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Intelligence-Slave

Presented by Alley Theatre at Alley Theatre -- Patricia Peckinpaugh Hubbard Stage

May 23-June 20, 2010

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The Alley Theatre presents the World Premiere Gripping, Intriguing Drama Intelligence-Slave, a New Play by Kenneth Lin.  Directed by Jackson Gay. Previews start May 23, 2010; Opens May 27, 2010; Ends June 20, 2010.  On the Neuhaus Stage.

Kenneth Lin’s new play, Intelligence-Slave, tells the story of Curt Herzstark, a concentration camp prisoner who is being kept alive by the Nazis because he has invented the world’s first hand-held four function calculator. What will happen when he completes the invention, his talents are no longer required, and he becomes dispensable? Curt's survival plan takes a turn when the Nazis introduce him to a wunderkind member of the Hitler Youth with a soul that might be salvageable.

In an interview with Alley Senior Dramaturg and Director of New Play Development, Playwright Kenneth Lin describes the issues that compelled him to write this play. Lin became “fascinated with the Curta calculator, which required no batteries, but ran on a series of gears, almost like a clockwork” and further “fascinated with the dramatic tension inherent in a character who is being kept alive because he has invented something truly extraordinary.”

Lin says, “I also loved that the most difficult problem in creating the calculator was the problem of performing subtraction. I thought that was a profound metaphor to employ in the construction of a play about the Holocaust.” Lin wrote Intelligence-Slave in residence at the Nassau County Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center.

Intelligence-Slave, by Kenneth Lin (Alley Debut, Yale School of Drama graduate) and directed by Houston-native Jackson Gay (Alley Debut), begins performances Sunday, May 23, opens officially Thursday, May 27 and runs through Sunday, June 20 on the Neuhaus Stage. (Rehearsals are starting later than was originally planned and therefore performances will begin on May 23 instead of May 21, as was previously announced.)

Intelligence-Slave features Alley Theatre Artists James Belcher as Fritz Engelhardt, Chris Hutchison as Bruno Clemens and Todd Waite as Hermann Pister. The cast for Intelligence-Slave also features Steven Louis Kane as Finn Frey (Alley Debut, New York Musical Theatre Festival's Academy) and Andrew Weems as Curt Herzstark (Alley Debut, Broadway's Inherit the Wind).

The design team for Intelligence-Slave includes Scenic and Lighting Design by Kevin Rigdon (Alley's Mrs. Mannerly, Our Town, Sherlock Holmes and The Crucifer of Blood, Mauritius), Costume Design by Blair Gulledge (Alley's Mrs. Mannerly, Sherlock Holmes and The Crucifer of Blood, The Santaland Diaries, Underneath the Lintel), Sound Design by Pierre Dupree (Alley's Sherlock Holmes and The Crucifer of Blood, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Santaland Diaries, Secret Order), Dramaturg Mark Bly (Alley's Our Town, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Harvey ) and Fight Director Brian Byrnes (Alley's Cyrano de Bergerac, Othello, The Pillowman, Deathtrap).

NEW PLAY INITIATIVE
The Alley Theatre's New Play Initiative facilitates the creative collaboration between playwrights, directors, actors, designers and dramaturgs during all stages of a new play's development. Central to this Initiative are readings, workshops, commissions, Affinity Series Symposiums and residencies. Three world premieres have been developed through this Initiative this season: Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries, which ran October 16 to November 15, 2009, Jack Murphy, Gregory Boyd, and Frank Wildhorn's Wonderland , which ran January 15 to February 14, 2010, and Kenneth Lin's Intelligence-Slave , which will be on the Alley Theatre Neuhaus Stage in May 23 to June 20, 2010 (opens May 27, 2010). In producing these new plays, we intend to give each the fullest production values and support to bring forth and enhance the theatrical poetry and imagination that the playwright has poured into the play. This is the primary focal point and purpose of the entire New Play Initiative at the Alley Theatre - for the artists and audience to come together within the imagination of a living, working playwright and to help create a first production that will launch the new work to become what we all believe it will be - a play destined to become a classic for the future.

Intelligence-Slave is generously sponsored by Neuhaus Stage Season Sponsor Randall H. Jamail. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2009-2010 season sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

Recommended for mature audiences due to language and subject matter.

Special Events:

AFFINITY SERIES SYMPOSIUM
Saturday, May 29 2:30 PM
As part of the recently launched New Play Initiative, the Alley Theatre will present an Affinity Series Symposium for each world premiere this season featuring the playwright and dramaturg to discuss the genesis of the play, the Alley Theatre rehearsal process, and the larger societal issues raised by the play. The third Affinity Series Symposium will occur in conjunction with the world premiere of Kenneth Lin's Intelligence-Slave on Saturday, May 29th, immediately following the 2:30 PM performance and is open to those holding a ticket for this performance.

For Intelligence-Slave, the Affinity Series Symposium will feature playwright Kenneth Lin and Alley Theatre Senior Dramaturg and Director of New Play Development, Mark Bly.

OPEN CAPTIONING
Sunday, May 30 7:30 PM
The Alley Theatre offers access services for our deaf or hard of hearing and sight-impaired patrons. Audio Description is provided for each Hubbard Stage performance and Open Captioning is offered for every Hubbard Stage and Neuhaus Stage performance

TALKBACK
Tuesday, June 1 7:30 PM
Ever wanted to talk to the cast members or know more about what goes into a production at the Alley? Here's your chance! During TalkBacks, members of the cast return to the stage after the performance to take questions from the audience. TalkBacks are led by a member of the Alley Artistic Staff. Call the Alley Theatre Box Office at 713-220-5700, then press 1. Or, stop by the box office at 615 Texas Avenue to subscribe.