Arsht Center Presents City Theatre's SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL

 

THE Adrienne Arsht CENTER FOR THE

PERFORMING ARTS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

PRESENTS

CITY THEATRE'S

SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL

"The audience leaves Shorts, as it always does, laughing – which is just one reason why this good-time festival has endured."

– Christine Dolen, The Miami Herald

June 1 – 17, 2012

Tickets $35

Carnival Studio Theater
in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents City Theatre's 17th annual SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL, South Florida's fast and furiously fun program of the nation's hottest short plays, staged in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House) from June 1-17, 2012. Under the new direction of Producing Artistic Director John Manzelli, the sizzling 17th season of the company's acclaimed SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL features fifteen performances of ten original short plays – some raucous, others innovative and poignant, but with the ultimate goal to make audiences laugh.

Tickets are $35, and go on sale to the general public April 23, 2012. Tickets may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.

"Summers at the Arsht Center would not be complete without City Theatre's Summer Shorts Festival," said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. "It is an honor to launch the festival's seventeenth season and an even greater honor to host its sixth season in residency at our Carnival Studio Theater. We're eager to experience these acclaimed short works and look forward to sharing many laughs with the audience."

The Carbonell Award-winning festival has become a nationally recognized event and a must-see/must-be-seen-there social outing for South Florida audiences. "I don't believe the theatre should only be for theatre people. We're working with some of the best comedy writers from theater and television to put together a fun night that will appeal to anyone," says John Manzelli, co-director of this year's Summer Shorts Festival.

2012's Summer Shorts Festival play line-up will be announced in May.

The Arsht Center welcomes an outstanding cast of seasoned, award-winning South Florida directors and actors whose credits range from local Miami theater and off-Broadway shows to Broadway stages, national television and film:

2012 SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL DIRECTORS

John Manzelli is proud to be at the helm of City Theatre after serving as City's Artistic Director last season, where he directed the extremely successful Dirty Little Secrets, starring Jai Rodriguez. Manzelli brings an accomplished reputation to City as both a performer and director. Prior to joining City, John served as Associate Artistic Director of the award-winning Naked Stage Company (which he co-founded). Under his leadership, Naked Stage was awarded a Silver Palm Award for Best Emerging Theatre Co. and a Visionary Award for the creation of the groundbreaking 24 Hour Theatre Project. Some of John's more recent directing credits include No Exit (Naked Stage), The Tempest (New Theatre), and Macon City (Naked Stage), for which he was awarded the Carbonell Award for "Best Lighting Design." As an actor, John currently portrays the recurring role of Sol Drucker on STARZ's original series "Magic City."

Mark Swaner began his career in South Florida performing at GableStage, Actors' Playhouse and the Florida Playwright Theater. It was at FPT that Mark, just 18 years old at the time, directed the critically acclaimed production of Julian Barry's Lenny, starring Todd Allen Durkin. From there, Mark moved to Chicago to train at the world-famous Second City comedy theater. There he was hired into the Second City National Touring Company, starred in Romeo & Juliet: The Musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and performed on the Second City Mainstage in the Jeff award-winning review Between Barak and a Hard Place.

Mark now resides in Hollywood where he works as a writer, actor and comedian. He created the long running improv show 3 Scene Circus at iO West and starred in his own one-man-show I Miss Racism at Second City Los Angeles. Local audiences may have seen Swaner's writing in the Naked Stage's 24-Hour Theatre Project or 2/3rds of his musical play Bienvenidos Miami, the opener of last year's Summer Shorts. Mark also works as a writer for NBC Universal and is currently shopping his comedy pilot "Crews" about life on a cruise ship.

Margaret M. Ledford hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Speech from the University of TN and studied Cubo-Expressionistic Scenography post WWI abroad at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. She is a four-time Carbonell Award nominated director, a multiple Silver Palm winner for direction and has directed for many South Florida theaters including Naked Stage, Mosaic Theatre, Caldwell Theatre, and Florida Stage. She was the Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director for The Promethean Theatre, the professional company in residence at Nova Southeastern University for the past 8 years, and currently serves the South Florida Theatre League as Board President.

2012 SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL ACTORS

Stephen Trovillion is elated to be back for his sixteenth season of Summer Shorts. His stage credits include Broadway's The Young Man from Atlanta ("Best Play" Tony Award-nominee), Eastern Standard (Joseph Jefferson award nomination for "Best Actor") and The Normal Heart (winner of Joseph Jefferson award for "Best Production"). He has been nominated twice for the Carbonell Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for his work in the Summer Shorts Festival.TV credits include "Crime Story" (NBC), "The Mother Nature Show" (syndicated) and many commercials including a stint as the national spokesman for Rally's Restaurants. Steve currently heads the BFA acting program at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

Irene Adjan is an 11-time Carbonell award-nominee and has won the award three times for Funny Girl, Joseph, and Blood Brothers. Credits include the world premieres of Moscow (Zoetic Stage), See Jane Run (Actors' Playhouse), and Dr. Radio (Florida Stage); Benefactors and Smell of the Kill (Palm Beach Dramaworks), Talk Radio (Mosaic), Next Fall (Caldwell), In The Next Room, Adding Machine and The Dead (GableStage), among others. She is also the Chair of the South Florida Equity Liaison Committee. This marks the third year Irene acts in the Summer Shorts Festival.

Katherine Wright is excited to be making her Miami debut in Summer Shorts with City Theatre. Katherine received her BA in Acting and Dramaturgy from Emerson College where she played Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Agatha in Incorruptible. In New York City, Katherine originated the role of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in The Lost Boys, or the House that Jim Built and has been seen in a variety of off-off Broadway plays and cabarets.

As an alumnus of Summer Shorts (6 seasons), Beth Dimon is excited to be part of this year's stellar cast. She has worked in Florida for over 20 years as a proud AEA member. She has performed at Actor's Playhouse, Key West Theatre Festival, Mosaic, Jupiter and Royal Palm DT, Florida Stage, Caldwell, BRITT, Palm Beach Dramaworks, American Stage, Asolo, Riverside Theatre, Theatre West, Arts Garage, Theatre Zone, Gulfshore Playhouse and more. She is a three-time Carbonell Award-winner and the recipient of the 2010 Frank Prize. Most recent credits include: All My Sons at Palm Beach Dramaworks, The Boyfriend at Theatre Zone, and she will soon star in American Stage's The Foreigner.

Todd Allen Durkin appears as Doug Feehan on STARZ's original series "Magic City" and was recently seen at GableStage in A Steady Rain. TV and film work include: "Burn Notice," "The Glades," and "Ghost Stories." Most notable theatre credits include: Captiva, Blasted, Death of a Salesman, The Seafarer, Reasons To Be Pretty, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, BUG, Moon For The Misbegotten, The Zoo Story, That Championship Season, Dealer's Choice, The Irish Curse, As You Like It, the title role in Hamlet and Lenny Bruce in Lenny. Todd is a Carbonell Award winner for "Best Supporting Actor" and nine-time nominee; he also has been recognized as "Best Actor" by New Times Magazine three times. In New York, he has worked at the Kaliedoscope Theatre, Peccadillo Theatre, and Cherry Lane Theatre to name a few.

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