Pocatello
By Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Benjamin Summers
Eddie just wants to sit down and eat some freakin' lasagna with his family! As the manager of a well-known Italian chain restaurant in Pocatello, Idaho, that's a lot easier said than done. When he and his childhood friend, Troy, launch their "Famiglia Week," the soup, salad, and breadsticks start to fly while the restaurant slowly falls apart. As both men struggle to hold their families together, this heartbreaking comedy begs the question, "In an increasingly homogenized, corporate society, how do people and communities maintain their identities?"
"Samuel D. Hunter evokes a world in which identity itself has come to seem confusingly mass-produced... Pocatello suggests that while the brand names may have changed, the blues sung by quietly desperate middle Americans still have the same old lyrics."
- The New York Times
December 1-16
2017
at hyde park theatre
synopsis
CAST
Jeremy Brown
Molly Fonseca
Carlo Garcia
Joel Gross
Sydney Huddleston
Chris Humphrey
Ev Lunning
Kayla Newman
Amber Quick
& David Scott
REVIEWS
"In Street Corner Arts' production, director Benjamin Summers finds all the nooks and crannies of each character's specific pain and, with pinpoint accuracy, guides a ridiculously talented cast through each verse-chorus-verse beat... One moment there may be a frenzy of activity and overlapping dialogue, the next a quiet stillness shared by any two of the show's 10 actors. Outstanding performances highlight the glimmer of hope through isolation within each character... The result is an engaging and honest search for connection... POCATELLO is one of those rare dramas that had me often guffawing before tearing up. With emotion as rich and palpable as the passion poured into the production, the team at Street Corner Arts has a real hit on their hands." (Entire Review)
Shanon Weaver, Austin Chronicle
"...a blackly comedic drama of interactions and reactions...What the talented cast of the show excels at is listening and responding; as the plot ticks along, we see how each new encounter lands and how each relationship features its own unstated dynamics. Standouts include Carlo Lorenzo Garcia as the put-upon, neurotic Eddie; Amber Quick as the desperately unhappy Tammy; and David Scott’s delightful comedic timing as the somewhat meat-headed Max... Summers and his design team have created an almost immersive experience. As audience members, we feel like we are patrons inside this restaurant, watching as the business, and the families, fall apart... POCATELLO is ultimately a play of hopefulness, in that it is as much about families pulling together as falling apart. In Street Corner Arts’ focus on getting this production just right, the scrappy Austin company has proven to be its own artistic family, one that is full of hospitaliano." (Entire Review)
Andrew J. Friedenthal, Austin360
"Director Benjamin Summers has done a remarkable job directing this production that, thanks to the environmental setting, makes you, as an audience member, feel like you are sitting at the next table over, uncomfortable in overhearing such personal revelations from the strangers surrounding you. He has unearthed open and real performances from his entire ten member cast... It's a fascinating look that is well worth your time in another superb production from Street Corner Arts." (Entire Review)
Frank Benge, BroadwayWorld.com
"If only Austin theatre venues and appreciative theatre audiences could permit it, this production deserves to run for another month. If only we could attract a well-heeled, arts-minded patron for this company. . . meanwhile, folks like you and me will need to content themselves with digging out some folding money and dropping it in the guitar case in the HPT lobby to express appreciation for the depth and quality of their art." (Entire Review)
Michael Meigs, CTX Live Theatre
Nominee
Austin
Critics Table
Outstanding
Production
Nominee
Austin
Critics Table
Outstanding
Direction
Benjamin
Summers
Nominee
Austin
Critics Table
Best
Ensemble
Nominee
Austin
Critics Table
Outstanding
Performance
by an
Individual
Amber
Quick
Winner
Austin
Critics Table
Outstanding
Set Design
Chris Conard
&
Zac Thomas
Nominee
B. Iden Payne
Outstanding
Direction
Benjamin
Summers
Nominee
B. Iden Payne
Lead
Actor
Carlo
Garcia
playwright
Samuel D. Hunter
bio
Samuel D. Hunter’s plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest. He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, the 2013 Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, the 2011 Sky Cooper Prize, the 2008 PONY/Lark Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His plays have been produced in New York at Playwrights Horizons, Lincoln Center Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Page 73, and around the country at such theaters as Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, Victory Gardens, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Old Globe, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, the Dallas Theater Center, Long Wharf Theatre, and elsewhere. A native of northern Idaho, Sam lives in NYC. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard. This marks the third of Mr. Hunter's plays to be performed on the Hyde Park Theatre stage. In 2014, The Whale was produced by A Chick and A Dude Productions and A Bright New Boise was produced by Hyde Park Theatre.
cast & creative
Carlo is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor's Equity. A recent transplant to Austin, he served as Producing Director for Mary-Arrchie Theatre in Chicago from 2008-2016, where his stage work as an actor includes CHERRYWOOD, BURIED CHILD, MOJO, and more. At Mary-Arrchie, Carlo directed the highly acclaimed RED LIGHT WINTER (4 Jeff Award Nominations & 1 Jeff Award Win), OUR BAD MAGNET (2 Jeff Nominations), and AMERICAN BUFFALO (1 Jeff Nomination). A sample of regional credits include EL NOGALAR, SONG FOR THE DISAPPEARED, SOLID SAND BELOW (Goodman Theatre), RICHARD III (Wayward Productions), ST. CRISPIN’S DAY (Strawdog Theatre), COAST OF CHICAGO (Lookingglass Theatre), SUENO, WOYZECK, THE MISANTHROPE (Greasy Joan & Co). Film/TV work includes CHICAGO PD (NBC), EMPIRE (FOX), UNDER COVERS (web series), INNOCENT (feature), ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE (feature), ROGERS PARK (feature), and more. | www.carlogarcia.com
* Member Actor's Equity Association
Carlo Lorenzo Garcia*
eddie
Jeremy has been working as an actor, director, writer, stage manager, producer, arts administrator, and all points in between with many great companies throughout his career including: ST. LOUIS - Opera Theatre of St. Louis. NEW YORK - National Theatre of the Performing Arts. LONDON - The Lyceum Theatre. CHICAGO - Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Dolphinback Theatre Co, Bravo Room Productions. AUSTIN - Austin Lyric Opera, The Paramount and State Theatres. WASHINGTON, DC – Co-founder of Push/Pull Theatre Co., Theatre J. As a performer Jeremy has worked with: ST. LOUIS, MO - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. NEW YORK - National Theatre of the Performing Arts. AUSTIN, TX - The Bedlam Faction, Austin Shakespeare Festival, Gobotrick Theatre, Shakespeare at Winedale. WASHINGTON, DC - Arena Stage, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Co., Round House Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Theater Alliance, Kennedy Center, American Ensemble Theatre, Hub Theatre. Jeremy holds a BFA in Theatre from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University, St. Louis.
Jeremy Brown
Troy
Amber is thrilled to make her debut with Hyde Park and Street Corner Arts with this insanely talented and funny ‘Famiglia’. An Alabama native, Amber landed in Austin by way of New York 4 years ago and has had the pleasure of working onstage and off as an actor, teacher, composer, voice over artist, costumer, hobbyist woodworker, and baker. AUSTIN CREDITS : THE GREAT SOCIETY, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, MARY POPPINS, 1 MAN 2 GUVNORS, JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH, ALL THE WAY (Zach Theatre), THE HERD (Jarrott Productions), KID SIMPLE (ArtMeat), HAMLET (Present Company), CHANGELINGS (The Vortex), CYRANO DE BERGERAC, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Austin Shakespeare). She is a proud recipient of several nominations and awards from the B. Iden Payne Council and Austin Critics Table. NY & REGIONAL CREDITS: ALL THE WAY FROM MAGNOLIA SPRINGS (Springer Opera House), DAMN YANKEES (Red Mountain Theatre Co.), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEEPWATER HORIZON (ARSNova ANTFest), A PIECE OF MY HEART (The Living Theatre), RECONSTRUCTION - 2012 Artist in Residence at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center (Director’s Lab)
amber quick
Tammy
Chris is an actor, musician, and sound designer, and is delighted to be working with Street Corner Arts again. Favorite credits include Narrator in ROCKY HORROR AERIAL SHOW (Sky Candy), Lotharix LIX in AGENT ANDROMEDA: THE ORION CRUSADE (Sky Candy), Polly in THE GREAT GOD PAN (Street Corner Arts), Peter Quince in MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Scottish Rite Theater), Qwfwq in COSMICOMICS (Sky Candy), Roselyn in BERNIE (Detour Filmproduction), Mrs. Steve in BRIDES OF THE MOON, where she won a B Iden Payne Award for Featured Actress in a Comedy (Weird Sisters Theater Collective), Emma in THE SCHOOLING OF BENTO BONCHEV (Breaking String), Nana in MILKMILKLEMONADE, where she won a B Iden Payne Award for Featured Actress in a Comedy (Shrewd Productions), Constance in GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET (Weird Sisters Theater Collective), and Darcy in ONE FLEA SPARE (Gobotrick). Four years ago, she ran away (all the way to East Austin) to join the circus and hasn’t looked back since. When not on the traditional stage, she performs with Sky Candy as an actor, aerialist, and clown.
chris Humphrey
doris
Ev is recently retired from the Theater Arts Dept. of St. Edward’s University where at various times he served as Area Coordinator and as Business Manager and Artistic Director of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre. Since retirement Ev has appeared as a member of the chorus in THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT and CARMEN (Austin Opera) and JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN by Henrik Ibsen (John Gabriel Borkman) and THE DRESSER by Ron Harwood (Sir) for Different Stages. He has also coached dialects for THE SEAFARER by Conor McPherson (City Theater). In 2003 he received a B. Iden Payne Award for Best Director of a Comedy for the MMNT production of A FLEA IN HER EAR by Georges Feydeux, and he received an Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best Supporting Actor in the MMNT production of THE KENTUCKY CYCLE by Robert Schenkkan (Joshua Rowen). In THE KENTUCKY CYCLE. Ev and SCA artistic director Andrea Skola Summers played husband and wife in “Whose Side Are You On.”
ev Lunning, Jr.
Cole
Sydney is an actor, improvisor, and voice actor in Austin, Texas. She is excited to work with Street Corner Arts for the first time. She most recently appeared in THE WOLVES (Hyde Park Theatre) directed by Ken Webster. She has studied improv and sketch writing at The Institution Theater and Second City Chicago. She performs somewhat regularly at various theaters around town with her comedy troupe Eenie Meanie Beanie Babies.
Sydney Huddleston
Becky
Kayla has recently returned to her hometown from Chicago. In Chicago, she was primarily found working on the many comedy stages in the city. In addition, her improv team, Baby Teeth, headlined at the Improv Fest Ireland and performed in the Detroit and San Diego Improv Festival and at the Del Close Marathon. Offstage, she worked on short films and pilots; her favorite being EZ OUT. Kayla is overjoyed to return to Hyde Park Theatre with Street Corner Arts. She was last seen at HPT as Ellie in Samuel D. Hunter's THE WHALE (B. Iden Payne nomination for Best Supporting Actress) with A Chick and A Dude Productions. As a company member of HPT, her credits include THE PILLOWMAN, LARIUS LICKLER and DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD.
Kayla Newman
Isabelle
David is ecstatic to be making his redebut on the Austin stages with Street Corner Arts, the same company with which he made his first debut with three short years ago when he played Sid in WAITING FOR LEFTY. Soon thereafter, he was seen playing Hastings in Austin Playhouse's production of SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER before moving to Los Angeles. After relocating back to Austin in January he helped build sets for Austin Shakespeare and Hyde Park Theatre (HPT), as well as assistant stage managing JOHN (HPT). He would like to thank his mother, Lynette Scott, for being so patient with him during this time.
david Scott
max
Molly is delighted to join Street Corner Arts for the third time. She was previously seen in WAITING FOR LEFTY and THE GREAT GOD PAN with them. In addition to her work with SCA, some of Molly’s favorite Austin credits include MIDDLETOWN (HPT), GOING WITH JENNY (Penfold Theatre), TREVOR (CAP T), AS YOU LIKE IT (Shrewd), and I HEART WAL-MART (CAP T). She has also written and performed 3 one person plays ACTOR OF THE YEAR, LADY WITHOUT A BABY, and MS, which was selected as Best of the Fest for FronteraFest in 2010. Outside of theatre, some of Molly’s favorite pastimes include dancing, gardening, fretting and trimming her bangs.
Molly Fonseca
Kelly
Joel last appeared on the Austin stage ages ago in Hans Frank's HAM (Hyde Park Theatre), directed by Ken Webster, still a personal favorite production. He has since been on stage, in films, on TV, teaching teen acting workshops and building sets in Chicago, New Orleans, New York and North Carolina. Favorite Chicago theatre credits include: THE HISTORY BOYS and THE NORMAL HEART, both directed by Nick Bowling, and TO MASTER THE ART, written and directed by William Brown(TimeLine Theatre, all multiple Jeff Award winners); IN THE NEXT ROOM OR, THE VIBRATOR PLAY (Victory Gardens Theatre); THREE TALL WOMEN(Court Theatre); and 1001 (Collaboraction).
Joel Gross
Nick
Benjamin is a founding producing director of Street Corner Arts (SCA) and a company member at Hyde Park Theatre (HPT) and Austin Playhouse (AP). Benjamin received his B.A. in Theatre from Davidson College. Favorite credits include John in THE REALISTIC JONESES (HPT), Will in A BRIGHT NEW BOISE (HPT), Dorante in THE LIAR (AP), John in TRAGEDY: A TRAGEDY (HPT), John Honeyman in A WALK IN THE WOODS (SCA), Doug in GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES (SCA), John Dodge in MIDDLETOWN (HPT), Paul Verrall in BORN YESTERDAY (AP), Richard Hannay in THE 39 STEPS (AP), George Bailey in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (AP), Valene in THE LONESOME WEST (HPT), and the title character in HAMLET (No Holds Bard). Directing credits include BULL, THE ALTRUISTS and WAITING FOR LEFTY (B. Iden Payne nomination for Best Director) all with SCA. When not on the stage, he teaches math at Gorzycki Middle School and is a devoted husband to Skola and father to little Emmett.
benjamin Summers
Director
Adrian is happy to collaborate with Street Corner Arts for the first time. She has previously appeared on Austin stages in THE WOLVES (Hyde Park Theatre), DNA (Capital T Theatre), PLEASE OPEN YOUR MOUTH (UT Cohen New Works Festival), and various new plays. Adrian is a Hyde Park Theatre company member and has stage managed for HPT’s LUNGS, THE FLICK, and THE NIGHT ALIVE. Adrian is completing her final year as a BA Theatre & Dance major with a concentration on Acting at the University of Texas. | Adrian-collins.com
Adrian Collins
Stage Manager
Chris is an Austin-based designer and artist, and graduate of SFUAD in Santa Fe, NM with a BFA in Technical Theater design in 2014. Since graduation, he has focused on expanding his skill sets, and exploring the intrinsic connection between art and the viewer. He is interested in creating original work that challenges the viewer, institutions of normality, and perspectives of reality. Chris has designed, served as technical director, built, and/or painted over 50 shows in Austin, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. Chris has designed for critically-acclaimed directors and producers, including Jon Jory and Robert Benedetti. He was the recipient of the 2017 Austin Critics Table Award for Best Set Design and the 2016 B. Iden Payne Award winner for Outstanding Set Design. For a collection of Chris’s work, please visit Jchrisconard.com.
Aaron Flynn
Costume Designer
A recent inductee into the Rude Mechs Theater Company, Aaron cut his teeth on their original production, FIELD GUIDE, and returned for last spring’s NOT EVERY MOUNTAIN, working both to costume the players and on the construction team for the large-scale modular set. This year he has also had the great pleasure of costuming the Hidden Room Theatre’s glam rock take on HENRY IV, “a showcase of spectacular pants.” In addition to theater, Aaron works as a window dresser and event designer, and his award winning windows can be seen at Blackmail Boutique.
Zac Thomas
Technical Director
Zac is a native of Butte, Montana. He is the Artistic Director of the Buttenik Ensemble and founder of the Covellite Theater in Butte, MT. Zac is a Hyde Park Theater and Austin Playhouse company member. His recent builds include Skylight, Perfect Mendacity, and Constellations with Street Corner Arts; The Realistic Joneses, Lungs, The Moors, The Wolves, and John with Hyde Park Theater; Trevor, Hand To God, Song About Himself, Hir, and The Brother’s Size with Capital T Theater; Old Times and Comedy of Errors with Austin Shakespeare; and The Wolf and The Woodstove with MT+NYC Collaborative. He is a member of the band Table, and the founder of RabbitRung Design.
Paul Feinstein
Sound Designer
Paul is a regular contributing artist with Street Corner. He has been an arts professional ever since he was a teenager, producing in various formats including radio, film, and theater. He received his B.A. in English Literature from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. He is a native Austinite.
A. Skola Summers
Set Dressing & Food Designer
Rommel Sulit
Publicity
Skola is an artist, educator and co-founding artistic director of Street Corner Arts. Hailing from the cornfields of Iowa, she currently lives and creates in ATX along with her husband Benjamin and their most recent creation, Emmett.
Rommel is a film and stage actor, producer and architect immersed in the creative culture of Austin. He has numerous film, commercial and theatrical credits, most recently as King Henry IV in HENRY IV (Hidden Room Theatre) and Dr. Toby Sealey in THE EFFECT (Capital T Theatre). He trained at the School at Steppenwolf, is a co-founder of Street Corner Arts and Forge Craft, an architecture firm dedicated to the design of affordable spaces for live, work and creative play. He has been nominated for and received Austin Critics Table and B. Iden Payne awards and serves as a board member with the Austin Creative Alliance and thanks you for your continued support of the arts in Austin.