May 2, 2008

(Columbia, MD) – Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), Michael Stebbins, Producing Artistic Director, concludes its 15^th season with the regional premiere of Naomi Wallace’s “In the Heart of America.”  Kasi Campbell directs Wallace’s response to the Gulf War, which is set during the Gulf War of 1991 and the Vietnam War in 1968. “In the Heart of America” runs from May 28 through June 29, 2008 at the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center’s (HVPA) Studio Theatre (formerly the Black Box Theatre) on the campus of HCC.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 410-772-4900 or visit www.repstage.org.

A post-show reception follows the Sunday, June 1 performance, and post-show discussions follow the Friday, June 6 and June 13 performances.  A free pre-show lecture will be held on Saturday, June 7 at 1 p.m. in Monteabaro Recital Hall.  Press opening is Sunday, June 1 at 2:30 p.m.  For media photos and reservations, call Lee Mikeska Gardner at 443-367-3134.

“In the Heart of America” is set between two different eras, the first Gulf War of 1991 and the Vietnam War in 1968.  The play follows a young Palestinian woman, Fairouz Saboura, as she searches for answers about the whereabouts of her brother, Remzi, from Craver, a fellow American soldier in the Gulf War.  As Craver tries to sort through his memories of what happened in the Persian Gulf, he is haunted by events involving Remzi, himself, and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Boxler, who in turn seems to be channeling the infamous Lieutenant Calley who was court martialed for the massacre at My Lai in Vietnam. Cultures and time periods collapse on each other as a ghost from the massacre arrives with her own questions.

Naomi Wallace's work has been produced in both the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.  Her plays include “One Flea Spare,” “In the Heart of America,” “Slaughter City,” “The Inland Sea” and “The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek.”  Her work has received the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Kesselring Prize, the Fellowship of Southern Writers Drama Award, and an Obie.  She is also a recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.  Her award-winning film “Lawn Dogs” is available on DVD.  She is presently working on a commission for Actor's Theatre of Louisville and Clean Break of London.

Wallace’s play “Things of Dry Hours” received its world premiere at the Pittsburg Public in 2004, and was produced by the Manchester Royal Exchange and the Gate Theatre of London.  “Things of Dry Hours” was produced by CenterStage, Baltimore, in the spring of 2007.  It received its New York premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in January 2008.

The cast of “In the Heart of America”: Dacyl Acevedo’s NYC credits include: Your Basic American Monday and Sally Sees the Light/Spring Shorts 2, with 3Graces Theatre Co.; Land of Fire, Dir. Jorge Cacheiro; Santos and Santos, IMUA! Theatre Co./Michael John Garces, Dir.; Bat Theatre Co.; HERE Arts Center/American Living Room Festival; Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre; Ariel inThe Tempest, Judith Shakespeare Co. Regional credits include  Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, Luna Stage; Othello, Comedy of Errors, Don Juan, The Persians, Pericles at the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington DC.  Film and television credits include: El Camaron que se Duerme…, The Man who Loved Lesbians, Ep. 2,  Eyes of NY, Cypher Productions. Brandon McCoy was last seen at Rep Stage as Guildenstern in Hamlet. Recent area credits include Ambition Facing West at Theatre Alliance, Apocalyptic Butterflies with The Bay Theatre, and 13 Rue D'Lamour at Olney Theatre. Tuyet Thi Pham is making her Rep Stage debut.  Other Washington DC credits include Treasure Island at Round House Theatre, The Light of Excalibur at The Kennedy Center, Liang and the Magic Paintbrush at Imagination Stage,  An American Daughter and South Pacific, both at Arena Stage.  She completed an Alaskan Tour of the Vagina Monologues for Perseverance Theatre in conjunction with V-Day, and spent a season as the Allen Lee Hughes Artistic Fellow at the Living Stage Theatre Company.  Alexander Strain was last seen at Rep Stage in Bach at Leipzig.  Other recent area credits include Lord of the Flies at Round House Theatre, Caligula at Washington Shakespeare Company, Pangs of the Messiah at Theater J, The School for Scandal at Everyman Theatre, The Monument at Theater Alliance, as well as work with Rorschach Theatre, Longacre Lea Productions, Catalyst Theater Company, Forum Theatre, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre and the Kennedy Center Family Theater. TIM GETMAN is also featured.

Director Kasi Campbell is currently a theatre professor heading the acting program at Howard Community College.  Rep Stage directing credits include Bach at Leipzig, Hamlet, The Violet Hour, The Seagull, Arcadia, Kimberly Akimbo, and The Judas Kiss.  Her productions have garnered 26 Helen Hayes nominations including 3 for Outstanding Director and 2 for Outstanding Production, and 7 Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding Director in 2004 for The Dazzle.

The creative team includes: Dan Covey, lighting design, whose work at Rep Stage includes Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Bach at Leipzig, Hamlet, The Seagull, Arcadia, The Return to Morality (Helen Hayes nomination), Faith Healer, Anna Lucasta, The Swan, The Judas Kiss, The Philadelphia Story, Sleuth, Dangerous Liasions (Helen Hayes nomination); Kathleen Geldard, costume designer, whose work at Rep Stage includes Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Hamlet, The Violet Hour, Kimberly Akimbo, The Seagull, Arcadia, Vita and Virginia; Chas Marsh, sound design, who work at Rep Stage includes Thom Pain (based on nothing), Bach at Leipzig, Stones in His Pockets, Hamlet;  Dre Moore, properties design (Mrs. Warren’s Profession, The Santaland Diaries); Lisa A. Wilde, dramaturgy; Emily Carter Watson, resident stage manager.

FACT SHEET FOR “IN THE HEART OF AMERICA”

“IN THE HEART OF AMERICA”
Written by NAOMI WALLACE
Directed by Kasi Campbell
Cast: Dacyl Acevedo, Tim Getman, Brandon McCoy, Thi Pham Tuyet,  Alexander Strain.  

TICKET PRICES

DAY & TIME                                                               TICKET PRICE

Previews May 28 and 29 7:30pm                                    Pay-What-You-Can

Previews May 30 at 8pm & May 31 at 2:30pm and 8pm   $15.00

Wednesdays 7:30pm                                                     $17.00

Thursdays 7:30pm                                                         $17.00

Fridays 8:00pm                                                             $23.00

Friday, June 6 and June 13, include post-show talkback, moderated by dramaturg Lisa A. Wilde

Saturdays 2:30pm                                                         $17.00

Saturday, June 7 @ 1 PM, there will be a free pre-show lecture in the Monteabaro Recital Hall at Howard Community College

Saturdays 8:00pm                                                         $25.00

Sundays 2:30pm                                                           $20.00

Sunday, June 1, 2008 is the press opening and includes free opening reception

DISCOUNTS

Groups of 6 or more                                $3 off

Senior Citizens (60 and over)                    $2 off
HCC Staff/Faculty                                   $2 off
Students with ID                                      $12 all shows

TICKET INFO

Call 410-772-4900 or visit www.repstage.org

LOCATION

Studio Theatre.10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland.

ABOUT REP STAGE

Rep Stage is an Equity theatre now in its 15^th season and is a member of both the League of Washington Theatres and the Baltimore Theatre Alliance.  The company is supported in part by the Howard County Arts Council, Howard County Government, the Columbia Foundation and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.  Sponsors include Howard County General Hospital and Turf Valley Resort.  Howard Bank is the 2007-08 season partner.