Catastrophic Theatre to Present 'EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT'

16-year-old Charlotte's beautiful mother is dead. Turning to the story of Helen of Troy for comfort, Charlotte becomes convinced that beauty, fame, and the desire of others can help reconcile her with her mother's memory and punish the world that took her away in the first place. Getting beauty tips from her popular friend, seeking career advice on how to be a porn star from her guidance counselor, and searching for love from the football jock that barely even knows she exists, Charlotte searches in fantasy for what she cannot find in reality-destroying the life of the only friend she may have had in the process. But in the depths of pain, she comes to discover an unexpected grace.

Winner of the both the 2005 Newsday Oppenheimer Award and the 2006 Kesselring Prize, Mark Schultz's Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy opens at The Catastrophic Theatre November 13th and runs through December 5th.

Mark Schultz has become an increasingly important voice in the American Theatre, praised by the New York Times as "a sensitive, ambitious writer." Everything Will Be Different will be his second work staged by The Catastrophic Theatre this season, following the world premiere production of The Blackest Shore. Those who are familiar with his work will immediately recognize his hallmark wit, understanding of human truths, and brutal humor in examining the difficulties of teenagers as they carve out a place in the wider world around them. Variety praised Everything Will Be Different as a work "that's all the more satisfying for being so dangerously funny."

Inspired by Euripides but with its sights set firmly on contemporary America, Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy is a biting and unsettling examination of complacency culture and the politics of beauty.

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This production introduces Clarity Welch (as Charlotte), Christina Kelly (as Heather), and Dayne Lathrop (as Freddie) to Catastrophic audiences. Catastrophic veterans Noel Bowers (as Gary), Jeff Miller (as Harry), and Mateo Mpinduzi-Mott (as Franklin) round out the cast. Following on the heels of his directorial debut with Catastrophic's hit production of Will Eno's Middletown, the play is directed by Kyle Sturdivant.

Set design is by Kevin Holden. Video and sound design is by Tim Thomson, with costumes by Macy Lyne, lighting by Dustin Tannahill, and props by Tina Montgomery. Abraham Zapata is stage manager and is assisted by Andrea Huang. Drew Hoovler is the master builder..

About The Playwright

Mark Schultz's plays include The Gingerbread House (the stageFARM); Deathbed (Apparition Productions);Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Soho Rep/True Love Productions) for which he won the 2005 Oppenheimer Award and the 2006 Kesselring Prize; Polar Bear (commissioned and produced by Birmingham Rep, UK); Ceremony (Rising Phoenix Rep); Gift (Rising Phoenix Rep/NY Fringe Festival); and various One Acts. Everything Will Be Different was produced by the Actors Touring Company with Theatre Royal Plymouth under the title A Brief History of Helen of Troy at the Soho Theatre in London after a UK tour. Other plays include The Blackest Shore (which enjoyed its world premiere at Catastrophic earlier this year), Magic Kingdom, and Brightness. He has received a Sloan Commission from MTC, as well as commissions from Playwrights Horizons and The Exchange. He was selected for a 2006 Royal Court Residency. He is a member of New Dramatists and Rising Phoenix Rep and is coordinator of MCC Theater's Playwrights' Coalition. He holds an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University.

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Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy includes adult language and subject matter and may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

For more information, please call 713-522-2723, or visit Catastrophic's website athttp://catastrophictheatre.com/.

Tickets to all performances are Pay-What-You-Can.

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