Les Waters Brings THE SMALL, By Berkeley Native to New York- Runs Thru 6/26

Today Les Waters, the associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, launches another new play in New York. As part of Clubbed Thumb's 2010 Summerworks Festival, the Obie Award-winning director is staging the world premiere of a comedy written by a Berkeley native: THE SMALL by Anne Washburn plays for only six performances at the Ohio Theatre in Soho from June 20 - 26. Waters previously directed the off-Broadway production of Washburn's Apparition.

For this show, Waters reunites with one of his favorite performers: Maria Dizzia played the title role in his acclaimed staging of Eurydice and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in his Broadway production of In the Next Room (or the vibrator play). Both of those shows were penned by Sarah Ruhl and played at Berkeley Rep before making their way to Manhattan.

The Small also features three other artists familiar to Bay Area audiences. Matthew Maher portrayed Michal in Waters' popular production of The Pillowman at Berkeley Rep, and Bray Poor designed sound at the Theatre for Eurydice, In the Next Room, and the world premiere of Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West. Dave Malloy, who created the score for Beowulf from Banana Bag & Bodice, contributes original music to this new show as well and performs as part of the cast.

"Clubbed Thumb is a hip company, and I'm pleased to work with them - particularly because I find this script and its quirky sense of humor absolutely delightful," Waters remarked. "It is a pleasure to collaborate with so many new artists and to draw on my relationships with Anne, Maria, Matt, and Bray. I hope that audiences have half as much fun with this show as we have."

In THE SMALL, a man struggles to assemble a reality from his dreams, the dog very much wants to be taken for a walk, and the natural food store isn't very natural at all. The show features designs by Louisa Thompson (scenic designer), Chris Morris (associate set designer), Jane Cox (lighting designer), and Kirche Leigh Zeile (costume designer). The ensemble also includes Gideon Banner and Susie Pourfar.

Summerworks 2010, Clubbed Thumb's 15th annual festival of new plays, dished up Dot by Kate E. Ryan and Five Genocides by Samuel D. Hunter. The Small plays at 8:00 PM on June 20, June 21, June 22, June 24, June 25, and June 26. All performances take place in the Ohio Theatre at 66 Wooster Street in Manhattan.

Tickets are priced at $18 each, with a $3 discount for students. They may be purchased by phone at (212) 352-3101 or online at clubbedthumb.org.

About Les Waters:
Obie Award-winner Les Waters has served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre since 2003. In the last five years, his shows have ranked among the year's best in The New Yorker, New York Times, Time Out New York, Time Magazine, and USA Today. Waters has a history of collaborating with prominent playwrights like Caryl Churchill, Charles Mee, and Wallace Shawn, and champions important new voices such as Will Eno, JorDan Harrison, Sarah Ruhl, and Anne Washburn. Last fall, he made his Broadway debut with In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), which began in Berkeley. His other productions at Berkeley Rep include the world premieres of Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West, Fêtes de la Nuit, Finn in the Underworld, Girlfriend, and To the Lighthouse; the American premiere of TRAGEDY: a tragedy; the West Coast premiere of Eurydice; and extended runs of The Glass Menagerie, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman, and Yellowman. Waters has numerous credits in New York, his native England, and at theatres across America. He led the MFA directing program at UC San Diego and is an associate artist of The Civilians, a theatre group based in New York.

About Anne Washburn:
Anne Washburn's work includes Apparition, The Communist Dracula Pageant, I Have Loved Strangers, The Ladies, The Internationalist, Little Bunny Foo Foo, A Devil at Noon, and a transadaptation of Euripides' Orestes. Her scripts have been produced in London at the Gate Theatre; in New York by 13P, Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Dixon Place, Soho Rep, and Vineyard Theater; and regionally at American Repertory Theatre in Boston, Two River Theater Company in New Jersey, and Folger Theatre and The Studio Theater in Washington, DC. Washburn is an associate artist with 13P, The Civilians, New Dramatists, and New Georges. Her work has been supported by Guggenheim, MacDowell, Yaddo, and Time Warner Storytelling Fellowships and a Bug 'n Bub Award.

 

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