The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts co-sponsor an Inside Acting Podcast presentation of “Gospel According to First Squad” - a live audio recording at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, CA.  Members of the Ovation Nominated Best Ensemble Cast are joined by actors from the recent UC Davis production, and alumni of the USC Acting Program, to perform a revised version of “Gospel” for the first time before a Los Angeles audience. 

The reading will be performed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre on Saturday May 27th at 6:30pm. Doors will open at 6pm. 

Tickets are $7 and available for purchase online at http://theatredance.tix.com

The performance is directed by UC Davis MFA candidate Danika Sudik, who received a Best Director Ovation Nomination for her work on “Gospel,” and will feature undergraduate actors Taylor Church, David D’Olimpio and Ryan Gerberding along with Sudik who reads one of the roles. This performance will be recorded before a live audience and featured on Inside Acting Podcast.

Written by Tom Burmester, “Gospel According to First Squad” was first performed at the Powerhouse Theatre in Los Angeles to much acclaim and received numerous regional award nominations and accolades, including Ovation nods for Best Production of the Year, Best Playwriting, Best Director, Best Ensemble, and Best Actor. The Los Angeles Times hailed, “This ‘Gospel’ is chapter and verse of one of the finest war plays in recent memory.”

At a small U.S. Army outpost at the mouth of Afghanistan’s deadly Korengal Valley, a squad of battle-hardened soldiers anxiously await their imminent return to the States. When a human terrain specialist assigned to First Squad reveals a fanatically religious ideology, everyone takes a side. The cracks widen as First Squad gears up for a last minute, unexpected patrol into a hotly contested remote village enshrouded in the fog of war, where the fate of the squad hinges on the interpretation of a contentious story.

There will be light refreshments and a casual community conversation following the performance.