LODESTONE THEATRE ENSEMBLE PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
Trapezoid
Lodestone’s first science-fiction
main stage production explores the
relationship between art and
technology
LOS ANGELES, CA –
Lodestone Theatre Ensemble presents
the world premiere of
Trapezoid
following
on the heels of one of its most
critically-acclaimed and
commercially successful seasons, the
award-winning theatre company kicks
off its ninth season with a new play
by Lodestone Resident Producer Nic
Cha Kim.
Lodestone’s first
presentation of a play in the
science-fiction genre,
Trapezoid
tells the story of a Korean American
poet in love hired by a technology
think tank to put the “art” in
artificial intelligence. When the
robot creation falls in love with
the human creator, it's man-made
versus mankind with sometimes comic
and sometimes tragic results.
“Trapezoid
is a loose adaptation of
Pygmalion and Galatea
but instead of sculpture, we use
poetry,” explains playwright Nic Cha
Kim. “From Collodi's
Pinocchio,
Shelley's
Frankenstein
and Philip K. Dick's
Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep,
artificial intelligence has been a
fixture of science-fiction for
centuries despite only being a
science for the last 65 years. Trapezoid
is my homage to scientists and
writers alike.”
Trapezoid
playwright Nic Cha Kim is a Korean
American writer, video artist and
community activist. The recipient
of numerous distinctions from the
City of Los Angeles for his work in
economic development, Kim is best
known for founding Gallery Row and
leading the community effort to
create a gallery district in
Downtown Los Angeles. As owner of
Niche Video Art, his work curating
cutting-edge digital and video art
has been recognized in
Art Forum,
LA Times
and the
Downtown News.
Kim was voted top 10 most
influential Angeleno by
LA Alternative Press
and profiled on LA18 in the segment
Our Role Models.
This is Kim’s first main stage
production at Lodestone.
According to
Lodestone Co-Artistic Director Chil
Kong, “We’re excited because this is
the first time Lodestone is tackling
a piece that can be considered
science-fiction. However, the play
is a perfect fit for us. Like most
of our productions, at its core,
Trapezoid
is an interesting character-driven
story that explores a theme that is
very relevant today—the oftentimes
rocky relationship between art and
science. That’s a topic you won’t
see many Asian Pacific American
theatres exploring which is what
makes it ideal for us. Plus, it’s
just a really entertaining play--a
fun sci-fi ride that I think
audiences will enjoy.”
