Behind the Scenes:
Jerusalem
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Bill English
Everyone wants Johnny. His son wants to go to the county fair. His mates want his stash and his booze. County officials want him evicted. Whatever happened to the simple life in the country? Come find out in this hit Tony and Olivier winning play!
After opening at London’s Royal Court Theater in 2009, the San Francisco Playhouse production of Jerusalem will be the first American production!
“Jez Butterworth’s gorgeous, expansive new play keeps coming at its audience in unpredictable gusts, rolling from comic to furious, from winsome to bawdy.”-The Guardian
Note: this performance will feature the use of strobe lights, theatrical haze, and herbal cigarettes.
Production Photos:
Johnny “Rooster” Byron (Brian Dykstra*) calls in the giants.
Fawcett (Courtney Walsh) presents final eviction notice to Johnny (Brian Dykstra*) while Parsons (Aaron Murphy) records.
Wesley (Christopher Reber*) laments the old days) with Johnny (Brian Dykstra*)
A toast to Lee before he departs for Australia. (Joshua Schell, Brian Dykstra*, (Lee) Paris Hunter Paul* Riley Krull, Devon Simpson, Ian Scott McGregor*)
Johnny issues his call to arms: Paris Hunter Paul*, Richard Louis James, Joshua Schell, Brian Dykstra*, Riley Krull, Devon Simpson, Ian Scott McGregor*.
Gang lines up for acid tab: Richard Louis James, Joshua Schell, Paris Hunter Paul*, Riley Krull, Devon Simpson, Brian Dykstra*, Ian Scott McGregor*.
Pea and Tanya say goodbye to Johnny (Devon Simpson, Brian Dykstra*, Riley Krull)
Battle Cry against the Establishment Front: Lee (Paris Hunter Paul*), Johnny( Brian Dykstra*), Ginger (Ian Scott McGregor*), 2nd row, Davey (Joshua Schell), Tanya (Riley Krull), Pea (Devon Simpson) and Professor (Richard Louis James).
Watching video proof of wild party: Lee (Paris Hunter Paul*), Johnny (Brian Dykstra*), Davey (Joshua Schell), Ginger (Ian Scott McGregor*).
Johnny (Brian Dykstra*) offers peace to ex- Dawn (Maggie Mason).
Photos by Jessica Palopoli
Pre-Production Photos:
“Rooster” (Brian Dykstra) and ex- (Maggie Mason).
“Rooster” (Brian Dykstra) and ex- (Maggie Mason).
The Cast of Jerusalem
“Rooster” Brian Dykstra with son (Ian DeVaynes) and ex-(Maggie Mason)
Johnny “Rooster” Byron (Brian Dykstra)
“Rooster” (Brian Dykstra) with his son Marky (Ian DeVaynes)
The Cast of Jerusalem
Photos by Lauren English
The Cast of Jerusalem:
Julia Belanoff (Phaedra) is thrilled to be back at San Francisco Playhouse, where she has appeared in Camelot (Nimue), Coraline (Coraline), and Landscape of the Body (Margie). At Custom Made Theatre Company, she has appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne) and The Effect of Gamma Rays… (Tillie). Her other theatrical credits include Little Women (Beth) at TheatreWorks, The Cherry Orchard (Anya) at Pear Avenue Theatre, The Secret Garden (Mary) at Coastal Repertory Theatre, and numerous productions at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center, including Our Town (Emily), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), Whistle Down the Wind (Swallow), Carousel (Carrie), and All Shook Up (Natalie). Ms. Belanoff studies voice with Debra Lambert and dance at Dance Arts Center. Her album Winner In Your Heart is available on iTunes. In fall 2014, she will begin her undergraduate studies at Harvard as a member of the class of 2018.
Ian DeVaynes (Marky) was born in Brooklyn, New York but lives in San Francisco now. Ian is 10 years old and a fifth grade student at Holy Name School. Ian is no stranger to the stage and began performing and showing his passion for the stage while in pre-school. He takes every opportunity to perform on stage and does “hip-hop” in his school’s annual talent show. He has attended San Francisco A.C.T.’s Young Conservatory since he was eight years old. Ian has performed in A.C.T. A Christmas Carol for the past two years, loves music, singing and dance. He also has a passion for playing sports with baseball being his favorite. When not on stage, you will find him on a field hitting a “Home Run”.
Brian Dykstra* (Johnny Rooster) is an actor, playwright, and HBO Def Poet. He recently played Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington D.C.) and spent six months on Broadway with Tom Hanks in Lucky Guy (directed by George C. Wolfe). Dykstra has also played Rothko (Red), Walter (The Price), Trigorin (The Seagull), Gus (Call Me Waldo), Elyot Chase (Private Lives), Claudius (Hamlet), Heisenberg (Copenhagen), Eddie Carbon (View from the Bridge). Solo shows include: Cornered & Alone, Ho, The Jesus Factor, and Selling Out. Film/TV roles include: “HBO Def Poetry,” “Chappelle’s Show,” Knight & Day, Freedomland, Corn, “Third Watch,” “Law & Order”. His play productions include: Hiding Behind Comets (Stavis Award Winner), A Play On Words, The Two of You, Clean Alternatives (Edinburgh Fringe First) Strangerhorse, Forsaking All Others, and Spill The Wine. His current projects include two plays and an operatic adaptation of The Learned Ladies by Moliere.
Joe Estlack (Troy) trained in the lineage of Jacques Lecoq. He was last seen in Strangers, Babies at the Ashby Stage. Other credits include Bonnie and Clyde (Ashby Stage), Woyzeck (Ashby Stage), Welcome Home Jenny Sutter (Theater First) and The Medea Hypotheses (Central Works). He received a nomination from the BACC for his portrayal of Jake in Sam Sheppard’s A Lie of the Mind (Boxcar Theater). His next role is Van Helsing in Dracula Inquest at Central Works in July.
Richard Louis James (Professor). Mr. James last appeared with the SFPlayhouse in The Crucible, Prelude To A Kiss, and the S.F. premiere of his one man show Tea n‘ Crisp. His last performance was with ShotgunPlayers this past fall as Duncan in Strangers, babies.
Calum John (Marky) is thrilled to be back at the Playhouse having spent last summer as Tom in Camelot. A 5th grader at Miraloma Elementary School, Calum’s previous credits include Tiny Tim at ACT, the title role in Oliver Twist at the Dickens Christmas Faire and Korzcak’s Children, Moontel 6 and I was a Rat in the Young Conservatory at ACT. He worked with the ACT 2nd year MFA students in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and David Copperfield. He has worked in voice-over and commercials, most recently looping Monsters University (Pixar). He stars in the upcoming feature film, Yosemite, with screenplay and direction by Gabrielle Demeestere.
Riley Krull (Tanya Crawley) is proud to be making her Playhouse debut! Recent Credits include: Being Earnest (Cecily) with TheatreWorks, Another Way Home (Nora) with Magic Theatre, Carrie, The Musical (Chris) with Ray of Light Theatre, Sugar (Sugar) and Three Sisters (Mary) with 42nd Street Moon, Spring Awakening (Wendla) with Altarena Playhouse, The Little Foxes (Alexandra) with Tides Theatre, and Legally Blonde, The Musical (Margot) with Diablo Theatre Company. Riley graduated with honors from the Boston Conservatory of Music and studied at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She can be seen this fall as the famed beauty Evelyn Nesbit in Harry Thaw Hates Everybody at Shotgun Players. For her web series “You Are Here” and more, visit www.rileykrull.com.
Maggie Mason (Dawn) is delighted to be working on this beautiful play with such incredible people. She was last at the San Francisco Playhouse assistant directing Abigail’s Party and will be appearing at the Magic Theater in Every 5 Minutes this Spring. New York Credits: These Seven Sicknesses, and Arok of Java (Exit, Pursued by a Bear), Right to the Top (staged reading) written and directed by Amy Freed. Select Bay Area Credits: You, Nero dir. Sharon Ott, Pericles (u/s) dir. Mark Wing-Davey and Arabian Nights (u/s) dir. Mary Zimmerman (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); Period of Adjustment (SF Playhouse) dir. Bill English; Why We Have A Body dir. Katie Pearl, and Or, dir. Loretta Greco (Magic Theatre, nominated ‘Best Actress’ for the BACC awards); Henry V (SF Shakespeare Festival); Rock and Roll (San Jose Stage); Hamlet and As You Like It (Pacific Repertory Theatre); Oskar the Bully (Theatreworks). Film and television: Grange Hill (BBC) Gemma Lyons, 3 seasons.
Ian Scott McGregor* (Ginger) is honored to make his San Francisco Playhouse debut in Jerusalem. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Mr. McGregor now calls Brooklyn home. He’s performed with Encore Theatre Company, Z-Space, Aurora Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, NY Fringe Festival and The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Television: The 67th Annual Tony Awards, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and VEEP, Comedy Central’s The Onion Sports Network, NBC’s Law & Order and many national commercials. Film: Magnolia Pictures’ The Brass Teapot, The Zodiac and The Lost Coast (*Official Selection SXSW Film Festival, 2008 and SF Frameline, 2008, **Winner Best New Feature, NYC NewFest, 2008). He performed the voice and motion-capture for “Cletus” in the fastest-selling video game in history, Grand Theft Auto V. Thanks to Bill, Susi, Lauren, this immeasurably talented cast, Craig, Will, Dev, Mom, Dad and most importantly, you, the loyal theatre patrons of San Francisco.
Aaron Murphy (Parsons) last performed with SF Playhouse in Seven Days. He recently has appeared in Oleanna with Spare Stage, Arms and the Man and To Kill a Mockingbird with Center Rep, A Doll’s House at Willows Theatre, and Doubt: a Parable with the Drama Association at Rossmoor. Other credits include Glengarry Glen Ross and Betrayal (Actors Theater of San Francisco), Gaslight, Uncle Vanya, Hedda Gabler, The Real Inspector Hound, The Homecoming, and American Buffalo. He co-founded the theater company Spare Stage, performing in productions of Here, Private Eyes, Ashes to Ashes, and Afterplay, as well as producing The Unexpected Man, which received three Critic Circle awards. He earned his BFA in Acting at UC Santa Barbara.
Paris Hunter Paul* (Lee) Theatre: SF Playhouse: Camelot; The Guthrie Theater: A Christmas Carol 2012 & 2013 (both times as Young Scrooge), In Game or Real, the Dowling Studio; Berkeley Repertory Theatre: (as understudy) Pericles, No Man’s Land, Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike; California Shakespeare Theater: Titus Andronicus, Candida; Great River Shakespeare Festival: Titus Andronicus, Othello; Walking Shadow Theatre Company: Orpheus in Eurydice; UMN Xperimental Theatre: Equivocation (actor, director, producer); Tides Theatre w/ Center for Investigative Reporting: Storyworks. Next: Cutting Ball Theatre: Communique #10 (world premier); Jungle Theatre: The Heiress. Training: University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program (class of 2012); Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, UK, London Int’l School of Performing Arts. Learn more about Paris’ acting, teaching, and directing at www.parishunterpaul.com.
Christopher Reber* (Wesley) San Francisco Playhouse: Debut; Bay Area: Jewel Theatre’s Pump Boys and Dinettes, Arcadia, Gunmetal Blues. 42nd St. Moon’s Three Sisters. San Jose Rep’s A Christmas Carol 2.0. NYC: Betty and the Bellrays; Life During Wartime; The Time of Mendel’s Trouble. Regional: Inherit the Wind, Carnival, 1776, Evita, Side By Side By Sondheim, The Illusion, Romance/Romance, A Romantic Comedy, The Mound Builders, Our Country’s Good, The Frog Prince, Biloxi Blues, No Sex Please…We’re British, Noises Off, The Baltimore Waltz, Man of La Mancha For Lee Ann
David Raymond (Man 1, understudy) is proud to be making his San Francisco theatrical debut with San Francisco Playhouse. Recent Bay Area credits include “Jack” in The Importance of Being Earnest with Stanford Summer Theater. Chicago credits include “Kenny” in The Sand Castle with Theatre Seven of Chicago. David is a NHSI Cherubs alumnus (2008) and a recent graduate of Stanford University (B.A. Theater and Performance Studies ’14). Stanford credits include “John Proctor” in The Crucible, “Comet” in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, “Orlando” in As You Like It, “Parolles” in All’s Well That Ends Well, “Wisehammer” in Our Country’s Good, and “Boy” in Bulrusher. Independent and short film credits include I’m Not in The Crowd, Portola Gone, Nighthawks, and The Vipassanna Order. He would like to thank his family for their love and support.
Joshua Schellis (Davey/Man 2) thrilled to be appearing in his first production with the Playhouse. Credits include In the Red and Brown Water with Marin Theatre Company, Pelleas and Melisande with Cutting Ball, Richard the First with Central Works, The Bereaved and Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven with Crowded Fire, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play with Broadway By the Bay, Anna Christie with Role Players Ensemble, Chris Christophersen with the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, A Lie of the Mind with Boxcar, The Nature Line with Sleepwalkers, Treefall with New Conservatory, A Few Good Men with Hapgood, True West and Fool for Love with the Casitas Group and West with the Electric Lodge and understudy credits with Berkeley Rep and Cal Shakes. Independent films include The Whistler, Pleased to Meet You, Before the Cabin Burned Down and Maker’s Mark. He holds a BFA from the University of Southern California and is an alum of ACT’s Young Conservatory.
Devon Simpson (Pea) is incredibly excited to be in her first performance at SF Playhouse. She currently studies English and Theater Arts at UC Berkeley, where she has performed in Sweeney Todd, Death and Other Hobbies, and as the title role in Salome. Other roles include: Olive Ostrovsky (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Amy March (Little Women), Glinda (The Wizard of Oz), Queenie (Honk!), and Et Cetera (Cats). She would like to thank Troy River at AHS and everyone at StarStruck Theatre in Fremont for introducing her to theater and her parents for their never-ending support.
Courtney Walsh (Fawcett, U/S Dawn) is delighted to make her San Francisco Playhouse debut. After earning a B.A. in Theater at Yale, Courtney worked as an actor in Los Angeles, then earned a law degree, representing abused children. Since returning to acting in 2006, Courtney has appeared throughout the Bay Area (including six seasons with Stanford Summer Theater’s professional company) and in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Cardiff, Berlin, Athens and Amsterdam. Courtney’s latest film, The Track, was a 2012 film festival selection in Boston, Miami, Sun Valley, Sonoma and Las Vegas. She recently appeared at Tides Theater in Amy Glazer’s production of The Couch. In Fall 2013, she earned critical acclaim as Winnie in Beckett’s Happy Days in the U.S. and France, performing in both English and French. Courtney is a CSP drama lecturer at Stanford. Also a competitive equestrienne, she lives in Marin with her husband and four children. courtneywalsh.net
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