Theresa Rebeck to Direct Reading of SAMANTHA INSIDE OUT By Marisa Smith At Shaker Bridge Theatre

Shaker Bridge Theatrewill present a one-night-only staged reading of SAMANTHA INSIDE OUT, a new one-woman show written by Marisa Smith, directed by Theresa Rebeck, and starring Jayne Atkinson as part of Shaker Bridge's commitment to developing new work.

The reading is at 7pm Friday, February 28th. Tickets are free for Shaker Bridge subscription holders and $10 for the general public.

Samantha, a woman of a certain age, has had it—with her life, her marriage, modern life, everything. She's a high school English teacher, mother of grown twins, and wife of Eliot, a cruel, pompous philanderer. After a humiliating and violent encounter with her husband, Samantha flees a stultifying Christmas party at the President of the College's house. She ends up in the host's teenage daughter's cluttered room on the third floor. Amid the chaos, Samantha reviews the wreckage of her life and reveals her truth and her secrets out loud. By doing so, Samantha charts a new course for herself. It's never too late to start again.

Jayne Atkinson (Samantha) has enjoyed a long and varied career as an actress, director, and producer. Broadway: Jayne made her Broadway debut in a revival production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Other Broadway credits include The Rainmaker (Tony nomination), Our Town with Paul Newman, Enchanted April (Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination; Outer Critics Circle Award), and Blithe Spirit with the wonderful Angela Lansbury. Selected Off-Broadway: The Art of Success (Drama Desk nomination) and The Skriker (Drama Desk nomination). Selected Film: Free Willy 1 & 2, The Village, and Syriana. Selected TV: She is known for her guest appearances on The X-Files, Gossip Girl, Chicago Med, and The Good Wife, among others. As a recurring character, she has appeared on 24, Criminal Minds, House of Cards, The Walking Dead, Castle Rock, Madam Secretary, and most recently in Bluff City Law and Clarice. Jayne has produced the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Education: Northwestern University and Yale Drama School.

Theresa Rebeck is an American playwright, director, television writer, and novelist. She is the most Broadway-produced female playwright of our time. Broadway works include Dead Accounts, Seminar, Mauritius, Bernhardt/Hamlet, and I Need That. Other notable NY and regional plays include: Seared (MCC), Downstairs (Primary Stages), The Scene, The Water's Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann, and Spike Heels (Second Stage), Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection, and Our House (Playwrights Horizons), The Understudy (Roundabout), View of the Dome (NYTW), What We're Up Against (Women's Project), and Omnium Gatherum (Pulitzer Prize finalist). As a director, her work has been seen at The Alley Theatre (Houston), The REP Company (Delaware), Dorset Theatre Festival, The Orchard Project, and The Folger Theatre. Film and television projects include Trouble, starring Anjelica Huston, Bill Pullman, and David Morse (writer and director), NYPD Blue, Smash (creator), and the upcoming female spy thriller 355. As a novelist, her books include Three Girls and Their Brother and I'm Glad About You.

Marisa Smith is familiar to Upper Valley audiences who have enjoyed her plays at Northern Stage, The Hanover Inn, The Eclipse Grange Theater, Parish Players, and The Filling Station! Marisa's full-length plays include the recent The Gift of the Magi: A Modern Adaptation. Other plays: The Naked Librarian, Venus Rising, Sex and Other Disturbances (Edgerton winner), Saving Kitty (Eliot Norton Award for Jennifer Coolidge, Best Actress, N.H. state winner, Clauder Competition), and Mad Love (NH State Winner, Clauder Competition, Eugene O'Neill Play Conference Semi-Finalist, The Kilroy's List—published by Broadway Play Publishing). Marisa's 10-minute plays have been produced in theaters all over the country, including Total Expression (Heideman Award Finalist).

Marisa wrote the script for the immersive theater gastronomy event, Journey, produced by Broadway producer Marc Routh (Back to the Future, The Band's Visit, etc.), and she "Americanized" the British musical Fat Friends (book by Kay Mellor OBE, music by Nick Lloyd Webber). Film credits include Second Wind and Surprise Engagement. Her 2024 script Outrage won the Valley Players (Waitsfield, Vermont) Best Play 2024 award for New England playwrights. She is also the Publisher and Co-Founder of Smith and Kraus Publishers, with over 700 titles in print. More information about Marisa's work and upcoming projects can be found at www.marisasmithplaywright.com.

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