Word for Word to Present Sam Shepard's 36 STORIES, 5/21-6/22

Word for Word presents "36 Stories by Sam Shepard" arranged for the stage and directed by Amy Kossow opening with a press night on Saturday May 24 8pm, running through June 22 (previews May 21-23) at Z Space's second venue, Z Below, at 470 Florida Street. Last year the Magic Theatre spearheaded a multi-theater celebration of Shepard's 70th birthday when they opened their season with Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Buried Child." Other companies participating in the celebration have been Crowded Fire, American Conservatory Theater in collaboration with Intersection for the Arts/Campo Santo and Word for Word.

"Word for Word was invited to create an original work by adapting his prose for the stage..." remarks Word for Word co-artistic director Susan Harloe, " company member Amy Kossow spent a year immersed in all five of Mr. Shepard's collections of poetry and fiction." Amy crafted an entirely new theatrical adaptation from 36 different pieces - a road story that begins in a roadside motel. The resulting play, "36 Stories by Sam Shepard", is the journey of a lone writer travelling the great American desert highways. "36 Stories by Sam Shepard" is directed by Amy Kossow with a consummate cast that features Rod Gnapp*, Carl Lumbly*, Delia MacDougall*, JoAnne Winter*, and Patrick Alparone*. (member Actors Equity)

Tickets: 866.811.4111 or at www.zspace.org.

Rod Gnapp - A veteran of Bay Area stages, Mr. Gnapp will appear in Every Five Minutes and was most recently seen in Buried Child at the Magic Theatre. In 2013 he was seen in Storefront Church at the SF Playhouse and The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Marin Theatre Company. Theatre credits also include work at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, San Jose Rep, Aurora Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, the Huntington Theatre Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Seattle Rep, Virginia Playhouse and the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Mr. Gnapp can be seen in the independent feature film Touching Home by the Miller Brothers, with Ed Harris. He can also be seen in Valley of the Heart's Delite, Calendar Confloption (Pixar), and Return to the Streets of San Francisco. He is the recipient of many Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (BATCC) Awards and is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theater's MFA program.

Carl Lumbly Soon to appear in Marin Theater Company's Fences, Carl most recently appeared in Storefront Church at the SF Playhouse, and also appeared there in Stephen Adly Gurgis' The MotherF**ker with the Hat. Carl played the lead role, Mr. Ames, in the world premiere of Regina Taylor's Off-Broadway play Stop. Reset at the Signature Theatre in NYC. Bay Area audiences last saw Carl as an Irish serial killer in the first American production of Terminus by Mark O'Rowe, directed by Jon Tracy at the Magic Theatre. He is also known for his work on the CBS police drama Cagney & Lacey, the ABC espionage drama series Alias, and as the voice of the Martian Manhunter for the animated series Justice League.

Delia MacDougall For the last twenty years, Delia has worked with Word for Word as a teacher, actor, and director. Shows she has directed include Winesburg, Ohio: Tales of the Grotesques; Immortal Heart; Oil! (Chapter One: The Ride); Confessions of Madame Psyche, among others. Delia performs throughout the Bay Area with theaters including A.C.T., California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Aurora Theater, Magic Theatre, Marin Theater Company, TheatreWorks, and Intersection for the Arts.

JoAnne Winter Most recently appeared in Word for Word's 20th Anniversary show, In Friendship. As Founding Artistic Director of Word for Word, she has co-produced over 100 productions She has originated roles in many Word for Word shows, including:Three Blooms, Three On A Party, Xingu, Friend of My Youth, and John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven, co-produced with California Shakespeare Theater. She has directed many of Word for Word's shows, including Wants and A Conversation with My Father by Grace Paley and Spring Rain by Bernard Malamud.

Patrick Alparone Any Given Day, Mrs. Whitney, and Octopus (Magic Theatre). The Normal Heart, Elektra (ACT); Red (Portland Center Stage); Phaedra (Shotgun Players); Period of Adjustment, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (San Francisco Playhouse);Man of Rock (Climate Theatre); Twelfth Night, Ambition Facing West (TheatreWorks); Olive Kitteridge (Word for Word); A Streetcar Named Desire (Marin Theatre Co.); Skin (Encore Theatre Co.); Hamlet (Impact Theatre); Little Dog Laughed (B Street Theatre); Karima's City in Egypt for The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (Golden Thread Productions). Film credits include The Wisdom Tree, This is Hamlet, Seducing Charlie Barker, and Two from the Line.

Amy Kossow, (Director )
Ms. Kossow was a founding member of the Z Space Studio, and is a Charter Member of Word for Word. With WFW, she has directed mainstage, touring, and Off the Page series stories by Siobhan Fallon, Mavis Gallant, Leslie Ely, Mem Fox, Gail Carson Levine, Dan Chaon, Nathan Englander, Kay Boyle and Lawrence Block. She has directed works at Magic Theatre, the Eureka, Berkeley City Club, Asian American Theater, and at People's Light and Theater. Favorite WFW acting roles include Amanda Toplady (In Friendship), Ottaline (The Bunchgrass Edge of the World), Rose (Three Blooms), Abby Borden (The Fall River Axe Murders), and Miss Van Vluck (Xingu). Ms. Kossow appeared as Sadie in the American premiere of Any Given Day and as Mary Prime Deity in the rolling world premiere of The Lily's Revenge, both at Magic Theatre. She also originated the roles of Hilda, Ma Humbert, and Miss Martin in Octavio Solis's adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven at CalShakes (collaboration with Word for Word) and at the Arena Stage 2011 New Play Convening. She holds an MFA from Catholic University, along with a JD from University of Chicago.

Sam Shepard (Playwright) was first produced in New York in 1963 at Theatre Genesis and many times at La MaMa and Café Cino. Eleven of his plays have won Obie Awards including The Tooth of Crime (1972) and Curse of the Starving Class (1976). He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his play Buried Child (1979), which made its world premiere at Magic Theatre in 1978. The critically acclaimed production of True West, starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise opened in New York in 1982 after the play's world premiere at Magic Theatre in 1980. Fool For Love (1982), originally produced at Magic Theatre starring Ed Harris and Kathy Baker, received the Obie for Best Play and Direction. A Lie of the Mind (1985) won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Outstanding New Play. Simpatico opened at The Royal Court Theatre after its premiere at The Public Theatre in 1994 and was made into a feature film by Matthew Warchus starring Nick Nolte and Sharon Stone. A revised Buried Child under the direction of Gary Sinise opened on Broadway in 1996 and was nominated for a Tony Award. Signature Theatre devoted its season to him that same year. Several new plays opened over the next ten years in the United States and in London, most notably The Late Henry Moss and The God of Hell. Mr. Shepard recently began a fruitful collaboration with The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland where Kicking a Dead Horse and Ages of the Moon premiered. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Days of Heaven, The Right Stuff and Frances. His latest play, Heartless, premiered at Signature Theatre in August, 2012. His third book, "Day Out of Days", was published last year.

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