Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno at Seattle Repertory Theatre

Seattle Repertory Theatre presents:

By Will Eno
Starring Todd Jefferson Moore
Directed by Jerry Manning
October 5 – November 5, 2006
(Opening Night: Wednesday, October 11)

Seattle, WA – Seattle Repertory Theatre presents the disturbingly funny play Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno, playing in the Leo K Theatre from October 5 through November 5, 2006. Previews begin October 5, with opening night set for October 11. Tickets are available through the Seattle Repertory Theatre box office seven days a week at (206) 443-2222, toll-free at (877) 900-9285, as well as online at www.seattlerep.org.

The Play: The hit of Off-Broadway when it premiered in 2005, Thom Pain (based on nothing) is one of those events in the theatre that invites a string of adjectives— funny, edgy, existential, honest, engaging, raw— and yet defies classification or description. A treatise on life and love, and the profound terror of same, Thom Pain was described in The New York Times as “one of those treasured nights in the theater— treasured nights anywhere, for that matter—that can leave you both breathless with exhilaration and, depending on your sensitivity to meditations on the bleak and beautiful mysteries of human experience, in a puddle of tears. Also in stitches.” The audience is invited to join Thom in his exploration of lost love and childhood foibles, and the anxieties brought on by them. It is an odd and intoxicating affirmation of the value of being alive. A finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Thom Pain (based on nothing) stars acclaimed local actor Todd Jefferson Moore.

The Playwright: Will Eno lives in Brooklyn. He is a Helen Merrill Playwriting Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and an Edward F. Albee Foundation Fellow. In 2004, he was awarded the first-ever Marian Seldes/Garson Kanin Fellowship by the Theater Hall of Fame, for which he was nominated by Edward Albee. His play The Flu Season recently won the Oppenheimer Award, presented by NY Newsday for best debut production in the previous year in New York by an American playwright. His plays have been produced by the Gate Theatre, the SOHO Theatre, and BBC Radio in London; the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company, the NY Power Company and Naked Angels, in New York; and in Berlin, Sydney, and Sao Paolo. His plays are published by Oberon Books, and have appeared in Harper's, The Antioch Review, The Quarterly, and Best Ten-Minute Plays for Two Actors.

The Director: Thom Pain (based on nothing) marks Jerry Manning‘s first full production as a director with Seattle Rep. Recent credits include the eight-month run of Marie Jone’s Stones in His Pockets at Capital Hill Arts Center (CHAC); Major David Tucker’s play Another Day in Bagdad at Theatre Four, and Bryan Willis’ John Lennon’s Gargoyle at Theater Schmeater. He has staged work by John Guare, Kevin Kling, Marivaux, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Charles Busch, and William Mastrosimone, among others, and has conducted readings and workshops with the ACT/Fringe Festival, New Dramatists, New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), Seattle Rep, Dixon Place, and Seattle Dramatists. As a casting director, Mr. Manning has worked on over 100 productions with such notable artists as Max Stafford Clarke, Joanne Akalaitis, David Esbjornson, Sharon Ott, Garland Wright, Tina Landau, Stephen Wadsworth, Michael Greif, Joe Dowling, Joe Mantello, Doug Hughes, Zelda Fichandler, and Liviu Ciulei. Mr. Manning was a member of the artistic staff at NYTW for six seasons where he was dramaturg on the world premiere production of Doug Wright’s Quills and resident casting director for the premiere of Jonathan Larsen’s RENT. He served as a staffer for eleven seasons at Arena Stage. He is the resident dramaturg for CHAC and has been a member of Seattle Rep’s artistic team for six seasons (currently as casting director). Mr. Manning is a site reporter for the National Endowment for the Arts and a Usual Suspect with NYTW.

Performance Details: Performances of Thom Pain (based on nothing) are at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sundays. There will be no performance on Thursday, October 12. There will be a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, November 1. Post-play discussions will be held after performances on Thursday, October 5, Sunday October 22 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. There is an audio-described performance on Saturday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. and an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m.