Kirk-Burgess Productions Debuts With MYSTERIOUS SKIN at Darkhorse Theatre, Now thru 8/18

Described as "bold, captivating and often shocking," Mysterious Skin, a play by Prince Gomolvilas based on the novel by Scott Heim, is being brought to the Darkhorse Theatre stage, thanks to producing/directing duo of L.T. Kirk and JoNathan Burgess.

"Mysterious Skin is a daring, compelling and mind-bending production which sheds light on subjects that too often are kept in the dark," says Kirk, a performer and producer who now adds "director" to his resume. "This production is the antithesis of what Nashville audiences are accustomed to in theater. We knew that we had to bring this work to our community."

Burgess dives into his directing and producing debut just before beginning his freshman year of college. Kirk says Burgess has approached the project "with a keen observant eye, and a strong willingness to learn 'the tools of the trade.'"

Among the actors featured in Mysterious Skin are Will Butler, JoNathan Burgess, Francine Berk, Samantha Rogers, Chuck Long, Angela Gimlin, Matt Smith, Amanda Smith, Josh Stutts, Kory James Holden and Kelsey Wilsher. Kirk and Burgess are joined on the production team by longtime producer Donald Powell.

"Truth is the through line of this play that follows how a young man obsessed with alien abductions and a teenaged hustler approach the known and the unknown. Their lives converge to discover a horrible, yet liberating reality," according to a press release.

"The cast and crew have put their heart first and, without hesitation, forged an attitude that 'some stories must be told'-and with as raw a language as the playwright intended to present it; no more, no less," the press release continues.

Kirk-Burgess Productions are donating 100% of the proceeds of ticket sales to Into Africa, a project headed by John Lasiter, a Nashville performer, who will participate in an Into Africa mission trip, which will take him to work in an orphanage with children who have HIV/AIDS and who have lost their parents to AIDS.

"It has always been a dream of mine to do mission work in Africa. I have been working with the HIV/AIDS population in Middle Tennessee through Nashville CARES for the last two years," Lasiter explains.

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m., tonight, August 16-18, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, August 18, at Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Avenue. Tickets are $10 cash at the door, and reservations can be made by calling (615) 942-6211, or by email at MSkin@ltkirk.com.

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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