<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size:large;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">“Book Club is like <u>Lord
of the Flies</u> with wine and dip.”</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><br></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size:large;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size:26pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">THE BOOK CLUB PLAY</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size:large;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:26pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Opens at Actors’ Summit</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-size:large;margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:26pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">with stellar cast.</span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-indent:0.5in"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Actors’
Summit, Akron’s professional theater, announces the opening of <i>THE BOOK CLUB PLAY</i> by Karen
Zacarias. The comedy marks another
regional premiere for Akron’s professional theater.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-indent:0.5in"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The
show will have a preview performance on February 26 with the official opening
on Friday night, February 27. <i>THE BOOK CLUB PLAY</i> is currently
scheduled for a 12 performance run, closing on March 15. Performances are given Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday nights at 8:00 P.M. and Sundays at 2 PM, and take place at Greystone
Hall, in downtown Akron. The show is
appropriate for all ages. A free dessert
reception with the cast follows the opening night performance on Friday, February
27.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The Cast</span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Of the
six cast members, five are members of the Actors’ Summit company, and have
performed a total of 76 roles. Danea Rhodes
is making her Actors’ Summit debut.</span></p>
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<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">
Rachel Gehlert </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">(Jennifer) is happy to return to Actors' Summit stage, where
she previously played Samantha in Eric Coble’s world premiere of <i>The Girls
Guide to Coffee</i>. Most recently, she
appeared in <i>Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)</i> at
Weathervane Playhouse. Additional Stage
Credits: <i>Tigers Be Still</i>
(Dobama), <i>The Farndale Avenue House Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic
Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol </i>(Weathervane), <i>The Man Who
Came To Dinner, You Can't Take it With You, Pipe, God's Favorite, Top Girls</i>. Rachel previously served as Educational
Director for Israel Horowitz's Gloucester Stage Company. Rachel holds her undergraduate degree in
Photography and English from Fordham University. </span></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></b></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">
Sally Groth</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> (Anna) has performed in over 30 productions at Actors’
Summit, most recently on our stage in <i>Photograph 51</i>. Other local credits: Cleveland PublicTheater
(<i>Ancestra, Rusted Heart Broadcast, The Book of Grace</i>), Beck Center (<i>The
Underpants</i>), Dobama Theater (A<i> Civil War Christmas</i>), Ensemble
Theater (Louisa) and Porthouse Theater (<i>Twelfth Night</i>). Regional/ NYC: Shakespeare Theatre in D.C. (<i>Macbeth,
Merchant of Venice</i>), the Denver Center Theater (<i>Beethoven’N’Pierrot</i>),
a national tour of <i>The Little Prince</i>, the <i>Hotkeys</i> series at Naked
Angels Theater. She has an MFA from the
University of South Carolina.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> <b>Bob
Keefe</b> (Alex) is a native Clevelander.
Chicago: Demetrius in <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i> (Pegasus
Players), <i>What the Butler Saw</i> (Theatre Shoppe), and <i>Where’s Charlie?
directed by Gary </i>Griffin (<i>Apple Tree</i>). He toured as Stanley in <i>A Bed Full of
Foreigners</i> (The Old Creamery Theatre).
Since returning to Cleveland a decade ago, Bob has appeared frequently
at Actors’ Summit, and occasionally at Cleveland Public Theatre, the Cleveland
Play House, Lakeland Theater, and in two long running improvisational shows at
Playhouse Square; <i>We Gotta Bingo</i>, and <i>Flanagan’s Wake</i>. His most recent stage work was at Dobama
Theatre in <i>A Civil War Christmas</i>.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> <b>Danéa Rhodes</b> (Lily) was born and
raised in Akron, OH. She is an alumna of
Miller South School, Firestone High School and Kent State University and is
working on her MBA at Indiana Wesleyan University. Most recently, she was seen in <i>Crazy Man</i>
(Regina) at Weathervane Playhouse. Danéa
works with the Docherty Agency, and has appeared for Goodyear, Rue 21, Comcast,
and others. </span></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></b></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">
Scott Shriner</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> (Will) last appeared at Actors' Summit in 2005's <i>The
Herbal Bed</i>. Locally, Scott is a
company member of Ohio Shakespeare Festival and a frequent performer at both
Weathervane Playhouse and Coach House Theatre.
Past productions include <i>Rabbit Hole</i> (Howie), <i>All My Sons</i>
(Chris), <i>Lend Me A Tenor</i> (Max), <i>Proof</i> (Hal), <i>Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf </i>(Nick), <i>Angels in America Part II</i> (Joe), <i>Noises
Off</i> (Garry), <i>Present Laughter</i> (Roland), <i>Othello</i> (Cassio) and <i>A
Midsummer Night's Dream</i> (Theseus). </span></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></b></p>
<p class=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">
Keith E. Stevens</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">* (Rob) is a graduate of The Actors Studio Drama School (MFA)
and Cleveland State (BA). Favorite AS
credits include: <i>MMLJWW, Manning Up,
Photograph 51, Freud’s Last Session, Proof, Macbeth</i> and <i>I Love a Piano</i>. NYC credits:
<i>The Snob</i> (Actors Studio), <i>Audience</i> (Brooklyn Playwright’s
Collective), <i>Fool for Love, The Honey Makers</i>, the world premiere of <i>2:51
</i>(all at Circle in the Square Downtown), <i>Deserters</i> (Bernie West
Theater), <i>Loader #26 </i>(Theater for a New City) and <i>Big Al </i>(ASDS). Keith is a lifetime member of the Actors
Studio and a proud company member at Actors’ Summit.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:windowtext">*Keith Stevens and Sally Groth are members
of Actors’ Equity.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:'Myriad Pro Cond',sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">“</span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Loads of laughter and literature collide in this smart comedy
about books and the people who love them.”</span></p>
<p class=""><i><span style="font-family:'Myriad Pro Cond',sans-serif;color:windowtext"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The Play </span></u></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.25in;text-indent:0.5in;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Ana
lives in a letter-perfect world with an adoring husband, the perfect job, and
her greatest passion: Book Club. But
when her cherished group becomes the focus of a documentary film, their
intimate discussions about life and literature take a turn for the hilarious in
front of the inescapable camera lens. Add
a provocative new member along with some surprising new books titles, and these
six friends are bound for pandemonium. A
delightful new play about life, love, literature, and the side-splitting
results when friends start reading between the lines.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.25in;text-indent:0.5in;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Karen
Zacarías comically explores the pervasive past time of book clubs that has
exploded in recent years, embraced by women, men, people from all demographics,
walks of life, political views, and interest areas. What makes them so popular? In the play, a “famous documentarian” is
tackling that very question by installing a camera in Ana’s living room to
record what goes on in her inner book club sanctum and unlock its secrets. Of course, under the inescapable eye of the
camera and this witty playwright’s pen, the stakes and comedy rise, and the
perfect book club goes haywire.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Tickets:</span></u></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-indent:0.5in"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Tickets
for <i>THE BOOK CLUB PLAY</i> are on sale
now through the box office at 330-374-7568 and online at
<a href="http://www.actorssummit.org">www.actorssummit.org</a>. Preview tickets (February
26) are $20. Tickets for all other
performances: $33 for adults, $28 for seniors over 65; and $10 for all full
time students under 30. Special
discounts are available for book clubs attending as a group.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><u><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The Theater:</span></u></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The
theater is located on the sixth floor of historic Greystone Hall in downtown
Akron. The facility features barrier free access and free parking. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">More
information is available at the Actors’ Summit website: <a href="http://www.actorssummit.org">www.actorssummit.org</a>.</span></p>
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