The Physicists

The IRC’s Mission is to bring classic absurdist theatre to an international audience in the Philadelphia region. These rarely-produced, renowned plays explore and illuminate the human purpose and meaning, promoting reflection about the human condition in a contemporary world. The Physicists The IRC experience is an exciting and challenging journey for seekers from all walks of life on multiple platforms: philosophical, psychological, physical and spiritual. Our dedicated group of artists invites you to explore with us by these questions and share the word with friends; since 2006, a loyal IRC audience has been built largely through word of mouth. Friedrich Dürrenmatt

PRODUCTIONS 2006 Three One Acts: Albee, Beckett & Ionesco 2007 Victims of Duty by Eugène Ionesco Four of a Kind: Pinter, Durang, Beckett & Ionesco 2008 Oh! For the Love of Love!: Durang, Beckett & Ionesco A Streetcar Named Durang: The Parodies of Christopher Durang 2009 The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco 2010 The Gnädiges Fraulien by Tennessee Willliams The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux 2011 The Empire Builders by Boris Vian The Arsonists (The Firebugs) by Max Frisch 2012 Marriage: An Utterly Improbable Occurrence by Nikolai Gogol Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz 2013 Paradise Park by Charles L. Mee The Castle by Franz Kafka 2014 Ondine by Jean Giraudoux Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco A Streetcar Named Durang by Christopher Durang 2015 Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw Exit the King by Eugène Ionesco All in the Timing by David Ives 2016 The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco 2017 The Enchanted by Jean Giraudoux The Goat by Edward Albee

(continued from inside front cover) December 2016 Welcome! Ticket sales and individual contributions account for over 65% of the

IRC’s annual operating budget, which for 2017 is just shy of The genesis of tonight’s reading was sparked more than a few years $100,000. Your ticket purchase tonight helps to keep us a lean, ago when Seth mentioned his desire to direct The Physicists. Having pristine fundraising machine, and for our small boutique, your never seen it staged, though intrigued by productions of Durrenmatt’s attendance and your contributions are artistic gold. perhaps better-known play The Visit, we decided to gather to read to discover the gold within for an audience in today’s climate. Our idea If you have attended shows in the past and have supported the IRC was birthed prior to the recent election. Post-election, Durrenmatt’s during our first decade, many thanks for helping to build a strong scenario takes on an entirely new resonance. foundation. When we first staged three short works by Albee, Beckett

and Ionesco at L’Etage in 2006, little did we know that 10 years later Many thanks to Seth Rozin for generosity on many levels: for the IRC would be a fixture in Philadelphia’s exciting theater scene. suggesting 15 years ago that I consider purchasing a home in the We hope to see you at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 beginning lovely corner of the city known was Bella Vista, which has served as a February 7 for the regional premiere of the play the NY Times hospitable and welcoming home base to run the IRC and to raise my described as a “…a fascinating, absorbing adventure…full of grace now adult son; for offering advice and guidance as we navigated the and wit…” from the company the Philadelphia Inquirer described as IRC’s first decade in Philadelphia, and for his leadership over the “…Philly’s premiere essayers of avant-garde classics…” For tickets: years which has helped Philadelphia’s theater community to grow and TheEnchanted.bpt.me. prosper. From the personal to the professional, Seth has served as an important, necessary mentor in all things theatrical, whether on stage See you at the theater, or in the neighborhood.

For 10 years, the IRC has unearthed with humor and intense dedication the art of the absurd, combining existential inquiry with hilarity, beauty and gusto. The important seldom-produced absurdist plays are possible because we are thinking big and delivering the unusual feast on a shoestring budget. By placing our passion at the Tina Brock forefront, the result has been enchanting: sold-out houses, a growing Producing Artistic Director and loyal audience, and the challenge of interpreting and sharing classic works expressing life’s profound joys and insecurities.

Post-election, rehearsals for our next production have provided an oasis, an outlet for collective anxiety, and a place to sharpen our wits SPECIAL THANKS and let whimsy fly. We are cooking up our winter pièce de résistance: the delicate beauty and timelessness of French playwright Jean Seth Rosin Giraudoux’s The Enchanted. Mercurial language delights as InterAct Theatre Company Giraudoux weaves deft variations on the themes of life and death: a The IRC Board of Directors young schoolteacher obsessed by the supernatural is regarded as a threat to national order and security. Enter IRC stalwart David Stanger as a modern day Ghostbuster and you get the picture of chaos and calamity to come. If the cast and crew’s laughter at the read- through prove to be an early predictor, this regional premiere has delights in store for all (and there are puppets).

(continued on inside back cover)

The Physicists by The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Susan Feagin - President CAST OF CHARACTERS Tina Brock - Vice President Inspector Richard Voss………………………………….....Leonard C. Haas Michael LeWitt - Secretary Head Nurse Sister Marta Boll………...... Susanne Sulby Bill Brock Policeman Blocher………………………...……………………...Ben Behrend Melissa Feliciani Herbert George Beutler (Newton)…...……………………………Dan Kim Erica Hoelscher Doktor Mathilde Von Zahnd…………...... Sabrina Profitt Kirsten Quinn Ernst Heinrich Ernesti (Einstein)………………………..Ames Adamson Bob Schmidt Frau Lina Rose…………………………..…………………………….Tina Brock Larry Wilkins Herr Oscar Rose (A Missionary)…………………...... Bob Schmidt Adolf-Friedrich (Their Son)…………………………….….….Ben Behrend Advisory Committee Wilfried-Kaspar (Their Son)…………………………….….…Ben Behrend Gail Furman Jörg-Lucas (Their Son)……………………..……………….…..Ben Behrend Robin Rodriguez Johann Wilhelm Mobiüs…………………………………………Peter Schmitz Nurse Monika Stetler…………………….………………………...Isa St. Clair Chief Attendant Uwe Sievers……………………………….Brandon Pierce Educational Outreach Committee Debra Leigh Scott Stage Directions read by David Stanger Susan Zawislak Directed by Strategic Planning Consultant Seth Rozin Ben Doranz Running time is approximately 100 minutes, Marketing Consultant including a ten minute intermission. Earl Wilcox, The IRC’s 2016 season is made possible, in part, by generous support from Wyncote Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund; The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the PO Box 63872 Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; Arts & Business Council of Philadelphia, PA 19147 Greater Philadelphia and by the generosity of you, our loyal and growing audience -- over 65% of our annual budget is generated www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org through ticket sales and individual donations.

Cover Artwork: Error on Green by Paul Klee (1930)

CAST

Ames Adamson (Ernst Heinrich Ernesti “Einstein”) Recent Regional credits: Merry Wives of Windsor and Richard III at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Christians at Syracuse Stage and The Wilma and Caught at InterAct Theater in Philadelphia. Off-Broadway, 2016: Butler.

Ben Behrend (Policeman Blocher, Adolf- “The Pataphysics Times,” James E. Brewton (1964), blueprint. Friedrich, Wilfried-Kaspar and Jörg-Lucas) is The James E. Brewton Foundation. excited to be making his IRC debut! Currently, Benjamin is a season apprentice with InterAct Theatre PASC Company. He is a Philly native and recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Many thanks to Seth for The Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium

this opportunity, and to my family and friends for their continuous love and support. The Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium (PASC) is a network of educational and cultural institutions and associated scholars, artists, curators, and collectors who combine expertise and resources to foster the advanced Tina Brock (Frau Lina Rose, IRC Producing Artistic Director) is the co-founder and Producing study of avant-garde movements and promote related special Artistic Director of the IRC since its formation in 2006. collections, exhibitions, and performances in the Over the past decade, she has directed absurdist works Philadelphia area and Delaware Valley region. by Jean Giraudoux, Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Christopher Durang, Edward Albee, Franz Kafka, In addition to the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, our Tennessee Williams, Boris Vian, George Bernard Shaw, member organizations include: Digital Studies Center, Charles Mee. As a freelance actress in Philadelphia and New York, she has appeared in theater, regional and Rutgers University; International House Philadelphia, the national commercials, television and film. Tina studied James E. Brewton Foundation, Kelly Writers House, the Journalism and Theater at University of Maryland; Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Speech Communication at West Chester University. She has worked at Manuscripts; the Penn Humanities Forum, Saturnalia PBS affiliate WHYY-TV12 in development, on-air fundraising and public Books, and the Slought Foundation. relations. She currently develops cases for the National Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia, in addition to her ongoing responsibilities with For more information about PASC, visit our website the IRC. Thanks to all the performers who donated talent and time to this http://www.pasc-arts.org. If you are interested in affair. As well, thanks to IRC board president Susan Feagin and the entire IRC board, whose ongoing dedication to the big existential questions have participating in PASC or would like to recommend enabled us all to celebrate 10 years. Excited to forge ahead to the next individuals or institutions to be included, please email us at decade. "You must go on. I can't go on. I'll go on. " - Samuel Beckett [email protected].

InterAct Theatre Company’s 2016/2017 Season Leonard C. Haas (Inspector Richard Voss) has been performing in the Philadelphia region for almost (gulp) 30 years, getting his start at People’s Light, where he has acted in over 30 productions as a member of their Resident Company of Artists. He toured with The Little Prince to an Off Broadway run at the New Victory Theatre, and played the title roles of The Dresser (for which he garnered a Barrymore Best Actor nomination) and Hamlet. He is now a member of a touring production of Jo Strømgren Kompani’s A Doll’s House, having performed at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and in Oslo, Norway. Apart from acting, he is heavily involved in the Philanthropic world, serving on the boards of The Wyncote Foundation and The William Penn Foundation.

Dan Kim (Herbert George Beutler “Newton”) is an actor, standup comedian, and writer, who has performed at theaters, comedy clubs, and colleges throughout the United States. Dan recently appeared at the South Camden Theatre in the play Fortune Cookies, by Joe Paprzycki, reprising the part of restaurant owner Wong, a role that he first portrayed in 2007 at the world premiere of the play. In Los Angeles, Dan played the villainous Judge Turpin in East West Players’ award-winning production of

Sweeney Todd, and was also selected to participate in the Warner Bros. Comedy Writing Workshop. In New York, Dan has performed standup comedy at the Improv, Gotham Comedy Club, and the Laugh Lounge. Dan is a founding member of Asians Misbehavin’, the Philadelphia-based Asian American performance group, which has performed at the New York and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, and which has produced two videos for WYBE-TV. In addition, Dan is one of the original members of the Edge of the World ensemble, which debuted in New York at La MaMa E.T.C., as part of the first National Asian American Theater Festival. Dan can be seen in the DVD box set of the ABC sitcom All American Girl, playing family friend Stan in the episode “Ratting on Ruthie.”

Brandon Pierce (Chief Attendant Uwe Sievers) Off-Broadway: Exit Strategy (Primary Stages). Regional: Exit Strategy (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Metamorphoses, Charlotte’s Web (Arden Theatre Company); The Taming Of The Shrew (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); Hands Up (Flashpoint Theatre Company); Dutch Masters (Azuka Theatre); Milk Like Sugar (Simpatico Theatre Project); Sunjata Kamalenya (Experiential Theatre Company); Fair Maid Of The West (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective); Romeo And Juiliet, Comedy Of Errors (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); The Winter’s Tale, Henry IV (Shakespeare In Clark Park); Macbeth (Revolution Shakespeare). Training: BFA University of The Arts. Love to Mom and Dad. Mediators Herman and Madeline Axelrod Jaan & Roberta Kangilaski Sabrina Profitt (Doktor Mathilde Von Zahnd) David Brandt Pat Lewis Classically trained, Sabrina has worked on the whole Joan O. Cahan Bob and Nancy Megley kit and caboodle of western drama, from Shakespeare Donald Carter Mark Mendenhall to brilliant emerging playwrights up and down the East John D’Alonzo Jane Moore Coast. A proud member of Actors Equity and the Screen Actors Guild for over 20 years, she has Cynthia D’Ambrosio & John Ianacone David Penkower appeared in major American repertory companies, off Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson David Wierz Broadway, and film. Most recently she has been Robert C. Jones lending her talents to the development of new plays here in Philadelphia. Locally she has worked with Stabilizers PlayPenn, InterAct Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Charles & Donna Barksdale Fred & Carol Kueppers Riverside Theatre, Montgomery Theatre, and Luna Stage. Sample Sylvia Beck & Jay Federman Moe & Sandy Lebo regional credits include Syracuse Stage, The Asolo Repertory Theatre, Alan Bronstein Margaret Lonzetta Florida Studio Theatre and The Guild Hall in East Hampton. Sabrina Oleg Brovender Brett Mapp looks forward to continuing her career in Philadelphia and blindly loving Timothy P. Carey Carla Mariani life with her three sensational daughters. John and Alberta Chiaravalloti Antonio Merenda Bob Schmidt (Herr Oscar Rose), IRC Ways and Jesse Delaney Robert Muse Means Coordinator) is a founding member of the Gertrude D. Furman Lee Saldinger IRC and has appeared in many productions since the Aida Galarza Lois Shestack company's inception in 2006. Favorite IRC roles and Harvey and Mary Goldstein Rolf Swoboda productions: The Old Man in Eugène Ionesco’s The Barbara Grabias Renee Weisband Chairs, The Guard in Ionesco’s Exit the King and Botard in Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. Many thanks to Seth Jean R. Haskell Michael Zuckerman and Tina for making tonight possible, and to you for Thomas & Maureen Herninko supporting The IRC!

Peter Schmitz (Johann Wilhelm Mobiüs) has acted in the productions of many local theater companies, including the Walnut, the Arden, Act II Playhouse, InterAct, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He is Follow The IRC on Facebook and Twitter

delighted to work with IRC and to be under the stern but loving direction of Seth Rozin. Peter also works as Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

a Dialect Coach for actors, most recently working on When the Rain Stops Falling and The Hard Problem, both at the Wilma Theater. Peter also teaches Theater IRCTheaterCo History at the Ira Brind School of the University of the Arts and at Montgomery County Community College. He teaches acting classes at the Walnut Street Theatre, where he will soon be appearing as Rev. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest. He received his MFA in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and his BA in History from Yale University (his roommate was the Physics Major). Isa St. Clair (Nurse Monika Stetler) is delighted 2016 SEASON CONTRIBUTORS to join the IRC for the first time! In the past she has performed with Inis Nua Theatre Company ("Best Harmonizers Ensemble" Barrymore Award, 2016), Azuka Theatre, Wyncote Foundation Commonwealth Classic Theatre, Curio Theatre The Samuel S. Fels Fund Company, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, the The Philadelphia Cultural Fund National Constitution Center, and Shakespeare in The Charlotte Cushman Foundation Clark Park, among others. As a teaching artist she has Pennsylvania Council on the Arts worked with Delaware Theatre Company, Curio Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Iron Age Theatre.

Beautifiers David Stanger (Stage Directions) feels great to Anonymous Dr. Steven Peitzman be back with the IRC again! Some past productions Susan Feagin The William Penn Foundation with the IRC include Marriage (Kochkaryev), Ivona, Michael & Lynne LeWitt Christa Williford Princess of Burgundia (Prince Philip), The Castle (K), Andy Lamas & Ginny Vanderslice Rhinoceros (Jean) and Misalliance (Johnny). Also in Philadelphia: The Walnut, The Wilma, The Arden, and Equalizers Luna Theater Company to name a few. Look for him Mary Ashley Stephen Platt & Robin Schaufler next in The Enchanted at the Walnut Studio 5! Thanks Pat and Stacey Bishop Beverly Stover to Tina. Love to Kristen. Benjamin Doranz Edward & Anne Koper Wagner

Clifford Pearlman & Lynn Marks Askold Zagars & Marie Feehan Susanne Sulby (Head Nurse Sister Marta Boll) Robin and Joseph Rodriguez performance career has included numerous plays from Shakespeare to original works. She is also a writer and Enchanted had the pleasure of performing her multi-media solo Philip Alperson & Mary Hawkesworth Michael and Barbara Lefkoe show Sanctuary, directed by Stephen Stahl, at The Eliud Alvarado Michael Lynch Lion Theatre, Theatre Row to glowing reviews. She Fred Allen Barfoot Bill & Vikki Monaghan appeared in InterAct Theatre Company’s world Louis Bluver James Pritchett & Frances White premiere production of Thomas Gibbons’ Black Noel Carroll Sally Banes Lee Pucklis Russian, directed by Seth Rozin, and as Molly Bloom Robert and Donna Castle Kirsten Quinn & Ari Bank in the staged reading of A Dublin Bloom based on Elizabeth Denton Christopher and Jennifer Rule James Joyce’s Ulysses at the Annenberg Center’s Zellerbach Theatre, directed by Gregory Doran of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her most Patricia Durante Carla Sarett recent film credit is in Silver Linings Playbook opposite Bradley Cooper. Neil and Mercedez Durkin Bob and Pat Schmidt She can also be seen with Billy Crudup in the award-winning 2000 Stephen Duskin Steve, Brad & Dakota Schmidt Evenstar feature film, Jesus’ Son. Ms. Sulby is a designated Linklater Norman & Carolyn Ellman Anita Schmukler Voice Teacher and proud member of SAG/AFTRA/AEA. James Frazier Shawn & Elizabeth Sweeney Gail Furman Albert Them & Jane Rutledge Jeanne George Dr. Stephen & Mrs. Johnne Tint Follow the Ridiculopathy! Marguerite Hawkins Namrata Tognatta A. Ron Hunter Dr. Robert J. Wallner Ronald Kaiserman Peter and Ondria Wasem Dr. Cornelia Kurischko Colin Wolfe & Debbie Aguruso

Denise Lamarra & Mark Wilhelm Judith Wooldridge JOIN OUR MAILING LIST Susan Zawislak DIRECTOR

Seth Rozin co-founded InterAct Theatre Company in 1988, and has The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium since served as Producing Artistic Director. He has directed over 50 productions for InterAct, including The Nether (2016 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Overall Production of a Play), The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Deity (Best Director, Philadelphia Weekly in 2010), Permanent Collection (2004 Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Overall Production), It’s All True (2001 Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Overall Production), and Lebensraum (1999 Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Overall Production and Outstanding Ensemble). He has twice been named "Best Director" by the Philadelphia Inquirer for the world premiere of Thomas Gibbons' 6221 in 1993 and for Lebensraum. Seth has also directed for the Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles), Blue Heron Theatre and the 45th Street Theatre (New York), as well as regionally with Act II Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights and the University of Pennsylvania. Seth is the author of several plays, which have been produced across the country and in The Enchanted Australia. He also wrote the book, music and lyrics for A Passing Wind, by which was featured in the inaugural Philadelphia International Festival of Jean Girardoux the Arts at the Kimmel Center in 2011. Translated by Maurice Valency AUTHOR “A fascinating, absorbing adventure…” Friedrich Dürrenmatt (January 5, 1921 – December 14, 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theater whose --N.Y. Daily Mirror plays also share some similarities with the "Theater of the Absurd." His work represents a comic response to the essentially tragic nature of February 7 - March 5, 2017 modern life, a view that reflected the recent experiences of World War II. His work was significant for the post-war German theater's revival. Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5

Epic theatre assumes that the purpose of a play, more than entertainment or the imitation of reality, is to present ideas and invite the audience to Featuring: make judgments on them. Characters are not intended to mimic real Melissa Amilani, John D’Alonzo, Tomas Dura, people, as in the realistic theater tradition it preceded, but to represent Anna Lou Hearn, Jane Moore, Bob Schmidt opposing sides of an argument, archetypes, or stereotypes. The audience and David Stanger should always be aware that it is watching a play, and should remain at an emotional distance from the action. Bertold Brecht(originator of epic theater) described this ideal as the Verfremdungseffekt—variously Directed by Tina Brock translated as "alienation effect," "defamiliarization effect," or "estrangement effect." It is the opposite of the suspension of disbelief and Costume and Set Design: Erica Hoelscher identification with the characters. "It is most important that one of the Lighting Design: Peter Whinnery main features of the ordinary theatre should be excluded from [epic theater]: the engendering of illusion." TheEnchanted.bpt.me

DIRECTOR

Isa St. Clair (Nurse Monika Stetler) is delighted 2016 SEASON CONTRIBUTORS to join the IRC for the first time! In the past she has performed with Inis Nua Theatre Company ("Best Harmonizers Ensemble" Barrymore Award, 2016), Azuka Theatre, Wyncote Foundation Commonwealth Classic Theatre, Curio Theatre The Samuel S. Fels Fund Company, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, the The Philadelphia Cultural Fund National Constitution Center, and Shakespeare in The Charlotte Cushman Foundation Clark Park, among others. As a teaching artist she has Pennsylvania Council on the Arts worked with Delaware Theatre Company, Curio Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Iron Age Theatre.

Denise Lamarra & Mark Wilhelm Judith Wooldridge JOIN OUR MAILING LIST Susan Zawislak Theatre of New Jersey); The Winter’s Tale, Henry IV (Shakespeare In Clark Park); Macbeth (Revolution Shakespeare). Training: BFA University of The Arts. Love to Mom and Dad. Mediators Herman and Madeline Axelrod Jaan & Roberta Kangilaski Sabrina Profitt (Doktor Mathilde Von Zahnd) David Brandt Pat Lewis Classically trained, Sabrina has worked on the whole Joan O. Cahan Bob and Nancy Megley kit and caboodle of western drama, from Shakespeare Donald Carter Mark Mendenhall to brilliant emerging playwrights up and down the East John D’Alonzo Jane Moore Coast. A proud member of Actors Equity and the Screen Actors Guild for over 20 years, she has Cynthia D’Ambrosio & John Ianacone David Penkower appeared in major American repertory companies, off Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson David Wierz Broadway, and film. Most recently she has been Robert C. Jones lending her talents to the development of new plays here in Philadelphia. Locally she has worked with Stabilizers PlayPenn, InterAct Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Charles & Donna Barksdale Fred & Carol Kueppers Riverside Theatre, Montgomery Theatre, and Luna Stage. Sample Sylvia Beck & Jay Federman Moe & Sandy Lebo regional credits include Syracuse Stage, The Asolo Repertory Theatre, Alan Bronstein Margaret Lonzetta Florida Studio Theatre and The Guild Hall in East Hampton. Sabrina Oleg Brovender Brett Mapp looks forward to continuing her career in Philadelphia and blindly loving Timothy P. Carey Carla Mariani life with her three sensational daughters. John and Alberta Chiaravalloti Antonio Merenda Bob Schmidt (Herr Oscar Rose), IRC Ways and Jesse Delaney Robert Muse Means Coordinator) is a founding member of the Gertrude D. Furman Lee Saldinger IRC and has appeared in many productions since the Aida Galarza Lois Shestack company's inception in 2006. Favorite IRC roles and Harvey and Mary Goldstein Rolf Swoboda productions: The Old Man in Eugène Ionesco’s The Barbara Grabias Renee Weisband Chairs, The Guard in Ionesco’s Exit the King and Botard in Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. Many thanks to Seth Jean R. Haskell Michael Zuckerman and Tina for making tonight possible, and to you for Thomas & Maureen Herninko supporting The IRC!

delighted to work with IRC and to be under the stern but loving direction of Seth Rozin. Peter also works as Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

a Dialect Coach for actors, most recently working on When the Rain Stops Falling and The Hard Problem, both at the Wilma Theater. Peter also teaches Theater IRCTheaterCo History at the Ira Brind School of the University of the Arts and at Montgomery County Community College. He teaches acting classes at the Walnut Street Theatre, where he will soon be appearing as Rev. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest. He received his MFA in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and his BA in History from Yale University (his roommate was the Physics Major). InterAct Theatre Company’s 2016/2017 Season Leonard C. Haas (Inspector Richard Voss) has been performing in the Philadelphia region for almost (gulp) 30 years, getting his start at People’s Light, where he has acted in over 30 productions as a member of their Resident Company of Artists. He toured with The Little Prince to an Off Broadway run at the New Victory Theatre, and played the title roles of The Dresser (for which he garnered a Barrymore Best Actor nomination) and Hamlet. He is now a member of a touring production of Jo Strømgren Kompani’s A Doll’s House, having performed at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and in Oslo, Norway. Apart from acting, he is heavily involved in the Philanthropic world, serving on the boards of The Wyncote Foundation and The William Penn Foundation.

CAST

The Physicists by The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Cover Artwork: Error on Green by Paul Klee (1930)

(continued from inside front cover) December 2016 Welcome! Ticket sales and individual contributions account for over 65% of the

(continued on inside back cover) The IRC’s Mission is to bring classic absurdist theatre to an international audience in the Philadelphia region. These rarely-produced, renowned plays explore and illuminate the human purpose and meaning, promoting reflection about the human condition in a contemporary world. The Physicists The IRC experience is an exciting and challenging journey for seekers from all walks of life on multiple platforms: philosophical, psychological, physical and spiritual. Our dedicated group of artists invites you to explore with us by these questions and share the word with friends; since 2006, a loyal IRC audience has been built largely through word of mouth. Friedrich Dürrenmatt