Tag: Samantha Leeds

Rachel and Joe are getting divorced and everyone they know is invited. Guilt, grief, desire, and booze collide in this darkly comedic new play that contemplates a world where the worst moment in your life is something that people dress up for.

Performed by Sydney Andrews, Zoey Belyea, Nick Edwards, Tom Fraser, Amy Hill, Ashton Hyman, Samantha Leeds, Barbara Lindsay, Marty Mukhalian, Ian O’Malley, Jillian Vashro, Mark Waldstein.

PRESS PHOTOS

Reviews:

“Local playwright Holly Arsenault’s full-length debut, Undo, has a premise so deliciously simple, it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done already: What if there were a requisite divorce ceremony, a sort of backward wedding, where the original guests gather to get their presents back, hear the toasts again, see the couple’s last dance, then watch them take off their rings and undo their vows?….The script is fantastic, with witty but believable dialogue that sounds cribbed from real family get-togethers and focuses on the small, mundane logistics of the un-wedding that make it so convincing.” — The Stranger

“[Undo] is an exceptionally honest piece of playwriting, moving in the emotional investment of all the characters and both deeply sad and deeply gratifying in its authenticity.” — Seattle Actor

“There is tremendous strength in the writing. The dialogue is realistic and the relationships ring true… The cast is extremely likable, making the audience root for everybody (there aren’t any ‘bad guys’).” — Seattle Gay News

“Undo is an evening of blissful anguish watching two people sever ties to each other completely — a funny, dark look at how relationships end and all that goes into undoing what’s done.” — The Sunbreak

More info:
Get out your wedding dress: It’s time for your divorce – an interview with playwright Holly Arsenault and actors Mark Waldstein and Samantha Leeds

This play contains adult language and content. It is recommended for mature audiences ages 15 and up.

Macha Monkey is proud to present the northwest premiere of Stephanie Timm’s Sweet Nothing, a (grim) fairytale at Annex Theatre’s space in June 2012. Sweet Nothing explores the repercussions of violence and war through a fairytale lens. Once upon a time in a raped and pillaged land, the youngest of three sisters weds herself to a man she’s never met who lives across the sea. When the next youngest is offered a similar promise of living happily ever after, she discovers that hope might just be her worst enemy.

“…there really wasn’t an aspect of this production that didn’t appeal to me. From the outstanding script by Timm and direction by Garcia to the stunning cast to the gorgeously designed show make this one an absolute winner!” –Broadway World

“Timm is a smart, gifted writer and nicely sets up all the archetypal bowling pins—the three sisters, their ravaged land, the mysterious other-land where the youngest sister goes, the dangerous yet attractive wolf-man, the mute and sweet-hearted woodsboy, the alliteration and rhyming…” –The Stranger

“It’s a lovely evening’s entertainment, a little sticky in the chewing but tasty and a bit dark without being especially heavy.” –The Sunbreak

Playwright Stephanie Timm is company playwright for New Century Theatre Company, and recently finished a year-long residency with ACT Theatre. She was commissioned by 5th Avenue Musical Theatre to write Rosie the Riveter! with composer Albert Evans. She was nominated for a Gregory Award for New Century Theatre Company’s premiere of On the Nature of Dust. Her play Crumbs Are Also Bread was published in the Rain City Projects Manifesto Series, edited by Steven Dietz. Her plays have been produced and developed at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Icicle Creek Theatre Festival, Kennedy Center, Lark Theatre, Boots Up Theatre Company, Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Live Girls! among others. Stephanie also teaches at Cornish College of the Arts, and writes for video games. Stephanie received her MFA from UC San Diego.

Director Laurel Pilar Garcia most recently directed a reading of Royal Blood by Sonya Schneider with Northwest Playwright Alliance, Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl for Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Center of the Universe by Dustin Engstrom at Open Circle Theatre. Additional credits include directing and producing WAKE by Sonya Schneider at the Little Theatre with Onward Ho! Productions, The Diary of Anne Frank for the Driftwood Players, Zapatista for Teatro Milagro in Portland, Ore., Two Rooms by Lee Blessing at the Freehold Studio Series, Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies and A Christmas Carol, both at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Her assistant directing credits include several productions with former Intiman Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, including Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Shakespeare’s Richard III and Chekhov’s Three Sisters. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Lewis & Clark College.

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CREATIVE TEAM

Macha Monkey Productions is a nonprofit arts organization showcasing exceptional artists, delivering innovative educational programs, and producing new theatrical work that features strong female characters.