The Co-op of Pacific Resident Theatre presents:
UK UNDERDOG
Written and Performed by Steve Spiro
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Directed by Ann Bronston
November 18 – December 17
Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 4pm
+2 Wednesdays, Dec 6&13 at 8pm
+ Friday, Dec 15 at 8pm
Tickets: Suggested $15 donation.
Order online to reserve and pay now or
Call 310-822-8392 to reserve and pay at the door
UK UNDERDOG is NOT part of the Subscription Season
TICKETS ON SALE.
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U.K. Underdog is based on true events in an East end London boy’s life. As one step leads to another- through humiliations, mistakes, and being bullied – Steve Spiro realizes his strength to move forward. In sharing his story, he reveals the humor and perspective that makes the past a gift to the present and a foundation for the future.
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NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR / PERFORMER, STEVE SPIRO
I’ve been a proud member of the Pacific Resident Theatre since 2001. I have performed in several plays at PRT including The Homecoming that ran for 5 months back in 2016. I played JOEY, the slow minded boxer. A few other projects I have appeared in at PRT include: The Caretaker, The Blue Dahlia, Diner Times, The Misanthrope, Figures and now UK Underdog (A One Man Show).
I was inspired to write UK Underdog after my acting coach, Larry Moss, suggested the class write a monologue based on a true event in our lives which had meaning to us. I was bullied at the age of 13 and so what began as a 20 minute piece, grew over the years into the 85 minute show I am now performing at PRT. I believe audiences can relate to bullying on many different levels, whether personally or to someone close to them, but the show is also about making major mistakes in life and and then facing up to them in order to move on.
I have written many different drafts of my show over the years but this current version is the one I feel is closest to my heart. I did a reading of it at PRT in March 2017 and got great feedback and notes and then did another reading in May 2017. I invited a few theatre directors and one of them was Ann Bronston. We met for coffee and discussed the project and we both decided to work on it together for a two week trial period to see if we; (Ann, myself AND the script) were compatible. It was!
The rehearsal process was long. We cut at least 12 pages out of the script that didn’t support the journey of the story and after 4 months of rehearsals and 7 days a week of learning 40 pages of dialogue – UK UNDERDOG opened in the co-op on Saturday, November 18th.