For the 2009 Amsterdam Fringe Festival this September, festival organizers have announced that the festival -- reaching across the globe -- will present Los Angeles' surrealist theatre and creator John Sinner's Theatre Revelation in the world premiere of Sinner's theatrical extravaganza The Devil Has A Sister at the Melkweg in Amsterdam for 4 performances on the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th of September 2009. Sinner's production will bring will be a "hallucinatory" mix of gothic drama, screwball comedy, horror, violence and music hall singing and dancing to the Melkweg stage. About John Sinner's productions, critics have written: "Tightly executed surrealism with a savage enthusiasm and great skill" (nytheatre.com). "John Sinner has been one of the prominent exponents of surrealistic theatre in Los Angeles . . . Sinner is the kind of playwright that goes for the throat. A compelling style that goes beyond theatre . . . ." (Review Plays.com) "GO! Recommended! Writer/Director John Sinner's stylish, darkly funny play is a flat-out kick! . . . Savage, strikingly ambitious and creative!" (LA WEEKLY) "Theatre Revelation has come up with a new type of stage offering that defies description, but reinforces the producer's name and intentions. . . . John Sinner breaks new theatrical ground!" (4Front Magazine).
Sinner cites among his many influences his love of Edgar Allan Poe, George Cukor, Tennessee Williams, Reza Abdoh ( for whom Sinner worked in his early career in avant garde theatre in L.A. ), Luis Buñuel and Lucille Ball. John reveals, "As a gay artist, I'm drawn to exploring and telling stories about those who feel disenfranchised from having a seat at the table of our American heterosexual, homogenous culture. The artistic madness and the bravura that blossoms in the "fringes" of this kind of "theatre circuit" is the perfect genre for the provoking works I create for both the straight and gay communities- it's all about our emotional oneness and relating" "My work mixes the darkness with light, mayhem with musical numbers, laughter with the surreal. I like the idea of immediately when the audience members come in, it's almost as if they're Alice in Wonderland who has just gone down the rabbit hole. So when you enter the theatre, you're entering another world and you can't suddenly get your comfort or safety zone and nothing is going to be spoon-fed to you. Instead I prefer that you should suddenly be off-kilter. I like at one point making people laugh and at the next moment having them horrified by what they're seeing. Even having that laughter caught in their throat, like what did I just laugh at? What am I reacting to?... "I really think it's important to mix those messages so that they're not always expecting what's going to happen next or what their reactions should be next. It gives them, I'd like to think, more insight into themselves and into their culture."
Selected Sinner's credit's include: Assistant Director to Rod Marriott on "5 One-Acts" by Joe Pintauro and Elise Thoron on "Charity's Children" by Tim Mason, Guest Playwright at the A.S.K. Theater Projects writers salon, ( LA's most prestigious theater-funding organization ), a Founding Member of the LATC Emerging Directors Lab and a National Tour and Company Member of Chamber Repertory Theatre, Associate Producer with A&F Productions, an award winning documentary film production company, who recently premiered "Why Be Good: Sexuality and Censorship in Pre-Code Film" at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and was the Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director, Bill Bushnell, at the former Los Angeles Theatre Center, was the Associate Director of Shakespeare Festival/LA and the Coordinating Producer of the Lannan Foundation's Reading Series with well-known award winning writers and poets. Onstage Sinner has played such varied roles as Lucky in "Waiting For Godot", Eddie in "Fool For Love", Teddy in "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?", Saul in "As Is", Lucentio in "The Taming of the Shrew" and performed as well as written and directed his own "2 BY SINNER." Sinner is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Theatre Revelation, a non-profit, 501 (c) (3), theatrical production company whose artistic mission is to create, nurture and produce new theatrical works that focus on the original, inventive and experimental. About the Amsterdam Fringe Festival, Sinner notes: "I'm honored that the Amsterdam Fringe festival invited my company to be part of their excitement and their American show pick"
The Festival was introduced to Sinner's mix of fantasy, darkness and comedy at last summer's 2008 New York Fringe Festival presentation of a diptych Sinner's piece. Sinner had premiered two original works entitled "2 BY SINNER" chosen by the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival and recognized by NYTheatre.com announcing Sinner's production on their "HOTLIST" as the "3rd most popular 2008 New York International Fringe Fest show. Sinner receiving two Backstage West "Garland Theatre Excellence Award (s)" for his critically acclaimed play "Blood Is My Legacy! [A Theatrical Extravaganza of Pure Family Values ]" has captured Hollywood and New York theater critics attentive minds, taking notice of his very moving unusual style. "I hope the audiences at the Amsterdam Fringe will experience a real thrilling jolt from my newest endeavor The Devil Has A Sister. The company and I can't wait to meet and experience the works of the other creatives at this amazing festival- so we're packing our outlandish bag of tricks, costumes, sets and energies- maybe we'll even learn to speak Dutch!!!"
Sheryl Mandel, Integrity Publicity: ssshekkie@aol.com - JasG@ca.rr.com
+1-718-352-5976 & +1-323-496-7300
