This text is from the Furious Theatre Company website. Reprinted with permission.
Company history
The critically acclaimed Furious Theatre Company are artists in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse committed to edgy, innovative and original works.
The company debuted in April 2002 after they were generously granted the company the use of a section of Armory Northwest, a former plastics factory in Pasadena, California. The company converted the raw warehouse into an alternative performance space. Risers were constructed, the lighting grid hung, and stage curtains built, all by the ensemble.
In that converted warehouse, they rapidly produced five plays in 12 months. These productions earned 6 NAACP Theatre Award nominations, two LA Weekly Theater Award nominations, and numerous critics’ picks from the Los Angeles media. The company also received the Pasadena Arts Council’s Gold Crown Award and The Debut Award from Backstage West. In September 2003, the City of Pasadena reclaimed the Armory Northwest and Furious needed to move.
After a 13-month search, the Pasadena Playhouse granted Furious a 4-year residency at its Balcony Theatre (recently renamed the Carrie Hamilton Theatre), the Playhouse's 99-seat second stage.
In two seasons at the Playhouse, Furious Theatre Company has produced seven premieres, including the Los Angeles Premieres of Neil Labute’s The Shape of Things, Yussef El Guindi’s Back of the Throat (LA Weekly Award nominee: Best Playwright) and Craig Wright's Grace (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award recipient: Best Production, Best Director, Best Playwright).
Ensemble
Nick Cernoch
Furious acting credits: The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II, ImMEDIAte Theatre, Tearing the Loom, Scenes from the Big Picture, Mojo
Furious production credits: ImMEDIAte Theatre (co-producer), Tearing the Loom (dramaturg), The God Botherers (stage manager), The Shape of Things (technical director/running crew), Mojo (sound design/assistant director), The Playboy of the Western World (stage manager), Chimps (master carpenter).
With other theatres: Androcles in Androcles and the Lion with Plano Rep. and Motherland, Pavlov\’s Dogs, Freudian Slip Improvisational Comedy(director).
Katie Davies
Furious acting credits: The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II, ImMEDIAte Theatre, Tearing the Loom, Scenes from the Big Picture
Furious production credits: Tearing the Loom (assistant stage manager), The God Botherers (props design), The Shape of Things (running crew).
With other theatres: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Dark of the Moon, A Midsummer Night\’s Dream, On The Verge, Letters Home, Cahoot\’s Macbeth, Sex Starved Monkeys, The Stupid Shit We Do For Money, Freudian Slip Improvisational Comedy.
Sara Hennessy
Co-founder
Furious acting credits: The God Botherers, The Shape of Things, Scenes from the Big Picture, Chimps, The Playboy of the Western World, Improv Stunt Show Spectacular.
Furious production credits: The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II (Dialect Coach), The Shape of Things (costume design), Mojo (costume design), Noise (director), Saturday Night at the Palace (assistant director/costume design).
With other theatres: Another Part of the Forest at the Pasadena Playhouse Hothouse Summer Readings, Hay Fever, Life is a Dream, A Christmas Carol and The Skin of our Teeth at A Noise Within; Ramblers, Genealogy, Looking for Love, Our Town, Othello, Welded, Feiffer\’s People, Seascape.
James C. Leary
Furious acting credits: The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II, Scenes from the Big Picture, Mojo, Noise and Improv Stunt Show Spectacular.
Furious production credits: The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II (co-adaptor)
With other theatres: Road to Nirvana, The Babysitter, The Factory West\’s Attack of the Killer B\’s, Welded, Feiffer\’s People, Freudian Slip Improvisational Comedy (co-founder), The Harold at ImprovOlympic. Film and Television credits: The Comeback, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Los Beltran, Stunt C\*cks.
Shawn Lee
Co-founder
Furious acting credits: Canned Peaches in Syrup, An Impending Rupture of the Belly, The Fair Maid of the West Parts I & II, Tearing the Loom, The Shape of Things, Scenes from the Big Picture, Chimps, Mojo, Saturday Night at the Palace, Improv Stunt Show Spectacular.
Furious production credits: Grace (scenic design), The God Botherers (scenic design), Scenes from the Big Picture (technical director), Chimps (technical director), Mojo (scenic design), Saturday Night at the Palace (technical director), Noise (scenic design), The Playboy of the Western World (co-scenic design).