The Moveable Theatre Company
The Moveable Theatre Company
343 W. Central Avenue
Unit O
Monrovia, CA 91016
ph: 626-303-4222
info
News
On May 1, 2010 the Altadena Library Foundation http://www.altadenalibrary.org/alfoundation, Friends of the Altadena Library http://www.altadenalibrary.org/friends and The Moveable Theatre Company held a reception and the world premiere staged reading of the winning entry from the Zane Grey Playwriting Contest, Mary Casey's Surprise Valley. The event took place at the former home of famed Western author Zane Grey in Altadena. A question and answer session with the playwright, cast and director followed the performance. Catering was provided by The Press Restaurant. The event raised over $4,500 for the renovation and expansion of the Altadena Library. To view a video about the day and the play, please click here.
The Grey Mansion at 396 East Mariposa Street in Altadena.
Friends of the Altadena Library volunteers greet the guests.
Winning playwright Mary Casey arrives!
California Assembly Member Anthony Portantino (right) visits with other guests during the reception.
Before the performance, actor Harry Herman (Zane Grey) admires the collection of Zane Grey novels in the library.
Backstage, Harry Herman (Zane Grey) and Richard Horvitz (Young Zane) pose before the performance.
The seated audience eagerly awaits the performance.
Winning playwright Mary Casey checks her program.
Altadena Library Foundation president, Sharon Sand introduces the Staged Reading.
Altadena Library Foundation Board Member David Datz explains the goals and challenges of the expansion and renovation project.
Curtain up! Zane Grey (Harry Herman) awakens to find a strange being in his room (Christine Kludjian as Death).
Muddy Miser (Ken Baker) explains about life and fishing to Young Zane (Richard Horvitz).
After leaving professional baseball and struggling to be happy as a dentist, Young Zane (right) is visited by his older brother, R.C. Grey (Adam Donshik).
Young Zane meets the lovely Dolly (Cheryl Dent) for the first time.
Buffalo Jones (played by Friends of the Altadena Library President Trevor Bryant) warns Young Zane that, "...the West is a mighty magical place, Zane Grey. You go out there with me, you may never ever want to come back."
Two of Zane Grey's most famous characters: Lassiter (J. Todd Howell) and Jane Withersteen (Angela Schnaible) come to life before his eyes.
Frustrated with Zane's philandering, Dolly Grey hatches a plan and sends for her old friend Dorothy (Kristina Hughes.)
The cast takes a well-deserved bow.
....and the applause just keeps on coming!
Mary Casey is presented with her prize by Friends of the Altadena Library President Trevor Bryant and Altadena Library Foundation President Sharon Sand.
Mary addresses the audience.
After the closing remarks, the guests were treated to dessert and coffee in the library.
Front Row (L-R) Cheryl Dent (Dolly Grey), Richard Horvitz (Young Zane), Producer Holly Witham, Angela Schnaible (Jane Withersteen). Back Row (L-R) Ken Baker (Muddy Miser), Kristina Hughes (Dorothy), Adam Donshik (R.C. Grey), Harry Herman (Zane Grey), Director Nicholas Hosking, Christine Kludjian (Death), J. Todd Howell (Lassiter), Trevor Bryant (Buffalo Jones).
Cast member Trevor Bryant created this composite photo of the cast and an "observer" (Zane Grey).
MORE ABOUT THE CAST:
Ken Baker (Muddy Miser) When Ken he was cast as Muddy Miser he first thought him created solely by the author and was surprised to find out that Muddy was in fact real! “Very real with his philosophic outlook still tinged with the strictiveness of the 1800's and as well as being a help to young Zane. This role is a colorful adventure.” Ken has also played other real persons, including Captain Sloan of the U.S. Coast Guard who sent back a Soviet radio operator who had jumped off their trawler onto the deck of his cutter seeking asylum during the Cold War and a younger Robert Frost seeking recognition in London and later watching terrible disasters befall his children. 
Trevor Bryant (Buffalo Jones) Painter, writer and performer Trevor is a creative consultant to the interactive entertainment industry. For Walt Disney Imagineering, he held senior creative roles designing and constructing EPCOT Center, Pleasure Island, Disney-MGM Studio Tour and Euro-Disneyland. He founded the Research and Development Division of the Walt Disney Company and as Executive Director of R&D, Trevor was responsible for maintaining the dynamic of the engineering and creative teams on such projects as Indiana Jones Adventure, Alien Encounter, and Tower of Terror. After Disney, Trevor created the urban entertainment center Metreon in San Francisco for Sony Development. Today, he is leading the creative management of MGM Studio World in Shanghai, China.
Cheryl Dent (Dolly Grey) Cheryl earned an Obie nomination for her portryal of Elsie in William Saroyan’s Time of Your Life, and garnered accolades for her performance as Rust/Judy in the Skylight Theater production of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead. In films, she played the lead in Slaughterhouse of the Rising Sun and has appeared in Gettin’ It, Strangers Online, Without Borders and Cheerleader Camp. On TV, she hosts her own culinary show: the Travel Channel’s Food Crazy. She also appears in Style Network's The Big Party PlanOff!, TLC's Battle of the Wedding Planners,Make it at Home for Walmart and has appeared in TV ads including those for: Glade, Budweiser, Marie Calendar’s, Citibank, Jack in the Box and many more. For more about Cheryl, please visit www.cheryldent.com
Adam Donshik (R.C. Grey) Adam received his BFA in Acting and a minor in Cognitive Neuropsychology from Carnegie Mellon. Film & TV: First Daughter, We Were One, Lie To Me, CSI, Jericho. Theatre: Lost Angeles, The Tenth Man, Corpus Christi. Adam was a long time student of the late Milton Katselas and in the fall will be beginning the 1 year MFA Acting program at the Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University.
Harry Herman (Zane Grey) Harry has appeared in numerous Los Angeles theatre projects, most notably at the Odyssey Theatre as Myron Berger in Away and Sing, and at The Company of Angels in Paradise Lost, two outstanding Clifford Odets plays, as well in several national television commercials, and most recently in the films, The T.V. Set and Nicholas Hosking's Go West.
J. Todd Howell (Lassiter) J. Todd is happy to appear in Surprise Valley benefiting the Altadena Library. He has appeared on Broadway in the Revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, The Bow Wow Club (a role he reprised in L.A.) and playwright Levy Lee Simon's Haitian historical drama For the Love of Freedom. He appeared as jazz singer Scott Pierson in the feature film The Falls (www.thefallsmovie.com) and has a recurring role on Days of Our Lives as Frank the Chez Rouge bartender. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and taught at two universities in his hometown Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He is a member of SAG, AFTRA and AEA. Please visit www.jtoddhowell.com.
Kristina Hughes (Dorothy) Kristina’s credits include appearances in numerous projects like Boston Legal, Old School, Frost/Nixon, and Green River. A review from Fangoria, on her lead role in Green River "...plays a wonderfully unstable 'Ali' and she shows a great range and stretch in character." In commercials, you may also recognize her from projects with Lexus, Pfizer, L’Oreal and Rozerem. You can see Kristina most recently in two series: a psychological thriller The Resolve, a high comedy Vegan 101 and the soon-to-be-released film, Helicon. She is honored to be a part of the Surprise Valley as literacy is something she has supported since her time as Miss Connecticut USA. For additional info, please visit www.KristinaHughes.com and be sure to follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KristinaHughes
Christine Kludjian (Death) After earning her BFA at Pepperdine University, Christine went on to study at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas. Television and Film roles soon followed and notable TV credits include Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Larry Sanders Show. With well over a dozen films under her belt, she has worked with such talents as Rob Lowe, Tony Shalhoub and Wendie Mallick. She is also passionate about stage work and has appeared in many plays in Los Angeles, and as far afield as the Edinburgh Festival. She has just returned from filming in Lebanon.
Angela Schnaible (Jane Withersteen) Angela graduated with a BA in communication arts with an emphasis in theatre from Minot State University and an MFA in theatre with an emphasis in acting from the University of Mississippi. Since moving to Los Angeles with her husband, Chad, she has appeared in several commercials and films including a leading role in the award-winning short film, Psycho Hillbilly Cabin Massacre, in which she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Short Film at Method Fest 2008 and in the hit web series, Gold. She is earning her Masters in Education and owns her own pet-sitting business.
About Winning Play Surprise Valley
The original one-act play by Mary Casey, Surprise Valley is based on the life and work of Zane Grey. The play uses biographical information on Zane Grey and characters from his novels to explore Mr. Grey's life, work and legacy. While the play's style is non-realistic, the historical information provided is based in large part on Thomas H. Pauly's "Zane Grey: His Life, His Adventures, His Women". The piece seeks to explore Mr. Grey's attitudes toward his own life and work by the use of the unique possibilities inherent in the theatrical story-telling mode. [From Mary Casey's script notes.]
About Winning Playwright Mary Casey
Mary is a recipient of the Butcher Scholar Award through the Autry National Center and her plays often focus on the experience of women in the American West. Women and Horses and A Shot Straight From the Bottle received its world premiere at Echo Theatre in Dallas and was nominated for best new play by the Dallas Theatre League. Unspeakable Acts was the 2008 winner of the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award. A two-time finalist for the Heideman Award for ten-minute plays, Mary is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
The Moveable Theatre Company
343 W. Central Avenue
Unit O
Monrovia, CA 91016
ph: 626-303-4222
info
