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Home , Beau Willimon, Dana Delany, Irish Repertory Theatre, Joe Penhall, Marion Williams, Steven Culp

49th Season • 471st Production JULIANNE ARGYROS STAGE / APRIL 14 - MAY 5, 2013

Marc Masterson Paula Tomei ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

David Emmes & Martin Benson FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

presents the world premiere of The Parisian Woman

by Beau Willimon inspired by Henri Becque’s La Parisienne

Marion Williams David Kay Mickelsen Lap Chi Chu Cricket S. Myers SCENIC DESIGN COSTUME DESIGN LIGHTING DESIGN SOUND DESIGN Kelly L. Miller Jackie S. Hill Sue Karutz* DRAMATURG PRODUCTION MANAGER STAGE MANAGER

Directed by Pam MacKinnon

The Playwrights Circle Honorary Producer

THE PARISIAN WOMAN was commissioned by The Flea Theatre in City Jim Simpson, Artistic Director; Carol Ostrow, Producing Director

The Parisian Woman • South Coast Repertory • P1 CAST OF CHARACTERS (In order of appearance) Chloe ...... Dana Delany* Peter ...... Steven Culp* Tom ...... * Jeanette ...... Linda Gehringer* Rebecca ...... Rebecca Mozo*

SETTING Late Fall, Washington, D.C.

PRODUCTION STAFF Casting ...... Joanne DeNaut, CSA Production Assistant ...... Julie Renfro Assistant Director ...... Peter J. Kuo Assistant Scenic Designer ...... Jason Sherwood Costume Design Assistant ...... Adriana Lambarri Assistant Lighting Designer ...... Amanda Zieve Stage Management Intern ...... Natalie Figaredo Light Board Operator ...... Sumner Ellsworth Sound Board Operator ...... Bryan Williams Automation Operator ...... Emily Kettler Wardrobe Supervisor/Dresser ...... Alma Reyes Stylist ...... Traci Boyd, Theodora Katsoulogiannakis Additional Costume Staff ...... Sarah Timm

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

Please refrain from unwrapping candy or making other noises that may disturb surrounding patrons. Video taping and/or recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. Cellular phones, beepers and watch alarms should be turned off or set to non-audible mode during the performance. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the theatre.

P2 • South Coast Repertory • The Parisian Woman The Parisian Provocateur by Beau Willimon his important contribution to the French theater, Becque remains rarely produced and largely unknown. couple of years ago, the Flea Theater approached I hope I’m not perpetuating the litany of injustices me about adapting Henri Becque’s La Parisienne with The Parisian Woman. ’s unfair to Becque to call (1885). I had never heard of Henri Becque. Many my play an adaptation of his. Aside from setting the story A theater-goers haven’t, even in France. After reading in contemporary Washington D.C., I have consolidated the play I quickly fell in love with his work, and came to five acts into one. I removed two characters entirely and learn that he was among the first, arguably the first French created two new ones. Direct addresses to the audience dramatist to bring realism and naturalism to the stages of have been abandoned. While some of Becque’s brilliant Paris. lines remain intact, contempo- He wrote during one of rary idiom, cultural differences Henri Becque Europe’s most dynamic cultural and a re-imagined narrative periods, the mid-to-late 19th have necessitated drastically century. His precursors were changed language, or in most Honoré de Balzac and Gustave of the play, new language alto- Flaubert, who introduced real- gether. ism to French literature; and My goal was to channel painters like Gustave Courbet Becque, not imitate or and Édouard Manet, who intro- translate him. That’s why I duced it to the canvas. His con- think it’s more appropriate temporaries were to say “inspired by” rather and August Strindberg, Émile than “adapted from.” Have no Zola and Leo Tolstoy and Guy doubt, I stole a lot. I’m wholly de Maupassant. Everywhere art- indebted to Becque—my play ists were striving to portray the would not exist without his. human condition with naked, But I also liberated myself from unadorned truth. the original in order to achieve Becque was on the the freshness and relevance front lines of this rebellious that (I hope) Becque would paradigm shift. He drew from have appreciated. It’s been theatrical tropes familiar to over a century since he left this French audiences—the farce, earth, so there’s no way we’ll the parlor play, the comedy of ever know whether he would manners—and turned them on have approved of The Parisian their heads. In La Parisienne for instance, he eschewed Woman. But I like to think he would have gotten a kick romance for obsession, he explored sex in terms of out of it, seen some of himself on the stage, and maybe power rather than pure scintillation, and he tossed aside even had a laugh or two. cartoonish archetypes and populated the play with three- I’m deeply grateful to Monsieur Becque, of course, dimensional souls. He did all this with biting wit and but I’m also grateful to the Flea Theater for commissioning comedy, and in so doing, brought the French theater up me to write this play. And forever grateful to South Coast to speed with the rest of Europe. Repertory for producing its world premiere. SCR offers Becque suffered for his innovation. Some of his playwrights the sort of encouragement, resources and plays—like La Parisienne—were financial successes. But support that Becque never had available to him. And its many were disastrous flops, met with hisses, critical scour- audiences thirst for challenging new work rather than ings and short-lived runs. In 1886, a year after La Parisi- turning their backs on it. Were Becque still with us, I enne was first produced, Becque was awarded the Legion bet he’d feel quite at home in Costa Mesa. If you enjoy of Honor. Just 13 years later, he died penniless and home- The Parisian Woman (or even if you don’t), I hope it less, an outcast in the French theater. History hasn’t been will pique your curiosity enough to read the original La much kinder. While academics have come to appreciate Parisienne and the rest of Becque’s extraordinary work.

The Parisian Woman • South Coast Repertory • P3 Artist Biographies

Steven Culp* on Broadway; Dinner with Friends in New York, Los Peter Angeles and (alternating roles); Blood Moon, both in New York and ; Much Ado About appeared most recently in Harold Nothing at The Old Globe; and most recently, Helter Pinter’s Old Times at the Shake- Skelter by Neil LaBute at Ensemble Studio Theatre in speare Theatre Company in Wash- New York. Film credits include Light Sleeper and Patty ington, DC, directed by Michael Hearst directed by , Housesitter, Fly Away Kahn. He returns to SCR after Home, Tombstone and most recently, Freelancers with appearing in Raised in Captivity Robert DeNiro and . Delany has starred in many (Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Ensemble), Art, films for television including the miniseries Wild Palms and the premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Doctor and True Women. Her favorite series roles were in Cerberus. Additional theatre credits include the pre- “Pasadena,” “Kidnapped,” “” and mieres of Tony Kushner’s Slavs! and Phyllis Nagy’s Trip’s “,” for which she won two Emmys for Best Cinch at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival; Actress. She is the longest-running voice of in Angels in America (Drama-Logue Award for Outstand- animated television and film. Delany is on the boards of ing Performance), Blackbird and The Quality of Life at Ojai Playwrights Conference and New York Stage and American Conservatory Theater; If Memory Serves at Film and is a strong supporter of the arts. Pasadena Playhouse; Opus, Doctor Cerberus and Biff in Death of a Salesman at LA TheatreWorks; Light Up the Linda Gehringer* Sky at Ahmanson Theatre; The White Rose at The Old Jeanette Globe; Highest Standard of Living at Playwrights Ho- rizons; the premiere of A.R. Gurney, Jr.’s Sweet Sue at appeared at SCR earlier this season Williamstown Theatre Festival; Coastal Disturbances at in How to Write a New Book for Circle in the Square; the premiere of Terrence McNally’s the Bible, for which she received The Lisbon Traviata at Theatre Off-Park; and Richard III a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle at New York Shakespeare Festival. Film credits include nomination. She also appeared in Thirteen Days (as Bobby Kennedy), The Emperor’s the world premieres of The Lan- Club, Spartan, Firehouse Dog, From Within, Leaving guage Archive, The Piano Teacher, A Naked Girl on Barstow, The Sisters, Nurse Betty, James and the Giant the Appian Way, Getting Frankie Married–and After- Peach and The Chicago 8. Television credits include se- wards, Hold Please, But Not for Me and The Intelligent ries regular roles on “Desperate Housewives” (two SAG Design of Jenny Chow, a role she repeated in its New awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series) York premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company. Other and “Traveler”; recurring roles on “Grey’s Anatomy,” SCR credits include Circle Mirror Transformation, “The Chicago Code,” “Saving Grace,” “,” Doubt, Hamlet, The Retreat from Moscow, A Delicate “JAG,” “ER,” “Enterprise” and “Privileged”; the minise- Balance, All My Sons, Relatively Speaking, The Last ries Gore Vidal’s Lincoln and Impact; and many guest Night of Ballyhoo, Arcadia and Good as New. She has appearances. played leading roles in theatres across the country, most recently in the world premiere of How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Dana Delany* Chloe Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Crowd You’re In With at Goodman Theatre (Jeff nomination), Surf Report at is very happy to be performing at La Jolla Playhouse and The Women and Since Africa at SCR for the first time. She can cur- The Old Globe. Recent television credits include recur- rently be seen in “” ring roles on “Touch” and “Justified.” Other television on ABC playing Medical Examiner work includes “Raising Hope,” “Weeds,” “Gilmore Girls,” Dr. Megan Hunt. Past theatre work “,” “Cold Case,” “Ally McBeal,” “Frasier” includes Translations and A Life and “The West Wing” among many others.

P4 • South Coast Repertory • The Parisian Woman Rebecca Mozo* Rebecca The Playwrights Circle (Honorary Produc- er) consists of avid playgoers who underwrite appeared at SCR previously in In a world premiere production each spring. Its the Next Room or the vibrator individual members include long-time subscrib- play, A Wrinkle in Time, Emilie: ers, major annual fund donors, endowment sup- La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends porters, and trustees. Since its inception in 2004, Her Life Tonight, The Heiress and The Playwrights Circle has underwritten out- Doubt, a parable. Other theatre standing works by some of today’s finest writ- credits include, most recently, The Savannah Disputa- ers, including Amy Freed’s Safe in Hell, Rich- tion (Ovation Award nomination), Educating Rita and ard Greenberg’s A Naked Girl on the Appian Trying (Ovation Award nomination) at The Colony The- Way and Our Mother’s Brief Affair, Christopher atre Company; The Cherry Orchard opposite Annette d’Amboise’s The Studio, Julie Marie Myatt’s My Bening and Alfred Molina at Center Theatre Group; Wandering Boy, Kate Robin’s What They Have, Ghosts at A Noise Within; and Mrs. Warren’s Profes- Julia Cho’s The Language Archive, Silent Sky by sion, Peace in Our Time, King Lear, Cousin Bette, Pera Lauren Gunderson, and last season’s Cloudlands Palas, ClassicFest’s A Month in the Country and The by Octavio Solis and Adam Gwon. SCR is espe- Dresser at The Antaeus Company. She also appeared in cially grateful to The Playwrights Circle for its I Capture the at El Portal Theatre (Ovation Award leadership and dedication to helping us bring the nomination for Best Actress) as well as at The Shake- best new plays to Orange County audiences and speare Theatre of New Jersey where she played Hermia to the American theatre. in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Film and television credits include The Repatriate, Zerophilia, Headless Horseman, The Waterhole, “Pizza Time,” “Cold Case,” The 2012-13 Playwrights Circle “The Young and the Restless” and “Medium.” She re- Chase McLaughlin Laurie Smits Staude cently wrapped the web series “Kittens in a Cage,” di- Mike and Nancy Meyer Tom Taylor rected by Jillian Armenante. Mozo earned her BFA from Carl and Patricia Neisser Marci Maietta Weinberg Rutgers University and studied at The Globe Theatre in Robert Palmer and Bill Weinberg . She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Asso- Barbara Roberts Linda and Tod White ciation and The Antaeus Company. Mary Ann Brown and Vina Williams and Tom Rick Reiff Slattery Steven Weber* Alan and Olivia Slutzky Anonymous Tom

is making his first appearance at SCR. The -born Weber made his New York stage ick in The Philanthropist. Weber studied at New York’s debut opposite in High School of the Performing Arts and is a graduate of Clifford Odets’ Paradise Lost. After the theatre program at SUNY Purchase. appearing in The Flamingo Kid he co-starred in the acclaimed war film Hamburger Hill Playwright, Director and Designers and soon made his Broadway debut in The Real Thing. But it was the NBC “Wings” where Weber gained Beau Willimon (Playwright) is currently executive national attention, and later in ’s “Studio producer and show-runner of ’s original series 60 on the Sunset Strip” where he received wide critical “House of Cards” starring and Robin acclaim. Weber played the young JFK in The Kennedy’s Wright. His play , became the basis for of Massachusetts and starred in the television version the motion picture screenplay The Ides of March, which of . His other films include Single White he co-wrote with and . Female, The Temp, Jeffrey, Dracula: Dead and Loving The Ides of March earned Willimon Academy Award, It! and Showtime’s comic musical . Re- Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Adapt- turning to the stage, Weber played Leo Bloom in the hit ed Screenplay, and it won The Australian Academy Broadway production , starred with Kevin of Cinema and Television Award for Best Screenplay. Spacey in ’s National Anthems, and most Other plays include Lower Ninth (Flea Theater, 2008), recently again on Broadway opposite Matthew Broder- and Spirit Control (Manhattan Theatre Club, 2010).

The Parisian Woman • South Coast Repertory • P5 Willimon was a recipient of the Lila Acheson Wallace- School, José Limón Dance Company, Manhattan School of Juilliard Playwriting Fellowship, named 2008 Playwright- Music, Parsons Dance, Performance Space 122 and Wom- in-Residence at the , and he is a two- en’s Project. Williams’ regional credits include McCarter time winner of the Le Comte du Nouy Theatre Center, CenterStage, Alliance Theatre, Actors The- Award. Recently he co-founded Westward Productions, atre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Round a film and television production company, with Jordan House Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Bar- Tappis. Forthcoming projects include Wally and Andre rington Stage Company, Triad Stage, The Folger Theatre, Shoot Ibsen—a film adaptation of Ibsen’s play Master Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Ballet, Louisville Bal- Builder developed by Wallace Shawn and Andre Greg- let, Tulsa Ballet, Two River Theater Company, Sacramento ory, directed by Jonathan Demme. Westward is also de- Theatre Company, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey veloping two documentaries: Odyssey, about adventure and Williamstown Theatre Festival. International credits traveler Karl Bushby’s quest to circumnavigate the globe include The Turn of the Screw (opera, Leipzig, Germany) on foot, and Westerly, about Westerly Windina, a trans- and Introdans (Holland). She earned her MFA from the gender Australian woman formerly known as legendary University of Washington (Seattle), and was awarded a pro-surfer Peter Drouyn. Princess Grace Award and a Princess Grace Special Projects Grant. Pam MacKinnon (Director) is an Obie and Lilly Award-winning and Lucille Lortel and Tony-nominated David Kay Mickelsen (Costume Design) has designed director. Recent credits include ’s Who’s more than 300 productions at the nation’s leading the- Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Steppenwolf Theatre Com- atres, including SCR, Guthrie Theater, Denver Center pany, Arena Stage, Broadway); Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Theatre Company (59 productions), Arizona Theatre Park (, Mark Taper Forum, Broad- Company (47 productions), The Cleveland Play House way); Craig Lucas’ The Lying Lesson (Atlantic Theater (21 productions), Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (14 Company); Horton Foote’s Harrison, TX (Primary Stag- productions), Ford’s Theatre, Williamstown Theatre es); David Weiner’s Extraordinary Chambers (Geffen Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Playhouse); and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Pasadena Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, The Old Globe, (The Old Globe). Her SCR credits include Itamar Moses’ Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Completeness, ’s Becky Shaw and Rich- the Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Illinois Shakespeare ard Greenberg’s Our Mother’s Brief Affair. She is a festivals, Studio Arena Theatre, Portland Center Stage, frequent director of the plays of Edward Albee, having Northlight Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, GeVa directed six of his plays, including the world premieres Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Children’s Peter and Jerry (now titled At Home at the Zoo, Second Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Tennessee Repertory Stage Theatre and Hartford Stage) and Occupant (Sig- Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Sundance Theatre nature Theatre). She is an alumna of the Drama League Festival, New Mexico Repertory Theatre, and Lincoln Center Theater Directors’ Lab and the board Center Stage, Stage, The Maltz-Jupiter Theatre, president of Clubbed Thumb, a downtown New York Ensemble Studio Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre, The- City theater company dedicated to new American plays. atre of the Open Eye, Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre, The Hampton Playhouse and Timberlake Playhouse. Marion Williams (Scenic Design) is a New York-based Originally from Canby, Oregon, he graduated with an scenic and costume designer and is pleased to be joining MFA from California Institute of the Arts and is a member SCR with The Parisian Woman. Recently with Pam MacK- of the United Scenic Artists. davidkaymickelsen.com. innon, she designed Harrison, TX (Primary Stages) and Death of a Salesman (The Old Globe). New York credits Lap Chi Chu (Lighting Design) has designed regionally include MCC Theater, Mint Theater Company, The Juilliard for SCR, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, Oregon

P6 • South Coast Repertory • The Parisian Woman Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Kelly L. Miller (Dramaturg) is the literary director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Goodman Theater, The SCR and the co-director of the Pacific Playwrights Festi- Shakespeare Theater, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, San val. Regionally, she has worked at Actors Theatre of Lou- Jose Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Portland isville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and as the literary Center Stage and Evidence Room. New York design manager of Long Wharf Theatre and Playscripts, Inc. In credits include , New 2008, she co-founded Creative Destruction, a company Workshop, Signature Theater, Second Stage Theatre, dedicated to the support of playwrights and the develop- Performance Space 122 and Kitchen Theatre Company. ment of new work. Favorite dramaturgy at SCR includes He is the lighting/video designer for ChameckiLerner The Whale, How to Write a New Book for the Bible, Dance Company (Costumes by God, Visible Content, The Prince of Atlantis, Completeness, Circle Mirror Hidden Forms, I Mutantes Seras, Por Favor and Não Me Transformation, Becky Shaw, Doctor Cerberus, Saturn Deixe), which has performed in the United States and Returns and Emilie; Big Love, War of the Worlds and Brazil. Awards have included the LA Drama Critic’s Circle Creditors (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Hearts, Winter- Angstrom Award for Career Achievement in Lighting De- time and Going Native (Long Wharf Theatre). Miller has sign, an Ovation award, multiple Bay Area Theatre Critics worked as a freelance consultant and writer for The Play- Circle Awards, a “Drammy” for best lighting, as well as wrights’ Center, The Public Theater, Huntington Theatre a Lucille Lortel nomination for The Good Negro at The Company, New Dramatists, NEA/Arena Stage, Actors Public Theater. Chu is on the lighting design faculty at Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Play- California Institute of the Arts. Penn, Carnegie Mellon, and The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. Cricket S. Myers (Sound Design) is thrilled to return to SCR after designing Sight Unseen, Elemeno Pea, The Sue Karutz* (Stage Manager) returns to SCR after Trip to Bountiful, Three Days of Rain and Lucky Duck. previously stage managing or assisting on Chinglish, A On Broadway, she earned a Tony nomination and a Christmas Carol, Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Smells!, Drama Desk Award for her design of Bengal Tiger at the The Hoboken Chicken Emergency and Oleanna. She has Baghdad Zoo. Her designs off-Broadway include the 16- toured with The Black Rider (London, , month run of The Marvelous Wonderettes (Westside Arts, Sydney, L.A.), Wicked (Chicago, L.A., San Francisco), Les Upstairs). She has also designed regionally at the Mark Misérables (U.S., Canada, Shanghai, Seoul) and Cirque Taper Forum (Vigil, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, du Soleil’s Corteo (Moscow, Brussels.) Off-Broadway she Lieutenant of Inishmore, Burn This, The Subject Was earned her Equity card on Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Roses), La Jolla Playhouse (Nightingale), Berkeley Rep- Fly. Karutz has stage managed for Center Theatre Group, ertory Theatre (In the Wake), Arena Stage (Book Club Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena Playhouse, Falcon Theatre, Play), Theatre (The Little Dog Laughed, Deaf West, A.C.T., La Jolla Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Come Back Little Sheba), Pasadena Playhouse (Crowns, Festival and The National Theatre of the Deaf, and is cur- Orson’s Shadow) and Geffen Playhouse (Wrecks, Some rently a staff stage manager on Fantasmic! at Disneyland Girls, Emergency). Other selected L.A. designs include Resort. The Colony Theatre Company (Grace & Glorie, Mary’s Wedding, Trying, Master Harold…and the boys), The Marc Masterson (Artistic Director) is in his second Antaeus Company (Cousin Bette), The Celebration The- season with SCR. He previously served for 11 years ater (Color Purple, Wolves, Bacchae, Stupid Kids, What’s as artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville and Wrong with Angry), Ford Amphitheater (Norman’s Ark) produced the Humana Festival of New American Plays. and Circle X Theatre (Bad Apples, Battle Hymn). Myers During his tenure, he produced more than 100 world has earned 13 Ovation nominations, and won LADCC and premieres, expanded audiences and the repertoire, Garland awards in Los Angeles. www.cricketsmyers.com deepened arts education programs, and spearheaded

The Parisian Woman • South Coast Repertory • P7 community-based projects. Recent directing credits the Margo Jones Award for their lifetime commitment include Eurydice and Elemeno Pea at SCR, The Kite to theatre excellence and fostering the art and craft of Runner in Louisville and the Cleveland Playhouse, A American playwriting. They also accepted SCR’s 1988 Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shipwrecked! An Enter- Tony Award for Outstanding Resident Professional tainment, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Tempest, Mary’s Theatre and won the 1995 Theatre L.A. Ovation Award Wedding, The Crucible, Betrayal, As You Like It, The for Lifetime Achievement. Benson has received the Los Importance of Being Earnest and Macbeth. World Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished premieres directed at the Humana Festival include Achievement in Directing an unparalleled seven times works by Lisa Dillman, Wendell Berry, Craig Wright, Eric for ’s Major Barbara, Misalli- Coble, Adam Bock, Gina Gionfriddo, Melanie Marnich, ance and Heartbreak House; John Millington Synge’s Charles Mee and Rick Dresser. He served as Artistic Di- Playboy of the Western World; Arthur Miller’s The Cru- rector of City Theatre in Pittsburgh for 20 years. He was cible; Sally Nemeth’s Holy Days; and Margaret Edson’s founder and chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, which he also directed at Alliance, a board member of the Citizens for the Arts in Seattle Repertory Theatre and Houston’s Alley Theatre. Pennsylvania, and Leadership Pittsburgh. He has served He has directed American classics such as A Streetcar as a theatre advisory panel member for the National Named Desire and has distinguished himself in staging Endowment for the Arts as well as numerous founda- contemporary work, including the critically acclaimed tions. He won the Man of the Year Vectors Award, and California premiere of William Nicholson’s Shadow- received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the lands. Most recently, he directed the world premiere of Pittsburgh New Works Festival. He is married to Patricia Julie Marie Myatt’s The Happy Ones, a revival of Misal- Melvin, and they have two daughters—Laura and Alex liance, and Horton Foote’s, The Trip to Bountiful and Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale. Benson received his BA Paula Tomei (Managing Director) is responsible for in Theatre from San Francisco State University. the overall administration of SCR and has been manag- ing director since 1994. A member of the SCR staff since David Emmes (Founding Artistic Director) is co- 1979, she has served in a number of administrative founder of SCR, and directed this season’s opening play capacities, including subscriptions manager, business Absurd Person Singular, and last season’s successful manager and general manager. She was the president revival of Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies. He has of the board of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), received numerous awards for productions he has di- the national service organization for theatre, and served rected during his SCR career, including a Los Angeles two terms as a board member. She has also served as Drama Critics Circle Award for the direction of George treasurer of TCG, vice president of the League of Resi- Bernard Shaw’s The Philanderer. He directed the world dent Theatres (LORT) and has been a member of the premieres of Amy Freed’s Safe in Hell, The Beard of LORT Negotiating Committee for industry-wide union Avon and Freedomland; Thomas Babe’s Great Day in agreements. In addition, she represents SCR at national the Morning; Keith Reddin’s Rum and Coke and But conferences of TCG and LORT; is a theatre panelist for Not for Me; and Neal Bell’s Cold Sweat; the American the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the premieres of Terry Johnson’s Unsuitable for Adults and California Arts Council; site visitor for the NEA; and has Joe Penhall’s Dumb Show; the West Coast premieres of been a guest lecturer in the graduate school of busi- C.P. Taylor’s Good and Harry Kondoleon’s Christmas ness at Stanford and UC Irvine. She is on the board of on Mars; and the Southland premiere of Top Girls (at Arts Orange County, the county-wide arts council, and SCR and the Westwood Playhouse). Other productions the board of the Nicholas Endowment. Tomei gradu- include the West Coast premieres of The Secret Rapture ated from UC Irvine with a degree in economics and by David Hare and New by Richard Nelson, pursued an additional course of study in theatre and as well as Arcadia by , The Importance dance. She teaches a graduate class in nonprofit man- of Being Earnest by , Ayckbourn’s Woman agement at UC Irvine. in Mind and You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw, which he restaged for the Singapore Festival of Martin Benson (Founding Artistic Director), co- Arts. After attending Orange Coast College, he received founder of SCR, has directed nearly one-fourth of SCR’s his BA and MA from San Francisco State University, and productions. In 2008, he and David Emmes received his PhD in theatre and film from USC.

The Actors and Stage Managers em- The Scenic, Costume, Lighting and The Director is a member of the Soci- ployed in this production are members Sound Designers in LORT theatres ety of Stage Directors and Choreogra- of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union are represented by United Scenic phers, Inc., an independent national of Professional Actors and Stage Manag- Artists Local USA-829, IATSE. labor union. ers in the United States.

P8 • South Coast Repertory • The Parisian Woman