Synopsis
Erica, a young woman going nowhere fast in a small New Mexican town, stows away in a carnival passing through town, heading north. The carnival is run by Madame Maxine, the matriarch of the group of carnies. They are a tight bunch, but as in any tight bunch, there are internal tensions. Erica is discovered by Nathan, the quiet mechanic. She also meets Danny, the lady killer; Tom the Teller, a mysterious psychic age & weight guesser; and a cast of odd but lovable Carnies. Also hanging around is Frank Gordon, FunCo representative, looking to buy out the independent carnival for his international corporate honchos; he sows doubt and dissension throughout the carnies. Will Erica's hidden talent save the Carnival? Will Nathan screw up his courage and ask her out before she leaves? Will Danny meet a woman whose pants he can't talk his way into? Can Tom really predict the future? Why does he wear such garish pants? Will they all make it through the carnival season ALIVE?!

About
Carnies is a new musical work produced in Portland, OR by Action/Adventure Theatre. It is written and composed by Devon Wade Granmo and Mont Chris Hubbard. Years in the making, it is a realization of a love of the carnival asthetic. It seeks to explore the dynamics of travelling showmen without any glossy sheen but equally avoiding aggrandizing their dirty, dusty, thieving ways.

Devon Wade Granmo is an actor, playwright, musician and founding member of Action/Adventure Theatre. He received his BA in Theatre from Reed College where he wrote a playwriting thesis in the form of an full-length play, Dirty Water. He has been seen in Portland in The Edjumahcation Follies (Toad City), Catastrophic Conversations with Mr. X, Gross Generalitzations (Catastrophic Productions), Going All the Way (Club Posse) and has participated in the last four years of Performance Works Northwest's Annual Richard Foreman Mini-Festival in collaboration with Miranda King. He also plays drums, sax, keyboards and sings in the bands Henry Dark and James and Donna Must Die!

Mont Chris Hubbard is an accomplished musician. He has released three albums of solo piano improvisations, and composed music for theatre and web series (Action/Adventure's Fothing). In addition, he has music directed and accompanied at some of Portland's most prominent theaters, including Portland Center Stage and Broadway Rose Theatre Company. He is also active in the pop music scene, appearing live around town as well as on many Portland artists' albums (not to mention as a longstanding member of Scotland Barr & The Slow Drags). He graduated from Reed College in 2006 with a BA in Music.