Nominated for two Gypsy Awards for excellence in Puget Sound theatre by area theatre critics:

Excellence in Lighting Design for the smaller theaters:
Carolina Johnson – The Brothers Paranormal (Pork Filled Productions)

Excellence in Sound Design for a smaller theater
Troy Lund – The Brothers Paranormal (Pork Filled Productions)

The Brothers Paranormal Haunts Seattle

Pork Filled Productions (PFP), in association with the Theatre Off Jackson, presents the rolling world premiere of The Brothers Paranormalby Prince Gomolvilas, directed by Mimi Katano (Artistic Director at Youth Theatre Northwest) at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle), October 26 to November 16, 2019.

A dark, comic thriller, The Brothers Paranormal follows two entrepreneurial Thai American brothers investigating paranormal activities in the Midwest. When the two enter the home of an African American couple displaced by Hurricane Katrina, though, all of them encounter a challenge that clashes against their notions of reality, fantasy, and sanity.

This production caps off a run that began in April in New York andcontinued to Minneapolis and Indianapolis. PFP’s show is the play’sWest Coast debut, which opens simultaneously in Portland at Theatre Diaspora and CoHo Productions.

Evening shows are at 7:30 pm, with two Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Community partners include the Mahogany Project and the Southeast Asia Center (SAC) in the Jackson School for International Studies at the University of Washington.

“It’s a story we explore for the first time: Thai American and African American intersection, spiritual displacement, and taboos around mental health in Asian communities,” says PFP Executive Director Roger Tang. “That’s why we’ve reached out to the Mahogany Project and the Southeast Asia Center to help us.”

“We’ve worked with Prince on this show since we did a reading of it in 2016. Thanks to the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA), we were able to network with Asian American theatres to present a rolling premiere for Brothersin 2019. Pan Asian Rep kicked it off in April and we’re carrying it forward to make the biggest splash possible.”

“The Brothers Paranormalis a play that takes a quintessentially Asian-American ghost story and plops it right in the middle of the lives of an African-American couple,” says playwright Gomolvilas. “This intersection of genre and race, as well as the exploration of the spirit realm in a country that’s doing some deep soul-searching, is what drives my passion for this project.”

Critics across the country have praised The Brothers Paranormal, drawing comparisons to Lanford Wilson and Charles Dickens.

• “…Gomolvilas’s clever, multilayered play is gratifyingly subtle in its inquiry into migration—the pain of crossing over for the living and the dead alike.“ The New Yorker.
• “…must-see thriller! Loaded with heart and even more heartbreak.” Star Tribune.
• “…combines comedy with spine-tingling suspense and imaginative ways of conveying lessons about loss, grief, and how we are each haunted.” Pioneer Press

The Brothers Paranormalfeatures Ronnie Hill, Margaret Luxamon Hotchkiss, Kathy Hsieh, Sean Nguyen, Van Lang Pham and Selena Whitaker-Paquiet. The design and creative team includes Kim Douthit (Dramaturg), Carolina Johnson (Lighting Designer), Janelle Kimbrough (Costume Designer), Troy Lund (Sound Designer), Robin Macartney (Set and Prop Designer), Merri Ann Osbourne (Community Consultant), Chanya Swartz (Cultural Consultant), Troy Tsukahara (Graphic Designer), Lydia Valentine (Cultural Consultant).The stage management team is Josh Valdez and Brian Dang.

Tickets for The Brothers Paranormal are on a Name Your Price scale and are available on the PFP website (www.porkfilled.com/wp/Tix/) and Brown Paper Tickets  (https://brothersparanormal.brownpapertickets.com). PFP participates in TeenTix.

The show is rated PG-14, for discussions of suicide and mental illness, and scenes of supernatural horror.

For more information, contact PFP at oink@porkfilled.com, call (206) 486-0375or go to their website, www.porkfilled.com.

The Mahogany Project (TMP) is a collaborative arts organization whose mission is to support and develop established and emerging artists by producing and showcasing their work, thereby providing a platform for artistic voices from the African diaspora. Founded in 2006, we are proud to continue our mission of sharing stories and diverse perspectives of local and global Black experiences through multi-disciplinary art forms.  TMP is excited to collaborate with Pork Filled Productions on their production of The Brothers Paranormal.

The oldest Asian American theatre group in the Pacific Northwest, Pork Filled Productions centers Asian American and POC artists to imagine fantastical, inclusive and FUN universes. Through the genres of science fiction, noir, fantasy, steampunk and more, we envision a bright universe informed by diverse experiences and perspectives, populated by larger than life characters, where everyone’s story can be told. PFP’s season is supported by 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Pork Filled Productions is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike, the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington with the services, resources and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.

-30-

PDF version available here.
Featured image by Alabastro Photography