Pacic Resident Theatre Business Manager Artistic Director Managing Director Jennifer Lonsway Marilyn Fox Bruce Whitney Rhinoceros by EUGENE IONESCO Translated by Derek Prouse Executive Producer MARILYN FOX Producers RACHEL BERNEY NEEDLEMAN SARA NEWMAN-MARTINS Set Design Lighting Design DAVID MAUER JUSTIN PRESTON Sound Design Costume Design CHRISTOPHER MOSCATIELLO CHRISTINE COVER FERRO Prop Design Choreography DAN COLE MYRNA GAWRYN Stage Manager Hair Design JULIANNE FIGUEROA DANIELLE SPENCER Directed by GUILLERMO CIENFUEGOS CAST The Busker . Melinda West The Waitress . Kendrah McKay The Grocer . Robert Lesser* The Grocer’s Wife . Sarah Zinsser* The Café Proprietor . Brad Greenquist* The Old Gentleman . Peter Elbling* The Housewife . Melissa Weber Bales* Berenger . Keith Stevenson Jean . Alex Fernandez* The Logician . Sarah Brooke* Daisy . Carole Weyers Botard . Peter Elbling* Dudard . Je Lorch* Mr. Papillon . Brad Greenquist* Mrs. Beouf . Sarah Brooke* The Fireman . Robert Lesser* The Porter . Kendrah McKay The Other Jean . .Robert Lesser* The Other Jean’s Wife . .Sarah Zinsser* ACT I A square in a small French provincial town Midday on a Sunday in Summer (15 minute intermission) ACT II SCENE 1 The o ce of a rm of law publications. The following morning SCENE 2 Jean’s room. The afternoon of the same day (10 minute intermission) ACT III Berenger’s room. A few days later TIME Middle of the Last Century * Members of the Actors Equity Association, the professional union for actors and stage managers in the United States. Paci c Resident Theatre operates under the Equity Membership Company Rule TAKING PHOTOS, WHETHER USING FLASH EQUIPMENT OR NOT, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AT ALL TIMES DURING THE PERFORMANCE. ABOUT THE AUTHOR EUGENE IONESCO (Nov 26, 1909, Slatina, Romania - March 28, 1994, Paris, France) is an internationally renowned playwright and absurd- ist master. His work profoundly altered the face of modern drama. He wrote more than twenty plays, as well as stories, memoirs, theoretical essays and a novel. Ionesco’s rst one-act “antiplay,” The Bald Soprano (1950), inspired a revolution in dramatic techniques and helped inau- gurate the “Theatre of the Absurd.” He followed it with other one-act plays including The Lesson (1951), The Chairs (1952), and The New Tenant (1955), in which illogical events create an atmosphere both comic and grotesque, and dialogue breaks down into random, cliched and mean- ingless exchanges revealing language as ultimately inadequate to ex- press the truth of human experience. His most popular full-length play, Rhinoceros (1959), concerns a provincial French town in which all the citizens are metamorphosing into rhinoceroses. Other plays include Exit the King (1962) and A Stroll in the Air (1963). Original music created by Kangaroo Rat: Tim Desrosiers (Accordion, Foot Tambourine and Melodica) and Anna Bell (Glockenspiel). kangarooratmusic.com ACTOR BIOGRAPHIES Sarah Brooke (The Logician, Mrs. Beouf) PRT: SHAKESPEARE PROJECT, BIRDBRAIN, LOYALTIES, FATA MORGANA, WOMAN IN MIND, HAPPY END, RAISED IN CAPTIVITY, A DELICATE BALANCE. Sarah has appeared in numerous theatres in LA and across the country including: The Odyssey Theatre, Old Globe In San Diego, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Reper- tory Theatre, Intiman, ACT (Seattle), McCarter Theatre. Her best credit, however, is that she has been married to actor/director/ playwright Tony Pasqualini for 33 years and has two wonderful kids Madeleine and Joel. Peter Elbling (The Old Gentleman, Botard) is delighted to be making his debut at PRT. A satirist at heart, Peter trained with The Committee and The Second City and as an actor, writer and director has worked in every conceivable medium from producing late-night cabaret to writing the novel THE FOOD TASTER, the play BESIDE HERSELF (with Nick Ul- lett) to directing the latest social media sensation, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND? More can be found at www.peterelbling.com Alex Fernandez (Jean) has previously appeared at PRT in THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE FRIED MEAT TRILOGY and the award winning produc- tion of HENRY V. Other theatre credits include LUKA’S ROOM at Rogue Machine (Stage Raw Nomination), EXILES at The Hayworth, and region- al performances at The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theatre and San Francisco Shakespeare. Television credits include THE BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION, TIMELESS, JANE THE VIRGIN and TRUE DETECTIVE. Fer- nandez also recurred for three seasons on Lifetime’s DEVIOUS MAIDS and starred on ABC’s KILLER WOMEN. Brad Greenquist (Café Proprietor, Mr. Papillon) was most recently seen in THE PRT SHAKESPEARE PROJECT (which he also produced and direct- ed). Also at PRT: ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, THE UNFRYABLE MEATNESS OF BEING, NORA, BECKY’S NEW CAR, ORPHEUS DESCEND- ING, OUR TOWN and others. Broadway, Off-Broadway, lots of movie and TV appearances. Brad teaches an on-camera acting class in Santa Moni- ca, and holds a brown belt in the martial art of Kempo. www.bradgreenquist.com Robert Lesser (The Grocer, The Fireman, The Other Jean) New York cred- its include THE SOFT TOUCH, RUBBERS and YANKS 3, DETROIT 0, TOP OF THE 7TH - all directed by Alan Arkin. He starred in the premiere of Sam Shepard’s GEOGRAPHY OF A HORSE DREAMER (Manhattan Theatre Club) and was in RICHARD THE THIRD (NY Shakespeare Festival). He recently appeared in PRT’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (SAGE Award for Perfor- mance) and MY ANTONIA and AWAKE AND SING at the Odyssey. Film and TV includes HESTER STREET, DIE HARD, THE BIG EASY, et al. Jeff Lorch (Dudard) Film: Lead on an Untitled Motion Capture Project with Robert Zemeckis, PICKIN’ & GRINNIN’ (dir. Jon Gries). Television: MASTERS OF SEX, CRIMINAL MINDS, WHITNEY, BROTHERS & SISTERS, iCARLY. The- atre: NEED TO KNOW, UPLOADED (Rogue Machine); THE SHAKESPEARE PROJECT, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, ROCKET TO THE MOON, OF MICE AND MEN, BLUE DAHLIA (PRT); MODIGLIANI (Open Fist); MY ANTONIA (Rubicon); and improv at Groundlings, iOWest, and UCB. Proud UCLA Alum- ni. Many thanks to PRT for the artistic community and talent they foster and support! Kendrah McKay (The Waitress, The Porter) is thrilled to return to PRT in RHINOCEROS. She was most recently seen as Marlene in the popular FRIED MEAT TRILOGY. She extends much love and gratitude to the cast and crew, PRT, and her friends and loved ones, for she is currently bub- bling over with appreciation. You, in the audience: You’re her favorites. Keith Stevenson (Berenger) is the author of THE FRIED MEAT TRILO- GY, performed at PRT 2012-2015. OUT THERE ON FRIED MEAT RIDGE RD. (2012 Ovation nomination, Playwriting for an Original Play) recently played at Trafalgar Studios in London’s West End with Mr. Stevenson performing. Performance credits include MY GIRLFRIEND IS ALIEN BY KEITH DEFACTO (PRT); LIONS (PRT); JULIA (PRT, 59e59 in NYC); THE STEWARD OF CHRISTENDOM (Pittsburgh Public). Directorial credits: BLUNT FORCE (PRT); LONE-ANON (PRT, Rogue Machine, LA Weekly’s ten best plays of 2013). Melissa Weber Bales (The Housewife) is a long-time member of Pa- cific Resident Theatre. Notable PRT productions include A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (2014 LA Weekly Award Nomination, Leading Female Per- formance), last season’s AUTUMN AND WINTER, WRECKED in the PRT Co-op, ROCKET TO THE MOON and SOUTH CENTRAL RAIN. A 2013 Center Theatre Group Theatre Educator Fellow, Melissa teaches and di- rects theatre at Wildwood School and is also a member of Rogue Machine Theatre. Love and gratitude to Michael, Davey and Sarah. Melinda West (The Busker) is beyond excited to play accordion for Rhinoceros! Beyond the realm of theater, Melinda is the songwriter and frontwoman of her stompy accordion folk band, Sugar Rum Tantrum. A recent UCLA graduate, she composed and music directed for A TALE OF TWO LILIES which premiered at UCLA’s Royce Hall. As a performer, Me- linda has collaborated with CAP UCLA, Lucent Dossier, Marianne William- son, and Upright Citizen’s Brigade. She wishes warm thanks to supportive family and friends! Carole Weyers (Daisy) is beyond excited to be part of this incredi- ble cast and to re-team once again with the incomparable Guillermo Cienfuegos at PRT. You might have seen her previously in HENRY V (Ovation Nominee), UNFRYABLE MEATNESS OF BEING, MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN ALIEN BY KEITH DEFACTO, THE LION IN WINTER, and THE NOR- MAL HEART. TV appearances include MANH(A)TTAN, GREY’S ANATOMY, NCIS, MODERN FAMILY and... Oh! Un rhinocéros...! Sarah Zinsser (Grocer’s Wife, The Other Jean’s Wife) is a founding member of PRT, appearing in the original production of HAPPY END. A founding member of the award-winning 24th Street Theatre, she works in their Arts Education Programs and played The Mountain Woman in their acclaimed HANSEL AND GRETEL BLUEGRASS. She has performed at The Matrix, A Noise Within, The Alliance, and The Cast Theatre (LAD- CC Award, BITTER WOMEN). Film and Television includes a recurring role on PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Heartfelt Thanks to Alex, Guillermo and Always Steve. PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES Guillermo Cienfuegos (Director) directed the PRT hit productions SAFE AT HOME: AN EVENING WITH ORSON BEAN, THE HOMECOMING, THE FRIED MEAT TRILOGY and HENRY V, for which he won the Ovation and LADCC Awards for Best Director. Most recently, Cien- fuegos directed the acclaimed production of DUTCH MASTERS at Rogue Machine. Other productions at PRT include MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN ALIEN! BY KEITH DEFACTO, CONCEAL- ING JUDY HOLLIDAY, LIONS and JULIA, which transferred to New York’s 59E59 Theatre, Off-Broadway. Julianne Figueroa (Stage Manager) has worked as the Associate Production Manager at The Broad Stage. Freelance Production Management credits include TIMBOCTOU (RED- Cat; CalArts Center for New Performance) and A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (PRT). Produc- tion Stage Management credits includes WAITLESS (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), SHELTER, DAUGHTER OF A CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY and FANTÔMAS (Calarts Center for New Per- formance), and SAFE AT HOME: AN EVENING WITH ORSON BEAN and A TOUCH OF THE POET (PRT).