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Home , 1999 Pulitzer Prize, MCC Theater

SPRING 2000

...still has the power to change your life!

F/toeh/yC A/ebu? f?v7e-f? ESi^Biffl wzPiA ESS Inside: ::^aE W;t -Youth Acting Classes ft 1999 - -Toni Press-Coffman Winning Play and -Scene Study Classes Playwright Coming -Indy Writers Circle to The Phoenix! Quarterly Newsletter of The Phoenix Theatre |3jRhf» f*^ By Martin McDonagh CEhd/AhA Premv'eve! iDe&uty Ljueen op Leen&ne March 2 - 26,2000 Tickets $20 The list of awards and honors for Martin Trapped in very rural Leenane, Ireland, in a -Always call the Phoenix Box Office at 635-PLAY McDonagh's - The Beauty Queen of Leenane to confirm dates, times, and ticket availability. desolate cottage and in equally desolate lives, reads like a playwright's wish list... four Tony the women bicker and snipe in a continuous, Performance Schedule Awards, Outer Critics' Circle Award, Drama bare-knuckled grudge match.. However, when Thursdays 7:30pm Desk Award, and the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award one final chance at love arrives for the daughter, Fridays 8:00pm for Best Play. The Phoenix Theatre will present this dark comedy swells into an edge-of-your- Saturdays 8:00pm McDonagh's multiple award-winning masterpiece seat thriller! Sundays 2:00pm on our Mainstage during the month of March. Pay-What-You-Can Preview The Beauty Queen of Leenane powerfully March 1 8:00pm Canned Goods For this mix of drama and dark comedy, Phoenix illustrates the often all too real oppression and founding members and patron favorites, Deborah aggression found in many dysfunctional Half-Price Preview Sargent and Gayle Steigerwald, will join families and relationships. How playwright March 2 7:30pm Tickets $10 Stephen Hunt (most recently of Jackie: An McDonagh shapes his metaphors, though, is Gala Opening & Cast Party* American Life) and Aaron Roman Weiner (lead anything but expected; in fact, Leenane is a March 3 8:00pm Tickets $20 in last Summer's hit production of Touch.) work of remarkable artistry, complex issues, 'Complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. and seamless craftsmanship. Melancholy Mag (Steigerwald), who puts the "mother" in (from left) "smother," and her spinster daughter Maureen Gayle (Sargent) verbally bat and scratch at each other, Steigerwald forever swapping the upper hand in a circular and Deborah game of power. Sargent The dialogue is sharp yet spare, brutal yet comic. When the outside world crashes in, courtesy of the Dooley brothers (Hunt and Weiner), the tempest brewing within the four cottage walls threatens to obliterate everything in its path.

This honest and emotionally-grueling saga positions Martin McDonagh as one of contemporary theatre's most formidable talents. In conjunction with this production, The Phoenix will host a free public Sunday Symposium covering family dysfunction. For more Symposium information or to order tickets, call the Box Office at (317) 635-PLAY.

Production Sponsor: 'Xhd'AhA Uwertrfy Cohhecf/oh Dale McFadden, head of the noted Indiana University Acting and Directing Program, is the guest director for this production. However, he is no stranger to The Phoenix, having directed the Mainstage JBARNES& productions of Florida (1997), The Lisbon Traviata (1992), and Woman In Mind (1991). McFadden THORNBURG has received numerous producing, acting, and directing awards. We welcome him back! A 7' r 0 R ,v /; Y s A T L A a? bu bAmrwek 6^>H Phoenix Theatre playwright-in-residence, "Fiercely funny, wildly uplifting, Is Toni Press-Coffman (Touch) has formed among the finest plays of the decade." a local writers' circle. The group is open - to Indiana playwrights. The purpose of "Wit is the kind of theatrical experience each session is to share work with peers of which legends are made." and to discuss playwriting issues. Call Toni - at (317) 635-2381 for information. "A dazzling and humane play you will remember till your dying day." Scene Study Classes - New York Magazine Scene study classes are being offered at The Phoenix throughout the Spring. Julie Powers will serve as class instructor. The classes will meet Monday evenings for five 'I/he hfahover Co//e#e Cohhecf/oh consecutive weeks. Interested individuals can select one of two session options: March 6 - April 3, or April 17 - May 15. Hanover's Tom Evans & Barbara Farrar Tuition is $100. Call The Phoenix office Direct/Lead Indiana Premiere of Wit at (317) 635-2381 for more information. The upcoming premiere of Wit is newsworthy in many ways, but a recent article in the Indianapolis Star is generating early ticket sales at our Box Office. Theatre patrons recognize the A two-week acting extravaganza for names - Tom Evans and Barbara Farrar. The article, which featured a full-color photo of the young adults is being offered this Summer pair, detailed the busy schedules of this dynamic theatrical duo from Hanover, Indiana. Their at The Phoenix Theatre. Classes will involvement together in the Indiana Premiere of Wit has theatre patrons from throughout the focus on memorization, movement, and Midwest calling friends and making plans. Evans will serve as the guest director for Wit and Farrar scene and monologue work. The classwork will play the lead role of Dr. Vivian Bearing. Director/playwright Evans retired last spring after 32 will culminate in a showcase for family and friends. Each class will meet from years at Hanover College, where he is credited with shaping their theatre department into one of the 9:00am to Noon. This program is geared nation's best. His reputation as a respected professional has afforded him many opportunities all toward youth, ages 10-15. No prior acting across the nation. His wife, an actress/ director known professionally as Barbara Farrar, is enjoying experience necessary; enthusiasm is a must! equal success. Farrar was director of the Indiana Theatre Association for 10 years, 1977-88. She was Julie Powers will serve as class instructor. its 1989 Theater Person of the Year, and earned a master's degree in Shakespeare studies from the Class dates are as scheduled: June 26-29 University of Birmingham England that year. Evans was Theater Person of the Year in 1990, the and July 3, 5-7. Call The Phoenix office at (317) 635-2381 for more information. year Gov. Evan Bayh named the pair "Sagamores of the Wabash" for their contributions to theatre in Indiana. Patrons will have the opportunity to meet the duo at the Wit Opening Night Party. Public Reading Slated Toni Press-Coffman, (Touch) who recently Award? £sec/a/ 0[/efirfc Ca/ehdav started her six-month term as playwright- in-residence at The Phoenix, will host a Always call to confirm dates, times, and ticket availability. public reading of her latest work in 1999 progress. The working title is Bodies And PULITZER April 5 Pay-What-You-Can Preview Parts In The Face Of The Monster. The 8:00pm Admission: Canned Goods reading, free to the public, will be held PRIZE FOR March 7 (7:00pm) at The Phoenix. DRAMA April 6 Half-Price Preview 7:30pm Admission: $10 Per Person Winner Corporate Participation Pulitzer Prize April 7 Opening Night Party Corporate sponsors act in partnership with for Drama 8:00pm Admission: $20 Per Person the artists, designers, and technicians to - Hors d'oeuvres and wine take our productions "from the page to Winner - Post-show reception w/ Cast the stage." By helping to underwrite production costs, our sponsors enable us for Outstanding Play April 15 Playwright Symposium to bring the communities we serve the finest in professional contemporary 4:00pm-5:30pm Admission: Free Winner - Reflections of theatre... at a fraction of the cost of a Drama Critics Circle Award ticket to a commercial Broadway or for Best Play Gala Reception/Play* touring production! Enjoy the exposure April 15 to The Phoenix Theatre communities, (*Flex Passes not applicable) Winner while providing your employees/clients Lucille Lortel A ward 6:00pm-7:30pm Admission: $50 Per Person with the excitement of participating in for Outstanding Play - Reception hosted by Richard the enriching development of live theatre Ford at Ovid Butler Mansion, right here in Indianapolis. Sponsorship packages can be tailored to the specific Winner includes ticket to Wit promotional or philanthropic needs of 8:00pm Gala Mainstage Performance your business. For information, contact for Distinguished Production of a Play April 30 Development Director Thomas Robertson Community Symposium at (317) 635-2381. Winner 4:00pm Admission: Free Outer Critics Circle Award - Topics include the symptoms for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play and risks of ovarian cancer. 'The CEhd/Aha 'Thea-rve ^xJehi1 0-f 'The <>ea50h Indiana Premiere! On The Mainstage April 6 Thru May 7 Thursdays 7:30pm Fridays 8:00pm Saturdays 8:00pm Sundays 2:00pm

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X laywright Margaret Edson, a 37-year-old April 2000, The Phoenix Theatre, Professional Awards: - Indianapolis contemporary (150seat) Fellowship of Southern Writers woman with short brown hair and a big smile - Barbara Farrar in lead Drama Award, 1999 couldn't seem more different from Dr. Vivian - Tom Evans directing Bearing, the brilliant and emotionally remote Berrilla Kerr Foundation Playwrights Award, 1998 English professor who is the heroine of her January 1999, Union Square Theatre, - New York Off-Broadway commercial (500 seat) Connecticut Drama Critics' Circle play Wit, which has won such unanimous critical - Co-production of Long Wharf Theatre, Awards, 1998 - Best production, acclaim as the 1999 . MCC Theater, and Daryl Roth performance, directing - Cast/production team from MCC production Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Vivian is a 50-year-old scholar who has devoted Awards, 1996 - Best production, November 1998, Manitoba Theatre Centre, performance, writing, directing, her life to the study of John Donne's 'Holy - Winnepeg, Manitoba lighting, best world premiere Sonnets'. When we meet her, she is in the final - Seana McKenna in lead Susan Smith Blackburn Prize stages of a losing battle with ovarian cancer. Bald - Josephine LeGrice directing finalist, 1994 Drama League of New York from chemotherapy, she makes her entrance clad in September 1998, MCC Theater, Playwright Award, 1993 a hospital gown, pulling an IV pole behind her. "It - New York Off-OfT-Broadway (99 seat) is not my intention to give away the plot," Vivian - Remounting of Long Wharf Theatre production Career Summary: tells the audience, "but I think I die at the end." August 1998, Shakespeare & Co., - Lenox, Mass. 1998 - present, Atlanta Public In this fierce, witty, and unforgettable play, the - Frances West in lead Schools, kindergarten teacher - Daniela Varon directing 1997-98, District of Columbia uncompromising scholar herself becomes the Public Schools, first-grade teacher object of study, as her doctors put her through a November 1997, Long Wharf Theatre, 1992- 97, District of Columbia grueling course of experimental treatments. Both in - New Haven, Conn. Public Schools, English as a Second hospital scenes and flashbacks to her past, we - in lead Language teacher, grades K-6 watch Vivian struggle with her ultimate lesson: - Derek Anson Jones directing 1984-86, unit clerk on the cancer and how to face her own death with all the dignity she AIDS inpatient unit of a major February 1995, South Coast Repertory, research hospital, Washington, DC can muster. "I am, after all, a scholar of Donne's - Costa Mesa, Calif. Holy Sonnets which explore mortality in greater - World premiere production Education depth than any other body of work in the English - Megan Cole in lead language." It is one of this play's triumphs that - Martin Benson directing MA in English, Georgetown University, 1992 Vivian makes us clearly see the connection. C/iavne T/cfie-fc &u Phohe BA in history, Smith College, 1983 This breathtaking, original play is the perfect production to be enjoyed within the intimate Birth confines of our 150-seat Mainstage venue. Washington, DC, on July 4, 1961 Join us for contemporary theatre at its best!

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Margaret Edson (Playwright) was bom in Washington, DC in 1961. Between earning degrees in history and literature, she worked on the cancer inpatient unit of a research hospital. Wit is her first play. The 1995 South Coast Repertory production won six Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards, including Best World Premiere. The 1997 Long Wharf Theatre production won three Connecticut Drama Critics Awards, including Best Play. This production has won the NY Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and . In addition, Ms. Edson received the John Gossner Playwriting Award. Wit won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Ms. Edson lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is an elementary school teacher. As the special guest of Richard Ford, Ms. Edson will be attending several Phoenix Theatre special events of INDIANAPOLIS in conjunction with this production. See the special event schedule (at left) for information. UJeVe <>o Fm&L (toad 7?//? Us/h (M

The 24th Annual WANTED: F.E.A.T. Winner; PROGRESSIVE CORPORATE SPONSORS Corporate sponsors make contemporary art possible. The Phoenix TOUCH HUMANA Theatre is searching for progressive and innovative companies To Be Featured At who want to directly market their products and services to our extremely desirable patron demographic: ages 35-55, college- Humana Festival of New American flays educated, married, and a double-income of at least $50,000. Toni Press-Coffman's high-profile play Touch has been selected for As a corporate underwriter, you enable us to produce Pulitzer and presentation to the masses at the prestigious Humana Festival at Tony Award-winning Indiana Premieres in a professionally Actors Theatre of Louisville. Theatre goers will remember Touch as managed, intimate setting... at a mere fraction of the ticket price to the most recent production of the Frank Basile Festival of Emerging a big, commercial Broadway production! American Theatre (F.E.A.T.), The Phoenix Theatre's noted annual playwright competition. Press-Coffman is currently serving as Sponsorship affords a high level of visibility to an appreciative playwright-in-residence at the Phoenix in conjunction with a TCG/ audience at a very affordable cost. Call Tom Roberston, Phoenix NEA grant awarded late last year. The Phoenix staff is encouraging a Development Director at (317) 635-2381 for more information. road trip for the weekend of March 31 st to see both Touch and other great offerings featured at this year's event. For festival information, SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE RECENT call the Actors Theatre of Louisville at 1-800-428-5849. 1999/2000 SPONSORSHIPS:

1999/2000 Broadcast Sponsor Production Sponsor Jackie: Phoenix Theatre's /?§> TIME WARNER An American Life V CABLE BRJGHTJPOHSTT* 5th 1999/2000 Marketing Partner Production Sponsor Annual The Beauty PARISIAN/ Queen ofLeenane Sponsors of ^BARNES & American Sign Language THORNBURG Interpreted Performances Jackie: An American Life Production Sponsor Sprint Wit

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Phoenix Theatre programs are provided with support from the Arts Council of Indianapolis; the A Street Festival with Live Music - Great Food- Cool Brews - Psychic Readings Central Indiana Community Foundation; the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency; and the Saturday, June 24 3-7pm Tickets just $20 National Endowmentforthe Arts, a federal agency. J

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