TOM STOPPARD'S THE HARD PROBLEM EXTENDS AT STUDIO THEATRE

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1 CONTACT: Amy Horan Marketing and Publicity Supervisor x106 DATE: February 3, 2016 TOM STOPPARD'S THE HARD PROBLEM EXTENDS AT STUDIO THEATRE THE HARD PROBLEM by Tom Stoppard directed by Matt Torney now extended through February 26, 2017 Due to popular demand, Studio announces an extension of Tom Stoppard's The Hard Problem, now running through February 26. Stoppard's latest, which is directed by Studio's Associate Artistic Director Matt Torney, opened at Studio in January. Studio is one of Mr. Stoppard's most important homes in the US, producing his work for what will be the sixth time in the past 30 years. Tom Stoppard s newest play strikes a captivating balance between the head and the heart," says Artistic Director David Muse. "Its characters wrestle to reconcile science with lived experience; it s grappling with some of the most deeply embedded moral questions and frustrations of our day. The cast of The Hard Problem features a handful of Studio veterans: Tessa Klein as Hilary, who was last seen in Chimerica; Joy Jones, whose Studio credits include Cloud 9, Belleville, and Invisible Man (Helen Hayes nomination for Best Ensemble); and Shravan Amin and Emily Kester who last appeared together in Edgar + Annabel. The cast is rounded-out by seasoned actors Kyle Cameron, Martin Giles, David Andrew McDonald, Nancy Sun, and newcomer Katie Beth Hall. About The Hard Problem The Hard Problem follows Hilary, a young psychology researcher at the prestigious Krohl Institute for Brain Science. As she and her colleagues grapple with the hard problem of defining consciousness, a thorny decision from Hilary s past fuels her controversial stances and a few suspect choices. Bristling with intellectual energy and searing wit, The Hard Problem explores the difference between our brains and our minds, the nature of belief, and how to reconcile hard science with lived experience.

2 About Tom Stoppard Tom Stoppard (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His most recent play is The Hard Problem. His plays include Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Inspector Hound, After Magritte, Jumpers, Travesties, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (with André Previn), Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, The Invention Of Love, The Coast Of Utopia, Rock n Roll, Indian Ink, Dirty Linen, Dogg s Hamlet, and Cahoot s Macbeth. Translations and adaptations include Tango, Undiscovered Country, On The Razzle, Rough Crossing, Dalliance, The Seagull, Henry IV, Ivanov, The Cherry Orchard, The House Of Bernarda Alba, and Largo Desolato (Havel). His radio play Albert s Bridge received an Italia Prize, and his original television play Professional Foul received awards from BAFTA and the Broadcasting Press Guild. His most recent work for BBC television was Parade s End (Ford Madox Ford). Screenplays include Anna Karenina, Despair, The Romantic Englishwoman, The Human Factor, Brazil, Empire Of The Sun, The Russia House, Billy Bathgate, Poodle Springs, and Shakespeare In Love (with Marc Norman), for which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, the Broadcast Film Critics, and American Guild Awards for Best Screenplay He directed and wrote the screenplay for the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which won the Prix d Or at the Venice Film Festival He has written eight Evening Standard award-winning plays and five of his plays have won Tony Awards. About Matt Torney Matt Torney (Director) is entering his second season as Associate Artistic Director at Studio, where he has previously directed MotherStruck, Hedda Gabler, Jumpers for Goalposts (nominated for two Helen Hayes Awards including Best Ensemble), The New Electric Ballroom, and The Walworth Farce (nominated for two Helen Hayes Awards). Prior to his work at Studio, Mr. Torney served as the Director of Programming for Origin Theatre in New York, an Off Broadway company that specializes in European new writing. His New York credits include Stop the Tempo and Tiny Dynamite (Origin Theatre, Drama Desk Award nominee), The Twelfth Labor (Loading Dock), The Dudleys (Theatre for the New City), The Angel of History (HERE Arts), and Three Sisters and A Bright Room Called Day (Atlantic Theatre School). Regional credits include Sherlock Holmes and The Crucifer of Blood, and Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre) and Improbable Frequency (Solas Nua, Helen Hayes Award nominee for Best Choreography ). International credits include Digging For Fire and Plaza Suite (Rough Magic, National Tour), Angola (workshop at the Abbey Theatre), Paisley and Me (Grand Opera House, Belfast), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Making Strange, Irish Theatre Award nominee for Best Director), and Woyzeck (Rough Magic, Best Production nominee at the Dublin Fringe Festival). Originally from Belfast, Mr. Torney holds an MFA from Columbia University. Praise for The Hard Problem "Stoppard creates high-minded dialogue about coincidence and miracles, then toys with the ideas dramatically... The Hard Problem pays worthwhile dividends" -Nelson Pressley, The Washington Post

3 "...Studio Theatre s production of this fascinating drama sparkles with fresh insights into questions that have bedeviled centuries of scientists and philosophers. It s Tom Stoppard at his most provocative." -Amy Kotkin, DC Metro Theatre Arts "A sterling example of the signature style we have come to expect from Stoppard... playful and full of conviction" -Eileen Elizabeth, Boshemia "Stoppard s play is delightfully human and the intimacy of Studio Theatre is just the space to capture that." -Stephanie House, MD Theatre Guide "Tom Stoppard scripts an extraordinary excursion with his new play The Hard Problem, now in an exquisitely scintillating and astonishingly affecting production directed by Matt Torney at Studio Theatre." -John Stoltenberg, DC Metro Theatre Arts THE CREATIVE TEAM Set Designer Deb Booth is the Director of Design at Studio Theatre, where she has designed Constellations, The Apple Family Plays, Belleville, Cock, Edgar & Annabel, and Bachelorette, among others. Ms. Booth is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Design Grant and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Lighting Designer Michael Giannitti was Resident Lighting Designer at Studio Theatre from Since 1991, he has designed 44 productions at Studio, including Jumpers For Goalposts, Water by the Spoonful, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The New Electric Ballroom, American Buffalo, reasons to be pretty, Rock n Roll, The Pillowman, and Seven Guitars (Helen Hayes Award nomination). Costume Designer Sarah Cubbage's Off Broadway credits include Soho Repertory Theatre, Theatre for the New City, Aquila Theatre Company, Urban Stages, Ohio Theatre, and Atlantic Stage 2. Her regional credits include Everyman Theatre, Center Stage, Rep Stage, Syracuse Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Northern Stage, Premiere Stages, and Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. Sound Designer James Bigbee Garver returns to Studio Theatre after designing Cock, Lungs, Mary-Kate Olsen Is In Love, Moth, Contractions, Skin Tight, and 2-2 Tango. In Washington DC his work has been heard at Signature Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Folger Theatre, Round House Theatre, Theater J, CityDance Ensemble, Word Dance Theatre, and Georgetown University, among others. Dramaturg Lauren Halvorsen is in her sixth season as Associate Literary Director of Studio Theatre. Her dramaturgy credits at Studio include Hand to God, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, The Wolfe Twins, Belleville, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, The Real Thing, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The Aliens, Bachelorette, The Big Meal, and Time Stands Still. Dialect Coach Elizabeth Alman returns to Studio Theatre after first appearing in The Invention of Love and Far East fifteen years ago. She has since coached productions at the Kennedy

4 Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, and has coached interpreters for the Department of State and the International Monetary Fund. THE CAST Shravan Amin (Amal) returns to Studio Theatre after appearing in Edgar & Annabel. He also appeared in The Hard Problem at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. In the DC area, his credits include Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare Theatre Company, When January Feels Like Summer at Mosaic Theater, If All The Sky Were Paper at The Kennedy Center, Very Still and Hard to See at Rorschach Theatre, and The Jungle Book at Adventure Theatre. Mr. Amin also performs improv comedy at regionals shows and festivals. He has trained at the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory and Washington Improv Theater. Kyle Cameron (Spike) makes his Washington DC debut. His previous credits include the world premiere of Trouble Cometh at San Francisco Playhouse; Johnny Baseball! at Williamstown Theatre Festival; and numerous productions such as Ring Round the Moon, The Seagull, and Richard III at NYU's Graduate Acting program. Mr. Cameron's Canadian credits include three international tours and an Off Broadway run of Cranked, The History Boys at Arts Club Theatre, and The Secret Garden at the National Arts Centre. His film and television credits include Vampire at Sundance in 2011, Orange is the New Black, The Lottery, and Murdoch Mysteries. Mr. Cameron holds an MFA in Acting from New York University. Martin Giles (Leo) is an actor and director based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His most recent acting credits include The Merchant Of Venice at PICT Classic Theatre, I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard at Pittsburgh Playhouse Rep, and Krapp's Last Tape at T.A.C.T. Directing credits include The Master Builder at Quantum Theatre. He worked with director Matt Torney a couple of years ago on Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme at PICT Classic Theatre. He has taught acting and directing at Point Park University, Ohio University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Katie Beth Hall (Cathy) makes her Washington DC debut at Studio Theatre. She was last seen as Baby June in Gypsy at The PlayHouse and Miss Flannery in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jr. at The Woodlawn in San Antonio. Other recent credits include the short film The New 35 and Investigation Discovery's Shadow of Doubt (Season 2). Ms. Hall is in her first year of Adventure Theatre MTC's pre-professional theatre program. She is a 7th grade homeschooler who enjoys piano and singing, studies tap and hip-hop, and is a student of Krav Maga. Joy Jones (Ursula) returns to Studio Theatre after performances in Cloud 9, Invisible Man (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Ensemble), and Belleville. Off Broadway credits include Zaide at Lincoln Center Festival and The Champion at BRIC Media Arts and workshops at The Public, Playwrights Horizons, and New Dramatists. International credits include Tantalus at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Select regional credits include Mary T & Lizzy K at Arena Stage; Ruined and Tantalus at the Denver Center; Fences at Everyman Theatre; Invisible Man at Huntington Theatre; and Pericles and Romeo & Juliet at PlayMakers Repertory. Recently, she was featured in String Music on BBC4 and in the independent film The Confidential Informant. Ms. Jones holds an MFA in Acting from UNC-Chapel Hill. Emily Kester (Julia) last appeared at Studio in Edgar & Annabel. She was most recently seen in The Last Schwartz at Theater J and Eurydice at NextStop Theatre Company. Other DC and

5 regional credits include Equus at Constellation Theatre Company; The Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmatians, and Double Trouble at Imagination Stage; The BFG with Imagination Stage & The National Children's Theatre (Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Ensemble); She Kills Monsters and A Softer World at Rorschach Theatre; A Christmas Carol at Triad Stage; The Tempest with The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival; and The Ugly Duckling with Bright Star Touring Theatre. Ms. Kester earned her BFA in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Tessa Klein (Hilary) returns to Studio after appearing in Chimerica last season. Broadway and Off Broadway credits include War Horse at Lincoln Center Theatre; The Weir and Philadelphia, Here I Come at Irish Repertory Theatre; and A Touch of the Poet at 14 th St Theatre. DC and regional credits include An Ideal Husband at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Argonautika at Shakespeare Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre (directed by Mary Zimmerman); The Call, The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, and A Seagull on 16 th St at Theater J; Promise at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (directed by John Tillinger); The Trojan Women at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; and Hamlet, She Stoops to Conquer, and Aristocrats at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. Film and television credits include The Whitest Kids U' Know, Disappearances, and Peter and John. Ms. Klein studied at the Moscow Art Theatre and holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. David Andrew MacDonald (Jerry) has appeared on Broadway in Skylight, Rocky, Mamma Mia!, Coram Boy, Two Shakespearean Actors, and the National Tour of Stephen Daldry's An Inspector Calls (Jeff Award nomination). His Off Broadway credits include A Night and her Stars and The Green Heart at Manhattan Theatre Club. He has appeared in world and American premieres by Lucinda Coxon, Theresa Rebeck, and Emily Mann at Yale Rep, The Alley Theatre, and McCarter Theatre Center. Across the U.S. and Canada, Mr. MacDonald has worked at The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, Wilma Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Cape Playhouse, Manitoba Theatre Centre, and many others. His television credits include Elementary, Person of Interest, The Blacklist, The Big C, Michael J. Fox Show, Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Sex and the City, Another World, and ten years as Edmund Winslow on Guiding Light. Mr MacDonald is a graduate of The Juilliard School. Nancy Sun (Bo) makes her Studio Theatre debut. Off Broadway theatre credits include Red Flamboyant with Firebone Theatre, An Infinite Ache at Access Theater, and Pornography for the People at the Dream Up Festival. Television credits include The Slap, The Family, and Younger. This spring, she will be making her feature film debut in Going in Style. Ms. Sun is a Meisnertrained graduate of the Maggie Flanigan Studio and the University of Pennsylvania. INFORMATION Where: Studio Theatre s Metheney Theatre, th St NW, Washington, DC Dates: Extended through February 26 Performances: Now through February 19: Tues Sat, 8pm; Sat and Sun, 2pm; Sunday, 7pm Week of February 20-26: Thurs Sat, 8pm; Sat and Sun, 2pm Ticket Prices: Tickets begin at $52

6 STUDIO THEATRE In its seventh season under the leadership of Artistic Director David Muse, Studio Theatre is Washington s premier venue for contemporary theatre, where local audiences will find today s edgiest playwrights (Variety). Muse is joined by Managing Director Meridith Burkus. One of the most respected midsized theatres in the country, Studio Theatre produces the work of today s greatest writers, augmented by occasional productions of modern classics, performed by acclaimed actors in intimate spaces. Throughout the Theatre s 38-year history, the quality of its work has been recognized by sustained community support as well as with 342 nominations and 64 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. GENERAL INFORMATION Location: th Street NW (northeast corner of 14th and P Streets). Parking: Studio has a parking partnership with Washington Plaza Hotel at 10 Thomas Circle NW, three blocks south of Studio; patrons who park at the hotel s parking garage can purchase a $13 voucher at the box office. Street parking is extremely limited; arrive early to increase your options. Metro Stops: Red Line: Dupont Circle, Orange/Blue Lines: McPherson Square, and Green/ Yellow Lines: U Street/Cardozo. Accessibility: Studio s theatres are all wheelchair accessible; seats are available by reservation. Assistive listening devices are available for all shows at concessions. Call the Box Office at for more information. Contact Information: Tickets and Subscriptions: Administration: Website: studiotheatre.org info@studiotheatre.org ###