Escort Program by Geffen Playhouse

MAGAZINE

THE ESCORT

From the Producing Director

WELCOME TO THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE I love Jane Anderson and the fact that the Geffen Playhouse is her home. First, she gave us Looking for Normal, then The Quality of Life. These two superb plays have moved on to great success in the theatrical world at large, and tonight you will see The Escort, the result of our second commission and third world premiere with this extraordinary writing dynamo. The question of what is considered taboo is something that theater people grapple with often. As we read plays for production consideration, we are frequently forced to consider just how far an audience is willing to bend, whether in terms of social mores or personal morality, before they become completely offended. When it works, we push the envelope right up to the point that we don’t lose anyone over the edge of the cliff. But times change and the cliff moves, as does our willingness to witness what was once only discussed very privately, if at all. So when we asked Jane Anderson to write a new play for us, it seemed no accident that she would choose subjects as daring as sex, intimacy and inhibitions. Jane has always asked her audiences to examine their own conscience, to bring their personal prejudices to the table only to have them dissected by new and thoughtful alternative points of view. She does not strive to change the minds of her audience; on the contrary, she hopes to serve every side of the argument with equanimity. The Escort is no exception. While it portends to be a play about the taboo of the sex industry, it is in fact much deeper than that. Jane once again asks us to measure where our moral lines begin and end, what we are willing to incorporate into what we consider ‘acceptable’ and what simply crosses the line. Further, she moves the line as the play progresses and we (the audience), as in life, must make adjustments in regards to our level of tolerance, or intolerance as the case may be. You are in for an invigorating evening. We are pleased to welcome back Lisa Peterson who has been working on this play with Jane since its first reading here last year. Lisa’s expertise in new play direction and her affinity for pieces where political and personal ideals intersect have made her the ideal collaborator on this play. Her excellent design team for The Escort includes Richard Hoover (set designer), Rand Ryan (lighting designer), Paul James Prendergast (sound designer), and Laura Bauer (costume designer). They have created a world that conveys both the anonymity of hotels and the intimacy of a home – no easy feat. It is always a pleasure to have Jane in our midst, she is a writer for whom we have great respect and affection based in no small part on the taboo topics she tackles. They are part of what makes the theater the vibrant place it ought to be. See you at the theater,

Gilbert Cates Producing Director

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FROM THE CHAIRMAN FRANK G. MANCUSO

It is wonderful to welcome Jane Anderson back to the Geffen Playhouse and we are delighted to introduce you to her newest play The Escort – it’s a night where truly nothing is taboo. Our first commission from Jane, The Quality of Life, was lauded as Best New Play by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the Ovation Awards, and we have high hopes for this latest commissioned world premiere, made possible by a grant from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. In addition to the exciting work being produced on our stage, we are looking forward to our annual fundraiser, Backstage at the Geffen, on Monday, May 2, which supports our work in the community and the continued growth of our education and outreach programs. Join us for an evening of laughter, music and irreverent stories about life on the other side of the curtain as we honor Julie Andrews and Creative Artists Agency. With our extended family of actors, playwrights and directors, hosted by Producing Director Gil Cates, this is the type of evening you can only have at the Geffen. It’s truly my favorite event of the year and I hope to see you there. Tickets are still available, so please call Regina Miller at (310) 208-6500 ext. 112 or visit geffenplayhouse.com/backstage. Now sit back, relax and enjoy The Escort. Respectfully yours,

Frank G. Mancuso

Chairman, Geffen Playhouse

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Frank G. Mancuso Chairman Gilbert Cates President Randall Arney Gene Block Harold A. Brown Suzanne Deal Booth † Mary Ann Cloyd Kirsten Combs Robert A. Daly † Dennis Doty John Ebey Mark Fleischer P2 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

David Geffen † Herbert M. Gelfand

Chairman Emeritus

Patricia L. Glaser Adi Greenberg Arthur Greenberg Martha Henderson Pamela Robinson Hollander Quincy Jones † Joan Kaloustian Jeffrey Katzenberg † Glorya Kaufman Michael B. Kong Dr. Gerald S. Levey carla malden Karl Malden †*

Susan Mallory Ginny Mancini Susanna Midnight Ron Meyer † Leslie Moonves † Jerry Moss † Ken Novice Steven A. Olsen Jerry Perenchio † Bruce M. Ramer †

Victoria Mann Simms † Andy Spahn Fred Specktor Steven Spielberg † Cynthia P. Stafford Howard Tenenbaum Steve Tisch † Dr. Charles E. Young

Lawrence Ramer Loren Rothschild Linda Bernstein Rubin Teri Schwartz Richard Sherman

LEGAL COUNSEL, LATHAM & WATKINS LLP

Founding Chairman

Chairman Emeritus

David Goldberg

† Trustee * in memoriam

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO WILL SHOW UP ON THIS AMAZING NIGHT! Past Geffen Playhouse artists and friends who came out to support and perform include: Christina Applegate Hank Azaria Annette Bening Carol Burnett Sarah Chang Kristin Chenoweth Alan Cumming Dana Delany Brendan Fraser Tom Hanks Jane Lynch Helen Mirren Matthew Morrison Ray Romano Martin Short Dick Van Dyke Rita Wilson

be part of the show For more information on tickets and sponsorships, please contact Development at 310.208.6500 x128

Geffenplayhouse.com/backstage PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P3

casual encounters Photo by Michael Lamont

BY AMY LEVINSON

JoBeth Williams, Laurie Metcalf and Dennis Boutsikaris in Jane Anderson’s The Quality of Life

Jane Anderson’s Geffen Playhouse commission explores taboo topics with universal themes Taboo: A strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden based on moral judgment and sometimes even religious beliefs. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. Jane Anderson knows the definition of “taboo.” Her 2001 play Looking for Normal told the story of Roy and Irma, a long time married couple living in a small community in Ohio. Roy, having finally settled on the truth that he was born into the wrong body, P4 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

has decided to have a sex change operation, and Irma is forced to define what it is to love him as his wife and partner. What is strikingly original about Looking for Normal, is that while it portends to be a play about transgenderism, it is in fact something far more fundamental. It is a love story between a married couple who must face change with courage and open minds beyond what either could have ever imagined. Nevertheless, it evolves around a subject that was far less prevalent at the time, and the word “taboo” seemed to come up on more than one occasion.

Anderson followed Looking for Normal with her 2007 play The Quality of Life. Much like her earlier work, this piece, premiering in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater and later winning an Ovation Award for Best New Play, ostensibly explored a controversial topic while simultaneously delving into more fundamental issues. A casual reading of The Quality of Life would see the work as exploring the subject of a person’s right to die when faced with terminal illness. Two couples, one a pair of hippies who are living in a yurt

after losing their home to a fire, and the other, staunch religious Republicans mourning the death of their daughter, face off at what is supposed to be a family reunion. What reveals itself thematically in this play has far more to do with the anguish of letting go of those we hold most dear as opposed to a debate about euthanasia. Further, when the debate of right or wrong is presented, Jane is characteristically careful to present both sides of the argument with validity and foolhardiness, never taking a position one way or another. Which brings Anderson to her newest play, and newest taboo subject: the exchange of sex for money. While prostitution is known as the world’s oldest profession, it has never been accepted in America as anything other than taboo - a behavior that is kept underground and under wraps for fear of lending any legitimacy to a lifestyle that calls into question the sacred nature of sex. Historically puritanical, American culture has relegated sex, and particularly the sex trade, to something that goes on behind blacked out windows and doors barred by muscular bouncers. But like all of the aforementioned plays, the sex trade is only the catalyst that promotes the larger topics of this play. How do we define what is taboo? Rhona, the play’s protagonist, is faced with questions about her own liberal views in terms of sexual freedoms and mores as she struggles to navigate being a single woman with a fourteen-

year-old son. Perspectives shift, moral lines are moved and the definition of sensitive subjects like sex, intimacy and family values are called into question as the audience gains increasing access to Charlotte’s supposedly deviant work. In addition to exploring taboos, Anderson also delves into the idea that a new sexually desensitized generation has recently emerged. The combination of overstimulation and an inability to relate with people face-to-face contributes to a culture that is more aroused by the idea of anonymity than true connection. Is this generation that communicates even intimate sexual desires via text, Twitter and Facebook losing the basic social skills that build intimacy? Further, because this relationship is formed between avatars (which can incorporate any number of untruths) can we trust this generation to be honest with themselves and others? But these are the dilemmas of modern life that Anderson is examining. Her final position is not to say that we have lost our way and that there is no getting back to one another. On the contrary, her characters intersect in deeply personal and intimate ways. While possibly sitting in judgment of other chosen lifestyles, each of these characters is able to learn something about their own shortcomings in the arena of intimacy. Anderson never lets the audience off the hook with an easy answer. Instead she poses the most difficult questions of

Photo by Barbara Green

THE ESCORT

Jane Anderson

modern day living and asks, “What will you do now, after taking a good long look at yourself?” In Looking for Normal we were asked to look at the strength of our own unions, in The Quality of Life we were asked to consider what we’d be willing to sacrifice for those we hold dear, and here we must face what we fear – both intimacy and a lack thereof – in a world that is saturated with sex. And as always, the journey that Anderson provides is as funny as it is poignant and as stimulating as it is gratifying. The subject may be taboo, but the emotional impact is universal. PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P5

Gilbert Cates PRODUCING DIRECTOR

Randall Arney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Ken Novice MANAGING DIRECTOR

THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE presents

Written by

Jane Anderson Set Design

Richard Hoover

Costume Design

Lighting Design

Laura Bauer

Rand Ryan

Production Stage Manager

James T. McDermott Dramaturg

Amy Levinson

Composer & Sound Design

Paul James Prendergast

Assistant Stage Manager

Jennifer Brienen Casting Director

Phyllis Schuringa

Directed by

Lisa Peterson A Geffen Playhouse commissioned Word Premiere made possible by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

Opening Night: April 6, 2011 O P E NING NIG H T S P O N S O R E D B Y :

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THE ESCORT

cast of characters (In order of appearance)

Charlotte..................................................................................................................... Maggie Siff Mathew/Lewis.......................................................................................................... Gabriel Sunday Rhona............................................................................................................................ Polly Draper Howard & others...................................................................................................... James Eckhouse

Time

The Present

Setting

New York City There will be a 15 minute intermission

The Geffen Playhouse gratefully acknowledges the following media sponsors for their generous support of The Escort.

The Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. This project was also funded in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles. The Geffen Playhouse, a non-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.

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WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST ABOUT THE PLAYERS

POLLY DRAPER (Rhona) Polly Draper’s Broadway credits include Closer, Brooklyn Boy, and Crazy He Calls Me. Polly also starred in the original New York productions of Four Dogs and a Bone (New York Magazine’s Best Broadway Actress Award), Neil Simon’s Actors and Actresses, John Cassavetes’ Thorn Hill, Imagining Brad, Sister Mary Ignatius, Rum and Coke, and Top Girls as well as Getting into Heaven, a play which she also wrote. Her most recent film and television credits include a role on the Showtime series The Big C, a role in the upcoming feature film My Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd and a role in the new series Bar Karma, which she also wrote. Miss Draper is most famous for her role on ABC’s groundbreaking series thirtysomething (Emmy nomination) She wrote, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed feature film, The Tic Code, which won awards at film festivals worldwide including Berlin, Vancouver, and the Hamptons. Miss Draper has also spent the last five years writing, producing, and directing The Naked Brothers’ Band, a movie and subsequent hit Nickelodeon television series she created, for which she won many awards, including a WGA award.

JAMES ECKHOUSE (Howard & others) Most recent West Coast appearances: Six Degrees of Separation at the Old Globe, Mother Courage at La Jolla, The P8 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

Goat at Mark Taper Forum, and the award winning Heads at the Blank Theater. He has performed in world premieres on Broadway, at The Public, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club, and Lincoln Center, and at regional theaters including The Gurthrie, Hartford Stage, Williamstown, The Goodman, The Alliance, Portland Stage, and Wisdom Bridge. Film credits include One True Thing, Defending Your Life, Junior, S.W.A.T., Leaving Normal, Fat Man and Little Boy, 84 Charing Cross Road, and the Sundance prize winning Half Life. Best known to TV audiences as Jim Walsh on 90210, James has starred on dozens of pilots and ongoing series such as Harry’s Law, Boston Legal, Criminal Minds, Southland, CSI, etc. He is a native Chicagoan and a graduate of the Juilliard School. James is also a director and begins production on two films this summer.

MAGGIE SIFF (Charlotte) Maggie’s theater credits include the recent revival of A Lie of the Mind, directed by Ethan Hawke (Off Broadway, The New Group), Or, (Off-Broadway, The Women’s Project) The Ruby Sunrise (The Public), Frank’s Home (Playwright’s Horizons/Goodman), Rebecca Gilman’s Dollhouse at the Goodman (Jefferson Award Nomination for ‘Outstanding Principle Actress’), Lantern Theater’s Ghosts (Barrymore Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’), Interact Theatre’s Aunt Dan and Lemon and the Walnut Street Theatre’s Oleanna (both Barrymore Award Nominations). Maggie stars as “Tara Knowles” on FX’s hit series Sons of Anarchy. She played “Rachel Menken” on the first season of AMC’s Emmy and Golden Globewinning series Mad Men, for which she was included in a SAG award nomination for Best Ensemble. She has had recurring roles on ABC’s Life on Mars and FX’s Nip/Tuck.

Films include Leaves of Grass, opposite Edward Norton, Judd Apatow’s Funny People, and Helen Hunt’s indie drama Then She Found Me. She holds an MFA from NYU’s Tisch Graduate Acting Program.

GABRIEL SUNDAY (Mathew/Lewis) Gabriel began his career as a magician/juggler at the age of 10. He appeared in countless stage productions and avidly studied Shakespeare, improv and musical theater. He moved into film production at 16, documenting his time on the road with three of his mentors in On the Road with Wavy Gravy, Patch Adams and Ram Dass. This led to work with David Lee Miller, Eric J. Adams and Regenerate in Los Angeles. Sunday was cast as the lead in their feature film, My Suicide. He co-edited, co-produced and co-wrote the film, which won over 20 best picture awards at festivals including the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and acting awards for Sunday. During the four-year process of My Suicide, Sunday appeared in various TV shows and recently in films Year One and Taking Woodstock. For his next project, Sunday is starring in the upcoming feature film about the life of schizophrenic musician/artist Daniel Johnston, where he will play the role of a young Daniel. JANE ANDERSON (Playwright) Jane Anderson is an award-winning writer and director for theater, film and television. The Quality of Life was commissioned by the Geffen Playhouse and won the 2008 Ovation Award for Best New Play. Looking for Normal premiered at the Geffen Playhouse and won the 2001 Ovation Award for Best New Play. Other plays include: The Baby Dance, Defying Gravity, Food & Shelter, Smart Choices for the New Century, Lynette at 3AM, The Last Time We Saw Her, The Pink Studio

and Hotel Oubliette.For television she wrote HBO’s The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom for which she received an Emmy, a Penn Award and Writers Guild Award for best teleplay. She wrote and directed The Baby Dance (adapted from her play) for which she received a Peabody Award, a Golden Globe nomination and three Emmy nominations for best writing and made-for-TV film. She wrote and directed Normal for HBO (adapted from her play, Looking for Normal) which garnered six Emmy nominations, three Golden Globe nominations and a Directors’ Guild and Writers’ Guild nominations for best directing and writing. Her other television films include When Billie Beat Bobby and the first segment of If These Walls Could Talk II which starred Vanessa Redgrave and earned Ms. Anderson an Emmy nomination for best writing. Her other screenwriting credits include: How to Make An American Quilt, It Could Happen to You and The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio which she also directed. Ms. Anderson resides in Los Angeles and West Marin with her spouse Tess Ayers and their son, Raphael. LISA PETERSON (Director) Los Angeles: Palestine NM, Water & Power, Chavez Ravine (all with Culture Clash); Electricidad by Luis Alfaro; House of Bernarda Alba adapted by Chay Yew; The Body of Bourne by John Belluso; Tongue of a Bird by Ellen McLaughlin; Mules by Winsome Pinnock (all at the Taper); The Square, Surfing DNA, Ikebana, The Wind Cries Mary (East West Players); Collected Stories (SCR); Surf Report, Mother Courage, Be Aggressive, Good Person of Szechuan and others (La Jolla Playhouse). NY productions include: Shipwrecked (Primary Stages); The Poor Itch (Public Theater); The Fourth Sister (Vineyard); Collected Stories (MTC); Sueno (MCC); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages); Bexley Oh, Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Slavs!, Traps,Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (Obie Award), The Waves (NYTW); Regional credits include: Mark Taper Forum (Resident Director 1995-2005), La Jolla Playhouse (Associate Director 1992-1995), Seattle Rep, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, Intiman, South Coast Rep, California Shakespeare

the escort

WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST ABOUT THE PLAYERS Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie, Huntington, Denver Center Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Arena Stage, McCarter, Center Stage, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf, Actors Theater of Louisville, Sundance Theater Lab, O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Winner of an Obie Award, and Drama Desk, Dramalogue, Helen Hayes, Calloway nominations. TCG/NEA grant. Executive board of SDC. RICHARD HOOVER (Set Design) Recent theater: 39 Steps (Guthrie Theater); Boomshells (Milwaukee Rep); Aftermath, Things of Dry Hours and Seven (New York Theater Workshop); Caroline of Change (Guthrie Theater); Equal Measure (Kirk Douglas Theater/ Mark Taper Forum); Seven Guitars, (The Signature Theater), Eve Ensler’s Treatment (The Culture Project); Suburbia (The Second Stage); 1984 (The Actor’s Gang); Hamlet and Death of a Salesman (The Guthrie Theater); After The Fall (The Roundabout Theater); A Beautiful Child (The Vineyard Theater); Embedded (The Actor’s Gang and The Public Theater); The Thing About Men (The Promenade Theater); Not About Nightingales (Circle in the Square -1999 Drama Desk, Outer Critics’ Circle, and Tony Awards- and the Royal National Theatre -1998 London Evening Standard, London Critics’ Circle Award and Olivier Award nomination); Bat Boy, The Musical (Union Square Theater, 2001 Drama Desk Award nomination); Tempest (The McCarter Theatre); Fifth of July (The Signature Theater); Speaking in Tongues (The Roundabout Theatre); The Idiot (Manhattan Ensemble Theatre); Twelfth Night (Guthrie Theatre), Trojan Women (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and House Arrest (Public Theatre). Recent Production design credits include, Alien Invasion, Soulmen,, Henry Poole is Here, North Country, Girl, Interrupted; Cradle Will Rock, Dead Man Walking, Bob Roberts, Payback, Apt Pupil, Ed Wood, Torch Song Trilogy, and Mothman Prophesies. Other Television credits include: Twin Peaks, Fail Safe, Heat Wave, Family of Spies; several music videos including Lonesome Day for Bruce Springsteen, pilots for current network and cable shows including Numbers and Entourage.

Laura Bauer (Costume Design) Broadway credits include A Life in the Theatre, Speed the Plow, Glengarry Glen Ross, Talk Radio, Top Girls, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, November, and Frankie and Johnny and the Claire de Lune. She is a company member of The Atlantic Theater Company in New York and has worked extensively with the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago. Last year she designed The Subject Was Roses at The Mark Taper Forum and Palomino at The Kirk Douglas theaters here in Los Angeles. Her film designs include Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, and Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity. Rand Ryan (Lighting Design) Los Angeles: Shipwrecked!, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress (Geffen Playhouse), Doctor Cerberus, Shipwrecked!, On the Mountain (South Coast Rep), Stones in His Pockets (Mark Taper Forum), Nighthawks(Garland Award) and A Distant Shore (Kirk Douglas Theater), Los Angeles Philharmonic First Night Series and Toyota Symphonies for Youth (Walt Disney Concert Hall), Dog Mouth(LA Weekly Award), Saved, Don Carlos, No Orchids for Miss Blandish (Garland Award) and Berlin Circle (Evidence Room), Reza Abdoh’s HipHop Waltz of Eurydice, Bogeyman (Los Angeles Theater Center and European tour). Regional: Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, Inventing Van Gogh, Outlying Islands, Incommunicado, Law of Remains, Tight, Right, White, Sandra Tsing Loh’s Aliens in America, Joe and Betty, La Traviata. Paul James Prendergast (Composer / Sound Designer) Other Theaters: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Great Lakes Theater Festival, East West Players, Florida Stage, Atlantic Theater Company, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Imagination Stage, The Actors Gang, Cornerstone Theater Company, Hartford Stage, California Shakespeare Theater, Alley Theatre, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Other credits: theme parks include Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm; casinos include Treasure Island, MGM Grand and Buffalo Bill’s; museums include J. Paul Getty,

Geffen Contemporary and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage; dance companies include Diavolo Dance Theater, Momix, Ballet Florida, Miami City Ballet, Parson Dance, Judith Jamison, Demetrius Klein, Xing Peds, Teatro du El. Paul’s work as a singer/songwriter has appeared in films, on recordings and in music venues nationwide. JAMES T. MCDERMOTT (Production Stage Manager) Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Jimmie is thrilled to be returning to the Geffen in 2011 having had successful Geffen runs in 2010 of Thurgood starring Laurence Fishburne and The Female of the Species starring Annette Bening. Jimmie is also excited about his continuing working relationship with Lisa Peterson the Director of The Escort. He has also stage managed across the country at theatres in cities including New York, Princeton, Charleston, Washington D.C., Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. In Southern California he has stage managed at Center Theatre Group (Ahmanson, Mark Taper Forum, Kirk Douglas Theatres), Los Angeles Theatre Center, La Jolla Playhouse and South Coast Repertory. Jimmie is in his third five year elected term on the Council of Actors’ Equity Association, the governing body of his fellow actors’ and stage managers’ union. In 2001 he was the first stage manager to be named as the outstanding professional stage manager in whose name the USITT Outstanding Stage Manager Award was given. The end of the 2010 / 2011 school year marks Jimmie’s 15th year on the faculty of California Institute of the Arts. Jimmie would like to thank his stage management partner Jennifer Brienen, production asst. Liana Dillaway and many thanks to his life partner Pat Brymer. JENNIFER BRIENEN (Assistant Stage Manager) Geffen Playhouse: The Break of Noon, Ruined, Thurgood, Nightmare Alley, The Female the of Species, Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas, Farragut North, The Seafarer, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, Atlanta, Third. The Kennedy Center: Thurgood. Center Theatre Group: Dead End (Ahmanson Theatre); Pippin, Yellow Face, 13, Water & Power (Mark

Taper Forum); This Beautiful City, Of Equal Measure, Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet, Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Kirk Douglas Theatre). Other Los Angeles: Once on This Island (Reprise Theatre Company); Nine Circles (Ojai Playwrights Conference); Stephen Sondheim’s 75th: The Concert (Hollywood Bowl); Rapture (Hysterica Dance Company); Paheliyan – The Story of Alice (blue13 Dance Company at the Ford Amphitheatre). Education: BFA, University of Southern California. Phyllis Schuringa (Casting Director – Los Angeles) Phyllis is in her seventh season as Casting Director at the Geffen Playhouse. Recent plays include: Equivocation, Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas, Farragut North, The Seafarer, Time Stands Still, By the Waters of Babylon, The Quality of Life and Third. Prior to the Geffen, Phyllis served as casting director for the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play), the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile (and subsequent productions including Westwood Playhouse and Briar Street Theater in Chicago), Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow and Charles L. Mee’s Time to Burn. Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony for Best Revival) and The Song of Jacob Zulu. She teaches auditioning at Steppenwolf West. AMY LEVINSON (Dramaturg) Amy Levinson is the Literary Manager and Dramaturg of the Geffen Playhouse. Her dramaturgy credits at the Geffen Playhouse include The Weir, Looking for Normal, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Under The Blue Sky, Rose and Walsh, Boy Gets Girl, I Just Stopped By To See The Man, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Third, The Quality of Life and Equivocation among others. Also a translator of Yiddish drama, she holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she taught until 1997. She has worked in literary offices at Hartford Stage and The Mark Taper Forum. PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P9

WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST ABOUT THE PLAYERS

GILBERT CATES (Producing Director) Gilbert Cates is recognized as a leader in television, film and theater. Currently presiding as the Producing Director of the Geffen Playhouse, he is dedicated to enriching the Los Angeles theatrical spectrum by presenting the finest in contemporary and classical theater. In November 1996, Cates was the recipient of the Jimmy Dolittle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theater. He received the 1999 Ovation Award for best play for Collected Stories, starring Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis, which he directed at the Geffen. The accolades for Cates expand into other areas of the entertainment industry. He produced and directed the 1970 film version of the Broadway hit I Never Sang for My Father, starring Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. The movie earned three Academy Award nominations. Cates also directed Joanne Woodward and Sylvia Sidney in the 1973 film Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, which received two Oscar nominations. Other film directing credits include: The Promise, One Summer Love, The Last Married Couple in America, Oh! God Book II and Backfire. He further distinguished himself as director and/or producer of a number of television dramatic specials. These include NBC’s 1972 Emmy Award-winning To all My Friends on Shore, starring Bill Cosby, ABC’s 1974 The Affair starring Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, NBC’s 1975 After the Fall starring Faye Dunaway and Christopher Plummer. Other credits include: Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye, The Kid from Nowhere, County Gold, Faerie Tale Theater’s Rapunzel and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hobson’s Choice, Burning Rage, Consenting Adults, Fatal Judgment, Do You Know the Muffin Man, Call Me Anna, Absolute P10 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

Strangers, In My Daughter’s Name, and Tom Clancy’s Netforce (Cates directed James Agee’s A Death in the Family for Masterpiece Theater’s American Collection of PBS and Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories for PBS Hollywood Presents). In September 2002, he directed David Eldridge’s Under the Blue Sky for The Geffen Playhouse and directed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2005, the inaugural production in the newly-renovated Geffen Playhouse. In February 2007 he directed Jeffrey Hatcher’s A Picasso in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. He served two terms as President of the Directors Guild of America from 1983 to 1987. In 1989, he received the Guild’s Robert B. Aldrich Award for extraordinary service and, in 1991, he received the DGA’s Honorary Life Membership. He also served as Dean of the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television (which he founded) from 1990—1998. In 2008, Cates produced the 80th Annual Academy Awards show for ABC, his 14th occasion producing the Awards, for which he has already garnered 84 nominations and 17 Emmy Awards. Mr Cates was born in New York City and attended Syracuse University. Married to Dr. Judith Reichman, he has four children, two stepchildren and six grandchildren.

RANDALL ARNEY (Artistic Director) Randall begins his eleventh season as Artistic Director at the Geffen where he has directed The Female of the Species, The Seafarer, Atlanta, David Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, Stephen Jeffreys’ I Just Stopped by to See the Man, Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl, David Rambo’s God’s Man in Texas and Conor McPherson’s The Weir. An ensemble member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1984, Arney also acted as the

company’s artistic director from 1987 to 1995. Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations) and The Grapes of Wrath (Tony Award winner). Arney’s acting credits with Steppenwolf include Born Yesterday, Ghost in the Machine, The Homecoming, Frank’s Wild Years, You Can’t Take It With You, Fool for Love, Coyote Ugly, True West and Balm in Gilead. Film/TV credits include Normal, Weapons of Mass Distraction (both for HBO), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) and Judging Amy (CBS).

KEN NOVICE (Managing Director) Prior to joining Geffen Playhouse Novice served as Managing Director and Director of External Affairs at Pasadena Playhouse. Prior to that he was Director of Marketing and Public Relations for San Diego’s Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theatre developing marketing and public relations programs for Jack O’Brien’s revival of Damn Yankees, the Tony Awardnominated musical The Full Monty, Henry IV starring John Goodman as well as the Tony-nominated hit Play On! among many others. Novice’s credits also include marketing and public relations with the Tony Award-winning Denver Center Theater Company and New York’s Circle Repertory Company. As Director of Programming for YouthStream Media Networks he developed national marketing and public relations programs for major motion pictures from Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks S. K. G. , Buena Vista Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox, MGM, New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers Pictures. He also managed Ken Novice Entertainment Marketing, working with such clients as The Salvation Army, Sephra Fountains LLC, and promotional partners including Warner Brothers,

American Express and Gelson’s among others. Novice served as Head of Theatre Management for the California State University Long Beach theatre management M. F. A. /M. B. A. degree program and has been a guest lecturer at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. He holds a B. A. from the Pennsylvania State University and an M. B. A. from San Diego State University.

THE ESCORT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PRODUCTION STAFF FOR THE ESCORT Properties Master rich gilles Deck Supervisor Dwayne Barnes Master Electrician darren rezowalli Assistant Master Electrician Yelena Babinskaya Sound Master james grabowski Fight Consultant steve rankin Wardrobe Supervisor leah a. lewis Production Assistant Liana Dillaway Assistant Lighting Designer Christopher Kuhl Assistant Costume Designer Steven Hawley Stage Crew Juan Lozano Stage Crew Boude Moore Massage Consultant ANDY Gutierrez Assistant to the Director sarah malkin UCLA Directing Intern Caitlin Bower ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Set provided by scenic highlights Lighting Equipment provided by Entertainment Lighting Services Sound Equipment provided by Jon Sound Inc. SPECIAL THANKS UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Scene, Prop, Sound and Costume Shops, London Cleaners, The Jimmyjane Company, kristine hammerstrom, leia crawford UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION The Geffen Playhouse is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles, specifically the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. The Geffen Playhouse values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops and internships. Students are also able to work and learn from distinguished visiting Geffen artists such as Donald Margulies, Annette Bening, Terrence McNally, Alan Ayckbourn, David Mamet, David Ives and Jon Robin Baitz in areas of directing, playwriting, acting, design, dramaturgy, management and production. The Geffen Playhouse also draws upon the distinguished experts in the university to enhance the theater’s programs and research. The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association; The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.

PErFORMANCEs MAGAZINE P11

SCENE AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE Opening Night of The Break of Noon Sponsored by Los Angeles magazine Presenting Sponsor Audi of America, Inc.

Our Presenting Sponsor Audi represented by (left to right) Renee Cruciani, Alan Cruciani, Ryan Helvey, Jennifer Warner, Jeff Jacobsen

Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney with The Break of Noon cast

Cast members John Earl Jelks and Tracee Chimo with Richard Ruskell, Executive Pastry Chef at Montage Resort and Spa, who designed the cake

Geffen Playhouse donor Fielding Edlow and guest

Geffen Playhouse Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso, Board member Pamela Robinson Hollander, Mrs. Phillips, Fay Mancuso and Dr. Ed Phillips

Board member and Chariman Emeritus Herb Gelfand and Beverly Gelfand in the Audi R8 Spyder

find out how to attend geffen playhouse opening nights Call the Development department at 310-208-6500 ext. 128

P12 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

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