MERCI Leslie & the Staff of L’Etage Jim Caiola & David Salama

Erica Hoelscher/Lehigh University Department of Theatre

Andrew Carroll Heather Cole Tomas Dura

Sharon Geller Sarah Knittel Ethan Lipkin

Jennifer MacMilllan Kristen Norine

Lee Pucklis Sonja Robson Nick Santoro David Stanger

Mark Willliams

The IRC’s 2014 season is made possible in part by generous grants from Wyncote Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund;

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the

National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the Greater

Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; CHG Charitable Trust; and Plannerzone.

P. O. Box 63872 Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org

May 18, 2014

Greetings!

May 2014 marks 7 years of the IRC’s Bringing Good Nothingness to Life: presenting writers from around the globe whose plays feature absurd, existential theatrics. The IRC’s first two seasons were played in this venue, and it’s here that we found our voice and developed the beginnings of a faithful audience who has followed and supported our journey since.

This evening’s early career plays by Christopher Durang seemed a proper tribute, featuring characters you will recognize, brought to life by faces you have laughed with before -- a group of energetic, talented performers, who know how to interpret this material. One of the greatest joys has been to set the artistic bar very high and to watch this little company reach for and grasp the artistic ring much of the time, despite very limited financial resources.

Tonight all proceeds will support the IRC’s production of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros for FringeArts 2014. When we say all, we mean literally: producing two shows a year, over 60% of our support comes from individual supporters, who value the special care and artistry we bring to our productions. Our $73,000 two show budget supports the performers, designers, rehearsal space and communication with our audience. Nothing more in the budget, nothing less than the best we can bring to the stage. It’s pretty simple and not so easy to accomplish.

Ionesco’s wildly innovative plays (Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano and The Chairs) overturned conventions of contemporary theater. Called the “Shakespeare of the Absurd,” the “Enfant Terrible of the Avant-Garde,” and the “Inventor of the Metaphysical Farce” Ionesco saw himself as a preserver of theater, a classicist and "a supreme realist." His belief was that the aim of avant-garde theater should be to rediscover -- not invent -- the permanent forms and forgotten ideals of the theater in their purest state.

In Ionesco’s 1958 farce, Rhinoceros, an entire population grows horns and thick skins, trampling flowers, crushing staircases and decimating the town. A contagious epidemic spreads, collective hysteria ensues, and a serious collective disease is passed off as ideology. A hilarious and cautionary story for our time, the play warns against totalitarianism and the destructive power of the collective. Themes of intellect versus instinct, responsibility to community, individual versus the group are what we will be exploring in our September 2014 LiveArts production. Critics called the 1960 Paris Rhinoceros premiere a “masterpiece.”

(continued after next page)

IRC 2014 season supporters:

($1000.00 and above) Wyncote Foundation

The Samuel S. Fels Fund The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

The Charlotte Cushman Foundation CHG Charitable Trust

Plannerzone – Earl Wilcox

($250.00 - $499.99) A. Ron Hunter • Microsoft Corporation • ChristaWilliford

($100.00 - $249.99)

Philip Alperson & Mary Hawkesworth • Fred Allen Barfoot Pat & Stacey Bishop • Robert & Donna Castle • Gail Furman

Jeanne George • Shelley Green & Michael Golden Bob & Nancy Megley • Bill & Vikki Monaghan • CliffordPearlman

Steven Peitzman • Kirsten Quinn & Ari Benjamin Bank L. Gerald Rigby • Askold Zagars & Marie Feehan

($50.00 - $99.99)

Brian & Miriam Boland • Jesse Delaney • Norman & Carolyn Ellman Harvey & Mary Goldstein • Marguerite Hawkins • Michael Lynch

Rose O'Brien & Jim Devine • Stephen Platt & Robin Schaufler Robin & Joseph Rodriguez • David & Lisa Roger • Bob & Pat Schmidt

Leo & Barbara Sewell • John & Penny Stanger Dr. Stephen & Mrs. Johnne Tint • Judith Wooldridge

($1.00 - $49.99)

Bill Burrison • Timothy P. Carey • John & Alberta Chiaravalloti John D'Alonzo • Stephen Duskin • Gertrude D. Furman

Baylor Harton • Jean R. Haskell • Suzanne Inman Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson • Moe & Sandy Lebo • Michael Lefkoe

Antonio Merenda • Lee Saldinger • Marc Scheiner & Jonathan Hamm • Lois Shestack

Bertram & Lynne Strieb • Michael Zuckerman

Tina Brock (The Durang Shebang! Director, IRC Producing Artistic Director) is a founder of the IRC. Directing projects: Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Franz Kafka’s The Castle; Charles Mee’s Paradise Park; Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Nikolai Gogol’s Marriage: An Utterly Improbable Occurrence in Two Acts; Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux's The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, The Lesson, Frenzy for Two, Foursome, The Leader and Victims of Duty; Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, and Come and Go; Edward Albee's The Sandbox; Harold Pinter’s Trouble in the Works; Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Desire Desire Desire, A Stye of the Eye and The Actor’s Nightmare, and Tennessee Williams' The Gnädiges Fraulein. Prior to founding the IRC, she worked in the development, public information and fundraising departments at PBS/NPR affiliate WHYY-TV12/91FM, and as a freelance associate producer and writer on A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman. Tina lectured this year at Yale University’s Slavic Languages and Literatures Department on the direction and staging of the IRC’s production of Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia. Season #8 is dedicated to the IRC’s stalwart ensemble for their talent and dedication, and to the IRC's board of advisors and directors for helping to Bring Good Nothingness to Life. Mark Williams (Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator) is a Design/Technical Theatre, and Radio/Television/Film major at Rowan University. He’s absolutely thrilled to be working with the IRC again, and will be Stage Managing Rhinoceros with the IRC this coming Fall. Mark would like to thank his mentors over the years, his family, and all of the IRC.

MUSIC

Canker Sores and Other Distractions The Girl from Ipanema by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Performed by Astrud Gilberto (Getz/Gilberto)

Kitty the Waitress Mr. Jones by David Byrne

Performed by The Talking Heads (Naked)

Her Majesty by John Lennon & Paul McCartney Perfomed by The Beatles (Abbey Road)

The Durang Shebang! Five Short Works by Christopher Durang

Mrs. Sorken

Mrs. Sorken…………………………………Sharon Geller

Canker Sores and Other Distractions Hostess………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Prunella…………………………………….…Sonja Robson Martin………………………………………….Nick Santoro Midge…………………………………………..Sarah Knittel

Kitty the Waitress Hostess………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Mr. O’Brien………………………….……….Bob Schmidt Kitty………………………………………….…Heather Cole Waiter/Veterinarian..………….……..Andrew Carroll Veronique…………………..………………..Sarah Knittel

Diversions Man………….………………………….……….Bob Schmidt Nun…...………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Aloysious Kain………….…….………….Andrew Carroll Policeman 1…………...………….…………David Stanger Hysteria…………...……………….………….Heather Cole Policeman 2…………...………….…………..Tomas Dura Judge………………….…………………………Ethan Lipkin Clerk………….…………………………………….Lee Pucklis Deborah Kain………………………………Kristen Norine Prosecuting Attorney………….…………David Stanger

DMV Tyrant Customer……………………….….…………David Stanger DMV Lady……….……………….…………Kristen Norine

The Durang Shebang! is presented by special arrangement

with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York

Running time is approximately 70 minutes, depending on how funny the show is.

This is an audience friendly show, feel free to order beverages during the performance.

The Durang Shebang! Five Short Works by Christopher Durang

Direction/Sound/Music by Tina Brock

Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator

Mark Williams

Photoshop Magic Bill Brock

Program Design Bob Schmidt

(continued from inside front cover) Thank you for contributing your time and effort to our small and mighty endeavor. Absurdist works, once considered strange, difficult to understand, bizarre -- are looking less so given a world driven by technology, a global community where each day presents some new astonishment. Absurd has become the new normal. So let’s tip our hats to the metaphysical farce of Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Christopher Durang on the L’Etage stage tonight -- one that’s roughly the size of the Paris theater in which Ionesco’s play The Bald Soprano has been in continuous performance since 1957, making it one of the longest continuously running theater productions in the world. Pass the torch to your friends and neighbors who agree with Ionesco’s quote that sums up the IRC philosophy, “It’s not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

Tina Brock Producing Artistic Director

Bob Schmidt (Mr. O’Brien in Kitty, Man in Diversions) is a founding member of the IRC and has appeared in many productions since the company's founding in 2006: Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine, Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Alistair Beaton’s translation of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, Victims of Duty, The Leader, and Foursome;

Christopher Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, Wanda's Visit, Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe, and numerous Raw Onions. Many thanks to the cast and crew (by crew, I mean Mark) for donating their time and talent to make this whole shebang possible, and to you for supporting The IRC!

David Stanger (Policeman 1, Henry in Diversions, Customer in DMV Tyrant) feels wonderful to be stuffed into this clown car of brilliance and equally pleased to be with the IRC again, having most recently performed as 'K' in Franz Kafka's The Castle at last year's Fringe Festival. Also with the IRC: Ivona, Princess of Burgundia (Prince Philip) and Marriage (Kochkaryov). Elsewhere in Philadelphia: A Christmas Carol at The Walnut, How to Disappear Completely... with Luna Theater

Company, and Waiting for Godot and Much Ado About Nothing with Amaryllis Theater Company. You may also have seen (or rather heard) him from his work as a voiceover artist both over the airwaves and on the interwebs. Check out www.davidstangervo.com for more info! Look for him next in all his pachydermal glory in this Fringe's Rhinoceros. Thanks to Tina and my fellow clowns. For Kristen - the DMV Tyrant of my heart.

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors

Susan Feagin - President Tina Brock - Vice President

Alyson Filippone, CPA - Treasurer Bill Brock

Kirsten Quinn Bob Schmidt

Advisory Committee Ken Berman, Esq., Legal Consultant

Gail Furman Robin Rodriguez

Earl Wilcox

Lee Pucklis (Clerk in Diversions) has appeared in the IRC's The Arsonists, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Gnädiges Fraulein, The Chairs, Victim's of Duty and several Raw Onions. He has acted and produced on and off Broadway, in regional and stock theatre, film and TV. His formal training came from Meisner, Strasberg, LeGallienne, and Lortel. Additional NY theatre work includes the general management and stage and production management functions at Lucille Lortel Productions, The Actors

Studio, Union Square Theatre, American Place Theatre, and Circle Rep. Lee is a past member of the NY League of Theatre Producers, and also a former theatre program auditor for the New York State Council on the Arts.

Sonja Robson (Prunella in Canker Sores) was born in New York and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. She has been performing both on stage and film since 1990. She received her BFA in Acting from The University of The Arts. She has worked at many local theatres, including The Wilma, New City Stage, The Walnut and The Lantern. In 1998 she received a Supporting Actress Barrymore nomination for her role in The Lover/A kind of Alaska at The Walnut, and she has also been seen in numerous local and national commercials. Sonja was last seen in IRC's

The Castle. Other recent roles include Hildegarde in Why torture is wrong and the people who love them at New City Stage, Arina Panteleimonovna in Marriage, Mugg in IRC's Empire Builders and Madame Constance in Madwoman of Chaillot. She participated in the Raw Onion series, also with The IRC, 4 times in a row! She wishes to thank David and Ingrid for their patience, as always. Also, a lot of gratitude goes to Tina for casting me in such fun and interesting roles.

Nick Santoro (Martin in Canker Sores) is a native of Delaware and received his BFA in theatre from Carnegie-Mellon University. He is a member of Critical Mass Performance Group under the direction of Nancy Keystone developing new works; Apollo at Portland Center Stage, Ameryka at South Coast Rep and Alcestis at Boston Court. Commercials include Farmer's Insurance, Walgreens and Swiffer. Recent film credits include Argo and Sean Baker's Starlet which won the Robert Altman Independent Spirit

Award in 2013.

WHO’S WHO

CAST AND CREW Andrew Carroll (Waiter in Kitty, Aloysious in Diversions) is tickled pink to get to shebang Durang with these lovely IRC folks. You may have seen him in Ondine, or you may have not. Next up: Twelfth Night with Commonwealth Classic. Heather Cole (Kitty in Kitty, Hysteria in Diversions) loves performing with IRC, as the title role in Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Darling in Paradise Park, and in The Onion fundraiser. Heather is also a choreographer, director, dancer, and teaching artist, as well now a writer, co-writing and producing her first feature film Die Hipster Die, slated to come out later this summer. She will also be writing sketches for the show Rock on Philly on channel 44.

Tomas Dura (Policeman 2 in Diversions) has toured Europe, Canada and the U.S. and has appeared in film, video and television. He is best known as a flamenco dancer in addition to being an actor, musician and fire eater. He worked with the great flamenco dancer, Jose Greco, for 8 years, frequently serving as assistant during Mr. Greco's last years. He dances in the movie, Cafe, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and has worked in the films Smoke and Mirrors (director K. Hardy), Loneliness (director M. Zubarev) and About Angels (Zubarev). In 2007

Tomas performed solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra to a sold out house at the Kimmel Center in his own choreography of the Spanish Dance from Swan Lake. Tomas has collaborated with artists like Flameno Ole, Kei Takei's Moving Earth and the Wilma Theater. He is the director and lead male dancer of Fiesta Flamenco Dancers and is choreographer in residence with the Amici Opera Co. He teaches flamenco dance classes in grade schools, high schools, colleges and public community centers. Tomas has previously appeared with IRC in Ohio Impromptu, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Empire Builders, The Arsonists, Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park and The Castle.

Sharon Geller (Mrs. Sorken in Mrs. Sorken) has appeared on Saturday Night Live 4 times as well as on the Today Show with Al Roker as "Lucy". In 2007, she won the Manhattan Monologue Slam for presenting the best monologue in NYC. Her many voices can be heard on The Centsables, a children’s cartoon series on FOX, and 2 commercials in which she was the sole principal received the National Telly Award and the Addy Award. Sharon can frequently be found on QVC selling gifts and novelties and monthly

at L'Etage as Brett Somers in The Match Game with The Waitstaff comedy troupe. In addition to teaching comedy improv at the Walnut Street Theatre and Improv for Lawyers at Drexel Law School, Sharon creates corporate programs on how to communicate more effectively and CLE programs for the ABA and PBI. Her musical improv troupe, MC Hammerstein, was the first house team to perform at People's Improv Theatre in NYC and she recently returned from Israel where she taught a workshop for Tel Aviv Improv. Sharon is thrilled to be working with Tina again and performing for the IRC. www.sharongeller.com

Sarah Knittel (Midge in Canker Sores, Veronique in Kitty) is a local actress, teaching artist, improviser, and a goddess worshipped by many. She has had the pleasure of working with the IRC playing Bertha in Ondine directed by Aaron Cromie. She has also worked with Hella Fresh Theater, Smokey Scout Productions, White Pines Productions, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, and the Phenomenal Animals. She is a member of Bright Invention, White Pines' long form improv team,

Philadelphia Improv Theater's StoryUP!, and the newest addition to the N Crowd. NYU TISCH BFA. Thanks to Tina, Bob, the IRC, and the cast of Shebang!

Ethan Lipkin (Judge in Diversions) is glad to be back with the IRC, where he has previously appeared in productions of Ondine, The Castle, The Arsonists, Marriage, The Madwoman of Chaillot and A Streetcar Named Durang. He has also performed locally with the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, New City Stage, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Luna Theater, Vagabond Acting Troupe, The Walking Fish, and has been featured in works by Beckett, Chekhov, Mamet and Williams as well as

many original works by local writers. Look for him this September in the IRC’s production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros .

Jennifer MacMillan (Hostess in Canker Sores, Hostess in Kitty, Nun in Diversions) is a professional actor, director, playwright, and theater educator. She holds a BFA in Acting from the University of the Arts where she is also a Lecturer. Jennifer is the Artistic Director of Bright Invention, the resident ensemble at White Pines Productions, as well as the Director of Education Programming at The White Pines Place, and is a private acting coach. A founding member of the Slightly Awkward Peep

Show Storytelling Collective, Jennifer’s storytelling work, twice produced by Quince Productions, received a four star review at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Jennifer’s acting credits include commercials, independent films, and theatre; recent favorite acting credits include Trish Tinkler Gets Saved with Theater Exile, The Exit Interview with InterAct Theater Company, the world premier of Raw Stitch for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, House of Blue Leaves with Isis Productions, and How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found with Luna Theater Company. Recent directorial credits include Superheroes Who Are Super for Saves the Day Productions, The Melting of Kim Banks for Parallax Theater Company, Ballad Boys for Aspire Arts, and The Importance of Being Earnest and Naked Will for the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theater Festival. A.D credits include Man from Nebraska for People’s Light and Theater Company under the direction of Ken Marini, which garnered a Barrymore nomination for Best Play. Jennifer's first play (co-authored with noted Philadelphia Playwright Jackie Goldfinger) Enter Bogart... won the 2014 National Playscripts Competition Call for One-Act Comedies. This fall she will team up with celebrated Philadelphia playwright Jeremy Gable on the creation of a one-woman children's theater production for Plays and Players Theater Company. Many thanks to Tina and the IRC family, and much love to Andrew, Peanut, Wobbles and Quinny.

Kristen Norine (Deborah in Diversions, DMV Lady in DMV Tyrant) is a graduate of UArts with a BFA in Musical Theater. She has worked with The Simpatico Theatre Project, The Arden Theatre Company, Plays and Players Theatre, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Aspire Arts Inc, Forearmed Productions, the Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Random Acts of Theatre, The Hear Again Radio Project, is a founding member of the Long Form Improv group, Bright Invention, with

White Pine Productions, and was part of the Barrymore nominated ensemble of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Devon Theatre. This summer Kristen will be performing in Chris Braak's Empress of the Moon, making its debut at the Capital Fringe Festival. All my love to David.

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium presents

EugÈne Ionesco’s

Rhinoceros

“An allegory for our times.” -- The New York Times

“Its satirical humor, combined with its provocative theme and

surprisingly moving ending, results in an evening that is strange, disturbing and arresting.”

-- New York Post

Philadelphia FringeArts Festival September 2014

The Skybox @ The Adrienne

Join the Herd! Follow Rhinoceros on Facebook at:

www.facebook.com/RhinocerosThePlay

www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium presents

EugÈne Ionesco’s

Rhinoceros

“An allegory for our times.” -- The New York Times

“Its satirical humor, combined with its provocative theme and

surprisingly moving ending, results in an evening that is strange, disturbing and arresting.”

-- New York Post

Philadelphia FringeArts Festival September 2014

The Skybox @ The Adrienne

Join the Herd! Follow Rhinoceros on Facebook at:

www.facebook.com/RhinocerosThePlay

www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org

 

Plannerzone helps businesses see things from a customer’s perspective.  For over 20 years, our unique approach to market 

research has helped our clients make more informed decisions about marketing, products and distribution. 

  

Direct clients include: 3M, Aflac, Ameriprise, Nestlé, and Proctor & Gamble. 

  

Are you as curious as we are? Email Hey@Plannerzone.com 

  

Plannerzone is proud to sponsor The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium 

  

 

Plannerzone helps businesses see things from a customer’s perspective.  For over 20 years, our unique approach to market 

research has helped our clients make more informed decisions about marketing, products and distribution. 

  

Direct clients include: 3M, Aflac, Ameriprise, Nestlé, and Proctor & Gamble. 

  

Are you as curious as we are? Email Hey@Plannerzone.com 

  

Plannerzone is proud to sponsor The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium 

  

Sharon Geller (Mrs. Sorken in Mrs. Sorken) has appeared on Saturday Night Live 4 times as well as on the Today Show with Al Roker as "Lucy". In 2007, she won the Manhattan Monologue Slam for presenting the best monologue in NYC. Her many voices can be heard on The Centsables, a children’s cartoon series on FOX, and 2 commercials in which she was the sole principal received the National Telly Award and the Addy Award. Sharon can frequently be found on QVC selling gifts and novelties and monthly

at L'Etage as Brett Somers in The Match Game with The Waitstaff comedy troupe. In addition to teaching comedy improv at the Walnut Street Theatre and Improv for Lawyers at Drexel Law School, Sharon creates corporate programs on how to communicate more effectively and CLE programs for the ABA and PBI. Her musical improv troupe, MC Hammerstein, was the first house team to perform at People's Improv Theatre in NYC and she recently returned from Israel where she taught a workshop for Tel Aviv Improv. Sharon is thrilled to be working with Tina again and performing for the IRC. www.sharongeller.com

Sarah Knittel (Midge in Canker Sores, Veronique in Kitty) is a local actress, teaching artist, improviser, and a goddess worshipped by many. She has had the pleasure of working with the IRC playing Bertha in Ondine directed by Aaron Cromie. She has also worked with Hella Fresh Theater, Smokey Scout Productions, White Pines Productions, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, and the Phenomenal Animals. She is a member of Bright Invention, White Pines' long form improv team,

Philadelphia Improv Theater's StoryUP!, and the newest addition to the N Crowd. NYU TISCH BFA. Thanks to Tina, Bob, the IRC, and the cast of Shebang!

Ethan Lipkin (Judge in Diversions) is glad to be back with the IRC, where he has previously appeared in productions of Ondine, The Castle, The Arsonists, Marriage, The Madwoman of Chaillot and A Streetcar Named Durang. He has also performed locally with the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, New City Stage, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Luna Theater, Vagabond Acting Troupe, The Walking Fish, and has been featured in works by Beckett, Chekhov, Mamet and Williams as well as

many original works by local writers. Look for him this September in the IRC’s production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros .

Jennifer MacMillan (Hostess in Canker Sores, Hostess in Kitty, Nun in Diversions) is a professional actor, director, playwright, and theater educator. She holds a BFA in Acting from the University of the Arts where she is also a Lecturer. Jennifer is the Artistic Director of Bright Invention, the resident ensemble at White Pines Productions, as well as the Director of Education Programming at The White Pines Place, and is a private acting coach. A founding member of the Slightly Awkward Peep

Show Storytelling Collective, Jennifer’s storytelling work, twice produced by Quince Productions, received a four star review at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Jennifer’s acting credits include commercials, independent films, and theatre; recent favorite acting credits include Trish Tinkler Gets Saved with Theater Exile, The Exit Interview with InterAct Theater Company, the world premier of Raw Stitch for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, House of Blue Leaves with Isis Productions, and How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found with Luna Theater Company. Recent directorial credits include Superheroes Who Are Super for Saves the Day Productions, The Melting of Kim Banks for Parallax Theater Company, Ballad Boys for Aspire Arts, and The Importance of Being Earnest and Naked Will for the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theater Festival. A.D credits include Man from Nebraska for People’s Light and Theater Company under the direction of Ken Marini, which garnered a Barrymore nomination for Best Play. Jennifer's first play (co-authored with noted Philadelphia Playwright Jackie Goldfinger) Enter Bogart... won the 2014 National Playscripts Competition Call for One-Act Comedies. This fall she will team up with celebrated Philadelphia playwright Jeremy Gable on the creation of a one-woman children's theater production for Plays and Players Theater Company. Many thanks to Tina and the IRC family, and much love to Andrew, Peanut, Wobbles and Quinny.

Kristen Norine (Deborah in Diversions, DMV Lady in DMV Tyrant) is a graduate of UArts with a BFA in Musical Theater. She has worked with The Simpatico Theatre Project, The Arden Theatre Company, Plays and Players Theatre, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Aspire Arts Inc, Forearmed Productions, the Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Random Acts of Theatre, The Hear Again Radio Project, is a founding member of the Long Form Improv group, Bright Invention, with

White Pine Productions, and was part of the Barrymore nominated ensemble of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Devon Theatre. This summer Kristen will be performing in Chris Braak's Empress of the Moon, making its debut at the Capital Fringe Festival. All my love to David.

Lee Pucklis (Clerk in Diversions) has appeared in the IRC's The Arsonists, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Gnädiges Fraulein, The Chairs, Victim's of Duty and several Raw Onions. He has acted and produced on and off Broadway, in regional and stock theatre, film and TV. His formal training came from Meisner, Strasberg, LeGallienne, and Lortel. Additional NY theatre work includes the general management and stage and production management functions at Lucille Lortel Productions, The Actors

Studio, Union Square Theatre, American Place Theatre, and Circle Rep. Lee is a past member of the NY League of Theatre Producers, and also a former theatre program auditor for the New York State Council on the Arts.

Sonja Robson (Prunella in Canker Sores) was born in New York and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. She has been performing both on stage and film since 1990. She received her BFA in Acting from The University of The Arts. She has worked at many local theatres, including The Wilma, New City Stage, The Walnut and The Lantern. In 1998 she received a Supporting Actress Barrymore nomination for her role in The Lover/A kind of Alaska at The Walnut, and she has also been seen in numerous local and national commercials. Sonja was last seen in IRC's

The Castle. Other recent roles include Hildegarde in Why torture is wrong and the people who love them at New City Stage, Arina Panteleimonovna in Marriage, Mugg in IRC's Empire Builders and Madame Constance in Madwoman of Chaillot. She participated in the Raw Onion series, also with The IRC, 4 times in a row! She wishes to thank David and Ingrid for their patience, as always. Also, a lot of gratitude goes to Tina for casting me in such fun and interesting roles.

Nick Santoro (Martin in Canker Sores) is a native of Delaware and received his BFA in theatre from Carnegie-Mellon University. He is a member of Critical Mass Performance Group under the direction of Nancy Keystone developing new works; Apollo at Portland Center Stage, Ameryka at South Coast Rep and Alcestis at Boston Court. Commercials include Farmer's Insurance, Walgreens and Swiffer. Recent film credits include Argo and Sean Baker's Starlet which won the Robert Altman Independent Spirit

Award in 2013.

WHO’S WHO

CAST AND CREW Andrew Carroll (Waiter in Kitty, Aloysious in Diversions) is tickled pink to get to shebang Durang with these lovely IRC folks. You may have seen him in Ondine, or you may have not. Next up: Twelfth Night with Commonwealth Classic. Heather Cole (Kitty in Kitty, Hysteria in Diversions) loves performing with IRC, as the title role in Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Darling in Paradise Park, and in The Onion fundraiser. Heather is also a choreographer, director, dancer, and teaching artist, as well now a writer, co-writing and producing her first feature film Die Hipster Die, slated to come out later this summer. She will also be writing sketches for the show Rock on Philly on channel 44.

Tomas Dura (Policeman 2 in Diversions) has toured Europe, Canada and the U.S. and has appeared in film, video and television. He is best known as a flamenco dancer in addition to being an actor, musician and fire eater. He worked with the great flamenco dancer, Jose Greco, for 8 years, frequently serving as assistant during Mr. Greco's last years. He dances in the movie, Cafe, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and has worked in the films Smoke and Mirrors (director K. Hardy), Loneliness (director M. Zubarev) and About Angels (Zubarev). In 2007

Tomas performed solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra to a sold out house at the Kimmel Center in his own choreography of the Spanish Dance from Swan Lake. Tomas has collaborated with artists like Flameno Ole, Kei Takei's Moving Earth and the Wilma Theater. He is the director and lead male dancer of Fiesta Flamenco Dancers and is choreographer in residence with the Amici Opera Co. He teaches flamenco dance classes in grade schools, high schools, colleges and public community centers. Tomas has previously appeared with IRC in Ohio Impromptu, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Empire Builders, The Arsonists, Marriage, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, Paradise Park and The Castle.

The Durang Shebang! Five Short Works by Christopher Durang

Direction/Sound/Music by Tina Brock

Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator

Mark Williams

Photoshop Magic Bill Brock

Program Design Bob Schmidt

(continued from inside front cover) Thank you for contributing your time and effort to our small and mighty endeavor. Absurdist works, once considered strange, difficult to understand, bizarre -- are looking less so given a world driven by technology, a global community where each day presents some new astonishment. Absurd has become the new normal. So let’s tip our hats to the metaphysical farce of Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Christopher Durang on the L’Etage stage tonight -- one that’s roughly the size of the Paris theater in which Ionesco’s play The Bald Soprano has been in continuous performance since 1957, making it one of the longest continuously running theater productions in the world. Pass the torch to your friends and neighbors who agree with Ionesco’s quote that sums up the IRC philosophy, “It’s not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

Tina Brock Producing Artistic Director

Bob Schmidt (Mr. O’Brien in Kitty, Man in Diversions) is a founding member of the IRC and has appeared in many productions since the company's founding in 2006: Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine, Charles Mee’s Paradise Park, Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Alistair Beaton’s translation of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, Victims of Duty, The Leader, and Foursome;

Christopher Durang's The Actor's Nightmare, Wanda's Visit, Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe, and numerous Raw Onions. Many thanks to the cast and crew (by crew, I mean Mark) for donating their time and talent to make this whole shebang possible, and to you for supporting The IRC!

David Stanger (Policeman 1, Henry in Diversions, Customer in DMV Tyrant) feels wonderful to be stuffed into this clown car of brilliance and equally pleased to be with the IRC again, having most recently performed as 'K' in Franz Kafka's The Castle at last year's Fringe Festival. Also with the IRC: Ivona, Princess of Burgundia (Prince Philip) and Marriage (Kochkaryov). Elsewhere in Philadelphia: A Christmas Carol at The Walnut, How to Disappear Completely... with Luna Theater

Company, and Waiting for Godot and Much Ado About Nothing with Amaryllis Theater Company. You may also have seen (or rather heard) him from his work as a voiceover artist both over the airwaves and on the interwebs. Check out www.davidstangervo.com for more info! Look for him next in all his pachydermal glory in this Fringe's Rhinoceros. Thanks to Tina and my fellow clowns. For Kristen - the DMV Tyrant of my heart.

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium Board of Directors

Susan Feagin - President Tina Brock - Vice President

Alyson Filippone, CPA - Treasurer Bill Brock

Kirsten Quinn Bob Schmidt

Advisory Committee Ken Berman, Esq., Legal Consultant

Gail Furman Robin Rodriguez

Earl Wilcox

Tina Brock (The Durang Shebang! Director, IRC Producing Artistic Director) is a founder of the IRC. Directing projects: Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Franz Kafka’s The Castle; Charles Mee’s Paradise Park; Witold Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia; Nikolai Gogol’s Marriage: An Utterly Improbable Occurrence in Two Acts; Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders, Jean Giraudoux's The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs, The Lesson, Frenzy for Two, Foursome, The Leader and Victims of Duty; Samuel Beckett's Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, and Come and Go; Edward Albee's The Sandbox; Harold Pinter’s Trouble in the Works; Christopher Durang’s Wanda’s Visit, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Desire Desire Desire, A Stye of the Eye and The Actor’s Nightmare, and Tennessee Williams' The Gnädiges Fraulein. Prior to founding the IRC, she worked in the development, public information and fundraising departments at PBS/NPR affiliate WHYY-TV12/91FM, and as a freelance associate producer and writer on A Chef's Table with Jim Coleman. Tina lectured this year at Yale University’s Slavic Languages and Literatures Department on the direction and staging of the IRC’s production of Gombrowicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgundia. Season #8 is dedicated to the IRC’s stalwart ensemble for their talent and dedication, and to the IRC's board of advisors and directors for helping to Bring Good Nothingness to Life. Mark Williams (Stage Manager/Light and Sound Operator) is a Design/Technical Theatre, and Radio/Television/Film major at Rowan University. He’s absolutely thrilled to be working with the IRC again, and will be Stage Managing Rhinoceros with the IRC this coming Fall. Mark would like to thank his mentors over the years, his family, and all of the IRC.

MUSIC

Canker Sores and Other Distractions The Girl from Ipanema by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Performed by Astrud Gilberto (Getz/Gilberto)

Kitty the Waitress Mr. Jones by David Byrne

Performed by The Talking Heads (Naked)

Her Majesty by John Lennon & Paul McCartney Perfomed by The Beatles (Abbey Road)

The Durang Shebang! Five Short Works by Christopher Durang

Mrs. Sorken

Mrs. Sorken…………………………………Sharon Geller

Canker Sores and Other Distractions Hostess………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Prunella…………………………………….…Sonja Robson Martin………………………………………….Nick Santoro Midge…………………………………………..Sarah Knittel

Kitty the Waitress Hostess………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Mr. O’Brien………………………….……….Bob Schmidt Kitty………………………………………….…Heather Cole Waiter/Veterinarian..………….……..Andrew Carroll Veronique…………………..………………..Sarah Knittel

Diversions Man………….………………………….……….Bob Schmidt Nun…...………………………………Jennifer MacMilllan Aloysious Kain………….…….………….Andrew Carroll Policeman 1…………...………….…………David Stanger Hysteria…………...……………….………….Heather Cole Policeman 2…………...………….…………..Tomas Dura Judge………………….…………………………Ethan Lipkin Clerk………….…………………………………….Lee Pucklis Deborah Kain………………………………Kristen Norine Prosecuting Attorney………….…………David Stanger

DMV Tyrant Customer……………………….….…………David Stanger DMV Lady……….……………….…………Kristen Norine

The Durang Shebang! is presented by special arrangement

with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York

Running time is approximately 70 minutes, depending on how funny the show is.

This is an audience friendly show, feel free to order beverages during the performance.

May 18, 2014

Greetings!

May 2014 marks 7 years of the IRC’s Bringing Good Nothingness to Life: presenting writers from around the globe whose plays feature absurd, existential theatrics. The IRC’s first two seasons were played in this venue, and it’s here that we found our voice and developed the beginnings of a faithful audience who has followed and supported our journey since.

This evening’s early career plays by Christopher Durang seemed a proper tribute, featuring characters you will recognize, brought to life by faces you have laughed with before -- a group of energetic, talented performers, who know how to interpret this material. One of the greatest joys has been to set the artistic bar very high and to watch this little company reach for and grasp the artistic ring much of the time, despite very limited financial resources.

Tonight all proceeds will support the IRC’s production of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros for FringeArts 2014. When we say all, we mean literally: producing two shows a year, over 60% of our support comes from individual supporters, who value the special care and artistry we bring to our productions. Our $73,000 two show budget supports the performers, designers, rehearsal space and communication with our audience. Nothing more in the budget, nothing less than the best we can bring to the stage. It’s pretty simple and not so easy to accomplish.

Ionesco’s wildly innovative plays (Rhinoceros, The Bald Soprano and The Chairs) overturned conventions of contemporary theater. Called the “Shakespeare of the Absurd,” the “Enfant Terrible of the Avant-Garde,” and the “Inventor of the Metaphysical Farce” Ionesco saw himself as a preserver of theater, a classicist and "a supreme realist." His belief was that the aim of avant-garde theater should be to rediscover -- not invent -- the permanent forms and forgotten ideals of the theater in their purest state.

In Ionesco’s 1958 farce, Rhinoceros, an entire population grows horns and thick skins, trampling flowers, crushing staircases and decimating the town. A contagious epidemic spreads, collective hysteria ensues, and a serious collective disease is passed off as ideology. A hilarious and cautionary story for our time, the play warns against totalitarianism and the destructive power of the collective. Themes of intellect versus instinct, responsibility to community, individual versus the group are what we will be exploring in our September 2014 LiveArts production. Critics called the 1960 Paris Rhinoceros premiere a “masterpiece.”

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IRC 2014 season supporters:

($1000.00 and above) Wyncote Foundation

The Samuel S. Fels Fund The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance The Philadelphia Cultural Fund

The Charlotte Cushman Foundation CHG Charitable Trust

Plannerzone – Earl Wilcox

($250.00 - $499.99) A. Ron Hunter • Microsoft Corporation • ChristaWilliford

($100.00 - $249.99)

Philip Alperson & Mary Hawkesworth • Fred Allen Barfoot Pat & Stacey Bishop • Robert & Donna Castle • Gail Furman

Jeanne George • Shelley Green & Michael Golden Bob & Nancy Megley • Bill & Vikki Monaghan • CliffordPearlman

Steven Peitzman • Kirsten Quinn & Ari Benjamin Bank L. Gerald Rigby • Askold Zagars & Marie Feehan

($50.00 - $99.99)

Brian & Miriam Boland • Jesse Delaney • Norman & Carolyn Ellman Harvey & Mary Goldstein • Marguerite Hawkins • Michael Lynch

Rose O'Brien & Jim Devine • Stephen Platt & Robin Schaufler Robin & Joseph Rodriguez • David & Lisa Roger • Bob & Pat Schmidt

Leo & Barbara Sewell • John & Penny Stanger Dr. Stephen & Mrs. Johnne Tint • Judith Wooldridge

($1.00 - $49.99)

Bill Burrison • Timothy P. Carey • John & Alberta Chiaravalloti John D'Alonzo • Stephen Duskin • Gertrude D. Furman

Baylor Harton • Jean R. Haskell • Suzanne Inman Fred Jackes & Judy Adamson • Moe & Sandy Lebo • Michael Lefkoe

Antonio Merenda • Lee Saldinger • Marc Scheiner & Jonathan Hamm • Lois Shestack

Bertram & Lynne Strieb • Michael Zuckerman

MERCI Leslie & the Staff of L’Etage Jim Caiola & David Salama

Erica Hoelscher/Lehigh University Department of Theatre

Andrew Carroll Heather Cole Tomas Dura

Sharon Geller Sarah Knittel Ethan Lipkin

Jennifer MacMilllan Kristen Norine

Lee Pucklis Sonja Robson Nick Santoro David Stanger

Mark Willliams

The IRC’s 2014 season is made possible in part by generous grants from Wyncote Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund;

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the

National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency with support also provided by PECO and administered regionally by the Greater

Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; CHG Charitable Trust; and Plannerzone.

P. O. Box 63872 Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium.org