Sin City's theatre7: A Place for Art, Blood, Sex, Politics and Family

May 27, 2011 - PRLog -- In the short time since opening in the Las Vegas arts district, theatre7 (1406 South 3rd Street, Las Vegas, NV 89104) has proven itself to be a mecca for all things entertainment.

Screening independent films produced by locals and hosting art shows featuring Nevada artists are its bread and butter, but events scheduled and in the future demonstrate the variety of the venue.

The family-friendly stage production OSCAR: A Good Man, a hybrid play that mixes film with live performances, is currently drawing audiences.

CineKink, an erotic film festival for adults only, will highlight June's programing. A second Las Vegas Short Film Showcase and a number of indie films are also on tap.

CineKink kickstarts a slew of festivals hosted at theatre7. Horror short films directed by women will take center stage in July with the Viscera Film Festival. Underground and grindhouse works are spotlighted in October with PollyGrind. The Vegas Independent Film Festival takes place at theatre7 in November.

"This is one of the many things I love about this place," programmer Chad Clinton Freeman said. "theatre7 is an experimental, no holds barred, Vegas-palooza of art, film and entertainment. It's exactly what Sin City has been missing for years."

Freeman, a filmmaker with credits such as Killer Biker Chicks, Super Undead Doctor Roach, Amateur Porn Star Killer 3D: Inside the Head, and Gingerdead Man 3-D: Saturday Night Cleaver, founded PollyGrind in 2010 after feeling a void in the Las Vegas community when the CineVegas Film Festival called it quits.

He met filmmaker Derek Stonebarger, an Emmy award winner and director of the award-winning festival gem I.M. Caravaggio, in February. Stonebarger was in the process of opening theatre7.

Since then, I.M. Caravaggio the movie and PollyGrind the festival made theatre7, which is located near the "Downtown Las Vegas" sign,  their homes. The venue has also already signed arthouse distribution deals with  Las Vegas feature films One Long Day, Thor at the Bus Stop and You People through its Golden Lightbulb Awards program. Additional screenings have included the works of grindhouse legend Ted V. Mikels (Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned, Ten Violent Women and The Corpse Grinders) and Mike Conway (The Awakening) of the Vegas IndieMeet institution.

Film screenings were put on hold in May to make way for the play OSCAR: A Good Man. The fun and light-hearted tribute to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, stars Stonebarger as a gin-loving character named Oscar Goodfella. Paige Billiot plays his wife Carolyn Goodfella. Writer and director Ryan Eicher plays a slew of characters, as does Janell Kelley. Morgen Weaver plays Oscar as a child. Stonebarger and Billiot also portray Oscar's parents.

Las Vegas Review-Journal theatre critic Anthony Del Valle said the play was "put together by people whose artistry makes me eager to see them again." He also spoke highly of the cast.

"Stonebarger's Oscar... is charismatic, with an energy level that makes you want to watch him," Del Valle wrote. "Eicher's enthusiasm while portraying a variety of bad guys is infectious... Billiot makes for a convincing politician's wife, who's learned to strike all the right poses."

OSCAR: A Good Man runs through June 7, which is the city's election day. The election will see Goodman’s reign as the “Happiest Mayor in the Universe” come to a close after 12 years in office. The  torch will be passed on to either his wife or her opponent Chris Giunchigliani.

Aside from Del Valle's review, the play was also featured live on Fox 5 with cut-ins during a morning newscast, blogged about by Robin Leach and praised by Las Vegas Weekly.

Stonebarger said the play has been fun, but he is happy to get back to screening films at his establishment.

"No matter what we do here at theatre7, we will always come back to showing movies at 7 p.m. for $7," said Stonebarger, whose I.M. Caravaggio was just invited to screen in New York City on July 2nd at NewFilmmakers Anthology Theater. "We will do other plays; ones I won't be acting in. We'll run and host film festivals; we already have four taking place here in our first year. The place is available for the public to rent for screenings, presentations, lectures, meetings and whatever else people might need our space for. But we are filmmakers and film lovers first, so being a venue that offers a place for independent films to be shown will always be our priority."

In June, theatre7 will host two special screenings of Rubbernecking, a dramatic comedy, starring Corbin Bernsen, that was never released. Ross H. Martin, co-writter, co-producer and co-director of the 2000 film, is holding two screenings on June 4 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Both are free and open to public.

June's lineup will also include a Thursday Night Grindhouse Special, featuring Tim Stover's serial killer film The Back Room on June 23 and Josef Niznik's creature feature Presence of Darkness on June 19. Both films were shot in Las Vegas on micro-budgets, using talented local actors such as Janell Kelley, Ronni Lea, Kirk Thompson, Tyler Vincent and Jeremy Goodwin.

Freeman said he is happy to be part of theatre7, which is currently looking for sponsors for PollyGrind (www.pollygrind.com) and the Vegas Independent Film Festival (www.vegasiff.com) and is excited about the possibilities of the theater's future.

"We are growing something here," Freeman said. "Slowly, but surely, we are building a home for the creative community of Vegas. We just keep moving forward, learning as we go, getting bigger and better."

Del Valle, a critic known for not liking too many things, agreed in his recent review, when he said, "I have a hunch theatre7 has good days ahead."

For more information on theatre7 or to buy advanced tickets for any upcoming events, visit http://www.theatre7lv.com/ or call 702-568-9663.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

June 3
First Friday - Art Show (Free Event)

June 4
Rubbernecking, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (Free Screenings)
OSCAR: A Good Man, 7 p.m.

June 5
OSCAR: A Good Man, 2:30 p.m.

June 6
OSCAR: A Good Man, 7 p.m.

June 7
OSCAR: A Good Man, 7p.m.

June 10
CineKink
Pride & Predilections (Shorts), 7 p.m.
Lust, Love, Life (Shorts), 9 p.m.

June 11
CineKink
Adventures in the Skin Trade (Shorts), 4 p.m.
Sex/Cinema (Free Panel Discussion), 6 p.m.
Best of CineKink 2011 (Shorts), 8 p.m.
Indietro (CineKink Audience Choice Award – Best Narrative Feature), 10 p.m.

June 12
CineKink
Kink Crusaders (Best Documentary Feature), 2 p.m.

June 17
Art Show (Free Event)

June 18
Las Vegas Short Film Showcase II, 7 p.m. (Free Screening)

June 19
Presence of Darkness, 7 p.m.

June 23
Grindhouse Special: The Back Room, 7 p.m.

June 24
Thor at the Bus Stop, 7 p.m.

June 25
You People, 7 p.m.

June 26
I.M. Caravaggio, 7 p.m.

June 30 - July 7
DARK FOR 4TH OF JULY

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