Isabella Rossellini’s Link Link Circus Co-Directed by Guido Torlonia JAN 25 – 27

Isabella Rossellini CO-PRODUCER/CO-DIRECTOR/PERFORMER Rick Gilbert LINE PRODUCER Guido Torlonia CO-DIRECTOR Rick Gilbert & Andy Byers SET DESIGNERS Andy Byers ORIGINAL MUSIC/COSTUMES Andy Smetanka & Courtney Pure ANIMATIONS Jason L. Miller TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Fanny Karst RING LEADER COSTUMES Bill Berloni ANIMAL DIRECTOR Schuyler Beeman PUPPETEER/ANIMAL HANDLER Gina Freedman PROPS Stacey Foster FILM & AUDIO CLIP EDITOR

Link Link Circus runs 70 minutes with no intermission.

Theatre at The Broad Stage is made possible in part by generous gifts from Bill & Laurie Benenson and Susan Stockel. Photo by Brigitte Leconbe Brigitte by Photo

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 8 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI (CO-PRODUCER/ CO-DIRECTOR/ PERFORMER) grew up in Paris and Rome. She made her cinematic debut as an actress in 1979 in the Taviani brothers’ filmIl Prato (The Meadow) and has appeared in numerous other films, including the American features Blue Velvet, White Nights, Rodger Dodger, Cousins, Death Becomes Her, Fearless, Big Night and Joy. She has worked with wide-ranging directors including Robert Zemeckis, David O. Russell, David Lynch, Robert Wilson, Taylor Hackford, Marjane Satrapi Shapiro Judy by Photo and Guy Maddin. She is also a successful television actress and filmmaker, with a keen interest in Rossellini runs an organic farm in for the New York Film Academy, and animals and wildlife conservation. Brookhaven in association with the then returned to work in theatre in Her award-winning series of shorts, Peconic Land Trust and the Post Italy, France and Spain. In Florence, Green Porno, Seduce Me and Mammas Morrow Foundation. She is a mother he served as Event Manager for the offer comical and scientifically of two and resides in Bellport, Fashion and Cinema Biennale. insightful studies of animal behavior. Long Island. From 2003 on, he worked in Paris for Rossellini is completing a Master’s the Festival des Italiens and as Stage degree in Animal Behavior and GUIDO TORLONIA and Artistic Director at the Italian Conservation at Hunter College in (CO-DIRECTOR) is a Institute of Culture. For many years he New York City and has received a Ph.D theatre and cinema served as Master of Ceremonies at the Honoris Causa from the Science director. He was born Venice Film Festival and at the Rome Faculty at the University of Quebec in Rome, Italy, where Film Festival. He wrote and directed at Montréal. Rossellini’s most recent he studied Cultural three theatre plays, tributes to work for television includes Master of Anthropology, Visconti, Fellini and Strehler (2007- Photography for European broadcaster eventually moving to 2008) that have been presented over SKY and the American series Shut Eye, Milan in the early 1990s to study with the years in Paris, Rome, Milan, Venice, for Hulu, released in December 2016. Piccolo Teatro, working as an assistant Moscow and New York. In 2012, he Her new book, My Chickens and I, was to Giorgio Strehler. wrote and directed Handmade released by Abrams Books this year. In 1995, he directed two short films Cinema, his first documentary on the

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

My work as a writer is intended to be comic, and it is once again about animal behavior. It is important to me that my art is both entertaining and scientifically informed. Link Link Circus is similar in style to my other monologue, Green Porno. It is the same length, one hour and ten minutes without an intermission. It is illustrated with my short comic films, home movies, photos and, of course, my drawings. But this time, on stage with me will also be Pan, my trained dog. I cannot have on stage all the animals I will talk about in the play, so Pan and I will dress up and interpret several different species. -Isabella Rossellini

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 9 ABOUT THE ARTISTS arts and craftsmanship of the Italian (Playwrights Horizons), Threepenny By way of music videos, artist relations film industry. In 2015, he created the Opera (Atlantic Theater Company), and the fabrication of tangible objects, theater piece The Tribute to Ingrid Legally Blonde (Pittsburgh Civic Light Byers has laid out a platform for Bergman with Isabella Rossellini and Opera), Annie (Maltz Jupiter Theater) collaboration that allows him to utilize Ludovica Damiani, presented and Curse of The Starving Class his past experiences to help create worldwide on the centennial of the (Long Wharf Theater). A graduate of new unimagined ones. His work and birth of the great Swedish actress. Middlebury College where he studied performances have been exhibited at Since 2014, he is the Resident Stage theatre, Schuyler also choreographs Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Director at the Teatre Akademia and performs in musicals and PA; Canadian Centre for Architecture, of Barcelona. concerts. Outside of his work in Montréal, Canada; Selfridges, London, theatre, Schuyler helps out on sheep England; Filmhaus Potsdamer Platz, RICK GILBERT farms and enjoys sharing his love of Berlin, Germany; The Ulrich Museum, (PRODUCER, sheep and wool products with all. Wichita, KS; The Smithsonian National PRODUCTION DESIGN Schuyler would like to thank Bill, Zoo, Washington, D.C.; 21C Museums in & ART DIRECTION) is a Dorothy, the Link Link Circus team, Durham, NC and Cincinnati, OH; freelance producer, Isabella and, of course, dear Minnie and The Ace Hotel in Downtown production designer & and Darcy for this opportunity! Los Angeles, CA. art director with over 15 years of experience ANDY BYERS in feature film, television, (ORIGINAL MUSIC/ commercials, music videos, print and COSTUMES) received stop-motion animation and theatre. his B.F.A. at He has designed and art directed films the Kansas City Art which have screened at film festivals, Institute and received museums and cinematheques all over an MFA in ceramics the world including Sundance, Tribeca, from the Ohio State Venice, Toronto, Rotterdam, Berlin, University in 2005. After moving to MOMA, São Paulo and Busan, South Brooklyn, Andy began a career in film Korea. He has worked with many as well as prototyping and installation talented directors and cinematographers work for companies such as Victoria's including Isabella Rossellini, Todd Secret, J.Crew, American Express and Solondz, Paul Mazursky, Guy Maddin, Ann Taylor. In 2007, Andy began James Franco, Deepha Mehta, working with Isabella Rossellini on a Jeremy Podeswa, Norman Jewison series of short films, entitledGreen and Academy Award-nominated Porno, as the production designer, cinematographer Ed Lachman. composer and costume designer. Commercial clients include Keihl’s, During their years in collaboration, Wink, Garnier-Nutrisse, Dodge Ram, they have created 41 short films and Ricoh, Canon, Southwest Airlines, two feature length films,Animals Citizen’s Bank, Nationwide, Country Distract Me and Green Porno Live, Music Television, Best Buy and which documents the live Coca-Cola. Rick is a graduate of Media performances of those films, and Arts at Ryerson University in Toronto. numerous large scale installations in museums such as the Wolfsonian in SCHUYLER BEEMAN Miami and Royal Ontario Museum. (DOG HANDLER/ After relocating to Los Angeles in 2012, PUPPETEER) is thrilled his work continued to expand, working to be joining the Link in advertising and film, but additionally Link Circus team with creating a music label, Cosmic Minnie and Darcy! Dreamer Music, with wife Sara Bright. Schuyler has been The visual freedom the Los Angeles with William Berloni community promotes has moved his Theatrical Animals Inc. since 2012, artistic and performative practices having worked with a variety of animals closer together, discovering how the in theatre and film including dogs, use of sculptural materials, dance and horses, snakes and sheep. Favorite filmmaking more closely relate to one animal handling credits include For another in his current approaches to Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday art-making and production design.

10 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE