October 9, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Lara De Meo, Coordinator for Public Relations and Alumni Affairs
Rutgers Theater Company takes audiences to 'Cloud 9' New Brunswick, NJ – Sex, love, and violence all fly through the air at once in Caryl Churchill’s audaciously funny “Cloud 9,” which opens November 3 at Rutgers Theater Company’s New Theater.
“Cloud 9” is a play in two parts. The first act takes place in 1880 Colonial Africa, where Clive and his family are flying the flag for the British Empire. At first glance, the family appears to be a highly stylized model of Colonial Classicism—bringing order to an “uncivilized” land. But that image quickly dissolves when seen through Churchill’s absurdist lens; roles of gender and race are literally swapped, and the edgy dialogue reveals a whole host of sexual subterfuge. In the second act, the characters have aged 25 years, but the setting is London in post-sexual revolution 1980. Throughout their struggles to find who or what they want to be—or sleep with—hilarity abounds.
Director Amy Saltz says the play is about being one’s whole self. “We all play roles in life,” says Saltz. “We’re the wife, the husband, the mother, the father, the child, the soldier, the teacher. But underneath that, or within that, there are all these other aspects to our selves. This play gives us the freedom to be all of what we are. And it’s not just okay; it’s fabulous!”
While it tackles some weighty themes—family values, sexuality, race, class, conflict—make no mistake: this play is fun to watch.
“It has such a sense of joy and liberation about it,” says Saltz. “It’s a romp. It’s a total romp.”
Performances are November 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. and November 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20 for Rutgers alumni and employees and seniors and only $15 for students with valid ID. New Theater is in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George Street (between Route 18 and Ryders Lane), on the Douglass campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
For more information on any Mason Gross event, visit www.masongross.rutgers.edu or call the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center ticket office at 732-932-7511.
About Rutgers Theater Company
Helen Farmer (Maud and Victoria - MFA II) was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. Helen earned a BA in theater at the University of Guelph in Ontario, before calling Toronto home. Rutgers credits include Abigail in Approaching Lavender and a Chorus Member in Venus. Favorite roles include Lady Anne in Richard III and Beatrice Johanna in The Changling.
Nick Farco (Clive and Edward - MFA II) is from Brooklyn, NY. He received a BFA in acting from Ithaca College. Rutgers Theater Company credits: Our Lady of 121st Street and Peace Prize. Additional credits: Parade, The Importance of Being Earnest, Forever Plaid, Born Yesterday (Findlay Playhouse), Owed to My First Love (Premiere Stages) and Joseph…. (N.J. State Theater).
*Jonathan Karp (Betty and Cathy - MFA III) hales from Wantagh, New York. He received his BA in theater from SUNY New Paltz. Rutgers credits include Death in Venice, As You Like It, Arkadelphia and Scapin. Professional Credits Include Scapin, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Little Shop of Horrors and the motion picture The Stepford Wives.
Erin Mortensen (Edward and Lin - BFA IV) is originally from Chatham, New Jersey. Rutgers credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Leonato), I'd Rather be Falling (Red Shoes) and Marisol (The Angel). She is a two-time recipient of the New Jersey Governors Award in Arts Education.
Ryan O’Nan (Harry and Gerry - BFA IV) was raised in San Diego, California. Rutgers credits include Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing; Ensemble in I’d Rather be Falling, Torch in Beirut, Ensemble in The African Extravaganza, The Murderer in Fair Rosamand and Her Murderer.
*Rico Rosetti (Joshua and Martin - MFA III) originally from Philadelphia, received his BA at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. At Rutgers he appeared in A Doll’s House, Mud, Audrey, Our Lady of 121st Street, Peace Prize and Reservoir Dogs. Rico has worked on over 30 other shows as actor or director including: Gingham Dog, Hurly Burly, and As You Like It. He has appeared on NBC’s Homicide and Law and Order.
*Teresa Stephenson (Ellen/Mrs. Saunders and Betty - MFA III) is from New Orleans, Louisiana. She earned a BA in theater studies at Vanderbilt University. She is also co-founder of the LOST Theater Company in Manhattan and New Orleans Theater Experiment. Rutgers Theater Company credits include Audrey, Venus and Trash Bag Tourist. Professional credits include The Tempest and As You Like It at The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey.
Amy Saltz (Director) has directed both classic and new plays throughout the U.S. and abroad, working with many of the country’s major contemporary playwrights including Lee Blessing, Marsha Norman, Adam Rapp, John Patrick Shanley, Robert Shenkkhan, and August Wilson. Ms. Saltz’s productions have been nominated for numerous awards including the Grammy, Helen Hayes, Drama Critics’ and Joseph Jefferson Awards. For television she directed Another World and Search For Tomorrow. She served on the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors’ and Choreographers, is listed in Who’s Who of American Women, and is Head of the Graduate Program in Directing at Mason Gross.
*Kina Park (Scene Designer - MFAIII) received her BA in architecture from Korea University. Her Rutgers set design credit include: Stone water Rapture, Ella, Arkadelphia, Anyone Can Love A Goldfish, Ashtray, Audrey and The Scams of Scapin. She recently worked as scenic design fellow in Chautauqua Theater Company. Assistant set designer credits: The Cherry Orchard, The Art of Coarse Acting and Twelfth Night.
Anne E. Grosz (Costume Designer - MFA II) is from Falls Church, Virginia. She received her BA in theater from Mary Washington College. Her favorite design credits include Man of La Mancha, Utah Festival Opera; Elizabeth Rex, Kalamazoo Civic Theater; Little Shop of Horrors, Kalamazoo Civic Theater; Raggedy Ann and Andy, Civic Youth Theater, and Mary Washington College's Exit the King.
Victoria Miller (Lighting Designer - MFA II) is from Fremont, New Hampshire. She received her BA in theater design and technology from Plymouth State University. Her Rutgers credits include The Siren Song of Stephen J. Gould, and Venus. Recently she designed at KAT Company in New Hampshire and the Mississippi Summer Arts Intensive.
Shane Rettig is a sound designer, composer and musician. New York: The Public Theatre, The New Group, Soho Rep, The Summer Play Festival, The NY Musical Theatre Festival, Clubbed Thumb, Mabou Mines, NYU, Julliard, and in many off-off Broadway productions. Regional: Center Stage, Actor’s Theater of Louisville, La Jolla Playhouse, Dallas Theatre Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Triad Stage, Capital Rep, and others. He is an associate artist with the Obie award winning company, The Civilians. He performs around New York in several bands and is a composer, music director and performer in The Atomic Grind Show. His music and design for Rinne Groff’s Orange Lemon Egg Canary will be presented at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Becky Lynn Dawson (Stage Manager – MFA II) is originally from Lehi, Utah. She received her BFA in theater design and technology from Utah State University. Mason Gross’s productions include SM for Peace Prize and ASM for Audrey. Other stage management credits include Sail Past Molokai, Enchanted April, Anton in Show Business, and A Little Night Music.
The Mason Gross School of the Arts’ Department of Theater Arts combines rigorous studio class work with a demanding production schedule to provide students with in-depth training and practice in theater. The Rutgers Theater Company is the resident company of student actors, designers, directors, playwrights, stage managers and technicians whose work is guided by master teachers and accomplished professionals. These conservatory students are enrolled in the three-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) programs. The department also offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) theater major through the undergraduate colleges of Rutgers University. About Mason Gross School of the Arts Founded in 1976, Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and is home to the departments of dance, music, theater arts, and visual arts. Its faculty and alumni rosters include arts professionals recognized nationally and internationally. The school's enrollment of 625 undergraduates across four departments and 250 graduate students across three departments, combined with a faculty of 140, assures students the opportunity to work closely with accomplished artists within their fields.
About Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey A comprehensive research institution with more than 50,000 students on three main campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, Rutgers comprises one of the major state university systems in the nation. Chartered in 1766 in New Brunswick as Queen's College, Rutgers is the eighth oldest institution of higher learning in the nation and now comprises 29 degree- granting divisions, including 16 offering graduate programs of study.
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