Condemned to an asylum
by her vindictive husband,
a young woman struggles
to maintain her sanity.

April 7 - 30
Preview performance April 6 (Donation)
Special Monday performance April 24 - 8pm

FEATURING:
Christina Acero as Mary Girard
Ethan Rodgers as Stephen Girard
Susy Davis as Polly Kenton
Richard De Vicariis as Mr. Phillips
James Grant as Warder
Darcy Lythgoe as Mrs. Hatcher
Amber Scott as Mrs. Lum
Kimberly K Mitchell as Understudy

Stage Manager - Joy Bice
Lighting Designer - Mark Matzkanin
Sound Designer - Jill Johnson

For more information, please call the theater at 714.680.6803 or email hungerartists@yahoo.com

PHOTOS BY: Scott Levy, Halestorm Studios

THE HUNGER ARTISTS THEATRE COMPANY’S
10^th ANNIVERSARY SEASON CONTINUES WITH
Lanie Robertson’s The Insanity of Mary Girard
April 7-30, 2006

FULLERTON, CA –  The Hunger Artists Theatre Company’s 10^th Anniversary Season continues with Lanie Robertson’s powerful and disturbing work, The Insanity of Mary Girard, directed by Jill Johnson April 7-30, 2006. Starring Christina Acero in the title role, the production also features Susy Davis, Richard De Vicariis, James Grant, Darcy Lythgoe, Kimberly Mitchell, Ethan M. Rogers and Amber Scott.

Mark Matzkanin designs lights for The Insanity of Mary Girard. Johnson designs sound. Joy Bice serves as production stage manager.

Performances for The Insanity of Mary Girard will take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 7 pm. There will be a special Monday evening performance on April 24, 2006 at 8 pm, and a Pay What You Will Preview on Thursday, April 6 at 8 pm.

General admission tickets for The Insanity of Mary Girard are $18; senior and students (with valid ID) may purchase tickets for $15.  To reserve tickets, please call 714-680-6803. Tickets may also be reserved online by emailing hungerartists@yahoo.com .

Based on actual events, The Insanity of Mary Girard spins a haunting tale of injustice, infidelity and abuse in colonial America. In Robertson’s moving play, Mary Girard has become pregnant by another man. Her wealthy and powerful husband has her declared legally insane and commits her to an asylum. Mary is confined in a chair as her imagination runs wild, the inmates impersonate people from her past and she threatens to succumb to madness.

Banker and philanthropist Stephen Girard started out as a sailor at the age of 13. He developed a large fleet of vessels that engaged in worldwide trade, rapidly building a sizeable fortune. He opened the Bank of Stephen Girard in Philadelphia, which was a principal source of government credit during the War of 1812. At the time of his death, Girard was regarded as one of the wealthiest men in America and he bequeathed nearly his entire fortune to charitable and municipal institutions of Philadelphia and New Orleans.

Girard met and married Philadelphia native Mary Lum during the American Revolutionary War. After eight years of marriage, Mary was reported to have become suddenly prone to violent and prolonged outbursts of uncontrollable emotions. Girard had his wife committed to the Philadelphia Hospital, where she languished for many years.

The role of Mary Girard will be played by Christina Acero. Acero is making her second appearance on the Hunger Artists' stage having played Curio in Kelly Flynn's production of Twelfth Night. Susy Davis appears as Girard’s mistress, Sally Bickham. Davis has worked with The Hunger Artists over the past ten years as the choreographer for many notable productions including The Metamorphosis, White Trash Privit Lives, Macbeth and Assassins. Richard De Vicariis has been a Hunger Artists Company member for two years. He has appeared in Assassins, Othello and Guignol X here at The Hunger Artists, as well as as Father Jack in Dancing at Lughnasa for Whittier Community Theater. James Grant has been acting off-and on for the last 10 years. His most recent roles include Othello at Orange Coast College, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at El Camino Real, and Antonio in Twelfth Night at The Hunger Artists.

Darcy Lythgoe has been involved with the Hunger Artists for several years and has been a part of many shows here including Hamlet, Madame Guingnol's Macabre Theatre, The Lutz Radio Show, The Attorney General, Catholic School Girls, Dead Letter Office, and Little Women. She has also been involved as a writer for Dead Letter Office and all four productions of 24 Hour Theater; her original work, The Land Southward was recently named Best New Play of 2005 at the OC Weekly Theater Awards. Kimberly K. Mitchell returns to The Hunger Artists after her debut in The Land Southward. Although Kimberly is new to this theater she has been involved in local musicals since 1997. Amber Scott returns to the Hunger Artists’ stage where she was last seen in Guignol X and Dead Letter Office.  Ethan Rodgers also returns to the Hunger Artists’ stage where he has been seen in such shows as The Lutz Radio Show, The Houseguests, and the Another Round production of Look Back in Anger.

For more information about The Insanity of Mary Girard or the 10th Anniversary Season, please visit www.hungersartists.com . Programming, dates and times are subject to change.

FACT SHEET

The Hunger Artists Theatre Company presents The Insanity of Mary Girard

By Lanie Robertson

Directed by Jill Johnson

April 7-30, 2006

CAST               Christina Acero ……….. Mary Girard

                        Susy Davis ……………. Polly Kenton

                        Richard De Vicariis …… Mr. Phillips

                        James Grant …………… Warder

                        Darcy Lythgoe ………… Mrs. Hatcher

                        Kimberley K. Mitchell .... Understudy

Ethan M. Rogers ………  Stephen Girard

                        Amber Scott …………… Mrs. Lum

DATES            Starting April 7

                        Special PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL PREVIEW on Thursday April 6

                        Monday night show, April 24 at 8pm

TIMES Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm

Sundays at 7 pm

WHERE           The Hunger Artists Theatre Company

699-A South State College Boulevard, Fullerton, CA 92831

located between Orangethorpe and Commonwealth, just off the 91 freeway

TICKETS        $18 general admission, $15 for seniors/students with ID.

PHONE            714.680.6803

WEBSITE        www.hungerartists.com

PARKING       Free

ADVISABLE

CONTENT       Some adult language and mature themes