THE BIG MEAL, THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD and More Set for Artists Rep's 2013-14 Season

Artists Repertory Theatre's 2013/14 season will continue our vision of finding and producing adventurous, provocative work that challenges audiences and artists alike. Next season's play offerings will enhance Artists Rep's role as Portland's premiere mid-size regional theatre company by offering nine of the most cutting-edge plays available today, written by internationally prestigious playwrights, guided by esteemed directors and featuring casts who will unleash these stories onto our stages.

The potent and diverse lineup of thrilling plays set for Artists Rep's intimate stages this season were distilled by an invigorating collaboration between new Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez and Allen Nause who recently retired from 25 years at the artistic helm of the theatre. With the 2013/14 season, Artists Rep will experience an exciting transition in artistic leadership that will further strengthen its remarkable dedication to vibrant theatre over its 30-year history. Although a theme for the season was not consciously sought, each of the plays - whether outrageous comedies or nail-biting dramas - share a conspicuous thematic interplay between perceptions of one's past and future and that impact on the present.

Embracing the future, Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez has grown Artists Rep's artistic ensemble with Portland's most talented artists. His first addition was former Artists Rep Artistic Director Allen Nause. Current Resident Artists at Artists Rep include: Linda Alper (actor), Owen Carey (photographer), Kristeen Crosser (scenic & lighting designer), Michael Mendelson (actor/director & artistic associate), Vana O'Brien (actor & co-founder), Rodolfo Ortega (sound designer & composer), Allen Nause (actor/director & former artistic director), Jeff Seats (scenic designer) and Todd Van Voris (actor & artistic associate).

- Show 7 change - The Quality of Life by Jane Anderson will replace The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar. The Invisible Hand has been moved to the Fall 2014/15 season and will be a co-production with ACT in Seattle.

- Opening Nights - This season they will be held the first Saturday of the run dates, all media reviews are welcome from that point forward. Preview performances are the first Tuesday through Friday of the run.

ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE'S 2013/14 SEASON:

The Big Meal
Sep 3 - Oct 6
by Dan LeFranc
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
West Coast Premiere

Opening Night: September 7, 2013

Alder Stage

Set in a quintessential American restaurant, entire lives whiz by for a modern family whose stage and age are short-order fare. From birth to that inevitable last course - and every corndog, calamari and Cadillac margarita in between - a multi-generational potluck of characters live life's major and minor moments around the dinner table. Expect humor and heartache as eight actors portraying 26 characters and five generations serve up a veritable theatrical feast.

• Off-Broadway Hit

• New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award Winner

CAST: Vana O'Brien+^ (Woman #1), Allen Nause*^(Man#1), Val Landrum* (Woman #2), Scott Lowell* (Man #2), Britt Harris+ (Woman #3), Andy Lee-Hillstrom* (Man #3), Agatha Olson (Girl), Harper Lea (Boy), Gavin Hales (Server)

Mistakes Were Made
Sep 17 - Oct 20
by Craig Wright
Directed by Michael Mendelson
Northwest Premiere

Opening Night: September 21, 2013

Morrison Stage

Felix is a NYC theatre producer about to blow a gasket. Jabbing at the hold button as he negotiates with a playwright, a movie star, a deep-pockets funder and an agent, all while mediating a Middle East crisis (involving sheep and militant rebels), this non-stop, fast-talking chameleon is bound for no good. With his overweight pet fish, Denise, as his only confidant and the weight of the world on his shoulders, the stage is set for a high-speed comedic train wreck of a tale. Todd Van Voris will star in this tour-de-force role.

• Off-Broadway Hit

• Multiple Award-winning playwright & TV screenwriter

CAST: Todd Van Voris*^ (Felix Artifex), Lucy Paschall (Esther)

Foxfinder
Oct 29 - Dec 1
by Dawn King
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
U.S. Premiere

Opening Night: November 2, 2013

Alder Stage

At the heart of this gripping, futuristic parable beats an incendiary plot that pulses with menace and suspicion. In rural England, a blight of bad luck has befallen the countryside and a fox infestation may be to blame. The totalitarian government sends an agent, a "Foxfinder," into the home of Judith and Samuel Covey and the invasive inspection whirls simple lives into a frenzy of finger-pointing and distrust. As the bizarre scrutiny intensifies, guilt, fear and distorted realities fuel a feverish hunt to explain the unknown.

• Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2012/13 Finalist

• Critically acclaimed London hit

CAST: Joshua Weinstein* (William Bloor), Shawn Lee* (Samuel Covey), Sara Hennessy* (Judith Covey), Amanda Soden* (Sarah Box)

* NOTE: This production is produced in association with Furious Theatre Company and will re-open at the Pasadena Playhouse, Carrie Hamilton Theatre, featuring the same cast.

XMAS UNPLUGGED | Double-bill: 2 comedies • 1 show

Nov 26 - Dec 29
PLAY 1: The Reason for the Season
by Matt Pelfrey

Directed by Rusty Tennant
World Premiere

PLAY 2: The Night Before Christmas

by Anthony Neilson
Directed by Louanne Moldovan

Northwest Premiere

Opening Night: November 30, 2013

Morrison Stage

Spend an outrageous Christmas Eve with a churlish Santa, a kidnapped elf and a handful of hapless souls in need of some holiday spirit. Amid the shrapnel of yuletide yearning, broken dreams and poignant revelations, can the magic of the season spark hope in their hearts? With these two riotous, irreverent short plays that even Ebenezer Scrooge could appreciate, be prepared for a pair of good old-fashioned, foul-mouthed, feel-good holiday anti-classics ... and just a wee dusting of that cherished Christmas feeling.

• Two award-winning playwrights

• A holiday debauchery double-bill for mature audiences

CAST:

The Reason for the Season: Foss Curtis, Chris Murray*, Todd Van Voris*^

The Night Before Christmas: Chris Murray*, Todd Van Voris*^, Luisa Sermol*, Jill Westerby+

The Monster-Builder
Jan 28 - Mar 2
by Amy Freed
Directed by Art Manke
World Premiere

Opening Night: February 1, 2014

Alder Stage

A maniacal scheme of fantastical proportions lurks deep inside world-renowned mega-architect Gregor Zubrowski's post-modern steel and glass structures. His commanding presence and curious creative process both titillate and manipulate design professionals and patrons alike into submission. After he casually steals a career-making project, two fledgling architects dare to challenge this monster-builder at his own game. Expect the unexpected from this absurdly funny, wickedly smart new comedy.

• Pulitzer Prize Finalist

• Nationally renowned playwright

• A hit at the Pacific Playwrights Festival

CAST: Allison Tigard* (Rita), Gavin Hoffman* (Dieter), Michael Elich* (Gregor), Robin Goodrin Nordli* (Pamela), Don Alder* (Andy), Bhama Roget* (Tamsin)

The Motherf**ker With the Hat
Feb 25 - Mar 30
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Kevin Jones
Northwest Premiere

Opening Night: March 1, 2014

Morrison Stage

Recovering addict Jackie, fresh out of jail, is determined to get straight and settle down in NYC with the support of his girl Veronica, his AA sponsor Ralph D, and his loyal cousin Julio until ... he finds a hat that isn't his own left conspicuously behind in his bedroom. His quest to track down the motherf**ker with the hat threatens to put him right back where he started. Take a breakneck ride with this poetically profane, kick in the karmic cojones that becomes a raw, touching and thoroughly hilarious dive into the quest for transformation.

• Tony-nominated Broadway hit

• Regional theatre sensation

CAST: Diana De La Cruz* (Veronica), John San Nicolas* (Jackie), Victor Mack* (Ralph D.), Val Landrum* (Victoria), Gilberto Martin del Campo (Cousin Julio)

The Quality of Life
Apr 8 - May 11
by Jane Anderson

Directed by Allen Nause
Northwest Premiere

Opening Night: April 12, 2014

Alder Stage

It turns out that true love knows no bounds, family roots run true and there are a few things red wine and a bong hit won't fix. Jeanette and Neil live off the land in a yurt on the site of their Northern California home, recently destroyed by a massive fire. Neil is dying. Jeannette's long-lost cousin and her husband are coming from the Midwest for a visit after losing their daughter. In a love story and comedic drama that plumbs societal, religious and ethical divides, the couples explore their respective life perspectives with finesse, humor, honesty and respect.

• Winner 2007 Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an Outstanding New Play

• 2008 Ovation Award for Best New Play Winner

CAST: Linda Alper*^, Michael Mendelson*^, two additional roles to be cast.

The Playboy of the Western World

May 20 - June 22

by J.M. Synge
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez

Rare Revival

Opening Night: May 24, 2014

Morrison Stage

Truth, fiction or wishful thinkin'... you decide. On the run and reinventing himself along the way, a young stranger arrives in a remote Irish village with a dark secret begging to be told. Gossip and outrageous speculation stir up passions when this fine teller of tall tales turns winner of women and sport, and bumbles his way into romance and celebrity. In a rare revival of the explosively funny Irish classic that caused riots after its 1907 Dublin debut, this farcical, lilting masterpiece takes the stage by storm and unleashes a peculiar poetic justice.

• "One of the most significant plays of the 20th Century." - National Theater Platform

CAST: Chris Murray* (Christy Mahon), Bill Geisslinger* (Old Mahon), Allen Nause*^ (Michael Flaherty), Amy Newman* (Pegeen Mike Flaherty), Jill Van Velzer* (Widow Quin), Isaac Lamb* (Shawn Keough), Michael Mendelson*^, (Philly Cullen) Todd Van Voris*^ (Jimmy Farrell), Brenan Dwyer (Sara Tansey), Rebecca Ridenour (Susan Brady), Lissie Huff (Honor Blake)

^ Resident Artist
* Member Actors Equity Association
+ Equity Membership Candidate
** Member Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

The 2013/14 season is presented by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Ronni Lacroute /WillaKenzie Estate and The Oregonian. Other support comes from Meyer Memorial Trust, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Work for Art, the Oregon Arts Commission, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, PosterGarden, KINK-FM and All Classical.

Founded in 1982, Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theatre company in Portland. Artists Rep is committed to world-class acting, directing, design and stagecraft that support new playwriting and aspires to embody great literature, moving audiences to truly feel- to experience -storytelling in a way that only the best live theatre can.

Portland's premiere mid-size regional theatre company is led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez and Managing Director Sarah Horton. For the 2013/14 season Artists Rep will offer nine bold and entertaining new plays written by internationally acclaimed playwrights, and guided by esteemed directors. Artists Rep productions will feature the work of a core group of accomplished Resident Artists, each with a shared history and a shorthand for collaboration, working alongside guest artists from Portland and beyond.

Resident Artists include: Linda Alper (actor), Owen Carey (photographer), Kristeen Crosser (scenic & lighting designer), Michael Mendelson (actor/director & artistic associate), Vana O'Brien (actor & co-founder), Rodolfo Ortega (sound designer & composer), Allen Nause (actor/director & former artistic director), Jeff Seats (scenic designer) and Todd Van Voris (actor & artistic associate).

Our Mission: Artists Rep strives to challenge artists and audiences with plays of depth and vibrancy in an intimate setting. Artists Rep explores the strengths, frailties and diversity of the human condition primarily through regional premieres, commissioned works and selected classics appropriate to contemporary issues.

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