Rhinoceros - Program · September, 2014 Hello, and welcome! Rhinoceros marks year #8 of Bringing...

SPECIAL THANKS Wyncote Foundation

The Samuel S. Fels Fund The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

The Charlotte Cushman Foundation CHG Charitable Trust

Earl Wilcox ~ Plannerzone Eileen Cunniffe

June Washikita O’Neill Ben Doranz Pam Richey

Lehigh University Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies Lehigh University Department of Theatre

Connie and Tom Kirker Steely Dan, The Chicago Art Ensemble & Phillip Glass

Kevin Francis Bill Brock

Liam Brock Steve Lippe

Bob and Pat Schmidt Lee Pucklis and Robin Rodriguez

Ken Berman, Esq. The IRC Board of Directors

P. O. Box 63872 Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org

September, 2014

Hello, and welcome! Rhinoceros marks year #8 of Bringing Good Nothingness to Life -- presenting writers from around the globe whose plays feature absurd, existential theatrics. Our last visit with Mr, Ionesco was in 2009 when the IRC presented The Chairs and The Lesson, also well-loved plays from the Ionesco canon. Ionesco’s wildly innovative works challenged conventions of contemporary theater in his day. Coined the “Shakespeare of the Absurd,” the “Enfant Terrible of the Avant-Garde,” and the “Inventor of the Metaphysical Farce” Ionesco saw himself as a preserver of theater and "a supreme realist." His belief was that the aim of avant-garde theater should be to rediscover -- not invent -- the permanent forms and forgotten ideals of the theater in their purest state. Absurdist works, once considered strange, difficult to understand, bizarre -- seem less so in our modern age, where each week presents a new and frightening development. Absurd has become the new normal. Let’s tip our bowlers to the metaphysical farce of Eugène Ionesco on stage tonight – a venue that’s roughly the size of the Paris theater in which Ionesco’s play The Bald Soprano has been in continuous performance since 1957, making it one of the longest running theater productions in the world. Thank you for being here this evening and for contributing your time and support to our small and mighty endeavor. We hope you’ll pass the torch and the good word to your friends and neighbors who may agree with Ionesco’s quote that sums up the IRC’s philosophy, “It’s not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” Cheers and good travels through your FringeArts 2014 experience!

Tina Brock Producing Artistic Director

Many thanks to everyone who made Rhinoceros possible:

Zoo Director ($1000.00 and above)

Wyncote Foundation The Samuel S. Fels Fund

The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the Greater Philadelphia

Cultural Alliance The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia The Charlotte Cushman Foundation

CHG Charitable Trust Plannerzone – Earl Wilcox

Curator of Exhibits ($500.00 - $999.99)

Susan Feagin Andy Lamas and Ginny Vanderslice

Curator of Education ($250.00 - $499.99)

Anonymous • Beverly Stover

Conservation Zoologist ($100.00 - $249.99)

Pat and Stacey Bishop • Noel Carroll & Sally Banes • Joseph DeVitis Norman and Carolyn Ellman • Gail Furman • Jeanne George

Michael Golden & Shelley Green • Sondra Greenberg • A. Ron Hunter Peter Katsufrakis • Debra Miller & Ray Costello • Bill and Vikki Monaghan

Clifford Pearlman • Dr. Steve Peitzman • Robin and Joseph Rodriguez Kirsten Quinn & Ari Benjamin Bank • Thomas & Kathleen Quinn

Bob and Pat Schmidt • Alan J. Snyder • Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Johnne Tint Lou Seitchik & Kanani Titchen • Dr. Robert J. Wallner

Askold Zagars & Marie Feehan

Animal Curator ($50.00 - $99.99)

Alyson Filippone • Robb Hutter • Denise La Marra • Pat Lewis Michael Lynch • Joel & Barbara Stewart • Colin Wolfe • Judith Wooldridge

Veterinarian ($1.00 - $49.99)

Harry F. Bambrick • Paula Bedwell • Joan O. Cahan Timothy P. Carey • John and Alberta Chiaravalloti • John D'Alonzo

Jesse Delaney • Aida Galarza • Barbara Grabias • Priscilla Hollerbach Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson • Robert C. Jones • Moe and Sandy Lebo Michael and Barbara Lefkoe • James Rapport • Dr. Robert Rosenwein

Lee Saldinger • Marie Stuart • Michael Zuckerman

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors

Susan Feagin - President

Tina Brock - Vice President Alyson Filippone, CPA - Treasurer

Bill Brock Kirsten Quinn Bob Schmidt

Advisory Committee

Ben Doranz, Strategic Plan Consultant Ken Berman, Esq., Legal Consultant

Gail Furman Robin Rodriguez

Earl Wilcox

Actors' Equity Association (AEA) was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards.

Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production.

AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit www.actorsequity.org.

RHINOCEROS by Eugène Ionesco

Translated by Derek Prouse

Directed by Tina Brock

Costume and Scenic Design

Erica Hoelscher

Lighting Design Maria Shaplin

Sound Design Tina Brock

Technical Director Scott Cassidy

Production Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator Mark Williams

Scenic Painter Kate Coons

Photoshop Magic Bill Brock

Photography Johanna Austin

(www.AustinArt.org)

Rhinoceros is made possible in part by generous grants from Wyncote Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund;

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia; The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and

administered regionally by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; CHG Charitable

Trust; and Plannerzone

Produced by arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.



CAST

The Waitress Jerry Rudasill The Grocer’s Wife Tomas Dura The Housewife Maryruth Stine Berenger Ethan Lipkin Jean David Stanger The Grocer Michael Dura The Old Gentleman Paul McElwee The Logician Steve Lippe The Café Proprietor Bob Schmidt Daisy Kirsten Quinn Mr. Botard Bob Schmidt Mr. Dudard Paul McElwee Mr. Papillon Jerry Rudasill Mrs. Boeuf Maryruth Stine First Fireman Tomas Dura Second Fireman Michael Dura Old Man Michael Dura Old Man’s Wife Tomas Dura

This production includes members of Actors’ Equity Association.

ACT I

Scene 1: A metropolis. Midday on a Sunday in the summer. Scene 2: The office of a law publication firm. The next morning.

ACT II Jean's room. The afternoon of the same day.

ACT II Berenger's room. A few days later.

Playing time is approximately 100 minutes;

There will be no intermission.

A restroom is located to the left of the entrance of the theater. Additional restrooms are located in the lobby on the first floor.

Plannerzone helps businesses see things from a customer’s perspective. For over 20 years, our unique approach to market

research has helped our clients make more informed decisions about marketing, products and distribution.

Direct clients include: 3M, Aflac, Ameriprise, Nestlé, and Proctor & Gamble.

Are you as curious as we are? Email [email protected]

Plannerzone is proud to sponsor The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium presents

MISALLIANCE by

George Bernard Shaw

February 2015

Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5


CAST

Michael Dura (The Grocer, Second Fireman, The Old Man) has been actively involved in theatre, film, music and dance for over thirty years. He received his BA degree in Music at La Salle University in 1975 and went on to study voice with Regina Zona, Joyce M. DiDonato, Thomas Scurto-Davis, and finally Enrico Di Giuseppe. Theatrically he has performed with such companies as The Vagabond Acting Troupe, Big Mess Theatre, Iron Age Theatre, and The Brick

Playhouse. Philadelphians got to know him for his annual portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe with the Philadelphia Orchestra in its Halloween Concert at the Kimmel Center. He is also known for playing Dick Deadeye in the Savoy Company's last production of H.M.S Pinafore at the Academy of Music, and also Pish-Tush in its recent production of The Mikado. He has performed operatically for such companies as Delaware Valley Opera, Amici Opera, Blue Planet Opera, and the West Chester Opera Society. Previous performances with the IRC include his shared performance with his brother, Tomas, in Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, The Street Singer in The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Neighbor in The Empire Builders, Firefighter Flynn Coleman in The Arsonists, Aleksei Dmitrievich Starikov in Marriage, as both The Second Aunt and Checkers in Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Charlie in Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, and most recently as Arthur in Franz Kafka’s The Castle.

Tomas Dura (The Grocer’s Wife, First Fireman, The Old Woman) has toured Europe, Canada and the U.S. and has appeared in film, video and television. He is best known as a flamenco dancer in addition to being an actor, musician and fire eater. He worked with the great flamenco dancer, Jose Greco, for 8 years, frequently serving as assistant during Mr. Greco's last years. He dances in the movie, Cafe, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and has worked in the films Smoke and Mirrors (director K. Hardy), Loneliness (director M. Zubarev) and About Angels

(Zubarev). In 2007 Tomas performed solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra to a sold out house at the Kimmel Center in his own choreography of the Spanish Dance from Swan Lake. He is the director and lead male dancer of Fiesta Flamenco Dancers and is choreographer in residence with the Amici Opera Co. He teaches flamenco dance classes in grade schools, high schools, colleges and public community centers. Tomas has previously appeared with IRC in Ohio Impromptu, The

Madwoman of Chaillot, The Empire Builders, The Arsonists, Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park and The Castle.

Ethan Lipkin (Berenger) is glad to be back with the IRC, where he has previously appeared in productions of Ondine, The Castle, The Arsonists, Marriage, The Madwoman of Chaillot and A Streetcar Named Durang. He has also performed locally with the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, New City Stage, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Luna Theater, Vagabond Acting Troupe, The Walking Fish, and has been featured in works by Beckett, Chekhov, Mamet and Williams as well as many original works by

local writers. Look for him this October in Luna Theater's production of Quills, and in November he'll be appearing in the inaugural production of Ivan Taub's, "The Show".

Steve Lippe (The Logician) is a veteran of many IRC shows; all but this one have been as an audience member. Most recently, he appeared in 2 short plays by Josh McIlvain for Smokey Scout Productions. Steve spent the 2013 Fringe writing and performing with Philly's balls-deepest sketch comedy troupe, The Waitstaff. Previous Fringe appearances include writing, producing and performing darKomedy, a sleeper hit of the 2006 Fringe. He is preparing his 2015 Fringe solo performance, The Summer Of My

Disconnect. Film: Woody Allen's Celebrity, Disney's Enchanted, and the locally produced Invisible Mountains. TV: Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Chris Rock Show, and 21st Century Football Follies for NFL Films. Much gratitude to Tina, love to Mom, and special thanks to all who helped get Steve back on stage: His primary doctor, his orthopedist, his psychiatrist, his physical therapists, and the makers of Lamictal, Wellbutrin, Adderall, Percocet, Tramadol, Feldene, and Maalox.

Paul McElwee (The Old Gentleman, Mr. Dudard) is happy to be making his IRC debut in this beast of a play. Recent credits include Melvin in Waiting for the Boss with Smokey Scout Productions, Herbie, Mazeppa, et al in Gypsy and Dr. Parker in Batboy with City Theater, Bill in August: Osage County and Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with the Ritz Theatre Company and Norbert in The Great American Trailer Park Musical with 11th Hour. Next up, you can see him as Gabriel Conroy in

James Joyce's The Dead with City Theater in Wilmington, DE. By day, Paul is the Director of Programs & Education for The Garden State Discovery Museum.

Unique, Reclaimed & Affordable:

Arts/craft supplies & fabrics Green building/home improvement materials

Housewares/decor Classroom & office supplies

Salvaged film & theatre scenery reMADE items and gifts

1701 N. 2nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 267-997-0060

www. theresourceexchange.org

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium supports The Resource Exchange’s reSETS (Setting Entertainment

Towards Sustainability) program by repurposing or recycling our sets and scenic material whenever possible.

Erica Hoelscher (Scenic and Costume Designer) has designed scenery and costumes for a number of productions including A Moon for the Misbegotten, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Twelfth Night, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Euripides’ Medea. Erica has been fortunate to design costumes for numerous theaters in PA, NY and Chicago. She earned an MFA in stage design from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and a BA in theatre from Simpson College in Indianola, IA. Current and recent projects include Kind Ness and Minnesota at Lehigh University and Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park, and The Castle for the IRC. Erica is currently serving as chairperson of the department of theatre at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, where she has designed nearly fifty productions since 1995. She teaches courses in theatrical design, theatre history, costume history, and stage makeup.

Erica’s design for Rhinoceros is supported by a Faculty Research Grant from Lehigh University. Maria Shaplin (Lighting Design) is a Philadelphia‐based designer with an MFA in Lighting Design from Temple University. Maria is fortunate to work closely with a number of experimental theatre companies in Philadelphia and New York including The Riot Group, New Paradise Laboratories, The Berserker Residents, Applied Mechanics, Swim Pony Performing Arts, and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, among many others. She is the resident lighting designer with The Riot Group, and co-founder of Applied Mechanics, an avant-garde installation performance collective. Mark Williams (Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator) is a Design/Technical Theatre, and Radio/Television/Film major at Rowan University, and is absolutely thrilled to be working with the IRC once again. Mark would like to thank his mentors over the years, his family, and all of the IRC.

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Kirsten Quinn (Daisy) is thrilled to be working with IRC again after appearing in The Arsonists, The Empire Builders, and The Madwoman of Chaillot and Franz Kafka's The Castle (as well as several "Onions"). Quinn holds an M.F.A. in acting from The University of Pittsburgh. She has worked with the Wilma, the Lantern, InterAct, Luna Theatre, ISIS Productions, Theatre Catalyst's ESP, Center City Theatre Works, various Fringe companies, Greenlight Arts, The Irish Heritage Theatre, Montgomery Theatre, B.Someday,

New City Stage, Ebeneezer Entertainment, and many others. Favorite roles she has performed include Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lady Macbeth, Julie in Miss Julie, Miss Havilland in Unwrap Your Candy, Bunny in House of Blue Leaves, Frieda in The Castle, and Belinda Blair in Noises Off. Thank you to Tina and this wildly talented cast and crew. Thank you also to CCP, where Kirsten is an Associate Professor. Kirsten would like to send love to her wonderful family for all of their support, and to Ari, for being an incredible husband and soul-mate. Up next, Closer with Luna Theatre Company. Kirsten would like to dedicate her performance to the Big Dad.

Jerry Rudasill (The Waitress, Mr. Papillon) is a caffeine based life form that has a thing for cripples, bastards, and broken wings. He's always late, but worth the wait, buy him a shot and he sings.

Bob Schmidt (The Cafe Proprietor, Mr. Botard) is a founding member of the IRC and has appeared in many productions since the company's founding in 2006: Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine, Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Alistair Beaton’s translation of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, Victims of Duty, The Leader, and Foursome; Christopher

Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, Wanda's Visit, Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe, and numerous Raw Onions. Many thanks to the cast and crew for their time and talent to make this absurd spectacle possible, and to you for supporting The IRC!

Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

IRCTheaterCo

David Stanger (Jean) feels great to be returning to the IRC, having last been seen as the hapless 'K' in last Fringe Festival's The Castle. Also at the IRC: Marriage (Kochkaryov) and Ivona; Princess of Burgundia (Prince Philip). Elsewhere in Philadelphia: A Christmas Carol (Nephew Fred) at the Walnut, A Prayer for Owen Meany (u/s) at the Arden, How to Disappear Completely (Charlie) with Luna Theater Company, Crumble (The Apartment) with Flashpoint Theater and Much Ado About

Nothing (Don John) and Waiting for Godot (Lucky) with the Amaryllis Theater Company. He is also a company member with The Hear Again Radio Project as the voice of 'The Old Smoothie'. You may have also seen (or rather heard) his work as a voice over artist, both on the airwaves and through the interwebs. Check out www.davidstangervo.com for more info. Thanks to Tina and my fellow pachyderms (on and off stage) for a wonderful and wild ride. For Kristen.

Maryruth Stine (The Housewife, Mrs. Boeuf) is a performer and educator raised in Elmwood, West Virginia and Baltimore. Since moving to Philly, MR has been onstage with PhillyShakes, EgoPo, Hedgerow, and Little Fish Theatre, and in the classroom with Theatre Horizon, WolfPAC, and Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Favorite works include Aanmaiyo aanmai (Macho A macho!) with Marappachi (Chennai, India), Teen Sleuth and the Freed Cyborg Choir – An Ope-raw (Montreal), and

Valentine with Lady Ana Key (Lethbridge AB).

CREW

Jessica Barksdale (Assistant Costume Designer) previously served as assistant costume designer on the IRC's productions of Marriage, Ivona, the Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park, and The Castle. She was a stitcher for Muhlenberg College's Summer Music Theatre and the department of theatre costume shop at Lehigh University. Jessica designed costumes for the Media Theatre's production of Forever Plaid, and served as assistant costume designer for the Media Theatre (various musicals), Plays & Players Theatre (Joe Turner's Come and Gone and America Play), and Shakespeare in Clark Park (Merry Wives of Windsor). Jessica designed costumes for Something From Nothing, a devised piece created at Lehigh University. She is currently the Costume Apprentice in the Department of Theatre at Lehigh University, where she will be designing costumes for Marcus Gardley's every tongue confess in February 2015.

Tina Brock (Director, Sound Design) is a founding member of the IRC. Directing projects: Franz Kafka’s The Castle; Charles Mee’s Paradise Park; Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Nikolai Gogol’s Marriage: An Utterly Improbable Occurrence in Two Acts; Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux's The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, The Lesson, Frenzy for Two, Foursome, The Leader and Victims of Duty; Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, and Come and Go; Edward Albee's The Sandbox; Harold Pinter’s Trouble in the Works; Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Desire Desire Desire, A Stye of the Eye and The Actor’s Nightmare, and Tennessee Williams' The Gnädiges Fraulein. Acting projects: Philadelphia Theater Company, Act II Playhouse, Luna Theater, Azuka Theater, Theatre Exile, Arden Theater Company. Tina studied Journalism and Dance at University of Maryland; Speech Communication at West Chester University, and Graduate work in Psychology, Rutgers University. Over the past fifteen years she has also worked as a freelance producer and writer, including associate producer credits on the NPR radio series A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman, and in the development, public information and fundraising departments at PBS affiliate WHYY-TV12. Many thanks to the IRC’s stalwart ensemble for their talent and dedication as we crown the IRC’s 8th year, and to Susan Feagin and the IRC's Board of Directors for helping us Bring Good Nothingness to Life. Erica, Maria and this design squad: as always, a pleasure. Scott Cassidy (Technical Director) is happy to be joining the IRC again. Scott worked on last season's Paradise Park. Other credits include: Brat Productions, Arcadia University, Opera Saratoga and The Ohio Light Opera. Scott is currently on staff at the University of the Arts. Kate Coots (Scenic Painter) is thrilled to be joining the IRC again. Kate has worked at many theaters around the Philadelphia area including: The Lantern, Bristol Riverside Theater, Villanova University, and others. Kate recently joined the staff of Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA. Lisa Glover (Mask Design/Construction) is a designer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She received her M. Eng. in Technical Entrepreneurship (2014) and B.A. in Architecture and Fine Arts (2013) from Lehigh University. In March of 2014, she founded Architrep, LLC, which is a design firm specializing in paper-based creations. Lisa is best-known for her 15ft long velociraptor costume and the children’s toy that developed from that, called KitRex. When she isn't making things out of paper, Lisa can be found painting, running, playing board games, and carrying a variety of strange things while riding her bicycle.

November 2014, L’Etage Cabaret


Eugène Ionesco (1909 - 1994) (An

Eugène Ionesco's wildly innovative plays, among them Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano and The Chairs, overturned conventions of contemporary theater and had a profound effect on a new generation of playwrights. Ionesco's "anti-plays" satirized modern society while discovering new uses of language and theatrical techniques. Inspired by silent film clowns and vaudeville, he was a playful playwright, clownish in his own personality as well as in his work onstage. With outrageous comedy, he attacked the most serious subjects: blind conformity and totalitarianism, despair and death. Repeatedly he challenged - and accosted - the audience and his critics. As he said, "The human drama is as absurd as it is painful." Along with Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet, he was one of a trinity of pioneering experimental playwrights who lived and worked in Paris. Although there were thematic bridges among the three, Ionesco's distinction was in his fanciful surrealism and sense of Dada. Among the playwrights he influenced were Tom Stoppard, Fernando Arrabal, Edward Albee, Tina Howe and Christopher Durang. Ionesco was among the playwrights often grouped as practitioners of the Theater of the Absurd. He objected to the label, preferring, he said, the Theater of Derision. --Mel Gussow, The New York TimesBooks edition __________________________________________________

Eugène Ionesco is undoubtedly the most fertile and original of the dramatists of the Absurd, and also, in spite of a streak of clowning and fun for its own sake in his work, one of the most profound. He is moreover the most vocal of the dramatists of the Absurd, the only one who is prepared to discuss the theoretical foundations of his work and to reply to the attacks on it from committed left-wing realists. The critique of language and the haunting presence of death are Ionesco's chief themes in plays like The Bald Soprano, The Lesson, The Chairs, The Killer, Rhinoceros, and Exit The King. Amédée or How to Get Rid of It (1953) is Ionesco's first full-length play and contains one of his most telling images. It is also characteristic in its alternation between states of depression and euphoria, leaden oppression and floating on air, an image which reappears through his work.

--Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd

Quotes from Eugène Ionesco

“I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water.

One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least.”

"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind."

“If I write a new play, my point of view may be profoundly modified. I

may be obliged to contradict myself and I may no longer know whether I still think what I think.”

“The poet cannot invent new words every time, of course. He uses the

words of the tribe. But the handling of the word, the accent, a new articulation, renews them.”

“Childhood is the world of miracle or of magic: it is as if creation rose

luminously out of the night, all new and fresh and astonishing. Childhood is over the moment things are no longer astonishing. When

the world gives you a feeling of “déjà vu,” when you are used to existence, you become an adult.”

“Banality is a symptom of non-communication. Men hide behind their

clichés.”

“I am not quite sure whether I am dreaming or remembering, whether I have lived my life or dreamed it. Just as dreams do, memory makes me

profoundly aware of the unreality, the evanescence of the world, a fleeting image in the moving water.”

“I've always been suspicious of collective truths.”

"Beauty is a precious trace that eternity causes to appear to us and that it

takes away from us. A manifestation of eternity, and a sign of death as well."

“Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together.”

“There is no religion in which everyday life is not considered a prison; there is no philosophy or ideology that does not think that we live in

alienation.”

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

November 2014, L’Etage Cabaret


David Stanger (Jean) feels great to be returning to the IRC, having last been seen as the hapless 'K' in last Fringe Festival's The Castle. Also at the IRC: Marriage (Kochkaryov) and Ivona; Princess of Burgundia (Prince Philip). Elsewhere in Philadelphia: A Christmas Carol (Nephew Fred) at the Walnut, A Prayer for Owen Meany (u/s) at the Arden, How to Disappear Completely (Charlie) with Luna Theater Company, Crumble (The Apartment) with Flashpoint Theater and Much Ado About

Nothing (Don John) and Waiting for Godot (Lucky) with the Amaryllis Theater Company. He is also a company member with The Hear Again Radio Project as the voice of 'The Old Smoothie'. You may have also seen (or rather heard) his work as a voice over artist, both on the airwaves and through the interwebs. Check out www.davidstangervo.com for more info. Thanks to Tina and my fellow pachyderms (on and off stage) for a wonderful and wild ride. For Kristen.

Maryruth Stine (The Housewife, Mrs. Boeuf) is a performer and educator raised in Elmwood, West Virginia and Baltimore. Since moving to Philly, MR has been onstage with PhillyShakes, EgoPo, Hedgerow, and Little Fish Theatre, and in the classroom with Theatre Horizon, WolfPAC, and Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Favorite works include Aanmaiyo aanmai (Macho A macho!) with Marappachi (Chennai, India), Teen Sleuth and the Freed Cyborg Choir – An Ope-raw (Montreal), and

Valentine with Lady Ana Key (Lethbridge AB).

CREW

Jessica Barksdale (Assistant Costume Designer) previously served as assistant costume designer on the IRC's productions of Marriage, Ivona, the Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park, and The Castle. She was a stitcher for Muhlenberg College's Summer Music Theatre and the department of theatre costume shop at Lehigh University. Jessica designed costumes for the Media Theatre's production of Forever Plaid, and served as assistant costume designer for the Media Theatre (various musicals), Plays & Players Theatre (Joe Turner's Come and Gone and America Play), and Shakespeare in Clark Park (Merry Wives of Windsor). Jessica designed costumes for Something From Nothing, a devised piece created at Lehigh University. She is currently the Costume Apprentice in the Department of Theatre at Lehigh University, where she will be designing costumes for Marcus Gardley's every tongue confess in February 2015.

Tina Brock (Director, Sound Design) is a founding member of the IRC. Directing projects: Franz Kafka’s The Castle; Charles Mee’s Paradise Park; Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Nikolai Gogol’s Marriage: An Utterly Improbable Occurrence in Two Acts; Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux's The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, The Lesson, Frenzy for Two, Foursome, The Leader and Victims of Duty; Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, and Come and Go; Edward Albee's The Sandbox; Harold Pinter’s Trouble in the Works; Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Desire Desire Desire, A Stye of the Eye and The Actor’s Nightmare, and Tennessee Williams' The Gnädiges Fraulein. Acting projects: Philadelphia Theater Company, Act II Playhouse, Luna Theater, Azuka Theater, Theatre Exile, Arden Theater Company. Tina studied Journalism and Dance at University of Maryland; Speech Communication at West Chester University, and Graduate work in Psychology, Rutgers University. Over the past fifteen years she has also worked as a freelance producer and writer, including associate producer credits on the NPR radio series A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman, and in the development, public information and fundraising departments at PBS affiliate WHYY-TV12. Many thanks to the IRC’s stalwart ensemble for their talent and dedication as we crown the IRC’s 8th year, and to Susan Feagin and the IRC's Board of Directors for helping us Bring Good Nothingness to Life. Erica, Maria and this design squad: as always, a pleasure. Scott Cassidy (Technical Director) is happy to be joining the IRC again. Scott worked on last season's Paradise Park. Other credits include: Brat Productions, Arcadia University, Opera Saratoga and The Ohio Light Opera. Scott is currently on staff at the University of the Arts. Kate Coots (Scenic Painter) is thrilled to be joining the IRC again. Kate has worked at many theaters around the Philadelphia area including: The Lantern, Bristol Riverside Theater, Villanova University, and others. Kate recently joined the staff of Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA. Lisa Glover (Mask Design/Construction) is a designer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She received her M. Eng. in Technical Entrepreneurship (2014) and B.A. in Architecture and Fine Arts (2013) from Lehigh University. In March of 2014, she founded Architrep, LLC, which is a design firm specializing in paper-based creations. Lisa is best-known for her 15ft long velociraptor costume and the children’s toy that developed from that, called KitRex. When she isn't making things out of paper, Lisa can be found painting, running, playing board games, and carrying a variety of strange things while riding her bicycle.

Erica Hoelscher (Scenic and Costume Designer) has designed scenery and costumes for a number of productions including A Moon for the Misbegotten, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Twelfth Night, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Euripides’ Medea. Erica has been fortunate to design costumes for numerous theaters in PA, NY and Chicago. She earned an MFA in stage design from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and a BA in theatre from Simpson College in Indianola, IA. Current and recent projects include Kind Ness and Minnesota at Lehigh University and Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park, and The Castle for the IRC. Erica is currently serving as chairperson of the department of theatre at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, where she has designed nearly fifty productions since 1995. She teaches courses in theatrical design, theatre history, costume history, and stage makeup.

Erica’s design for Rhinoceros is supported by a Faculty Research Grant from Lehigh University. Maria Shaplin (Lighting Design) is a Philadelphia‐based designer with an MFA in Lighting Design from Temple University. Maria is fortunate to work closely with a number of experimental theatre companies in Philadelphia and New York including The Riot Group, New Paradise Laboratories, The Berserker Residents, Applied Mechanics, Swim Pony Performing Arts, and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, among many others. She is the resident lighting designer with The Riot Group, and co-founder of Applied Mechanics, an avant-garde installation performance collective. Mark Williams (Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator) is a Design/Technical Theatre, and Radio/Television/Film major at Rowan University, and is absolutely thrilled to be working with the IRC once again. Mark would like to thank his mentors over the years, his family, and all of the IRC.

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Kirsten Quinn (Daisy) is thrilled to be working with IRC again after appearing in The Arsonists, The Empire Builders, and The Madwoman of Chaillot and Franz Kafka's The Castle (as well as several "Onions"). Quinn holds an M.F.A. in acting from The University of Pittsburgh. She has worked with the Wilma, the Lantern, InterAct, Luna Theatre, ISIS Productions, Theatre Catalyst's ESP, Center City Theatre Works, various Fringe companies, Greenlight Arts, The Irish Heritage Theatre, Montgomery Theatre, B.Someday,

New City Stage, Ebeneezer Entertainment, and many others. Favorite roles she has performed include Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lady Macbeth, Julie in Miss Julie, Miss Havilland in Unwrap Your Candy, Bunny in House of Blue Leaves, Frieda in The Castle, and Belinda Blair in Noises Off. Thank you to Tina and this wildly talented cast and crew. Thank you also to CCP, where Kirsten is an Associate Professor. Kirsten would like to send love to her wonderful family for all of their support, and to Ari, for being an incredible husband and soul-mate. Up next, Closer with Luna Theatre Company. Kirsten would like to dedicate her performance to the Big Dad.

Jerry Rudasill (The Waitress, Mr. Papillon) is a caffeine based life form that has a thing for cripples, bastards, and broken wings. He's always late, but worth the wait, buy him a shot and he sings.

Bob Schmidt (The Cafe Proprietor, Mr. Botard) is a founding member of the IRC and has appeared in many productions since the company's founding in 2006: Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine, Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Alistair Beaton’s translation of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, Victims of Duty, The Leader, and Foursome; Christopher

Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, Wanda's Visit, Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe, and numerous Raw Onions. Many thanks to the cast and crew for their time and talent to make this absurd spectacle possible, and to you for supporting The IRC!

Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

IRCTheaterCo

Madwoman of Chaillot, The Empire Builders, The Arsonists, Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park and The Castle.

Ethan Lipkin (Berenger) is glad to be back with the IRC, where he has previously appeared in productions of Ondine, The Castle, The Arsonists, Marriage, The Madwoman of Chaillot and A Streetcar Named Durang. He has also performed locally with the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, New City Stage, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Luna Theater, Vagabond Acting Troupe, The Walking Fish, and has been featured in works by Beckett, Chekhov, Mamet and Williams as well as many original works by

local writers. Look for him this October in Luna Theater's production of Quills, and in November he'll be appearing in the inaugural production of Ivan Taub's, "The Show".

Steve Lippe (The Logician) is a veteran of many IRC shows; all but this one have been as an audience member. Most recently, he appeared in 2 short plays by Josh McIlvain for Smokey Scout Productions. Steve spent the 2013 Fringe writing and performing with Philly's balls-deepest sketch comedy troupe, The Waitstaff. Previous Fringe appearances include writing, producing and performing darKomedy, a sleeper hit of the 2006 Fringe. He is preparing his 2015 Fringe solo performance, The Summer Of My

Disconnect. Film: Woody Allen's Celebrity, Disney's Enchanted, and the locally produced Invisible Mountains. TV: Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Chris Rock Show, and 21st Century Football Follies for NFL Films. Much gratitude to Tina, love to Mom, and special thanks to all who helped get Steve back on stage: His primary doctor, his orthopedist, his psychiatrist, his physical therapists, and the makers of Lamictal, Wellbutrin, Adderall, Percocet, Tramadol, Feldene, and Maalox.

Paul McElwee (The Old Gentleman, Mr. Dudard) is happy to be making his IRC debut in this beast of a play. Recent credits include Melvin in Waiting for the Boss with Smokey Scout Productions, Herbie, Mazeppa, et al in Gypsy and Dr. Parker in Batboy with City Theater, Bill in August: Osage County and Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with the Ritz Theatre Company and Norbert in The Great American Trailer Park Musical with 11th Hour. Next up, you can see him as Gabriel Conroy in

James Joyce's The Dead with City Theater in Wilmington, DE. By day, Paul is the Director of Programs & Education for The Garden State Discovery Museum.

Unique, Reclaimed & Affordable:

Arts/craft supplies & fabrics Green building/home improvement materials

Housewares/decor Classroom & office supplies

Salvaged film & theatre scenery reMADE items and gifts

1701 N. 2nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 267-997-0060

www. theresourceexchange.org

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium supports The Resource Exchange’s reSETS (Setting Entertainment

Towards Sustainability) program by repurposing or recycling our sets and scenic material whenever possible.

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium presents

MISALLIANCE by

George Bernard Shaw

February 2015

Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5


CAST

Michael Dura (The Grocer, Second Fireman, The Old Man) has been actively involved in theatre, film, music and dance for over thirty years. He received his BA degree in Music at La Salle University in 1975 and went on to study voice with Regina Zona, Joyce M. DiDonato, Thomas Scurto-Davis, and finally Enrico Di Giuseppe. Theatrically he has performed with such companies as The Vagabond Acting Troupe, Big Mess Theatre, Iron Age Theatre, and The Brick

Playhouse. Philadelphians got to know him for his annual portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe with the Philadelphia Orchestra in its Halloween Concert at the Kimmel Center. He is also known for playing Dick Deadeye in the Savoy Company's last production of H.M.S Pinafore at the Academy of Music, and also Pish-Tush in its recent production of The Mikado. He has performed operatically for such companies as Delaware Valley Opera, Amici Opera, Blue Planet Opera, and the West Chester Opera Society. Previous performances with the IRC include his shared performance with his brother, Tomas, in Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, The Street Singer in The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Neighbor in The Empire Builders, Firefighter Flynn Coleman in The Arsonists, Aleksei Dmitrievich Starikov in Marriage, as both The Second Aunt and Checkers in Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Charlie in Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, and most recently as Arthur in Franz Kafka’s The Castle.

Tomas Dura (The Grocer’s Wife, First Fireman, The Old Woman) has toured Europe, Canada and the U.S. and has appeared in film, video and television. He is best known as a flamenco dancer in addition to being an actor, musician and fire eater. He worked with the great flamenco dancer, Jose Greco, for 8 years, frequently serving as assistant during Mr. Greco's last years. He dances in the movie, Cafe, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and has worked in the films Smoke and Mirrors (director K. Hardy), Loneliness (director M. Zubarev) and About Angels

(Zubarev). In 2007 Tomas performed solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra to a sold out house at the Kimmel Center in his own choreography of the Spanish Dance from Swan Lake. He is the director and lead male dancer of Fiesta Flamenco Dancers and is choreographer in residence with the Amici Opera Co. He teaches flamenco dance classes in grade schools, high schools, colleges and public community centers. Tomas has previously appeared with IRC in Ohio Impromptu, The



CAST

The Waitress Jerry Rudasill The Grocer’s Wife Tomas Dura The Housewife Maryruth Stine Berenger Ethan Lipkin Jean David Stanger The Grocer Michael Dura The Old Gentleman Paul McElwee The Logician Steve Lippe The Café Proprietor Bob Schmidt Daisy Kirsten Quinn Mr. Botard Bob Schmidt Mr. Dudard Paul McElwee Mr. Papillon Jerry Rudasill Mrs. Boeuf Maryruth Stine First Fireman Tomas Dura Second Fireman Michael Dura Old Man Michael Dura Old Man’s Wife Tomas Dura

This production includes members of Actors’ Equity Association.

ACT I

Scene 1: A metropolis. Midday on a Sunday in the summer. Scene 2: The office of a law publication firm. The next morning.

ACT II Jean's room. The afternoon of the same day.

ACT II Berenger's room. A few days later.

Playing time is approximately 100 minutes;

There will be no intermission.

A restroom is located to the left of the entrance of the theater. Additional restrooms are located in the lobby on the first floor.

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research has helped our clients make more informed decisions about marketing, products and distribution.

Direct clients include: 3M, Aflac, Ameriprise, Nestlé, and Proctor & Gamble.

Are you as curious as we are? Email [email protected]

Plannerzone is proud to sponsor The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors

Susan Feagin - President

Tina Brock - Vice President Alyson Filippone, CPA - Treasurer

Bill Brock Kirsten Quinn Bob Schmidt

Advisory Committee

Ben Doranz, Strategic Plan Consultant Ken Berman, Esq., Legal Consultant

Gail Furman Robin Rodriguez

Earl Wilcox

Actors' Equity Association (AEA) was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards.

Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production.

AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit www.actorsequity.org.



Directed by Tina Brock

Costume and Scenic Design

Erica Hoelscher

Lighting Design Maria Shaplin

Sound Design Tina Brock

Technical Director Scott Cassidy

Production Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator Mark Williams

Scenic Painter Kate Coons

Photoshop Magic Bill Brock

Photography Johanna Austin

(www.AustinArt.org)

Rhinoceros is made possible in part by generous grants from Wyncote Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund;

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia; The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and

administered regionally by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; CHG Charitable

Trust; and Plannerzone

Produced by arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

September, 2014

Hello, and welcome! Rhinoceros marks year #8 of Bringing Good Nothingness to Life -- presenting writers from around the globe whose plays feature absurd, existential theatrics. Our last visit with Mr, Ionesco was in 2009 when the IRC presented The Chairs and The Lesson, also well-loved plays from the Ionesco canon. Ionesco’s wildly innovative works challenged conventions of contemporary theater in his day. Coined the “Shakespeare of the Absurd,” the “Enfant Terrible of the Avant-Garde,” and the “Inventor of the Metaphysical Farce” Ionesco saw himself as a preserver of theater and "a supreme realist." His belief was that the aim of avant-garde theater should be to rediscover -- not invent -- the permanent forms and forgotten ideals of the theater in their purest state. Absurdist works, once considered strange, difficult to understand, bizarre -- seem less so in our modern age, where each week presents a new and frightening development. Absurd has become the new normal. Let’s tip our bowlers to the metaphysical farce of Eugène Ionesco on stage tonight – a venue that’s roughly the size of the Paris theater in which Ionesco’s play The Bald Soprano has been in continuous performance since 1957, making it one of the longest running theater productions in the world. Thank you for being here this evening and for contributing your time and support to our small and mighty endeavor. We hope you’ll pass the torch and the good word to your friends and neighbors who may agree with Ionesco’s quote that sums up the IRC’s philosophy, “It’s not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” Cheers and good travels through your FringeArts 2014 experience!

Tina Brock Producing Artistic Director

Many thanks to everyone who made Rhinoceros possible:

Zoo Director ($1000.00 and above)

Wyncote Foundation The Samuel S. Fels Fund

The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the Greater Philadelphia

Cultural Alliance The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia The Charlotte Cushman Foundation

CHG Charitable Trust Plannerzone – Earl Wilcox

Curator of Exhibits ($500.00 - $999.99)

Susan Feagin Andy Lamas and Ginny Vanderslice

Curator of Education ($250.00 - $499.99)

Anonymous • Beverly Stover

Conservation Zoologist ($100.00 - $249.99)

Pat and Stacey Bishop • Noel Carroll & Sally Banes • Joseph DeVitis Norman and Carolyn Ellman • Gail Furman • Jeanne George

Michael Golden & Shelley Green • Sondra Greenberg • A. Ron Hunter Peter Katsufrakis • Debra Miller & Ray Costello • Bill and Vikki Monaghan

Clifford Pearlman • Dr. Steve Peitzman • Robin and Joseph Rodriguez Kirsten Quinn & Ari Benjamin Bank • Thomas & Kathleen Quinn

Bob and Pat Schmidt • Alan J. Snyder • Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Johnne Tint Lou Seitchik & Kanani Titchen • Dr. Robert J. Wallner

Askold Zagars & Marie Feehan

Animal Curator ($50.00 - $99.99)

Alyson Filippone • Robb Hutter • Denise La Marra • Pat Lewis Michael Lynch • Joel & Barbara Stewart • Colin Wolfe • Judith Wooldridge

Veterinarian ($1.00 - $49.99)

Harry F. Bambrick • Paula Bedwell • Joan O. Cahan Timothy P. Carey • John and Alberta Chiaravalloti • John D'Alonzo

Jesse Delaney • Aida Galarza • Barbara Grabias • Priscilla Hollerbach Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson • Robert C. Jones • Moe and Sandy Lebo Michael and Barbara Lefkoe • James Rapport • Dr. Robert Rosenwein

Lee Saldinger • Marie Stuart • Michael Zuckerman

SPECIAL THANKS Wyncote Foundation

The Samuel S. Fels Fund The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

The Charlotte Cushman Foundation CHG Charitable Trust

Earl Wilcox ~ Plannerzone Eileen Cunniffe

June Washikita O’Neill Ben Doranz Pam Richey

Lehigh University Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies Lehigh University Department of Theatre

Connie and Tom Kirker Steely Dan, The Chicago Art Ensemble & Phillip Glass

Kevin Francis Bill Brock

Liam Brock Steve Lippe

Bob and Pat Schmidt Lee Pucklis and Robin Rodriguez

Ken Berman, Esq. The IRC Board of Directors

P. O. Box 63872 Philadelphia, PA 19147


Rhinoceros - Program · September, 2014 Hello, and welcome! Rhinoceros marks year #8 of Bringing...

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Transcript of Rhinoceros - Program · September, 2014 Hello, and welcome! Rhinoceros marks year #8 of Bringing...