[NEohioPAL] The Mystery of Charles Dickens at Rabbit Run Theater

[Rabbit Run]

FOR:               Rabbit Run Community Arts Association

                        P. O. Box 235, 49 Park St.

                        Madison, OH  44057

 

CONTACT:    Karen Ziegler, Director of Marketing

                        440-428-5913

 

DATE:            May 28, 2012

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The Mystery of Charles Dickens Opens at Rabbit Run
Theater

 

The Mystery of Charles Dickens opens Friday, June 1, at Rabbit Run Theater
in Madison, Ohio.

 

This production is the first of four shows based on the works of Charles
Dickens in a summer season dubbed A Dickens of a Summer, celebrating the
200th birthday of this comic genius, literary giant and social reformer
whose works have never gone out of print.

 

The Mystery of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd sets the stage, so to speak,
for the summer season at Rabbit Run.  This one-man show gives a
retrospective look at Dickens' life starting from childhood through his
adult years, a life of both want and plenty that was the framework for many
of his fictional characters.

 

Dickens was born on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was
12, his father was sent to debtor's prison.  Dickens was forced to quit
school and work long hours in a London blacking factory, pasting labels on
bottles of shoe polish.  With next to no formal training Dickens began his
literary career, reworking his life experiences into his novels. 

"When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Ackroyd, in
his book, Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from
his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions,
grimaces, whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his
desk and write it down."

Mark Cipra of Chardon portrays Dickens, a narrator and nearly 50 of Dickens
most loved characters.  Cipra is a classically trained actor
(Circle-in-the-Square Theater School) and earned a BA in drama from Yale
University.   He has performed and directed in numerous theaters in
Northeast Ohio including the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, Geauga
Lyric Theatre Guild and Lakeland Civic Theatre as well as in Cleveland and
New York.  Cipra has also performed with the Historic Gateway Neighborhood
Association as Mayor Tom Johnson of Cleveland (1901 through 1909).

 

Nancy Shimonek Brooks is directing The Mystery of Charles Dickens.  Brooks
has a BFA in Acting and Directing from Kent State.  She taught and directed
in the Young Adult Theatre Program at The Fine Arts Association in
Willoughby for 12 years and has acted and directed in a number of area
theaters including Porthouse Theatre, Ohio Performing Arts Company, LEAP
Actors Company, Fine Arts Association, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre,
Lakeland Civic Theatre and Stagecrafters.

 

"The Mystery of Charles Dickens is a ninety-minute, one-man, tour-de-force
that offers a fascinating, narrative glimpse into the life and works of
Charles Dickens", says Brooks.

 

"This is going to be a unique theatrical experience because the audience
will be able to frame the rest of the season's productions in the context of
the author's life, which is a rare opportunity in theatre.  People who are
even a little bit familiar with Charles Dickens's stories, such as Oliver
Twist, David Copperfield, or Great Expectations, already know more about
Dickens than they may realize, because Dickens's own world is transformed
into his fiction.  So when audiences see performances at Rabbit Run this
summer, there will be lots of "Aha!" moments as they connect Dickens'
personal life to his stories." 

 

The Mystery of Charles Dickens opens Friday, June 1, with performances on
June 2, 3, 7, 8, 9.  All performances begin at 8 p.m.  Tickets are available
on line at www.rabbitrunonline.org <http://www.rabbitrunonline.org/>  or at
the box office. (440-428-7092), Wednesday through Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m.
Tickets are $19/adult and $17/senior, student.  For group ticket sales call
440-428-5913.

 

Rabbit Run Theater is one of the few barn theaters still in operation in
Ohio and is located at 5648 W. Chapel Rd., Madison.  Rabbit Run operates
under the auspices of Rabbit Run Community Arts Association, a
comprehensive, non-profit fine arts association in Madison.  

 

RRCAA receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, the Ohio
Humanities Council and the Lake Geauga Fund of the Cleveland Foundation.
Corporate and foundation sponsors include, ideastram, WCPN, the Behm Family
Foundation, Fredon Corporation, McDonald's Damon Morgan Corporation, Phoenix
Residential Centers, Inc. and Regal Vineyards.  

 

 

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