O.C. Premiere Of Sharr White's THE OTHER PLACE Begins Today

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is excited to announce the fifth show in its 20th Anniversary Season ... The Other Place. Written by Sharr White and directed by Matthew McCray, The Other Place will preview from September 21 through September 28; regular performances will begin September 29 and continue through October 21 at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage.

The Other Place focuses on Juliana Smithton, a respected neurologist whose life has recently begun unraveling. Her husband is leaving her, her daughter has eloped with a much older man and even she's beginning to question her own good health. A compelling and acclaimed drama in which nothing is quite what it seems, The Other Place is an intimate mystery that blurs fact with fiction, past with present, and Juliana's perception with ever-elusive truth. An elaborately crafted theatrical work, this Outer Critics Circle Award nominee will likely keep you talking long after the curtain has closed.

The Other Place premiered Off-Broadway in 2011 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The production was directed by Joe Mantello, and starred Laurie Metcalf. It was nominated for two Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and Outstanding Lead Actress), three Lucille Lortel Awards (Director, Lead Actress, Sound Design), and Metcalf received the Obie and Lucille Lortel Award for her performance. Mantello and Metcalf would join up again when The Other Place premiered on Broadway in 2013 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to continued critical praise. Metcalf was nominated again for her performance, this time for the Tony Award.

We are excited to include this script in our 20th Anniversary Season because of the unique structure that Sharr White uses to tell the story. This is the Chance's "Season in Search of Truth" and The Other Place is a story very much looking for the same thing. However, the obstacle is the narrator herself, who is one of the smartest people on Earth... but now has reason to doubt what she thinks she knows. The narrative structure allows the audience to uncover the truth at the same time as the narrator, bringing us along for the ride, and thereby creating a more immersive (and intense) theatrical experience.

"The play is a real ride," said Founding Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. "It's the kind of play where the less you know about it, the better. It's a mystery, a puzzle, that the audience is putting together along with the main character- Juliana, who asserts herself as the funniest and smartest person in the world. It's her story, and Sharr's non-linear approach to her ultimate revelations uncovers one surprising layer after another."

MEET THE TEAM

Sharr White (Playwright) White's plays have been developed or produced at theatres across the country, including MCC Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Marin Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab, Key West Theatre Festival, and more. He has been honored with a Dr. Henry and Lillian Nesburn Award as part of the Julie Harris Award in Playwriting (The Escape Velocity of Savages); a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (Six Years); and the 2009 Skye Cooper New American Play Prize (Sunlight). The Other Place received the 2010 Playwrights First Award, the 2011 Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation's Theatre Visions Fund Award, and was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

Matthew McCray (Director) has directed productions and workshops at Center Theatre Group, StudioSCR at South Coast Repertory, the LA Philharmonic at Disney Concert Hall, Deaf West Theatre, Theatre @ Boston Court, REDCAT, Circle X, Son of Semele, Moving Arts, Rogue Machine, among others. As the Founding Artistic Director of Son of Semele Ensemble, he has produced 17 seasons of theatre in Los Angeles. Directing awards have included recognition from the LA Drama Critics Circle and the Sage Awards, as well as nominations from the Ovation Awards and LA Weekly Awards. As a performer, credits include REDCAT, Disney, REPRISE!, Overtone Industries, Theatre @ Boston Court, Musical Theatre West, Shakespeare Orange County, as well as on the TV shows Parenthood, New Girl, Will & Grace, Boston Legal, and the feature The Commission (w/ Martin Sheen). Executive Officer, Theatrical Producers League of Los Angeles. Ovation Voter since 2008. BFA, Chapman University. Member: SDC, AEA & SAG/AFTRA. TWITTER: @matthewmccray WEB: www.matthewmccray.com

In addition to McCray, the production team for The Other Place includes scenic designer Megan Hill (James and The Giant Peach), lighting designer Alexander Freer, sound designer Cricket S. Myers (Tony nominee for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), costume designer Kathryn Wilson, and stage manager Bebe Herrera (The Secret Garden).

Guy W. Marr is the Executive Producer. Bette & Wylie Aitken are the Season Producers for the entire 2018 schedule.

ABOUT CHANCE THEATER

Proud to be one of the leading ensemble-driven theatre companies in Southern California, CHANCE THEATER recently received a National Theatre Company grant from American Theatre Wing. The Chance has won six Ovation Awards, including two for Best Production of a Musical - Intimate Theater for its West Coast premiere of Triassic Parq - The Musical and Southern California premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera, as well as four LADCC Awards, including the Polly Warfield Award for Outstanding Season. The Anaheim City Council named Chance Theater "the official resident theater company of Anaheim", and Arts Orange County has twice named the Chance as "Outstanding Arts Organization". Known for using bold and personal storytelling to promote dialogue and connection within the Southern California theatrical landscape, the Chance is committed to contributing to a more compassionate, connected and creative community. As a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Arts Orange County, Anaheim Arts Council, and LA Stage Alliance, Chance Theater continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scenes.

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