We Hope You Enjoy Marjorie Prime!
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15 JUNE – 21 JULY 2018 WELCOME WE HOPE YOU ENJOY MARJORIE PRIME! One of the most pleasurable parts of my assembled a top cast of actors and creatives job as Artistic Director is assembling great for this play and it is always a thrill being a creative talent for a production, particularly member of the audience knowing we are in of a wonderful new play. We were thrilled very safe hands. when Mitchell Butel (one of the busiest We are very excited about our upcoming 2019 people in showbiz) made himself available to season and can’t wait to reveal our line up direct Jordan Harrison’s beautiful MARJORIE for next year! Keep an eye on your mailbox PRIME. Jordan’s play is ultimately about around Monday 6th August to discover your what it means to be human with all the faults next year of theatre at the Ensemble. and fears of our lot in life and it occurred to me that changing our possible life stories In the meantime, explore the great array of continues a running theme in this year’s intimate special events on offer as part of our season; from Bruce’s help with his wayward Boatshed Projects and discover the creative granddaughter in David Williamson’s development behind our plays – including a SORTING OUT RACHEL to two dissatisfied rehearsed reading of Tracey Trinder’s brand women attempting to be something they’re new play KILLING KATIE: CONFESSIONS not in Catherine Moore’s & Genevieve OF A BOOK CLUB on 11 August directed Hegney’s hilarious comedy UNQUALIFIED. by Liz Arday. Human nature finds its own redemptive way of not taking no for an answer. Mitchell has Mark Kilmurry Artistic Director 15 JUNE – 21 JULY 2018 CAST CREATIVES TESS LUCY BELL DIRECTOR MITCHELL BUTEL MARJORIE MAGGIE DENCE SET & COSTUME DESIGNER SIMON GREER WALTER JAKE SPEER LIGHTING DESIGNER ALEXANDER BERLAGE JON RICHARD SYDENHAM SOUND DESIGNER THOMAS MOORE COMPOSER MAX LYANDVERT STAGE MANAGER LAUREN TULLOH COSTUME SUPERVISOR MARGARET GILL PRODUCTION MANAGER SLADE BLANCH RUNNING TIME APPROX 85 MINUTES NO INTERVAL PROGRAMS: $2 which helps enormously with the cost of printing. DIRECTOR’S NOTE MARJORIE PRIME is a play about questions Deep Blue to Amazon Alexa; robots like Bina and answers. About sharing information and 48 and Sophia; holograms; the Loebner Prize sharing lives. And it ponders what separates for “The Most Human Human”; psychologist the human from the machine. Descartes Arthur Aron’s “accelerated intimacy” studies; said “I think therefore I am” but if artificial dementia and memory loss; film noir and intelligence “thinks”, does it become our classic romantic cinema. But here are some equal? Is our imperfection and a machine’s words that I think capture this play’s essence: desire to be perfect at constant odds? Scientists predict that A.I. will be increasingly “Some people worry that artificial intelligence capable and more prevalent in our lives will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in the next 60 years. The benefits could in his right mind should have an inferiority be huge, the ethical challenges immense. complex every time he looks at a flower.” The benefits of love can also be huge, Alan Kay its challenges also immense. But in love, perhaps we have an opportunity to find the “The sad thing about artificial intelligence is greatest wisdom and transcendence. We’ve that it lacks artifice and therefore intelligence.” 15 JUNE – 21 JULY 2018 covered many subjects in our rehearsals – Jean Baudrillard The Turing Test; the writings of Isaac Asimov, CREATIVES Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin; science “Love is the extremely difficult realisation DIRECTOR MITCHELL BUTEL fiction media ranging from 2001 to HER to that something other than oneself is real.” SET & COSTUME DESIGNER SIMON GREER BLACK MIRROR; A.I. programs from Iris Murdoch LIGHTING DESIGNER ALEXANDER BERLAGE SOUND DESIGNER THOMAS MOORE COMPOSER MAX LYANDVERT Tomasetti images: Lisa Rehearsal STAGE MANAGER LAUREN TULLOH COSTUME SUPERVISOR MARGARET GILL “Marjorie Prime” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. Marjorie Prime was originally produced PRODUCTION MANAGER SLADE BLANCH by Center Theater Group, Michael Richie, Artistic Director, and received its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA in 2014. Marjorie prime was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons in association with Theater Masters and its Visionary Playwright Award, and with additional funds provided by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Commissioning Program. The play was written with the support of the Clubbed Thumb Writers’ Group. It was work-shopped in the 2013 Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory, and was further developed with the support of the Rose Green Award at Cleveland Play House. Rehearsal images: Lisa Tomasetti JORDAN HARRISON MITCHELL BUTEL PLAYWRIGHT DIRECTOR Jordan Harrison was Mitchell holds three a Pulitzer Prize finalist Helpmann Awards, two for MARJORIE PRIME, Green Room Awards and which premiered at the two Sydney Theatre Awards Mark Taper Forum and as an actor/director. He has had its New York premiere at Playwrights worked for STC, Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, MTC, Horizons. A film adaptation by Michael QTC, STCSA, ATYP, Bell Shakespeare, Griffin, Almereyda debuted at the 2017 Sundance Malthouse, Opera Australia, The Production Film Festival. Harrison’s other plays include Company and the Sydney, Adelaide and Perth LOG CABIN (Playwrights Horizons), THE Festivals. Mitchell’s directing credits include AMATEURS (Vineyard Theatre), MAPLE AND the Hayes/Blue Saint production of VIOLET VINE (Playwrights Horizons), THE GROWN- (Sydney Theatre Award for Best Director of UP (Humana Festival), AMAZONS AND a Musical), SPRING AWAKENING for ATYP THEIR MEN (Clubbed Thumb), DORIS TO (Sydney Theatre Award for Best Production DARLENE (Playwrights Horizons), ACT A for Young People), APPROXIMATE BALANCE LADY (Portland Center Stage), FINN IN THE for Griffin, AN ACT OF GOD (Darlinghurst UNDERWORLD (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Theatre – co-director), PORGY AND BESS FUTURA (NAATCO), KID-SIMPLE (Humana and THE BERNSTEIN SONGBOOK for the Festival), and a children’s musical, THE FLEA Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Recent acting AND THE PROFESSOR (Arden Theatre). He highlights include ARTURO UI, THE MERCHANT is the recipient of the Horton Foote Prize, OF VENICE, MR BURNS, DISGRACED, ARMS Guggenheim and Hodder Fellowships, the AND THE MAN, ANGELS IN AMERICA, THE Kesselring Prize, the Roe Green Award, the GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, MEOW MEOW’S Heideman Award, and a NEA/TCG Residency. LITTLE MATCH GIRL, THE MIKADO, AVENUE Q A graduate of Stanford University and the and on screen, HOLDING THE MAN, GETTIN’ Brown MFA program, Harrison is an alumnus of SQUARE, THE BANK, DANCE ACADEMY, New Dramatists. He has developed TV series for HIDING and JANET KING. Sundance and TNT, and wrote for three seasons of Netflix’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. LUCY BELL TESS KINGSWOOD COUNTRY, A TOWN LIKE ALICE, PRISONER, NEIGHBOURS, WONDERLAND, Lucy Bell will next be seen in RAKE, BLACK COMEDY, READY FOR THIS. Films: the much anticipated Foxtel WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE BIG WISH, LOOK BOTH drama series FIGHTING WAYS. Short films: THE WIDOW, SETACEOUS, SEASON and the fifth series GRANNY, INSIDE WATER, and 25th Tropfest of the ABC’s RAKE. Lucy short film festival prize winner, THE MOTHER has performed extensively SITUATION. First female recipient of MEAA/ on stage including productions of ROMEO AND Foxtel Lifetime Achievement Award. Proud JULIET, THE DUCHESS OF MALFI, PERICLES member of MEAA since 1962. and TWELFTH NIGHT for Bell Shakespeare; THE CHERRY ORCHARD, AS YOU LIKE IT and JAKE SPEER WALTER DARLING OSCAR for STC; EMERALD CITY for Jake Speer is a graduate which she received the Norman Kessell Memorial of NIDA. During his training Glug Theatre Award for Most Outstanding Actor, Jake made a memorable SPEAKING IN TONGUES, THROUGH THE WIRE, impact as Richard in THE FALLS, WOLF LULLABY and DREAMS IN Shakespeare’s RICHARD WHITE for Griffin Theatre; TWELFTH NIGHT III, amongst other roles. and BLUE MURDER for Belvoir; and FOR JULIA Following graduation Jake booked a series for MTC. Recent feature film credits include regular role on Australia’s highest rating drama THE SQUARE and TEN EMPTY, as well as series, HOME & AWAY playing Oscar Maguire. the short films SECOND BEST and DOTS. On Between graduating from NIDA and signing on television, Lucy has appeared in HERE COME to HOME & AWAY, Jake found time to produce, THE HABIBS, CATCHING MILAT, LOVE CHILD, direct, write and star in the documentary film, A PLACE TO CALL HOME, 30 SECONDS, CITY LEETON: THE FORMATIVE YEARS. His next HOMICIDE, WILDSIDE, DIRT GAME, BASTARD screen project is the short film INSIDE WATER BOYS, FARSCAPE, ALL SAINTS, GRASS ROOTS, which he wrote, and will star in alongside Myles MY HUSBAND, MY KILLER, MURDER CALL, Pollard and Maggie Dence. On stage Jake was CROWNIES, and the ABC Telemovie MAGAZINE most recently seen in HAND TO GOD for The WARS. Alex Theatre and in the musical KINKY BOOTS MAGGIE DENCE MARJORIE for Michael Cassell. Other theatre credits include BAREFOOT IN THE PARK for Ensemble Theatre Maggie Dence trained at and THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR (regional the Independent Theatre tour). Film credits include BACKYARD ASHES at 16 and appeared in THE directed by Mark Grentell. CRUCIBLE, RHINOCEROS, THE GLASS SLIPPER. She RICHARD SYDENHAM JON has appeared in THE Richard’s already a familiar ONE DAY OF THE YEAR and NOISES OFF face to Ensemble audiences for Ensemble Theatre, THE TURQUOISE having appeared in ABSENT ELEPHANT for Griffin, SEVENTEEN, ONCE FRIENDS, CLYBOURNE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY for Belvoir, BENGAL PARK, MURDERERS and TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO for Old Fitz, THE BIG DRY. Other stage KOOKABURRA, THE SEA for Nimrod, THE MAN credits include: SPRING AWAKENING for ATYP, FROM MUCKINUPIN, MONGRELS, FOUR THE DAPTO CHASER for Griffin Theatre & tour, LADY BOWLERS for STC, THE AUNT’S STORY MACBETH, TWELFTH NIGHT, THE ALCHEMIST, for MTC, THE SEASON AT SARSPARILLA for TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, HENRY IV 1 & STC of SA, SWEENEY TODD, GOOD WORKS 2, CORIOLANUS for Bell Shakespeare, ROCK ‘N’ for Q Theatre, SEE HOW THEY RUN, A SMALL ROLL for MTC, THE TEMPEST, LOVE FOR LOVE FAMILY BUSINESS for Marian Street.