Rubicon Theatre Company presents Southern California Premiere of INCOGNITO

How much of our identity is created by our minds and our memories? Award-winning playwright Nick Payne (Constellations) explores this question in the Southern California Premiere of his dazzling new play about what it means to be human. Four actors play 21 characters in interwoven stories (some based on true events) that examine the extent to which our identities and our choices are governed by the complex and delicate mechanisms of the brain. Payne's moving and deeply profound play seeks to make sense of the relationship between the physical and metaphysical. Directed by Indy Award-winning director Katharine Farmer (The Nibroc Trilogy),

INCOGNITO previews on Sept. 13-15 and opens Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura followed by an after party at Rhumb Line Restaurant in the Ventura Harbor.

The first of the interconnected stories in INCOGNITO is based on a true story about Thomas Harvey, a doctor who steals Albert Einstein's brain and risks everything he holds dear in the hope of doing future research and understanding the nature of genius. The second story introduces the audience to Henry Molaison, a young man who experiences short-term memory loss after a brain operation. Unable to form any new memories, Henry is hopelessly caught in a never-ending loop of confusion, with fleeting moments of awareness of his situation. In the third story, a clinical neuropsychologist who prides herself on understanding other people's needs for human connection, struggles with her own.

INCOGNITO debuted in London with a sell-out run at the Bush Theatre in May of 2014. The play was performed Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in May, 2016, receiving an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

INCOGNITO opens on Saturday, September 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District, with low-priced previews Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. The production continues Wednesdays through Sundays through October 1, 2017. For tickets, go to www.rubicontheatre.org or call (805) 667-2900. Sponsors

INCOGNITO is sponsored by Shelley and Richard Bayer. Rubicon Theatre Company Season Sponsors are Janet and Mark L. Goldenson, Diane and Peter Goldenring, Barbara Meister, Anne and Michael Towbes; and Sandra and Jordan Laby, to whom Rubicon's 2016-2017 Series is dedicated.

Low-priced previews for INCOGNITO begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., continuing Thursday, Sept. 14 and Friday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. Opening night is Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. with a pre-show event downstairs at the theatre beginning at 6 p.m. The production continues Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through October 1. Talkbacks are scheduled after the Wednesday 7 p.m. performances on Sept. 20 and 27.

Regular tickets for INCOGNITO range from $30 to $55 (plus a $4 processing fee). Opening night is $125, including the reception at Rhumb Line. Tickets for students with ID are $25; Equity members and military are $30. There is a $5 discount for seniors 65 and older. Discounts of 10% to 20% are available for groups of 10 or more, depending on the size of the group. All performances are at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District (the corner or Main and Laurel).

Tickets for INCOGNITO may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at 1006 E. Main Street, the corner of Main and Laurel in Ventura (Laurel entrance and downstairs), or online at www.rubicontheatre.org. To charge by phone, call 805.667.2900. Box office hours are Noon to 6 p.m., seven days a week.

Nick Payne (Playwright) is a playwright who won the prestigious George Devine Award in 2009 with his play If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, produced at the Bush Theatre in October 2009 and directed by Josie Rourke and starring Rafe Spall. In 2012, it went to the Roundabout Theatre, New York, starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Michael Longhurst. Payne studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of York, making his debut at The Royal Court Theatre in September 2010 with his comedy Wanderlust. In January 2012, Payne's play Constellations opened at the Royal Court Upstairs starring Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins and directed by Michael Longhurst. Constellations transferred to the West End in November 2012 where it received universally glowing reviews. It also won the Evening Standard Best Play Award and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Play. In 2015 Constellations transferred to Broadway, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson and directed by Michael Longhurst. The play received outstanding reviews. The West Coast premiere opened this summer at the Geffen in Los Angeles with Ginnifer Goodwin and Allen Leech. Payne also writes for film and TV. He has adapted Julian Barnes's "The Sense of an Ending" for BBC Films, (to be released in 2017) starring Jim Broadbent and directed by Ritesh Batra. He is developing an adaptation of David Nicholls' Us as a three-part TV drama for the BBC and an original piece Wanderlust for Drama Republic and the BBC.

KATHARINE FARMER (Director) returns again this season to Rubicon Theatre Company after directing Gulf View Drive, (the final play in Arlene Hutton's Nibroc Trilogy) earlier this year. Farmer received an Ovation Award nomination for directing See Rock City and won an Indy Award for her direction of Last Train to Nibroc, which was also nominated for Best Production of a Play at the Ovation Awards. She made her West End directing debut with Pig Farm at the St. James Theatre in London. Most recently, Farmer co-directed the Canadian premiere of 23.5 Hours (formerly known as Conviction) with Karyl Lynn Burns at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Other recent credits include readings of Three Sisters Bronte at Rubicon Theatre, the Barrow Group Theatre and New Dramatists (NYC), Carey Crim's Glamping at the Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival, and an adaptation of The Importance of Being Lewis as a charity fundraiser for the Duchenne Research Fund at the West End's Dominion Theatre. Katharine served as Associate Producer and Assistant Director to Rubicon Artistic Director James O'Neil on the Off-Broadway production of Lonesome Traveler, which ran at 59E59; and was Assistant Director to Jenny Sullivan on the Off-Broadway production of Wiesenthal. Katharine also served as Assistant to the Director for Sir Trevor Nunn on his acclaimed revival of Scenes from a Marriage. Katharine is the company director of Dead Posh Productions and is proud to be the Director of International Programming at Rubicon.

Rubicon Theatre is a non-profit regional theatre based in Ventura, California. True to the company name and the vision of founders Karyl Lynn Burns and James O'Neil, the company is committed to providing a nurturing environment for artists where exploration and experimentation are encouraged and supported. Now in its 19th Season, Rubicon has earned a reputation for innovative, reinvigorated productions of classics; and for the development of new works. The company has presented more than 115 diverse mainstage productions to more than 420,000 audience members.

Described by critics as "the rising star of the Southern California cultural scene" and the "best theatre between Los Angeles and San Francisco," the company has won a New York Drama Desk Award (four nominations), the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for "Sustained Excellence," 15 Ovation Awards, an NAACP Award, and multiple Indy, Garland and Robby Awards. Luminaries such as Susan Clark, Dana Delany, Bonnie Franklin, Joel Grey, Gregory Harrison, Bill Irwin, Harold Gould, Larry Hagman, Stacy Keach, Michael Learned, Ted Neeley, Paul Provenza, Linda Purl, Joe Spano, Bruce Weitz, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Stephanie Zimbalist have graced the Rubicon stage. Jack Lemmon and John Ritter made their final stage appearances with Rubicon.

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