THE CUTTING BALL THEATER NEWSLETTER
July 27th, 2005 Volume 1, Issue 4

Contents:
1. The Cutting Ball Closes Successful 5 th Season
2. 2005-2006 Season Auditions and Design Opportunities
3. The Cutting Ball recommends The Bay Area Playwrights Festival
4. Wish List

The Cutting Ball Closes Successful 5 th Season

Dear Friends,

This time last year, we were planning for our first three-play season.
I knew it was going to be a big push for us, but nothing could have prepared me for how successful it was. We received wonderful houses and great press. No Exit extended for two weeks and Macbeth for four. We actually tripled in size in one year. Thank you for your part in making it such a blow-out season.

As nice as great reviews and box office records are, I am most proud of the work itself. With Avant GardARAMA! we offered Bay Area audiences five rarely performed experimental plays by some of the most important avant garde writers in the world. We also did the premiere production of a new translation of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit that uncovered the humor and liveliness of the original. Our Macbeth was a bold interpretation that saw Shakespeare's classic with new eyes. What is most exciting is that all three productions were unique theatrical experiences that could only be seen right here in San Francisco.

I feel so fortunate to have a dedicated audience that is engaged with us throughout the year and next year, we are going to offer even more ways to be involved with The Cutting Ball. Stay tuned!

Thank you for being such a great audience. I look forward to seeing you soon!

-Rob

P.S. I have included some of our favorite images from last season.
Enjoy looking back on a great year!

Jessa Santens and Danielle O'Hare as French Stewardesses and Ryan Oden and James Craft as Airplanes in Fighter Airplanes from the notebooks of Richard Foreman (part of Avant GardARAMA!)	Jaxy Boyd as Dr. Claudia Mitchell in The Sandalwood Box by Mac Wellman (part of Avant GardARAMA!)
Adam Kenyon Venker as Garcin and Nick Maccarone as The Bellboy in Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit in a new translation by Rob Melrose	Darcy Brown-Martin and Danielle O'Hare as Estelle in Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit in a new translation by Rob Melrose
Paige Rogers as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth	Garth Petal as Macbeth and Jack Sale, Daniel Krueger, and Keith C. Davis as Witches in Macbeth

The Cutting Ball recommends The Bay Area Playwrights Festival

Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose directs Lamb and Jelly by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb for BAPF and Killing My Lobster.

"I had the opportunity to hear the plays from the festival read by the playwrights at the BAPF retreat at Walker Creek Ranch. This is really exciting work. It is a wonderful variety of plays. These are some of the most interesting playwrights in the country and they are all here putting together reading of their work with some of the best actors in the Bay Area. I am especially enjoying working on Peter's irreverent comedy with the folks from Killing My Lobster. Don't miss your chance to hear some really interesting new plays."

-Rob Melrose

More information on The Bay Area Playwrights Festival:

www.playwrightsfoundation.org

July 29-August 7, 2005 at the Magic Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday, July 30
12n: LAMB & JELLY by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
4pm: WATER STORIES FROM THE MOJAVE DESERT by Brighde Mullins
8pm: STARS FELL ALL NIGHT by Mike Gaither

Sunday, July 31
12n BASH! (Bay Area Shorts)

• JESUS IN LAS VEGAS by Elizabeth Benedict
• ONCE by Kenyon Brown
• TEN SHADES OF MAGENTA by Richard Talavera
• LEARN TO BE LATINA by Enrique Urueta

2:30pm: BASH! Reception with the Artists
4pm: GREEN GIRL by Sarah Hammond
8pm: EMOPHILIACS by Prince Gomolvilas and Inverness

Early bird 10% discount thru July 15th
* To reserve your seats e-mail festival@playwrightsfoundation.org
* To leave a message, call box-office phone: 415.263.3986
* To talk to a live person, call 415.626.0453 x 105 or 106 between 12n and 5pm

SINGLE TICKETS: $12-$15 sliding scale, by donation

FLOWER PASS: attend six plays for $60
Your six tickets can be used in any combination. For example, you and a guest can attend three plays, or you can see six shows by yourself.

BOUQUET PASS: attend ALL festival events for $75
Enjoy everything the festival has to offer! This unlimited pass allows you access to all events, including the Talkback, the Symposium on play development and a special reception with festival playwrights

VENUE
Magic Theatre, Building D, 3rd Floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
For directions, visit http://www.magictheatre.org/pages/location.shtml

2005-2006 Season

Auditions
The Cutting Ball will hold auditions for the 2005-2006 season on August 20 from 10am-4pm and August 21 from 2-8pm at the EXIT Theatre on Taylor. Please see http://cuttingball.com/audition.phpfor details.

Designers
The Cutting Ball is currently interviewing designers for all upcoming productions. Please see http://cuttingball.com/design.php for details.

The Wish List

The Cutting Ball Theater relies on donations from individuals to continue producing the high-quality, energetic work on which we pride ourselves. Like most performing arts organizations, the majority of donated funds come from individual theater-lovers, not government agencies or corporate foundations. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit: http://cuttingball.com/donate.php

We are also seeking the following in-kind donations:

• A rehearsal space in San Francisco
• An office space in San Francisco
• A place to store props in San Francisco
• White Paper
• Photo Paper
• HP Ink cartridges for HP Officejet 4200

The 2005-2006 season has been announced!
Please visit www.cuttingball.com/future.php.

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