Coin & Ghost Presents The World Premiere of MAMA MAMA CAN'T YOU SEE

Coin & Ghost, LA's theatrical home for remixed mythologies, will present its latest world premiere, Mama Mama Can't You See, by Cecilia Fairchild and Stan Mayer.

Opening on Friday, March 20, and running through Saturday, April 18, 2020, the new play explores a particularly harrowing moment of Mayer's life as a U.S. Marine, and the implications of that moment across the boundaries of death, sex and love. Directed by Coin & Ghost's Artistic Director,Zachary Reeve Davidson, the play is a metaphysical journey in which the experience of modern war becomes a shared identity among four Marines in Iraq and four sex workers from the American Civil War, who find themselves crossing paths in the space between life and death. The show will run for five weekends at New American Theatre in Hollywood. For information and tickets please visithttps://coinandghost.org/mama.

Stan Mayer is a U.S. Marine and Intelligence Officer, who served five deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mayer lost many close friends during his first tour of duty. The play emerged in response to these losses, centered on a moment in May 2005 when four members of his platoon were killed by a suicide bomber and the ensuing firefight. These deaths have saturated every fiber of Mayer's life and work. He reflects, "Mama Mama Can't You See is a meditation on that moment. A moment that resonates into eternity. A moment when the post-Norman Rockwell America turned into a dirty unnamed street alongside the Euphrates River where the bodies of young men lay slain."

The play marks the first official script collaboration from Mayer and Fairchild. The story takes place inside an explosion, or as one of the characters says, "in the cacophony of time that gets crammed into the last moment of your life." Mama Mama Can't You Seeis an exaltation of trauma unbound by the constraints of time and space. It is a uniquely original, existential war story, marrying physicality and surrealism to give an emotional context to the landscape of war.

The cast of Mama Mama Can't You See is comprised of Matthew David King (Stan), Jess Reed(Anita), Cecilia Fairchild (Ellis), Abe Martell (Lance), Julián Juaquín (Jeff), Hannah Trujillo (Wanda), Kathleen Leary (Clem) and Alex Demers (Doc). Lighting design is byJoey Guthman, sound design is by Joseph "Sloe" Slawinski (who also serves as the project's composer) and costume design is by Athena Lawton. The ambitious team is made complete with Coin & Ghost's inner circle that includes its Managing DirectorMarguerite French (Producer), Associate Artistic Director/Music Director Elisa Rosin(Scenic Designer/Producer), Associate Artistic Director Kendall Johnson (Producer), Production Manager Niki Armato (Assistant Director/Stage Manager), Director of Community Engagement Joseph Baca (Producer) and Davidson as a producer as well.

Three of the cast and crew are United States military veterans, including Mayer (Marines), Joseph "Sloe" Slawinski (Navy) and Matthew David King (Army).

• Playwrights: Stan Mayer and Cecilia Fairchild• Director: Zach Davidson• Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Niki Armato• Lighting Designer: Joey Guthman• Sound Designer/Composer: Joseph "Sloe" Slawinski• Scenic Designer: Elisa Rosin• Costume Designer: Athena Lawton• Producers: Joseph Baca, Marguerite French, Kendall Johnson, Niki Armato, Zach Davidson, and Elisa Rosin

For more information visit https://coinandghost.org/mama.