SHOTSPEARE combines the greatest playwright in history with endless amounts of drunken amusement, creating a must-see comedic twist on classic literature. After years of successful performances in New York City and festivals around the world, Emery Entertainment, Inc. brings this laugh-out-loud show to the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza for a triumphant return engagement October 5-7 for five side-splitting performances. Tickets may be purchased through MetroTix at www.metrotix.com or by calling 314/534-1111. Additionally, tickets will be available at the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza box office one hour prior to show time. All seats are $55.
We Are Movie Geeks has a pair of passes to give away for the opening night performance of SHOTSPEARE! That’s Thursday, October 5th at 8pm. Leave a message below letting us know what your favorite film based on a Shakespeare play is (mine is FORBIDDEN PLANET). It’s so easy!
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE EVENING OF THE PLAY.
Audiences will be treated to inebriated reenactments as a cast of five actors will attempt to bring to life Romeo & Juliet, all whilst becoming increasingly intoxicated. Better than any high school English class, guests can expect an evening affair with a copious amount of booze, and an entire work of Shakespeare, all in an hour. Raved St. Louis theater critic Kevin Brackett from ReviewSTL.com, “You are about to have your world rocked! ‘Shotspeare’ is hilarious! If you are looking for a truly unique piece of theatre, look no further.”
This highly interactive show encourages audience members to join the fun throughout the performance. Upon entering the theatre, select guests are given “Shotspeare Cards” and are instructed to use them at any given time when they want to see the actors drink. One lucky audience member even gets to join the cast for the duration of the production, becoming one of the Shakespearen characters and partaking in the always challenging and entertaining, “Wheel of Soliloquy.”
“SHOTSPEARE is basically a Drunk History of all those plays you never quite understood,” said Matt Morgan, show co-creator and actual graduate from the Ringling Brothers School of Clowning. “Our show is equal parts bacchanal and classical theater, harkening back to the actual time of Shakespeare where audience members (groundlings) were boisterous and part of the show.”
The Playhouse @ Westport Plaza is located at 635 Westport Plaza in Maryland Heights, Missouri and is a venue filling a niche for a variety of Broadway and Off-Broadway entertainment that would otherwise not find its way to the St. Louis area. Programming at the venue is offered at affordable ticket pricing so that anyone can have dinner at one of the many restaurants in the area as well as see a great show. For additional information on upcoming events, please visit www.playhouseatwestport.com. Members of the media can obtain hi-res photos and more information at http://bit.ly/playhouseatwestport or www.shotspeare.com.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 5 at 8 p.m.
Friday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m.
Saturday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m.
CAST BIOS
Matthew Morgan (Creator/Director/Actor) is an actor, clown, director and theater devisor. He studied classical
theater at the University of Utah and is a graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College
After touring with “The Greatest Show on Earth” Matthew moved to New York City where he performed in every
theater, storefront and bar he could find, collaborating with some of the worlds most renowned circus artists,
conceptual performance artists, directors, choreographers, dancers, cabaret, burlesque and variety entertainers.
Matthew has created and performed original works for Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim museum, AEMI World
Clown Festival in China, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Rochester Fringe
Festival, the Dubai Mall UAE, Mystic Lake Casino, Planet Hollywood Casino, the Geffen Playhouse, for a prince
on a private resort compound in the Seychelles Islands and on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” His work
has taken him to 49 of the 50 states, throughout the Caribbean, Australia, Europe and North America. He
regularly performs as a comedy duo with his wife Heidi, recently in Flic Flac Circus’ Hochststrafe in Nuremberg,
Germany; and for Spiegelworld in their international hit shows Absinthe and Empire. Matthew is constantly in
development, trying to devise new ways to affect and entertain the world through theater and circus. To find out
more about his work please visit: www.stinkymonkey.info.
Heidi Brucker Morgan (Actor) has performed extensively nationally and internationally as an actress, clown,
comedienne, and variety artist. She is a founding member of Shotspeare. Some other Heidi highlights include
Garry Marshall’s feature film Valentine’s Day, the Internet juggernaut competition show Internet Icon, Las Vegas’
hit phenom Absinthe, the Australian and North American tours of Spiegelworld’s Empire, and Germany’s long
running favorite Circus Flic Flac. Heidi studied extensively with The Groundlings and holds a degree in Dramatic
Arts from the University of Washington. She is the co-founder of Stinky Monkey LLC with her husband Matthew,
a production company producing unique theater, variety, cabaret, and circus shows throughout the globe.
Brandon Breault (Actor) has performed at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center, The Getty Villa,
The Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse and in numerous hole in the walls where he does his best
work. Past credits include; Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Mercutio. He can be seen in the upcoming feature film
“The Ledger” as Russian Gangster Anton Dubrovsky.
Brian David Sloan (Actor) is a native of Johnson City, Tennessee. He has spent the last seventeen years in
New York City as an actor, writer and comedian. Brian graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, and he continued his education and post-graduate work in London, studying Shakespeare at
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and completing his classical training at Drama Studio London. Brian has
performed his original story-telling and stand-up comedy all over NYC, and he has been featured at Gotham
Comedy Club, where he has had the good fortune of sharing the stage with great comics like Jim Gaffigan and
Jerry Seinfeld. Some of Brian’s favorite Shakespearean roles include ‘Launce’ in “Two Gentleman Of Verona”
and ‘Jacques’ in “As You Like It,” but these have recently been eclipsed by his turn as Tybalt/The Nurse in Matt
Morgan’s hilarious adventure of experimental, immersive theatre: “Shotspeare!” at The Slipper Room, NYC and
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Timur Kocak (Actor) New York and regional credits include: Shotspeare (also Australia), The Last Cyclist, Waiting For Godot, Coriolanus (title role), Logomaniacs, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet (title role), As You Like It, The Three Musketeers, King John, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and his one-man version of A Christmas Carol. UK: Hot Stuff (West End), Romeo and Juliet (UK Tour), The Exhibitionists (Edinburgh Festival and European tour), Airbase and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (RSC Fringe), Forsaking All Others, As You Like It and Henry V. Television and film appearances in the US and UK include: Law and Order: SVU, Crime Monthly, The Egoists and as a villain on NBC’s Chuck.
