Custom Made Theatre to Present 6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION

Inspired by a true story, Six Degrees of Separation follows the trail of a young African-American con man who insinuates himself into the lives of a wealthy, white New York couple, claiming he is the son of actor Sidney Poitier, and that he has just been mugged and all his money is gone. No subject is left untouched in this comic, fast-paced and affecting piece. Six Degrees is directed by Stuart Bousel, who directed last season's award-winning Grey Gardens. Six Degrees of Separation runs May 19-June 18 at Custom Made Theatre, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco, 94102.

Custom Made's revival takes advantage of our intimate space with a cocktail-party themed environment, with the cast in elegant formal wear, designed by award-wining costumer Brooke Jennings. Also unique to this production will be director Bousel's concept to have most of the cast on stage throughout the performance, which will enhance the direct address structure of Guare's play, as Flan and Ouisa tell their comic-tragic story.

Six Degrees of Separation explores the existential premise that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else in the world by a chain of no more than six acquaintances, thus, "six degrees of separation". Jane Kathleen Curry, an Assistant Professor of Theater at Wake Forest University commented that "Guare has attained a degree of celebrity, largely due to the success of the stage and screen versions of Six Degrees of Separation. Indeed, the phrase 'six degrees of separation' has circulated widely in the popular culture."

With Sam Bertken, Alisha Ehrlich, Kyle Goldman, Brian Levi, Carl Lucania, Kathleen McHatton, Kyle McReddie, Khary Moye, Genevieve Perdue, Kelly Rinehart, Richard Sargent, Karl Schackne, and Matt Weimer

Creative Team : Brooke Jennings*, William Campbell, Neil Higgins, Ryan Lee Short*, Ryan Martin, Grisel Torres, Kitty Torres(

*member, Custom Made Theatre Co.

About the Playwright

John Guare (rhymes with "air"; born February 5, 1938) is an Irish American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body. His style, which mixes comic invention with an acute sense of the failure of human relations and aspirations, is at once cruel and deeply compassionate.

Guare's early plays, mostly comic one-acts exhibiting a flair for the absurd, include To Wally Pantoni, We Leave a Credenza. His wit is apparent in many of the titles he has chosen for his plays. The House of Blue Leaves, a domestic drama by turns wildly comic and despairingly poignant, premiered Off-Broadway in 1971. Later plays include Marco Polo Sings a Solo, and Four Baboons Adoring the Sun Guare wrote the screenplay for Louis Malle's film Atlantic City (1980), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

CURTAIN TIMES AND TICKETS

Venue: Custom Made Theatre, 533 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Previews: May 19 -21 8:00 pm; $25-28

Opens: Sunday May 22 at 7:00 pm

Runs: select Wednesdays 7:30p, Thursdays & Fridays 8:00 pm; Saturdays 2:00 (select performances) & 8:00 pm; See www.custommade.org/sixdegrees for exact showtimes.

Running Time: approx. 90 minutes

Tickets: $50 Opening Night; Other times $28-42 (415) 798-CMTC (2682), www.custommade.org

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