Playwright John Kolvenbach Attends World Premiere of His Play BANK JOB at Amphibian Stage Productions Tonight

Amphibian Stage Productions (Kathleen Culebro, Artistic Director) opens its first main stage production of the 2014 season, Bank Job, a world premiere by award-winning playwright John Kolvenbach. Leicester Landon, Alexandra Lawrence, Michael Muller, William Earl Ray, and Marshall York will star in this comedy, running tonight, February 13 through Sunday, March 2 at Amphibian's theater at 120 S. Main Street. Jessica Bauman will direct the production.

Michael Muller last appeared on Amphibian's stage in the 2013 staged reading of On the Ceiling by Nigel Planer. William Earl Ray was featured in Amphibian's 2008 staged reading of First Person Shooter by Aaron Loeb. Marshall York was last seen in Amphibian's production of Animals Out of Paper by Rajiv Joseph. Leicester Landon and Alexandra Lawrence will make their Amphibian debut in this production.

Additionally, Bank Job will feature set design by Bob Lavallee, lighting design by Adam Chamberlin, sound design by David Lanza, costume design by Kathleen Anderson Culebro, and props design by Megan Beddingfield.

About the Play: Just one simple bank job. How hard can it be? For two brothers new to the armed robbery industry, it turns out it's a lot more difficult than it appears in the movies. When plans A and B (and C through F) fail, Tracey and Russell find themselves locked in the bank bathroom with no choice but to depend on a brave bank teller, an unsuspecting cop, and the man who put them up to the whole thing. Bank Job is a quirky comedy about the holes we dig ourselves into and the people we trust to help us out.

Bank Job will run from Thursday, February 13 through Sunday, March 2 in Amphibian Stage Productions' Milburn Theatre. Thursday, February 13 is a private opening night for Amphibian's Devonian members and press and is available by invitation only. A "pay-what-you-can" final dress rehearsal will be available on Wednesday, February 12 that is open to the public.

Tickets for Bank Job are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $15 for students. Group discounts are also available for parties of six or more. For tickets and more information, theatergoers may call 817-923-3012, email boxoffice@amphibianproductions.org, or visit www.amphibianproductions.org. The theater is located at 120 S. Main Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76104.

About the Cast and Crew:

John Kolvenbach (playwright) is the author of Goldfish, Mrs. Whitney, Love Song, on an average day, Gizmo Love, Fabuloso and Marriage Play (or Half 'n Half 'n Half) which premiered in 2012 at Merrimack Repertory. Goldfish premiered at South Coast Repertory in the Spring of 2009, directed by Loretta Greco. Goldfish was then produced at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco in the Fall of that year. The Magic also premiered Mrs. Whitney in the Fall of 2009, under Kolvenbach's direction. Love Song premiered at Steppenwolf in Chicago in the spring of 2006, directed by Austin Pendelton. Love Song went on to the West End, where it was nominated for an Olivier Award, best new comedy. The London production was directed by John Crowley, with Neve Campbell, Cillian Murphy, Kristen Johnston and Michael McKean. Love Song has been produced in Zurich, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Seoul and Rome. There have been over fifty productions in the US. on an average day premiered at the Comedy Theatre on the West End in 2002, with Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan, also directed by Mr. Crowley. Average Day has been produced in Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Lisbon among many other places. Fabuloso premiered at the Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre in 2008, directed by Mr. Kolvenbach. Fabuloso was staged in San Juan and Zurich, in Spanish and Swiss German, respectively. Kolvenbach's plays are published by Methuen and licensed by DPS. Kolvenbach's first screenplay, Clear Winter Noon was selected for the Black List in 2008.

Jessica Bauman (director) recently directed the New York Off-Broadway premiere of The Last Seder by Jennifer Maisel. Other recent projects include a workshop of Flight by Patrick Gabridge at the Huntington Theater in Boston and Taming of the Shrew at Juilliard. Making Up the Truth, the solo performance she developed and directed, written and performed by This American Life journalist Jack Hitt, premiered at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven in June 2011 and has subsequently been seen in the 2012 Spoleto Festival and at Joe's Pub. She has been collaborating with e-book publisher The New Book Press to create a revolutionary new way of reading Shakespeare, blending video and text in electronic books for the iPad. For that project, she directed video versions of the complete texts of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth (both currently available on iTunes). She is the founder and Artistic Director of New Feet Productions, for which she directed and produced Into the Hazard (Henry 5), her own six actor adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V, All Day Suckers by Susan Dworkin and Milk by Emily DeVoti (co-produced with New Georges) and, most recently, the world premiere of Leave the Balcony Open by Maya Macdonald. She has been an Artist-in- Residence at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, a Drama League Directors Project fellow, and is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, a NYTW Usual Suspect and New Georges Affiliated Artist. She is a graduate of Yale College.

Leicester Landon (Russell) makes his debut performance at Amphibian Stage Productions. Other credits include Theater For the New City: Ugly Is A Hard Pill (Demon); Trinity Rep: A Christmas Carol (Fred); Chautauqua Theater Company: As You Like It (Orlando); Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep: Melena (Labo); Strong Coffee: As You Like It (Charles/Corin); Southern Rep: The Goat (Billy). Film: Shooting Gallery (Janna), National Lampoon's Snatched! (Nurse Carl). Leicester received his MFA from Brown University/Trinity Rep and is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

Alexandra Lawrence (Jill) is thrilled to be making her Dallas/Fort Worth debut at Amphibian Stage Productions in this world premiere. She also originated roles in Rachel Caris Love's Timeshare and Emily Young's Melena - both new plays developed during the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep Festival of 2012 and 2013, respectively. Other professional credits include Steel Magnolias at Trinity Rep and The Tenant at Theatre for the New City in New York City. She holds her B.A. from Trinity College (International Relations/Hispanic Studies) and her M.F.A. from the Brown University/Trinity Rep M.F.A. Acting Program.

Michael Muller (Francis) has been seen in the Amphibian productions of Below the Belt and A Buyer's Market, and the staged readings of On the Ceiling and Eyes Forward. Other credits include Circle Theatre: Songs for an Old Century (Sam Water), The Play's the Thing (Turai); Stage West: Quills (Royer-Collard), Ion (Xuthus), Canterbury Tales (The Miller), Candida (Morell); Shakespeare in the Park: Midsummer Night's Dream (Bottom), King Lear (Gloucester), Twlefth Night (Toby Belch), Henry V (Exeter), The Tempest (Caliban), Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (Falstaff), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Falstaff); Kids Who Care: A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), Peter Pan (Captain Hook), Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion). Film/Television: Benji Call Home, Angel Alley, Friendly Persuasion, True Stories.

William Earl Ray (Dale) makes his main stage debut at Amphibian Stage Productions. Other credits include Circle Theatre: Whipping Man (Simon) AART: Master Harold and the Boys (Sam), A Soldiers Play; Jubilee Theatre: Blues for an Alabama Sky (Sam); Stage West: Two Trains Running (Memphis Lee), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Herald Loomis); Artist Repertory Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun (Walter Lee); Zach Scott Theatre: The Gospel at Colonus (Preacher Oedipus), Misery (Paul); Portland Repertory Theatre: Cobb (Oscar Charleston), Miss Evers Boys (Caleb); Spokane Inter-players: Orphans (Harold); New City Theatre: Audience, (Brew Master); Temple Civic Theatre: Driving Miss Daisy (Hoke); Portland Center Stage: Fences (Troy); Second Thought Theatre: The Sunset Limited (Black); Workhouse Theatre (NY) Hospitality (Fuller); Dallas Theatre Center: Dirty Work (Braiden Chaney), Broken Morning (Paul). Film/Television: The Gas Café', Cadillac Ranch, The Temp, Dr. Giggles, The Tuskegee Airmen, Terror in the Towers, Better Off Dead, No Where Man, Dallas The Reunion, Walker Texas Ranger. William received his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen Stage College and is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

Marshall York (Tracey) was previously seen in First Day of School (Peter) and Animals Out of Paper (Andy) at Amphibian Stage Productions. Other credits include The Depot Theater: Boeing, Boeing (Bernard), Living Together (Reg), Round and Round the Garden (Reg), Off The Map (William Gibbs), The Memory of Water (Mike); Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater: The Ding Dongs (Redelmo). Off-Broadway: Perfect Harmony (Phillip Fellows); Flea Theater: Kaspar Hauser (Stanhope); PS122: RADIOPLAY (Various). Marshall received his MFA from Actors Studio Drama School and has trained with The Peoples Improv Theater. Marshall is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

About Amphibian Stage Productions: 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 works of theatre that challenge the way we see the world around us. Now in its fifteenth 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 for its stylistically and thematically varied scripts.

Committed to nurturing young and diverse audiences, Amphibian has developed a strong internship program, a summer acting workshop for teens, and a dynamic outreach project, Tad-Poles, that is steadily increasing the company's visibility and following. The group travels to schools and community centers, performing and spreading a message of multicultural collaboration and tolerance.

Amphibian is generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Ann L. & Carol Greene Rhodes Charitable Trust, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, The Ryan Foundation, Alcon Foundation, Pangburn Foundation, William E. Scott Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, Berlene T. and Jarrell R. Milburn, Mrs. Betty J. Sanders, Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust, Out of Nowhere Website Design, Bates Container, Pier 1 Imports, Target and the Devonian Society, a group of Amphibian's devoted donors who are proud to be the force behind nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences.

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