american classic repertory
topdog/underdog and true west
a collaboration between American Theater Company and Congo Square Theatre Company
January 15 - March 8

American Theater Company and Congo Square Theatre Company team up to present one of Chicago's most intriguing theatrical projects. Artistic Directors Derrick Sanders and PJ Paparelli engage their Ensembles in two of America's most visceral plays about sibling rivalry. In addition to the plays alternating nightly, the actors playing the brothers will switch between productions. Audiences can see four versions of two plays on one set at ATC.

true west written by Sam Shepard directed by PJ Paparelli Sam Shepard's most produced play tells the story of two brothers: Austin, an ambitious Hollywood screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar deal and Lee, a vagabond thief with a compulsion for six-packs and toasters, face off for control while venting demons from their dysfunctional past.	topdog/underdog written by Suzan-Lori Parks directed by Derrick Sanders Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece explores two brothers: Lincoln, ex-"3-card" player, now legitimate entertainer, and Booth, a petty thief who wants to learn his brother's game, struggle to make a new life that will finally lead them out of poverty.
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Matthew Brumlow (Austin/Lincoln) is an ensemble member of Chicago’s American Theater Company where he has thirteen production credits as an actor. Some favorite ATC productions include The Hairy Ape, A View from the Bridge, Working, Catch 22, and Oklahoma! in which he played “Curly.” Other Chicago Credits include: Carousel and Titus Andronicus (Court Theatre), Another Part of the Forest and Loot (Writers’ Theatre), She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight Theatre), The Winning Streak (Apple Tree Theatre), Mary Zimmerman’s Eleven Rooms of Proust (About Face Theatre), Brett Neveu’s The Last Barbecue (Aardvark Collective), and five productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Additional Chicago credits include shows at Shakespeare on the Green, PROP, Organic/Touchstone, Azusa Productions, and Poetry Onstage. Regional credits include work with Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Door Shakespeare, six productions with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Montana Repertory Theatre’s national tour of A Streetcar Named Desire in which he played Stanley, Carousel at Long Wharf Theatre, and Hamlet at Indiana Repertory Theatre where he played the title role. Matthew has received two Equity Joseph Jefferson Nominations for his work as an actor in Chicago and just completed the Independent Feature Film Endings due out this spring. He is married to Chicago actor Cora Vanderbroek.

Daniel Bryant (Booth/Austin) was last seen in American Theater Company’s premiere of The People’s Temple. He was also seen in The Talented Tenth nominated for 10 BTAA awards at Congo Square Theatre Company of which he is an ensemble member and Associate Artistic Director. Other Congo credits include Jeff nominated Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Goodman Theatre and Lydia Diamond’s award-winning world premiere of Stick Fly. He was also in the North American Premiere of Steppenwolf’s A Clockwork Orange directed by ensemble member Terry Kinney. At Chicago Theatre Company Daniel appeared in Do Lord Remember Me, which garnered the BTAA award for best Ensemble and he was also nominated for BTAA’s Best Featured Actor playing the role of Mouse in CTC’s adaptation of Walter Mosley’s A Red Death. Regionally, Daniel appeared in the premiere production of Lynn Knottage’s Las Meninas at San Jose Rep, Kia Korthron’s Slide, Glide the Slippery Slope at the Mark Taper and the Louis Slotin Sonata at Circle X Theatre in Los Angeles. Daniel is also an artistic associate at Chicago Dramatists.

Stephen Louis Grush (Lee/Booth) makes his American Theater Company debut. Mr. Grush most recently appeared on stage in Steppenwolf Theater's Dublin Carol directed by Amy Morton. Other recent Chicago credits include: Good Boys and True, Last of the Boys also with Steppenwolf; Cymbeline, Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and Oedipus Complex, Pericles (Goodman Theatre); some regional credits include: Antony and Cleopatra (Colorado Shakespeare); Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Henry VIII (Illinois Shakespeare). Film and television credits include: Starting Under (Mohawk Productions / Warner Brothers); The Express (Universal Pictures); and Dead Girl (Thirteen Pocket). Mr. Grush has spent the last four years writing and performing a new show every week with the cool table, a sketch comedy collective that has seen stages in New York, Chicago, and L.A. Mr. Grush is also the Artistic Director of Thirteen Pocket, a local company focused on original works and the abandonment of medium.

Anthony Irons, (Lincoln/Lee), a Congo Square Theatre ensemble member, has performed in King of Coons, The African Company Presents Richard III and Elmina's Kitchen. He has also performed sketch and improvisation with The Second City in Denver, Atlanta and Chicago. This summer he also wrote and produced the sketch comedy revue, I Know What You Did Last Election. He is very excited with the theatrical cake that American Theater Company and Congo Square is cooking up with this collaboration. He hopes that we expand the discourse as to what theatre is and what it can do. Thank you God, Di, Xavi and all my family for ever flowing spirit juice.

Mike McNamara (Saul) most recently appeared onstage in Collaboraction's 8th Annual Sketchbook Festival at Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Theatre and in the Jeff Recommended world premiere of Odin's Horse, written by Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright Robert Koon, produced by Infamous Commonwealth Theatre. Other Chicago credits include Northlight Theatre's Pride and Prejudice, which garnered five Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, including Best Production, and productions with Shattered Globe, European Repertory Company, Factory Theatre, Stage Left and Steppenwolf. Film credits include Barbershop 2: Back In Business, Man in the Silo, Tapioca, The Quiet and Cyrus, which will be released this summer. Television credits include Early Edition, What's Your Twenty and the new TNT series Leverage. Finally, Mike is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Midwest Independent Film Festival (www.midwestfilm.org), a columnist for Screen Magazine (www.screenmag.com), the Co-Founder of Chicago-based independent radio station Fearless Radio (www.fearlessradio.com) and host of the popular Internet radio show, Talk Back with Mac (www.talkbackwithmac.com).

Suzanne Petri (Mom) is celebrating ten years as an ensemble member at American Theater Company with a return to Sam Shepard, having played Meg in A Lie of the Mind in 2001. She recently appeared in The People’s Temple and the Jeff-nominated Oklahoma! Previous productions include The Threepenny Opera, Kid-Simple, The Hairy Ape, Two Rooms and our own CabarATC. She has performed, produced and directed on dozens of Chicago stages including Apple Tree, the Goodman, Chicago Dramatists, Next, Steppenwolf, Maxim’s, Davenport’s and Park West. Suzanne is the president of Chicago Cabaret Professionals and currently producing their successful series, Musical Mondays at the Drury Lane Water Tower Place. She was featured at the Chicago and NYC Cabaret Conventions and was honored with the After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist. Her CD “Das Grand Tour” is available on iTunes and suzannepetri.com. She and her husband Bob Breuler are working on an original play with music, debuting in 2009.

PJ Paparelli (Artistic Director/Director, True West) Season 24 marks PJ’s first full season as Artistic Director of American Theater Company. His ATC and Chicago debut was the regional premiere of Speech & Debate. This season, he is directing True West and Yeast Nation. From 2004-08, he was the Artistic Director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. During his tenure, Perseverance expanded its staff, completed a $1.1M facility expansion/renovation and $1M Endowment campaign, significantly increased audiences around the state, and sent projects Off-Broadway, Washington, DC, and around the United States. His directing credits include the World Premiere of Yeast Nation, Equus, The Who’s Tommy, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, the premiere of a new version of Hair, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Voyage, and columbinus. PJ conceived and co-adapted Raven Odyssey, a theatrical journey of Alaska Native Raven stories, gathered through interviews with Elders across the state. Other projects under PJ’s guidance were revised versions of The Laramie Project and Tlingit Macbeth, spoken in English and Tlingit (the indigenous culture of Juneau) which was presented at the Kennedy Center’s Shakespeare in Washington Festival. In 2002, PJ founded the United States Theatre Project, where he conceived, co-wrote, and directed columbinus, which premiered at Round House Theatre and Perseverance, and ran Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. columbinus was nominated for 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, 5 Helen Hayes Awards, is published by Dramatic Publishing, and has seen over 20 productions around the world. From 1998-2004, he served as the Associate Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, where his directing credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love Letters (with Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook), All’s Well That Ends Well (Classical Acting Conservatory), Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice and many plays in the ReDiscovery Series. He was associate director on Much AdoAbout Nothing with Karen Ziemba, and The Oedipus Plays with Avery Brooks at the Athens Festival in Greece. The Washington Post called PJ “One of the most exciting talents working in Washington.” His DC productions include Romeo and Juliet (The Folger Theatre), a collaboration with Terrence McNally on a new version of Corpus Christi at Source Theatre (2003 GLAAD Media Award), The Diaries (Signature Theatre) and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Washington Shakespeare). Other directing credits include Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis), Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Santa Cruz (2005 Newsweek’s Top 5 summer productions), The Merchant of Venice (American Shakespeare Center), Action (Circle Rep) and True West in Russian at the Moscow Art Theatre School. PJ has directed and/or taught Shakespeare at Juilliard, Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, NCSA, University of Alaska-Southeast, UNC-Chapel Hill, Catholic University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins. He holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon and graduate studies in acting at the Moscow Art Theatre School. He is a member of the SSDC and is represented by Creative Artists Agency.

Derrick Sanders (Director, Topdog/Underdog) is the Founding Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company and has had the pleasure of performing and directing across the globe. His most recent credits include Five Fingers of Funk at Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, August Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Center Stage, Elmina’s Kitchen, and Stick Fly with True Colors Theatre in Atlanta. For his Off-Broadway debut with King Hedley II for Signature Theatre, he received two Lucille Lortel and Audelco nominations. He also received three Jeff nominations production for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and directed the World Premiere of the Jeff-Nominated Deep Azure, as well as the Jeff Award winning production of Seven Guitars, for which he received a BTAA and Jeff Award for Best Director, and Black Excellence Award for Best Producer. He was also a part of August Wilson’s World Premiere productions of Radio Golf and Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and at the Huntington Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and The Goodman Theatre. His other directing credits include the World Premiere of The House That Jack Built at Congo Square, in which he won a BTAA for Best Director and Why Black Men Play Basketball at eta Creative Arts Foundation. He also directed the awarding winning production of Ali for Congo Square. He was named 2005 Chicago Tribune's Chicagoan of the Year: Theater. He received his training from Howard University (BFA) and the University of Pittsburgh (MFA).

Keith Pitts (Scenic Designer) is pleased to be back home at ATC where he has been an Ensemble member since 2001. Keith has been designing scenery in the Midwest since 2000. Design credits include: Speech & Debate, Orpheus Descending, Heritage, American Dead, Two Rooms, and End Game (American Theater Company); Weekend and Harmless (Timeline Theatre); As You Like It, The Savannah Disputation, Othello, Puppet Master of Lodz (Writers Theatre); State of the Union (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre); Crime and Punishment (Milwaukee Chambers Theatre); She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight Theatre); Vincent in Brixton (Jeff Nominated) and Jammin’ with Pops (Apple Tree); A Dybbuk (Northwestern University), Defiance, Helen, and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Next Theatre); Angel Street, Noises Off, Master Class, Death Trap, Into the Woods, Fools, Broadway Bound, The Taffetas, Proof, A Man for All Seasons, The Odd Couple, and The Foreigner (Peninsula Players Theatre). Some upcoming designs include Old Glory (Writers' Theatre), Curtains (Drury Lane Oakbrook), and The Piano Lesson (The Court Theatre).

Christine Pasquale (Costume Designer) is delighted to work with both PJ and Derrick and with two great theater companies: Congo Square and ATC. Recent designs include: Capriccio Barocco produced by the Yale Baroque Opera Project in New Haven, Jarred (Teatro Luna), Ten Cent Night (Chicago Dramatists), The People's Temple (ATC), Fast Forward (About Face Theatre), The First Breeze of Summer (Court Theatre). Other companies she has designed costumes for include: Remy Bumppo, Centerstage in Baltimore, Teatro Vista, Victory Gardens Theater, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Pegasus Players, and Infusion Theater. Upcoming projects: Our Lady of the Underpass (Teatro Vista), The Piano Lesson (Court Theatre) and Blackbird (Victory Gardens). She wishes to thank her family for their unwavering support and love. Her website is: www.christinepascual.com.

Charles Cooper (Lighting Designer) is pleased to return to ATC where he has previously designed Orpheus Descending, Heritage, Half of Plenty and Speech & Debate. Recent credits include As You Like It, Another Part of the Forest, The Seagull and The Doctor’s Dilemma (Writers’ Theatre); First Look Festival of New Work (Steppenwolf); The Defiant Muse, The Court Marshal at Fort Devens and Shoes (Victory Gardens); She Stoops to Conquer, and The Chalk Garden (Northlight Theatre); Weekend (TimeLine Theatre), Well (Next Theatre); and The Nutcracker (Salt Creek Ballet). Upcoming projects include, Old Glory (Writers’ Theatre); Curtains (Drury Lane Oak Brook); Of Mice and Men (Steppenwolf); and The Overwhelming (Next Theatre). Charles is the recipient of Five Joseph Jefferson Nominations, and two After Dark Awards. Charles is proud to be a member of United Scenic Artists local 829. Charles Lives in Oak Park with his wife Angela, new son Ethan, and golden retriever Shelby. Please visit his website at www.cooperportfolio.com.

Rick Sims (Sound Designer) Recent credits include: Sound Design: Picnic (Writers Theatre), Caroline, or Change (Court Theatre), Sweet Charity (Drury Lane), The Attempters and The Magnificents (House Theatre), The Talented Tenth and co-designer for Black Nativity (Congo Square), Be More Chill (Griffin), co-designer for Wedding Play (About Face), co-designer for Four Places (Victory Gardens), Icarus at the Getty in L.A. (Lookingglass), Wooden Breeks (LTC with Andre Pluess). Composer: The Brothers Karamazov (Lookingglass), Gary (Boston Playwrights/Steppenwolf), Huck Finn (Steppenwolf), Hamlet with Lisa Portes (DePaul). Other Credits: artistic associate of Lookingglass Theatre Company, wrote the book, music and lyrics for Lookingglass’ Hillbilly Antigone. Also composed music for Up Against It, Vanishing Twin, Her Name Was Danger and West for Lookingglass.

Noel Henke (Properties Designer) has returned to Chicago after spending some time in L.A. where she received her MFA from Cal Arts. Her sculptural works can be seen at Disneyland's Finding Nemo ride, The Play Lab in the Field Museum, at Cabela's stores and outside Notre Dame stadium. Previous shows include The Brothers Karamazov (Lookingglass Theatre), Bleacher Bums and Damn Yankees (Metropolis Perfoming Arts Center), and 1776 (Signal Ensemble Theatre). Much love to Mom and Dad.

Jaime Castañeda (Assistant Director). Director: Welcome to Arroyos (Summer Play Festival), One for the Road (DirectorFest) Crave, Closer, Momentahn, Blue/Orange, Nocturne, Sonnets for an Old Century (FireStarter Productions) Red Light Winter (Perseverance Theatre) Attack of the Asians (Kennedy Center workshop) This is How it Goes, Credeaux Canvas, Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out to Get You (Amphibian Stage Productions) Lincolnesque, Chesapeake, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant (Circle Theatre). Assistant director: Anon, Almost an Evening, Parlour Song (Atlantic Theater Company) Pig Farm (Old Globe Theatre) Going Gone (Cincinnati Playhouse) Two Unrelated Plays (Center Theatre Group). Jaime also just recently served as assistant director for Speed the Plow currently running on Broadway at the Barrymore Theatre. He has received various Dallas/Fort Worth Critics Forum awards, a Live Theatre League award, a Drama League fall fellowship, and a 2008 Princess Grace Award. Jaime is the Producing Artistic Director of FireStarter Productions. Education: MFA, Directing (University of Texas at Austin).

January 9, 2009

ATC breaks ground with an unprecedented mid-run cast switch, offering audiences the rare chance to see two versions of each play

American Theater Company continues its ambitious Season 24 with the inauguration of the American Classic Repertory, which begins with Sam Shepard’s most produced play, True West. True West tells the story of two brothers: Austin, an ambitious Hollywood screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar deal, and Lee, a vagabond thief with a compulsion for six-packs and toasters. Austin and Lee face off for control while venting demons from their dysfunctional past.

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog then joins True West in repertory. Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece also explores two brothers: Lincoln, ex-“3-card” player turned legitimate entertainer, and Booth, a petty thief who wants to learn his brother’s game. Lincoln and Booth struggle to make a new life that will finally lead them out of poverty.

"The inauguration of the American Classic Repertory with True West and Topdog/Underdog is historical simply in the pairing of the plays. That it goes on to break ground with the first ever nontraditional production of Topdog/Underdog is truly thrilling for us,” says Artistic Director PJ Paparelli. “The American Classic Repertory provides a unique theatre experience for both audiences and artists. We gather in a space to experience two stories about brotherhood from two radically different vantage points of American culture, and the goal is that we all come out of this experience with a greater respect for each other and a profound understanding and connection to that which unites all of us as Americans.”

The original cast for True West features ATC Ensemble Members Matthew Brumlow as Austin and Suzanne Petri as Mom, Mike McNamara as Saul, and Stephen Louis Grush as Lee.

The original cast for Topdog/Underdog will feature Congo Square Ensemble Members Daniel Bryant as Booth and Anthony Irons as Lincoln.

When the casts are switched, Daniel Bryant will assume the role of Austin and Anthony Irons will play Lee in True West. In Topdog/Underdog Stephen Lois Grush will play Booth and Matthew Brumlow will play Lincoln.