1812 Productions, Philadelphia's all comedy theatre company, is pleased to present Jane Wagner's comedy masterpiece The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Philadelphia's funny lady, Jennifer Childs, stars in this legendary comedy which will run from September 21 to October 28 at The Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3. Tickets are $12-$34 and can be purchased by contacting 1812 Productions' box office at (215) 592-9560, or online at www.1812productions.org.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is a one-woman comedy experience that is simultaneously incendiary, compassionate, and brutally clear-sighted. A cast of miscreant, misinformed, and improbably ebullient characters all take the stage to add their two cents to the great, small, and utterly insane problems of the world.

Of the show's 19 characters, we first meet the show's narrator Trudy-the decidedly sane crazy lady who spends the play waiting for word from her extra-terrestrial friends. There is Kate-rich, cultured, and just plain jaded; Chrissy-smart enough to see her wheels spinning, not smart enough to stop them; Agnus Angst-the pissed off teenager who's all about punk music and G. Gordon Liddy. These and a host of other wildly diverse players grace the stage during each performance.

When The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe debuted in the mid-1980s, it, along with Whoopi Goldberg's The Spook Show, came to define a new form of solo performance. The solo work of performers like John Leguizamo, Eric Bogosian, Danny Hoch, and others can be traced directly to these two pioneering creations. Not since Homer had the monologue been put to such effective and discerning use.

"I remember reading it when it first came out and being blown away," says the show's star, Jennifer Childs. "I was a college freshman and was most intrigued by the virtuosity of it. Ten years later, I read it again and was most taken with the writing-which was some of the best comedic writing I'd ever read. I returned to it again last year, and this time it was the combination of those elements and the play's message that truly spoke to me. As a woman and a mother trying to balance life and family and career, I understand the play in ways I never did before. I feel like it's the right time not only to produce it, but to take it on myself."

Twenty years after The Search for Signs. was originally performed by revolutionary comedian Lily Tomlin, its relevance has only become more apparent. "In an internet age where we are all supposedly 'connected'," continues Ms. Childs, "people seem to be lonelier and more disconnected than ever. The Search for Signs. is an amazing comedy that celebrates our unseen, and sometimes unexplainable, ties to one another and the world around us."

Cast and Crew

Jennifer Childs (Performer): is the Artistic Director of 1812 Productions for whom she has created and directed a series of productions celebrating an era or area of comedic history. They are, The Big Time, Another Big Time, Like Crazy Like Wow, Something Wonderful Right Away, Always A Lady, Double Down, This Is The Week That Is, and the upcoming return of the re-written and re-created This Is The Week That Is. In addition to her work at 1812 she has performed and/or directed for the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Prince Music Theatre, Mum Puppettheatre, Philadelphia Young Playwrights Festival, Act II Playhouse, Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center, Lantern Theatre Company and the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival. She has been nominated for 11 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theater, winning the Best Supporting Actress in a Play Award in 1996 for her work in the Wilma's Escape From Happiness, and the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist in 1999. In 2000 she was awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts grant to attend the School of Physical Theatre in London. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation and an instructor at the University of the Arts.

Mary Carpenter (Director): Mary Carpenter has worked in Philadelphia Theatre for the last fifteen years as an actress, director, teacher and writer. She has performed with a variety of Philadelphia Theatre Companies including 1812 Productions, InterAct Theatre Company, Freefall Productions and more. Mary has been a performing and teaching member of ComedySportz for fifteen years where she has also served as Artistic Director. She started her improvisation training in Chicago at the Players Workshop of Second City, and has also trained with Keith Johnstone, founder of Theatresports, Mick Napier of Annoyance Theatre, and Jeff Wirth. She's performed with a variety of improvisation troupes over the past ten years in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and now Philadelphia. She founded Freefall Productions, a theatre company specializing in improvisational performance. Under Freefall she has directed 13 Skirts (Philadelphia's only all-women's comedy ensemble, Choosical (a full length improvised musical) and The Mom Squad. She holds Theatre degrees from Northwestern University and The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Jane Wagner (Playwright): Jane Wagner, one of America's most distinguished playwrights, has won numerous awards including several Emmys and a Writer's Guild Award for her work in television. Wagner has also won a New York Drama Critics' Circle Special Award and a New York Drama Desk Award for her Broadway success The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of The Search for Signs., three Grammy nominations for comedy albums she wrote with Lily Tomlin (Modern Scream, And That's the Truth, and On Stage), and two Peabody Awards-the first for the CBS television special, J.T., and the second for the ABC television special, Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel. Jane Wagner's full bio is available on Lily Tomlin's website www.lilytomlin.com.

Company History
Artistic Director Jennifer Childs and Resident Artist Pete Pryor founded 1812 Productions in the spring of 1998 with a goal to entertain and educate audiences through comedy, and to support and hire local artists. Most recently, 1812 Productions closed its 2006-2007 season by garnering four Barrymore Award Nominations. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, has received five nominations and has been awarded once the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. On April 20, 2005, 1812 Productions received an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. 1812 Productions, while continually on the search for a permanent home, continues to perform at various locations in Philadelphia.