Rubicon Theatre Company Presents THE OTHER MOZART

The name Nannerl Mozart has been a footnote in classical music history, but Sylvia Milo's award-winning play THE OTHER MOZART reveals the extraordinary talents and rich inner life of Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart's sister, whose artistry was stifled and whose compositions were ultimately lost to the world because of her gender. Previews begin May 31 for Rubicon Theatre Company presentation of the acclaimed Off-Broadway drama the N.Y. Times describes as "strikingly beautiful." The monodrama is set in a stunning 18-foot dress (designed by Magdalena Dabrowska from the National Theater of Poland). Directed by Isaac Byrne, THE OTHER MOZART is based on facts, stories and thoughts culled from the Mozart family's humorous and heartbreaking letters. This poetic and poignant production features music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Marianna Martines, (a female composer who inspired Nannerl), along with original music written for the play by Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen (featured composers of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center). The modern-styled music created for the play utilizes clavichords, music boxes, bells, teacups, fans and other objets d'art that might have captured Nannerl's imagination.

A prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer, Nannerl performed alongside her brother throughout Europe as children to great acclaim, but was forced to give up her artistic passion in her youth due to the societal expectations she experienced as a woman. Her brother would rise to become one of the preeminent composers in history; while Nannerl's own works were all but lost with the only indications of her talent expressed in exchanges between her brother, father and mother. THE OTHER MOZART is a multi-sensual experience that transports the audience into a surreal world of oversized beauty and delight - but also one of overwhelming restriction and prejudice where, finally, this other Mozart tells her story.

Reviewers praise THE OTHER MOZART, describing it as "a gem of a show" (The Stage of London), "fascinating and irresistibly intelligent" (Theatermania), and "an arresting depiction" (The Londonist). New York Arts lauded the show as "one of the most remarkable theatrical presentations," adding that "Sylvia Milo has brought off a tour-de-force in creating such an absorbing, intelligent, and sure-footed entertainment... brilliant and absorbing."

THE OTHER MOZART opens on Saturday, June 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District, with low-priced previews Wednesday, May 31, at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 1 at 8 p.m. and Friday, June 2 at 8 p.m. The production continues Wednesdays through Sundays through June 18, 2017. For tickets, go to www.rubicontheatre.org or call (805) 667-2900.

History of "The Other Mozart"

THE OTHER MOZART was developed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. The play debuted in Austria in 2014 at the invitation of the Mozarteum Foundation and Mozarteum University in Salzburg. Soon after, the show had a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run at the HERE Arts Center in New York City and toured internationally.THE OTHER MOZART was presented at Toronto University in Canada, in Munich at the Pasinger Fabrik, and in London last September at the St. James Theatre.

THE OTHER MOZART was nominated for the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design in a Play and the 2015 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance. The play was nominated for eight New York Innovative Theatre Awards and won Outstanding Solo Performance (Sylvia Milo) and Outstanding Original Music(Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen).

The 18-Foot Dress

Dramatically symbolic, Sylvia Milo sits within an enormous 18th century dress that covers the stage and acts as both a prison and a playground for Nannerl. Hidden within the folds and pockets are instruments, a fan, a tea cup and saucer, letters, books and other objects. The dress is outfitted with a corset Milo fastens herself into, limiting her movement to expressive balletic gestures, reverent court bows, and fan language of the period choreographed by Janice Orlandi. Visually arresting, the dress serves as a constant reminder of the opulent beauty of the period as well as being a coda for the patriarchal restrictions that kept most women submissive and trapped in the confines of their sex.

Sponsors

Rubicon Theatre Company Season Sponsors are Janet and Mark L. Goldenson, Diane and Peter Goldenring,Barbara Meister, and Anne and Michael Towbes; and Sandra and Jordan Laby, to whom Rubicon's 2016-2017 series is dedicated.

Full Schedule, Special Performances and Ticket Info

Low-priced previews for THE OTHER MOZART begin on Wednesday, May 31 at 7 p.m., continuing Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2 at 8 p.m. Opening night is Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m. with a pre-show event downstairs at the theatre beginning at 6 p.m. and a post-show party generously hosted for the audience and artists by Rhumb Line on the harbor. The production continues Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 18. Talkbacks with actors are scheduled after theWednesday 7 p.m. performances on June 7 and 14.

Regular tickets for THE OTHER MOZART range from $30 to $55 (plus a $4 processing fee). Opening night is $99 (including the receptions). Tickets for students with ID are $25; Equity members and military are $30. There is a $5 discount for seniors 65 and older. Discounts of 10% to 20% are available for groups of 10 or more, depending on the size of the group.

All performances are at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District (the corner or Main and Laurel).

Tickets for THE OTHER MOZART may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at 1006 E. Main Street, the corner of Main and Laurel in Ventura (Laurel entrance and downstairs), or online at www.rubicontheatre.org. To charge by phone, call 805.667.2900. Box office hours are Noon to 6 p.m., seven days a week.

Star and Creatives Bios

Sylvia Milo (Creator, Writer, Actress) is an actress, playwright and producer. Her play The Other Mozart had a critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway run at HERE Arts Center in NY, at the St. James Theatre in London, and in cities across the U.S. and in Europe. For her work in the role, Sylvia received the NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. She played Bob Dylan in the OBIE Award-winning The West Village Fragments(by Peculiar Works); Ophelia in The Ophelia Landscape (with Mira Furlan) at the Mark Morris Center; and the title role in an all-female version of Hamlet, which she adapted and directed. Sylvia has performed at La Mama, Cherry Lane, Ontological-Hysteric, Dixon Place and The Ohio Theatre. As a member of the Bats at the Flea Theater, she starred in Seating Arrangements (which she co-wrote, and which was directed by Eric Pold of Gob Squad). Sylvia is also a violinist (acoustic and electric), and has performed at venues such as Irving Plaza, The Knitting Factory, CBGB's and Joe's Pub. She has composed scores for both dance and theatre, including Merce Cunningham Studio and La Mama. A graduate of NYU, Sylvia also trained extensively at the Lee Strasberg Institute, Michael Chekhov, Stella Adler and The Grotowski Institute in Poland. www.sylviamilo.com

Isaac Byrne (Director), originally from Texas, based in NY, has twice been awarded the NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Direction. His directorial work has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, an Off- Broadway Alliance Award, 24 NYIT awards, and 6 Planet Connection Awards. Isaac's credits include The Other Mozart (NYIT Outstanding Solo Performance, Nominated for Director), In Vestments (NYIT Outstanding Premiere of a New Play), To Nineveh (NYIT Outstanding Production), Tar Baby (DR2, PS122), 52 Man Pick Up (Ars Nova, Edinburgh Fringe), The New Normal, I Used to Write on Walls, Grimm Reality (co-Production with Bryant Park), and Hazard a Little Death (Planet Connection Best Original Script). He also performs regularly with the Aztec Economy theatre company in the touring show Butcher Holler Here We Come. Isaac teaches acting at the University of the Arts, NY Film Academy, and the Matthew Corozine Studio. www.isaacbyrne.com

Nathan Davis (Composer, Sound Designer) "writes music that deals deftly and poetically with timbre and sonority," according to the NY Times. His current projects include Hagoromo, an evening-length dance opera commissioned by American Opera Projects for premiere at BAM (with Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto). His work also includes premieres at Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, PS122, the Park Avenue Armory, The Kitchen and Roulette; as well as at festivals in Germany, Austria, Australia, Finland, Holland, Poland, and Cuba; and Portrait concerts at both the Mostly Mozart Festival and Spoleto Festival USA. Nathan has received commissions from the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Calder Quartet, Yarn/Wire, La Jolla Symphony Chorus, Steven Schick, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Miller Theatre, and the Ojai Festival. He has received awards from Meet the Composer, Fromm Foundation at Harvard, Camargo Foundation in Cassis (France), Copland Fund, Jerome Foundation, American Music Center, MATA, and ASCAP. CDs include "The Bright and Hollow Sky," one of TimeOut NY's top 5 classical albums of 2011. As a percussionist, Nathan is a member of ICE, and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, and the Nagoya Philharmonic. He holds degrees from Yale and Rice. www.nathandavis.com

Phyllis Chen (Composer) is a pianist, toy pianist and a composer. The featured solo musician in Stephin Merritt's Off-Broadway musical Coraline, she is one of the founding members of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the founder of the UnCaged Toy Piano, a composition competition to further expand the repertoire for toy piano. Phyllis has been praised by the NY Times for her "delightful quirkiness matched with interpretive sensitivity." A strong interest in interdisciplinary work led her to collaborations with video artist and electronic musician Rob Dietz, with whom she created multimedia works such as The Memoirist, Pearlessence, Chroma, and Carousel. Phyllis attended Oberlin Conservatory as a recipient of the Dean's Talent Award Scholarship. She holds a Master's Degree from Northwestern University and D.M.A. from Indiana University. Her piece "Chimers," based on Papageno's magic bells from Mozart's The Magic Flute, premiered at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in 2011, and a program of her music was featured at the festival in 2013. www.phyllischen.net

JANICE ORLANDI (Period Style Movement Director) is a movement specialist in period styles, historic dance, psychophysical techniques, character transformation and physical dramaturgy. She was trained by and co-taught with Loyd Williamson and Richard Schechner. Her recent directing credits include Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies(Five Stars at Edinburgh Fringe Festival; St. James Studio, London; Theater Row, Laurie Beechman, 59E59 in NY) and Garbo Dreams (Red Room NY). Credits as Movement Director include The Contrast (Mirror Repertory Company, St. Clements), An Ideal Husband and Tartuffe (Sonnet Repertory NY). Janice is a certified teacher of Michael Chekhov and Williamson Techniques. She is a period style specialist of Elizabethan and Restoration, Baroque, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, and 1920s-1970s. Janice is the Artistic Director at Actors Movement Studio NYC, on faculty at TISCH School of the Arts, and an instructor with Atlantic Theater Company, University of the Arts Philadelphia, Rutgers University, and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Her work as an educator, director, actress and movement coach has been seen at Williamstown Theatre Festival, State Theatre School of Denmark, Lindenberg Center for Culture Netherlands, Princeton Repertory Shakespeare Festival, Classic Stage Company, and Circle Rep Lab. She is a founding Member of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Janice's work on current "Trends in Movement Training" has been featured in Backstage and American Theatre Magazine. She is a member of SAG/AFTRA, AEA, and SSDC. www.actorsmovementstudio.com

MAGDALENA D?BROWSKA (Costume Designer, Dress) is a versatile Polish designer whose projects include fashion, theatrical costumes and set design. She is a graduate of ?azarski University in Warsaw and of the Cracow School of Art and Fashion Design. Her designs have been finalists at such prestigious competitions as Oskary Mody, OFF Fashion, and Z?ota Nitka. She participated in joint shows organized during the International Millinery Competition in France. She designed costumes for the plays Taksówka, Spacerowicz and Ukryj Mnie w Ga??ziach Drzew, directed by Igor Gorzkowski for Studio Teatralne KO?O. She also designed sets and costumes for Obchód Teatru, Czyli Kim Jest Wojciech B. at the National Theatre of Poland, and for the opera Hamlet at the Teatr Wielki in Poznan, Poland. She also runs INNI - a fashion and costume design studio. www.innimoda.pl

MIODRAG GUBERINIC (Costume Designer, Pannier Sculpture) graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago with an M.F.A. in Costume Design. Recent design work includes The Maiden (La Mama Theatre),Eurydice (LIU), Good Breeding (NYU), The Memory Tax (Chernuchin Theatre), Indigo Dai (Incubator Arts Project),Touch (The Hudson Guild Theatre), The King and I, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lombardi, Steel Magnolias(Harbor Lights Theatre), How Deep is the Ocean (NYMF), Ghost Girl (The Workshop Theatre), Special (Theatre Row Studios), and Where We Were Born and Animals Out of Paper (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago). He received Norrenbroock Design Award from Northwestern University in 2011 and The Merritt Award for the best Graduating exhibition from The Goodman Theatre in Chicago 2011. www.miodragguberinic.com

JOSHUA ROSE (Lighting Designer) is a graduate of the stage design program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He resides in NY and designs lighting for a variety of projects all over the world - from intimate solo shows to full operas, architectural installations to modern dance. Some designs of note include The Edge of Some World, choreographed by Jonathan Fredrickson and premiered in Beijing; The Blue Frog jazz club in Mumbai; and A Celebration of Music and Dance with The Limon Dance Company and Simon Bolivar National Youth Choir of Venezuela at Lincoln Center. Recent designs include Tar Baby by Desiree Burch, La Boheme for The Bronx Opera and Madame Butterfly for the Martina Arroyo Foundation. www.joshuarosedesigns.com

COURTNEY BEDNAROWSKI (Original Hair Design), originally from Milwaukee, WI, resides in Brooklyn. She graduated from the Aveda Institute, completed an assistant program at Mizu Salon in NY, and expanded her skillset at Freeman's Barbershop. Courtney has styled for countless fashion events, film and theatre, print and online publications (including Vogue), and is now working for Dior as the lead wig stylist. (In The Other Mozart, Courtney sculpts Sylvia's hair - yes, it is all her real hair!) www.courtneybednarowski.com

About Rubicon

Rubicon Theatre is a non-profit regional theatre based in Ventura, California. True to the company name and the vision of founders Karyl Lynn Burns and James O'Neil, the company is committed to providing a nurturing environment for artists where exploration and experimentation are encouraged and supported. Now in its 19thSeason, Rubicon has earned a reputation for innovative, reinvigorated productions of classics; and for the development of new works. The company has presented more than 115 diverse mainstage productions to more than 420,000 audience members. Described by critics as "the rising star of the Southern California cultural scene" and the "best theatre between Los Angeles and San Francisco," the company has won a New York Drama Desk Award (four nominations), the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for "Sustained Excellence," 15 Ovation Awards, an NAACP Award, and multiple Indy, Garland and Robby Awards. Luminaries such as Susan Clark, Dana Delany, Bonnie Franklin, Joel Grey, Gregory Harrison, Bill Irwin, Harold Gould, Larry Hagman, Stacy Keach, Michael Learned, Ted Neeley, Paul Provenza, Linda Purl, Joe Spano, Bruce Weitz, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Stephanie Zimbalist have graced the Rubicon stage. Jack Lemmon and John Ritter made their final stage appearances with Rubicon.

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