The Edge of the Universe Players 2

presents

Chesapeake

by Lee Blessing

a part of the 9th Annual Capital Fringe Festival, July 10-27, 2014

Art and politics take on the inner life of dogs

Washington, DC, May 2014. The Edge of the Universe Players 2 will present Chesapeake, by Lee Blessing, as part of the Capital Fringe Festival in July 2014. The one-person show will be performed by Dexter Hamlett and directed by Aly Ettman, founding Artistic Director of Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions.

Chesapeake is a magical-realist fable about an artist, a politician and the dog that unites their fates forever. Kerr is a performance artist who is enraged when a Southern politician from his home town-–the folksy, conservative, dog-toting Therm Pooley-–uses Kerr to attack both his art and his grant from the NEA to win a Senatorial election bid. Pooley wins and Kerr plots revenge by attempting a dog-napping. His plans go horribly wrong: Kerr dies in an accident and is reincarnated as Pooley’s new Chesapeake Bay retriever. Thus begins a revolution of understanding between the man and the artist, and an evolution of love between the man and the dog.

Performances will take place at Fort Fringe-–Bedroom, beginning Thursday, July 10 at 8:00 pm and running for 5 performances through Saturday, July 26.

This production is presented as a part of the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival, a program of the Washington, DC non-profit Capital Fringe.

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What: Chesapeake, by Lee Blessing

Featuring: Dexter Hamlett

Directed by: Aly Ettman

Where: Fort Fringe-–Bedroom, 612 L St., NW,

Washington, DC 20001

When: Thursday, July 10 at 8:00 pm; Sunday, July 13 at 3:45 pm; Saturday, July 19 at 12:00 pm; Wednesday, July 23

at 8:45 pm; Saturday, July 26 at 7:00 pm

Tickets: capitalfringe.org or by calling 866-811-4111 starting June 19

Publicist: Emily Morrison, c.: 323-363-4404 or 202-299-0262 emilylovemorrison@me.com

Fringe Festival

Press Contact: Laura Gross, 202-207-3645, c.: 202-255-2054, press@capitalfringe.org

Follow us on Facebook (The Edge of the Universe Players 2)

and Twitter @UniversePlayers

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Dexter Hamlett (Kerr) has worked locally with Peter’s Alley Productions, Force Collision, Factory 449, Heritage O’Neill, African Continuum and Active Cultures theatre companies. In 2003, he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the NAACP LA Theater Awards for his work in The Tempest with The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Aly B. Ettman (Director) is the Founding Artistic Director of Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions and Director of over 20 plays and musicals in New York City and Greater Washington. Recent credits include Stop Kiss and To Gillian on her 37th Birthday (both with Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions).

About The Edge of the Universe Players 2

Our company’s mission is produce plays with both great entertainment value and depth of meaning. We wish to focus on human concerns including individual liberty, family, power, religion, and death. More info at universeplayers2.org. Follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.

About Capital Fringe

Capital Fringe is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2005 with the purpose of connecting exploratory artists with adventurous audiences by creating outlets and spaces for creative, cutting-edge, and contemporary performance in the District. Capital Fringe’s vital programs ensure the growth and continued health of the local and regional performing arts community by helping artists become independent producers while stimulating the vibrant cultural landscape in our city.

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