LOS ANGELES -- Lester Thomas Shane has used his experiences as a volunteer at New York's Jacob Perlow Hospice to put together Mortal Coil, a one-man show about a night in a hospice unit.

Written and performed by Shane, the play opens Thursday July 30 at The Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood.

Shane's monologue "recalls the voices of 13 real-life characters whose stories of living and dying provide a startling, often humorous glimpse into the ultimate experience of life: one's own mortality," said a company spokesperson.

Presented by Pan:Image, Inc., Mortal Coil was first produced by the BASIC Theater for The First New York International Fringe Festival in 1997, followed by a critically-acclaimed run at the Cleveland Public Theater, where it earned a Cleveland Drama Critics Circle Award. Mortal Coil is scheduled to open Off-Broadway early next year.

Mortal Coil is performed through August 30 at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd. Wednesday - Friday 8 PM; Saturday 7 PM and 10 PM; Sunday 3 PM. Tickets are $18. Call toll free (877) 264-6243. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent