Site-Specific Production of PROOF to Open 8/21 at Sycamore Hill

A production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof, by David Auburn, will open Thursday, August 21 for a four-performance run at Sycamore Hill, the home of Drs. Veronica Covalesky and Nick Leasure, at 481 Ebelhare Road in Pottstown, PA. Directed by Seth Reich, the production features a cast of New York actors who will perform the play on the actual porch of the Sycamore Hill home.

Sycamore Hill's stone porch stands in for the Chicago porch where Mr. Auburn set the entirety of his acclaimed play. Site-specific or environmental theater is crafted to bring plays "offstage" in this way, carrying the performance into non-traditional settings. The company has dubbed their inaugural event "Theater With a View" in a nod both to the beautiful property hosting the production-and to this idea of taking performances to audiences beyond the walls of a traditional theater or studio.

Proof will run Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm with an additional Saturday performance at 2pm. There is a suggested donation of $25 for audience members, and seating is limited. For reservations, please email theaterwithaview@gmail.com or call (888) 604-6563. For more information, please visit http://on.fb.me/1qI7Rhv. The company plans to launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign shortly to help offset costs of the production at http://igg.me/at/theaterwithaview.

The play has elements of mystery and suspense and gives a smart, accessible look at big ideas. It deftly wraps investigations about mathematics, genius, mental instability, and love in the very human, funny, and familiar interactions between its four characters. The cast of Proof is Nina Covalesky, Matthew Dunivan, Michael Hajek, and Jessica Myhr.

"We are thrilled to be working together and bringing David Auburn's play to Chester County," said Seth Reich, director of Proof. "Proof is a remarkable play, and the opportunity to present it in this exciting way, on the porch of this beautiful home, and to engage with the community in Pottstown and the surrounding neighborhoods is something that I and our entire cast and creative team look forward to greatly."

Proof was originally produced Off-Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2000 before moving to Broadway for a run of 917 performances. It won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play as well as a Drama Desk Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. Proof also won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2005, Miramax released a movie version of Proof starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Seth Reich is a director, actor, musician and educator. He most recently directed Romeo and Juliet at Columbia University. Other credits include: Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet (A. Harry Moore School), A Midsummer Night's Dream (St. Joseph's School for the Blind), A Midsummer Night's Dream, (Actors Shakespeare Company), Short Kutz and Forks (newFangled theatReR), Flesh Eating Leftists (Boston Center for the Arts), Hamlet (Instant Shakespeare Company), As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing (The Swan), Romeo and Juliet, Cowboy Mouth, Prometheus Bound, Best Half Foot Forward (Emerson College). Film: The Moment After. He developed a program for Actors Shakespeare Company that employed Shakespeare's works to help students with disabilities develop communication skills, a program that received critical acclaim from the Folger Shakespeare Library. Seth has worked with and studied under renowned artists, including: Robert Woodruff, Andrei Serban, Kristin Linklater, Sam Gold, Gregory Mosher, Carol Rocamora, Blair Brown, and Andrea Haring. He is a current M.F.A. candidate at Columbia University.

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