THE INVISIBLE THEATRE Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein Susan Claassen
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PRESS RELEASE Contact: Cathy Johnson or Susan Claassen Box Office: (520) 882-9721 Administration: (520) 884-0672 1400 N. First Ave, Tucson, AZ. 85719 [email protected] www.invisibletheatre.com FOR RELEASE ON OR AFTER AUGUST 9, 2012 THE INVISIBLE THEATRE Presents Conceived by Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein Written by Leslie Ayvazian, Brooke Berman, David Cale, Jessica Goldberg, Beth Henley, Lameece Issaq, Claire LaZebnik, Lisa Loomer, Michele Lowe, Marco Pennette, Theresa Rebeck, Luanne Rice, Anne Weisman and Cheryl L. West Directed by Susan Claassen Made possible in part through the generous support of our “We Adore Our Moms” underwriters: The Blair Family, Bernie Bauer, Susan Claassen, Bella Eibensteiner, Shirley Fulginiti, Phyllis Goodman, Kristi Keller, Doug Mance and Harriet Silverman WHERE: The Invisible Theatre 1400 N. First Ave Tucson, AZ 85719 At the corner of First and Drachman WHEN: September 4 – September 23, 2012 TICKETS: Ticket Price: $28 ($18 preview price on September 4, 2012) To charge tickets by phone, call our box office at (520) 882-9721 To purchase tickets on-line, go to OvationTix at www.invisibletheatre.com Discounts are available for groups of ten or more RUSH TICKETS : One half-hour prior to curtain for any scheduled performance, tickets are available for half price, subject to availability CAST: Lori Hunt, David Johnston, Susan Kovitz and Barbea Williams RUNNING TIME : 90 minutes with no intermission AGE INFO: Mature language. Appropriate for high school age and above. This production of MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is dedicated to the vibrant memory of Joan Stein. Tucson, Arizona (August 9, 2012); The Invisible Theatre begins its 42nd Anniversary Season with the Southwest Premiere of MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD directed by Susan Claassen. Mom. Mama. Mommy. Everyone has one. Maybe you are one. Whether you are a mom, a son, a daughter or even a husband, now is the time to celebrate motherhood. From stepmoms to single moms, immigrant moms to grandmothers, new moms to empty nesters, MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is a collection of the personal, funny, diverse, exciting, and extraordinary experiences that we share every day. This touching portrayal of motherhood, written by an unprecedented collaboration of American writers from theatre, television, fiction and non-fiction, makes this play a singular theatrical event. WHO’S WHO IN THE SHOW? DAVID ALEXANDER JOHNSTON made his IT debut in IT’s DON’T TALK TO THE ACTORS and then appeared in LEAVING IOWA, AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF and 2 ACROSS . He has been seen in ATC’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and MY FAIR LADY . He performed with Arizona Opera in such favorites as THREEPENNY OPERA, BARBER OF SEVILLE and GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST . Other roles include The Actor in WOMAN IN BLACK , Joe Keller in ALL MY SONS , Elwood P Dowd in HARVEY both at Live Theater Workshop and Mrs Forrest in PSYCHO BEACH PARTY with Etcetera. His television and movie credits include Day of Redemption, Spin, The Unflyable Plane for BBC, Fast Getaway II, Tank Girl and several regional and national commercials and industrial films. SUSAN KOVITZ made her long overdue IT debut in the 2009 LEAVING IOWA and most recently appeared in the world premiere of LOOK MA WE’RE DANCING . She has played leading roles in THE 5 TH OF JULY, DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER, THE DINNER PARTY, HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES, NO SEX PLEASE—WE’RE BRITISH, ANYTHING GOES, LEND ME A TENOR, 6 RMS RVR VU and THE GINGERBREAD LADY . A former high school drama and art teacher, she has also appeared in nearly 100 interactive murder mysteries where she variously died, killed someone, or brought a murderer to justice. A B.F.A. graduate of Rockford College, Susan also studied at Regents College in London. When not on stage, Susan is teaching aerobics and fitness classes throughout Tucson. LORI HUNT first hit the IT stage playing 9 different characters in 2009’s LEAVING IOWA and most recently played Carolyn in last season’s IN THE MOOD . A U of A graduate and Tucson native, some of her favorite past roles include Sally Bowles in CABARET , Dr. Scott in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and Betty in SURE THING . For the past 2 years, Lori lived in Los Angeles where she studied comedy and improv at the legendary Groundlings School and Upright Citizen's Brigade and performed in the world premiere of Robert Reimer's SOTTO VOCE at Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre Group. Her current obsessions include the Game of Thrones novels, cooking, and learning Italian. She is excited to be back at IT to help kick off the 42nd Anniversary Season of Love! BARBEA WILLIAMS is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Barbea Williams Performing Company and Adjunct Faculty – UA School of Dance. She specializes in African and African Latino Dance and Art. For six years she has delighted children and families with her Face Painting and Body Art at Birthday Parties and Festivals. Most recently, she was awarded the New Artist Project Award (TPAC), Artist Project Award (ACA), Community Luminary (State of Black Arizona) and the Legacy Keeper (Katherine Dunham Institute). Barbea works diligently within our community at the Dunbar Cultural Center where she teaches dance and art. A long-time IT family member, some of her favorite IT experiences include performing in A MY NAME IS ALICE, DEFYING GRAVITY, THE EXONERATED and working with the Pastime Players. 2 SUSAN CLAASSEN (Director/Producer/Set and Sound Design) is celebrating her 38th anniversary with IT. As Managing Artistic Director she has produced over 380 productions and directed over 90 including IN THE MOOD . Some memorable performances include Bella in LOST IN YONKERS and recently Vi in LOOK MA WE’RE DANCING . Suz was nominated for the 2011 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Award and BroadwayWorld LA Award as Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Head in A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD (www.edithhead.biz). Suz was recently selected as one of Arizona’s “48 Most Intriguing Women”, is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and has been a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001. She has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1969 and dedicates her work to the living memory of her beloved mother, Goldie. MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD WAS CONCEIVED BY: SUSAN R. ROSE is an award-winning theatrical and film producer. Upon graduating from college, Rose produced JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at Fords Theatre in 1980. When it arrived on Broadway, Rose was the youngest person to have produced a Broadway show, and it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Her other Broadway producing credits HURLYBURLY (Tony Award nomination, Best Play BLOODKNOT (Tony Award nomination, Best Revival of a Play). Off-Broadway, she produced the Drama Desk Award-winning musical THE LAST FIVE YEARS . Susan joined forces with Dan Paulson in 1996, an d they have produced movies for CBS, NBC, Showtime and Lifetime. Several of their films, "Cooler Climate " and " Jack " have won Emmy Awards. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America. JOAN STEIN , who recently passed away, was a Tony Award winning producer. She produced and/or general managed over 80 plays and musicals, including TABLE SETTINGS, T HE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST, THE NERD, PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE, SIDEMAN (Tony Award ), LOVE LETTERS, FOREVER PLAID, THE LONESOME WEST, RUTHLESS!, ENRON, BASH and HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH . She was the Managing Director of the historic Berkshire Theatre Fes tival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Executive Director of The Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills, and Theatre Producer for the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen. With partner, Steve Martin, Ms. Stein created Martin/Stein Productions, a television company that deve loped and produced scripted and reality television programming for all broadcast networks, HBO and Showtime. She served on the Board of Directors of NY Theatre Workshop and Women in Film, helped launch Broadway Cares, and was a member of The Broadway League for 22 years. The diaper bank of Southern Arizona receives requests for more than 1.5 million diapers a year – but are only able to distribute 600,000. Access to a sufficient supply of diapers is essential for the health of Southern Arizona’s infants, disabled and elderly but too many individuals don’t have the resources to adequately provide for this basic need. The Invisible Theatre is proud to partner with the diaper bank of Southern Arizona by serving as a disposable diaper drop-off location during the run of MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD . Do IT With Diapers! 3 MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD WAS WRITTEN BY: LESLIE AYVAZIAN received productions for nine full-length and eight one-act plays. Awards: John Gassner, Roger L. Stevens, Susan Smith Blackburn (2 honorable mentions); Telly Award for Every Three Minutes (Showtime). Recently, Deaf Day was filmed in Syria; High Dive had productions in Poland and Slovakia. Leslie is mother to Ivan Anderson, lead guitarist of Sweet Fix. BROOKE BERMAN Plays: HUNTING AND GATHERING (Primary Stages), SMASHING (The Play Company), THE TRIPLE HAPPINESS (Second Stage), UNTIL WE FIND EACH OTHER (Steppenwolf Garage), SAM AND LUCY (SPF), A PERFECT COUPLE (WET), and others. Author: No Place Like Home: A Memoir in 39 Apartments (Random House 2010). Alumna of New Dramatists, Juilliard, and Barnard. (www.brookeberman.net) DAVID CALE is the writer/performer of solo shows including A LIKELY STORY (The New Group), LILLIAN (Playwrights Horizons), DEEP IN A DREAM OF YOU (The Public). He wrote the book, lyrics, co-composed the music for, and played Floyd in the musical Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky (Playwrights Horizons).