ABOUT THE PLAY

The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, The Susan Blackburn Prize for Playwriting) opens our 2007-2008 season. This is an unpredictable comedy about a Brazilian maid who hates to clean but instead dreams of telling the perfect joke (in Portuguese, no less). Her employer’s sister loves to clean and the two of them conspire with a mysterious stranger to shake up the lives of everyone involved with hilarious commitments. Graceful and visually sumptuous, this moving story overflows with jokes that are not understood, deep feelings that can’t be explained, and houses that are never as clean as they should be. Opens Sept 19-Oct 6, 2007

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT - Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl's plays include The Clean House (Susan Smith Blackburn award, 2004), Melancholy Play, Eurydice, Late: a cowboy song, Orlando, and Passion Play. Recent projects include Eurydice at Madison Repertory Theater, Passion Play at the Actor's Centre in London, directed by Mark Wing-Davey, and Orlando at the Actor's Gang, directed by Joyce Piven. Her plays have been performed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 2002 Humana Festival, at Trinity Repertory Company, the Children's Theatre Company, Brown University, and at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Chicago. Her work has been developed at theaters around the country, including the Joseph Papp Public Theater and Playwrights Horizons in New York; Arena Stage, the McCarter Theatre, and Seattle Repertory regionally. Sarah received her M.F.A. from Brown University, and is originally from Chicago. In 2003, she was the recipient of a Helen Merrill award and a Whiting Writers' award.

MEET THE DIRECTOR - Scott Ripley

Scott Ripley graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy (BS, English) in 1984 and served aboard the carriers USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt as a bombardier/ navigator in Attack Squadron 35. He logged 1,000 hours and 200 arrested landings in the A-6 Intruder. In 1990, he resigned his commission to enter the Professional Actors Training Program at U.C. San Diego, where he received his MFA (Acting) in 1993. Since then he has played leading roles on professional stages across the country and abroad, including at La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), Portland Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Taiwan National Theatre, Moscow Art Theatre and for three seasons in the acting company of the American Repertory Theatre. He has also done film, television, commercial and voiceover work in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Mexico, Belgium and the Netherlands. Scott has taught acting, improvisation, voice and movement at U.C. San Diego, Northeastern University, Salem State College, Babson College, the American School of the Hague, Sinclair Community College and Arizona State University. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Theatre Department at Davidson College. For ATC, Scott played Peter in Bug (MTA nominee, Best Actor in a Drama) and Charlotte von Mahlsdorf in the critically acclaimed production of I Am My Own Wife, for which he won Creative Loafing’s Theater Person of the Year Award, and Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

MEET THE CAST

Claudia Carter Covington (Lane) has worked in many professional theatres around the country and in Charlotte acted with Charlotte Repertory Theatre and served as their Literary Manager for 18 years. She directed, performed in and helped produce their Festival of New American Plays, where Charlotte audiences were introduced to many award winning playwrights. She received her B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Stephens College and is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where she studied with Sanford Meisner. Some of Claudia’s favorite roles include Lindsey in the premiere of Sister Calling My Name; Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet for the Rep and the Charlotte Symphony; Artie in Eleemosynary for Charlotte Rep and the Shakespeare Festival; Allison in Look Back in Anger for Trinity Players; Christabelle Pankhurst in Suffragette at the Agassiz and Raymond in Flea in Her Ear for the Vortex Theatre. She is currently working for Steve Umberger’s Playworks.  She has taught acting at North Carolina School of the Arts, Westminster Schools, Albuquerque Academy and the Tom Ray Center for juvenile offenders and was director of Cities at Peace, a multi-cultural performance group of area high school students. She’s also been a guest artist at Davidson College for a number of years and a reader for the North Carolina Arts Council playwrighting awards. She is a member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and served as their regional Vice President. Claudia is a recipient of Charlotte magazine’s Best Actress Award. She is very grateful for the opportunity to be working with Actor’s Theatre. She’s just celebrated a thirtieth wedding anniversary with George Covington and is the proud mother of Tyler, Alec, and Abigail.

Martin Thompson (Charles) is a professional actor and director with extensive credits on the New York stage, as well as in regional theatres across the country. His motion picture credits include Spies, The Boneyard, Mr. Destiny, and Billy Bathgate with Dustin Hoffman.

On television he has appeared on the popular daytime soaps The Guiding Light, The Edge of Night and in the recurring role of “Patrick” on All My Children. Winner of the 2005 MTA Best Actor Award for his performance in Art at Charlotte Rep, Thompson also received the 2006 nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance as "Eddie Lawrence" in Shear Madness, which became "The Longest Running Show in Charlotte Theatre History" at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

Thompson currently teaches the adult Acting Classes here at Actors Theatre.  He is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.

Adyana de la Torre (Matilde) just recently completed a series of short plays from 365 Plays/365 Days performed at the Public Theatre in New York with the Faux Real Theatre Company.  You may have seen her in Charlotte in Carolina Actors Studio Theatre’s production of Neon Mirage and Orange Lemon Egg Canary or in Barebones Theatre Company’s production of Torches last year.   On film, she recently played the role of Dr. Alejandra Carillo in Truth Function’s ¡A Su Salud!, an instructional Spanish film shot in Chapel Hill.

She also enjoys choreographing and performing with Swerve, an urban dance group. However, when she is not on stage or in front of the camera, she is at the gym either- working out, teaching a class or training a client.  She would like to thank ATC for giving her this wonderful opportunity to be a part of this talented cast and crew and to help tell such a beautiful story. She would also like to thank Rachel, Anelise and Nilda for helping her perfect her Portuguese. Obrigada. (That’s ‘thank you’ in Portuguese).

Jorja Ursin (Ana) was born in Gary, Indiana (feel free to sing the song from The Music Man at this point) and still considers herself a Hoosier at heart.  After moving around the Midwest, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Theatre and then ran away from home at the age of 25 to the magical land of Los Angeles, California. There, she became a legend in her own mind and, after 13 years in the West, realized that she was broke and had no real estate. On the advice of her father, she made her way to the "boom town" of Charlotte, NC where she purchased a small, affordable patio home, became a legal secretary by day and at night developed a secret artistic persona which keeps manifesting itself in the Charlotte theatre community.  Some of her favorite roles have been in Beyond Therapy and Polish Joke for Actors Theatre of Charlotte and Relationships and Other Natural Disasters for Pi Productions.  Jorja would like to dedicate her performance to all the people in her life who have helped heal her with the power of their love (you know who you are).

Elyse A. Williams (Virginia) began her professional theatrical career at The Barn Dinner Theatre in Roanoke, VA where she performed dozens of plays on “the magic stage” and since moving to Charlotte in 1985, she has performed for Innovative Theatre in Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You, Charlotte Repertory Theatre in Murder at the Booth, Theatre Charlotte in Noises Off, Rumors and Lend Me a Tenor, CPCC in Jake’s Women, Ten Little Indians, Amadeus and The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, and PiProduction’s Eyes of God.  Elyse has also appeared in Barebones Theatre Group’s Drift and most recently as Vivien Leigh in Orson’s Shadow. As part of the original Actor’s Theatre development team over 15 years ago, Elyse is passionate about ATC and their commitment to the artistic growth of our community.  She has performed in many ATC productions including Serenading Louie, Marvin’s Room, Jungle Rot and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.  She is also honored to be selected to do the role of Virginia in tonight’s production of The Clean House and to be working with Scott Ripley and such a talented professional cast. Elyse is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, International Association of Business Communicators, Media Communications Association and the Business and Innovation Group.  She owns a television production company, EAW Productions, which specializes in corporate television productions.