Ruth and the Sea
By Morgan Ludlow
Directed by Maureen Hawkins
Maren Comendant, Stage Manager
Sandra Bobman, Assistant Stage Manager
Starring Ruth McRee
Geoff Finney, Lori Lee Haener, Erin Ison
David Klein, and Eleanor Moseley
Please note: there are two times listed for all performances. This is a separation of sections in the theatre. If you want to pay regular and discount price select the "8:00pm" option. If you want to sit on the front row in the first two rows please hit the Pacific Play Plus button. It is the SAME performance which starts at 8pm.
Brandon Estrella
Set Design
Heather Bernadette
Costumes & Props
Carolina Johnson
Lighting Design
Lindsey Morck
Sound Design
Set Design
Heather Bernadette
Costumes & Props
Carolina Johnson
Lighting Design
Lindsey Morck
Sound Design
December 3, 5,11,12,17,19
8:00PM
Annex Theatre
1100 E Pike Street | Seattle
8:00PM
Annex Theatre
1100 E Pike Street | Seattle
From award-winning playwright Morgan Ludlow comes this Holiday tale. Ruth, a feisty mid-western grandmother, has her Christmas party plans interrupted with news that she probably won't live to see the coming spring. Preferring madcap adventure over chemo, she grabs all the hard liquor, drains her bank account and convinces her re-hab skipping dope fiend grandson to embark on a cross country trek to find the shore-side contentment of her youth, one last time. Though at opposite ends of the spectrum, old lady and aging hipster (all-the-time pursued by Ruth's no-nonsense daughter-in-law, her over-protective ex, and a down-and-out Dolly Parton impersonator) find themselves bonding in unexpected ways even as Ruth inevitably drifts into death. Never maudlin, never predictable, Ruth and the Sea turns the American Christmas story on its ear, re-inventing its own archetypes and eschewing holiday schmaltz as it takes the audience on a search for nothing less than the meaning of life.
"Excellent! RUTH AND THE SEA explores the family ties that bind, positing that love can find a way to win, even in the most dysfunctional of families. Recommended!"
--Tom Kelly, SF BAY TIMES
--Tom Kelly, SF BAY TIMES
ABOUT OUR ARTISTS
Heather Bernadette(COSTUME DESIGN & PROPS) As a performer, she has taken various roles in Last Leaf Production's touring Shakespeare in the Park and shook her stuff in the Temple of Love as an Acolyte in The Rite of Venus. Backstage, she has most recently exerted her divine abilities in such capacities as Music Director for Wonderful World of Oz with Stone Soup Theatre & Alki Elementary. She served as a stage manager for Seattle Musical Theatre, Broadway Bound, a costume designer for Centerstage and Village Theatre’s Kidstage. When Heather is not at the theatre she is busy in her studio creating amazing works of wearable art. This is Heather's second show with Pacific Play Company, and she is simply delighted to have the opportunity to work with this amazing cast and crew.
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Sandra Bobman(ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) Sandra is a student at the University of Washington studying theater production. Her most recent credits include stage managing Winter Bird at the Eclectic Theater and assistant stage managing 6 Characters in Search of An Author with Seattle Theater Works, as well as assisting with props at Village Theater's Peter Pan. She's very glad to be working on this show and to work with Maren Comendant once again.
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Maren Commendant(PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER) Maren is an actor/musician-turned-stage-manager making her Pacific Play Company debut. Since transplanting to Seattle she has been been privileged to work on and off the stage with Civic Rep, STAGEright, Eclectic, and Seattle Theater Works, among others. She is a founding member of Studio4Seattle. Collaborating on these projects has been a exceptional growing experience. Thanks to her stellar artistic team for their patience and vision.
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Geoff Finney(NOEL) Geoff Finney is proud to be a part of Pacific Play Company's Ruth and the Sea, joining the company once again after participating in the Urban Legends Festival. He is thrilled to be immersed in such a talented cast and crew that came together to create this beautiful piece of art. Geoff received his Bachelor's degree in Drama from the University of Washington. He has performed in Seattle for the last ten years and is a current staff member of Copious Love Productions. He has been seen in plays such as The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide, Alice's Anthem, The Caucasion Chalk Circle and Rope. Geoff would like to thank his friends and family for their undying support; Caitie for her friendship and love; and you, the patron, for attending and supporting Seattle's theatre community.
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Brandon Estrella(SCENIC DESIGN) Brandon is extremely excited to be working with Pacific Play Company once again (Everybody Here Says Hello, Crime & Rockets) and this fabulously talented team. He is a founding member of The New Alchemists and over the past few years, his designs have been featured throughout the greater Seattle Area. You may have seen some of his recent work with Ghost Light Theatricals (As You Like It), MAP Productions (The Are of Bad Men), SIS Productions (Paper Angels), and the Intiman’s Emerging Artists Showcase. You can check out some of his upcoming projects with Ghost Light Theatricals, WET, Northern Belles Webseries, STAGEright and The New Alchemists.
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Lori Lee Haener(NURSE/KILLEEN/WAITRESS) Lori Lee studied improvisation at the Groundlings Theatre in L.A., Second City L.A. and Unexpected Productions. Most recently she played Sarah in Seascape at Theater Schmeater which won a Footlight Award for best ensemble. Lori Lee has co-written and co-produced Haener vs. Haener with her Husband which premiered at the NW Actor's Studio. Lori Lee has also written a short play, Dream Vacation, which will be featured at Macha Monkey's Distillary in their 2015-2016 season. Lori Lee Has worked with Seattle Shakespeare Co in As you Like it., Theatre Schmeater's Reservoir Dolls as Ms. Orange, 14/48 The World's Quickest Theatre Festival, Election Show and Twisted Flicks with Wing It Productions. She sure loves her Hubby Jerr Bear and her super awesome family and friends!!
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Maureen HawkinsDIRECTOR) Maureen Hawkins has enjoyed over 40 years of professional acting and directing in Northwest Theatre. Some recent directing credits include Doubt, Language Art and The Young Man from Atlanta, all at Stone Soup Theatre. She has acted on most of Seattle’s Main Stages (Seattle Rep, Intiman, ACT, Village Theatre, et al) and on several delightful small stages, in film and television. She was a National Endowment for the Arts’ Artist-in-the-Schools throughout Washington and Alaska and a guest director in local schools for many years. She feels privileged to direct Morgan Ludlow’s lovely inter-generational play and grateful to work with this distinguished, hard-working and generous-spirited cast and crew. This one is for Shea in humble appreciation of her grace and spirit, with my love and deep respect.
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Erin Ison(JAMIE | PRODUCING DIRECTOR) Born in Iowa, raised in Arizona, after studying theater at St. Olaf College and obtaining a B.A. from ASU, Erin relocated to Seattle in 2008 and has been acting locally ever since. A company member at Annex, she was most recently in HP Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian and PPC's fall production Everybody Here Says Hello. 2015 marks her first year as a co-producer of Pacific Play Company and she couldn’t be prouder of the work they’ve accomplished or the talent involved in all areas of both shows. Special thanks to her loves: Justin and Cricket.
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Carolins Johnson(LIGHTING DESIGNER) Carolina Johnson has designed drama and dance in both New and Olde Englands, and now, when she gets a chance, in Seattle. Recent highlights include lighting for Mad Scientist Cabaret and Balconies at Annex Theater, Seattle Immersive Theater's Dump Site, and the entertainingly ensemble Alice in Wonderland. When not in theaters she's either staring at a computer in pursuit of a PhD or somewhere on the side of a mountain. This is her first time working with Pacific Play Company and she's delighted to be involved in putting together this eclectic two (or 13?) for one package!
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David S. Klein(JOHN) David has been a professional actor for 46 years, over half of that in Seattle. Highlights of his early career include appearances at International Avant-Garde Festivals in both Poland and Baltimore. From 1977-1985 he ran a small theater in Thetford, Vermont, touring throughout northern New England. In Seattle he has worked with all of our larger theaters and many, many smaller ones. Favorite Seattle roles include Capulet in Romeo and Juliet at the Bathhouse Theater, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman at CHAC, Shylock in Merchant of Venice at Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Ezra Pound in The Man in the Newspaper Hat at the Odd Duck. Along with Ruth, David is a company member of both Playworks and Theater 9/12, where he studies with Charles Waxberg and has performed in three 9/12 productions.
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Morgan Ludlow(PLAYWRIGHT | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) Morgan is the recipient of the 2013 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script for his play GORGEOUS HUSSY: An Interview with Joan Crawford. In 2008 he founded Wily West Productions in San Francisco where he remains the Artistic Director. Since then Wily West received the Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding World Premiere, and Outstanding Featured Female Performer as well as two Theatre Bay Area Award nominations for Best Anthology. In 2013 the company received its first Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best New Play and a BATCCA nomination for Best Featured Male Actor among numerous Broadway World Award nominations. Morgan is thrilled to be working with Erin Ison and Shunpike to develop Pacific Play Company. He has served as the Producing Director for the Playwrights Center of San Francisco. In Salt Lake City, Morgan was a full-time staff member for the Salt Lake Acting Company (a fully professional Equity theatre devoted to producing new American plays), and he also served as the Producing Director for Plan-B Theatre Company, a cutting-edge theatre troupe that was recently voted Best Theatre Company by Salt Lake City audiences.
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Ruth McRee(RUTH) Ruth has wanted to play this role for three years! Complex characters, like Ruth, have a lot to reveal to us about life and what it is to be human – and this is a key reason we do theatre at all! Ruth’s career has taken her from east coast theatres like The Goodman, The Alliance, Stage South, and The Longstreet, a national tour as Emily Dickinson in her play, Vesuvius at Home, and onto the stages of Seattle where favorite roles include Nancy (Frozen), Leni Riefenstahl (Leni), Bernarda (The House of Bernarda Alba), Medea/Chorus Leader (Jason and Medea) Mme. Pernelle (Tartuffe) Miss Lydgate (Gaudy Night) Mrs. Nichols (Ladies of the Corridor) Mrs. Tooth (Everything in the Garden), Coral (Canyon’s Edge), Leonora (I Can’t Remember Anything) Mrs. Kirby (You Can’t Take It With You) Judy (Remember My Name)Aurelia (The Oddwoman of Pioneer Square) – among others. The first stage Ruth met in Seattle was at Broadway Performance Hall where she performed for Target Seattle- an experience that birthed her current political activism, no doubt. Ruth also works as a Teaching Artist, integrating drama and movement with curriculum, to bring about deep learning in students. She is a founding member of Playworks and of Theatre 9/12.
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Lindsey Morck(SOUND DESIGNER) Lindsey Morck began her theatre career in Ireland as a co-founder of the Waterdonkey Theatre Group; she has been working nonstop in Seattle since 2011. Highlights include Chess at ArtsWest, Doubt for Stone Soup Theatre, Precious Little for Annex, A Maze for Theatre Battery, and a Gregory nomination for Sound Theatre Company's The Foreigner. By day she can be found working for the Seattle Opera’s marketing department.
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Eleanor MoseleyMONA) Eleanor Moseley is delighted to play Mona. Last seen in “Lion in Winter” at SecondStory Rep, other recent projects include “Slaughterhouse Five” and “The Art of Racing in the Rain” at Book-It, “The Long Road” with Arouet, “The Way of All Fish” and many more on various Seattle stages including “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove,” “The Familiar,” and “Come Back to the Five and Dime...” Recent film projects: You’re So Vain, Regulate, and The Dark Horse. An aspiring playwright, her scripts have been staged at Seattle Fringe Fest, NW Playwrights’ Alliance, and Seattle Play Series. Demo reel at http://vimeo.com/110495170 Represented by Actors First Agency.
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