Past Seasons

American Whup-Ass
a world premiere play by Justin Warner
directed by Michael Ray Wisely

A once-ballyhooed candidate for Senate rapidly freefalls until he's challenged to a wrestling match on national television. In between lifting weights and training sessions with the Iron Buddha, he's ducking talk show hosts and trying to save the planet (or at least the state of Nevada) from toxic sludge. What's a good ole boy to do? Are you American enough to watch? Boo-Yah!

Starring: Will Marchetti*, Mick Mize, ZZ Moor, Marty Pistone*, Jack Powell*, Paul Santiago*
Production Team: Josh Garcia-Cotter, Stanley Gibbs, David Hines, Jan Koprowski, Brendan Kussman, Danielle Thomsen*, Selina G Young
*members, Actors' Equity, an Equity-approved project

The critics love it!
Marin Independent Journal: Director Michael Ray "Wisely's fine ensemble has huge fun with a clever script and characters that are right out of a "Mad TV" sketch."

San Francisco Tribune: "Don't miss it!" American Whup-Ass "promises to kill you with laughter" Esta farsa es muy creativa e imaginativa; Paúl Santiago en su rol del general Mayhem es un maestro, se llevaria la medalla de oro, si estuviésemos en las olimpiadas...American Whup-Ass es una obra muy divertida, no cesara de reír, se lo garantizamos. Muy recomendable para todos."

Hard Laughter
by Ann Brebner and Laurel Graver, adapted from the novel Hard Laughter by Anne Lamott
directed by Jayne Wenger
April--May 2008

Starring Lindsay Benner*, Jeffrey Bihr*, Rio Codda, Zac Jaffee, Hannah Rose Kornfeld, Laura Lowry*, Frances Lee McCain*
Playing at The Wooden Duck, 1848 Fourth Street (at H Street), San Rafael

Thirst by Dyke Garrison
directed by Ann Brebner
September 21st--October 7th
In this world premiere play, power and success ram full-speed into love and family. A family's internal dynamics explode when a long-time alcoholic's liver begins to fail. How much is too much to sacrific for love? A tale of love and gin.

Starring Sheila Balter*, Jeanette Harrison, Craig Jessup*, Will Marchetti*, Erica Smith
Playing at Art Works Downtown, 1337 Fourth Street (at D Street), San Rafael.

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2006/2007

Catherine's Care by Robert Ernst
A World Premiere by award-winning actor/writer and San Rafael resident Robert Ernst!
With music composed and arranged by Andy Dinsmoor and Barney Jones
February 2nd—February 18th

Bursting through the boundaries of musical theater, Catherine’s Care springs from the mind and memories of Catherine, an aging crone stuck in a nursing home and a fun-loving teen. In a world peopled with strangers who seem familiar and crows that sing, Catherine must craft her own reality, and hopes and dreams.

Starring Tamar Cohn, Craig Jessup*, Jenna Johnson and Carla Spindt*
with live music by Andy Dinsmoor, Robert Ernst*, Mark Malmberg and Daniel Savio

After the Fall by Arthur Miller
October 27th—November 12th
American maestro playwright Arthur Miller’s most autobiographical work, a tale of personal responsibility in the post-1950s. A man, with two divorces behind him, shines a spotlight in the dark corners of his past in the hope of discovering that he is worthy of love. After the Fall journeys through the Depression, the Holocaust, the Red Scare--as seen through the lens of Arthur Miller's memory.

Directed by Jessica Heidt
Starring: Karen Aldridge*, Jeanette Harrison, Eric Fraisher Hayes*, Dawn Scott,
Nick Sholley*, Patricia Silver*, Ayla Yarkut*, Dennis Yen

Named the Number One theatrical event of 2006 by The North Bay Bohemian!

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2005/2006

Summerland by Brian Thorstenson
directed by Ken Sonkin
In a desolate and beautiful land where ghosts still dream, one young man and his mohter struggle to grow up, accept lovem and wrestle with how much of the past to hang onto. A coming-of-age story about love and family.
Starring: Anne Darragh, Marving Greene, Zac Jaffee, Michael Navarra, Ron Rittinger, Patricia Silver
Production Team: Norman Kern, Tahzay Mikkael, Allison Ward
April 28th to May 14th
Art Works Downtown, 1337 Fourth Street

"If you only see one play for the rest of your life, make it Summerland. It truly satisfies." San Francisco Bay Times

Smortasbord of Shorts II
February 17th-March 5th
1557 Fourth Street

Cuddle Time by Keely Madden, directed by Ann Brebner
Drop by Brian Thorstenson, directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges
Leaving by Mark Routhier, directed by William O. Selig
Lorraine by Jeff Carter, directed by Julia McNeal
Starring: Karla Acosta, Tamar Cohn, Jeanette Harrison, Nikolai Lokteff, Tim Kniffin, Wayne Lee, Keely Madden, Sung Min Park, Stephen Pawley, Benjamin Privitt

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2004/2005 Inaugural Season:

Sex Parasite by Jessica Goldberg
Can men and women ever truly be friends and equals? A South African woman challenges the luminaries of Victorian London and the fireworks begin in Jessica Goldberg's delightful new comedy. Directed by Frances Lee McCain and Ann Brebner, this new play is set at the dawn of the Women’s Movement and features three eminent doctors and three widely differing women exploring, with wide minds, “Sex and the Woman Question”. Commissioned by Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, this was the first San Francisco Bay Area production!

Directed by Frances Lee McCain* and Ann Brebner
Starring Lindsay Benner, Jaxy Boyd, John Evans*, Jeanette Harrison, Craig G. Neibaur and Nick Sholley*
Spring 2005 (April 29th through May 15th)
Rafael Town Center, Court St & 4th St.
*Member of Actors' Equity An Equity-approved project

What the critics said:

• "Smart look at women, men and sex" --Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal
  
• "Una original comedia interpretada bellamente" --Mario Echevarria, San Francisco Tribune
  
• "Intense and appealing" --Lee Brady, Pacific Sun
  
• "An innovative young company devoted to pushing the theatrical envelope" --Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal
  
• "Daring in content, performance and staging...superb" --Olga Azar, Marin Scope

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Smorgasbord of Shorts,
Fall 2004 (October 22nd-November 7)
Rocking Chairs 100%, 4th St. & Cijos
The Virgins at Dry Springs by Kristina Goodnight
Directed by Erin Gilley
Starring Desdemona Chiang, Benjamin Privitt, Carolyn Zola

The Note by Aren Haun
Directed by Frances Lee McCain*
Starring Victor Ballesteros, Amos Glick*, Jeanette Harrison, Jack Powell*, Patricia Silver*, Jeffrey Weissman*

A Gentler Place by Jeff Carter
Directed by Jessica Heidt
Starring Amos Glick*, Keely Madden*, Jack Powell*

Tape by Stephen Belber
Directed by Ken Sonkin*
Starring Amos Glick*, Jeanette Harrison, Benjamin Privitt

Smorgasbord of Shorts,
A collection of four short plays—including two World Premieres! Be the first in the world to see “The Virgins at Dry Springs” by Kristina Goodnight, whose short plays have been featured at PlayGround, San Francisco’s home for emerging playwrights, and who received the June Anne Baker Prize, through which she was commissioned to write her play The Eve Generation.

Plus, experience an urban couple’s struggle to belong when they move to a small town to raise their children in the World Premiere of San Francisco playwright Jeff Carter’s “A Gentler Place,” which received second place in the 2003 Kernodle Playwrighting Competition at the University of Arkansas.
"The actors play subtly with the big issues" --Lee Brady, Pacific Sun
"...a kind of suspense drama with overtones of Sam Shepard..." --Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal

Smorgasbord of Shorts also includes the minimalist 10-minute play “The Note” by Aren Haun, who attended the College of Marin and whose plays have been produced at Venue 9, the Exit Café, and at the presigious Humana Festival
"Clever and articulate" --Rosine Reynolds, The Ark

Explore a reunion among three high school friends in “Tape” by Stephen Belber, whose latest play Match appeared on Broadway.
"A beautifully constructed verbal fugue that keeps you hanging on every word right up to the surprise conclusion" --Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal
"Tight, with an edgy male energy" --Lee Brady, Pacific Sun

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