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Contact: Alice Berry
(901) 678-3184
aeberry@memphis.edu
TITLE: Becky Shaw
VENUE: University of Memphis, Mainstage, Theatre Building, 3745 Central Ave.
RUN DATES: October 4-6 and 11-13, 2012 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
TICKETS: $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and non U of M students;
U of M students receive a complimentary ticket
BOX OFFICE: 901-678-2576
Now open: Mon. and Wed. 1 to 4pm.; Tues., Thurs. and Fri. 9am to 4pm
University of Memphis Opens Season with Regional Premiere
The University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance opens its season with the
irreverent comedy of bad manners Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo. Professor Stephen Hancock directs this Pulitzer Prize finalist.
The quirky comedy showcases costumes by graduate student Eileen Devany, scenic design
by guest designer and alum Richard Crowell, and lighting and sound design by long
time faculty member John McFadden. Shows run October 4-6 and 11-13; Thursdays-Saturdays
at 7:30 p.m.
About Becky Shaw
In this Off-Broadway hit, a newlywed couple fixes up two romantically challenged friends:
wife's best friend meets husband's sexy and strange new co-worker. When an evening
calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crisis and comedy ensue in this wickedly
funny play that asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on
our doorstep. “…Deftly plotted, scabrous and sharp-witted…One of the great pleasures
of BECKY SHAW is the way the moral ground keeps shifting underneath your feet." —NY
Times.
About the Playwright
Gina Gionfriddo is an American playwright and television writer. She is the author
of Becky Shaw (commissioned and first produced by Actors Theatre of Louisville); After
Ashley (Humana Festival 2004, Vineyard Theatre, regional theatres throughout the country,
and in Poland); U.S. Drag (Off-Broadway by the stageFARM, Clubbed Thumb at HERE and many regional productions);
Guinevere (O'Neill Playwrights Conference); and the one-acts Squalor and America's Got Tragedy (commissioned and presented by the stageFARM).For her writing she has received an
Obie Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging
Playwrights, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She has written for both the stage and for
television. She graduated from Barnard College and also completed Brown University's
MFA playwriting program where she studied under Pulitzer Prize winning playwright
Paula Vogel. In addition to writing her own material, she has also taught playwriting
at Brown University, Providence College, and Rhode Island College.Gionfriddo's most
recent production, Rapture, Blister, Burn premiered at Playwrights Horizons in June 2012.
About the stars of Becky Shaw
Becky Shaw showcases the talents of some of the University of Memphis’ brightest young
actors. Senior Katelyn Nichols (Blood Brothers) plays the title character with support
from senior Mandy Martin (The Phantom of the Opera), junior Zach El-Oqlah (Wit), and
senior Kelsey Knight. First year graduate student and Actors Equity member, Teddy
Eck rounds out the cast. Director Stephen Hancock has just been appointed as Artistic
Director of the University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance.
About University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance
The Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of Memphis invites you to join
us as we explore the exciting world of the performing arts. We are dedicated to a
unified program designed to help students learn to use body, voice, and mind more
proficiently than they ever thought possible. We believe that each student should
be broadly prepared in as many meaningful artistic experiences as imaginable. We celebrate
theatre and dance in all their infinite varieties.
New this Season: Faculty and Staff Night at the Theatre for FREE!
We are excited about all of the creative work happening in the Theatre Building and
we want to share that with the entire campus community and at the same time celebrate
all of the hard working folks at the university. So this season we are offering a
special faculty and staff evening at the theatre for FREE.
The first Friday of each of our Mainstage shows will be Faculty and Staff Night. Friday,
October 5 is that night for Becky Shaw. Each U of M faculty and staff may request
two free tickets to the performance. They may also purchase extra tickets for $15
if they would like to invite more than one guest.
Faculty and staff must still order tickets through our box office – located in the
lobby of the Theatre Building on Central Ave. Please come by the box office with an
U of M ID to get tickets.
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