Theatre Exile Presents A Reading of NORTH OF THE BOULEVARD

Theatre Exile begins the third annual Studio X-hibition with a new play from award winning playwright and Exile favorite Bruce Graham, North of the Boulevard. Directed by associate artistic director Matt Pfeiffer, and starring Scott Greer, Brian Anthony Wilson, Brian McCann and Harry Philibosian, the reading will be on Monday, October 10th, 2011, at 7pm in Studio X at 1340 South 13th St.

North of the Boulevard introduces you to four lifelong friends from the wrong side of the tracks. Now grown men, Tweet, Bear, Zee and Larry meet each day in a run-down garage and watch their neighborhood crumble into political corruption and crime. Despite the promises of President Obama, the changes have not all been good. Robbed of their choices by corporations and modern expectations, they feel helpless as they face the future. But when a chance tragedy gives the friends the opportunity to get out of their crumbling neighborhood, morality may have to take a backseat to prosperity. Using sharp humor and fearless honesty North of the Boulevard paints an excruciatingly candid picture of class politics, gentrification and survival in the modern urban city.

Bruce Graham is one of Theatre Exile's favorite collaborators . Exile has produced his work The Philly Fan, which continues to play all over Philadelphia and surrounding areas and will be running this October at People's Light and Theatre Company. Theatre exile also produced the premiere of the Barrymore award winning Any Given Monday, which will be receiving an Off-Broadway production this October. Theatre Exile is thrilled to be presenting Bruce's latest work as the first reading in the third year of our Studio X-hibition Series.

Exile welcomes four immensely talented actors to Studio X for this reading. Scott Greer (Tweet) worked with Theatre Exile last in Shining City, and he was last seen as Feste in Pig Iron Theatre Company's critically acclaimed Twelfth Night. Scott has won four Barrymore Awards, including the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist. Brian Anthony Wilson (Bear) joined Theatre Exile last year in our Studio X-Hibition series. Brian spent 5 Seasons as Homicide Detective Vernon Holley on HBO's The Wire, and he has worked in TV, film and theater. Harry Philibosian (Zee) performed with Theatre Exile in 8 productions including Burkie, Belmont Ave. Social Club, Hearts & Soles, Saturn Returns and Glengarry Glen Ross for which he earned two Barrymore Awards; Best Supporting Actor and Best Ensemble. Brian McCann (Larry) worked with Theatre Exile on last year's critically acclaimed production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and the Barrymore Award winning Glengarry Glen Ross. He is a 15 year company member of the 2010 World Tournament champions Phila. Comedy Sportz.

New theater begins in Exile. In 1996, Theatre Exile began with a production of a locally written world premiere on a small second floor theater on South Street. That commitment to Philadelphia artists has continued and Exile has produced 11 world premieres including the Philly Originals New Work Festival. In January of 2009 Theatre Exile created a new play development program, the Studio X-hibition Series, which is dedicated to cultivating the future of theater. Studio X-hibition is focused not only on exporting the newest ideas from Philadelphia to the larger national theatrical community, but also of importing work that can impact the artists living and working in Philadelphia. The program has grown to include not only staged readings, but workshop development programs and writers workshops, allowing local talent to be fostered and edgy, non-conformist and boundary-pushing theater to be cultivated with the guidance of some of Philadelphia's most talented and boundary breaking artists. The series offers the first public showings of work written both by Philadelphia's own local writers and also by playwrights who are part of the national dialogue. Theatre Exile is proud to be able to give writers the opportunity to develop and grow, as well as being able to introduce these amazing stories to new audiences.

Playwright
Bruce Graham PLAYS: Burkie, Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Moon Over the Brewery, Minor Demons, Belmont Avenue Social Club, The Champagne Charlie Stakes, Desperate Affection, Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize, Two Drama Desk Nominations - the West End production starred Ben Cross) According to Goldman, Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree. His one man show, The Philly Fan, plays periodically throughout the Philadelphia area and the recent production of Something Intangible won seven Barrymore Awards including Best New Play and has been nominated for the Steinberg New Play Award. FILM CREDITS: Dunston Checks In, Anastasia, Steal This Movie. T.V. MOVIES: Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, The Christmas Secret, Ring of Endless Light (Humanitas Award Winner - Best Children's Screenplay) Right on Track, Tiger Cruise, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. TELEVISION: Roseanne, Leg Work and various soap operas. Graham has received grants from the Pew Foundation, the Princess Grace Foundation (Statuette Award Winner) the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, and The Edgerton Foundation. Along with Michele Volansky he is the author of the book, The Collaborative Playwright. Graham is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Director
Matt Pfeiffer is the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre Exile where he's directEd Barrymore nominated productions of Shining City, American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross , Bug, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and most recently The Aliens. Other credits include; Arden Theatre (Romeo and Juliet, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Go Dog Go!), Walnut St. (An Infinite Ache), Two River Theatre (Charlotte's Web, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown), Orlando Shakespeare Theatre (Wittenberg), Lantern Theatre (The Foocy), 1812 Productions (Beautiful Boy), Flashpoint Theatre (Run, Mourner, Run), Brat Productions (Popsicle's Departure), and 14 seasons with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Matt is a 5-time Barrymore Nominee and recipient of the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist.

Studio X-hibition Series Director
Brenna Geffers is the associate artistic director at Theatre Exile, having most recently directed Saturn Returns. She is also the literary director for EgoPo Classic Theater, for whom she most recently directed Marat/Sade. She is a founding member of Wandering Rom, for whom she most recently created and directed Visions of Hecate. She has directed for New City Stage, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, Temple University, Philadelphia Artists Collective, The Brick Playhouse, Vagabond Acting Troupe and the Metropolitan Playhouse in NYC. She earned her MFA in directing from Temple University.

THEATRE EXILE ARTISTIC STATEMENT
Theatre Exile has proven to be a place where local artists can take their biggest risks. We match challenging scripts with Philadelphia's top talent, continually bringing immediate and dangerous performances to our audiences. Theatre Exile approaches our craft with a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred style of storytelling. The stories that Exile brings to our audiences demand that our actors live in a moment of truth, despite the peril and the violence that such honesty demands. Armed with our bare-knuckled acting style, we bring you the voices of today's most gifted playwrights with cutting-edge scripts that challenge the expectations of a commercial theater.

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