DIRECTED by BRUCE GRAY PRODUCED by DAVID HUNT STAFFORD Set Designer
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WHO’S WHO IN THEATRE FORTY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Jahant, Chairperson Lya Cordova-Latta Ruth Flinkman-Marandy Dr. Robert Karns Charles Glenn Myra Lurie Frederick G. Silny, Treasurer David Hunt Stafford, Secretary Gloria Stroock Bonnie Webb Marion Zola ARTISTIC COMMITTEE Gail Johnston • Jennifer Laks • Alison Blanchard Diana Angelina • Cathy Diane Tomlin • Leda Siskind ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF David Hunt Stafford . .Artistic/Managing Director Jennifer Parsons . .Bookkeeper Richard Hoyt Miller . .Database Manager Philip Sokoloff . .Director of Public Relations Jay Bell . .Reservationist Dean Wood . .Box Office Manager Susan Mermet . .Assistant Box Office Manager Larry Rubinstein . .Technology Guru PRODUCTION STAFF Artistic/Managing Director David Hunt Stafford Set Design Jeff G. Rack Costume Design Michèle Young Lighting Design Ric Zimmerman Sound Design Joseph "Sloe" Slawinski Photographer Ed Kreiger Program Design Richard Hoyt Miller Publicity Philip Sokoloff Reservations & Information Jay Bell / 310-364-0535 THEATRE FORTY PRESENTS The 4th Production of the 2016-2017 Season LATE COMPANY BY JORDAN TANNAHILL DIRECTED BY BRUCE GRAY PRODUCED BY DAVID HUNT STAFFORD Set Designer..............................................JEFF G. RACK Costume Designer................................MICHÈLE YOUNG Lighting Designer................................RIC ZIMMERMAN Sound Designer ..................JOSEPH “SLOE” SLAWINSKI Stage Manager ....................................AMANDA SAUTER Assistant Lighting Designer.................BRIAN BARRAZA Assistant Director............................MICHELE BERNATH PRODUCTION NOTES Late Company has enjoyed acclaim in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, with productions across Canada schedule for 2017. Tannahill also won the Governor General’s Award for English-language drama in 2014. “I self-identify as a queer artist,” he said. “It’s a concern that infuses all of my work, as does my passion for social issues.” Both of them come to the fore in this script. “It was inspired by the suic ide of Jamie Hubley,” said Tan- nahill, speaking of the 15-year-old Ottawa boy, son on a city councillor, who killed himself in 2011 after being harassed mercilessly by his peers. Tannahill was raised in Ottawa as well and recalls “being bul- lied quite a lot long before high school. I was someone who read as gay and that opened me up to a degree of violence. I would be harassed just standing at a suburban bus shelter, coming home from a rehearsal.” I had braces and acne and horrible pompadour hair, and wore blouses and print pants. I was the quite the fashion crime. But I was exploring the boundaries of my self-expression, pushing them as far as I could express. “I still do that today, but I do it in my work. “It was quite a process to come out to some of my family be- cause they were quite devoutly Christian,” Tannahill recalled. “But to their credit, they were accepting of me . in stages. “My mother was always great but, to be totally frank, some of what is said by the visiting couple in the play are things that have been said by my family, or from my parents’ friends, or my mother’s book club. All those subtle hypocrisies, those scathing lines spit under their breath.” The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 stopbullying.gov Suicide Hotline: 800-784-2433 THE CAST LATE COMPANY BY JORDAN TANNAHILL CAST Michael Shaun-Hastings .............................GRINNELL MORRIS* Debora Shaun-Hastings........................................ANN HEARN* Tamara Dermot......................................JENNIFER LYNN DAVIS* Bill Dermot.........................................................TODD JOHNSON Curtis Dermot..........................................BAKER CHASE POWELL SETTING The Time is today. The Place is Toronto, Canada. The Setting is the Dining Room of an Upper Middle Class suburban home. Late Company will play without intermission *Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association WHO’S WHO JENNIFER LYNN DAVIS (Tamara Dermot) is very proud to be a new member of Theatre 40, and after having done countless play readings for the company, is thrilled to be cast in this wonderful play and working with these phenomenal actors. LA theatre credits in- clude: Blue Moon Dancing, I Fart In My Sleep, Return to Morality, The Diviners (The Production Company), the west coast premiere of Secrets of a Soccer Mom (Stillspeaking Theatre), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (The Neighborhood Playhouse), as well as understudy roles at The Geffen Playhouse for In Mother Words, The Quality of Life and All My Sons. TV credits include: Guilty or Innocent (Dis- covery Channel) and Crash Landing (ABC), and as an Associate Producer for numerous television series. Jennifer is a member of Actor’s Equity. ANN HEARN (Debora Shaun-Hastings): Regional The- atre: South Coast Repertory (The Debutante Ball, Reckless), Alaska Repertory (Alfred Steiglitz Loves O’Keeffe). In Los Angeles: Los Angeles Theatre Cen- ter (The Crucible, The Glass Menagerie, Three Sis- ters), Theatre 40 (Dreams of the Washer King, Iron, The Constant Wife, Uncle Vanya, Mornings at Seven, Our Town - among many others), Missing Piece The- ater (Steel Magnolias), Taper Too (Talking With …). Film: Strange Nature, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Accused, Dutch, Frankie and Johnnie Are Married, The War at Home, and My Father the Hero. Television: A Woman of Independent Means, The Dollmaker, ER, Designing Women, Evening Shade, Judging Amy, Big Love and Rizzoli & Isles. As a director: Holy Days, Driving Miss Daisy, Another Part of the Forest, The Color of Rose, Anatomy of a Hug and lots of staged readings. Ann is a member of the Artistic Board at The Road Theatre in North Hollywood, as well as a mem- ber of Theatre 40 for 37 years. She is married to actor/writer/di- rector Stephen Tobolowsky. TODD JOHNSON (Bill Dermot) is an actor, writer, direc- tor, and producer. He has been involved in the enter- tainment business since he was 8 years old. Originally from New York, Todd premiered on stage in Los Angeles in Daddy’s Dyin’, Who’s Got the Will? (as Harmony) at the Palos Verdes Players and he has worked stage productions in West Los Angeles (Black Box Theatre), Hollywood (Stella Adler Theatre) and North Hollywood (Crown City Theatre). His stage background started with Off-Broadway Shake- spearean plays (Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio; A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Demetrius) in New York. His most recent ac- complishment was the release of his feature film (as writer/direc- tor) 4 Dead Girls: The Soul Taker. He has over three dozen behind the camera film credits and over 100 credits on stage and in front of the camera. WHO’S WHO GRINNELL MORRIS (Michael Shaun-Hastings) is proud to be back on stage at Theatre 40, where he has per- formed in Kin, Laura, Push, Dinner with Friends, Dan- gerous Corner, and Spider’s Web. Other credits include The Manor at Greystone Mansion, Capulets and Montagues with the Los Angeles Opera, Mine Eyes Hath Seen, The Field, and The Importance of Being Earnest at Theatre Banshee, Fortinbras, at the Howard Fine Theater, and the world premier of Jon Cellini’s Harbor at the Victory Theater. Grinnell pro- duced The Boys Next Door, at the Hollywood Court Theater and was nominated for an Ovation award for acting. Television high- lights include NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Scandal, Mad Men, and Grey’s Anatomy. Grinnell can also be seen starring in the upcoming movie 96 Souls as Dr. Jack Sutree. He just recently re- turned from Raindance Film Festival this past October where he and his wife Julie Lancaster were there representing their web se- ries Married… Without Kids. Grinnell wrote, directed, and acted along side his wife in this series, and it can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCgMPjOOZ5xdSE7NN HVCKZw. You can watch all six episodes of season 1 in less than a half hour! Bruce Gray, the director of Late Company makes a guest starring appearance in the Web Series as well. Grinnell wants to thank his amazing wife for all of her love and support… and then some. BAKER CHASE POWELL (Curtis Dermot) is originally from South Carolina where he attended The College of Charleston. He has performed in several stage productions such as, Farragut North, The Laramie Project, and Almost Maine, for which he received an Irene Ryan nomination. He recently performed in the Whitefire Theatre's Best Of: Com- edy Shorts. He also writes and produces short films with his production company, Glass Cabin Films. Follow him on Twitter & Instagram: @Bakerchase01 BRUCE GRAY (Director): Bruce Gray’s directorial debut for Theatre 40 was Blythe Spirit in 1982 (The LA Times called it one of the year’s most beautiful productions.) A subse- quent production, this one of The Little Foxes, garnered several “Critic’s Choices”. As did Chekhov in Yalta, Seymor In The Very Heart Of Winter, and many others right up to and including last year’s Perfect Timing. His 9th directorial assignment for the company was a revival of Joe Orton’s comic masterpiece What The Butler Saw. His earlier pro- ductions of Orton’s Loot and Entertaining Mr. Sloane re- ceived multiple Drama-logue awards, and were nominated for Robbie and LA Weekly awards. Gray has directed at virtually every major Waiver The- atre in town, from his controversial production of My Life In Art at the Tiffany to the AIDS play seven sundays (Drama-logue) at Theatre 40 (later trans- ferring to the Odyssey). His 1993 production of the Holocaust play Shayna WHO’S WHO Maidel was hailed by one critic as “wondrous. It doesn’t get better than this.” Because of his Canadian connections, (he received an M.A. from University of Toronto) he has been instrumental in bringing down a number of wonderful Canadian plays to Theatre 40, from Halo, to Herb Foster’s Opening Night, Seven Stories by Morris Panych and tonight Jordan Tan- nahill’s Late Company. (www.bruce-gray.com) (brucegrayactor.word- press.com) JORDAN TANNAHILL (Author) is a Canadian playwright and filmmaker.