Matthew Lillard to Make NYC Directing Debut with Animus Theatre's COLLECTED SHORTS This Spring

Animus Theatre Company is pleased to announce Collected Shorts by Tennessee Williams (The Long Goodbye, Moony's Kid Don't Cry, The Pink Bedroom, and Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen) as their 2014-2015 Workshop Production and final production of the season. Marking the New York theatre directorial debut for acclaimed actor Matthew Lillard, the show will feature Eric William Morris. Performances begin Friday, April 24 and run through Saturday, May 2, at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

The 2014-2015 Animus season included Leslye Headland's Sin Cycle at Circle in the Square Theatre (featuring Alexis Bledel and Headland), as well as Bob Glaudini's Dutch Heart of Man at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Matthew Lillard and Eric William Morris are proud members of Animus Theatre Company.

The cast will also feature Animus Theatre Company members Haley Bond, Trevor Kluckman, Karen Sours, Courtney Shaw, Zachary Spicer,and Jeff Todesco, as well as Mary Thornton, Rhonda Dodd, Al Miro,and Dylan Wittrock.

The creative team includes Company member Scott Tedmon-Jones (scenic design), company member Liz Elise Richards (PSM), Christine Yepsen (costume design), Amanda Clegg Lyon (lighting design), and Company member Andy Evan Cohen (sound design).

Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $19.25 and available by visiting Telecharge.com or AnimusTheatre.org.

Matthew Lillard is an American actor, director, producer, and teacher best known for his roles as Stu Macher in Scream, Stevo in SLC Punk (awarded Best Actor at the Mar del Plata Film Festival), and Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo film series- he has taken over as the voice of Shaggy in the cartoon series since the Mystery Incorporated reboot. Mr. Lillard has recently taken dramatic turns in Alexander Payne's critically acclaimed The Descendants as well as the role of troubled journalist Daniel Frye on "The Bridge" on FX. He is currently appearing as Acting Director Banks on "State of Affairs" as well as Mike Davis in the film adaptation of Stephen Belber's Match alongside Sir Patrick Stewart and Carla Gugino. In 2012 he directed his first film, Fat Kid Rules the World, to widespread critical acclaim.

Eric William Morris appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia and Coram Boy, and has been seen in recurring roles on "Blue Bloods", "Golden Boy", and "As the World Turns".

Animus Theatre Company (Jonathan Judge-Russo, Artistic Director; Amy Northup & Jeff Todesco, Managing Directors; Michael Neithardt, Producing Assistant Managing Director) was founded in 2011. Previous productions most recently include the critically lauded Sin Cycle Readings by Leslye Headland (Circle in the Square Theatre, featuring Alexis Bledel), Dutch Heart of Man by Bob Glaudini, Where's My Money? by John Patrick Shanley (both at the Cherry Lane Theatre), and William Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Animus is an ensemble of artists that seeks to develop new work and realize the full potential of infrequently produced plays that explore the fragility and resilience of the human spirit. Our work challenges artists and audiences to face problems on both interpersonal and global levels in new ways through a deeper sense of mutuality with those characters and circumstances witnessed and experienced on stage. For more information and details, visit AnimusTheatre.org.