My Dear Miss Chancellor

Written by Caitlin Gilman, directed by Elizabeth Hershly
October 23 – November 14, Thurs – Sat at 7:30 pm
PWYC Preview: October 22
PWYC Industry Night: November 2
Opening Night: October 23

First loves, vindictive exes, lavish balls, all the latest fashions-and secret fencing clubs! Janet Chancellor comes to London, giddily anticipating a season of dancing and parlor visits. But once she meets Hazel McGovern, she discovers a world of women living just under the covers of polite society…women who drink, duel, and call each other sweetheart.

“It’s an absolute delight. A witty charmer with very clever dialogue, it brazenly takes on a rather corny, typical romance novel plot of forbidden love, revenge and retribution but does so with great intelligence and an attention to detail…. It’s also aided by astutely confident direction from Elizabeth Hershly who must juggle 13 actors and a lot of set changes on the Annex’s not very large stage, and the usual clever design work from the Annex team including a big effort from the Costume Department for a show with a huge cast and numerous period costume changes. Kudos to Samantha Armitage and her crew. The strong cast brings the story to life and is led with excellent work from leads Sophia Franzella as the new girl in town, the titular Miss Chancellor, who’s come to London to find a husband but instead discovers her Sapphic instincts and is romanced by the proudly fierce renegade Hazel McGovern, superbly played by Tracy Leigh.” – Seattle Gay Scene

“The script is really quite brilliant. There is not a line of unnecessary dialogue and never a moment when we feel like the playwright is working to make the speech sound authentic to the period and the people involved. The action is fast moving and the relationships both touching and believable. Much of that credit should also go to the fine cast and the excellent direction by Elizabeth Hershly. Perhaps what I liked most about this script is that it never felt didactic, but always deeply human. That would only be possible if the performances were equally human.” – Seattle Actor

“…a fantastic production…. This show is recommended for anyone who is ready or eager to see what female liberation can mean…. Samantha Armitage’s costumes are the aesthetic high point of the show. Fancy gowns fall away to high-bosomed corsets and pantaloons when the ladies fight or make love, giving the already scandalous action a peculiar sense of voyeurism.” – Drama In The Hood

Cast:
Alice Bridgforth
Stacey Bush
Alysha Curry
Sophia Franzella
Mike Gilson
Jasmine Joshua
Tracy Leigh
Matthew Middleton
Kendra Pierce
Hannah Schnabel
Steven Sterne
Laurie Utterback
Sarah Winsor

The Moon Is A Dead World

written by Mike Daisey | directed by Christopher Comte
October 17 – November 15, 2008

This first play by acclaimed monologuist Mike Daisey (21 Dog Years, Monopoly!, How Theater Failed America) weaves a vision of the brutal history of the Soviet space program with an unbelievable premise: a dead cosmonaut is called back down to Earth on a radio wave when Americans in a remote Arctic base hear the beating of his dying heart. A dark and hilarious fairy tale set against the Cold War, it asks what we risk in the struggle between will and humanity, and what it means to love beyond death itself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Playwright Mike Daisey has been called “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation” by the New York Times for his groundbreaking monologues which weave together autobiography, gonzo journalism, and unscripted performance to tell hilarious and heartbreaking stories that cut to the bone, exposing secret histories and unexpected connections.

His monologues, fourteen and counting, include the controversial How Theater Failed America, the six-hour epic Great Men of Genius, the unrepeatable series All Stories Are Fiction, and the international sensation 21 Dog Years. Over the past decade he has performed his unique extemporaneous monologues at venues such as the Public Theater, American Repertory Theatre, the Spoleto Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Cherry Lane Theatre, Yale Repertory Theater, the Noorderzon Festival, the T:BA Festival, Performance Space 122, and many more.

He’s been a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, a commentator for PRI’s Studio 360 and NPR’s Day To Day, a contributor to WIRED, Slate and Salon, a web contributor to Vanity Fair and Radar Magazine, and his work has been heard on the BBC, NPR, and the National Lampoon Comedy Hour. His first film, Layover, is being distributed by Lars von Trier’s company Zentropa, and he stars in the Lawrence Krauser feature Horrible Child. His first book, 21 Dog Years: A Cubedweller’s Tale, was published by the Free Press and he is working on a second book, Great Men of Genius, adapted from his monologues about genius and megalomania in the lives of Bertolt Brecht, P.T. Barnum, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard.

He has been the recipient of the Bay Area Critics Circle Award, two Seattle Times Footlight Awards, and a MacDowell Fellowship. He lives in New York City with his director and collaborator, Jean-Michele Gregory. The Moon Is A Dead World is his first play.

REVIEWS

“[Playwright Mike] Daisey has a rich, restless imagination…. Moon is a small, sweet pleasure.” – The Stranger

“Director Christopher Comte has put together an entertaining production worthy of the script.” – Seattle Weekly

“Fascinating…. Annex’s production is an amazing display…. Crisp direction, great set design, and excellent sound support create a great reality for this unreal play. The four actors are all excellent. … This is one of the best efforts Annex Theatre has produced, and that’s saying a lot.” – Seattle Gay News

“If a new play of this caliber opened in Seattle every few weeks, we could stop going to see Hollywood crap or caring about how Christian Slater blows up Russians on the TV.” – Seattlest.com

Preview in the Seattle P-I: Full-length ‘The Moon Is A Dead World’ is a new phase for solo performer Mike Daisey

Interview on Seattlest.com: A Dialog with Newly-Minted Playwright Mike Daisey


The cast of The Moon Is A Dead World

CAST
Gregor Zachariah Robinson
Nimitz/Josef Jack Hamblin
Cal/Vassily Clayton Weller
Irina Pamala Mijatov
CREW
Stage Manager Meaghan Darling
Set Design Max Reichlin
Light Design Nate Redford
Costume Design Stacey Bush
Illustrator Susannah Anderson
Sound Design Michael Hayes
Asst. Stage Manager David Roby
Sound Board Operator Casey Bates
Production Manager Kristina Volkman
Photographer David Baum
SPECIAL THANKS

AFTRA Seattle Local, Cicada Bridal, Ron Darling, John DeShazo, A.J. Epstein, The Ethereal Mutt, Ltd., David Gassner, Teri Lazzara, Theater Schmeater, Frederick Vegas.

Annex Theatre wishes to acknowledge the generous contributions of 4Culture, The Flintridge Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, The Seattle Foundation, The Boeing Company, ActiveMac, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs for their support of this production.