New Repertory Theatre to Stage Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER This Fall

New Repertory Theatre announces A NUMBER by Caryl Churchill, October 10 - November 1, 2015 in the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. The press opening will be Monday, October 12, at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $30-$60 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Subscription packages that include A NUMBER are also available.

"This season's theme of identity provided us the opportunity to explore plays that dealt with issues of individuality and self-reflection," says Artistic Director, Jim Petosa. "Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER is a remarkable example of this exploration from a tremendously talented writer. Churchill's use of language and mastery of dialogue is nearly unmatched in contemporary theatre, and we're delighted to present her work this season."

"New Rep is pleased to welcome back cast members Nael Nacer and Dale Place to our stage," says Managing Director, Harriet Sheets. "Audiences may remember them from our hugely popular The Kite Runner during our 2012-2013 season. We'd also like to welcome back director Clay Hopper who has helmed our Classic Repertory Company touring productions over the past four seasons. His creative and talented direction has enthralled our Classic Rep audiences, and we're thrilled to have him working on the second show of our 2015-2016 season."

In this stark and startling drama, a son confronts his emotionally distant father, learning a horrifying truth about his past. As anger and abandonment issues emerge, a mystery is exposed, revealing a disturbing incident involving a number of "others." A NUMBER is an illuminating and provocative work by internationally acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill in which she examines individuality and the theory of nature versus nurture.

ARTISTIC BIOS:

CLAY HOPPER (Director) returns to New Repertory Theatre after directing Classic Repertory Company's 1984, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Of Mice and Men, Macbeth, Great Expectations, Romeo and Juliet, and To Kill A Mockingbird. In Washington D.C., he served as the Associate Artistic Director of Olney Theatre Center and Director of both the National Players and the Summer Shakespeare Festival. He now serves as lecturer in Directing and Theatre Arts at Boston University's School of Theatre. Directing credits include Columbinus, Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Amadeus, Farragut North, Triumph of Love, and Call of the Wild (Olney Theatre). Other recent credits include On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning (Contemporary America Theatre Festival Actor's Lab). Off-off-Broadway credits include A Home Without and Different Zen (Third Eye Rep); Earthworms (The Working Group); and Triage and The Interrogation (The Miranda Theatre). He founded and produced a new play series called New Works/After Hours at Lincoln Center Institute's Clarke Studio Theatre. He has taught at Woolly Mammoth's Theatre School and College of Wooster, where he directed King Lear and was visiting assistant professor in 2006, and served as Assistant Director at The Old Globe Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Woolly Mammoth Theater Company. Mr. Hopper earned his BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts and his MFA from Boston University's College of Fine Arts.

NAEL NACER* (Bernard 1, Bernard 2, Michael Black) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in Pattern of Life, Lungs, and The Kite Runner. Other area credits include Come Back, Little Sheba, Awake & Sing!, The Seagull, and Our Town (Huntington Theatre Company); The Flick (Gloucester Stage Company); Intimate Apparel, The Temperamentals and Animal Crackers (Lyric Stage Company); A Future Perfect and Tribes (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Windowmen, The Farm, and Gary (Boston Playwrights' Theatre); Sila and Distracted (Underground Railway Theater); Shear Madness (Charles Playhouse); Love Person, 1001, The Aliens, and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Company One); The Flu Season (Whistler in the Dark); Waters Rising, Shouting Theatre in a Crowded Fire (National Theatre of Allston);

Bent (SouthCity Theatre); and Polaroid Stories (Tinderbox Stage Company). Off-Broadway credits include The Hiding Place (59E59 Theatres) and Lemonade (NYC Fringe Festival). He is the recipient of a 2013 IRNE award for his work in David Cromer's production of Our Town, and a 2015 Elliot Norton award for his work in Intimate Apparel. Mr. Nacer was born and raised in Paris, France and currently resides in Brookline, MA. He can next be seen as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Merrimack Repertory Theatre) and in Wesley Savick's adaptation of Rhinoceros (Boston Playwrights' Theatre).

DALE PLACE* (Salter) returns to New Repertory Theatre after performing in The Kite Runner and afterlife: a ghost story. New York credits include King Lear (New York Shakespeare Festival); and Nikolai and the Others (Lincoln Center). He has performed regionally with The Cleveland Play House, Northern Stage, The Public Theatre of Maine, NorthEast Shakespeare Ensemble, and over 30 seasons with The Barnstormers Theatre. Recent local credits include Our Town (Huntington Theatre Company); The Farm (IRNE Award nomination, Boston Playwrights' Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theatre); and Our Town (Barnstormers Theater). He has performed locally with Lyric Stage Company, Stoneham Theatre, and Wheelock Family Theatre. Mr. Place's film and television credits include The Fighter, The Proposal, Joy, Gone Baby Gone, What's Your Number, and Gilded Lilys.

New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. For over 30 years, New Rep has been a leader of self-produced theatre in greater Boston, producing contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals in both the 340-seat Charles Mosesian Theater and the 90- seat Black Box Theater. Annually, New Rep serves over 40,000 patrons, including 2,000 season subscribers. In addition to its mainstage productions, New Rep produces Next Voices, a program dedicated to developing new plays with four playwrights through three staged readings and one world premiere production. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, Page To Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

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