Tag Archives: Know Theatre of Cincinnati

Regional premiere directed by Brian Robertson

Know Theatre is thrilled to announce the regional premiere of COCK by Mike Bartlett as our next mainstage production. This will be only the second American production following its premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London. COCK opens April 12, 2013 and runs through May 11, 2013. Brian Robertson, who currently teaches in the Theatre and Dance Department at Northern Kentucky University, will direct this production. Some of his past directing credits include Camelot at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center and A Flowering Tree at Cincinnati Opera. Casting is currently underway and will be announced shortly.

In this tense comedy about sexual identity, COCK explores one man’s choices about which path of love to pursue. When John takes a break from his longtime boyfriend, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with a woman. Trapped between two lovers, John feels the physical and emotional tug of both, and neither party wants to lose the battle for his heart. John has a choice to make as he navigates his sexuality, selfhood, and the intersection of the two.

Without scenery or props, COCK allows the audience to focus on the relationships between the characters and opens a dialogue about what we’re physically attracted to and why. This feisty and energizing piece is an exercise in emotional carnage with quick-paced dialogue that suggests to-the-death battle of the characters. Each character, with the exception of John, knows what he or she wants and is willing to fight to get it.

“I had the chance to check out this production while visiting New York for the American Theatre Wing award ceremony, and I loved it,” says Eric Vosmeier, Producing Artistic Director. “It’s a kind of pansexual love story that’s told very simply without all of the trappings of a traditional production. A very simple set, no props, minimal lighting and sound all conspire to allow the actors and Mr. Bartlett’s text to truly take center stage and to shine.”

“This is one of the first victories of Know Theatre’s new scheduling model. Rights for this production have only just become available and because we’ve created a schedule that can bend and flex, we’ve been able to schedule a production almost immediately. We’re thrilled to be one of (if not the) first post-New York production of this work.”

COCK made its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London in November 2009. In May 2012, COCK made its US premiere at The Duke, New York.

All tickets are $15 in advance and $18 on the week of the show, beginning Mondays at noon. Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling 513.300.5669. Flex-passes are valid for this event.

If you are unable to print the title of the play, we suggest “Cockfight Play.”

Production Team

• Director – Brian Robertson
• Scenic & Lighting Design – Andrew Hungerford
• Costume Design – Noelle Wedig
• Sound Design – Doug Borntrager 

Production Dates
8pm: April 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, May 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 & 11 3pm: April 28 & May 4

Additional Information
Mike Bartlett (Playwright) – Mike Bartlett is currently Associate Playwright at Paines Plough. In 2011, he was writer-in-residence at The National Theatre, and in 2007 he was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. His play Love, Love, Love won Best New Play in the 2011 Theatre Awards UK, and his play COCK won an Olivier Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre; he won the Writer’s Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for Not Talking and the Old Vic New Voices Awards for Artefacts. Theatre credits include: Love, Love, Love, 13 (National Theatre), Decade (co-writer), Earthquakes in London, COCK, Contractions, Artefacts, and My Child.. Radio credits include: “The Core,” “Heart,” “Liam,” “The Steps,” “Love Contract,” “Not Talking,” and “The Family Man,” all on BBC. Screen credits include “Earthquakes in London” and “Hometown.” Directing credits include Honest by DC Moore. He is currently under commission from Headlong Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Hampstead Theatre, and The Royal Court Theatre.

Brian Robertson (Director) – Brian currently teaches in the Theatre and Dance Department at Northern Kentucky University and is the co-founder of Cincinnati’s Performance Gallery. Over the past 25 years, Brian has had an extensive career in film, television, theatre, and opera. From 1998-2002, he was the principal stage director for Cincinnati Opera’s education department, production credits include: La cenerentola, Operacadabra, an original production, which he co-created, and Hans Krasa’s Brundibar. He has been a guest director at Miami University (Oxford), University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, New Edgecliff Theatre, and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. He worked at the Des Moines Metro Opera, Bayview Music Festival, and Sarasota Opera. Most recently he directed Camelot at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center and Lucia di Lammermoor for Sarasota Opera. He was also the stage director for a new production of A Flowering Tree at Cincinnati Opera and wrote and directed new adaptations of la boheme and The Magic Flute for the Cincinnati Opera education department.

Know Theatre of Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is supported by the National Theatre Company Grant from The American Theatre Wing, dedicated to supporting the most promising emerging theatre companies from around the country. Know Theatre of Cincinnati also receives support from The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation.

Our mission is to create evocative and explosive live entertainment.
We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.

Nick Rose. Photo by Deogracias Lema.

Regional premiere directed by Brian Isaac Phillips, featuring incredible cast of local actors

Know Theatre is excited to announce WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING by Andrew Bovell, acclaimed Australian playwright and author of Speaking in Tongues (recently seen at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in 2012). Time Out Magazine’s Best New Play of 2010, WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING opens on February 8, 2013 and runs through March 16, 2013. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Producing Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips will direct the production, with scenic and lighting design by Andrew Hungerford, costume design by Noelle Wedig, and sound design by Doug Borntrager.

An intricate fabric of overlapping connections, WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING, moves seamlessly through time and across continents between the years 1959 and 2039. In a world where the rain rarely stops falling, four generations searching for truth and hoping to mend broken connections discover the impossibility of escaping the past. We are all shaped by what has come before and we create the shadow of what comes next.

“The script is absolutely beautifully crafted,” says Eric Vosmeier, Producing Artistic Director. “Mr. Bovell is an extraordinary storyteller. We’ve been waiting until we found just the right cast to announce the show and I’m thrilled with who we’ve assembled. We’ve also spent a great deal of time working out the production challenges that the script demands. I can’t wait to see these elements come together in our intimate space.”

The play’s title is WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING, but during at least part of the play a good deal of the rain does everything but stop, and Know Theatre’s production team have been hard at work for months to prepare the technical aspects of this production. There are many technical challenges to this show, and we can’t wait to share them with you. Check out the show to see how it all turns out.

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING features an incredible ensemble of local actors. George Alexander (Joe Ryan) returns to Know Theatre, where he was most recently in Aliens with Extraordinary Skills. Ian Bond (Gabriel Law) appears at Know Theatre for the first time. He is a resident actor with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company where he has recently been in Sense and Sensibility and The Grapes of Wrath. Another Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Member, Sara Clark (Elizabeth Law) makes her debut with Know Theatre. Sara has also appeared locally with The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center and New Edgecliff Theatre. Brian Griffin (Henry Law) was most recently on Know Theatre’s stage in the regional premiere, Collapse. He also has worked with New Edgecliff Theatre, Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, and the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center. Jon Kovach (Andrew Price) performed in the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival with NOTHING. He has also worked with several regional theatres including: The Human Race Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, and Madcap Puppets. Miranda McGee (Young Gabrielle) joins the cast from Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Originally from Australia, she has worked with Playhouse in the Park and Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center locally. Nick Rose (Gabriel York) makes his return to Know Theatre where his favorite roles have been in The Pillowman and Christmas Yet to Come. He has also been seen at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Playhouse in the Park, and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. No stranger to Know Theatre, Adrianne Underhill (Older Elizabeth) was in Wonders of the World when Know Theatre was located at Gabriel’s Corner. She has also worked with Showboat Majestic, Footlighters, and Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative. This production is Kate Wilford’s (Older Gabrielle) debut at Know Theatre. Recently she has worked with New Edgecliff Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING was commissioned and first produced by Brink Productions in Australia. It premiered at the Scott Theatre, University of Adelaide, in February of 2008. The play’s European premiere was at Almeida Theatre in London in May of 2009.

All tickets are $15 in advance and $18 on the week of the show, beginning Monday at noon. Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling 513.300.5669. Flex-passes are valid for this event.

Cast

• George Alexander
• Ian Bond
• Sara Clark*
• Brian Griffin
• Jon Kovach
• Miranda McGee
• Nick Rose*
• Adrianne Underhill
• Kate Wilford*
  *Member of Actors Equity Association 

Production Team

• Director – Brian Isaac Phillips
• Scenic & Lighting Design – Andrew Hungerford
• Costume Design – Noelle Wedig
• Sound Design – Doug Borntrager

Production Dates

• 8pm: February 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, March 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, & 16
• 3pm: February 24 & March 9

 Additional Information
Andrew Bovell (Playwright) – Andrew Bovell’s stage plays include Speaking in Tongues, An Ocean Out of My Window, Ship of Fools, After Dinner, The Ballad of Lois Ryan, and Holy Day. He has collaborated on several projects including Scenes from a Separation (with Hannie Rayson), Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? (with Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius and Irene Vela), and the feature films Strictly Ballroom (with Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce) and Head On (with Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson). His screenplay Lantana was based on his play Speaking in Tongues. The film was directed by Ray Lawrence and opened to critical acclaim in 2001, winning seven AFI awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. He was named Screenwriter of the Year in 2002 by the London Film Critics’ Circle.

Brian Isaac Phillips (Director) – Brian Isaac Phillips is delighted to return to Know Theatre of Cincinnati after appearing in Collapse in 2012 and directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches in 2010. He has been appearing on area stages since 1998 working with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, New Stage Collective, The Children’s Theatre, Cincinnati Opera and most frequently with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, where he proudly serves as Producing Artistic Director. Recent credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone and The Seafarer at Ensemble, The Goat or Who is Sylvia? with New Stage and Carmen with Cincinnati Opera. Favorite roles with CSC include A Streetcar Named Desire, Henry IV, Arcadia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Fuddy Meers, Nocturne and the title characters in Macbeth (2006), Henry V (2005) and Hamlet (2004). Brian is the lucky husband of the most beautiful actress in town and the proud father of Holden Willis Phillips. He is a proud member of SDC and AEA.

Our mission is to create evocative and explosive live entertainment.
Our vision is a world awakened to its collective possibility.
We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.