American Stage Theatre's Yasmina Reza's Comedy ART Begins Tonight

American Stage Theatre Company has announced the last production of their 2012-2013 Season on the Mainstage: ART by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton. This production won a Tony Award for "Best Play" and the Olivier Award for "Best Comedy". Previews are tonight and tomorrow, August 7 & 8. Opening Night is August 9 and the production runs through September 8.

ART takes place during the present in the main room of either Yvan's, Serge's or Marc's apartment. ART is a comedy about the exploration of artistic appreciation and the boundaries at which a friendship can be pushed. How much would you pay for a white painting? Would it matter who the painter was? Would it be art? One of Marc's best friends, Serge, has just bought a very expensive painting. This intelligent and witty Tony Award-winning play by Yasmina Reza asks the question, "What does our taste in art say about who we are as individuals?" When Serge, a novice art collector, asks his two friends to view his newly acquired work of art, this "priceless" piece tests their fifteen-year friendship and causes them to validate their self-worth. This production contains mature subject matter and language.

American Stage is proud to announce that this production's sponsor will be The Duncan McClellan Gallery. Our stage design is unique for this production where actual fine art pieces from our stage will be for sale. There will be 24 pieces from Duncan McClellan and eight, nationally recognized artists that will be available for purchase either online or at our box office. Participating artists are Duncan McClellan, Jacob Stout, Todd Cameron, Jane Jaskevich, John Brekke, Jason Chakravarty, Eoin Breadon, Stephen Pon, and Alexis Silk. Proceeds from these fine art pieces will support the DMG School Project which provides educational opportunities to both artists and the community while contributing to the development of glass as a creative medium in St. Petersburg and the international glass community. Duncan McClellan will also donate half of all proceeds from the sale of these fine art pieces back to American Stage Theatre. Patrons will own a beautiful piece of art from The Duncan McClellan Gallery while supporting the arts and that was on our actual set for this Tony Award-winning production, ARTwhile supporting the arts.

In addition, Duncan McClellan personally selected one glass vase from his collection for a selected opportunity drawing. Tickets for this drawing will be $50 each and a limited number of 25 tickets will be sold as a "first come, first serve" basis. Tickets will be available for purchase online, during our opening and through the run of the show. The winner will be announced during the opening reception of THEATRE + ART + VISION - BEHIND THE SCENES on Thursday, August 29, 2013 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm at Florida Craftsmen. This exhibit will feature reflective works from American Stage Theatre, freeFall Theatre, and St. Pete Opera. Free and open to the public. Florida Craftsmen is located at 501 Central Ave, St Petersburg, Florida 33701. An official press release will follow.

Todd Olson*+ is co-directing and handling the sound design for American Stage Theatre's production of ART, which will be performed in one act with no intermission. Michael Edwards*will be co-directing along with Todd Olson*+. Todd Olson*+ is the Aristic Director and in his tenth season here at American Stage Theatre Company. He is this year's recipient of the Florida Professional Theatre Association's Richard G. Fallon Award for Excellence in Professional Theatre. Todd has directed over 150 plays, musicals, and operas, including My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, (which he co-created) at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and I Left My Heart (also co-created) which he will direct at Milwaukee Rep this summer. For American Stage, Todd has directed over 30 plays, including some which have been recognized by Creative Loafing as "Best of the Bay" Awards for "Top-10 Productions of the Year" and "Best Director," including Stones in His Pockets, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Much Ado About Nothing, Anna in the Tropics, and The Seafarer.

Michael Edwards* has been an actor/director for 45+ years and is a graduate of the famed Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts and the USIU, School of Performing Arts (San Diego). As actor and director he has won awards and accolades. Michael is currently Associate Director of Winter Park Playhouse. American Stage audiences will remember Michael inTuesdays with Morrie, Mamet's November, and When the World Was Green.

The cast includes Ricky Wayne* (Marc), Gavin Hawk* (Serge) and Brian Shea (Yvan). All three actors will be returning to our stage. Ricky Wayne* is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. He trained in comedy and improvisation at the famed Groundlings in Los Angeles. He is best known locally for his improvisational comedy where American Stage audiences may have seen him performing in the critically-acclaimed long form improv duo Hawk & Wayne, with Gavin Hawk. Local theatre credits include Opus (American Stage), Congratulations, Joe! (A Simple Theatre), and Speed-the-Plow with (Tampa Bay Players). Some film credits include Real Steel, The Chaos Experiment, and SWAT: Firefight. Television credits include Army Wives,The Glades, Charlie's Angels, the new ABC series, Reckless, due out this fall. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity Association and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Gasparilla Film Festival.

Gavin Hawk* was last seen at American Stage in Barefoot in the Park and The Foreigner, or from his long running improv group Hawk & Wayne. Other acting credits include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (freeFall Theatre), Hate Mail (Studio@620), Cider House Rules: Parts I & II (California Repertory Company), Gross Indecency (Huntington Theatre), and Over the Tavern II: King O' The Moon (Studio Arena/Pittsburgh Public). Gavin is also the Artistic Director for A Simple Theatre in Residence at Eckerd College (asimpletheatre.org). He holds a Diploma from The Juilliard School Drama Division, and an M.F.A. in Acting/Directing from California State University. He is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association.

Brian Shea has appeared in many American Stage productions including The Santaland Diaries, August: Osage County, Othello, Proof, Dial 'M' for Murder, Macbeth, and more. Among several productions within the Bay area, Brian has also appeared in The 39 Steps, Mindgame, Dracula, Titus Andronicus, and The Boys Next Door (Jobsite Theatre), In the Next Room or, the Vibrator Play (freefall Theatre), Twelfth Night (Eckerd Theater Company), and Waiting for Godot(Stageworks). Brian was recently seen in The Lonesome West (Jobsite Theater) and is touring with the Florida Humanities Council where he was commissioned to write about and perform as Jacob Summerlin in Dreamers and Schemers: An Evening with Great Floridians. Brian is a three-time recipient of Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay "Best Actor" Award, and is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Theater Performance.

In addition to Todd Olson's Co-directing and Sound Design and Michael Edwards' Co-directing, the Artistic Staff also includes; Jerid Fox as Scenic Designer and Properties Master,Adrin Erra Puente returning as Costume, Megan Byrne as Lighting Designer, Karla Hartley*as Production Stage Manager and Timon Brown as Technical Director.

* = a member of Actors' Equity Association; # = a member of the United Scenic Artists union;
+ = a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers

ART by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton. Previews are August 7 & 8. Opening Night is August 9 and the production runs through September 8.

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