UC Davis: 2 Plays From Catalyst - A Theatre Think Tank On Themes Of Genetic Engineering And Incarceration

Davis CA

15 February, 2021

10:32 PM

Description

Press release from the University of California, Davis: February 15, 2021 By Michael French The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank present two new works examining diverse contemporary themes. Genetic engineering and its promise of flawless children forms the basis of Perfect, by Jonathan Luskin, whose Kill the Wabbit was workshopped at UC Davis in 2018. The drama will be presented free online as an informal reading in collaboration with the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 17). Perfect is directed by alumna JanLee Marshall (M.F.A, dramatic art, '15) and features actor Danny Gomez, recipient of the 2020 Media Access Award, which recognizes depictions of disability that are accurate, inclusive and multifaceted. The cast also includes undergraduate students Sophie Brubaker, Cheryl Kuo, Kyle Nagasawa and Aubrey Schoeman. Undergraduate student Sam Votrian is the stage manager. In A Bee in a Jar by Andrew Nichols, three men with very different temperaments try to figure out why they were seized a month earlier and locked together in a featureless room. The play will be performed free online at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Feb. 19-20). Nicholls is a television writer and author who has worked on The Tonight Show and numerous Nickelodeon shows. He is the author of the recently published Comedy Writer: Craft Advice From a Veteran of Sitcoms, Sketch, Animation, Late Night, Print and Stage Comedy. His play {LOVE/logic} was staged at UC Davis in 2019. Theatre and television actor Laura Hall, who appeared on Broadway in Wonderland and in the national tour of the revival of Pippin, is the director. She has recently relocated from New York to Sacramento County. The cast includes alumni Jordan Brownlee (B.A., cinema and digital media, '20), Nate Challis (B.A., theatre and dance, '20) and Noah VanderVeer-Harris (B.A., theatre and dance, '20), as well as undergraduate students Erolina Kamburova and Hailey Peterson. Undergraduate student Shachar-Lee Yaakobovitz is the stage manager. A virtual new works festival this year, Catalyst's online process allows actors and creative teams to collaborate from various locations across time zones. Broadway veteran Mindy Cooper, professor of theatre and dance, and Lisa Quoresimo (Ph.D., performance studies, '18) are co-founders of Catalyst. Catalyst productions may contain adult situations and language. This press release was produced by the University of California, Davis. The views expressed here are the author's own.