Center REPertory Company of Walnut CreekArtistic Director, Michael Butler Managing Director, Scott Denison

presents

A NUMBER was first presented by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre, London, September 2002

U.S. Premiere by New York Theatre Workshop, December 2004

A NUMBER is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

By Caryl Churchill

Directed by Michael Butler

StarringJames Carpenter & Gabriel Marin

Scenic DesignButler & Denison

Costume DesignerMelissa Anne Davis

Lighting DesignerScott Denison

Assistant Stage ManagerAlex Logemann

The Actors and Stage Manager employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

The Director of this production is a member of the Society of Stage DirectorsCenter REP is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG),

The National Organization for the American Theatre and Theatre Bay Area

Season Partner Season Media SponsorSeason Sponsor

Knight Stage 3 TheatreJanuary 21 - February 7, 2010

Stage Manager/Sound DesignJeff Collister

This production is part of Center REP’s inaugural Off Center season. It’s our first production in the Knight Stage 3, which we’ve reconfigured in the round. I couldn’t be more excited to do this extraordinary play with these extraordinary artists. I wish to thank everyone at Center REP, especially managing director Scott Denison, production manager Jeff Collister, technical director Joshua Lipps and costume shop manager Melissa Anne Davis, for making Off Center a reality.

-Michael Butler

CREATIVE TEAM

Caryl Churchill (Playwright) was born on 3 September 1938 in London and grew up in the Lake District and in Montreal. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she read English. Downstairs, her first play, was written while she was still at university, was first staged in 1958 and won an award at the Sunday Times National Union of Students Drama Festival. She wrote a number of plays for BBC radio including The Ants (1962), Lovesick (1967) and Abortive (1971). The Judge’s Wife was televised by the BBC in 1972 and Owners, her first professional stage production, premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in the same year. She was Resident Dramatist at the Royal Court (1974-5) and spent much of the 1970s and 1980s working with the theatre groups ‘Joint Stock’ and ‘Monstrous Regiment’. Her work during this period includes Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976), Cloud Nine (1979), Fen (1983) and A Mouthful of Birds (1986), written with David Lan. Three More Sleepless Nights was first produced at the Soho Poly, London, in 1980. Top Girls brings together five historical female characters at a dinner party in a London restaurant given by Marlene, the new managing director of ‘Top Girls’ employment agency. The play was first staged at the Royal Court in 1982, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. It transferred to Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre in New York later that year. Serious Money was first produced at the Royal Court in 1987 and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year and the Laurence Olivier/BBC Award for Best New Play. More recent plays include Mad Forest (1990), written after a visit to Romania, and The Skriker (1994). Her plays for television include The After Dinner Joke (1978) and Crimes (1982). Far Away premiered at the Royal Court in 2000, directed by Stephen Daldry. She has also published a new translation of Seneca’s Thyestes (2001), and A Number (2002), which addresses the subject of human cloning. Her new version of August Strindberg’s A Dream Play (2005), premiered at the National Theatre in 2005. Caryl Churchill lives in London. Her latest play is Drunk Enough to say I Love You? (2006), which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in Winter 2006.

Michael Butler (Director and Artistic Director) most recently directed REP’s productions of Witness for the Prosecution and Enchanted April, as well as the award-winning productions of Around the World in 80 Days, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Marriage of Figaro. His directing work has also been seen in New York, L.A. and at regional theatres around the country. As an actor, Michael has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, in regional theatres, film and television. He is a published songwriter and the co-writer and composer of numerous music-theatre pieces, which he has directed and performed in NY, LA, and at festivals in India and Morocco. In his

Cast of Characters

James Carpenter.............................. SalterGabriel Marin..... Bernard 1, Bernard 2, Michael Black

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

James Carpenter (Salter) has appeared before at Center REP in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. He has just finished his fourth year as Scrooge at ACT and his other Bay Area credits include The Aurora Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Theaterworks. James was an Associate Artist for 14 years with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and is now an Associate Artist with the California Shakespeare Theatre. Out of town credits; The Old Globe Theatre, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Intiman, Arizona Theatre Company, Dallas Theatre Center, and the Huntington. He is the recipient of many Bay Area Critic’s Circle awards, The 2007 Barbara Bladen Porter award for consistent Exellence in Theatre, and has recently been awarded the 2010 Lunt-Fontaine Fellowship from the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Screen credits include the feature films The Rainmaker and Metro, the independents Singing and the Sunflower Boy, Presque Isle and the series Nash Bridges.

Gabriel Marin (Bernard 1, Bernard 2, Michael Black) is excited to return to Center REP, previously appearing in Tuesdays with Morrie. Recent credits include The Creature (Victor) with James Carpenter, Jack Goes Boating (Clyde) and The Devil’s Disciple (Richard) at Aurora Theatre Company, Landscape of the Body (Durwood, Raulito) and Bug (Peter) at the SF Playhouse, A Streetcar Named Desire (Mitch) at Marin Theatre Company, and Dead Mother (Daniel) for A Traveling Jewish Theatre/Thick Description. Locally he has appeared at A.C.T., Aurora Theatre Company, A Traveling Jewish Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Foundation, Center REPertory Company, Central Works, Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, PlayGround, San Francisco Playhouse, Thick Description, Word for Word and Z Space Studio. Marin has appeared in the independent feature Opal, Trauma (NBC) and Nash Bridges (CBS) and is the narrator of the PBS documentary Paperback Dreams.

DIRECTOR NOTES

Leave it to brilliant playwright Caryl Churchill to take one of our greatest fears – identity theft - and one of our greatest fascinations – human cloning – and combine them into a Rubik’s Cube of a play. Even her writing itself is a kind of recombinant DNA, mixing strands of sci-fi, murder mystery, ethical treatise and good old fashioned dysfunctional family drama. At its heart is the question of individuality. The idea of individuality has been a presumed foundation of human being-ness since the Renaissance. Churchill reopens the Nature vs. Nurture argument with a cautionary tale of parenting as a “do-over.” Don’t we all want our children to grow to their full potential? Don’t we all sometimes wish we could have a second chance?

career as a performer he has also danced with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, portrayed the villainous Pierre LeChance on The Guiding Light, and played guitar and harmonica in many rock, blues, and country western bands at all the notable dives in NYC.

Scott Denison (Lighting Designer and Managing Director) has been the General Manager for the Lesher Center for the Arts since it opened 19 years ago and has worked for the Arts in this area for 36 years. Scott has directed over 150 productions, including The Wizard of Oz, the musical hit Cinderella and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and for the past 13 seasons Center REP’s A Christmas Carol as well as all Fantasy Forum productions since 1972. He created and produces the annual Shellie Awards now celebrating 31 years. Scott has also designed lights for over 250 productions, including the national touring production of Sylvia. In 1979 he created the Shellie Awards, which annually honors outstanding performing arts achievement in Contra Costa County. Under Denison’s guidance the Lesher Center for the Arts presents over 900 public events each year. He coordinates performing arts activities with over 85 producers and producing organizations. Scott created the Chevron Family Theatre Festival which hosted over 7,000 guests this year. He is also the Managing Director of the Center REPertory Company producing professional productions each season; and is the director and co-founder of Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, an adult family performing arts company which presents programs for the young and Young at Heart.

Melissa Anne Davis (Costume Designer) In addition to running the costume shop for Center REP, Melissa has also designed many shows for the company including Suds: A Rockin’ 60’s Musical Soap Opera, Rocket Man, Cowgirls, A Christmas Carol, Hank William’s Lost Highway, and All Shook Up. She frequently works with Contra Costa Musical Theatre (Annie, Damn Yankees, Grease, South Pacific, Beauty and the Beast (Shellie Award) Guys and Dolls (Shellie Award), Cinderella, (Shellie Award), 42nd St.) Other notable credits: Town Hall Theatre Co.; MacBeth, 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress, The Rocky Horror Show, Copenhagen, Let’s Go To Casablanca!, Lend Me A Tenor, Bleacher Bums, The Weir, Moonlight and Magnolias, Baby Be Mine. Antioch Rivertown Theatre Co.; A Funny Thing Happened… (Shellie Award), Pump Boys and Dinettes (Shellie Award). Thanks to Michael, Amy, and Erin for all their hard work and wonderful friendship!

Jeff Collister (Production Stage Manager/Sound Designer) has been Production Manager for Center REP since 1995. He has stage-managed 40 productions since starting with the company in 1989. Favorites include Almost Heaven - John Denver’s America, Becoming Memories, Suds: The Rockin’ 60’s Musical Soap Opera, Godspell, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and numerous productions of A Christmas Carol. Jeff has been nominated for Shellie Awards for his direction of Urinetown, the Musical and Grease for Contra Costa Musical Theatre. He worked as Production Stage Manager for Dame Edna - The Royal Tour in San Francisco. Jeff is a Shellie Award winning actor and a member of Actors Equity Association. Alex Logemann (Assistant Stage Manager) would like to thank you. Alex has been backstage with Center REP off and on, for eight seasons and is beyond pleased to be continuing wearing all black for such an

amazing group. Alex has also crewed shows for Contra Costa Musical Theatre and with Diablo Theatre Company (DLOC). Alex wishes to express how much fun it is to do theatre here in Walnut Creek and is very thankful for our community. This theatre community is like a family that supports him and it is truly remarkable. Alex is excited to see what the future holds for Center REP and wants you to please join him as we ‘celebrate the power of the human imagination’!

OUR SPONSORS

Chevron (Season Sponsor) has been the leading corporate sponsor of Center REP and the Lesher Center for the Arts for the past eight years. In fact, Chevron has been a partner of the LCA since the beginning, providing funding for capital improvements, event sponsorships and more. Chevron generously supports every Center REP show throughout the season, and is the primary sponsor for events including the Chevron Family Theatre Festival in July. Chevron has proven itself not just as a generous supporter, but also a valued friend of the arts.

Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA) (Season Partner) is both the primary fundraising organization of the Lesher Center for the Arts (LCA) and the City of Walnut Creek’s appointed curator for the LCA’s audience outreach. DRAA’s role in the community is all about building partnerships with the focused goal of enhancing artistic quality at the LCA and providing opportunities for everyone to enjoy the arts. Through partnerships with the LCA and its producers, individual donors, corporate and foundation sponsors and the City of Walnut Creek, DRAA plays a vital role in advancing the arts for the betterment of the community. Please visit us online at www.draa.org.

Contra Costa Times (Season Media Sponsor) In the East Bay, the largest newspaper of the Bay Area News Group is the Contra Costa Times and its sister editions, the West County Times, Valley Times, San Ramon Valley Times and East County Times. The Times, was judged the best newspaper in its circulation category in the state five times in a six-year period by the California Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2005, it won the prestigious national Freedom of Information Award from Associated Press Managing Editors. And, in 2007, it was honored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association for its leadership on public records.

ABOUT CENTER REPERTORY COMPANY

Center REP is the resident, professional theatre company of the Lesher Center for the Arts. Our season consists of six productions a year – a variety of musicals, dramas and comedies, both classic and contemporary, that continually strive to reach new levels of artistic excellence and professional standards.

Our mission is to celebrate the power of the human imagination by producing emotionally engaging, intellectually involving, and visually astonishing live theatre, and through Outreach and Education programs, to enrich and advance the cultural life of the communities we serve.

What does it mean to be a producing theatre? We hire the finest professional directors, actors and designers to create our productions at Center REP.

Managing Director - Scott DenisonArtistic Director - Michael Butler

These are not touring productions – they’re conceived and developed here, the sets and costumes are built in our shops, and the actors rehearse in our rehearsal hall. Whether the production is a Bay Area premiere or a Shakespearean classic, each is devised to be a one of a kind, artistic creation that will be a unique theatre experience for our audience.

What does it mean to be a professional theatre? It means that all our artists and artisans are career theatre-practitioners. The actors in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association; many of our directors and designers are members of professional unions. All do theatre because it is their profession and their passion.

We are very proud to have the opportunity to produce professional theatre for our community in the theatres here at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Thank you for your support!

CITY COUNCILSusan McNulty Rainey, Mayor

Kish RajanCindy Silva

Robert SimmonsGary Skrel

CITY MANAGERGary PokornyDIRECTOR

Arts, Recreation and Community ServicesBarry Gordon

ARTS COMMISSIONFritz Brunner, Chair

Vice Chair Suzanne Masella Carol Fowler

Reginald MarshallJacquelyn Smith

Production ServicesProduction Services Coordinator

Toni KilcoyneTechnical Staff

Doug AlveyJohn Earls

Nicole IannacconeIain McKaySteve Pino

Garrick SchusterJosh Stouffer

Audience ServucesAudience Services Coordinator

Courtney EggTicket Office Staff

Rebecca O’ ConnorCaitlin DowningElizabeth Fazzio

Kiersten JonesKarla Kopfhammer

Sarah LeahyHillary Pearsall

Amy Rogers

ProductionProduction Manager

Jeff CollisterTechnical

Technical DirectorJoshua Lipps

Master ElectricianTirzah TylerCarpenters

Brandon DavisStewart Munson

Daniel NeelyRyan Shew

Cameron SwartzellAssistant Stage Manager

Alex LogemannProps Coordinator

Joe CoeProduction Assistant

Stephen GozzaCasting

Casting DirectorJennifer Perry

Center REPertory Company

EducationEducation Directors

Jeff DraperKerri Shawn

MarketingMarketing Director

Gabe MarinMarketing Assistant

Casi Maggio Costumes Costume Manager

Melissa Anne DavisAssistant Costumers

Michael A. BergAmy Nielson

Erin O’DonoghueAdministration

Asst. to the Managing DirectorGail Pfeifer

Usher CoordinatorJody Cook Program

Linda Nomura

THANK YOU TO OUR OPENING NIGHT DINNER SPONSORS:

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine BarOi-C Bowl

ADDITIONAL THANKS TO:Hyatt Summerfield Suites

Massimo’s RistoranteWalnut Creek Baking Company

Waters Moving and StorageAssociated Services-Alta Water

Selix Formal Wear of Pleasant HillShannon and Mike Demers

Contra Costa Musical TheatreDiablo Theatre Company

present your ticket stub from this production to receive $10 off

the regular ticket price