Lowell Byers Leads PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE, Beginning Tonight at The Old Globe

The Old Globe teams with the University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program to present William Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre, directed by Ray Chambers and running tonight, November 15 - November 23 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Opening night is tonight, November 15 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Pericles can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a startling epic of the trials, heartbreak, and redemption of a warrior who must navigate the dangerous currents of human corruption and angry fate. Join him as he travels across the treacherous oceans of North Africa, ancient Syria, Turkey, and Greece and is forever changed by the comically exotic and morally vague figures he meets. Love, betrayal, laughter, and adventure unfold in this engrossing, yet seldom produced, Shakespearean gem.

"The Old Globe's M.F.A. program is one of the jewels in this theater's crown, and I'm as proud of the work we do training the next generation of American actors as I am of anything else in the institution's life," said Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "The talent that thrives in our venture with USD is top-notch, and in the fascinating Shakespearean saga that is Pericles, Prince of Tyre, that talent will be on dazzling display."

The cast features Amy Blackman (Thaisa), Maxx Brawer (Cleon), Lindsay Brill (Bawd), Charlotte Bydwell (Lychorida, Diana), Lowell Byers (Pericles), Ally Carey (Dionyza), Jamal Douglas (Simonides), Tyler Kent (Helicanus), Jake Millgard (Cerimon, Pandar), Makha Mthembu (Marina), Daniel Petzold (Boult), Megan M. Storti (Gower), Nathan Whitmer (Antiochus, Leonine), and Patrick Zeller (Lysimachus, Thailard).

The creative team includes Sean Fanning and Brian Redfern (Scenic Design), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design), Jason Bieber (Lighting Design), Melanie Chen (Sound Design), Jan Gist (Voice and Speech Coach), Brian Byrnes (Movement Coach), Nicole Ries (Production Stage Manager), and Ryan Heath (Assistant Stage Manager).

A joint venture of The Old Globe and the University of San Diego, the Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts program nationally recruits seven students each year to participate in an intensive two-year, year-round course of graduate study in classical theatre. Private funding for the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre program has been contributed through a generous endowment established by Donald and Darlene Shiley. Additional support for the program is provided by The Dorothy Brown Endowment Fund and the Louis Yager Cantwell Foundation. For additional information, visit www.globemfa.org.

Since first training with The Old Globe in the mid-80s, Ray Chambers (Director) has worked as a classical actor and director with numerous regional theatres across the country. For nearly two decades as an Associate Artist with Alabama Shakespeare Festival, he has worked as actor, director, writer, and instructor, and he served as Director of the Master of Fine Arts/Professional Actor Training Program at ASF from 2001 to 2009. His regional acting credits include title roles in Hamlet, The Count of Monte Cristo, Richard III, Coriolanus, King John, Henry V, and Tartuffe and leading roles in Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale, The Rivals, Henry IV, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Great Expectations, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Saint Joan, among many others. His credits at The Old Globe include The Life of Riley, Coriolanus, The Comedy of Errors, The School for Scandal, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, and Macbeth. He has taught Acting and Classical Text in master classes and workshops for universities and theatres around the country and is currently Head of Acting with the Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program.

Tickets to Pericles, Prince of Tyre can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre begin on Nov. 15 and continue through Nov. 23. Tickets are $19. Performance times: Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 20 at 8:00 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Discounts are available for students, USD faculty and staff, seniors, active military, and groups of 15 or more.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances ($12), located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/Directions. To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, please do not use the Delivery Address above. There is only a 10-minute zone at that physical address. For GPS users, please click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 75 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 14 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES:

Amy Blackman (Thaisa) begins her work with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program in Pericles. She received her B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. A native of England, she also studied at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. In New York she has worked on various readings including The Brothers Karamazov (Classic Stage Company), The Bootlegger & The Rabbi's Daughter (New York Musical Theatre Festival), and Mrs. Hughes (New York Theatre Workshop). She has performed regionally as Madeline Astor in Titanic, Dora Bailey in Singin' in the Rain, Kiss Me, Kate, and The Sound of Music (The Muny). Blackman can also be seen in the comedic indie film Piranha Sharks and the short film Naked.

Maxx Brawer (Cleon) has appeared Off Broadway in Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra (Playwrights Horizons) and Don't Go Gentle (MCC Theater). His other theatre credits include a cautionary tale (The Flea Theater), Into the Woods (Kid City Theater Company), and Showcase (The Players Theatre Loft). His television and film credits include "Are We There Yet?" "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "All My Children," Twelve, and My Last Day Without You.

Lindsay Brill (Bawd) most recently appeared in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and The Winter's Tale at The Old Globe. She also appeared in Much Ado About Nothing and Reckless with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program. In New York, Brill has performed at The Lion's Theatre, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, Prospect Theater Company, and The Actors Studio. She recently won an award for the one-woman show Testify! in New York. She also performed sketch comedy in the Chicago Women's Funny Festival and finished shooting the new web series "Annie and Brie." Brill holds a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Washington University in St. Louis.

Charlotte Bydwell (Lychorida, Diana) recently appeared in The Old Globe's productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Othello and in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, and Reckless. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and began her career as a dancer with Monica Bill Barnes Company and Keigwin + Company, performing at Jacob's Pillow Dance, American Dance Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, and The Joyce Theater. As a member of the resident acting company at The Flea Theater she appeared in Sean Graney's highly acclaimed These Seven Sicknesses directed by Ed Iskandar. At the 2012 Williamstown Theatre Festival, she appeared in The Importance of Being Earnest directed by David Hyde Pierce and A Month in the Country directed by Richard Nelson. Her one-woman show, Woman of Leisure and Panic, debuted in the eighth-annual soloNOVA Arts Festival (New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination), played the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival, and was translated into Spanish for performances in Mexico.

Lowell Byers (Pericles) recently appeared at the Globe as Turio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and in Othello, and he also appeared in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, and Reckless. His Off Broadway credits include Night Float (Playwrights Horizons), Othello (Theatre Row), Balm in Gilead (New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Play), and You Never Can Tell and The Changing Room (T. Schreiber Studio). He has been seen regionally in North Shore Fish (Gloucester Stage Company), As You Like It (Vermont Stage Company), and SMILE: The Musical (Deane Center for the Performing Arts). He played the title role in Caligula: 1400 Days of Terror (History Channel) and appeared in the films Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear (Chiller/NBC Universal), Brewsie and Willie (Rocam Productions), and Things I Don't Understand (Best Feature Film winner, Burbank International and Philadelphia Independent Film Festivals). His original play, Luft Gangster, had its 2013 world premiere at Abingdon Theatre Company directed by Austin Pendleton. A New York City native, he received a B.A. in Theatre from Denison University.

Ally Carey (Dionyza) most recently appeared in Dorian (The House Theatre of Chicago). Her other Chicago credits include John of Gaunt in Richard II (Two Pence Theatre Company), Presidential Ball (American Theater Company 10x10 Festival), and understudying Belleville (Steppenwolf Theatre Company) and Camino Real (Goodman Theatre). Her regional credits include Gwen in The Royal Family, Helen of Troy in Troilus and Cressida, and Helena in All's Well That Ends Well (American Players Theatre), Brooke in Noises Off and The Winter's Tale (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Writer 1272 and A Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater), Jessica in American Sexy (New Theatre Group at the Guthrie), All's Well That Ends Well and As You Like it (Georgia Shakespeare), and As You Like It and Richard III (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival). She also appeared in New York in Cinderella (The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center). Her television credits include "Chicago, P.D." Carey wrote and directed [Something clever goes here.] (Brouhaha Comedy Festival at The Southern Theater) and To the Lighthouse! (Bedlam Theatre). She received her B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program.

Jamal Douglas (Simonides) was recently seen in the Globe's productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. He also appeared in the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Reckless and Much Ado About Nothing. Douglas has worked with Philadelphia Young Playwrights, PlayPenn, Simpatico Theatre Project, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Arden Theatre Company, Plays & Players, and the National Constitution Center, among others. In his spare time, he teaches with SAY (The Stuttering Association for the Young) in New York City. He holds a B.F.A. in Acting from Arcadia University.

Tyler Kent (Helicanus) recently appeared at The Old Globe in Othello, directed by Barry Edelstein, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He has also appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, Antigone, and Reckless with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program. His regional credits include The Arabian Nights (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Eugene O'Neill Foundation), A Doctor in Spite of Himself and The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Berkeley Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (Extant Arts Company), Twelfth Night (The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), MEDEAStories (SITI Company), Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway By The Bay), Snapshots and Auctioning the Ainsleys (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), Finian's Rainbow (Woodminster), Vera Wilde (Shotgun Players), and What the Butler Saw (Pacific Repertory Theatre). Kent was among the American participants in Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes's international Bridge Project with The Old Vic. His cabarets Nobody's Hart and Give Me the Simple Life toured China in 2009 and 2011. He is a graduate of Whitman College and also trained with CAP21, SITI Company, and the British American Drama Academy.

Jake Millgard (Cerimon, Pandar) is making his Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program debut. His New York credits include Sex and Violence, On Campus, and Remembering Kimberly. His regional credits include Dracula and A Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville), The Full Monty (Northern Stage), and Art, The Odd Couple, and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Mount Baker Theatre's Summer Repertory Theatre), and he went on tour with From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. He also appeared in the premiere of The Open Road Anthology (Humana Festival of New American Plays). Some of his television and film credits include "Grimm," Pudding Face, Placebo, and Frank and Barry.

Makha Mthembu (Marina) is making her Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program debut. Mthembu's Chicago credits include Judith in Sweetwater (Oracle Productions), Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista), and Judith Smith in Belfast Girls (Artemisia, A Chicago Theatre). Her regional credits include Catherine in The Nightmare Room (Towle Theater). Mthembu received her B.F.A in Theatre -- Acting from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Daniel Petzold (Boult) most recently performed in Tom Stoppard's trilogy The Coast of Utopia with Shotgun Players. He has also performed in Three Sisters (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), A Bright New Boise (Aurora Theatre Company), Any Given Day and Another Way Home (Magic Theatre), Oskar and the Big Bully Battle (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), and Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, and Romeo and Juliet (Pacific Repertory Theatre), as well as performances with the San Francisco, Marin, and Livermore Shakespeare Festivals. He holds a B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley.

Megan M. Storti (Gower) was last seen at the Globe in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Othello. Her other credits with The Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program include Bazira in Much Ado About Nothing, Rachael in Reckless and Ismene in Antigone. Her Chicago credits include The Liar (Writers' Theatre), As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Woman in White and The City & the City (Lifeline Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre), Marat/Sade (The Right Brain Project), Romeo and Juliet (Glass Onion Theatre), and Titus Andronicus (DreamLogic Theatreworks). Her regional credits include Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Heartland Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, and Putnam County Playhouse. Storti received her B.A. in Acting from Illinois State University.

Nathan Whitmer (Antiochus, Leonine) appeared Off Broadway in A.A. Milne's The Ugly Duckling (Marvell Rep). His other New York credits include Bumbershoot! (New York International Fringe Festival), Macduff in Macbeth (Titan Theatre Company), and Sam Speed in Who Murdered Love (Theater for the New City). At Barter Theatre he was a member of the Player and Resident Acting companies, appearing in over 25 productions, which included his roles of Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps, Cliff in Cabaret, Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Bert in It's a Wonderful Life, Fred in A Christmas Carol, and Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad. His other regional credits include A Christmas Carol, Reckless, and Sherlock Holmes (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), The Royal Hunt of the Sun and 1776 (Texas Shakespeare Festival), and John Proctor in The Crucible (Roxy Regional Theatre). Whitmer received his B.F.A. from Ohio University.

Patrick Zeller (Lysimachus, Thailard) was last seen at the Globe in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as Lodovico in Othello, and The Winter's Tale, and with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program as Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing. He also appeared at the Globe as Nick in the 2008 production of The American Plan. Zeller's other classical theatre credits include The Mysteries (Shakespeare & Company), The Comedy of Errors (New York Classical Theatre), Edward II (Pet Brick Productions), Hamlet (Maine Shakespeare Festival), and Romeo and Juliet and Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Now! Theatre Company). Zeller has appeared on "Law & Order," "Medium," "All My Children," "One Life to Live," and "The Young and the Restless." He also co-starred in the award-winning feature film Virgin Alexander. His other film credits include No Reservations, End of the Spear, and A Totally Minor Motion Picture.

Sean Fanning (Scenic Design) is a San Diego-based set designer with a career spanning over 40 productions on local stages. His previous Globe credits include A Doll's House, Kingdom, and Plaid Tidings - A Special Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid. His credits with the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program include Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. His other credits include In the Heights and Walter Cronkite is Dead (San Diego Repertory Theatre), Pageant, Maple and Vine, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Shakespeare's R&J, Man of La Mancha, and Parade (Cygnet Theatre Company), and The Full Monty (New Village Arts). Fanning holds an M.F.A. in Scene Design from San Diego State University.

Brian Redfern (Scenic Design) designed the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program productions of Reckless, Tartuffe, Fathers and Sons, and The Importance of Being Earnest. He has designed more than 70 productions including designs for Cygnet Theatre Company, Intrepid Shakespeare Company, ion theatre company, Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company, MOXIE Theatre, New Village Arts, Playwrights Project, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego State University, Summer Repertory Theater, University of San Diego, Vantage Theatre, and others. Redfern has also assistant designed for numerous regional productions throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and the U.K.

Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design) recently designed Reckless, Much Ado About Nothing, and Measure for Measure (Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program), The Who and the What, Our Town, Tall Girls, Brahman/i, and Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (La Jolla Playhouse), Lifeblood Harmony, Chagall, and A Man Found Wanting (Malashock Dance), and The Storm, The Threepenny Opera, and A Man, His Wife, and His Hat (UC San Diego). Her assistant costume credits include Paradise Found (Menier Chocolate Factory), Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse), and As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Old Globe). Benzoni holds a Costume Design M.F.A. from UCSD.

Jason Bieber (Lighting Design) recently designed the USD productions of Antigone, Fathers and Sons, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Uncle Vanya, Marat/Sade, and Richard III. His credits at The Old Globe include The Mystery of Irma Vep and Since Africa. His San Diego design credits include Cowboy Versus Samurai (2007 Patté Award), Permanent Collection, Night Sky (2008 Patté Award), Good Boys, Yellowface, Stick Fly, Kita y Fernanda, Extraordinary Chambers, and The Amish Project (Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company), Topdog/Underdog, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Eurydice, Bluebonnet Court, and Bleeding Kansas (MOXIE Theatre), Facing East, No Exit, Scrooge in Rouge, and The New Century (Diversionary Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Orphans, Prelude to a Kiss, The Man Who, The Heidi Chronicles, The Seven Year Itch, and Into the Woods (New Village Arts), The Turn of the Screw (Intrepid Shakespeare Company), and The Pajama Game, Hello, Dolly!, Annie, High School Musical, Nine, and My Fair Lady (Starlight Musical Theatre). Bieber holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently the Assistant Lighting Designer for San Diego Opera.

Melanie Chen (Sound Design) has designed West Coast productions of Uncle Vanya (Pomona College), Animals Out of Paper (East West Players), Dance of the Holy Ghosts (Ubuntu Theater Project in Oakland), Words by Ira Gershwin, Faded Glory, and Becoming Cuba (North Coast Repertory Theatre), Bug, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Blasted (Craig Noel Award nomination), Angels in America (Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Sound Design), The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (ion theatre company), Boys and Girls (Diversionary Theatre), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (MOXIE Theatre), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (New Village Arts), among others. She received her M.F.A. in Sound Design for Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego.

Nicole Ries (Production Stage Manager) returns to the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program, where her previous productions include Antigone, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, and Reckless. Her other regional credits include Jade Heart, Coming Attractions, A Man, His Wife and His Hat and staged readings of The Cancer Play and Seven (MOXIE Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors and A Behanding in Spokane (Cygnet Theatre Company), and Into the Woods, Tom and Huck and Jim, Paradise Hotel, and Little Women (San Diego State University). Ries is currently MOXIE Theatre's Associate Production Manager and has also worked with San Diego Repertory Theatre (Company Manager/Assistant Production Manager 2003-2009) and Starlight Musical Theatre (General Manager 2010-2011). She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Arts Management from San Diego State University.

Ryan Heath (Assistant Stage Manager) has stage managed Reckless and Antigone (Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program), The Motherfucker with the Hat and Maple and Vine (Cygnet Theatre Company), Marry Me a Little, The Divine Sister, Birds of a Feather, and The Pride (Diversionary Theatre), References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot and Freedom of Speech (MOXIE Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Livermore Shakespeare Festival), and I Hate Hamlet (The Western Stage). His credits as production assistant include Kingdom City and Side Show (La Jolla Playhouse) and A Doll's House (The Old Globe). Heath earned his B.A. in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University.

To post a comment, you must register and login.