'...and L.A. Is Burning'

Florida Studio Theatre continues it's Stage III Series with ...and L.A. is Burning playing March 4 through March 19, 2009. Called "a powerful examination of a changing nation" by the Houston Press ...and L.A. is Burning recently received the Smith Prize from the National New Play Network for 2008. The Smith Prize is awarded to a play that specifically focuses on American politics - examining our civic institutions, particularly our democratic institutions, and asks: Who are Americans as a people? What are we becoming? What are our global responsibilities? (Source: NNPN website). It's April, 1992. America awaits the verdict of the four policemen indicted for beating Rodney King. For Haddie, a white, middle-aged government worker, the world is very straightforward: your race and your class determine the world you live in. This naïve viewpoint often leads to a comical perspective on her reality. For Alvin, Haddie's African-American co-worker, life is about getting ahead. And for Sylvia, an academic from the East Coast, the world must be changed. Set against the backdrop of the Rodney King trial and the subsequent L.A. riots, playwright Y York's new play is a comedy with serious implications as it explores a world in which well-intentioned liberalism, racism, and reality collide.

 

New York Actress Celeste Ciulla returns to FST for the role of Sylvia. She most recently appeared at FST in: Brooklyn Boy, Bee-Luther-Hatchee, Hysteria and As Bees in Honey Drown. Next, Celeste will be in Coriolanus and Cyrano at The Old Globe where she has played roles including: Gertrude in Hamlet, Mistress Page in Merry Wives, and Tamora in Titus. Other favorites include Lady Macbeth, Slyvana in Beastmaster's Life and Laura in Tea & Sympathy. Celeste is a Narrator with Recorded Books.

Broadway Actress Susan Greenhill returns to FST, where she recently directed Edward Albee's Occupant. She will play the role of Haddie. Greenhill has also appeared at FST in Southern Comforts, Dinner With Friends, Fiction. Broadway: Crimes of the Heart. Off-Broadway: Primary Stages, Actors Studio Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Urban Stages. Regional: The Clean House, Cincinnati Playhouse (Acclaim Award); Sideman, Philadelphia Company (Barrymore Award); We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, Long Wharf Theatre; The Glass Menagerie, St. Louis Rep; The Importance of Being Earnest, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Born Yesterday, Indiana Rep; Expectations, Stamford Center (with Eartha Kitt). Television & film: Chapelle Show, Law & Order, Clarissa Explains It All, Loving, Guiding Light, Pecker (directed by John Waters), High Stakes, Noon Blue Apples (Sundance Festival).

New York Actor Lelund Durond Thompson will play the role of Alvin. His Off Broadway credits include, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, Emancipation, Streetlights, and Dreamgirls. Regional: Blue Door, Bloody Blackbeard, A Christmas Carol, Well, A Streetcar Named Desire, Charlotte's Web, Taming of the Shrew, Five Guys Named Moe, Waiting for Lefty. Lelund was also seen in Hurly Burly, The Real Thing, Bus Stop, The Triumph of Love, and A Midsummer Nights Dream.

 ...and L.A. is Burning is directed by Florida Studio Theatre's Associate Director Kate Alexander. In this capacity, she ministers to the artistic needs of the theatre and its many community and state educational programs. On the FST stages some of the plays she has directed are  Pure Confidence, Underneath the Lintel, The Miamians. Wit, Proof, Lobby Hero, Ten Unknowns, The Exonerated, Brooklyn Boy as well as the company developed pieces, the Playmakers and Under Six. Ms. Alexander has created a vast Education and Touring Program for FST including the award-winning Write A Play program touching the lives of over 55,000 children annually in the US, Scotland, Israel, China and Russia and serving as a model for theatres throughout the nation. Ms. Alexander has also pioneered an acting training method for children which serves as the foundation for the FST School, serving 600 children yearly. Ms. Alexander has also been a resident actress with Florida Studio Theatre for the past 20 years. Some of her leading roles were seen in the plays: Golda's Balcony, Master Class, The Play about The Baby, The Goat, Filumena, Three Tall Women and most recently, Edward Albee's Occupant. Ms. Alexander is the recipient of numerous acting, directing and public service awards. Most recently, Ms. Alexander's Write a Play program was a feature of the PBS special Kids in the Arts and she co-authored the book Ideas for the Animated Short: Finding and Building Stories.

The production design team includes FST staff member Marcella Beckwith (Costume Design) and Bruce Price (Lighting Design) along with Set Designer Lauren Feldman and Sound Designer Andrew Harper.

...and L.A. is Burning

runs through March 19, 2009 at the Gompertz Theatre. Tickets are $19 - $32 and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person, by phone (941) 366 - 9000 or online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

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