The Dragon Theatre Presents the Existential Classic Waiting For Godot

Voted "the most significant English language play of the 20th century" in a survey of playwrights, Waiting for Godot is considered a masterpiece of surrealist existentialism. Two wandering vagabonds, Vladimir and Estragon, wait by a lonely tree, to meet up with Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a world where time, place and memory are blurred and meaning is where you find it. The men hope that Godot will change their lives for the better. Instead, two eccentric travelers arrive, one man on the end of the other's rope. The results are both surprisingly funny and somehow touching, and the trip will bend your brain in this vigorous conception of Samuel Beckett's classic.

The Dragon's production is part of the 2nd Stages Series, and is produced and directed by Jeanie K. Smith. No stranger to the Dragon Theatre, Smith previously directed Rx and A Streetcar Named Desire. Smith has also directed numerous shows at other local theatres, including the Pear Theatre, Los Altos Stage Company, Palo Alto Players, and Shady Shakespeare. A partial list of shows includes The Tempest, Hay Fever, Metamorphoses, Cherry Orchard, Angels in America: Millenium Approaches, Night of the Iguana, Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Familiar Strangers, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Arcadia, and August: Osage County, at the Pear; Harvey, God of Carnage, Boeing Boeing, Perfect Wedding, Light in the Piazza, Noises Off, Private Lives and Clybourne Park for Palo Alto Players; House of Blue Leaves, The Clean House, and Bus Stop for Bus Barn/Los Altos Stage Co; and Romeo & Juliet for Shady Shakespeare. Smith holds a Ph.D. in Drama from the University of Washington, reviews theatre for the Palo Alto Weekly and San Jose Metro, and is a member of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society.

Smith has assembled a strong cast of familiar faces and veterans of South Bay stages, including Ronald Feichtmeir as Estragon and Jim Johnson as Vladimir, Robert Sean Campbell as Lucky, and Michael Champlin as Pozzo.

Ronald Feichtmeir (Estragon) has been doing theatre since middle school, acting in a children's theatre production where he played a frantic White Rabbit. He eventually got himself to college, where he studied acting for an extra year at the University of California Santa Cruz, in a certificate program there. During his undergraduate years there he also acted in both department productions, and in an independently student run, multi-cultural theatre group called Rainbow Theater at Stevenson College. He was last seen at the Dragon Theatre in Marvin's Room. More recently he's acted locally on the Peninsula. Waiting for Godot will be his fourth show with director Smith.

Jim Johnson (Vladimir) last appeared at the Dragon in Becky's New Car. He also appeared in Sideman and Marvin's Room. He has also been in many shows at the Pear Theatre including Bach at Leipzig, The Illusion, Cherry Orchard and The Tempest. He was most recently seen at the Pear in Super Villain.

Robert Sean Campbell (Lucky) is a graduate of The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and Santa Clara University, where he was the 2007 recipient of the William H. Leahy Award. In addition to acting for the stage and on camera, he is co-owner of Diamond in the Rough Films located in San Jose, CA. Select theatre credits include: Davey/David Quinn - The Voice of the Prairie, Septimus Hodge - Arcadia, Iago - Othello, Romeo - Romeo and Juliet, Brick - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Billy - The Real Thing, Trofimov - The Cherry Orchard, Jake Quinn, et al - Stones in His Pockets, Merritt, et al - Eat the Runt, George Tesman - Hedda Gabler, Villars - Complete Female Stage Beauty, Joe Pitt - Angels in America Part One, George Gibbs - Our Town, Adam - The Shape of Things, Jesus - The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Young Zeke Rowen - The Kentucky Cycle, and Coriolanus - Coriolanus. Select film credits include: Can't Thread a Moving Needle, S.E.R.P., and The Last Time I Saw Soap.

Michael Champlin (Pozzo) is a South Bay actor and director who has been part of a few dozen productions since moving to the Bay Area just over ten years ago. It's been a few years since he's been part of a Dragon production, and he will get to share the stage for the first time with his son, Jack, who plays the Boy.

Designers & Production Team: Robert Sean Campbell (Scenic Design), Anna Chase (Costume Designer), Ashley Taylor Frampton (Production Manager), Josiah Frampton (Box Office Manager), Dan Garrett (Lighting Design), Meredith Hagedorn (Executive Artistic Director),Linda Olbourne (Company Manager), Jeanie K. Smith (Director), GorDon Smith (Sound Design), Shannon Stowe (Graphic Design), Kimberly Wadycki (Managing Director and Press Inquiries), Kelly Weber (Stage Manager).

The show will take place September 16 - October 2, 2016, Thursdays - Saturdays, 8pm, Sundays, 2pm. Doors open 30 minutes before the show.Pay What You Will Preview, Thursday, September 15 at 8pm. Opening Night Friday, September 16 at 8p with a post show reception. Post-show discussion with the cast and director Sunday September 25

The show will take place at The Dragon Theatre in downtown Redwood City, 2120 Broadway Street at the intersection of Broadway and Theatre Way. Tickets are $30 for general admission seats. $25 for student/senior tickets, $15 rush tickets on Thursdays and Fridays starting 2nd week. Limited availability and cash only at the door.

Pay what you will preview on Thursday September 15- no reservation necessary, just walk up and pay cash at the door. Doors open at 7:30p; show starts at 8p. $175 for the VIP box (seats 4 people and includes champagne and chocolates.)

For tickets, leave a voicemail at 650-493-2006 x 2 and your call will be returned within 2 business days. If you'd rather email, contact Josiah at tickets@dragonproductions.net. The Dragon Box Office is not staffed 7 days a week so there might be a delay in response. Buying tickets online at http://www.dragonproductions.net is the very best way to reserve a ticket in advance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Tickets & more information at http://dragonproductions.net/

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