Renegade Theatre Experiment Presents Sideways Stories From Wayside School

San José, CA (PRWEB) October 25, 2006

After the resounding success of last year's inaugural Renegade children's show—Roald Dahl's The BFG—a follow-up was inevitable. Renegade found just the show in Sideways Stories From Wayside School, another theatrical adaptation of a beloved and yet deliriously askew children's novel. The book is one in a series by Louis Sachar (Holes), and as adapted for the stage by John Olive, Sideways Stories From Wayside School will delight children of all ages with its literally off-the-wall humor.

Wayside School was supposed to be 30 classrooms, one story high, but by mistake it was built 30 classrooms straight up, one on top of another! And that's not all that's funny here. This bizarre building is home to cows, rats, a ghost and an evil teacher that turns her students into apples. Sachar explains the story's origins in his student days at U.C. Berkeley: "In 1976, I got college credit for helping out at a nearby elementary school [Hillside Elementary in Berkeley]. I got to know the kids in the class really well, and that's what led to the kids in Wayside School… Sideways Stories from Wayside School was accepted by a publisher during my first week at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco."

Wackiness will ensue when Sideways Stories From Wayside School previews on November 2nd, and runs November 3rd-25th at the Historic Hoover Theater in San Jose. Performances begin at 8:00pm, except Sunday matinees which are at 2pm. Tickets for Sideways Stories From Wayside School are $18.00 General Admission (Thursdays and Sundays) and $20.00 General Admission (Fridays and Saturdays). Students and teachers, seniors, and Theatre Bay Area members qualify for discount tickets ($13.00 Thu/Sun & $15.00 Fri/Sat) with valid ID. Tickets and season subscriptions are on sale at http://www.renegadetheatre.com.

The Renegade Theatre Experiment (RTE), founded in 2001, is the South Bay's voice for alternative theatre.

Publicity photos: http://www.renegadetheatre.com/press
Contact: Elizabeth Arnsdorf Patterson

(408) 351-4440

An invitation to the media:

Renegade Theatre Experiment proudly invites you

to attend any of our opening weekend performances for

the West Coast Premiere of

Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Written by Louis Sachar

Adapted for the Stage by John Olive

Historic Hoover Theater

1635 Park Avenue

San José, CA 95126.

November 3rd, 4th, and 5th

Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 8:00 PM

Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 PM

Renegade Theatre Experiment Reviews:

"They do make it a point to sort of reach out to alternative voices and stories that aren't necessarily told...they're wanting to do the same thing that I'm wanting to do—challenging people to think when they're seeing a show, not shying away from topics that would be taboo. It's a bold company."

[Playwright Erica Hemenway, quoted in The Salinas Californian, February 29, 2006]

"A South Bay company that's already received notice from the press for its bold, unconventional productions."

[Karen McKevitt, Theatre Bay Area Magazine, August 1, 2004]

Past productions:

The Pornozombies by Matt Casarino (World Premiere)

"'PornoZombies' fun splashes of bold humor offer a good pep rally for anyone feeling stifled by moralizers."

[Marianne Messina, Metro, July 19, 2006]

Waiting to Dance by Erica Hemenway (World Premiere)

"At last, a play centered on women that doesn't feel as if half the character potentialities have been dropped from the conversation. Engaging, unpredictable, sometimes warm, sometimes brutal, Renegade Theatre Experiment's world-premiere Waiting to Dance keeps the company's brand of errant sophistication going to unexpected places."

[Marianne Messina, Metro, February 8, 2006]

Lorca In A Green Dress by Nilo Cruz (California Premiere)

"RTE certainly lives up to its name with "Lorca,'' making its mark as a little theater company willing to chase the high of new and difficult work."

[Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News; July 20, 2005]

Roald Dahl's THE BFG

"Ever the rebel, trust that the Renegade Theatre Experiment first children's production would be delightfully creative yet with a proffered edge...Just don't expect a Disney soufflé. More like a bowl of hot chili, pleasing, but with a kick."

[W. Fred Crow, Milpitas Post; November 10, 2005]

Fact Sheet

Renegade Theatre Experiment Presents Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Written by Louis Sachar

Adapted for the Stage by John Olive

Who: Renegade Theatre Experiment - San José-based theatre company with Bay Area cast.

What: A classic children's novel brought to life, complete with a skyscraping school and a teacher who turns her students into apples!

Why: Share the magic of live theatre with the whole family…with a Renegade edge.

When: November 2nd (Preview). November 3-25th. Thursday through Saturday evening performances will begin at 8:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday matinee performances will begin at 2:00pm.

Where: Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Avenue, San José, CA 95126. General Seating.

Price: Ticket Prices:

Thurs & Sun: $18.00 General Admission

$13.00 Student/Educator/Senior/TBA Discount Admission

Fri & Sat: $20.00 General Admission

$15.00 Student/Educator/Senior/TBA Discount Admission

Tickets available online (http://www.renegadetheatre.com) and at the door.

About Renegade Theatre

Committed to forward-thinking performance, Renegade Theatre Experiment builds creative partnerships with aspiring and established artists to bring unique, outstanding theatre to the Bay Area. Founded in 2001, when a group of alumni from Santa Clara University joined together to develop as actors, RTE continues to explore the human experience through established and fresh performance works which break with convention. RTE's artistic and critical successes have included the World Premiere of Waiting to Dance by Erica Hemenway, Roald Dahl's The BFG, the California Premiere of Lorca in a Green Dress by Nilo Cruz, Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Brian Parks' Goner, Hear Me Roar: Women's Image of Self, and the first North American production of the critically acclaimed show, The Dice House by Paul Lucas.

RTE continues in its tradition of bringing exceptional, avant-garde productions to the South Bay by kicking off its 2006/2007 season with the World Premiere of Matt Casarino's campy, satirical cautionary tale, The Pornozombies. Find out what happens when a mad scientist's plan to bring love and happiness to us all involves reanimating the dead to make films of…well…an adult nature. This is followed by the West Coast Premiere of Bill Of (W)rights by nine of America's hottest playwrights: Janet Allard, Rebecca Gilman, Jeffrey Hatcher, Syl Jones, Gavin Lawrence, Melanie Marnich, Jane Martin, Kelly Stuart, and Elizabeth Wong. Bill Of (W)rights is a political funhouse examining the Constitution's first ten amendments in a post 9/11 world where self-censorship abounds and the populace is increasingly governed by fear. In November, RTE presents the Renegade family show with Louis Sachar's twisted tale Sideways Stories From Wayside School, about a school that was supposed to be 30 classrooms, one story high; but by mistake it was built straight up 30 stories. And that's not all that's funny here. This bizarre building is home to cows, rats, a ghost and a teacher that turns her students into apples. This show's quirky humor will appeal to children of all ages. The season finishes strongly with the Shakespeare's darkest, goriest, and most grotesque play, Titus Andronicus. Once again we bring our warped sensibilities to the Bard and the results will be truly awesome!

http://www.renegadetheatre.com

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