Center Stage Announces Casting for STONE IN HIS POCKETS by Mary Jones

Baltimore, MD-December 2013. Center Stage announces casting for the upcoming Stones in His Pockets, by Marie Jones. Directed by Derek Goldman, rehearsals for this award-winning Irish comedy begin Monday, December 16. Preview performances will start January 15 and the production runs through February 23.

Stones in His Pockets is a comedic two-hander telling the story of what happens when a big Hollywood film crew takes over a small Irish town. The cast takes on more than a dozen characters in this highly theatrical romp. Accepting this challenge are actors Clinton Brandhagen and Todd Lawson, who will play Irish locals Charlie and Jack-and a chorus of other eccentrics from the film's leading lady to a harried assistant director. An "uproarious, joyful evening" (New York Daily News), Stones is an acting tour de force both rollicking and poignant.

Clinton Brandhagen has appeared on Broadway in Master Class with Tyne Daly, and is a resident company member with Everyman Theatre, where he recently appeared in productions of The Glass Menagerie and The Beaux' Stratagem. Todd Lawson has appeared on Broadway in Summer and Smoke, as well as Off Broadway, and nationally. He most recently appeared in Washington, DC, in the Studio Theatre's Torch Song Trilogy directed by Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Michael Kahn.

Stones in His Pockets was written by Marie Jones, an award-winning Belfast-based actress and playwright. She is the cofounder of Charabanc Theatre Company and DubbelJoint Theatre Group, and has received the John Hewitt Award for outstanding contribution to culture, tradition, and the arts in Northern Ireland. ForStones in His Pockets she won the Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award and two Olivier Awards, including Best New Comedy.

Director Derek Goldman is Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center and Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown University. He is an award-winning stage director, playwright, adapter, developer of new work, teacher, and published scholar, whose artistic work has been seen around the country, Off Broadway, internationally, and at numerous major regional theaters. His local productions include Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears at Theater J, the DC premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice at Round House Theatre, and As You Like It at the Folger Theater.

Stones in His Pockets, directed by Derek Goldman, begins previews on Wednesday, January 15. The show opens officially on Wednesday, January 22, and closesFebruary 23. Tickets start at $19 and can be purchased by calling 410.332.0033, or visiting www.centerstage.org. Full information on the season can be found atwww.centerstage.org/2013-14season.

Stones in His Pockets is sponsored by SunTrust Bank and Kramon & Graham. Center Stage is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, units of government, colleges, and universities for arts activities. Funding for the MSAC is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Center Stage's 2013-14 Season is made possible by Season 51 presenting sponsor M&T Bank. Maryland Public Television is a Media Partner for Center Stage's 2013-14 Season.

Cast and Crew:

Charlie Conlon Clinton Brandhagen

Jack Kirwan Todd Lawson

Playwright Marie Jones

Director Derek Goldman

Scenic Designer Mikhail Kachman

Costume Designer Ivania Stack

Lighting Designer Jennifer Schriever

Sound Designer Andre Pluess

Projection Designer Jared Mezzocchi

Choreographer Mark Jaster

Choreographer Emma Crane Jaster

Stage Manager Captain Kate Murphy & Laura Smith

Dramaturg Catherine Maria Rodriguez

Voice/Dialect Director Leigh Wilson Smiley

Casting Director Stephanie Klapper

Center Stage

Under the leadership of playwright, actor, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE (Artistic Director) and national arts leader Stephen Richard (Managing Director), Center Stage is an artistically driven institution committed to engaging, entertaining, and enriching audiences of today and tomorrow through joyous and bold performance. The professional, nonprofit theater company is dedicated to the creation and presentation of a dynamic and diverse array of new and classic work, and each year hosts an audience of more than 100,000 in its historic home in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood. With its signature focus on civic and community engagement, Center Stage, The State Theater of Maryland, enters its second 50 years with a commitment to exploring how art and entertainment communicate in the 21st century, and to igniting conversation in Baltimore and beyond.

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