TICKETS – TICKETS – TICKETS – TICKETS – TICKETS – TICKETS

Slumpbuster – noun

1) an unattractive man or woman who an athlete sleeps with to get out of a slump

2) a world-premiere comedy by the winner of nation’s largest audience-judged playwriting competition

LOS ANGELES, CA – Jan 11, 2011 – LA and SF based production company PianoFight presents a world-premiere comedy, SLUMPBUSTER, by Robert Potter, the first LA winner of the nation’s largest audience-judged playwriting competition, ShortLived. This romantic comedy, which comes just in time for Valentine’s Day, tells the story of a sports star and a pastry chef who both learn that in love and baseball, scoring is only part of the game. SLUMPBUSTER premieres February 10^th, 2011, and runs Thursdays and Sundays at 8:00pm through March 6^th, at the Asylum Lab located at 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles 90038. Tickets are $20 General Admission or $30 VIP Preferred Seating at the door or online, www.pianofight.com, or $15 if you attend in full sports gear.

This full-length play came about when screenwriter and playwright Robert Potter’s short play “Anton Chekhov’s The Three Minutes” was awarded top prize in the LA installment of PianoFight’s ShortLived 3.0, a three-month long competition of 28 short plays by LA writers, the winner chosen by audiences. Potter’s prize? The opportunity to write a full-length piece on anything of his choosing, to be produced by PianoFight in Los Angeles and in San Francisco. Potter delivered a heart-felt comedy that tows the line of locker room antics and Sex and the City gossip.

The story centers on a superstar baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, Jake, who’s in the middle of a severe slump. Egged on by his loudmouthed teammates at a bar, Jake decides to introduce himself to Molly, an unlucky-in-love pastry chef, who his pals have identified as a “slumpbuster.” When their one-night-stand turns into a loving relationship, Jake’s prospects on the field take a turn for the better and Molly realizes her dream of opening her own restaurant. But their good fortunes come to a crashing halt when the “slumpbusting” impetus behind their romance is revealed. With his relationship on the rocks and a playoff series against the Yankees hanging in the balance, Jake must learn that in love and baseball, scoring is only part of the game.

SLUMPBUSTER stars Teresa Reilly as Molly and Jeff Kongs as Jake. Also featuring Liz Osborn, Heather Brooker, Ramon Camacho, Jay Pennick, Wayne Roberts and Elizabeth Schmidt. The play is directed by Matt Ryan, who also directed Potter’s winning piece in ShortLived, and directed the award-winning short film Nothing But Besties which was featured in the 2010 Duke City Shootout Film Festival. Long-standing PianoFight producing company members Nina Harada and Jeremy Mascia produce.

SLUMPBUSTER
8PM Thursdays & Sundays
Feb 10th – Mar 6th
Asylum Lab
1078 Lilian Way
(off Santa Monica Blvd at Vine St)

TICKETS - TICKETS - TICKETS - TICKETS - TICKETS - TICKETS

Once again, PianoFight is stoked to be co-headlining a show at SF SketchFest with Comedy Noir on Tuesday, January 25th, 8:00pm at the Eureka Theater. Our set will feature sketches from The S.H.I.T. Show and Monday Night ForePlays. TICKETS – TICKETS – TICKETS

Off-Market Theater closes with a B.O.O.M.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 23, 2010 –  After seven years of producing cutting edge, indie-theater, Off-Market will close its doors at the end of January 2011 with a B.O.O.M. PianoFight and Combined Artform are proud to announce the Best Of Off-Market Festival, running January 7th – 29th, 2011, at 965 Mission St, San Francisco. Featuring award winning solo artists Jennifer Jajeh (“I Heart Hamas”) and Alicia Dattner (“Eat, Pray, Laugh!”), local improv favorites The Un-Scripted Theatre Company, EndGames Improv, Future Style ’79, Technically Virgins, Spontaneous Combustion and Leela Theater, staged readings from the Playwrights Center and a special reading of Eavesdropper, as well as a live recording of an improvised radio-play from Radiostar and all new material from PianoFight’s Monday night ForePlays and The S.H.I.T. Show, and of course, a final chance to chuck produce at performers during Throw Rotten Veggies at the Actors Night. Ticket prices vary from ($10-$30) – for more info and complete schedule and line-up check www.offmarkettheaters.com or www.pianofight.com

The B.O.O.M. Fest will wrap up on Saturday, January 29th with short performances from each group or performer in the festival, as well as featured performances of Ray of Light’s “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” local improv stalwarts Crisis Hopkins, The Custom Made Theater, Cassandra Farrar and The Left Brains, and after the show, post-minimalist avant surf rock band, Das Haus Band, will perform till the wee hours as we begin the process of dismantling Off-Market.

While closing any venue is a sad affair, both Combined Artform and PianoFight are excited about the future. Combined Artform will continue to own and operate its venues in Los Angeles, Theater Asylum and Asylum Lab, while continueing to produce work in SF. PianoFight, Off-Market’s resident company and manager for the last three and a half years, is proud to announce that it has completed the plans for and intends to build a state of the art theatre complex in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Located at 144 Taylor St (the site of the old Original Joe’s restaurant), the new complex will include rehearsal and office spaces, two black box theaters and a full restaurant/bar with a cabaret stage. For more information on PianoFight and the new complex, please check out www.pianofight.com or email infotron@pianofight.com

FULL LINE-UP / SCHEDULE – MORE INFO