ACT OUT OPENING: World Premiere of The Beautiful Dark at Redtwist Theatre

World Premiere - The Beautiful Dark

July 24, 2013

The Beautiful Dark

A World Premiere by Erik Gernand

Directed by Josh Altman

Featuring Jeff-Award-winner, Jacqueline Grandt 

How do you stop a violent mind?

What should parents do when it may seem that their son is planning a violent act--and the boy has become nearly incommunicado?

SCHEDULE

Opens: Sat, July 27, 3pm

Runs: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm

Note: no evening performance on Sat, July 27, and no performance on Sun, July 28

Closes: Sun, Sep 1, 3pm

Running Time: Approximately 85 minutes total, no intermission

Previews: $15; Wed, Thu, Fri, July 24, 25, 26, at 7:30pm

Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $30 (seniors & students $5 off)

RESERVATIONS

Call: 773-728-7529

Email: reserve@redtwist.org

Reservation link: www.redtwist.org

PLAY

Nancy's son, Jacob, announces he has failed out of college, and upon returning home, sleeps all day. From this deceitful calm, Nancy makes a startling discovery: Jacob didn't flunk out; he was kicked out for writing a graphic play about a killing spree on campus, carried out by a young man who sounds eerily like her son.As the evidence mounts against Jacob, Nancy is forced to confront her darkest fears. Is her son capable of the unthinkable? And can she stop him before it's too late?

PLAY HISTORY

Erik Gernand began writing The Beautiful Dark the week after the shooting in Arizona that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He was inspired by an editorial he read in defense of the parents of the shooter that posed the question: What would you have done if he were your child? 

A number of theaters have worked with the script.

• Two separate development workshops at American Theater Company, Chicago IL
• Saturday Reading Series at Chicago Dramatists, Chicago, IL
• 2-week workshop and workshop production at T. Schreiber Studio in NY, directed by new About Face Artistic Director Andrew Volkoff, Chicago, IL
• 2-week workshop and staged reading at Redtwist Theatre, Chicago, IL
• Staged reading at The Barrow Group in NY, 2012

The Beautiful Dark has also received the following:

• AWARD: New Works Project Winner, 2012, T. Schreiber Studio, NY
• AWARD: Winner of the Premiere Stages Play Festival, Union, NJ
• Finalist for the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, 2012

PLAYWRIGHT ERIK GERNAND

The Beautiful Dark is Erik's first production with Redtwist Theatre, and will open in September at Premiere Stages in Union, NJ. His plays have been in development or production at American Theater Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Barrow Group (NY), and Chicago Dramatists. Erik's short films have screened at more than 100 film festivals around the world including SXSW, Cinequest, and Chicago International Film Festival, as well as been broadcast on IFC, PBS, and The Logo Channel. He is a lecturer in Radio-TV-Film at Northwestern University.

CAPTION: Nancy (Jacqueline Grandt), tries to prevent a violent confrontation between her ex-husband, Tom (Tommy Lee Johnston), and her son, Jacob (Aaron Hunt). (Photo: Jan Ellen Graves)

CAST

Jacob Bond (Charlie), Jacqueline Grandt (Nancy), Tommy Lee Johnston (Tom), Aaron Kirby (Jacob), Scott Olson (Mr. Marsh), Tiffany Williams (Sydney)

Jacqueline Grandt is a Redtwist company member and won a 2012 Jeff Award for Principal Actress in Bug by Tracy Letts. Tommy Lee Johnston is a Redtwist company member and resident playwright. His play, Aura, received a 2010 Jeff nomination for New Work. Aaron Hunt is a 2012 Jeff Award-winner for Supporting Actor in Dark Play or Stories for Boys. 

STAFF

Josh Altman (Director), Reed Motz (Assistant Director), Lauren Yarbrough (Stage Manager), Olivia Baker (Assistant Stage Manager), Jeff Glass (Production Manager), Alan Weusthoff (Tech Director), Kevin McDonald (Dramaturg), Dan Stratton (Set Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), Garvin Jellison (Lighting Designer), Kelsey Ettman (Costume Designer), Jeff Shields (Prop Designer), Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic Designer), Chris Rickett (Fight Designer), Kelsey Melvin (Set Assistant), Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager), E. Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Associate), Johnny Garcia (Associate Producer), Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Producers)

  

Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line EL station

Street parking (paybox until 10pm) is available on Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway

Please reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted by phone and online via BuzzOnStage to guarantee seating.