Actors Theatre of Louisville Kicks Off Their 53rd Season With THE 39 STEPS

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are thrilled to kick off Actors Theatre of Louisville's 2016-2017 Season with The 39 Steps directed by Nathan Keepers (co-artistic director of The Moving Company, Minneapolis). The cast will feature: Carter Gill (Sprawl at Soho Rep), Jesse J. Perez (The Father and A Doll's House at Theatre for a New Audience), David Ryan Smith (One Man, Two Guvnors and Passing Strange on Broadway), Zuzanna Szadkowski (The Comedy of Errors at The Public Theater). The 39 Steps will preview August 30 and 31, open on September 1, and run through September 18 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium as part of the Brown-Forman Series, with the production underwritten by Hilliard Lyons. Tickets are available online at ActorsTheatre.org, by phone at 502.584.1205, or in-person by visiting The Actors Theatre Box Office (316 West Main Street, Louisville, Ky., 40202).

Four brilliant comic actors. Dozens of characters. One thrilling, hilarious noir adventure. Inspired by Hitchcock's iconic film and the classic spy novel, this Broadway hit plunges you into the world of Richard Hannay, an ordinary man forced to go on the run after aiding a mysterious woman. From the shadowy streets of 1930s London to the wild moors of Scotland and beyond, The 39 Steps traces Richard's madcap quest to keep government secrets out of the wrong hands.

Actors Theatre's production of The 39 Steps will be directed by outstanding actor and director Nathan Keepers. He returns to Actors Theatre following his onstage appearance as the infamous Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher, part of the 2015-2016 Brown-Forman Series. Keepers has a longstanding relationship with Actors Theatre. His other notable Actors Theatre productions include Love's Labor's Lost (2014), Noises Off (2013), Fissures (2010 Humana Festival), Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol (2009), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2009) and The Miser (2004). Regionally, he has also worked with South Coast Repertory, American Repertory Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Alley Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Folger Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, Jungle Theater, Children's Theatre Company and Shakespeare Theatre Company, D.C. Additionally, Keepers is a co-artistic director of The Moving Company, based in Minneapolis, and served as a company member for 11 seasons with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, winner of the 2005 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The 39 Steps will mark Keepers' directing debut with Actors Theatre.

The 39 Steps will also mark the return of noteworthy actor David Ryan Smith, playing the title role of Richard Hannay, whose relationship with Actors Theatre includes The Glory of the World (2015 Humana Festival), The Grown-Up (2014 Humana Festival), and Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol. Jesse J. Perez (Clown 1) is also returning to Actors Theatre, where he previously appeared in The Hard Weather Boating Party (2009 Humana Festival). Smith and Perez will be joined by Carter Gill (Clown 2) and Zuzanna Szadkowski (Annabella Schmidt/Margaret/Pamela), who will both be making their Actors Theatre debuts. Full cast bios are included below.

The creative team for The 39 Steps includes William Boles (Scenic Design), Stowe Nelson (Sound Design), Alison Siple (Costume Design), and D.M. Wood (Lighting Design).

Cast Biographies

Carter Gill (Clown 2) is pleased to make his Actors Theatre debut. Regional Theatre: Allentown Shakespeare Festival, Berkshire Theatre Group, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory Theatre and Lake George Theatre. New York Theatre: The Flea Theater, Lincoln Center Theatre, Soho Rep, Studio42 and The Women's Project. Original & Co-Created Theatre: Commedia dell'Artichoke and Even Maybe Tammy (Frances Black Projects). Film & Television: Couch (Matt Moses), Law & Order (NBC), and Person of Interest (CBS). Directing Credits: A Doctor in Spite of Himself and Ubu Roi, original adaptation (Rider University); and Ruzante (Asst. Dir. to Christopher Bayes/Theatre for a New Audience). Additional Credits: Gill serves as a physical comedy and acting professor at Pace University and Rider University. He is trained in Clown & Commedia by Christopher Bayes, spending five years as a student and apprentice, and trained in Clown & Le Jeu at École Philippe Gaulier in France. He holds a B.F.A. in directing from Southern Methodist University and an M.F.A. in acting from Yale School of Drama. For more information, please visit cartergill.com, Instagram: @thecomicperformer

Jesse J. Perez (Clown 1) At Actors Theatre: The Hard Weather Boating Party (2009 Humana Festival). Regional Theatre: The Taming of the Shrew, The Cherry Orchard, Lulu, A Servant of Two Masters, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Caucasian Chalk Circle at Yale Repertory Theatre; Argonautica, Arabian Nights, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Party People at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Pericles and Candide at Goodman Theatre. Off-Broadway: The Father and A Doll's House at Theatre for a New Audience; Informed Consent at Primary Stages; The Triple Happiness at Second Stage Theatre; Recent Tragic Events at Playwrights Horizons; In the Penal Colony at Classic Stage Company; Up Against the Wind at New York Theatre Workshop; Lucia di Lammermoor at The Metropolitan Opera. Internationally, he has worked at The Venice Biennale in Italy and at The Salzburg Festival in Austria.

David Ryan Smith (Richard Hannay) At Actors Theatre: The Glory of the World and Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear (2015 Humana Festival), The Grown-Up (2014 Humana Festival), A Christmas Carol. Regional Theatre: Barrington Stage Company, American Conservatory Theater, Triad Stage, Crossroads Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, California Shakespeare Theater, Cincinnati Shakespeare and Magic Theatre, among others. Broadway: One Man,Two Guvnors and Passing Strange. Off-Broadway: Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Cymbeline and Pericles at The Public Theater/NYSF; The Steadfast at Slant Theatre Project; Marat/ Sade at Classical Theatre of Harlem; The Rover at New York Classical Theatre; and #9 at 59E59. Film: The Amazing Spider- Man 2, Bee Season, Medal of Victory. Additional Credits: Smith received his B.F.A. from the University of Evansville and his M.F.A. from American Conservatory Theater.

Zuzanna Szadkowski (Annabella Schmidt/ Margaret/Pamela) Regional Theatre: Olly's Prison at American Repertory Theater. Off-Broadway: The Comedy of Errors at The Public Theater; Nora and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss and What I Wore. Film: Loserville, Growing Up and Other Lies and Butterflies of Bill Baker. Television: Dorota on the CW series Gossip Girl; Nurse Pell on the Cinemax series from Steven Soderbergh The Knick; also Girls; Elementary; Guiding Light; The Sopranos; Law & Order; Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Education: B.A. from Barnard College, M.F.A. in acting from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute at Harvard.

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