Stark Naked Theatre Presents BODY AWARENESS, 10/25-11/10

Stark Naked Theatre Company opens its 2nd season with the Houston premiere of Body Awareness, a relevant and thought-provoking comedy written by two-time Obie Award-winning author Annie Baker and directed by acclaimed Houston actor/director Philip Lehl. Nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play/Emerging Playwright), Body Awareness explores the question of who is the toughest critic of a woman's appearance: men, society, or women, themselves?

Previewing October 25th, opening October 26th and running until November 10th, performances will be held Thursdays through Sundays (with a special "Pay What You Can" performance on November 5th) at STUDIO 101 located at Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring St. in Houston, Texas.

Set in a college town in Vermont, the play centers on Joyce and Phyllis, two women struggling to raise a son who may, or may not, have Asperger's Syndrome. The tension and ensuing fallout created by a houseguest (whose nude photos of women feature prominently in a "Body Awareness" symposium organized by Phyllis) expose the characters' insecurities and insensibilities, with potentially heartbreaking results. Under Lehl's direction, Stark Naked Theatre's production of Body Awareness features a talented ensemble cast comprised of Kim Tobin, Pamela Vogel, Drake Simpson, and Matt Lents. The play re-unites Lehl, Tobin and Simpson, who most recently appeared onstage together under the direction of Kevin Holden in Stark Naked's most recent offering, Dinner with Friends.

Body Awareness was the first play written by critically acclaimed and award-winning playwright Annie Baker, who burst onto the New York theatre scene in 2008 with the Atlantic Theatre Company's production of the play. Immediately hailed by the New York Times as "an engaging new comedy," Body Awareness was aptly described by Time Out New York as a play about "ordinary, flawed people, grasping for connection, but none of it feels small, thanks to Baker's sharp ear for the deeply painful and funny longings squirming under her characters' dialogue." In addition to Body Awareness, Baker's other full-length plays include: the highly acclaimed Circle Mirror Transformation (which received a Drama Desk nomination for Best play and won three Obie Awards, including Best New American Play), The Aliens (which also won the Obie Award for Best New American Play), and the world premiere of her adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, which performed to rave reviews and capacity crowds this summer at Soho Rep in New York City.

To further explore the highly relevant themes of Baker's first play, Stark Naked Theatre Company is proud to sponsor the Body Awareness art exhibition which combines live theatre with an equally powerful visual arts experience. Marking an exciting collaboration with talented local visual artists, and developed in coordination with award-winning Houston-based artist Dianne Webb (who also serves as Stark Naked's in-house Art Coordinator), the exhibit will be available for viewing one hour in advance of each performance show time (with admission complimentary for all theatre ticket holders). From abstract to representational--and featuring photography, watercolors and many other media--this thought-provoking exhibit presents the featured artists' vision, concept, and interpretation of the female form.

The Houston premiere of Annie Baker's Body Awareness, presented by Stark Naked Theatre Company and directed by Philip Lehl, begins with a preview on October 25th and opens on October 26th. Performances will be held through November 10th at STUDIO 101, Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring St., Houston, Texas. The corresponding Body Awareness art exhibit is available for viewing one hour in advance of each performance. Regular show times are as follows: Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, and a special "Pay What You Can" performance scheduled on Monday, November 5th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets (priced at $20 for general admission, $17 for seniors and $10 for students) are available for purchase at www.starknakedtheatre.com or by phone at 832.866.6514. For group sales and special pricing, call 832.265.5931.

Cast and Creative Team of Body Awareness, as presented by Stark Naked Theatre Company: Annie Baker (Playwright) is an Obie Award-winning playwright and teacher. Her full-length plays include Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Aliens (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Obie Award for Best New American Play), Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play/Emerging Playwright), a modern adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (world premiere at Soho Rep, June 2012) and The Flick (upcoming at Playwrights Horizons in 2013). Her plays have been produced regionally at South Coast Rep, the Guthrie, Victory Gardens, Artists Rep, Huntington Theater Company, Seattle Rep, Studio Theatre in DC, Hyde Park Theatre, Kansas City Rep, the San Francisco Playhouse, and over 100 other theaters in the U.S. and abroad. Recent honors include a residency at the Signature Theatre, a United States Artists Fellowship, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, a Lilly Award, a Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship, and a Master Artist Residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. An anthology of her work entitled The Vermont Plays, was published by the Theatre Communications Group in May 2012.

Kim Tobin (Joyce) is co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Stark Naked Theatre Company. A Houston native, Kim studied acting and directing at the University of Houston and, in addition to appearing in numerous regional productions, she won the "Actress Excellence" award at the Texas College Play Festival for her portrayal of Sarah in Children of a Lesser God. After relocating to New York, Kim became an officer with the New Mercury Theatre Company, where (among other roles), she produced and starred (as Sally) in the 1995 revival of Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind. Kim later became the Artistic Director of the Blue Sphere East theatre company (the New York sister company to the acclaimed Blue Sphere ALLIANCE THEATRE company based in Los Angeles). Her favorite Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway credits include: Talk to Me Like the Rain…, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Fifth of July, Fool for Love, Savage in Limbo, The Smell of the Crowd, Bed, Bawd & Beyond, Impassioned Embraces (Emotional Recall), Ctrl, Alt, Delete and Trust and most recently, the Barrow Group's production Short Stuff Two and their production of her original One Woman Show, Inside Out. Kim spent over three years in Los Angeles studying with SAndy Marshall and Larry Moss, and highlights of her LA theatre productions include: the world premiere of Children of Shame, The Interrogation, Masseur, Baby with the Bathwater, Check to Check, and The Foreigner. Kim's film credits include roles in The Big Lebowski, The Alarmist, and Sex Maniac, as well as the television series Sunset Beach. In addition to her extensive body of work, Kim is a highly sought-after acting teacher, and her studio (based on the teaching principles of Stanislavski, Adler, Meisner and Strasberg) offers an array of courses (from beginner to advanced levels) in acting technique, improvisation, script analysis and scene study. More details about Kim's background and her current class offerings can be found at her studio website: www.kimtobinactingstudio.com.

Pamela Vogel (Phyllis) makes her debut with Stark Naked Theatre Company in Body Awareness. Local credits include: In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play and Southern Rapture at Stages Repertory Theatre; Tartuffe and The Triumph of Love (where she was named by the Houston Press as a Best Supporting Actress Finalist) for the Classical Theatre Company; Othello and The Taming of the Shrew for the Houston Shakespeare Festival; Charley's Aunt at Unity Theatre; and Wit at the Texas Repertory Theatre. Chicago area credits include productions for Big Game Theatre, Barto Productions, Famous Door Theatre, and the Court Theatre. Regional credits include numerous productions at the Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Utah Shakespeare Festivals as well as the American Players Theatre. Pamela received a BFA from Boston University, an MFA from the University of South Carolina, and is currently an adjunct instructor at Sam Houston State University, where she teaches courses in Acting and Theatre Appreciation. Forthcoming productions include the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter to be staged by the Texas Repertory Theatre in January 2013.

Drake Simpson (Frank) is happy to be returning to Stark Naked Theatre, following his debut with the company in last season's hit Dinner With Friends. Among Drake's favorite acting credits are roles in Red Light Winter, Fault Lines, and Among The Thugs with Horse Head Theatre (where he is a founding member, director, and actor) as well as numerous other Houston-area productions, highlights of which include: The Laramie Project, Shakespeare's R&J, and Heart of A Woman at Stages Repertory Theatre; Paradise Hotel, Tamalalia 2000 and Roberto Zucco with Infernal Bridegroom Productions/Catastrophic Theatre; Atomic Café's The Man Who Had Three Arms and This Is Our Youth; Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Houston Shakespeare Festival; and the Landing Theatre Company's riveting production of American Buffalo. Drake's Los Angeles theatre credits include productions for TheatreTribe (Recent Tragic Events and Baby Dance), The 49th Parallel (Zastrozzi) and The Hudson Theatre (Kith and Kin). Film/Television roles include ABC's Notes From the Underbelly, Todd's Coma/Happy Madison Productions, Canooks/Those Damn Canadians and the independent films The Riot Act, Dirty Mary, Worms, and Palps.

Matt Lents (Jared) makes his Stark Naked Theatre Company debut in Body Awareness. A graduate of the SUNY-Purchase Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film (where he received a BFA in Acting), Matt's theatre credits include the role of Marchbanks in Candida, with Houston's Classical Theatre Company, as well as numerous productions in New York, including: The Arden Project with Old Vic New Voices, The Comedie of Errors with New Lions Productions, and Pixies at the McCarter Theatre. Matt's Los Angeles theatre productions include: Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar with the Downtown Repertory Theatre, and Food for the Dead at Casa0101. His most recent film credits include I Snatched Andy Warhol and Blood Junkies. More information on Matt can be found at his website, www.mattlents.com.

Philip Lehl (Director) is a Houston-based actor, director, and teacher. Co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Stark Naked Theatre Company, Philip has appeared in the company's productions of Dinner With Friends and Debt Collectors. As a director, Philip's productions include: Almost, Maine and Reckless (with Brave Dog Theatre), Art (at Generations), Ferdinand the Bull (at Stages Repertory Theatre), On the Town (co-director, Bayou City Concert Musicals) and Debt Collectors (co-director, Stark Naked Theatre Company). On Broadway, Philip's acting credits include roles in Blood Brothers and The Kentucky Cycle, the Off-Broadway production of Hundreds of Hats as well as the first National Tour of Titanic, the Musical. Since arriving in Texas in 2001, Philip has been a mainstay of the Houston theatre scene, and his extensive list of credits includes: Oh, the Humanity, Yankee Tavern, I Am My Own Wife, Mr. Marmalade, Lady, Souvenir, Amy's View, The Pavilion, and Dirty Blonde with Stages Repertory Theatre; over thirty productions (and former resident company member) with the Alley Theatre, including: The Pillowman, The Farnsworth Invention, Eurydice, The Crucible, The Exonerated, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Mousetrap, Hamlet and The Invention of Love; Main Street Theatre's Arcadia; as well as King John, Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost, Julius Caesar, and Cymbeline with the Houston Shakespeare Festival. As a current member of the Classical Theatre Company's resident Acting Company, Philip has appeared in productions of Ghosts, The Tempest, and Uncle Vanya. With Theatre-Under-The-Stars (TUTS), Philip has appeared in A Wonderful Life, The Sound of Music, and one memorable performance as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. Other productions include: Our Town, Bat Boy, and Spring Awakening with Generations; Turn of the Screw at Unity Theatre, as well as several productions with the Bayou City Concert Musicals (BCCM), including: On the Town, Fiorello, Assassins, and She Loves Me. Philip has worked with numerous regional theatres throughout the country, including: St. Louis Repertory, Cleveland Play House, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Portland Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The New Harmony Theatre and Weston Playhouse. Film and Television credits include Tripwire, The Nanny, Martial Law and Hollywood Off-Ramp. Philip graduated from the Drama Division of the Juilliard School and Drake University, and trained with The National Theatre Institute as well as the Moscow Art Theatre School.

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