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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>FOR:
Rabbit Run Community Arts Association<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">P. O. Box</st1:Street> 235</st1:address>,
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">49 Park St</st1:address></st1:Street>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Madison</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">OH</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">44057</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>CONTACT: Karen Ziegler, Director of
Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>
440-428-5913<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>DATE:
May 28, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>The Mystery of Charles Dickens </span></i>Opens at
Rabbit Run Theater<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-style:italic'>The Mystery of Charles Dickens </span></font></i><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>opens Friday, June 1, at Rabbit Run
Theater in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Madison</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>This production is the first of four
shows based on the works of Charles Dickens in a summer season dubbed <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>A Dickens of a Summer,</span></i> celebrating the 200<sup>th</sup>
birthday of this comic genius, literary giant and social reformer whose works
have never gone out of print.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;font-style:italic'>The
Mystery of Charles Dickens</span></font></i><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> by Peter Ackroyd<i><span
style='font-style:italic'> </span></i>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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:15.0pt'><font size=3 color=black
face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>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 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City></st1:place>
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. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:15.0pt'><font size=3 color=black
face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>"When
he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Ackroyd, in his
book, <em><i><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>Dickens: Public
Life and Private Passion.</span></font></i></em> "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."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Mark Cipra of Chardon portrays Dickens, a narrator and
nearly 50 of Dickens most loved characters. Cipra is a classically
trained actor (<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Circle-in-the-Square</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Theater</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType>)
and earned a BA in drama from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Yale</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
He has performed and directed in numerous theaters in Northeast Ohio including
the Fine Arts Association in <st1:City w:st="on">Willoughby</st1:City>, Geauga
Lyric Theatre Guild and Lakeland Civic Theatre as well as in <st1:City w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State></st1:place>.
Cipra has also performed with the Historic Gateway Neighborhood Association as
Mayor Tom Johnson of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City></st1:place>
(1901 through 1909).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Nancy Shimonek Brooks is directing <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>The Mystery of Charles Dickens</span></i>. </span></font><font
face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-family:Arial'>Brooks has a BFA in Acting
and Directing from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Kent</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. She taught
and directed in the Young Adult Theatre Program at The Fine Arts Association in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Willoughby</st1:City></st1:place> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;font-style:italic'>“The
Mystery of Charles Dickens</span></font></i><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>“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 <em><i><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>Oliver Twist</span></font></i></em>, <em><i><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>David Copperfield</span></font></i></em>,
or <em><i><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>Great Expectations</span></font></i></em>,
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.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;font-style:italic'>The
Mystery of Charles Dickens </span></font></i><font color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:black'>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 <a href="http://www.rabbitrunonline.org/"
title="blocked::http://www.rabbitrunonline.org/">www.rabbitrunonline.org</a> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Rabbit Run Theater is one of the few barn
theaters still in operation in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place>
and is located at <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">5648 W. Chapel
Rd.</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">Madison</st1:City></st1:address>.
Rabbit Run operates under the auspices of Rabbit Run Community Arts
Association, a comprehensive, non-profit fine arts association in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Madison</st1:City></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>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. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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