Rep Stage Closes Season With THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? Closes 6/27

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), closes its 17th season with Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee's "The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?" "The Goat..." is a dark comedy about Martin, a married architect coming to terms with middle age, his son's sexual identity, and his own recent adulterous relationship with an unlikely partner. Directed by Helen Hayes Award-winner Kasi Campbell, "The Goat..." features Bruce Nelson, Steven Carpenter, Travis Hudson and Emily Townley in her Rep Stage debut. "The Goat ..." opens June 2 and runs through June 27, 2010 in the Studio Theatre of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center (HVPA) on the campus of HCC.

A post-show reception follows the Sunday, June 6 matinee performance and free post-show discussions follow the June 11 and 18 performances.

Press performance is Sunday, June 6 at 2 p.m. For media photos and reservations, contact Mike Scrivener in the HCC Office of Public Relations and Marketing at 443-367-3133 or mscrivener@howardcc.edu.

Describing "The Goat...," Producing Artistic Director Michael Stebbins says, "Albee gives us, in the character of Martin, a man who has hit middle age. The audience is the fly on the wall as they observe Martin's libido take a confounding turn. What happens in the course of this play is outrageous, unbelievable, funny and heart-breaking - all at the same time. I think it's one of Albee's best works."

Playwright Edward Albee, born in 1928, began writing plays in his thirties. His plays include "The Zoo Story" (1958), "The American Dream" (1960), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1961-62, Tony Award), "Tiny Alice" (1964), "A Delicate Balance" (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award), "All Over" (1971), "Seascape" (1974, Pulitzer Prize), "The Lady from Dubuque" (1977-78), "Three Tall Women" (1991, Pulitzer Prize) and "The Play About the Baby" (1997), among others. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council and president of The Edward F. Albee Foundation. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980 and in 1996 received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.

Kasi Campbell (Director) is an HCC theatre professor and coordinator of the college's Acting Program. Campbell is the recipient of a 2004 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Director for "The Dazzle" at Rep Stage. Her Rep Stage directing credits include "God's Ear," "In the Heart of America," "Bach at Leipzig," "Hamlet," "The Violet Hour" and "The Seagull." She has directed at Indiana University, University of Connecticut, Source Theatre, Spooky Action Theatre, Washington Stage Guild and Theatre Alliance.

"The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?" cast includes:

Steven Carpenter (Ross) previously appeared at Rep Stage in "The Lonesome West," "Ambrosio" and "Translations." For the Washington Stage Guild, he has appeared in "The Countess," "The Philanderer" (Helen Hayes nomination), "Major Barbara" and "Anna Karenina." Other acting credits include work at Ford's Theater, The Folger, The Shakespeare Theatre, Signature Theatre, Theater J and the Potomac Theatre Festival. Also a Helen Hayes-nominated director, he directed Rep Stage hits "Hysteria," "Trumbo" and "Mrs. Farnsworth." His directing work has also been seen at the Washington Stage Guild, Theater J, Theatre Alliance, the Bay Theatre in Annapolis, and the Foothills Theatre in Worcester, Mass. He has been honored with a Mary Goldwater Award for excellence in directing and an Alexander Scourby Award for book narration by the American Foundation of the Blind.

Travis Hudson (Billy) made his Rep Stage debut in "The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, & the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree." Other credits include UMBC's "Red Death," "She Stoops to Conquer," "The Faulkner Project" and "Metamorphoses."

Bruce Nelson (Martin) is well known to Rep Stage audiences, having appeared in "Hysteria," "The Violet Hour" (Helen Hayes Award) and "The Dazzle" (Helen Hayes Award). He has appeared regionally at Everyman Theatre, Folger Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Woolly Mammoth, and The Shakespeare Theatre. A graduate of Towson University, Nelson also teaches at Everyman Theatre and Stevenson University.

Emily Townley (Stevie) is making her Rep Stage debut. She has performed at Everyman Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Studio Theatre, Round House Theatre, the Kennedy Center, Source Theatre, Horizons Theatre and Freedom Stage. She will appear in the upcoming production of "The House of Gold" at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

"The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?" design team includes:

Dan Covey (lighting design) has created designs for many Rep Stage productions, including "On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning," "Hysteria," "In the Heart of America," "Mrs. Warren's Profession" and "Bach at Leipzig." Other regional credits include Ford's Theatre, Theater Alliance, Signature Theatre, Theater J, Olney Theatre Center, Folger Theatre, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. He is the recipient of a Helen Hayes Award.

Andrea "Dre" Moore (properties design) has made theatre her career for the past 10 years, with the past 6 years focusing on props. Her work has graced the stages of Olney Theatre, Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre, Theatre J, Round House Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. During the school year, she assists the properties master at University of Maryland, College Park in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and enjoys educating future theatre designers and technicians.

Daniel Ettinger (set design) returns to Rep Stage having previously designed "God's Ear," "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "Tintypes," "Fully Committed" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten." He is an associate professor teaching design for the theatre department at Towson University and is the resident scenic designer at Everyman Theatre. Other regional credits include The Barter Theatre, the State Theatre Of Virginia, Woolly Mammoth Theater Company and Theatre J. New York credits include The Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Juilliard School and The York Theatre.

Kathleen Geldard's (costume design) design credits for Rep Stage include "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "In the Heart of America," "Kimberly Akimbo," "The Seagull," and "Arcadia." Other regional credits include Theater J, Studio Theatre Second Stage, Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage, Everyman Theatre, Folger Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Rorschach Theatre and Source Theatre.

Throughout the 2009-10 season, The Rep Stage Film Series, presented by HCC's Film Program, will offer free screenings in the Smith Theatre to complement the themes of the plays appearing onstage. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," with a screenplay by Ernest Lehman, will be shown on June 22 at 7 p.m. and June 26 at 10 a.m.

A pre-show lecture, "Edward Albee's Absurd World," will take place on Saturday, June 19 at 12:30 p.m. Rep Stage's Reading Series will feature a reading of Albee's "American Dream" June 28 at 7 p.m. Both events are free and will take place in the Monteabaro RecitAl Hall.

About Rep Stage
Rep Stage, a professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College, is in its 17th season. The company is a member of both League of Washington Theatres and Baltimore Theatre Alliance. Performances are made possible by Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Government, and Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as through generous individual contributions. Howard Bank is the Rep Stage 2009-10 season partner.

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