STAGE TUBE: Andrea Maulella, Andy Prosky and More Talk Penguin Rep's HOW THE WORLD BEGAN

Penguin Rep Theatre presents How the World Began, Catherine Trieschmann's thought-provoking new play examining contemporary America where religion, science and irreconcilable beliefs collide, beginning last night, June 28 in Stony Point (Rockland County), New York, directed by Penguin Rep founder and Artistic Director Joe Brancato will direct. Click below to watch interviews with the cast and creative team!

In How the World Began, Susan, a high school teacher from New York City, relocates to a small Kansas town reeling from a tornado and unexpectedly sets off a firestorm of her own when she makes an off-hand comment about the origin of the universe.

The second of the four mainstage productions selected for the Stony Point (Rockland County), New York-based nonprofit professional theatre's 36th season, How the World Began will be presented through Sunday, July 21.

How the World Began marks the return of Andrea Maulella, who previously appeared at Penguin Rep in the world premieres of Tom Dudzick's Miracle on South Division Street and Gino DiIorio and Nancy Bleemer's Centennial Casting, as well as in The Adjustment and The Vows of Penelope Corelli, and Andy Prosky, who recently starred in Around the World in 80 Days and as Dr. Watson in Hound of the Baskervilles. The cast also includes Drigan Lee making his Penguin debut.

Ms. Maulella has been seen Off Broadway in Tryst (Irish Repertory Theater), One Shot, One Kill (Primary Stages), and Miracle On South Division Street (St. Luke's Theatre), all directed by Joe Brancato. Regionally, she starred in To Kill a Mockingbird (Alley Theatre) and garnered the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for her performance as Adelaide in Tryst at the Westport Country Playhouse, a part which she all portrayed in productions at the Alley Theatre, Merrimack Repertory, and Hartford Theatre Works.

Mr. Prosky's stage credits include King Lear at Lincoln Center starring Christopher Plummer and The Price at the Walnut Street Theatre. He has been seen in the films Men In Black, Mrs Doubtfire, The Great Outdoors, Taking Woodstock (directed by Ang Lee) and A Birders Guide To Everything starring Sir Ben Kingsley.

Drigan Lee's credits include Six Degrees of Separation at Williamstown Theatre Festival. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and the School at Steppenwolf.

Playwright Catherine Trieschmann's work include The Bridegroom of Blowing Rock (Weissberger Award), crooked, The World of Others, Hot Georgia Sunday, and Small and Selfish Creatures. Her plays has been produced Off Broadway at Women's Project, South Coast Repertory, the Bush Theatre (London), Out of Joint (London), the New Theatre (Sydney), American Theatre Company (Chicago), Florida Stage, the Summer Play Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Theatre in the Square, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the New York International Fringe Festival. She has received commissions from South Coast Repertory Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club. Her work is published by Samuel French, Methuen, and Smith & Kraus, as well as featured in The Best New Playwrights of 2009. She also wrote the screenplay for the film Angel's Crest, which premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and will be released by Magnolia Pictures. Originally from Athens, Georgia, she currently resides in a small town in western Kansas.

Director Joe Brancato's Off Broadway credits include The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Off Bway Alliance & Audelco Award nominee), which he also staged at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Cleveland Play House and Hartford Stage; Tom Dudzick's Miracle on South Division Street (St. Luke's Theatre); Fall to Earth and Freed (Audelco Award nominee) at 59E59; Tryst (Outer Critics nomination for Best Play) at the Promenade Theatre and Irish Repertory Theatre; Cobb (Drama Desk winner) produced by Kevin Spacey in NYC and LA; From Door To Door at The Westside Theatre; and One Shot, One Kill at Primary Stages.

As founding artistic director of Penguin Rep he has directed nearly 150 productions here including premieres by Arthur Laurents, Lanie Robertson, William Mastrosimone, James Sherman, Steven Dietz, Richard Vetere, Allan Knee and Tom Dudzick.

The production team for How the World Began includes designers James J. Fenton (scenic), Elisheba Ittoop (sound), Kalere A. Payton (costumes), and Todd O. Wren (lighting); properties/technical director Kyle Bridwell; and production stage manager Michael Palmer.

Performance days and times for How the World Began are: Thursdays and Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. A special reduced-priced weekday matinee performance is slated for Friday, June 28 at 2:00 p.m. There is no performance Thursday, July 4.

Performances are slated at Penguin Rep Theatre's intimate, 108-seat theatre located at 7 Crickettown Road. The facility, a converted 1880s hay barn which was upgraded in 1986 and 2007, features air conditioning, wheelchair accessible rest rooms and entrance, upholstered theatre seats, and plenty of free parking.

Tickets to How the World Began are priced at $39 each. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and young people (30 and under). "If you're 30 or younger," says Mr. Horn, "call the box office and get tickets for $19.50 now." To order tickets or for further information, visit Penguin Rep's website at www.penguinrep.org or call 845-786-2873.

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