SAN FRANCISCO (April 28, 2009) – Guerrilla Rep presents the world premiere of Strings, a "bromantic dramedy" written by Terrence Beswick and directed by John Caldon.

Strings plays May 14 - June 6 (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays) at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory at 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco. (Press opening is May 14 at 8 pm).

In Strings, Juan Carlos De La Rosa (hotshot) and Michael Rodriguez play two brothers who are crafting a new play about family, fiddles and demons. But are these memories or fantasies? Whose story is this? The connections they make surprise them both.

"Strings is both a drama about a memory of a nightmare and a comedy about a nightmare of a memory. Terrence Beswick's latest play holds a mirror up to itself, and in so doing becomes simultaneously poetic, hilarious, and haunting," says director Caldon, who last year also directed Beswick's tragicomedy about crystal meth in the gay community, hotshot.

For tickets ($15 general, $12.50 students/seniors, $10 groups of 10+), the public may call 800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/63628.

A portion of all ticket sales from Strings will be donated to Community United Against Violence.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

Guerrilla Rep, dedicated to staging innovative and provocative new works from Bay Area playwrights, is presenting Strings as its third production in residency at Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory. Previous productions included Terrence Beswick's hotshot and John Caldon's Third Eye: the b-side monologues.

Below are excerpts from reviews for Guerrilla Rep's 2008 production of Beswick's hotshot:







The mission of Mama Calizo's Voice Factory is to nurture the development of queer performers, educators and activists by providing them with artist-in-residence programs and arts programming. We believe that the process and product of creative activity have equal value, that all talent is worthy of development, and that artistic expression is essential to our community's health. We place special emphasis on supporting the work of queer people of color, trans people and artists living with HIV/AIDS.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

John Caldon, director
Co-artistic director and co-founder of Guerrilla Rep, Caldon is currently directing the company’s third premiere, Terrence Beswick's Strings. Previously, as part of Guerrilla Rep's residency at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, he wrote and co-directed Third Eye; the b-side monologues and directed the premiere of Beswick's tragicomedy hotshot. In 2007, he co-directed the San Francisco State University One-Act Fringe Festival, and also staged Tony Kushner’s Homebody monologue and To Tame a Shrew, his own conceptual adaptation of Shakespeare’s work. Caldon comes from a background in theater and film production, working with The Western Stage in Salinas, with Royal Caribbean International, and as Executive Producer for Amedias Motion Pictures. He is a graduate of the SFSU creative writing program.

Terrence Beswick, playwright
Beswick is co-artistic director and co-founder of Guerrilla Rep and an MFA candidate in playwriting at San Francisco State University. After studying acting as an undergraduate, Beswick worked as an AIDS activist, policy wonk and reporter for many years. Beswick's play about crystal meth in the gay community, hotshot, was staged last year as part of Guerrilla Rep's residency at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory. The play won the James Highsmith Playwriting Award at SFSU in 2006/07. Beswick’s one-act plays include Gobsmacked in the Grand Canyon and The Will and Woody Show, both staged in 2007 at SFSU.

Juan Carlos De La Rosa (Jack)
De La Rosa originated a leading role in the South American tour of Teatro Arcoiris' Poeta Pan for which he was given a cultural enrichment award by the city of El Quisco, Chile. Favorite credits include West Side Story, The Tailor From Chihuahua (title role), Pinocchio, NCTC’s In Gabriel's Kitchen (title role) and History Boys (Akthar), and Guerrilla Rep’s hotshot. Most recently, he was featured in the music video for “Epilepsy is Dancing” directed by the Wachowsky siblings and Sean Dorsey's Uncovered: the diary project. He recently received Bachelors degrees in Theatre Arts and Dance from SFSU.

Michael Rodriguez (George)
Also a writer and director, Rodriguez, a recent graduate in Theatre Arts at SFSU, has performed in several theatrical and film productions throughout southern and northern California. At the moment, he can be seen in Michael Fisher's film Timon of Athens now showing at a film festival near you.

Strings features sound design by Liz Roddy, lighting design by Julien Elstob, and scenic design by John Caldon.


ATTENTION CALENDAR EDITORS: Please list under Stage / Theatre

WHO: San Francisco’s Guerrilla Rep, in residency at Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory

WHAT: Strings, a new "bromantic dramedy" written by Terrence Beswick and directed by John Caldon (the writer/director team of last year's hit tragicomedy hotshot), follows two brothers as they craft a new play about family, fiddles and demons. But are these memories or fantasies? Whose story is this? The connections they make surprise them both.

WHEN: Thursdays – Saturdays, May 14 – June 6, 8pm

WHERE: Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory, 1519 Mission Street (at South Van Ness Avenue) in San Francisco

TICKETS: $10-15. TBA/student/senior/group discounts. Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/63628 or 800-838-3006.

INFO: www.guerrillarep.org

High-resolution photos with captions may be downloaded on flickr by clicking: www.flickr.com/photos/24117852@N06/sets/72157617147717974/