Unexpected Stage Company Presents 'Oblivion'

From Unexpected Stage Company: As part of its eighth season, Unexpected Stage Company presents Carly Mensch's Oblivion, a comedy which challenges assumptions about parenting, religion, and the nature of spirituality. The production will run July 13 to August 6 in the Fireside Room, an intimate 40-seat venue, at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation building, located at 6301 River Road in Bethesda.

General admission tickets, priced $10 to $27.50, are on sale via phone at 800-838-3006, online here, and at the door subject to availability. A special Pay-What-You-Wish preview performance is scheduled for Thursday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m. For information, please call 301-337-8290 or visit here.

What do you do when you learn your child doesn't share the same values as you? Uber-hip Brooklynites Pam and Dixon take pride in their secular, philosophical approach to parenting. When their 16-year-old daughter Julie decides to become a Christian, their laid-back, open-minded facade is exposed. Called "smart, sassy, and rewarding" by The New York Times, Carly Mensch's Oblivion takes a wry look at the nature of belief in these changing times, and reveals that growing up isn't just for kids anymore.

The cast of Oblivion features Zach Brewster-Geisz as Dixon, Jonathan Frye as Bernard, Ruthie Rado as Julie, and Mindy Shaw as Pam.

Oblivion is written by Carly Mensch, best known for writing and producing television shows including GLOW, Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie, and Weeds, and for her plays Now Circa Then, All Hail Hurricane Gordo, and Len, Asleep in Vinyl. The production is directed by Unexpected Stage Company co-founder Christopher Goodrich. The creative team also includes Kristen Jepperson (set design), Andrew Dodge (lighting design), and Matthew Mills(sound design).

Zach Brewster-Geisz looks forward to rehearsals: “What I love about Oblivion is that, though it deals with weighty issues such as religion, it does so through a really lovely story about a family. Plus, it manages to do so while speaking to the ‘growing pains’ of both millennials and my own Generation X. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.”

Oblivion marks Unexpected Stage’s first full-scale production in the Fireside Room of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation Building. Speaking of this intentional move to the 40-seat venue, Goodrich explains, “The intimacy of the space is incredibly exciting for us as artists. Audiences usually tell the truth, which means they are reacting honestly. They are constantly communicating with an actor, even if they aren’t always heard. In this way a bond is created. When actors are this close to their audience, the actor cannot lie. And that honesty strengthens this bond between theatergoer and performer.”

Goodrich and Jepperson are planning a seating arrangement with every seat no more than ten feet from the stage, enhancing the immediacy of experience.

The Friday, July 21, performance of Oblivion at 7:30 p.m. will benefit Kollaboration DC, with half of all ticket sales going to support this local non-profit. Kollaboration DC is a chapter of Kollaboration run purely of volunteers that aims to discover and empower Asian-American and Pacific Islander talent from the Washington area in order to connect to mainstream media and diversify popular culture.

Oblivion

• By Carly Mensch
• July 13-August 6
• River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation – Fireside Room
• 6301 River Road, Bethesda, MD (entrance is on Whittier Boulevard)

Show Schedule:

• Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturdays at 2 pm and 7:30 p.m.
• Sundays at 2 p.m.

General Admission Tickets: $10 - $27.50

Pay-What-You-Wish preview performance: Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Discounts available for students, seniors, military, and groups.

Special Opportunities

• Friday, July 21 at 7:30 p.m. – Performance benefits Kollaboration DC
• Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m. – Talk back immediately following the performance with Rabbi Alison Kobey of Congregation Or Chadash, Reverend Louise Green of River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and Oblivion cast members
• Thanks to funding from the Montgomery County Executive’s Ball and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Unexpected Stage Company will be able to provide 150 free student/teacher tickets for Oblivion. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis with a valid ID. Tickets may be reserved here or by calling800-838-3006.

Click here to see this event on the Patch Calendar.

Photos via Unexpected Stage Company