PERP

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By Lyle Kessler

Directed by Lee Brock

TBG Mainstage Theatre

MAR 16 – APR 11

There’s a vicious killer on the loose and the kindhearted Douglass finds himself the unwitting target of detectives who need a win at any cost. Desperate to seek justice, Douglass sets out on a harrowing, fantastical quest to find the true perpetrator. In this riveting world premiere by Lyle Kessler, the lines between good and evil blur in a divine search for redemption.

"A sardonic fable that is both sinister and sweet" –Rollo Romig, The New Yorker

“The performances and the production’s overall simplicity harmonize with the play itself, to a subtle yet powerful effect. The power lies in daring to ask the audience to look at the complexities of human nature through the eyes of a child.” –Leslie R. Herman, Off Off Online

"AT THE BARROW GROUP, PERP IS AN INTIMATE, CHALLENGING LOOK AT DISABILITY THAT MUST BE SEEN” –Michael Appler, The Theatre Times

"Our highest recommendation!   A thriller 'ripped from the headlines' combined with a harrowing archetype out of the Brothers Grimm.  Great playwriting, brilliant performances, masterful direction."–Ron Gross, NY Theater Buying Guide


ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Lyle Kessler is a playwright, actor, and director in the Los Angeles and New York theatre. Kessler is also the Director of the Actors Studio Playwright/Directors Unit. He is a playwright/actor/director member of the LAByrinth Theater Company and has served as Artistic Director of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. He runs a Master Class for actors, writers and directors in the West Village. He and his wife Margaret Ladd have created an original artistic modality for use in the Imagination Workshop the longest running Arts and Mental Health Program in the world. They have served thousands of hospitalized psychiatric patients, veterans and “at risk” students in both New York and L.A. Kessler’s plays have been published by Random House, Grove Press, Samuel French and Dramatists Play Service.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Lee Brock has overseen, developed, and/or produced more than 150 projects with The Barrow Group.  Directing credits include: Abigail’s Party (NYT Critic’s Pick), The Pavilion, The Timekeepers, Orange Flower Water, Save Me, Art, and Uncle Vanya, among others. She has appeared in theaters throughout the country including Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center, and La Mama e.t.c. Her television appearances include: Orange is the New Black, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among others. In 2009 Ms. Brock created FAB (For, About, and By Women), a developmental wing of TBG dedicated to creating women’s projects. One of Ms. Brock’s personal missions is to help artists create their own work.  Lee teaches classes with The Barrow Group. Thousands of students from all over the world have studied with her in the last 30 years. She’s most proud of her two favorite productions, her children, Phillip and Rachel.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Edward T. Morris (scenic design) has designed many plays at The Barrow Group and is excited to return for Perp! Morris has designed scenery or projections for Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, La MaMa, The Barrow Group, Goodspeed Opera House, Cherry Lane Theatre, Minetta Lane Theatre, The Magic Theatre, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Weston Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse, and the comedian Colin Quinn. Education: BFA, University of Michigan; MFA, Yale School of Drama. Lecturer: New School for Drama. Member: United Scenic Artists Local #829 and Wingspace Theatrical Design. Portfolio: edwardtmorris.com

Marika Kent (lighting design): Also at The Barrow Group: Abigail's Party (The Pond); Short Stuff 7. Recent/upcoming: Roan @ The Gates (Luna Stage), Peter and the Starcatcher; Memphis (Cape Fear Regional Theatre), Generation NYZ; Alaxsxa/Alaska; Beyond Sacred (Ping Chong + Co), Public Enemy (The Pearl), Skinnamarink; Now is the Time... (Little Lord), How To Hamlet; Rhinbecca, NY; You on the Moors Now (Theater Reconstruction Ensemble), The Snow Maiden; Albert Herring (Manhattan School of Music) She; No Words; Box (Ariel Rivka Dance), Ajijaak on Turtle Island (IBEX Puppetry, The New Victory). Proud member of Wingspace. marikakent.com

Kristin Isola (costume design) Credits include: What The Butler Saw, Richard III (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), A Walk in the Woods, The Thing with Feathers, Muswell Hill, Abigail’s Party, Enemy of the People, Expecting Isabel (The Barrow Group), The Language Archive (Bristol Riverside Theater), The Understudy (McCarter Theatre Center), Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Next in Line Productions),  Solo Rites: 7 Breaths (Roulette),  Two Point Oh, Touched (59E59),  A Doctor in Spite of Himself  (Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Assistant Design credits include: Fosse/ Verdon (FX), The Girl From the North Country, Mlima’s Tale (The Public Theater), The Sound of Music (National Tour), Therese Raquin (Roundabout Theatre), La Boheme (Washington National Opera) Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare in the Park). MFA, Yale University.

Matt Otto (sound design) Credits include: Abigail’s Party, Muswell Hill, Thing with Feathers, Enemy of the People - The Barrow Group (NYC); Patron of the Arts, Nollywood Dreams, Esai’s Table and King Lear - Cherry Lane (NYC);  Arden Everywhere/As You Like It - LDK Productions (NYC); Triggered, Stained, and Armed - The Amoralists (NYC); Cadaver of Synod - New York Musical Festival (NYC); Empathitrax - Colt Couer (NYC); Regional: Our Town and Love Labour’s Lost - Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (NY); Macbeth, Neil Gwynn, and Timon of Athens - Folger Theater (DC); Fly - Alabama Shakespeare Festival (AL); James and the Giant Peach – Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma (OK);  Stone Cold Dead Serious and Vibrator Play - Brown/Trinity Rep (RI); Stones in His Pockets - Yale Repertory Theatre (CT); Johnny Meister and the Stitch - Solas Nua (DC and Helen Hayes Award nomination.) Matt received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama and his BFA from Boston University. To hear some of his work please go to mattotto.co

Allison Raynes* (stage manager) NYC credits: Intelligence, Selkie, The Providence of Neighboring Bodies [NYC & Edinburgh Fringe], Latter Days, The Sister [Edinburgh Fringe] (Dutch Kills); Random Acts (Renata Hinrichs); Situations (Palmy Inn); A Walk In The Woods, The Thing With Feathers, Muswell Hill, Expecting Isabel, Abigail's Party (The Barrow Group); Half Moon Bay (Lesser America); Pass Over (Cherry Lane, Mentor Project); Trump Lear[Edinburgh Fringe], The Gun Show [WiT Festival], Connected [59E59] (Project Y). Favorite Chicago credits: Lunacy!, Crumble: Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake, Exit Strategy, The Peacock (Jackalope); Music Hall, The Dumb Waiter, Baal (TUTA).

Porter Pickard (director of production) Production credits with The Barrow Group include Muswell Hill, Abigail’s Party, Enemy of the People, The Thing With Feathers, A Walk in the Woods, Pentecost, The Fear Project, The Timekeepers, Gray Area, Short Stuff 7, The Temperamentals, Art, Dying City, Orange Flower Water, among others. He recently produced and co-wrote the short film Enjoy the Day, directed by Kristi Ng.

Stephanie Gonzalez (props) is a freelance prop designer and artisan. Television work has been seen at Viacom, Tricked! (BYUTV), and Dating Around (Netflix). Theater props work has been seen at Manhattan Theater Club, The Juilliard School, Princeton University, Shakespeare and Company, NYC Comic Con, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New York Stage and Film, and Florida Studio Theatre. She is an alumnus of Juilliard’s Prop Apprenticeship and of Ramapo College. www.stephaniegonzalez.org

Christine Cirker (assistant director) is an Off-Broadway director and producer, focusing primarily on new work. Most recently, she was dramaturg & associate director for Awake by K. Lorrel Manning. Other NY directing credits include works presented by Lucille Lortel, F.A.B. Women@tbg, Pulse Ensemble, Core Ensemble, Neighborhood Playhouse, Our Workshop East, Resonance Theatre, Strawberry Festival and #MeToo Festival. Producing credits: Random Acts, Letters to Sala, The Basement Plays, The R Word, Downsizing, Einstein & Mileva, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. Christine has produced for F.A.B. Women@TBG, the women’s development group at TBG since 2010.

Quinn Vogt-Welch (assistant director) has directed and performed in NYC, regional theaters throughout the US, and Internationally. She was recently nominated by BroadwayWorld for Best Actress in a Musical in the DC Metro Area for her role of Maria in West Side Story. Other favorite roles include, most recently, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Christine in Phantom, Madeleine True in The Wild Party, Carla in Nine, and Wanda in The Barrow Group production of The Baby Dance. Quinn is co-Artistic Director and one of the founding members of Core Artists Ensemble, a NYC theatre company that sprouted out of a TBG master class in 2012. Vogt-Welch is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where she studied Classical Voice and International Studies.


PRESS for Perp

Perp blay banner

Art design by Leah Vautar.

TALKBACKS

All talkbacks happen immediately following the performance and last approximately 30 minutes.

Friday, March 29

Talkback with Maria K. Dyson, civil rights lawyer, and Ronald W. Popo , criminal defense lawyer.

Monday, April 1

Talkback with co-Artistic Directors Seth Barrish and Lee Brock.

Cast of Perp play, banner

Tricia Alexandro* (Jack) is elated to be returning to the The Barrow Group stage, her artistic home and incubator. She was last seen at The Barrow Group in The Unrepeatable Moment (the New York Times described her performance as “boldly acted; a high point of the show”), and in a one-woman show she wrote called Snapshot, directed by Seth Barrish, with music by Peter Eldridge. Additional credits include: We, the Invisibles at The Humana Festival (ATL), The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Cape May Stage), and The Goddess (Looking Glass Theatre). Alexandro is a member of The LAByrinth Theater Company's Intensive Ensemble and Bob Krakower's Manhattan Film Institute. She regularly performs monologues she's written at Naked Angels Tuesdays at 9, and Bowery Poetry Club. Her latest films include: CODA, Dinner & DNA (Big Apple Film Festival), and Kumquat Kelly.

For more information go to Tricia's website

Ali Arkane (Douglass) is an actor based in his native New York City. Notable theater works include C:10 (The Collective NY), Fool for Love (Actors Studio), The Headhunter (The Planet Connections Theatre Festival), and As You Like It (Arden Everywhere). Ali wants to thank “The Maestro”, Lyle Kessler, for recognizing him and making this dream possible. Ali is dedicating his performance to the late greats Barbara Poitier and Elizabeth Kemp, who guided him and helped him become the artist he is today.

Paul Ben-Victor* (Harvey) Theater: Robbers by Lyle Kessler, Long Wharf Theatre, American Place Theater, and Seattle Repertory Theatre (Director Dan Sullivan). Club Soda and Good Steno by Leah Kornfeld Friedman, Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles. The Actors Studio (Theater): First Born by Lyle Kessler; Italian American Reconciliation by John Patrick Shanley. Film: The Irishman (Director Martin Scorsese), The Banker, Get Hard, Grudge Match, Monster, Once Upon A Time In Queens, Empire State, Daredevil, The Rookie (Director Clint Eastwood), Tombstone, True Romance (Director Tony Scott), A Civil Action, All The King’s Men (Director Steve Zailian), Houseguest, Metro, Gunshy, among others. HBO: True Detective, Vinyl (Director Martin Scorsese), The Wire, Entourage, John from Cincinnati, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Other TV: Goliath, Preacher, Three Stooges, The Mick, Santa Clarita Diet, In Plain Sight, Everybody Hates Chris, NYPD Blue, among others.

Craig Mums Grant* (Myron) is a proud member of the LAByrinth Theater Company and Poetic Theater Productions. A select list of stage appearances includes the original productions of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Stephen Adly Guirgis; The Public), A View from 151st (Robert Glaudini; The Public), Penalties and Interests (Rebecca Cohen; The Public), Collision (Lyle Kessler; Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Insurgents (Lucy Thurber; LAByrinth Theater Company)

Javier Molina (Harry), born in Puerto Rico and raised in New Jersey, received his MFA in directing from Pace University and is a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio. Molina is currently recurring on NBC’s Blacklist. FILM: Bent and 99 Homes. THEATRE: Last Days of Judas Iscariot (La Mama) and Our Lady of 121st (Actors Studio), directed by Academy Award-Winner Estelle Parsons. Molina recently co-created and directed a short/pilot for the new series Wonder. Directing credits include 2016 Best Director 120 Hour Film Festival and 2nd Unit on Bobby Moresco's Bent. He currently teaches at ATC Studios in Clifton, NJ.

*Appearing through an Agreement between The Barrow Group and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the united states.

AEA Approved Showcase