THE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE

PRESENTS
TRANCED
BY BOB CLYMAN
January 1 – February 3, 2008

WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION IS DIRECTED BY JESSICA KUBZANSKY

The Laguna Playhouse is pleased to present the World Premiere of Tranced by Bob Clyman, running January 1 through February 3, 2008 in The Playhouse’s Moulton Theatre in Laguna Beach. The production is directed by Jessica Kubzansky.

In this fast-paced, suspense-filled thriller by the author of The Laguna Playhouse hit drama, The Secret Order, an African graduate student (Azmera) comes to Dr. Philip Malaad, a respected psychiatrist and renowned specialist in clinical hypnosis, seeking relief from her panic attacks which began shortly after she observed a violent incident in her native country. After ‘trancing’ her, Dr. Malaad begins to suspect whatever she believes she witnessed may actually be concealing a repressed memory, one with profound consequences for many thousands of people unless someone quickly intervenes. Caught between his professional ethics and this large moral obligation, Malaad is soon pulled into a vortex of high-level political intrigue and forced to examine as never before the slippery nature of truth.

“It’s easier for me to write about mental health because I am a psychologist as well as a playwright. It gives me a leg up as far as authenticity,” notes Clyman. “I know about hypnotherapy, and I talked to a hypnotherapist who works in this manner. It’s not abracadabra. They sit across from you and create paradoxes which will alter your relationship with reality, and without knowing it you’ll be much more open to suggestion. And despite the serious subject there’s also a lot of humor in the play, although it’s all character based comedy. I don’t write laugh lines. You need good comic actors for this role, actors who understand rhythm and language, someone with an ear. You need the right person that understands how to capture the mood and maximize the comic pop. I do not write actor proof plays. I leave a tremendous amount of responsibility to directors and actors.”

Tranced features four Los Angeles-based actors: Eriza Tazel (Azmera), Thomas Fiscella (Dr. Philip Malaad), Ashley West Leonard (Beth, a journalist) and Andrew Norba (Logan, Director of African Affairs).

Bob Clyman’s plays have been performed Off-Broadway and at regional theaters, including The Laguna Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Company, Colony Studio Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theater, Playwrights Theater of New Jersey, and Philadelphia Festival Theater. Subsequent to its performance at Laguna Playhouse, his play Secret Order was recently produced at Merrimack Repertory Theatre and opened Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatre in November of 2007. He has also been awarded a number of national prizes, including a Eugene O’Neill Summer Conference Fellowship, New Jersey State Arts Council Award, Geraldine Dodge Fellowship, Berilla-Kerr Foundation Award, Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship, Djerassi Foundation Fellowship, Shenandoah Valley Playwrights Fellowship, Playwrights First Award and Theater in the Works Fellowship. He was a member of the Circle Rep Lab in New York, where four of his plays were produced.

Jessica Kubzansky is an award-winning director who was awarded the 2004 LA Drama Critics Circle Margaret Hanford Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatre. New works are a passion for Kubzansky, whose recent forays include: the world premiere and Ovation Award-winning production of Bryan Davidson's War Music for the Playwrights' Arena/Echo Theatre at LATC which went on to play at The Geffen Playhouse; the world premiere of Cold/Tender for The Theater @ Boston Court; the critically-acclaimed West Coast premiere of Sheila Callaghan's Kate Crackernuts at the 24th Street Theatre; the multiple award-winning Toys in the Attic at The Colony; and the award-winning new musical Moscow, by Nick Salamone. Kubzansky's work out of town includes Julia Cho's BFE for Portland Center Stage's JAW West Festival, David Gow's Bea's Niece for MetroStage in Washington, D.C., Pirates of Penzance for The Publick Theatre (Boston), Tony Kushner's The Illusion for the American Stage Co. (Florida), Twelfth Night for the Grand Canyon Shakespeare Festival (Arizona), and Macbeth at Greyfriars Kirkyard (Edinburgh). Kubzansky is blessed to indulge her wildly eclectic theatrical tastes in Southern California, with productions as diverse as Measure for Measure for A Noise Within, Amy's View (with Carol Lawrence and Susan Egan) as well as A Servant to Two Masters for International City Theatre, world premieres for the Mark Taper Forum New Works (plays by Diana Son, Paula Weston Solano, et al), Moon for the Misbegotten at the Laguna Playhouse, Wedekind/Peter Barnes' Lulu for Pacific Resident Theatre, Dancing at Lughansa for McCoy-Rigby/La Mirada, Vaclav Havel's The Memorandum for the Odyssey Theatre, The House of Blue Leaves for West Coast Ensemble, Heartbreak House for the Colony Theatre, Arthur Schnitzler's Anatol for the Buffalo Nights, the world premiere of Carol Wolf's The Thousandth Night (Monsieur Shaherazad) with Ron Campbell, which has played London's Old Red Lion and toured the world; and many more. Kubzansky and her productions have received numerous theatre honors, including the Scotsman's Fringe First, London Fringe, Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle, LA Weekly, Drama-Logue, Backstage West Garland, OC Weekly, and Robby Awards. Kubzansky has an M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts, a creative writing degree from Johns Hopkins University, was a V.U.S. at Harvard University, and teaches at UCLA.

TRANCED - Performance & Ticket Information:

Ticket Prices: $25 to $65

Previews:
Tuesday – Friday, January 1 – 4: 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 3: 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Regular Performances
January 6 – February 3, 2008
Tuesday – Saturday evenings: 8:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday matinees: 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 27: 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

FOR INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
CALL: 949.497.ARTS (2787) - GROUP SALES: 949.497.2787 ext. 229
www.LagunaPlayhouse.com

MOULTON THEATRE: 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California