SOAPM Meet the Cast: Andre Brown "Junior Barnes"

Co-Founder of ...AND Company Theatre and a proud high school drama teacher, Andre Brown has been performing for several years. Some of his favorite roles include, Man in "Crowns", Jackie Robinson in "Play to Win", Papa Ge in "Once on This Island", The Wiz in "The Wiz", and Andre in "Ain't Misbehavin'" to name a few. Andre has studied theatre professionally at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, CA and Film & Broadcasting at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. It his ultimate desire to present the "truth" of the human experience on stage both professionally and artistically.

Andre plays the character of "Junior Barnes." The lead character in Son of a Preacher Man, audiences can expect to see "Junior" go on a turbulent ride from beginning to end as he navigates the expectations and judgements of his family, as well as the congregation at large.

Son Of A Preacher Man follows the relationship between a preacher’s son with a not so conventional lifestyle and a preacher who allows the secular to take over his spirituality.This play will make you laugh out loud, shout, cry and most of all think about the consequences of super-human expectations and ridiculous judgements.


Show dates/times:
Friday November 25, 7:30PM
Saturday November 26, 3PM and 7:30PM
Sunday November 27, 4PM
Friday December 2, 7:30PM
Saturday December 3, 3PM and 7:30pm
Sunday December 4, 4PM

Tickets:
$15 in advance / $20 at the door
Students/Seniors $10

Purchase tickets online: http://brownpapertickets.com/event/208148

Location:
Christ Church Neighborhood House - 20 N. American st. Philadelphia, PA, 19106

Kyle Paul Dandridge featured in Chestnut Hill Local

The September 22nd issue of the Chestnut Hill Local newspaper includes Laura Hoover's interview with ...AND Company Theatre actor Kyle Paul Dandridge.

Also quoted in the article are ...AND Company Theatre's Artistic Director Andre Brown as well as the playwright of E-mail: 9/12, Midge Guerrera.

Newspaper article and photo of Dandridge (left) by writer Laura Beitman Hoover. The entire article from the paper's Local Life section is available to read online here.

Tickets still available for E-mail: 9/12

Tickets are still available for ...AND Company Theatre's production of the stage play E-mail: 9/12.

Advanced tickets are highly recommended, and may be purchased online now.

E-mail: 9/12 is based on the real life experiences of the playwright, Midge Guerrera, of how she was able to able to connect with family and friends online via e-mail on the day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th.

E-mail: 9/12 presented by ...AND Company Theatre. Directed by Andre G. Brown, Produced by Israel Atkins, Jr. Starring Colleen O'Brien, Pauline Anne Schantzer, Jennie Cupcakes, Kai Leah Nikol, Kyle Paul Dandridge, and Walter DeShields. Stage Manager, Ryan Dadalski. Prop Mistress, Shenee Carroll.

Performances are scheduled for ONE DAY ONLY, Saturday, September 24th, 2011.
3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening shows.
Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at
20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

Advanced tickets available online now for $20 each.
Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis for $25 each.

Group sales for 10 or more, please call 609-891-7555.
For more info, visit www.andcompanytheatre.org.

Mr. Congeniality, Israel Atkins, Jr.

Co-founder of ...AND Company Theatre, Israel Atkins, Jr., is also the Producer of the company's debut production, E-mail: 9/12.

Israel Atkins, Jr. is the Producer for E-mail: 9/12 presented by ...AND Company Theatre on September 24, 2011 at Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre at 3pm and 7pm.

"This production has impressed upon me the inspiring belief that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come," says Atkins of the stage play E-mail: 9/12. The show explores how people were able to come together through e-mails on the day after the tragic and subsequently heroic events of the largest terrorist attacks in modern history.

Atkins joined the team of ...AND Company Theatre after discovering the artistic genius of the Company's creative director, Andre Brown. As Co-founder and Producer, Israel endeavors to create an environment where ideas can be fostered, talents nurtured, and dreams realized.

Israel Atkins, Jr. is also the CEO of Image is Real LLC., a high-end fashion agency in developing neo-classic and custom men's fashion. After 8 years as a Technical Manager and Video Engineer working for two major cable and content providers, he steps into full time Performance and Media Production with ...AND Company Theatre.

Performances of E-mail: 9/12 are scheduled for ONE DAY ONLY, Saturday, September 24th, 2011. 3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening show. Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at 20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tickets, $25. Advance tickets available online. Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis. More info: www.andcompanytheatre.org or 609-891-7555.

Get to Know Andre Brown

E-mail: 9/12's director Andre Brown is also the founder of ...AND Company Theatre.

Andre Brown directs the stage play E-mail: 9/12, being performed on September 24th, 2011 at 3pm and 7pm at Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre in Philadelphia, PA.

“Once I read the script, it haunted me,” states Brown, “but I felt it needed to be expressed on stage. These are stories that need to be told.” Brown adds, “The events are still surreal after all these years, but we’re all still feeling the effects of what occurred on September 11, 2001.”

E-mail: 9/12 was written by Brown's mentor Midge Guerrera and is based on her own experiences connecting via e-mail on the day after the terrorist attacks in NYC and the nation.

Having been involved in the theatre since he was 11 years old, 2011 marks Brown's 20th year in the business. He studied Musical Theatre at both the NY and LA campuses of the American Musical Dramatic Academy, and joined Actors Equity in 2004.

The production of E-mail: 9/12 marks the debut performance for ...AND Company Theatre, a semi-professional theatre company Brown founded in late 2010. The productions by ...AND Company Theater “offer an opportunity for audiences to experience new theatre and new stories,” states Brown. The innovative format, employing multi-media techniques on stage also explores the fusion of the world of television and the world of theatre.

In addition to E-mail: 9/12, ...AND Company Theatre's season includes Son of a Preacher Man by Kellie Turner & Dominique Denman on Nov 25th & 26th, 2011; Black! by Andre Brown on Feb 24th & 25th, 2012; and a New Playwright's Festival from June 5 - 9th 2012.

Performances of E-mail: 9/12 are scheduled for ONE DAY ONLY, Saturday, September 24th, 2011. 3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening show. Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at 20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tickets, $25. Discounts available in advance online. Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis. More info: www.andcompanytheatre.org or 609-891-7555.

All About Pauline Anne

Pauline Anne Schantzer joins the cast of E-mail: 9/12 presented by ...AND Company Theatre.

Pauline Anne Schantzer is a junior transfer student pursing a communications major and theater minor at Temple University. She says she auditioned for the play E-mail: 9/12 because of the director, Andre Brown. "His passion and persistence for the script inspired me," Schantzer explains. "I hope that the audience will feel as if they are physically there on the streets of NYC and connected to the characters that we are bringing to life."

E-mail: 9/12 recounts how people were able to connect via e-mail the day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. At a time before Twitter and Facebook, on a day when when cell phone calls couldn't always get through, e-mail became a lifeline for people to connect, to laugh, to grieve, and to support one another. Penned by New Jersey Playwright Midge Guerrera, E-mail: 9/12 is based on her own experiences, of keeping in touch with family and friends online.

...AND Company Theatre is presenting the play as an ensemble piece. Schantzer gets to show off her acting range as she takes on characters as diverse as a shocked French-Canadian Institutional Trader, a sexy bride-to-be in her early fifties, and a terrified four-year-old girl.

Schantzer has been acting for four years, but says she always knew she was going to be a performer. "The moment I began to pursue acting was when I was 18, my mom told me that the only place I belonged was on a stage."

Performances are scheduled for one day only, Saturday, September 24th, 2011. 3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening show. Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at 20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tickets, $25. Discounts available in advance online. Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis. More info: www.andcompanytheatre.org or 609-891-7555.

...AND Company Theatre presents E-mail: 9/12

Stage Play E-mail: 9/12 marks debut performance for …AND Company Theatre

PHILADELPHIA, PA …AND Company Theatre performs the stage play E-mail: 9/12 at the Christ Church Neighborhood House at 3pm and 7pm on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.

The show explores how ordinary people connected through cyberspace immediately after the terrorist attacks on the twin towers. As phone communications were affected, they stayed in touch through e-mails, offering news of how they are doing, how they survived, stories of heroism, shock, and updates on those who didn't make it.

The production by …AND Company Theatre is being presented as an ensemble piece. The players take on different characters’ speaking roles, re-telling their e-mail stories, as the rest of the cast interacts and reacts to them, helping to bring the scenes to life.

E-mail: 9/12, written by New Jersey playwright Midge Guerrera, was first produced for one woman in 2004, and has undergone additional development since then. To mark the 10th anniversary of the events, the newly formed …AND Company Theatre is launching the production as an ensemble piece with six actors in Philadelphia.

To personalize the play E-mail: 9/12 for the Philadelphia audience, …AND Company Theatre invites people to include their own "e-mail monologues". The play was written to be able to include them throughout the performance. Ideally they will be in the range of 300 - 500 words. Anyone interested in submitting should follow-up with pr@andcompanytheatre.org.

E-mail: 9/12 presented by …AND Company Theatre. Directed by Andre G. Brown, Produced by Israel Atkins, Jr. Starring Colleen O'Brien, Pauline Anne Schantzer, Jennie Cupcakes, Kai Leah Nikol, Kyle Paul Dandridge, and Walter DeShields. Stage Manager, Ryan Dadalski. Prop Mistress, Shenee Carroll.

Performances are scheduled for one day only, Saturday, September 24th, 2011. 3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening show. Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at 20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tickets, $25. Discounts available in advance online. Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis. More info: www.andcompanytheatre.org or 609-891-7555.

...AND Company Theatre's 2011-2012 Season

...AND Company Theatre

Ensemble Theatre at its Best

E-MAIL: 9/12
by Midge Guerrera, Directed by Andre Brown
September 24, 2011 3pm Matinee, and 7pm Evening
9/11/2011 marks the 10th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on NYC and around the nation. Join us as we remember and celebrate heroes, loved ones, and our fallen. Embrace the compassion and resilience of the human spirit through cyberspace.

SON OF A PREACHER MAN
by Vascola Stoney with Kellie Turner & Dominique Denman
November 25, 2011 7:30pm
November 26, 2011 3pm & 7:30pm
November 27, 2001 4pm
December 2, 2001 7:30pm
December 3, 3pm & 7:30pm
December 4, 2001 4pm
Son Of A Preacher Man tells the story of the sometimes actual, sometimes elaborated life and mind of a Preacher's son with a loaded past and destructive future. The crossroad of sacred and secular hang in the balance of a love story between father and son.

To Be Young Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry In Her Own Words
Adapted by Robert Nemiroff
Directed by Andre Brown
February 23, 2012 8pm
February 24, 2012 8pm
February 25, 2012 3pm & 8pm
February 26, 2012 3pm
Best known as the author of the book A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry's ex-husband adapted many of her writings into this play after her death.  Get to know the amazing woman and author through her works in this captivating play. 

NEW PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
June 5 - 9, 2012
7:30pm Each Night
...AND Company Theatre presents a festival of New Plays by up and coming playwrights. Each night will feature one new play representing the gamut of genres from drama to comedy, experimental to downright funky. Come and experience a fresh, new level of premiere theatre and artistic awareness!

To purchase tickets, visit www.andcompanytheatre.org or call 609-891-7555

About ...AND Company Theatre

…AND Company Theatre was founded by Equity Actor Andre G. Brown in late 2010 in Philadelphia.  It was founded on the premise of the ensemble doing the work. 

So often, stage shows are marketed as performed by a big name talent, “and company.”  Yet, that troupe of actors do much of the work.   …AND Company Theatre seeks to showcase the work of those actors, and that’s one of the reasons behind the name “…AND Company Theatre.”

The name “…AND Company Theatre” also starts with the same three letters as the first name of the Founder and Artistic Director, Andre Brown.  When he realized that the initials for “…AND Company Theatre” also spell the word “ACT,”  Brown explains, “That was a happy accident.”

…AND Company Theatre offers audiences the opportunity to experience new theatre and new stores.  The shows highlight the work of new playwrights, and present them with an innovative format, employing multi-media techniques on stage exploring the fusion of the world of television and the world of theatre.

“We all have stories that need to be told,” says Brown.  “…AND Company Theatre expresses these stores on stage, as ‘Ensemble Theatre at its Best.’”

…AND Company Theatre is based in Philadelphia, PA.  For more information on their current season, auditions, and tickets, visit their website at www.andcompanytheatre.org, or check out the latest posts on this, the official blog for …AND Company Theatre.