Horse Head Theatre Co. presents the Regional Premiere
The Judgement of Fools
By Bernardo Cubría
Directed by Philip Hays
October 25 - November 12, 2016
@ REC Room, 100 Jackson St., Houston 77002
Director Philip Hays and actor Brendon Duran discuss THE JUDGMENT OF FOOLS on Houston Public Media
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
|
Bernardo Cubría is thrilled to be returning to his hometown! He is a graduate of The University of Houston Theatre program where he and director Philip Hays once vowed to change theatre forever… you’re welcome. The Judgment of Fools was originally developed through Inviolet Theatre in NYC. It has has run at INTAR in NYC and at Ammunition Theatre Company in Los Angeles. His play The Redhead Is Coming was part of F*ckfest at The Brick Theatre in NYC and received workshops at The People’s Light and Theater in Malvern, PA and at The Fountain Theater in Los Angeles, CA. His latest play Neighbors was part of Crossing Borders at Two River Theatre in New Jersey and has been read at INTAR in NYC and at Ammunition Theatre Company in Los Angeles. He hosts the Theater Podcast: Off and On: A New York Theatre Podcast. He also acts sometimes for that info visit www.bernardocubria.com. Para mi abuelo Ito Tano que sigue contando chistes.
|
THE CAST:
|
Ronnie Blaine (FOOL 4) is elated to make his Horse Head Theatre Co. debut. Ronnie is a native Houstonian, graduate of The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) and The University of Houston School of Theatre. He has been performing, writing and directing in Houston for over 20 years. Highlights of his Houston theatre credits include: Full Bloom (Jesse), 1946 (Cpl. Frederick Fox) and Julius Caesar (Artemidorus) at Main Street Theatre; Quills (Asylum Guard/ Lunatic) and The Emperor's New Clothes (The General) at Stages Repertory Theatre; and Tamarie for President (Himself) and The University of Tamarie (The Imperial System) at The Catastrophic Theatre. Ronnie is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild. His television credits include: J.A.G. (guest), The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (guest), CSI (guest), and CUTS (guest). Currently, Ronnie is a resident director at HITS Theatre in The Heights and theatre instructor at Hogg Middle School. |
|
Jason Duga (FOOL 2) Jason is thrilled to make his Horse Head debut! Houston credits include: Straight White Men (Drew) at Stages Repertory Theatre; Bad Jews (Jonah) with Stages Repertory Theatre and Black Lab Theatre; Oskar and the Big Bully Battle (Oskar) and Oskar and the Curiously Colorful Clash (Oskar) at the Alley Theatre; Gambrels of the Sky (Shadow) at The Landing Theatre Company; and Pollywog (Johnny), Dollface (Perseus), Dracula (Simmons) and Late: A Cowboy Song (Crick) at Mildred’s Umbrella. Jason is currently working as a teaching artist for the Alley Theatre’s ECE program. Jason has also worked for Swine Palace and Playmakers of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Memorable credits include A Free Man of Color (Creux/Mercure), How I Became a Pirate (Sharktooth), Pinkalicious (Mr.Pinkerton) and The Wizard of Oz (Scarecrow). |
|
Brendon Duran (THE FOOL) is a Houston native and proud to be making his debut at Horse Head Theatre Co. Theater roles include Teddy Mieras in Ten Ways on a Gun (The Landing Theatre Co.), Bomber Reynolds in Fly (The Ensemble Theater) and Andrew in Beyond Therapy (Vagabond Theater). Brendon is also an improv comedian, performing, teaching and directing regularly with CSz Houston. Improv credits include ComedySportz, (713), Scar in The Lion King: Unscripted, and director of Back to the Future: Unscripted. Brendon is also a founder of Flirt Reynolds, a long-form improv trio that has entertained audiences in Houston (Spring Street Studios, BETA Theater), Denver (Voodoo Comedy Playhouse), Austin (Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, The Hideout Theater), and Los Angeles (Fracas! Improv Festival). He has trained with CSz Worldwide, iO Theater in Chicago, and The Second City Hollywood. Brendon is a graduate of the University of Houston with a BFA in Theatre. |
|
Laura Moreno (FOOL 5) is a recent graduate of the University of Houston BFA Acting Program. Previous credits include: Oklahoma!, The Grapes of Wrath, The History of Tom Jones, Antigone, A Chorus Line, You Can’t Take It With You, Agamemnon, Holy Rollers, The Snow Queen, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, End of Side A, Romeo & Juliet and ¡Bocón!. She was most recently seen as Vera in She Kills Monsters and Kitty in world premiere of Cherry Muffins. Prior to UH, Ms. Moreno spent several years working in the cosmetics and fashion industry in New York City, and is a professional makeup artist. She would like to let everyone know how much she loves her husband, her dog and tacos. |
|
Callina Situka (FOOL 3) is thrilled to be making her Horse Head debut! She has recently been seen as Marianne Angelle in The Revolutionists at Main Street Theater. Other credits include Gambrels of the Sky (Dog) with The Landing Theater, Dollface (Chorus #3) with Mildred's Umbrella, A New Dawn Cabaret (Dawn) with Boiling Point Players, Platanos y Collard Greens (Nilsa) with Ensemble Theater, Give/Take (Milly) with Cone Man Running Productions, Edmonia's Marble (Edmonia Lewis) with Fade to Black, Alley Theater's Houston Young Playwright Exchange, and was a regular actor at Interactive Theater. She holds a B.A. in Theater from the University of Houston.
|
|
Cris Skelton (FOOL 6) is excited to make his Horse Head debut. Previous stage credits include: Scapino! (Sylvestro) for Unity Theater; 39 Steps (Clown) for Queensbury Theatre; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Guildenstern) for Obsidian Theater; Cassandra (Apollo) for Mildred’s Umbrella; Balm in Gilead (Dopey) for the Back Porch Players; The House of Yes (Anthony) for Tutto Theatre Company. His company memberships have included Rogue Improv in Houston, At-Random in San Marcos, The Coda Project in Austin, The New Movement in Austin and New Orleans; and he was a founding member of Station Theater in Houston. He is also a regular contributor and performer for Grown-Up Storytime and Neo-Benshi for BooTown. He holds a BFA in Acting from Texas State University and trained in improv comedy with The New Movement, iO Chicago, and Upright Citizens Brigade-Los Angeles. |
THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Elissa Cuellar (RUN CREW) is ecstatic to be working on her first production with the Horse Head Theatre Company. She is currently working on her BFA in acting at the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance. Some previous credits include: Our Town, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 33 Variations, The Curious Savage, and The Good Woman of Szechuan.
J. Mitchell Cronin (LIGHTING DESIGN) Main Street Theater: The Revolutionists, RFK: A Portrait of Robert F. Kennedy, Red Hot Patriot, Duck For President, Harriet the Spy, Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans, Goodnight Moon, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse; Prague Shakespeare Company: Venus in Fur, Twelfth Night; Stages Repertory Theatre: Panto Snow Queen: Unfrozen, End of The Rainbow (Assoc. Design), Honky Tonk Angels - Miller Outdoor Theater (Assoc. Design), Mack and Mabel (Asst. Design); Ensemble Theatre: A Soulful Christmas; King Hedley II (Asst. Design); Opera in the Heights: The Telephone, The Medium; DiverseWorks: What Shall We Do Next?; Nicolay Dance Works: Romance, Beyond!, A Wynne Home Nutcracker; Urban Souls Dance Company: Between Two Worlds, Three City Blocks; Technical Director- SHSU Dance: Spectrum: Drift; It’s Good to See You Again; Texas Dance Improvisation Festival. Education: Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas, Sam Houston State University- BFA, Theatre. www.JMCdesigns.info.
Justin Dunford (SCENIC AND PROPERTIES DESIGN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR) Justin is a local artist, designer, and theatre professional. Dunford graduated from the University of Houston School of Drama with a B.A. in 2005 and has been heavily involved in the local theatre scene. Dunford has performed in many shows and was a company member of Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre from 2004 to 2014. He founded Red-handed productions which specializes in Puppet theatre in 2014. He has been involved in the construction and painting of many sets for a variety of theatres and groups in Houston, and has also assistant directed for Classical Theatre on Ubu Roi, Faustus, and The Byrds. This production is Dunford’s first with Horse Head Theatre Co. He currently works at The Kinkaid School as a tech theatre assistant.
Elle Eccles (STAGE MANAGER) is a local writer and artist who works in sales and promotions by day and runs to the theatre at night. Elle is honored to be Horse Head’s newest company recruit, joining the team as a production fellow. Since joining the theatre scene, Elle has served as a production assistant for the Landing Theatre’s reading of La Llorona as part of the New American Voices play reading series and assisted with the Landing Theatre’s production of Ten Ways on a Gun as assistant director and board operator.
Philip Hays (DIRECTOR) is an actor, director and theatre educator based out of Houston, TX. He is a company member of Horse Head Theater Co. (winners of the 2016 Houston Press Mastermind Award), for which he co-conceived and performed in the immersive one-man show The Whale; or, Moby-Dick (Best New Play, Houston Press Theater Awards 2016) and acted in 2010’s Among the Thugs. He is also a company member of the Classical Theatre Company, where he has directed his own adaptations of The Birds by Aristophanes and Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi, as well as new adaptations of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (by his frequent collaborator Timothy N. Evers), and A Christmas Carol. Last season he directed the regional premiere of Love and Information at Main Street Theater. He has been an Artistic Associate with the Prague Shakespeare Company, where performed in over twelve productions, and directed, co-wrote, and performed in both his original commedia dell’arte-meets-Grand Guignol take on John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, and the new play The Murder of Gonzago, loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. As an actor on Houston stages he has appeared in numerous roles at the Classical Theatre Company, Main Street Theater, and Houston Shakespeare Festival, as well as appearances with Stark Naked, Mildred’s Umbrella, Mosaic Theatre Company and Houston Grand Opera. Philip was a founding member of Houston’s alternative theatre collective BooTown. He is a graduate of the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance and has studied commedia dell’arte with Antonio Fava at the Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico. www.philiphays.com.
Philip was recently named "BEST UTILITY PLAYER" at the 2016 Houston Press Theatre Awards! Congrats, Philip!
Jacey Little (PRODUCTION MANAGER) is the Artistic Director of Horse Head Theatre Co., a freelance theatre director and dramaturg, and Production Manager at the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO). Under Jacey’s leadership, HH was recognized as a 2016 Houston Press MASTERMIND. Jacey developed and directed Horse Head’s The Whale; or, Moby-Dick* by Timothy N. Evers, Philip Hays & Herman Melville (Houston Press 2015 “Best New Play” Winner) and Spaghetti Code* by Abby Koenig (BroadwayWorld Houston 2014 “Best New Play or Musical” Winner). Jacey’s recent projects include the development, direction and dramaturgy of Dialogues on Grace* by Cressandra Thibodeaux at 14 Pews, Dollface* by Katharine Sherman with Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company (Houston Press 2016 “Best New Play,” and Ten Ways on a Gun** by Dylan Lamb with The Landing Theatre Company. Jacey is the former Literary Manager and Dramaturg for the Alley Theatre and her Alley dramaturgy credits include Warrior Class* (Kenneth Lin), The Elephant Man, The Mountaintop** (Katori Hall; Arena Stage co-pro), Red, The Seafarer, and What We’re Up Against* (Theresa Rebeck). Also at the Alley, she assistant directed and dramaturged The Seagull and Death of a Salesman. As a freelance dramaturg, Jacey has worked with The Landing Theatre Company, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Company, Wordsmyth Theatre Company, and Obsidian Art Space. Jacey received her MFA in Dramaturgy and Theatre Historiography from University of Houston and her BFA in Dramaturgy and Acting from University of Oklahoma. *Indicates a world premiere and ** a regional premiere.
