Amphibian Stage will Kick Off its 21st Season with the World Premiere of HANS & SOPHIE

Kathleen Culebro, Artistic Director of Amphibian Stage, today announced that Hans & Sophie, a new play created by New York-based trio Sean Hudock, Illana Stein and Deborah Yarchun, will have its world premiere at the Fort Worth, TX theatre February 5 - March 1, 2020. Illana Stein, who helmed Amphibian's regional premiere of David Davalos' A Lost Leonardo, will direct.

A printing press, spray paint, and quick wit were all siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl needed to build an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany. Drawing inspiration from their letters, diaries and coded correspondences in the book At The Heart of the White Rose, this new two-character play is an intimate portrait of resistance and conviction in the darkest of times, immersing audiences in the student's metamorphosis from loyal Hitler Youth into one of the Nazi regime's most effective oppositions.

"The legacy of Hans, Sophie and The White Rose remains a beacon of fierce humanity in the face of unjust leadership," says Amphibian Stage Artistic Director Kathleen Culebro. "I am so thrilled that our theatre will be the first home for a play that celebrates the courage it takes to make the world a better place even when it feels impossible."

The cast of Hans & Sophie features Rebekah Brockman (Native Son, Measure for Measure Off-Broadway, Bridge of Spies) and Sean Hudock (Vilna Off-Broadway, The Chaperone).

The creative team features projection designs by Driscoll Otto, scenic and technical direction by Jeff Stanfield, lighting design by Kenneth Farnsworth, costume design by Johna Sewell and sound design by David Lanza.

Hans & Sophie was developed through the Drama League's First Stage Residency and Amphibian Stage's Metamorphosis residency. The world premiere production is sponsored in part by George Weinhouse, MD.

The production, along with their screening of #Anne Frank: Parallel Stories is part of a series of special events curated by Amphibian in conjunction with other local organizations to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and the 77th Anniversary of Hans and Sophie Scholl's execution by Nazi officials on February 22, 1943. Other events will be announced as they are confirmed

Tickets to Hans & Sophie are $34, with discounts available for seniors, students, members of the theatre community, and groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, visit www.amphibianstage.com, call 817-923-3012, or email info@amphibianstage.com. The theater is located at 120 S. Main Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104.

Performances Thursday through Saturday will be at 8pm with 2pm Sunday matinees. Friday, February 7, is a private opening night for Amphibian's Devonian members and press, and is available by invitation or with the purchase of a $100 ticket. Saturday, February 8, is the members' cast party night and is available to non-members with the purchase of a $50 ticket. Pay-what-you-wish tickets are available at the door or on the phone for the final dress rehearsals on Wednesday, February 5 and Thursday, February 6. These dress rehearsals are open to the public; seating is limited.

ABOUT THE CAST & CREATIVES:

Rebekah Brockman (Sophie) NY Theater: Native Son, Measure for Measure (The Acting Company), A Taste of Honey (Pearl); The Burial at Thebes (Irish Rep). Regional: Shakespeare Theater of DC, Signature Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville, The American Conservatory Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, The Gift Theatre, Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. Film: Bridge Of Spies, The Chaperone. Television: "Divorce", "The Knick," "The Mysteries of Laura"; "The Slap," "Jessica Jones," Additional Credits: Rince na Tiarna School of Irish Dance, MFA American Conservatory Theater (Sadler Award), Connecticut Critics Circle Award-Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.

Sean Hudock (Hans/Playwright) Is an actor, producer and writer based in New York. Film & TV includes The Chaperone, Private Romeo, Comedy Central's "Alternatino with Arturo Castro." Theatre includes the world premieres of Vilna (Off Broadway) and She Calls Me Firefly (SoHo Playhouse); Sex with Strangers (Cleveland Play House; Cleveland Critics Circle nomination); nine seasons with the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ; Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Arena Stage. Producing work includes Ars Nova's Small Mouth Sounds and the creative development of new plays and musicals including Berkeley Rep's upcoming Swept Away featuring a book by John Logan and music by The Avett Brothers.

Illana Stein (Director/Playwright) is a NYC based theater director originally from Fort Worth, Texas. She is thrilled to be back directing at Amphibian for a 5th time after having directed staged readings of Two Rooms, Daedalus, Hans & Sophie, and the regional premiere of A Lost Leonardo. Off-Broadway credits include: Associate Director: Tamburlaine the Great (dir. Michael Boyd), Pericles (dir. Trevor Nunn) at Theatre for a New Audience. Regional credits: Associate Director: Fingersmith (dir. Bill Rauch) at American Repertory Theatre. Assisting credits: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre, Yale Rep, Pearl Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse and over 20 productions at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. She won an Overall Award for Excellence in directing for or what she will by Charly Evon Simpson (FringeNYC'12). Most recently she directed the tour of Julius Caesar for Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Stupid F##king Bird at NYU Tisch/Lee Strasberg. Ms. Stein is a recipient of a 2018 Drama League First Stage Residency, a member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab 2012, and a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women.

www.illanastein.com

Deborah Yarchun (Lead Playwright) is a NYC-based playwright from Austin. Her honors include two Jerome Fellowships at The Playwrights' Center, an EST/Sloan Commission, The Kennedy Center's Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, the Kernodle New Play Award, the Richard Maibaum Playwriting Award, a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, and the 2019 Women in the Arts & Media's Collaboration Award. Her play Great White was an Honorable Mention for the Relentless Award. Her work has been developed and/or produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Harmony Project, The Great Plains Theater Conference, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Martha's Vineyard Playhouse, The Playwrights' Center, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, the Minnesota Fringe, the Philadelphia Fringe, The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival, and Williams Street Rep. She was recently a member of The Civilians' R&D Group and a Playwright-in-Residence at the William Inge Center. Deborah earned her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow.

ABOUT AMPHIBIAN STAGE
Amphibian Stage Productions is a non-profit theatre company founded in 2000 by three alumni of TCU's Department of Theatre who strive to produce innovative and engaging theatre that inspires new ideas, opens new doors, and increases our understanding of the vast world around us. Now embarking on its twenty-first season, Amphibian has produced numerous groundbreaking and challenging plays (some regional premieres, others US or world premieres) that foster a deeper understanding of ourselves as members of the global community. The company is widely recognized as a place where exciting new work is developed, brought to life, and launched to other stages across the country and beyond. Committed to nurturing young and diverse audiences, Amphibian has developed a strong internship program, and a dynamic outreach project, Tad-Poles stilt-dancing classes, that is steadily increasing the company's visibility and following. Amphibian also leads a multi-faceted outreach program designed for veterans of the US armed forces. The program, called De-Cruit, includes workshops, special performances, and discounted tickets.

Photo Credit: Chris Vongsawat

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