Newswise — The Center for the Arts presents the Boston premiere of "Embedded," written and directed by Tim Robbins. This is the first national tour of the acclaimed production that premiered on November 15, 2003 at the Actors' Gang in Los Angeles. Performances take place at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, December 9 & 10 at Northeastern University in Blackman Theatre, Ell Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue Boston. Tickets are $25; seniors and students $20, through the Northeastern University Ticket Center, 617-373-2247; Monday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. or on-line at http://www.centerforthearts.neu.edu.
"Embedded" takes audiences inside the relationship between the media and government and the practice of being embedded (a term used early on in the war in Iraq that refers to journalists who were allowed to accompany American troops as they marched toward Baghdad). Central to the raucous production is a sextet of grotesquely masked "President's men," who are linked to the Bush White House by such nicknames as Dick, Pearly White, Gondola, Wolfy and Rum Rum. Performed by LA's Actor's Gang, the production is wrought with cynical front line journalists, the outrageous schemes of government officials, the biting humor of a show-tune singing colonel, and the media's insatiable desire for heroes.
The play includes strong language and mature themes. Music by the Clash; design by Richard Hoover, costumes by Yasuko Takahara, lighting by Adam H. Greene, sound by David Robbins, and masks by Erhard Stiefel.
The Actors' Gang, LA's versatile and audacious theatre ensemble, is immediate, socially minded, and exudes the highest artistic standards - similar qualities that could also be used to describe Tim Robbins. Before Robbins began his film career, he was a theater artist, writing, directing, and acting in work for the Actors' Gang, the company he co-founded in 1981. He still serves as its artistic director. The Actors' Gang will be in-residence at Northeastern University from Monday, December 6 through Saturday, December 11 to conduct the following Workshops: "Character Development," "Using Movement to Develop Character" "Creating Political Theater," "Acting as a Career," and "Discovering Humanity through Theater."
Robbins, an outspoken opponent of President Bush's military policies in Afghanistan and Iraq, has received a great deal of negative press from conservative quarters for his perceived lack of patriotism. The most infamous contretemps involved the Baseball Hall of Fame, which canceled a scheduled screening of the Robbins baseball comedy "Bull Durham" because the actor had spoken out against the war in Iraq.
Northeastern University, located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, is a world leader in practice-oriented education and recognized for its expert faculty and first-rate academic and research facilities. Northeastern integrates challenging liberal arts and professional studies with the nation's largest cooperative education program. Through co-op, Northeastern undergraduates alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, giving them nearly two years of professional experience upon graduation. The majority of Northeastern graduates receive a job offer from a co-op employer. Cited for excellence three years running by U.S. News & World Report, Northeastern has quickly moved up into the top tier rankings—an impressive 30 spots in three years. In addition, Northeastern was named a top college in the northeast by the Princeton Review 2003/04. For more information, please visit http://www.northeastern.edu.
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