Van Quattro to Lead Amphibian Stage's SMART PRETTY FUNNY

Amphibian Stage Productions has announced the final cast member for its fourth main stage play of the 2016 season, Smart Pretty Funny by Kathleen Culebro. Starring Gretchen Corbett, Van Quattro, Vanessa DeSilvio, Ivan Jasso, and Anastasia Muñoz, the play will run Thursday, October 20 through Sunday, November 13 at the Berlene T. and Jarrell R. Milburn Theatre at Amphibian Stage Productions.

Mr. Quattro is best known for his roles in Hollywood films Fight Club (1999) and End of Days (1999). After a ten-year acting hiatus, he returned to acting on the theater stage and has performed at WaterTower Theatre, Second Thought Theatre, and Theatre Three. Ms. Corbett is best known for playing Beth Davenport on the television series The Rockford Files, and she also directed Not Medea for Amphibian's 2015 season. Mr. Jasso previously played Sancho Panza in The Quixotic Days and Errant Nights of the Knight Errant Don Quixote, and both Ms. DeSilvio and Ms. Muñoz will be making their Amphibian debuts.

Joel Burns will be making a cameo appearance. Mr. Burns is a former member of the Fort Worth City Council (2008-2014) and a respected advocate in the LGBT community who played an active role in Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign.

"What a thrill it is to see my work come alive through this incredible cast and creative team," said Kathleen Culebro, Smart Pretty Funny playwright and Amphibian Stage Productions artistic director.

"This script calls for a strong ensemble of actors who can play beautifully flawed people trying to navigate some emotionally challenging situations. In a digital era where we are all seemingly super-connected, the characters find themselves isolated and lonely, grasping for human connection," added Ms. Culebro.

Lisa Devine will direct, having previously directed Lebensraum for Amphibian. Additionally, Smart Pretty Funny will feature scenic design by Bob Lavallee, lighting design by Andrew Garvis, sound design by David Lanza, and special effects by Scott Zenreich.

People say that there is someone for everyone, but when fate sends a letter to every person on Earth revealing their one true love, Meg is left alone without a match. Confused and hurt while her boyfriend flies across the world to meet his new love, she turns to her family and finds that she may just be better off without a soul mate. Smart Pretty Funny is a provocative and captivating comedy about love, loneliness, motherhood, and the idea that life never turns out the way you planned.
Tickets to Smart Pretty Funny are $33, with additional discounts available for seniors, students, members of the theatre community, and groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, theatergoers may call 817-923-3012, write to boxoffice@amphibianstage.com, or visit www.amphibianstage.com. The theater is located at 120 S. Main Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104.

Smart Pretty Funny opens Thursday, October 20 and will play through Sunday, November 13 at Amphibian Stage Productions' Milburn Theatre. Performances Thursday through Saturday will be at 8pm with 2pm Sunday matinees. Thursday, October 20 is a private opening night for Amphibian's Devonian members and press and is available by invitation only. Limited seating for the final dress rehearsal will be available on Wednesday, October 19. The final dress rehearsal is open to the public and seating will be first come, first served.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kathleen Culebro (Playwright) - Kathleen Culebro is the Founding Artistic Director of Amphibian Stage Productions. Since 2000 she has produced over 50 plays in Fort Worth and New York - most world, US, or regional premieres. Kathleen is the author of La Llorona, which premiered off-Broadway at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row in a production by Stageplays Theatre Company in 2007. A Leopard Complains of Its Spots premiered at the Pantheon Theatre on 42nd Street in New York in 2001. Other work includes Just Because You're Paranoid Doesn't Mean They're Not Out to Get You and Vincent. Kathleen has taught Screenwriting at Texas Christian University.

Lisa Devine (Director) - Lisa Devine is a Founding Member and Artistic Advisor for Theatre East, for which she has directed two productions, Eye of God and Devil and the Deep. Other highlights of her directing career include directing John Cullum and Lou Diamond Phillips, being mentored by Tony Award-winning Producer Max Weitzenhoffer, working with playwrights Steven Dietz and Stephen Massicotte, and modernizing a musical in conjunction with the Richard Rogers Estate. Lisa has been an Associate Artistic Director, vocal coach, script doctor, professor, corporate communication specialist and conflict negotiator.

Gretchen Corbett (Alicia) - Gretchen Corbett played the role of Beth Davenport on the television series The Rockford Files. She has also appeared in the cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death and as a recurring character on the IFC series Portlandia. Her stage work includes After the Rain (Broadway), Forty Carats (Broadway), Shakespeare's Henry VI (New York Shakespeare Festival), Shaw's Arms and the Man (The Sheridan Square), Iphigeneia at Aulis (Circle in the Square), as well as roles with the Long Wharf Theatre, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Eugene O'Neill Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and the Repertory Theatre of New Orleans.

Van Quattro (Teddy) - A native of California, Van Quattro has performed in many Los Angeles Theater Productions and has made television guest star appearances on Picket Fences, Millennium, L.A. Doctors, and Chicago Hope. Since moving to North Texas 15 years ago, his Dallas stage credits include Theater Three: Superior Donuts; WaterTower Theater: Grapes of Wrath and Tom Sawyer; Level Ground Arts: Requiem for a Heavyweight; Dallas Theatre Center: To Kill a Mockingbird; Second Thought Theater: Behanding in Spokane. In 2015, he appeared in WaterTower's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival in Standing 8 Count, a solo show he wrote and acted in, which was named best new play of the year by the DFW theater critics and was recently featured in New York's United Solo Theatre Festival. Mr. Quattro has also appeared in many films including Fight Club, The Object, End of Days, and The Big Thing.

Vanessa DeSilvio (Meg) - Dallas credits include Dallas Theater Center: Sense and Sensibility, A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman; Dallas Children's Theater: Mariachi Girl; Undermain Theatre: Tomorrow Come Today; Shakespeare Dallas: The Winter's Tale, Coriolanus, Cyrano de Bergerac; Kitchen Dog Theater: Se Llama Cristina; Cara Mia Theater Company: Milagritos. Television: Queen of the South, American Crime, From Dusk Till Dawn TV Series. Voice Over credits include radio spots, audiobooks, FUNimation, and IStation in English and Spanish. Education: MFA in Acting from SMU.

Ivan Jasso (David) - Ivan Jasso is a Resident Artistic Ensemble Member of Cara Mia Theatre Company and has appeared in several Cara Mia shows, the most recent being Deferred Action, a collaboration with Dallas Theater Center. He has also worked with several other theater companies in the DFW area, including Shakespeare Dallas, Undermain Theatre, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Uptown Players, Garland Summer Musicals, The Ochre House Theatre, Dallas Children's Theatre, and Contemporary Theatre of Dallas. Also a camera actor, Mr.Jasso is signed with the Mary Collins Agency and has done work for companies like Chilis, Chuck E Cheese, 7-11, Wing Street, JC Penney, AT&T, and recently Baylor Health Systems.

Anastasia Muñoz (Sophia) - Anastasia Muñoz has had the honor to act with the Dallas Theater Center, Casa Mañana, Stage West, Shakespeare Dallas, Undermain Theatre, Dallas Children's Theater, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Theatre 3, Second Thought Theatre, and The Ochre House. She is a voice actor for Funimation Entertainment. Ms. Muñoz is a Dallas native and received a BA in the Theatre Arts from the University of Alabama.

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 inspire new ideas, opens new doors, and increases our understanding of the vast world around us. Now in its seventeenth season, Amphibian has produced numerous groundbreaking and challenging plays (some regional premieres, others U.S. 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 American Theatre Wing, Amon G. Carter Amphibian is generously funded by the American Theatre Wing, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Ann L. and Carol Greene Rhodes Charitable Trust, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Fifth Avenue Foundation, Mary Potishman Lard Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Pangburn Foundation, Pier 1 imports, Thomas M., Helen McKee & John P. Ryan Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust, Wells Fargo Bank, William E. Scott Foundation, North Texas Giving Day 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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