Rough and Tumble Presents 'A History of Human Stupidity' April 8-25

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The Bay Area's award-winning Rough and Tumble proudly presents the World Premiere of A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY, the company's first commission for the stage, and second collaboration with acclaimed playwright and former Neo-Futurist Andy Bayiates (43 Plays for 43 Presidents). Rough and Tumble founding Artistic Director Cliff Mayotte helms this hilarious journey through stupid human behavior, featuring Louise Chegwidden, Eowyn Mader, Carolyn Doyle, Charisse Loriaux, and Betsy Picart, with original music composed and performed by renowned Bay Area jazz composer Phillip Greenlief. A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY plays April 8-25 (press openings: Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10) at LaVals Subterranean Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($16/20) and information, the public may call 510-499-0356 or visit www.randt.org or brownpapertickets.com.

An intellectual vaudeville in three acts and a roast, A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY is an examination of world history through the lens of helpful beliefs gone bad. You lock your keys in the car. Stupid. You forget to close the refrigerator. Stupid. This kind of stupidity is everywhere. It's probably what we most often think of when we think of "stupidity." But that's because we're stupid. Real stupidity afflicts us when we make choices based on our beliefs, when we're sure we're right, yet we're incredibly misguided. About the production, playwright Andy Bayiates says, "When we start with something massive like the most stupid moments in human history, we begin identifying with the significance of stupidity from the outside; it's the essence of comedy to laugh at someone else's pain. But history can also be a gateway to human understanding. It provides distance and hindsight. I want the audience to come to the show expecting to laugh at history, but wind up laughing and looking at themselves."

Rough and Tumble has assembled a talented ensemble of company veterans and newcomers for A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY. Company member Louise Chegwidden was last seen in Rough and Tumble's production of Candide and appeared in the company's West Coast Premiere of 43 Plays for 43 Presidents. Additional credits include productions at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, and Marin Shakespeare Company, among others.

Rough and Tumble company member Carolyn Doyle has been seen is productions at Marin Theatre Company, Encore Theatre Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Willows Theatre Company, Signal Theatre Company, Shotgun Players, and Woman's Will, among others. Also returning to Rough and Tumble is Eowyn Mader, who most recently appeared in Rough and Tumble's production of Candide. Additional credits include productions at California Shakespeare Theater, Center REP, Willows Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and San Jose Stage Company; she is a co-founder of Signal Theatre Company.

Charisse Loriaux makes her Rough and Tumble debut in A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY. Loriaux was a company member for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and has performed in productions at Aurora Theatre Company, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Teatro Vision, and Berkeley Playhouse; she was most recently seen in Shotgun Player's production The Farm. Betsy Picart makes her Bay Area theater debut in A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY. She currently tours Northern California as a performer for Educational Theatre Programs and will be featured in Berkeley Playhouse's upcoming production of Aladdin.

Director Cliff Mayotte helms A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY. Mayotte is the founding Artistic Director of Rough and Tumble, where he helmed the company's West Coast Premiere of 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, the Bay Area Premiere of My Uncle Sam, and acclaimed productions of Voltaire's Candide, Macbett, Johnny Lonely's Unhappy Hour, Tom Jones, and The Misanthrope. Additional regional directing credits include the World Premiere of The Wave by Ron Jones at The Marsh, The Caucasian Chalk Circle for Shotgun Players, the World Premiere of Dorothy Bryant's Posing for Gauguin, and the critically acclaimed revival of Eugene Ionesco's The Chairs at Aurora Theatre Company. Mayotte has also staged productions for Marin Shakespeare Company, Signal Theatre Company, Exit Theatre, Playground, DEO Ireland, and touring productions for Berkeley Repertory Theatre; his work has garnered Dean Goodman Choice Awards and awards from The Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Drama-Logue, BackStage West, and SF Weekly.

Playwright Andy Bayiates is a Chicago-based playwright and Neo-Futurist alumnus (1999-2005). He wrote and performed in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind and was founding father and co-writer of 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, which was produced by Dad's Garage (where former President Jimmy Carter attended a performance) and the Actor's Theatre of Louisville, in addition to receiving its West Coast Premiere in the Bay Area at Rough and Tumble. Bayiates' A 60-Minute History of Humankind (2003) appeared on the NBC reality TV show Starting Over and was the foundation for A HISTORY OF HUMAN STUPIDITY. Bayiates contributes material weekly to the radio show (and podcast) Insects & Robots, and is currently collaborating with composer Jonathan Mastro on his first musical, Self-Doubt: The Musical.

Since his emergence on the West Coast in the late 1970's, acclaimed saxophonist and composer Phillip Greenlief has achieved international critical acclaim for his recordings and performances with musicians and composers in the post-jazz continuum. He has performed at the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, the 1st Annual John Coltrane Festival in Los Angeles, the Olympia Experimental Music Festival, the Biennale in Venice, Italy, and the International Festival of Arts in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition to a busy performing and recording schedule, Greenlief teaches at the Oakland School for the Arts, the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, and is Director of Music at San Francisco's Waldorf High School. He is the founder of Evander Music, a record company collective based in Oakland, CA. He has worked with Rough and Tumble on various projects since the mid 1990's and garnered a 2000 San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award.

A company of artists dedicated to the performance and preservation of comedy from ancient times to the present, Rough and Tumble explores serious issues using comedy and satire as a method of delivery. Rough and Tumble aims to expose folly and provide its audience with professionally-produced comedy executed with precision, grace, and plenty of nerve.

 

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