Silver Spring Stage Presents THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE, Now thru 5/2

Silver Spring Stage presents The Language Archive by Julia Cho, directed by Joseph Coracle and produced by Bob Scott, a sweet-tempered and eloquent comedy of a coldhearted scholar trying to rescue a dying language while his marriage is falling apart is surprisingly warmed by the discovery of love. The Language Archive will perform weekends tonight, April 10 to May 2, 2015.

Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmoor Shopping Center, lower level (next to the CVS) at Colesville Road and University Boulevard. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors and students. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sundays April 19 and April 26 at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.ssstage.org. Information is also available by calling (301) 593-6036.

[The Language Archive] The Language Archive, winner of the 2009 2009 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, given for plays by women written in English, is familiar territory for Julia Cho. She studied Spanish, French and German. However, though she grew up in a family where Korean was spoken, she never learned that language. The award-winning writer of The Architecture of Loss, The Piano Teacher, Durango and the HBO series Big Love, she said, "It's a huge source of regret and guilt that I don't speak Korean." Her lack of fluency in Korean "made the whole idea of languages going extinct stick with me. That's a lot of what went into the play, wanting to understand that aspect of my own life." For the play, she invented a language of her own called Elloway. With its structure and rhythm, as a tribute, she has given the language some of the form of Korean. The mixture of lyricism and offbeat comedy of The Language Archive delivers a delightful reminder of the enchanting nature of words and the irony that sometimes words fail to convey the true nature of our emotions.

George (Jonas David Grey) is a man consumed with preserving and documenting the dying languages of far-flung cultures. Closer to home, though, language is failing him. He doesn't know what to say to his wife, Mary (Karen Fleming), to keep her from leaving him, and he doesn't recognize the deep feelings that his lab assistant, Emma (Juliana Ejedoghaobi), has for him. A complementary love story is the two subjects of George's study, perhaps the last two speakers of the language -- Alta (Lennie Magida) and Resten (Kevin Dykstra) -- who have been flown over to the archive to record conversations in their native tongue, yet, refuse to utter a single word to one another. Also, there is a former baker (Michael Sigler) who hands over his establishment to Mary when she meets him at a train station; an Esperanto teacher (Andrea Spitz) who regales Emma with lessons in love as well as language, urging her to declare her ardor for her boss; and the actual inventor of that international language, L. L. Zamenhof (Michael Sigler). The beauty and humor of The Language Archive will not be lost in translation.

The production team features Katherine Offutt (Stage Manager, Set Painting ), Bill Brown (Set Design), Peter Caress (Lighting Design), Kevin Garrett (Sound Design), Patrick Hughes (Original Music), Harlene Leahy (Costume Design), Star Johnson and Lorrie Smith Saito (Properties and Set Dressing) and Eric Jones (Hair and Make-up).
Silver Spring Stage continues its 2014-2015 season with On the Razzle (May 29-June 20), and Venus in Fur (July 10-Aug. 1).

Silver Spring Stage has provided quality, affordable theatre for over 40 years. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization and appreciate any contribution to enable us to offer excellent and entertaining productions. Thank you for your interest and support of Silver Spring Stage. All programs at Silver Spring Stage are made possible in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

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