BY LESBIAN.COM
Ovation Award Nominated Playwright, HBO Audience Award Winning screenwriter and lesbian writer / filmmaker Marja-Lewis Ryan brings to life a dysfunctional family drama that explores the effects of gun violence in one American family. Six years ago, a ten-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his little brother. Now, we meet his whole family. Ryan’s timely new drama One In The Chamber opens July 12 at The Lounge Theater in Hollywood.
Jennifer (Emily Peck), a court appointed social worker, is sent to assess Adam’s (Alec Frasier) home life six years after he accidentally shot and killed his little brother. She interviews his precocious seven-year-old sister Ruthie (Fenix Isabella), troubled older sister Kaylee (Kelli Anderson), workaholic father Charles (Robert Bella) and drug and alcohol addicted mother Helen (Heidi Sulzman) before finally meeting Adam. The piece smartly personifies the delicate hot-button topic of gun violence in America.
“I am not interested in politicizing the gun rights issue,” Ryan explains. “I am drawn to the exploration of family dynamics under various circumstances.”
Ryan is no stranger to theatrical family dysfunction. Her first play Dysnomia, which also debuted at The Lounge Theater, centers on a suburban housewife and mother of two who comes out of the closet (Ovation Nomination for Playwriting, Critics Pick in Backstage, “GO” from LA Weekly, and Recommended by The LA Times).
Emily Peck starred in the indie hit The Four-Faced Liar and in 10×20 Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theater Company. Robert Bella has worked on over 100 plays for the stage and radio as an actor, producer, director and writer. He is also a founding member of The Atlantic Theater Company in NYC. Heidi Sulzman’s select credits include Ryan’s “Dysnomia,” “Bones” and “The Waitress.”
Set design for One In The Chamber by Michael Fitzgerald; PR by Daniel Carlisle; and Lynne Peck, Robin Greenspun, Ed Ryan and Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners associate produce.
One in the Chamber opens on July 12 and continues on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm through August 18. There will be one preview performance on Friday, July 11 at 8pm. General admission is $25 except preview, which is $10. The Lounge Theater is located at 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038. For information and to purchase tickets, go to www.plays411.com/chamber or call 324-960-7724.
