Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs to Present Will Eno's MIDDLETOWN, 12/6-15

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs proudly presents Will Eno's deeply moving and poetic comedy, Middletown, directed by Heidi Handelsman (Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs '14). A meditation on birth and death, Middletown examines the mystery of existence through the everyday lives and relationships of ordinary people. Performances run December 6 through December 15 in the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence. General admission $12, and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are on-sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, and online at www.trinityrep.com.

Amidst the all-American homes of Middletown, an unlikely friendship unfolds between new arrival Mary Swanson, a young woman who's about to start a family despite the absence of her husband, and lonely, longtime resident John Dodge, the town's unofficial handyman. Delving deeper into the intersecting lives of the small town's residents, Middletown reveals the epic beneath the ordinary. Journeying from the comforting walls of the local library to the mystifying outer limits of space, the play explores the perplexing passages through life and the forces that hold it altogether.

"Humans and the everyday things around them will be transformed into art objects," explains director Heidi Handelsman, and describes the language in Middletown as poetic, but with an extraordinary economy of words.

"We're creating a dream of a town, suspended in a sparkly, airy magic. That is the world of Middletown, " says Handelsman, "I hope the audience will take the play with them when they leave the theater; I hope they find flecks of it in their pockets for weeks afterwards."

The cast features third-year MFA acting students Nikki Massoud (Mrs. Swanson), Zdenko Martin (John Dodge), Ben Grills (Cop), Matt Russell (Mechanic), Katie Dupont (Librarian/Aunt), Bridget Saracino (Tour Guide/Sweetheart/Intercom), Ted Moller (Public Speaker/Greg/Male Doctor/Janitor), Steven Jaehnert (Male Tourist/Freelancer/Attendant), Alex Curtis (Man/Landscaper/Ground Control/Radio Host/Attendant), and Sherri Eldin (Female Tourist/ Woman/ Female Doctor/Cop's Radio/Radio Host).

Heidi Handelsman' s directing credits include As You Like It (Brown/Trinity Rep) and Rhinoceros (Brown/Trinity Rep). She has developed new work at Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep (Principal Principle by Joe Zarrow), the New York International Fringe Festival, New Georges, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Youngblood, Woodshed Collective, the Tank, and NYU/Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing. She is a New Georges Affiliated Artist and a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and was a 2010-2011 Resident Director at Ensemble Studio Theatre. When in New York, Heidi continues to host and curate her play-reading series, the Potluck.

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provides a three-year professional training program for eighteen students under the auspices of an Ivy League University and Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University's Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.

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