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<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>For Immediate
Release:<BR></STRONG>January 20, 2010<BR><BR></FONT></FONT><STRONG><FONT
size=5><FONT face=Arial>Great Lakes Theater Festival Presents<BR>World Premiere
of <EM>On the Dark Side of Twilight</EM><BR>As Free Touring
Production</FONT></STRONG></FONT><BR><BR><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><FONT
size=3>The new play by local playwright David Hansen<BR>will visit twenty-one
venues across northeast Ohio.</FONT></STRONG><BR><BR></FONT><FONT size=2
face=Arial>Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) will <STRONG>launch the world
premiere of <EM>On the Dark Side of Twilight</EM>, a free touring
production</STRONG> scheduled to visit twenty-one neighborhood venues throughout
northeast Ohio, to kick off the company’s 2010 series of Surround outreach
programming. The production features <STRONG>a touring company of three
actors</STRONG> and is directed by <STRONG>Andrew May</STRONG>. The tour
commences on <STRONG>February 16th, continues through March 11th</STRONG> and is
designed to support the Festival’s upcoming main stage production of <EM>Bat
Boy: The Musical</EM> at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, this Spring.
<STRONG>All performances of the touring production are free and open to the
public</STRONG>, with the exception of performances at area schools, which are
private. <STRONG>The touring play is appropriate for teens through
adults.</STRONG> <EM>(Consult the attached tour calendar for a complete
list of performance venues, dates and times.)</EM><BR><BR><STRONG>“Now more than
ever, we believe it is important to share free, professional theatre with people
out in their own communities,”</STRONG> said Daniel Hahn, Great Lakes Theater
Festival’s Director of Education, when asked about the Festival’s annual tour.
“When we decided to produce Bat Boy: The Musical, I knew right away that from an
educational perspective, exploring classic gothic literature’s influence on
contemporary society had some relevance. We are extremely fortunate to
have an award-winning playwright in David Hansen on our staff, and vampire lore
is somewhat of his specialty. David was very excited to take on this
project, and I think audiences are going to be taken by his wonderful new
play.”<BR><BR>Taking its title from a Bram Stoker quotation, David Hansen’s
world premiere one-act drama <STRONG><EM>On the Dark Side of
Twilight</EM></STRONG> explores the evolution of the classic vampire myth, from
its literary origins in John Polidori’s <EM>The Vampyre</EM>, through Stoker’s
<EM>Dracula</EM>, Anne Rice’s <EM>Interview With A Vampire</EM>, and Stephenie
Meyer’s <EM>Twilight</EM>. An homage to four pivotal moments in the
history of classic vampire literature, taken as a whole, <STRONG><EM>On the Dark
Side of Twilight</EM></STRONG> describes a complete, two-century epic centering
around the character of Aubrey Porlock.<BR><BR><STRONG>The three-actor touring
company features Cleveland actors David Hansen, Emily Elizabeth Pucell, and
Dusten Welch</STRONG>. The design trio of <STRONG>Terry Martin </STRONG>(scenic
design), <STRONG>Esther Haberlen (</STRONG>costume design) and <STRONG>Richard
Ingraham</STRONG> (sound design) complete the play’s production team.
“Andrew has directed multiple GLTF tours, and Terry and Richard have designed
for this program for several years as well, so we are thrilled to have their
talents again on this year’s tour. I am especially proud to feature the
Surround debut of costume designer Esther Haberlen, GLTF’s assistant Costume
Shop Manager.” Hahn said.<BR><BR>On the Dark Side of Twilight is a
seventy-minute program that includes an introduction and post-performance
discussion. This production is appropriate for teens through adults.
Times and dates are subject to change. Call individual venues for more
information about the performances. <EM>(Consult the attached tour calendar for
a complete list of performance venues, dates, times an d contact
information.)</EM><BR><BR><STRONG><EM>On the Dark Side of Twilight</EM></STRONG>
<STRONG>is part of a series of community programs surrounding Great Lakes
Theater Festival’s upcoming Spring Repertory production of</STRONG>
<STRONG><EM>Bat Boy: The Musical</EM></STRONG>, story and book by Keythe Farley
& Brian Flemming; music & lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe (April 8 – May 16,
2010 at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare). Held throughout northern Ohio
from February through October, the 2010, the Festival’s Surround offers multiple
educational programs designed to connect the issues in our plays to the issues
in people’s own lives. <STRONG>All Surround events are free and open to
the public when at non-school venues.</STRONG><BR><BR>For more information,
visit the Great Lakes Theater Festival website at
<STRONG>www.greatlakestheater.org</STRONG> or call the Festival’s education
department <BR>at <STRONG>(216) 241-5490
x307</STRONG>.<BR><BR># #
#<BR><BR><STRONG>Media Contact:</STRONG><BR>Todd Krispinsky<BR>Marketing and
Public Relations Director<BR>Great Lakes Theater Festival<BR>1501 Euclid Avenue,
Suite 300<BR>Cleveland, Ohio 44115<BR>(216) 241-5490 x317 / (216) 241-6315
Fax<BR></FONT><A href="blocked::http://www.greatlakestheater.org/"><FONT size=2
face=Arial>www.greatlakestheater.org</FONT></A></DIV>
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