exit, pursued theatre company

Show in 3 days!!!

2012-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Attention followers!!! Our semi-annual FRIDAY THE 13TH IMPROV SHOW is nye at hand! This week at 9pm at Books & Co. in Lexington. It is an awkward time a couple times a year that exit, pursued loves to celebrate with love and share that love with the paying customers! Get excited and tell everyone the show is THIS FRIDAY :-)

A Second Look

2011-11-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there that missed our Halloween Show, you are still in for a treat!!! We have uploaded the show separated into scenes on YouTube and below you can view The Halloween Musical! Based on suggestions from the audience we improvised a musical entitled: Dancing with Sewer Rats! You will see how a young man named Tommy struggles through his rehabilitation to conquer all obstacles in his path! Be sure to comment your reactions to the show! Stay tuned for updates regarding our December Show :-)

Halloween

2011-10-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

The 10/29/2011 show was a complete exit, pursued experience with the return visit of original cast member Angela Graham! She drove from Tennessee to perform in the Musical Halloween Show Saturday evening!! Stay tuned for scenes of this past show, but until then enjoy this clip of exit, pursued in a special rehearsal clip from 10/28/2011 :-)

2011-10-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 8th brought e,p way back! All the way Back to the 90's! Richard, Lesley, Victoria as well as guest improvisers Justin and Caitlin all dressed for success to show us the decade of Boy meets World and Saved by the Bell! Michael Taylor added musical ambience, taking the show to a new level of wicked awesomeness!!! Here are some pictures from the show that really show off the 90's vibe!!!

"I'm Flying Jack, I'm Flying!"

Back to School

2011-08-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

and back to IMPROV

e,p is concerned about your academic well-being. it is of the utmost importance that our audiences do well in school.
so in order to help you, we've decided to throw a back-to-school IMPROV show.

so bring your shiny new lunch box, new school threads, an apple for the teacher
and
join us on Saturday, September 3rd at 8:30pm for our latest IMPROV show.
we'll be performing at Books & Co in downtown lexington. (29 w nelson st, to be specific)
tickets are $5

so long, farewell...

2011-08-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

do you see the lovely people above?
they look so happy, so in love..
but in reality, they're weeping, gnashing their teeth, truly upset...
why?
because they're leaving e,p to head to greener, heather-filled pastures...to scotland.
and we are sending them off, in true e,p style...
an
IMPROV show, of course.
so.
come bid ashley and josh
so
farewell,
auf wiedersehen
adieu
goodbye

this saturday, august 20, 9pm @ Books and Co. 29 W. Nelson Street. Lexington, VA 24450....

we'll try to get through the show without tears...

out, out brief candle...

2011-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

wow.
we can't believe our maiden production has come and gone. it was such a fulfilling, artistic experience-made more rich by your support.
thank you for coming to the show, for sitting in the rain (ahh, the joys of outdoor theater), and for all of your loving words after.
we consider ourselves to be very fortunate people.

in thunder, lightning, or in rain...

2011-08-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

don't let the rain deter you from coming to the show tonight.
lime kiln has a covered stage and if we need to, we'll move the show to that space.
so.
think dry thoughts.
but even if it is raining, come... because the show will go on...and you will stay dry.

tomorrow

2011-08-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

and

tomorrow

and

tomorrow...

is opening night! we can't wait. we're thrilled to be able to share this beautiful play with you.

the kiln looks perfect-dotted with candles, lamps, and flashlights.

you will have to see it for yourselves.
which you can do
by ordering tickets here
tickets will also be available at the door.

august 12 & 13 at 8pm...

*we know the area needs rain-but let's send rain thoughts for late saturday night-then it can rain all it needs to!

what's the business?

2011-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

check us out in the lifestyle section of the news gazette.
it's a feature article with some great pics of the show!
thank you, news gazette!

if you didn't already want to see the show, you'll definitely want to now.
so.
get your tickets here.

this castle hath a pleasant seat

2011-08-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

we moved into the kiln last night.

the candlelight flickering in the darkness was enchanting.

tonight we're working in costumes. focus will be on quick changes. some of us have less than 3 lines to change from one character into a completely different character. (ahhh-we love shakespeare!)

get ready to listen to us on the radio on thursday morning (around 815a). we'll be talking about the show. to listen, go here.

til then, get your tickets for the show here.

be innocent of the knowledge...

2011-08-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Till thou applaud the deed...

we're spending the day moving into lime kiln.

it truly is a magical space.

and we're looking forward to adding our own magic to it.

think tea party, think, funeral, think enveloping darkness...

but we don't want to give away all of our secrets.

you're just going to have to come see for yourselves.

get your tickets here.

knock knock...

2011-08-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

who's there?
'faith, here's an epiphany...
lighting struck our collective brain and the show's look is taking an even cooler shape.

we can't wait for you to see....
til then, here are some pics from yesterday's rehearsal.

"what are these, so withered and wild in their attire?"

"i do repent me that i did kill them..."

"the weird sisters, hand in hand..."

we move into lime kiln on monday.
6 days to opening night.

do you have your tickets yet?
go here to order them.

by the pricking of my thumbs...

2011-08-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

something awesome this way comes.
we're almost a week away from opening night.
do you have your tickets yet?

order them online here

or
call 540.463.7088

a drum, a drum...

2011-07-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

join us as we celebrate our maiden production of macbeth,
performed at lime kiln on august 12 & 13 at 8p.

lit mostly by candlelight/flashlights/lanterns, this production explores what happens when two people embrace the darkness that is surrounding them.

...and there will be...original music by josh harvey...

she's baa-acck...

2011-07-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

victoria is back home with her e,p family. and we're thrilled. so we're throwing a party for her-exit,pursued style.

Join us for our latest IMPROV show this friday (july 29), 8p at the studio. tickets are $5.

newcomer ashely latta will also be joining us.

it's going to be a great show.

Witch Work

2011-07-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight we found some valuable storytelling options for the witches. We played with vocal options and found that the most interesting choice came with Ashley taking a high pitch child-like chant, Victoria on a middle range, and Lesley on the lowest vocal pitch. This made their unison work bone chillingly effective.
To match their vocal choices we began experimenting with physical shapes to match their voices. Rob encouraged them to apply different Laban shapes to their movement. Victoria used punch (direct/strong/unsustained) movement, Ashely flick (indirect/light/unsustained) movement, and Lesley wring (indirect/strong/sustained). This also seemed to create age in them (Lesley old age, Victoria prime, and Ashley youth) and lovely stage picture. Our idea at the end of rehearsal is to find opportunities for other characters to pick up the specific physical shape of the witches to reflect their influence.

The Macbeths

2011-07-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Craig Williams got into town yesterday and we've kept him busy since he arrived. This week is all about the Mac Family and the relationship between Macbeth and Lady M. Last night we did extensive table work on 1.7 and made some important discoveries. Based on the text we've made the choice that the couple have lost a child together; its surprising how much this choice colors the relationship between the two of them and enhances the story.
Tonight we began working on our feet and applied some of the table work from last night. One of the best moments of the night came through helping Lesley work the Lady M "come darkness" monologue. We used the back room in the studio and turned off the lights for an experimentation with how she might deliver this monologue. Rob gave Lesley the image of seeing an approaching wave and realizing it is too late to do anything but surrender and allow the wave to wash over her. Lesley then moved into the small dark back room and waited for her character to make the decision to open the door and allow darkness in to the room. When she felt ready Lesley opened the door, moved farther into the room, and turned her back to the door as she began the monologue. At this point Craig entered (for the purpose of this exercise he represented the darkness that she was inviting into her) and approached Lesley from behind to seize her at some point during her speech. Lesley knew he was behind her but couldn't see him and didn't know exactly when he was going to grab her. This allowed her to experience actual fear and anticipation as well as developed a strong connection in this moment to our theme for this production: the repercussions of giving oneself over to darkness. It turned out to be a great night's work.

Improv Show "Proud to be an American"

2011-07-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

We felt good about tonight's show. We structured the show around three short form improv games: Blind Audition, Styles, and Hijacked. We developed all three of these games together as a group through the last two weeks of rehearsal from various ideas and sources, and enjoyed trying them out in front of an audience. Styles didn't run as smoothly as the other two games but we learned a lot about how to refine the game and improve our work based on the audience's reception tonight.
We find ourselves trusting and listening to each other more with every show. We are learning how to enhance our overall performance by highlighting the special skills of each member of the group. Austin performed with us for the first time tonight and he brought a new dynamic to the group. Josh also adds so much to our work; he too is learning how to work with our individual strengths through music that both clarifies and helps develop story.

Improv Rehearsal/ Exploring MacB Options

2011-06-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight we were joined by Austin for the first time and he brought a great dynamic to the group. Our rehearsal focused on the basics of improvisation and we all benefited from the refresher. The basics include: 1. Always say yes 2. Never ask questions 3. Establish relationship, location, and conflict as soon as possible. Our work improves when we stay focused on the basics.
Macbeth work was brilliant tonight. We found this totally gross, totally perfect room behind the blue room in the Studio and played with lighting options and possibilities for developing the witches. We found that being indoors changes the quality of flashlight and candle light, and much less light reveals much more.

I had an idea several months ago while working on Trojan Women to use neutral masks for the witches in MacB; tonight was the first night that we explored the idea and we made some exciting discoveries.

We found that we could use the neutral mask like a hand puppet and it proved exceptionally expressive.

We want to play with the option of lighting the mask by candle light from the inside so that the candle and mask can be manipulated simultaneously single handed.

We found that we love the look of the candle/fire connected with the neutral mask that we are considering having separate actors follow the masks with candles. If we can synchronize the movement of the mask and the movement of the light the effect was stunning.

The following videos show us exploring other movement options for the witches. At separate points through the play we want to reveal the witches in different ways. One option we found tonight was to wear the neutral mask with a hooded sweat shirt; the reveal had a blair witch feel to it that we found tres cool.

Here's Richard having fun with my camera while the rest of us are trying to harness our collective creative brilliance (thank you Richard for keeping it real)

Another option we found for the witches was to leave the bodies of the actors exposed to light and have them move in unison while wearing the neutral mask, which in flashlight created a human spider effect.

Improv Show "Summer Lovin"

2011-06-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Just completed our third improv show. This one had a Summer theme to celebrate the change in weather. We had a better than expected turnout and the crowd was enthusiastic and supportive. We did a half short form half long form improvisation format tonight. Richard and Angela found some great new characters during our show, an old senile couple, that hopefully will be further developed in future shows.
Jessie Carter helped us with music tonight in Josh's absence and provided great accompaniment despite the lack of time that she's had to work with us. Jessie will hopefully take Josh's music for Macbeth and accompany us this summer when he leaves.
All in all we felt good about the show and made some more money to help us produce Macbeth. We will try to put a few more shows before August as soon as Victoria gets back from California.

Macbeth rehearsals begin

2011-06-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight Lesley, Richard, Angela, and Rob went to Lime Kiln theater in Lexington and experimented with lighting options for That Scottish Play. We know that we don't want to use stage lights and that we want to explore as much potential darkness as possible. Because Lime Kiln is an outdoor theater we know we want to play with fire (literally: bonfire, candles, torches, etc.), but after tonight it is clear that we will need additional safer more controllable light. The most exciting part of our work tonight was the discovery that our actors can light up fellow performers with flashlights and follow them through the space. This seemed to work best and be most visually appealing when the actor is back-lit by flashlight and front light by fire light. Our challenge now is to find the best way to soften the flashlight so it doesn't become abrasive to the audience. We also need to continue to explore fire light: how fast can we create fire, how fast can we put it out, how portable can we make the fire and still keep it safe? Pictures of tonight's work to follow.