The Washington Stage Guild Opens its Season of Dreams with the Area Premiere of Inventing Van Gogh

The Washington Stage Guild opens its Season of Dreams with the area premiere of Inventing Van Gogh.

The Washington Stage Guild begins its 28th Season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit-smArt Theatre for a smart town. The Washington Stage Guild's 2013-2014 season will focus on the fundamental basis of all art - the imagination, and kicking it off is the Washington area premiere of Steven Dietz' Inventing Van Gogh, a clever and

time-twisting look at Van Gogh and his legacies, both real and imagined, as a contemporary young painter is commissioned to forge a lost painting, but then must justify his decisions to Vincent himself. This is the first work by prolific American playwright Dietz, whose Rancho Mirage was recently seen at Olney Theatre, to be produced by the Stage Guild, and its complex look at art, inspiration, and integrity make it a perfect start for a season-long exploration of the power of imagination in our lives.

"Art of any kind is imagination expressed, whether in words or images," says Artistic Director Bill Largess. "This season we'll focus on our need to dream things that are not real in order to make them so. And certainly one of art's greatest dreamers was Vincent Van Gogh, whose persistence in the face of failure has fortified generations of artistic aspirants. His certainty, mocked by mental instability, makes him a challenging, even a perplexing, role model. Dietz' young painter Patrick, asked to collude on an audacious fraud that is complicated by his mentor's Vincent-like death, finds that compromising his principles is not as simple as it sounded. Inventing Van Gogh is a funny, thought-provoking play by an important American voice, and we're so happy to be giving it its first production in the area. And with Steven Carpenter directing, and Lawrence Redmond returning to the Guild stage for the first time since 2006's An Inspector Calls, the production should be a dream, indeed."

Steven Carpenter is directing his 13th show with the Stage Guild and past favorites include Red Herring, Opus, The Underpants, Memory of Water, and A Skull in Connemara. Other area productions include The Price and Mauritius at Bay Theatre, Barrymore, Hysteria, and Trumbo for Rep Stage, and shows at Theater J and Foothills Theatre in Worcester, MA, among others. He received a Helen Hayes nomination for his production of Thief River at Theatre Alliance and is a past recipient of the Mary Goldwater Award for Excellence in Directing. He has appeared on stage at the Guild as Henry Higgins in last season's Pygmalion, as well as The Countess, The Philanderer (Helen Hayes Nomination), and Anna Karenina, to name a few.

The ensemble for Inventing Van Gogh features old companions and newcomers to the Undercroft Theatre. Brit Herring will portray both the scheming Dr. Bouchard and the passionate Paul Gauguin. He last appeared at the Guild in George Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart,and in Red Herring by Michael Hollinger, also directed by Steven Carpenter. He has appeared Off-Broadway in the critically acclaimed revival of The Devil and Billy Markham by Shel Silverstein at Soho Playhouse, and in Paradise at The Lion Theatre on Theatre Row. Also in the Washington, DC area he's done turns with The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, The Bay Theatre Company and Quotidian Theatre Company.

Also returning is Lawrence Redmond as Dr. Jonas Miller and Van Gogh's patron, Dr. Paul Gachet. His previous efforts at the Guild include Levin in Anna Karenina, (for which he received the Mary Goldwater Award from the Theatre Lobby), Mansky in The Play's the Thing, and Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls. He was most recently in the Free for All remount of Much Ado About Nothing at the Harman Center. He is a two time recipient and six time individual nominee of the Helen Hayes Award, and a multiple recipient of the Artist Fellowship Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. As a proud member of Actors' Equity Association for 25 years, this production marks his 100th AEA show.

Making his Stage Guild debut is Christopher Herring as the stymied modern painter, PatRick Stone. A graduate of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, he has worked at Wayside Theatre and now currently serves as a theatre/film instructor at the NCDA. He has recently been in Flying V's Unplugged, American Century's On The Waterfront, and Pinky Swear's Cabaret xxY. Jessica Shearer, will portrait the double role of Hallie and Marguerite Gachet. Recently she played Sally in Cat in the Hat at Adventure Theatre, and at Spooky Action she took on the breaches role of Cacambo in Optimism! or Voltaire's Candide. Other local credits included work with Imagination Stage, 1st Stage, Synetic Theatre, and Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. Regionally, Jessica has performed with The Warehouse Theatre, PeaceCenter, Roxy Regional Theatre, and The Texas Repertory Theatre. Completing the ensemble as Vincent Van Gogh is Ryan Tumulty His past credits include Neverwhere (Mr. Vandemar) at Rorschach Theatre, Apotheosis at Avalanche Theatre Company; Optimism or Voltaire's Candide at Spooky Action Theater; The Tempest and King Lear at Synetic Theater, and work at 1st Stage Theater.

Carl F. Gudenius and Sigrid Johnaaesdottir will design the setting with Lynn Steinmetz designing costumes. Frank DiSalvo, Jr., returns as Sound Designer, along with Marianne Meadows designing Lights. Arthur Nordlie is the Stage Manager.

THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA

by George Bernard Shaw

Shaw's look at Art & Medicine - Should a physician save a worthless saint or a despicable genius?

Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 7 pm

Performance times and prices for all productions

Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. $40.00

Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. $50.00
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. $40.00
Discounts are available for senior citizens, students, and groups.
Season passes are available, offering incredible savings for the entire Stage Guild season.

Location for all performances

The Undercroft Theatre of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church

900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
The Undercroft Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Washington, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 9th Street, NW. It's steps from the Convention Center, and blocks from the National Mall, the Smithsonian, the Verizon Center, Chinatown, and restaurants galore!

The Undercroft Theatre is within easy walking distance from the following Metro stations:
Gallery Place/Chinatown-Exit SE corner of 9th and G Sts., NW (Green, Yellow and Red lines)
Mt. Vernon Square-Exit SW corner of 7th and M Sts, NW (Green and Yellow lines)
Metro Center-Exit SE corner of 11th and G Sts., NW (Blue, Red and Orange lines)

For information and reservations, please call 240 582-0050, email info@stageguild.org or go to www.stageguild.org

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