FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761 September 8, 2006 WHAT SHINES THROUGH WHEN MEMORY FADES? Directed by Laura Gordon Community Partners:
Stiemke Theater Clara and Patrick meet in a nursing home for veterans and their families. When they fall in love, they insist they share a past. Is it fantasy or a long-buried memory? Tickets can be purchased in person at The Rep Ticket Office at 108 East Wells Street, or by telephone at 414-224-9490. Tickets can also be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. The Rep . . . See it LIVE! HALF LIFE follows Donald and Anna, two middle-aged adults, who meet at a nursing home where they each have an elderly parent in care. Donald struggles to make sense of life, love and growing old by viewing his world through a scientific lens, while Anna looks at the world from a spiritual and emotional perspective. Despite their differences, Donald and Anna become acquaintances and together search to understand the decline of the aging mind as it relates to their own lives. When Patrick, Anna’s father, and, Clara, Donalds’ mother, begin to spend more time together, they insist that they are long lost loves. The play explores the question: could Patrick and Clara really be long-lost loves as their memories insist, or has memory loss caused their minds to deceive them? When Patrick and Clara desire to marry, a dynamic moral dilemma is further complicated by elderly age and memory loss. Donald, the scientist, views their love as an illusion and focuses on the physical body and mind, while Anna believes a marriage would be a pure and beautiful declaration of their love. HALF LIFE is a moving drama which explores the intimacy of human relationships by examining the complexity of the human mind through multiple perspectives. Thought-provoking and powerful dialogue carries the audience and characters alike to a deeper understanding of the love, human mind and our own purpose in this world. John Mighton, playwright and mathematician, received his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Toronto, where he is currently an adjunct professor. He has lectured on philosophy at McMaster University, and coordinates a children’s organization called JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies). Inspired by his work with JUMP, Mighton has published a book called The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child in effort to fuel children’s success with mathematics. Mighton is interested in exploring the depth of the human mind and ability, and joins his expertise in mathematics with his passion for theater. His work includes Dora Mavor Moore award-winning plays SCIENTIFIC AMERICANS and A SHORT HISTORY OF NIGHT which also won the playwright the Chalmers Award. Other works include BODY AND SOUL, THE LITTLE YEARS and POSSIBLE WORLDS. Mighton’s plays have been seen by audiences around the world with productions in Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States. Mighton has also received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for two of his plays. Another drama, POSSIBLE WORLDS, was made into a feature-length film directed by the acclaimed Robert Lepage. Now in her 14th year as a member of The Rep’s Resident Acting Company, HALF LIFE director Laura Gordon has performed in more than 50 Rep productions including: SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE, A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY, THE CLEAN HOUSE, THE CRUCIBLE, THE MEMORY OF WATER, MARY STUART, COPENHAGEN, THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, TWELFTH NIGHT, MOLLY SWEENEY and THE SEAGULL. Laura’s directing credits include a production for Stephen F. Austin State University called THE BOYS NEXT DOOR; two productions for Renaissance Theaterworks, SKIN TIGHT and FULL GALLOP; and last season’s Steimke Theater production I HAVE BEFORE ME A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT GIVEN TO ME BY A YOUNG LADY FROM RWANDA. Laura received her M.F.A in acting from the University of Iowa, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Laura sees directing HALF LIFE as an opportunity to address Alzheimers Disease, a difficult and serious topic. “It raises questions that we all face as caregivers, children, spouses, and aging people. We all age. We all forget. There can be beauty in forgetting.” Included in the cast of HALF LIFE are Resident Acting Company Members: Jonathan Gillard Daly (Donald); Torrey Hanson (Reverend Hill); James Pickering (Patrick); and Rose Pickering (Clara). Also included in the cast are: Flora Coker (Agnes); Ora Jones (Tammy); and Jeannie Naughton (Anna). Members of The Rep’s 2006/07 Acting Intern Company who also appear in this production are: Elizabeth Audley (Diana); Minita Gandhi (1 st Scientist); and Tinuade Oyelow (2 nd Scientist). (To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors, or our Intern Company, please visit milwaukeerep.com). The production/design team for HALF LIFE includes: Geoffrey M. Curley (Scenic Designer); Rachel Laritz (Costume Designer); Noele Stollmack (Lighting Designer); Barry G. Funderburg (Sound Designer); Whitney Frazier (Stage Manager); Becca Lindsey (Stage Manager Apprentice); and Margo Gray (Assistant Director). Tickets to HALF LIFE are $22.50 and $32.50 on weekdays and Sundays and $32.50 and $42.50 on Fridays and Saturdays. Students and senior citizens may purchase half-price RUSH TICKETS with proper identification 60 minutes before curtain time for all Stiemke Theater performances at The Rep Ticket Office. For more information or to charge tickets, call 414-224-9490. Tickets can be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com. For group sales of 20 or more, call The Rep Ticket Office at 414-224-9490. Special Events for HALF LIFE
For more information about The Rep’s Access Services, please contact The Rep’s Ticket Office at 414-224-9490. WHAT SHINES THROUGH WHEN MEMORY FADES? FACT SHEET THEATER: Stiemke Theater DATES: September 15, 2006 – October 15, 2006 DESCRIPTION: Clara and Patrick meet in a nursing home for veterans and their families. When they fall in love, they insist they share a past. Is it fantasy or a long-buried memory? As their middle-aged children watch, the older couple finds beauty and love in the twilight of their lives. John Mighton’s award-winning new play poignantly asks, “What shines through when memory fades away?” PERFORMANCES: Tuesday 9/26/06 - 6:30 p.m. Early Bird Tuesday 10/3/06 - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday 10/10/06 - 7:30 p.m. TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: TICKET PRICES: TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online at milwaukeerep.com NEW TICKET OFFICE HOURS: ### Open to the public before and after all evening performances, Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s newly-remodeled Stackner Cabaret, located on the second floor of the Milwaukee Center, is our own full-service bar and restaurant. Featuring delicious dinners, as well as late night cocktails, coffee, and desserts, the Cabaret is the ideal meeting place for patrons attending Rep performances. For dinner reservations, call 414-224-9490. The Stackner Cabaret is now smoke-free. Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The Rep’s home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex, contains the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also “home” to a Resident Acting Company of 11 actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season. The Rep is proud to be a cornerstone member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual financial support. The Rep is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association of some of the nation’s largest non-profit professional theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that represent the actors, directors and designers that work at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit professional theaters. This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume and lighting designers are members of United Scenic Artists, a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer. Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting is decided based on ability, not race. Milwaukee Repertory Theater |
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