Silk Road Theatre Project Presents YELLOW FACE 6/14-7/17

Yellow Face, the nationally-acclaimed play by Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang, makes its Chicago debut at Silk Road Theatre Project (SRTP), produced in association with the Goodman Theatre. Yellow Face, directed by Steve Scott, runs June 14 - July 17, 2011, in Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St, Chicago. Press opening is Saturday, June 18, 2011, at 4:00 pm. Production support for Yellow Face is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and ComEd.

The cast for Yellow Face includes: Joseph Anthony Foronda*, David Rhee*, Lydia Berger, Tanya McBride, Christopher Meister, Christopher Popio, and Clayton Stamper.
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

The Design Team includes: Tom Burch (Set), Sarah Hughey (Lighting), Matthew Guither (Costumes), Peter Storms (Sound) Jesse Gaffney (Props), and Neal Ryan Shaw (Dramaturgy). The stage manager is Donald Claxon. Assistant Director is Danny Bernardo.

ABOUT THE PLAY, THE AND PLAYWRIGHT, & THE DIRECTOR

Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang
A revealing backstage comedy from the Tony Award-winning author of M. Butterfly, this ferociously funny, utterly unreliable memoir chronicles David Henry Hwang's struggle to define racial identity in the mixed-up melting pot of contemporary America. Part fact, part fiction, Yellow Face explores the pitfalls and promise of our "P.C." world.

David Henry Hwang is the author of M. Butterfly (1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Pulitzer finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk Nomination), Sound and Beauty, and Bondage. Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theatre, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a Finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (2002 revival, 2003 Tony nomination), and Disney's Tarzan. His opera libretti include three works for composer Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), and The Sound of a Voice; as well as Bright Sheng's The Silver River, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards) and Unsuk Chin's Alice In Wonderland (Opernwelt's 2007 "World Premiere of the Year"). Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song "Solo" with Prince. A native of Los Angeles, Hwang serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. His newest play, Chinglish, will enjoy its world-premiere production at Goodman Theatre, June 18 - July 24, 2011.

Steve Scott is the Associate Producer of Goodman Theatre, where he has overseen more than 150 productions; he is also a member of Goodman's Artistic Collective. His Goodman directing credits include Horton Foote's Blind Date; Rabbit Hole; Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock and No One Will Be Immune for the David Mamet Festival; Dinner With Friends; Wit; the world premiere of Tom Mula's Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol; A Midsummer Night's Dream (co-directed with Michael Maggio); and four seasons of A Christmas Carol. Other recent directing credits include The Mandrake at A Red Orchid Theatre; A Delicate Balance, Lettice and Lovage and Shadowlands for Redtwist Theatre; Souvenir at Northlight Theatre; The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Buried Child and Dealer's Choice for Shattered Globe Theatre; The DNA Trail and Yohen for Silk Road Theatre Company; Frozen for The Next Theatre Company; A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing for the St. Lawrence (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival; The Teapot Scandals of 1923 and Falsettos for Porchlight Theatre; Execution of Justice, Ah, Wilderness!, God's Country, and Judgment at Nuremberg for the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University's College of Performing Arts (where he is a faculty member); and a number of productions for the Eclipse Theatre (where he is an ensemble member), including Arthur Miller's After the Fall, John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation, Rebecca Gilman's Boy Gets Girl, Keith Reddin's Big Time, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, and Lanford Wilson's The Moonshot Tapes. He has directed for a variety of other companies, including Theatre Wit, the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, National Jewish Theatre, Theater at the Center, Lifeline Theatre, Organic Touchstone Theatre, and the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. Mr. Scott has served on panels for Theatre Communications Group, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, the Chicago Council on Fine Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trust/Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. He is a member of the Jeff Committee's Artist and Technical Team, a board member of Season of Concern, and an associate artist with About Face, Chicago Dramatists, and Colllaboraction Theatre companies. He was one of six resident directors for WBEZ's series Stories on Stage, and has contributed articles to a variety of publications, including the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Mr. Scott is the recipient of five Jeff nominations, an After Dark Award, and the Illinois Theatre Association's Award of Honor. As an actor, he most recently appeared in The Next Theatre's production of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been...? (Jeff Award for Outstanding Ensemble).

Previews of Yellow Face are June 14, 15 and 16 at 7:30 pm, and June 17 at 8:00 pm. The press opening is Saturday, June 18 at 4:00 pm. The production runs through July 17, 2011. Curtain times are Tuesdays+, Wednesdays++, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm; Saturdays at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $24.00 - $34.00. 20% discounts for groups of ten or more. Tickets for Yellow Face ($24 for previews, $34 for regular run) are now on sale and can be purchased at www.GoodmanTheatre.org, at the box office (170 N. Dearborn) or by phone: 312.443.3800.

+The only Tuesday performance will be the first preview performance on Tuesday, June 14, 2011.
++There will be no Wednesday performances on June 22 & June 29, 2011.

Discounted parking is available for $6 at System Parking, just 3 blocks from the theatre, at 230 W. Washington St.

Silk Road Theatre Project showcases playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean backgrounds, whose works address themes relevant to the peoples of the Silk Road and their Diaspora communities. Through the mediums of theatre, video, education, and advocacy, we aim to deepen and expand representation in American culture.

The award winning Silk Road Theatre Project is the recipient of the American Theatre Wing's 2010 National Theatre Company Grant Award, the 2008 Broadway In Chicago/League of Chicago Theaters' Emerging Theatre Award, the 2008 City of Chicago Human Relations Award, the 2007 Chicago Community Trust Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts Award ("the Hopie"), the 2007 Columbia College Chicago's Arts Entrepreneurship Award, the 2007 Asian American Institute's Milestone Makers Award, and the 2006 Changing Worlds' Immigrant & Refugee Contributions Award. Major sponsors of Silk Road Theatre Project include: the Joyce Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Alphawood Foundation.

Goodman Theatre, "the leading regional theater in the nation's most important theater city" (Time), is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago, generating nearly $300 million in economic impact over the past decade in its state-of-the-art two-theater complex on North Dearborn Street. Founded in 1925 and currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert Falls, "Chicago's most essential director" (Chicago Tribune), and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, Chicago's oldest and largest not-for-profit resident theater has experienced unprecedented success over the past 10 years in its new downtown facility, welcoming nearly two million patrons to productions and events-including 10 festivals celebrating playwrights such as David Mamet, August Wilson and Horton Foote, as well as the biennial Latino Theatre Festival-serving 30 percent more students through its Education and Community Engagement programs (including the FREE Student Subscription Series and other interactive programs) and employing more than 3,000 artists and theater professionals. The Goodman has earned more than 90 awards for hundreds of productions, including the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined by Lynn Nottage-one of 25 new-work Goodman commissions in the last decade. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Patricia Cox, and Joan Clifford is President of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Yellow Face / FACT SHEET

Synopsis: A revealing backstage comedy from the Tony Award-winning author of M. Butterfly, this ferociously funny, utterly unreliable memoir chronicles David Henry Hwang's struggle to define racial identity in the mixed-up melting pot of contemporary America. Part fact, part fiction, Yellow Face explores the pitfalls and promise of our "P.C." world.

Yellow Face is being produced in association with Goodman Theatre.

Title: Yellow Face

Playwright: David Henry Hwang

Directed by: Steve Scott

Featuring: Joseph Anthony Foronda*, David Rhee*, Lydia Berger, Tanya McBride, Christopher Meister, Christopher Popio, and Clayton Stamper.
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

Dates:
Previews: June 14 - June 17, 2011
Press Opening: Saturday, June 18, at 4:00pm
Regular Run: June 19 - July 17, 2011

Schedule:
Tuesdays+: 7:30 pm
Wednesdays++: 7:30 pm
Thursdays: 7:30 pm
Fridays: 8:00 pm
Saturdays: 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sundays: 4:00 pm

+The only Tuesday performance will be the first preview performance on Tuesday, June 14, 2011.
++There will be no Wednesday performances on June 22 & June 29, 2011.

Location:
Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St. (lower level) Chicago.

Tickets:
$24 preview performances; $34 regular performances.

Box Office:
Ticket sales for Yellow Face are being handled by Goodman Theatre. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased on-line at www.GoodmanTheatre.org, at Goodman Theatre box office (170 N. Dearborn), or by phone: 312.443.3800.

For more information about Yellow Face, visit www.srtp.org

 

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