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The Bargain and the Butterfly

March 26 - April 7!

“The Bargain and the Butterfly” was presented in June, 2014 as the final offering of the 2013-2014 season of the SCR Studio Series.

This encore performance followed the play’s premiere in Los Angeles in 2013 and its presentation in Warsaw at Komuna//Warsawa in October 2013.

Read the Broadway World review HERE!

Check out the photo album by Patti McGuire HERE!

Watch the video teaser HERE!

The Ghost Road Company presented the world premiere of its devised production, The Bargain and the Butterfly from March 26–April 7, 2013. Inspired by American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story The Artist of the Beautiful and under the direction of Katharine Noon, the Los Angeles-based theater ensemble has crafted a beautifully haunting new play, which explores the delicate intersection of genius and madness.

In a world of shredded books and ticking time pieces, Annie, the brilliant, yet tense progeny of a scientist and a watchmaker, has one desire: restore the soul of her twin brother Owen who has been in a state of coma since birth. With blueprints for a synthetic soul in hand, she turns to a local glassblower to execute the central, delicate piece required for her design to function. However, progress falters as she confides in her new companion, and Annie begins to feel that time may be running out.

This expertly crafted, ensemble-driven theatrical work looks at the choices we face involving individual survival and the survival of the human race through the prism of neurology, bio-genetics and psychology. In addition to using Hawthorne’s The Artist of the Beautiful as its central source material, the company found inspiration in neuroscience, in particular the research concerning a genetic anomaly present in both schizophrenics and highly creative people called the T/T variant on the Neuregulin 1 gene.

Directed by Katharine Noon and developed by in collaboration with the ensemble, The Bargain and the Butterfly features The Ghost Road Company members Ronnie Clark, Christel Joy Johnson and Brian Weir, alongside regular collaborators Jennifer Kays and Doug Sutherland. Also returning are Maureen Weiss (production design) and Cricket Myers (sound design), who have both worked with the ensemble for the last six years. Ronnie Clark (lighting), Andrew Lia (stage management) and Mark Seldis (producer) round out the production team.

Devising workshop participants: Katharine Noon, Sarah Broyles, Shaughn Buchholz, Ronnie Clark, Kim Glann, Christel Joy Johnson, Devin Kasper, Jen Kays, JoAnna Senatore, Mark Seldis, Doug Sutherland, Brian Weir and Ronald Wingate.

Previous Performances:
The Bargain and the Butterfly premiered on March 26–April 7, 2013
at Artworks Theatre.

In preparation of its presentation in Warsaw on October 10th, there was a pre-tour showing of the play on Monday September 30th at 8pm at
Artworks Theatre
6569 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90038

Komuna//Warsawa performance on October 10, 2013 in Warsaw, Poland.

These performances were funded in part by a grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs and in Poland by The Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Consulate.

“Bargain” poster art by Josh Worth

 

Project Details