Thom Pain (based on nothing) Program

Rainn Wilson. Photo by Jeff Lorch Photography.

AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

WELCOME TO THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

Photo by Jeff Lorch Photography

THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR THE POWER OF LANGUAGE IS RARELY AS COMPELLING as when spoken by one of Will Eno’s characters. A writer whom we welcome to the Geffen for the first time, Will is known for his mastery of language that is beautifully interwoven with what remains unsaid. His plays balance the cerebral and the emotional on the head of a pin and the effect is often breathtaking.

So our pleasure is to welcome Will and two incredible collaborators, Rainn Wilson and director Oliver Butler, who together have taken on the herculean task of creating the production of Thom Pain (based on nothing) and the character of the same name. Pain is a complex anti-hero, who, in the playwright’s own words, “is just like you — except worse.”

Longtime friends, Will and Rainn were determined to hold off on a Los Angeles production of this play until Rainn was available and, thankfully, this season the proverbial stars aligned with the Geffen eagerly adding this show. This riveting and reflective piece perfectly encapsulates the insecurities, the fears, the loves and the universality of the human journey — a complicated, sometimes broken, sometimes brilliant experience.

A one-person show such as this requires a powerhouse performer. Rainn so embodies Thom Pain one would think the role had been written for him.

He has embraced the humor, the emotional intricacies, the discomfort and the scope of this piece with what appears to be effortless grace.

But don’t be fooled; the work he has done to perfect this performance, shaped by director Oliver Butler with nuanced design from Dan Ionazzi and Candice Cain, is an exercise in technical and emotional precision.

As we begin 2016, we are thrilled to bring to you the long overdue Los Angeles premiere of Thom Pain (based on nothing).

Enjoy the show!

Randall Arney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P1

THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION OF

Written by

Will Eno

Scenic & Lighting Designer

Costume Designer

Daniel Ionazzi

Candice Cain

Production Stage Manager

Elizabeth A. Brohm

Directed by

Oliver Butler THOM PAIN (based on nothing) Produced by Soho Theatre Company in association with Chantal Arts + Theatre and Naked Angels (NYC) at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh in August 2004 Originally produced by Soho Theater Company, London in September 2004 Original Production at DR2 Theatre, New York, Produced by Daryl Roth and Bob Boyett in February 2005 A Geffen Playhouse Spotlight Entertainment Series Event

CAST Thom Pain ......................................................................................................... Rainn Wilson

Opening Night: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 OPENING NIGHT SPONSOR

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PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES

WILL ENO (Playwright) Will Eno is a Residency Five Fellow at Signature Theatre Company in New York, which presented Title and Deed in 2012, and The Open House, in 2014.

Following an acclaimed run at Yale Repertory Theatre, his play The Realistic Joneses was on Broadway in 2014, directed

by Sam Gold and staring Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts and Marisa Tomei. The Realistic Joneses won a Drama Desk Award, was named USA Today’s “Best Play on Broadway,” topped the The Guardian’s 2014 list of American plays, and was included in The New York Times’ “Best Theatre of 2014.” The Open House won the 2014 Obie Award, the Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, and a Drama Desk Award, and was included in both the Time Out New York and Time Magazine Top 10 Plays of the Year. Title and Deed was on The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine’s Top Ten Plays of 2012. His play Gnit, a loving but aggressive adaptation of Peer Gynt, premiered at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville in 2013. Middletown, winner of the Horton Foote Award, premiered at the Vineyard Theatre and subsequently at Steppenwolf Theater and many other American theaters and universities. He was recently

awarded the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation Award.

Thom Pain was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and has been produced around the country and the world. His plays are published by Samuel French, TCG, Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts in the U.S. and Oberon Books in London.

OLIVER BUTLER (Director) Oliver Butler directed the premiere of Will Eno’s The Open House at the Signature Theatre Company which captured an Obie Award for Direction, the 2014 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play and the Drama Desk Ensemble Award. Among his additional directorial credits, the premiere of An Opening in Time by Christopher Shinn at Hartford Stage, Legacy by Daniel Goldfarb at Williamstown Theatre Festival and Timeshare

by Lally Katz at The Malthouse in Melbourne, Australia as well as City Center Encores! OffCenter production of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick, Boom! In New York, his credits include the premieres of Goodbye New York Goodbye Heart by Lally Katz (The Australian-American Production Company) and Hostage Song, a musical by Kyle Jarrow and Clay McLeod Chapman (Horse Trade Theater Group). As co-Founder and coArtistic Director of The Debate Society (TDS), a Brooklynbased theater company, Butler has co-created and directed eight full-length plays since 2004 including sold-out runs of Jacuzzi at Ars Nova in New York City and TDS’ production of Blood Play at The Bushwick Starr, The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

He is a Sundance Institute Fellow and a Bill Foeller Fellow (Williamstown) and was an Ars Nova Artist in Residence.

The Debate Society is currently working on a commission for Playwrights Horizons.

DANIEL IONAZZI (Scenic & Lighting Designer) Recent designs for the Geffen Playhouse include Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty; Ruth Draper’s Monologues; Slowgirl; Build; Yes, Prime Minister; American Buffalo; The Jacksonian; Radiance; Red Hot Patriot; and Superior Donuts. His work has also been seen at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, and Denver Center Theatre Company. His design for the New York production of The Jacksonian garnered a Lucille Lortel nomination. He designed the lighting installation for Teatro alla Moda for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Trajectoire and Catapult for the dance company Diavolo. His design work can also be seen in the 4-D cinematic experience, Beyond all Boundaries, at the National World War II Museum. Daniel is Production Manager for the Geffen Playhouse, a member of the faculty of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and Director of Production for the Department of Theater.

He is the author of The Stage Management Handbook and The Stagecraft Handbook.

CANDICE CAIN (Costume Designer) Geffen: Shipwrecked! As Costume Director at Center Theatre Group for over two decades, she has designed at the Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre including different words for the same thing, Nightingale with Lynn Redgrave, Stuff Happens, Living Out, Stones In His Pockets, The Body of Bourne, Blade to the Heat, Mules, Neat, Dealer’s Choice, Tongue of a Bird (including the Intiman and New York Public Theatres), Enigma Variations with Donald Sutherland (including Toronto and London) and The Affliction

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THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)

RAINN WILSON (Thom Pain) Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actor Rainn Wilson has found himself in a variety of comedic and theatrical roles throughout his career. Following a host of guest appearances on television including Law & Order, CSI and Entourage, his breakthrough came when he played assistant mortician, Arthur Martin, in HBO’s hit series Six Feet Under winning him and the cast a Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.” Wilson was then cast in his memorable role as the quirky Dwight Schrute in The Office on NBC, netting him three SAG Awards for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” and three Emmy nominations for “Best Supporting Actor” during its nine-year, two hundred episode run. On stage, he has appeared on and off Broadway and in a host of roles at some of the country’s most celebrated regional theaters such as the Guthrie and the Arena Stage. In addition to big screen roles in Almost Famous, Galaxy Quest, Sahara, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Juno, The Rocker, Monsters vs.

Aliens and Super, Wilson recently starred in the horror-comedy Cooties as well as in The Boy which premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival. Next up, starring roles in the feature film thriller Shimmer Lake and Army of One (with Nicholas Cage) as well as voicing the character of Gargamel in the animated feature Get Smurfy. He is the founder of the mission-driven

media company SoulPancake which currently has almost two million YouTube followers and over 200 million video views.

On November 10th, Wilson’s critically acclaimed memoir titled The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy was published by Dutton. In 2013, he co-founded a non-profit in Haiti with his wife, author Holiday Reinhorn, called “The Lidè Foundation” that provides arts and literacy education for at-risk adolescent girls. He is a graduate of the NYU Graduate Acting Program and an alumnus of The Acting Company.

PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES of Glory, a co-production with the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Other theaters include: South Coast Repertory Theatre: The Injured Party, Shipwrecked!, A Feminine Ending, The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, Dinner with Friends, Three Days of Rain (and Manhattan Theatre Club), Collected Stories; Berkeley Repertory Theatre; seven productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and over 50 productions as Resident Designer at Virginia Stage Company. Other L.A. theaters: Evidence Room, Sierra Madre Playhouse, Greenaway Court (Orphans with Al Pacino and Jesse Eisenberg).

ELIZABETH A. BROHM (Production Stage Manager) Geffen Playhouse: Bad Jews; The Night Alive; Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin; Ruth Draper’s Monologues; Yes, Prime Minister; By the Waters of Babylon; Shipwrecked!; Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress; Boy Gets Girl; The Unexpected Man; Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks; Looking for Normal; The Weir; Dinner with Friends; Defiled; Wit; It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. National Tour/Kennedy Center: Wit. Other: Production Coordinator, Geffen Playhouse 2001-2007; Cup Coordinator, X-Prize Foundation; Adjunct Professor in Stage Management, UCLA since 2005.

MFA in Stage Management from UCSD. Love to Gino & Mack

RANDALL ARNEY (Artistic Director) Randall Arney has been a theater professional for over 30 years and has served as Artistic Director of the

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Geffen Playhouse since 1999.

In addition to his artistic programming and oversight at the Geffen, Arney has helmed more than 10 productions for the theater, most recently Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, Slowgirl, American Buffalo, Superior Donuts, The Female of the Species, The Seafarer, Speed-the-Plow and All My Sons. Arney is an ensemble member and former Artistic Director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre where his directing credits include: Slowgirl, The Seafarer, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden, Curse of the Starving Class, Killers and The Geography of Luck, among others. Arney also directed Steppenwolf’s world premiere of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as well as the subsequent national and international acclaimed productions. Mr. Arney’s acting credits with Steppenwolf include Born Yesterday, Ghost in the Machine, The Homecoming, Frank’s Wild Years, You Can’t Take it with You, Fool for Love, True West, Balm in Gilead and Coyote Ugly. As the Artistic Director for Steppenwolf from 1987 to 1995, he oversaw the creation of a new stateof-the-art theater which is Steppenwolf’s current home.

Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations) and The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony Award, Best Play). Mr. Arney has an MFA degree in Acting from Illinois State University and has taught master classes and workshops at UCLA, Steppenwolf, around the U.S. and in Tokyo.

GIL CATES, JR. (Executive Director) Gil Cates, Jr. has proudly served on the Geffen Playhouse Board since 2012 and has years of producing and directing experience in theater, film, and television. Gil’s theater credits include the award winning Names (Matrix Theatre) starring Dixie Carter and Greg Mullavey, The Night I Knocked Out Joe Frazer and Lost 90 Pounds (Gardner Stage Theater), as well as Three Sisters and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (both at Syracuse Stage). Gil’s film credits include The Surface (starring Sean Astin and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Chris Mulkey), Jobs (starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, as well as Geffen Playhouse alumni Matthew Modine and Ron Eldard) and the 2011 feature film Lucky (starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margret and recent Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Tambor).

In addition, Gil produced and directed the critically acclaimed Life After Tomorrow, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, which won best documentary at the Phoenix Film Festival and later had its premiere Christmas Eve on Showtime. His other films include Deal (starring Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison and Charles Durning), The Mesmerist (starring Geffen Playhouse alumnus Neil Patrick Harris), and the critically acclaimed independent film Order of Chaos. Gil also made his TV directorial debut with an episode of the NBC comedy, Joey, starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc. He studied at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, and holds a BFA in Drama from Syracuse University in 1991.

REGINA MILLER (Chief Development Officer) Regina has been a development professional for over 18 years, working with non-profit institutions, foundations and corporations on strategy, analysis and fundraising. She has worked for Simon Wiesenthal Center, The Clinton Foundation, Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative, Hank Azaria’s Determined to Succeed, Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach Project, Water.org, Codenow. org among others. Prior to the Geffen, Regina served as the Director of Partnerships for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire where she led strategic planning and development while executing policies that advanced the organization’s visibility and growth. Regina also has a strong passion for teaching. After graduating from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, she taught in preschools and kindergartens in New York. From the age of 13, Regina worked as a professional dancer on Broadway as well as with a number of prominent modern dance ensembles.

Fusing two of her interests, she created a highly successful program which incorporated dance therapy and creative movement into an early childhood curriculum as well as wrote and produced a television show based on this concept. In addition to being a published author and photographer with Tallfellow Press and Prometheus Books, Regina has taught and lectured at numerous schools in New York, Los Angeles and abroad.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

GEFFEN AT A GLANCE

PRODUCTION STAFF FOR THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING)

ADDRESS

Light Board Operator Dan Tuttle Production Assistant Josiah Davis Costume Assistant and Tailor Ashley Rigg

Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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AT THE THEATER

This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.

LATE SEATING Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on-stage. To minimize disturbance to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available location by the house staff even if different from your assigned seat. Be advised that some productions or circumstances may not allow for late or return seating.

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented

by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.

PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P5

“How do we distinguish between ‘difference’ and ‘danger?’”

— Playwright Bess Wohl

Written by BESS WOHL Directed by TRIP CULLMAN After midnight in Gaudi’s magic city, a drunk American woman plunges recklessly into a one-night stand with a dashing Spaniard. But during the course of that single, shocking night — by turns funny and dangerous — her romantic fantasy morphs into a complicated game of cat and mouse. As bodies and cultures collide, two strangers veer between mutual destruction and awkward, unexpected moments of salvation.

WEST COAST PREMIERE BEGINS FEBRUARY 2 GIL CATES THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

#BARCELONA

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“A compelling, comic drama. An incisive look at the double edged quest for artistic validation in the digital era.”

— Newsweek

Written by LAURA EASON Directed by KIMBERLY SENIOR When frustrated novelist Olivia meets fast-talking blogger Ethan — known more for his sexual prowess than his prose — she worries she will become just another chapter in his little black book. Their funny and flirty union blurs the lines between rewrites, romance and royalties — proving you can’t judge a book by its author.

NEW COMEDY ON STAGE MARCH 1 – APRIL 10 AUDREY SKIRBALL KENIS THEATER AT THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE

#SEXWITHSTRANGERS

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GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE STAFF Randall Arney Artistic Director ARTISTIC

Gil Cates, Jr. Executive Director MARKETING & SALES

Amy Levinson Phyllis Schuringa Young Ji

Rachel Wiegardt-Egel Rebecca Birstock

Artistic Associate / Literary Director Artistic Associate / Casting Director Artistic Coordinator / Company Manager Literary Associate Artistic Intern

DEVELOPMENT Regina Miller Ellen Catania Jessica Brusilow Rollins

Jamie Mikelich

Kristen Smith Eshaya

Scott Kriloff

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Chief Development Officer Senior Vice President, Development Director of Education Partnerships & Donor Relations Associate Director of Individual Giving & Spotlight Manager Development & Education Programs Coordinator Development Associate & Donor Database Administrator Development Associate Development Assistant Development Intern

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COMMUNICATIONS Katy Sweet, Pam Giangregorio

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EDUCATION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Jennifer Zakkai Director of Education &

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Community Engagement Corky Dominguez, David Guerra, Mariel Higuera, Kristina Leach, Juan Rivera, Connor White Teaching Artists

Karim Bouzzit

ADMINISTRATION Behnaz Ataee Frankie Ocasio Peter Banachowski Charity Felton Marguerite Harris

Chief Financial Officer Executive Assistant Accounting and Payroll Manager Staff Accountant Receptionist

PRODUCTION Daniel Ionazzi Jill Barnes

Sam Craven-Griffiths Evan Friedman Rich Gilles James Grabowski Darren Rezowalli Ramine Ameli Joel Fullerton

Production Manager Associate Production Manager / Company Manager Technical Director Assistant Technical Director Properties Master House Sound Supervisor Lighting & Video Supervisor Production Electrician Stage Supervisor

System Administrator

FRONT OF HOUSE Jeni Pearsons Director of Special Events David Gerhardt Supervising House Manager Jane Phillips Harper Deputy Supervising House Manager Josiah Davis, Amy Farkas, Caroline Harrison Kohler Roxana Meyers House Managers Ally Aberrotman, Rebecca Birstock, Kailey Bray, Christopher Caron, Taylor Cerny, Vianney Cossyleon, Taylor Dearden, Brett Donaldson, Ida Herndon, Mariel Higuera, Netta Lee Joseph, Brigid Leahy, Nathaniel Meek, Keith Mitchell, Aaron Newman, JoJo Nwoko, Shannon O’Hara, James Porter, Juan Rivera, Luis Ruiz, Jonathan Schwartz, Oliver Vaughn, Dennis Woullard Ushers Rob Mersola Bar Manager and Mixologist Manuel Mayorga Weekend Bar Manager Adam Carr, Brenda Davidson, David Gregory, Mariel Higuera, Lyndsi LaRose, Kimberly Legg, Ryan Turner Bartenders

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Miguel del Castillo Mario Santillan-Perez Juan Carlos Umaña

Facility Manager Custodial Cleaning Custodial

Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

This project was also funded in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

Geffen Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.

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