Red Dog Squadron
RED DOG SQUADRON is a non-profit theatre company in residence at the Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 2002 by Brad Raider and James Roday[1] who also serve as co-Artistic Directors. The two friends met while studying at The Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University and have been frequent collaborators since.[2]
In New York, they produced the 400th year anniversary production of Henry V which starred Raider as “Henry,” Niamh McCormally as “Katherine,” and a cast of twenty-five. It opened on Saint Crispin's Day – October 25, 1999 at the Mazer Theatre Off Broadway under the direction of Laurie Wessely. It was performed 400 years after Shakespeare wrote it in 1599.
After moving to Los Angeles, Raider and Roday officially launched RED DOG with their inaugural production of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago, a revival in which they both starred. The play also featured Niamh McCormally as “Deborah” and Lilli Birdsell as “Joan.” It premiered in December 2002 at the Stella Adler Studio Theatre in Hollywood under the direction of Raider. Next came two original one-acts – Chickens and Assholes and Sustenance performed together in 2004. Chickens, written and directed by Aaron Saidman, featured Roday, Mackenzie Astin, Vivian Bang, and Freeman Michaels. Sustenance, written and directed by Roday, featured Raider, Niamh McCormally, Dana Ashbrook, Jackson Bennett, Renee J. Tan, Todd Harthan, and Amanda Detmer.
In 2007, they produced the world premiere of Grand Delusion at the Lost Studio Theatre in Los Angeles.[3] Written by David Rock, the black comedy re-imagined the events leading up to World War I and starred Kurt Fuller as Kaiser Wilhelm, Xander Berkeley as Czar Nicholas, and Timothy Omundson as Count Rumpledorf.[4]
In 2009, the sold-out and critically acclaimed Extinction, written by Gabe McKinley and directed by Wayne Kasserman, had its world premiere at the Elephant Theatre in Hollywood where it ran for four weeks before moving Off Broadway to the Cherry Lane Theatre February 13 through March 14, 2010. It starred Roday, Michael Weston, Amanda Detmer, and Stefanie E. Frame.[5]
Another sold-out run for RED DOG, Greedy by Karl Gajdusek, ran January 8th through January 29, 2011 at the El Centro Theatre in Hollywood. Under the direction of Roday, it starred Detmer, Raider, Maggie Lawson, Kurt Fuller, Peter Mackenzie, and Ivana Miličević.
Most recently, the company produced "Artificial Fellow Traveler" written and performed by Ethan Sandler which ran February 20th through March 12th, 2012 under the direction of Daniel Goldstein. The one-man-show was performed at Big Daddy's Antiques in Los Angeles.
In 2012, RED DOG and The Black Dahlia Theatre Company purchased the El Centro Theatre in Hollywood. The two companies will produce in residence at the now renamed Circle Theatre once renovations are complete in 2016.
Production history
Henry V (1999)
Sexual Perversity in Chicago (2002)
Chickens and Assholes (2004)
Sustenance (2004)
Grand Delusion (2007)
Extinction (2009/2010)
Greedy (2011)
Artificial Fellow Traveler (2012)