Last of The Knotts: Doug Knott’s Award-Winning Irreverent Solo Show

“CRITICS’ CHOICE!” raves LA TIMES. “Equal parts William S. Burroughs and saxophone. Raw, fluid and quirky, Knott’s saga zigzags between twisted hilarity and arresting gravitas… An unsparingly honest solo treatise… tickling, touching portrait of considerable reach and impact… This monologist virtually defines the form.” “GO!” raves LA Weekly.” Doug Knott, a carefree hipster, faces the ultimate choice: Fatherhood or Knott? Set in exuberant, darkly permissive 1980’s Los Angeles, this hour-long comi-tragedy shadows his search for redemptive love with an exotic woman who deals cocaine and keeps a pet seven-foot boa constrictor. “Last Of The Knotts,” helmed by acclaimed director Chris DeCarlo, returns to the Playhouse as the first benefit production of 2016, after having toured New York City, San Francisco, Winnipeg, and West Palm Beach, Florida. Performance poet and stage performer Knott produced and emceed a cult variety show at the Lhasa club, co-owned and hosted his own nightclub, Famous/Knott, in the 80’s, toured the western US states and won the revived Gong Show as a member of the performance group, The Carma Bums. As part of the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival (where he won “Best of the Fest”), he performed “Last of the Knotts” at the Fanatic Salon Theater and the Lounge Theater, and subsequently at the Asylum Lab Theatre in Hollywood. Doug is the author of several poetry books including Small Dogs Bark Cartoons, published by Seven Wolves Press. His poetry video Psychic Defense Training for Ex-Lovers was a “poetry spot” on WNYC-TV; He has been published in local and national poetry magazines ranging from Caffeine and Pearl, to Chiron Review. Knotts’ work has been included in several anthologies such as Grand Passion: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, and the Outlaw Poetry Bible.
Prior to his performance and literary career, Doug was a practicing California attorney. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Yale College. Director DeCarlo, Artistic Director of Santa Monica Playhouse, has been responsible for bringing over 600 productions to the boards. Recent credits include Lisa Phillips’ Visca’s CLIMAX starring Rae Dawn Chong and Jerry Mayer’s Aspirin & ELEPHANTS (LA Times Critic’s Choice). Produced by Meadowbrook Entertainment & Santa Monica Playhouse. Rounding out the team are dramaturg Eric Trules and scenic artist Gilbert Johnquest.