Meet the man behind the creative vision for Ecce, Ed Churchill

From the beginning, director Ed Churchill was excited to join his fellow classmates, AP Carroll, and Amanda Rhodes in making Ecce come to life. The recent George Washington University graduate is making sure to place his stamp on this second production of the play.

“I did want to make Ecce my own when I signed on as director, but I didn’t make any huge adjustments to the script – just tweaking a line here and there. The way I made the show my own, really, was through blocking and character development. The interpretations of many of the characters are different from the original production. For instance, our Herod is a much more logical, plotting girl, rather than a crazy, sexy version of Herord that appeared in the original production.”
Though young, this is not Churchill’s first foray into directing. He has worked with many actors in the GWU acting community. Still, he has faced some new challenges, which he has met head on.

“One of the things I've struggled with is that, in my past directing experience, I have had a full executive board to give me feedback on how they thought the show was progressing. With this production, I'm mostly left to my own devices. So, the feedback doesn't flow quite so freely. Still, we've put together something great for audiences and I can't wait to show it to the world. “

Ed is ready to show the world his vision. He has been able to bring together a creative and talented group to bring a whole new vision to the 2,000 year old story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

“If the audience has fun, and the cast has had fun, then I've done my job. I'd love to see this show move a step further than festival theater. There are so many layers to this script that are difficult to explore in a festival setting. Hopefully we can see this move on to something even better in the future.”

See Ecce, a production by AJ Rhodes Entertainment, on July 19th at the Warehouse Theater as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. Tickets can be purchased online at www.capfringe.org

For more information about Ecce, please contact Lisa Horan or Shaun Loughran of PopMark Media, 410.764.6220, lisa@popmarkmedia.com, shaun@popmarkmedia.com.

All Hail Caesar! Get to know more about Ecce actor Thomas McGrath!

Actor Thomas McGrath is no novice to the Washington, D.C. theater community. With multiple roles in productions across the DC Metro area, McGrath has been seen on the Silver Spring Stage, the Montgomery Playhouse and with the Chevy Chase Players. His talent in performing started at a young age.

“I took my first stage role in Junior High School where I found that I had the ability to make people laugh.  Hence a lot of my earlier roles tended to be comedic.  When I got to college, I majored in Voice Performance.  I trained under Jackson Sheats, and sang in various different choirs including the Washington Chorus under direction of Robert Shafer.”

His activity in both the singing and acting worlds have helped him gain a strong presence in the DC theater scene. As his career continued to grow, McGrath found himself taking on different roles in the theater. For instance, he recently directed his first production, Titus Andronicus with the Rude Mechanicals. Also, Thomas has served as Music Director and Assistant Director in other Shakespearean classics, such as Midsummer Night’s Dream  and The Taming of the Shrew.

Cast as Caesar in Ecce, Thomas brings a wealth of experience in all areas to the cast. He is very excited to be a part of this production and loves seeing how young graduates can take initiative and make their dreams a reality.

Be sure to see Thomas McGrath as Caesar in the premiere of Ecce, a production by AJ Rhodes Entertainment, on July 19th at the Warehouse Theater as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. Tickets can be purchased at www.capfringe.org.


For more information about Ecce, please contact Lisa Horan or Shaun Loughran of PopMark Media, 410.764.6220, lisa@popmarkmedia.com, shaun@popmarkmedia.com.

Get to know AP Carroll, the playwright behind Ecce

A recent graduate of George Washington University, Playwright AP Carroll has begun to carve a niche for himself within the DC theater community. He is bringing to life his own creative and thought-provoking take on the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Ecce. By looking at this 2,000 year old story from a new point of view, Carroll hopes to give the audience something they have never seen before.

“I hope they see in this modern Pilate someone they can relate to. It is easy to look at him and dismiss him as weak, or cruel - one or the other. That's not invalid. However, he really wants to help people. He doesn't know how, but he wants to.”

His idea for the Ecce came during his work with the 14th Grade Players, a GWU student production company, and was partially inspired by his prior Catholic school education.

“Growing up, I was fascinated by the story of Pilate. Going to Catholic school, you become very familiar with "the passion," and the different personalities involved. But the final product, which tells a modern story, is the result of a later realization that the questions raised in that trial are still potent and still relevant. How much idealism should be sacrificed to provide the greatest good? What are the true motivations for ambition - service or self-service? I did not set out to tell "the real" story of Pilate's life and the death of Jesus. I am not a theologian or a historian. That's beyond my capability. When I initiated the script, at the encouragement and with the help of friends at 14th Grade, it turned into what we have today.”

Carroll’s production not only provides a new storyline to Jesus’ crucifixion, he also replaces togas with suits and the Biblical vernacular with modern business lingo. These factors help transform the Biblical version of the story into one more heavily focused on politics -- and one that is far more accessible to audiences.
See Ecce, a production by AJ Rhodes Entertainment, on July 19th at the Warehouse Theater as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. Tickets can be purchased online at www.capfringe.org

For more information about Ecce, please contact Lisa Horan or Shaun Loughran of PopMark Media, 410.764.6220, lisa@popmarkmedia.com, shaun@popmarkmedia.com.

Get to know the producer of Ecce, Amanda Rhodes

A recent graduate of George Washington University, Amanda Rhodes has not wasted time making herself known in the DC theater community. She has burst onto the scene with her own production company, AJ Rhodes Entertainment, as well as a hot, new play, Ecce. Knowing playwright, AP Carroll from her undergraduate career, Amanda she did not know what to expect when she was first approached.

“When AP first mentioned the play to me while I was still at GW, I wasn't all that sure what to expect. But when I read it, I was amazed. Then when I saw the first student production of it after I had graduated, and I was blown away. There were times during that first production that I just closed my eyes and listened to the words, and it was powerful. I didn't know when, but I knew that I would eventually produce this show. It was like a calling.”

Amanda brings a vast amount of managing and producing experience to the table, having managed a student theater company for nearly two years. She is extremely excited to see Ecce become a reality as it is set to premiere at the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival this summer. Rhodes believes the play will resonate with DC audiences. 

“What I also found intriguing was how AP took robes and sandals and replaced them with suits and ties, and traded in the King James Bible language that is nearly indiscernible to modern audiences and replaced it with modern business lingo that is much easier to relate to. To me, this show was made for the DC area. If you're a Washingtonian or live in the metropolitan area, you're going to relate to the tender balance between the politics and idealism of life that Ecce portrays.”
See Ecce, a production by AJ Rhodes Entertainment, on July 19th at the Warehouse Theater as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. Tickets can be purchased online at www.capfringe.org

For more information about Ecce, please contact Lisa Horan or Shaun Loughran of PopMark Media, 410.764.6220, lisa@popmarkmedia.com , shaun@popmarkmedia.com.

Ecce Provides Provocative Perspective on the Man Who Authorized Christ’s Death

Save a man’s life or your career; which would you choose? This is the question that is explored in the latest production by AJ Rhodes Entertainment, Ecce. This play gets its name from the Latin phrase Ecce homo (Behold the man), the famous words of Pontius Pilate, as he condemned Jesus to crucifixion. In the play, Pilate, long considered a villain, is transformed into the protagonist.

Giving this age-old story a new perspective, Playwright AP Carroll, along with Director Ed Churchill and Producer Amanda Rhodes, allow the audience to experience Pilate’s decision from his own point of view. The strong, stern, and authoritative figure spoken of in the Bible becomes more complex as the audience realizes that he is faced with a major decision that could ruin either his conscience or his own future. Carroll characterizes Pilate as a man who must balance his fears with a deep desire to serve the public good. It’s this intense fear, along with self-doubt, that wreaks havoc with his decision-making ability.

Along with giving this Biblical account a new spin, Ecce trades robes and togas for suits and ties, and the Shakespearean “thous” and “thees” have been replaced with slick business lingo in order to give the story a dramatic update. The outcome of these edits is a production that promotes both laughter as well as contemplation.

“I hope they see in this modern Pilate someone they can relate to. It is easy to look at him and dismiss him as weak, or cruel - one or the other. That's not invalid. However, he really wants to help people,” explains Carroll. “He doesn't know how, but he wants to. The pressure builds and builds on him, with expectations coming from different directions and it starts to cloud his judgment. His fear makes him jettison these ideals, and he loses his direction. So, the point, if you want to call it that, would be to hold on to those things.”

With five shows from July 19th until July 28th, Ecce sets out to prove that there are always two sides to every story.

Tickets for the production are currently on sale and can be purchased here. The play will open on July 19th at the Warehouse Theatre, 645 New York Ave., Washington, DC.
For more information about Ecce, please contact Lisa Horan or Shaun Loughran of PopMark Media, 410.764.6220, lisa@popmarkmedia.com, shaun@popmarkmedia.com.