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The JOURNEY of "Omniphobia" from creation to production!
Omniphobia
was created and developed by a group of Los Angeles actors who brought into workshop news items, cultural mythology, current events, and personal concerns, all centered around the theme of "fear." Those ideas were explored through investigation, improvisation, and discussion, led by project director Al D'Andrea (who is also Snowlion Rep's Artistic Director).
Eventually, that material was refined in a second, more in-depth workshop, after which Al created a script that has since been further honed based on up-to-the-minute happenings, resulting in the script that will receive its world premiere production this October!
Omniphobia
explores the theme of fear and the ways humans seek to confront, work around, or flee from personal and societal fears. The show illustrates scenes from real life, along with dreamscapes, allegories, poetry, and myth, all shining a light on how we cope with what scares us in the world and how we must overcome the limitations of a fear-based life.
Humor is an important part of the story, which is told with multimedia aspects such as projected scenic elements and quotes commenting on the action, images on three monitors exposing various fears in our culture, and even a live video feed of main character Emily as she struggles to understand the world around her through contemplation of mortality and meaning.
The cast includes Gusta Johnson as Emily, a beleaguered environmental sciences professor just trying to get through a day in a world obsessed by fear-driven thoughts, images, words, and actions.
The rest of the cast - Elizabeth Chasse-King, Tom Handel, Emily Grotz, Bob Pettee, Linda Shary, Ashanti Williams, and Collin Young - plays multiple roles, such as allegorical characters Worry and Dread inhabiting the Forest of Fears, upended fairy tale folk like Chicken Little and the Boy Who Cried Wolf, backstabbing ultra-competitive students, helicopter and no-rescue parents, panicked and xenophobic churchgoers, frenzied and unstable politicians, absurdly unctuous merchants peddling preposterous fear-based wares, even a "neo-druid."
OMNIPHOBIA explores the rocky terrain of existential anxiety and looks for hope in the midst of modern turmoil.
Get your amygdala ready for some fun!
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