Profile Theatre's BURIED CHILD Begins Tonight

PROFILE THEATRE presents BURIED CHILD Sam Shepard's macabre play about twisted family secrets, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979. Directed by Adriana Baer, performances begin tonight, May 29, 2014 on the Alder Stage at Artists Repertory Theatre. Tickets are currently on sale at Profiletheatre.org.

Premiering in 1978 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, BURIED CHILD portrays two days in the Illinois farmhouse of Dodge, Halie and their family, depicting the dismantling of the nuclear family and the collapse of the American Dream. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, BURIED CHILD won a 1979 Obie Award. In reviewing a recent revival at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, San Francisco Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt commented, "Shepard's scathing look at middle-American family values holds as true as ever."

"It is an honor to direct Buried Child - a masterpiece well-regarded as one of the greatest American plays," commented Adriana Baer. "It's a family drama of Greek proportions set in our own backyard. As a director I'm asking, 'What happens when we don't tell the truth... and then finally do? How do we make it out alive?' Shepard's play is deeply American, and we feel that longing for home in this work."

Sam Shepard was born in 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He worked as a farmhand and musician before moving to New York to begin his career as a playwright. His first productions, one-acts Cowboys and The Rock Garden, were performed at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery. His first full-length play, La Turista, was performed at the American Place Theatre and won an Obie Award in 1967. Mr. Shepard spent several seasons with La MaMa and Caffe Cino in New York and as playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. In 1979, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Buried Child. His screenplay for Paris, Texas won the Golden Palm Award at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. In 1986, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1992 he received their Gold Medal for Drama. Mr. Shepard is also a director and film actor.

BURIED CHILD marks the third production staged by Adriana Baer in her two seasons as Artistic Director at Profile Theatre. Previous Profile productions include The Road to Mecca and My Children! My Africa! New York directing credits include Romeo and Juliet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Seagull, The Hairy Ape (Columbia Stages), and work at Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, the cell, and The Acting Company. Other directing credits include Woyzeck (Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Direction), The Maids, and No Exit at The Cutting Ball Theater (San Francisco) where she was the Associate Artistic Director during the 2004-2007 seasons.

The cast for BURIED CHILD includes Tobias Andersen (Dodge), was last seen at Profile Theatre in Thief River in the 2010-11 Lee Blessing Season, and has been featured around Portland at PCS, Artists Rep, and Imago Theatre, as well as recently appearing in "Grimm." Tim Blough (Tilden), making his Profile debut, was last seen on stage in Portland in Artists Rep's Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Missing Carol and in the title role of Portland Shakespeare Project's King Lear. Dave Bodin (Father Dewis) was recently featured at Profile in last season's The Road to Mecca (Drammy Award) and appeared this season in Noises Off at Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Foss Curtis (Shelly), working for the first time with Profile, has been seen recently at Artists Rep (Xmas Unplugged; The Reason for the Season) and Portland Shakespeare Project (The Taming of the Shrew). Jane Fellows (Halie) is appearing at Profile Theatre for her seventh production. She's performed locally with Coho Productions, Lakewood Theatre Company, Artists Rep, and Theatre Vertigo. Ty Hewitt (Vince) was seen in Portland Playhouse's The Scene. Nationally he has performed with Aquila Theatre at Lincoln Center (New York), Theatre Lab (New York), Provincetown Theatre (Cape Cod), Coterie Theatre (Kansas City), and Kentucky Shakespeare Festival (Louisville). Garland Lyons (Bradley) was last seen at Profile in Talley & Son during the 2005-2006 Lanford Wilson Season. He was recently featured as the title role in Post Five Theatre's production of Tartuffe.

The production team includes Alan Schwanke (Scenic Design), Kristeen Crosser (Lighting Design), Jessica Bobillot (Costume Design), Sharath Patel (Sound Design), and Kaye Blankenship (Properties Design). The stage manager is D Westerholm.

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