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Die Mommy! Die! and The Rocky Horror Show to name a few. He has also been seen at The Atlanta Lyric Theatre as Bernardo in West Side Story and has performed with Jewish Theatre of the South in their productions of Miklat and Capture the Moon.Steve is an Equity Membership Candidate with Actor’s Equity Association and an Artistic Associate at Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta. For six years, he taught acting classes at Actor’s Express Theatre as well as giving individual voice lessons in stage speech. This is Steven’s second production in Boston after moving here June 1, 2011. He was in Riverside Theatre Works’ production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof this past fall.
ENSEMBLE - Nicole Howard
Nicole, a singer, actor, and playwright, has a degree in music and theatre from C.W. Post Long Island University. Some of her favorite performances include, 365 Days Plays (New York Public Theatre), Portal of God (Boston Actors Theater), The Last Supper (Rising Sun Performance Company NY), In a Round About Way (Puppetry Arts Theater of Brooklyn) and Blog (Film Gate International Film Festival). Nicole, is also a cast member of the television show I’ve Got Munchies, which can be viewed on New York City public television and downloaded from I-Tunes. Recently, Nicole’s original work Untitled Heart was performed off broadway in New York, and will soon be produced in Boston as well. Please visit www.NicoleLHoward.weebly.com.
ENSEMBLE - Matthew Milo Sergi
Matthew Milo Sergi generates performance, poetry, playscripts, and academic research, all inspired by the history and future of words. New to the Boston area, Matt most recently created a performance piece at Mobius; before that, he made and performed in original work throughout the San Francisco Bay Area (CounterPULSE, The Garage, Dance Mission, Kunst-Stoff, Impact Theater); before that, he appeared in the NYCFringe Festival and in other Off-Off-Broadway plays. One of his plays, Glory Glory, received the Fort Mason In Performance Grant for production at San Francisco’s Northside Theatre. BFA: NYU/Tisch (Drama and English). Ph.D.: UC Berkeley (English and Medieval Studies). Now an assistant professor at Wellesley College, Matt is writing a new book on medieval religious drama.
ENSEMBLE - Ally Tully
Ally Tully was born and raised in a small town just outside of New York City. She studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory and has her BFA in theatre performance. Currently she can be seen in the on-going post apocalyptic web series Jessa Kill as the title character. She is also filming two independent films at the moment; one a romantic dramedy and the other an intricate ghost story. On stage she was most recently seen in the Fort Point Theatre Channel’s production of Codes of conduct. She is delighted to be involved in another production with Liars and Believers!
VERONIQUE DU BLAHBLAHBLAH - Karin Webb
UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb has been performing and creating theatrical works for the past 20 years using character, dance, burlesque, comedy, drag, puppetry, and storytelling as her mediums of choice. She has a BFA in Acting from BU, a certificate in Ensemble and Physical theater from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater, and has toured the country as a puppeteer with Das Puppenspeil Puppet Theater. Karin is co-founder of Axe To Ice Productions, an original member of All The Kings Men performance troupe, frequent collaborator with Elephant Tango Ensemble Puppets, and has a blast each winter performing in The Slutcracker. Check her out: www.UnAmerikasSweetheart.com.

BAND

CREATOR OF 28 SEEDS, LYRICIST, GUITAR, VOCALS - Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert was born on the sea and has dedicated his life to, and makes his living from, music and visual art. Walter’s art is showcased in museums and private collections world-wide and he routinely collaborates with authors, other visuals artists and musicians. Walter is the founder and impresario of the SteamCRUNK band Walter Sickert & the ARmy of BRoken TOyswho have been described as “Musically sophisticated and immensely talented, wildly unusual and diverse in material and presentation, a Dada-esque circus carnival run amuck, and just plain good ‘not-always-so-clean’ fun”.  Inspired by such things as Hieronymus Bosch, The Tiger Lillies, Érik Satie, Salvador Dalí, Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Lewis Carroll, Aleister Crowley, Terry Gilliam, and Alan Moore;  Walter originally created 28 Seeds as a radio play for the RPM Challenge which was written in a hazy basement over the 28 days of February 2010. @WalterSickert
WRITER OF 28 SEEDS, GUITAR, MANDO, UKE, MUSTACHE - Meff
Born in the greater Boston area and educated in the wilds of New York City, Meff‘s dedication to all things interesting has taken her from soul-crushing boredom to steamCRUNK superstardom as the guitarist, mandolin player, and moustache in Walter Sickert & the ARmy of BRoken TOys. She is also an accomplished playwright, songwriter, and drag performer, most recently performing her writerly duties as one of the Summer 2011 Artists in Residence at Brandeis University. You can follow her gender-borking dandy-antics on twitter @dasmeff
PRODUCER, MELODICA, PIANO, TOYS - Edrie

Raised on a farm in North Dakota, Edrie never thought her Lawrence Welk accordion skills would come in handy. Now from heifers to the Hynes Convention Center and everywhere in between, follow Edrie as she tells you about her life and her Army of Broken Toys. @armyoftoys

DRUMS, KENNY BLANCWOOD - TJ Horn
Hailing from the crystal meth and pop punk mecca of the USA, native SoCal dude TJ Horn is stepping way out of his comfort zone to be part of this production, and couldn’t be “more stoked” to do it. From punk and metal to soul and circus, this performance is one of MANY music and voice acting projects that you can catch him doing around the Boston area. @themurderhorn
VIOLA - Rachel Jayson
It’s not a violin. It’s a motherf$*%#n’ viola! Rachel Jayson spends most of her time playing with the Broken Toys and Jaggery (the 5 piece torture-chamber-pop collective)  but has also been spotted playing with What Time is it, Mr. Fox?, HUMANWINE, Bury Me Standing, and Earth, Wind, & Fire (which only happened once, but it sure did make her mom proud). You can find her flexing her MMEd from Boston Conservatory as Orchestra Director at Lexington High School and slinging fancy footwear on the weekends at John Fluevog Shoes. @musykchyk
UPRIGHT AND ELECTRIC BASS - Mike Leggio
After spending a lifetime making the world safe for bass players, computers and major appliances, Mike decided to join the AoBT to see what other kinds of trouble he can get into.

He hasn’t been disappointed.

UKE, POET - jojo Lazar
jojo lazar, the burlesque poetess is your personal wordsmithy and tiny tart of vaudevillian verse. Armed with ukulele, and a poetic license (MFA from Lesley U) she is a creative writing and zine arts workshop leader, visual artist, and an inapproetry-spieling comedienne. Check out her keyring site, jojolazar.com
4/29 - Michael J. Epstein
Michael J. Epstein was born with a mustache. He uses it to play music with The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, Space Balloons, and Darling Pet Munkee. MichaelJEpstein.com
VIOLA & VIOLIN - Betty Widerski
Betty Widerski is an acoustic/electric viola & violin slut who plays any genre with any band with any/no notice, Betty currently appears with Rock/Classical band Ginger Ibex, her solo looping project Reverse Polish Notation, and guests with Irish punks The Gobshites. BettyWiderski.com

PRESS

“…a part of Boston history.” – John Herring, The New England Theatre Geek

“…a fast-paced delight of rich story-telling manifest in every possible theatrical expression–lights, colours, music, and movement.” – Caroline Fong, Social Caroline

“…an extremely thought provoking performance” – fondazionebassetti.org

@TheWildMinded: #28Seeds is fantastic, funky steamcrunky, dada delicious, crazy colorful cool. Check it out!!

@dysonsound: Hard to call this musical theatre. I think it’sa whole new breed of live entertainment. #28Seeds

MEDIA

SOUNDTRACK

 

28 SEEDS CONCEPT ART