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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><strong>For Immediate Release<span style="mso-tab-count: 7">
</span>August 2, 2009
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<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Contact: James Slowiak</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Co-Artistic Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">(330)867-3299<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">nwpl@lycos.com</span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 6.5in" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle" align="center">
<strong><font size="5" face="Times New Roman">Two Family-oriented productions are part of NWPL’s PLAY!
</font></strong></p>
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<strong><font size="5"><font face="Times New Roman">New World Performance Laboratory to present “Looking for
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<st1:City w:st="on">Alice</st1:City>” and Theater Ninjas’ “The Beetlebug and the Bad Worm” as part of
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Akron</st1:place></st1:City> Festival of Alternative Theatre<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></font></font></strong></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><br>
AKRON, OH –Two performances for children and families, New World Performance Laboratory’s delightful children’s show,
</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Looking for Alice</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">,
and Theatre Ninjas’ fun and outrageous production, </span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>The Beetlebug and the Bad Worm</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">,
will be part of PLAY!, the Akron International Festival of Alternative Theatre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Looking for Alice</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
will perform on Saturday, August 15, at 10AM and Sunday, August 16, at 2PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>The Beetlebug and the Bad Worm</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
will perform on Saturday, August 22 at 6PM and Sunday, August 23 at 2PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Both performances are in the Daum Theatre, Kolbe Hall, on The University of Akron campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for those under 18 and UA students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Tickets for individual performances, Festival Passes, and Family Passes, are available online at
<a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/"><b>www.BrownPaperTickets.com</b></a> or by phone at 1-800-838-3006.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Looking for Alice</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
is directed by NWPL co-artistic director Jairo Cuesta and features Cuesta along with area actor Terence Cranendonk and NWPL company members Debora Totti, Jamie Hale, and apprentice Brian Schultis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Production design is by Inda Blatch-Geib with painting and properties by Chialla Geib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Looking for Alice</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
is based on Lewis Carroll”s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><strong><st1:City w:st="on"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Alice</span></st1:City><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">’s
Adventures in Wonderland</span></strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> and follows the White Rabbit and the Mouse on a trip to Wonderland as they look for
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Alice</st1:City></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>They meet the Chesire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and others, but
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alice</st1:place></st1:City> is nowhere to be found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Colorful costumes, puppets, stiltwalkers and numerous magical moments make this performance a hit with all ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The development of </span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Looking for Alice</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
was made possible through the Akron Community Foundation’s Arts and Culture Grant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Theater Ninjas’
</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>The Beetlebug and the Bad Worm</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
is a story about friends, cruelty and bugs that follows this strange duo on an epic journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Through all their ups and downs, they must learn to help others and get along…assuming they don’t kill each other first. Taking threads from physical theatre, puppetry, pop culture, and clowning Theater Ninjas has crafted a series of comic misadventures
reminiscent of Tom & Jerry, Laurel & Hardy and Samuel Beckett. Akin to a live action cartoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The endearing characters find humor in the outrageous and the mundane, not to mention the sacred and the profane. It is through this child-like bug’s-eye view that they encounter many of the problems and conundrums found in daily life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Theater Ninjas is a Cleveland-based ensemble.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">For more information about PLAY! and a complete schedule
of events visit NWPL’s website at:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><b><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://www.nwplab.org/"><b>www.nwplab.org</b></a></span></b>
or call 330-867-3299.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>PLAY! is funded in part by the
</span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><strong>Pittman Family Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois</strong></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>New World Performance Laboratory works in residence at The University of Akron.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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