Salt Lake Acting Company

Salt Lake Acting Company opens its 2008-2009 season with the regional premiere of SLAC-developed THE OVERWHELMING by J. T. Rogers.

For mature audiences

THE OVERWHELMING by J. T. Rogers is a powerful and compelling new play; part mystery, part political thriller, part searing family drama and impassioned meditation on the complexities of global and human tragedy. After premiering in London and New York, it has finally come home to Salt Lake Acting Company.

Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) is pleased to present the regional premiere of THE OVERWHELMING by J. T. Rogers. THE OVERWHELMING will have preview performances September 17th and 18th, with the Press Opening on Friday, September 19th at 8:00 PM at The Salt Lake Acting Company. THE OVERWHELMING is scheduled to play Wednesdays through Sundays through October 12, 2008.

Playwright J. T. Rogers will be in town for the opening and participate in the post-play discussion following the matinee performance Sunday, September 21st.

The artistic team for THE OVERWHELMING is as follows: Keven Myhre, SLAC's Producing Director and Resident Designer, will direct and design the set.

In addition to Mr. Myhre, the design team will be Z - Lights; K. L. Alberts- Costume Design; Cynthia L. Kehr Rees- Sound, Sarah Shippobotham- Dialect Coach, andCynthia Fleming- Choreographer.

The cast includes SLAC returnees Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, Kevin Doyle, William Ferrer, Peder Melhuse and Andy Rindlisbach, with local newcomers Carleton W. Bluford, Nick O'Donnell, Michelle Patrick and Yolanda Wood, and guest actors Victor Mack and Victor Morris, both of whom currently live in Portland, Oregon.

Sarah Rae Mohr will be the Production Stage Manager.

J. T. Rogers is certainly no stranger to SLAC or our audience. SLAC produced the regional premiere of his WHITE PEOPLE in 2000; developed and premiered SEEING THE ELEPHANT in 2002; and commissioned, developed and premiered MADAGASCAR in 2004. In 2003 J. T. Rogers and Salt Lake Acting Company were chosen to participate in the NEA/TCG (National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group) Theatre Residency Program. As a result, Rogers was SLAC's playwright in residence from February of 2004 to June of 2005 and work began on THE OVERWHELMING. During the period of his residency Rogers participated in several workshops with actors, director and dramaturg, as well as script discussions with SLAC artistic staff. He would then return to New York to continue working on the play. Finally, a draft of THE OVERWHELMING was given its first public staged reading on April 25, 2005 in SLAC's New Play Sounding Series. In addition, the play also received development work at PlayPenn in Philadelphia in July of 2005. THE OVERWHELMING had its world premiere at the National Theatre in London on May 17, 2006. In accordance with the NEA/TCG Residency Program for Playwrights contract, Salt Lake Acting Company actually gave permission for the National Theatre to stage the world premiere. Not an every-day occurrence for a non-profit theatre in Utah. THE OVERWHELMING had its New York premiere October 23, 2007 at the Off-Broadway Roundabout Theatre. THE OVERWHELMING was also produced at The Hangar Theatre inIthaca, New York in June of this year and at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia in July of 2008, with other productions scheduled. And now, THE OVERWHELMING has come home to Salt Lake City and SLAC.

The play begins as American academic Jack Exley (Kevin Doyle) arrives in Rwanda in early 1994. He is there to research a book illustrating the power of a focused individual to affect the world in a positive way. He is met by U.S. embassy official Charles Woolsey (Peder Melhuse), and in the breadth of a short car ride we begin to understand that Jack, who's expecting his new wife Linda (Yolanda Wood) and son from his prior marriage, Geoffrey (Andy Rindlisbach), may have underestimated the political climate of this small African nation. His family having arrived, Jack is further "educated" at a cocktail party at the French embassy, where they meet the charming but mysterious Rwandan government official Samuel Mizinga (Victor Morris), who takes a special interest in Linda and her African-American sensibility. He seems bemused by her romantic notions of Africa and her sense of "heritage", however, his agenda is far from clear. Meanwhile, Jack discovers his plan to reunite with his old Rwandan friend and college roommate Joseph Gasana (Victor Mack), a critical part of a new work to ensure his academic career, is a breathtaking drop into chaos. No one has seen him, no one has heard of him--- a respected doctor treating aids victims in his home land. The deepening search turns up far more evidence of a pending ethnic explosion in the country than any information on Joseph. At the same time a servant provided by Mizinga is introducing young Geoffrey to the "nightlife" of the increasingly fractured capital city, Kigali. As the story moves forward we're introduced to a fractious chorus of voices, each withholding or providing alarming information about the missing doctor. In an atmosphere of seething ethnic tensions the play reaches critical mass in a disturbing and gut-wrenching conclusion.

J. T. ROGERS (playwright) At the Salt Lake Acting Company: WHITE PEOPLE (2000); SEEING THE ELEPHANT (world premiere, 2002); MADAGASCAR(commissioned world premiere, 2004) and now THE OVERWHELMING (developed at SLAC through an NEA/TCG fellowship, 2004-2005). Rogers's plays have been seen at the Royal National Theater, London; the Roundabout Theater, NYC; on stages throughout the United States and Europe; and heard on BBC radio. His works are published in the US andUK by Faber and Faber and in acting editions by Dramatists Play Service. Rogers is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and a member of both PEN and the Dramatists Guild.

KEVEN MYHRE (Director, Set Design, Producing Director) is in his 15th season as SLAC's Producing Director and Resident Designer. Keven most recently directed SLAC'S critically acclaimed productions of THE CLEAN HOUSE, MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS, RABBIT HOLE and I AM MY OWN WIFE. Other directing credits for SLAC include: BAD DATES; GOING TO ST. IVES; WATER LILIES in CABBIES, COWBOYS AND THE TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN; THE MEMORY OF WATER; WHITE PEOPLE; TWO-HEADED; THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE; GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIAL OF OSCAR WILDE; C'EST MOI in MERE MORTALS and THREE DAYS OF RAIN. Keven has designed all of SLAC's sets and many of the costumes for the last thirteen years.

(Actors and Designers bios available upon request)

SLAC NOTES:

Sunday September 21 - Matinee Post Play discussion
With author J.T. Rogers, moderated by Mike Dorrell
Approximately 4:30 p.m., following the 2:00 p.m. matinee performance

Sunday September 28 - Special post-matinee discussion featuring:
Dr. Howard Lehman, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Utah
Dr. Leonard Hawes, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Utah
approximately 4:30 pm, moderated by Mike Dorrell

Monday October 6 - New Play Sounding Series
Free reading, 7:00 pm
CHARM by Kathleen Cahill

Saturday October 11 - Matinee Post Play Discussion
Approximately 4:30 pm

Salt Lake Acting Company
168 West 500 North, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103
Admin. (801)363-0526

FACT SHEET

SLAC PRODUCTION

THE OVERWHELMING

PLAYWRIGHT

J. T. Rogers

DIRECTOR

Keven Myhre

CAST

Carleton W. Bluford, Kevin Doyle, Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, William Ferrer, Peder Melhuse,Victor Mack, Victor Morris, Nick O'Donnell, Michelle Patrick, Andy Rindlisbach, Yolanda Wood

SET DESIGN

Keven Myhre

LIGHT DESIGN

Z

COSTUME DESIGN

K. L. Alberts

SOUND DESIGN

Cynthia L. Kehr Rees

CHOREOGRAPHY

Cynthia Fleming

DIALECT COACH

Sarah Shippobotham

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

Sarah Rae Mohr

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

Joe Welsch

DATES

Previews: Sept. 17 and 18, 2008
Opening: Sept. 19, 2008
Closing: Oct. 12, 2008

TIMES

Previews: Wed & Thurs- 7:30PM
Regular: Wed & Thurs- 7:30PM
Fri & Sat- 8:00PM
Sun- 2:00PM & 7:00PM
Sat. Matinee: Sat. Oct. 11, 2008 - 2:00PM

TICKETS

$13 - $34, students/30 & under/senior discounts available.

BOX OFFICE

(801) 363-SLAC (7522) (Mon-Fri- 10:00AM to 6:00PM) or
www.saltlakeactingcompany.org to buy online.

Salt Lake Acting Company
168 West 500 North
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Admin- (801) 363-0526