SHANNON C.M. FLYNN PUTS
TOGETHER AN ALL-STAR
ENSEMBLE FOR THE HUNGER
ARTISTS THEATRE COMPANY’S
PRODUCTION OF
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
OTHELLO

JANUARY 14-FEBRUARY 6, 2005 - EXTENDED! Through Feb. 13th!
Photos by Deidre Schoo ...

FULLERTON, CA- Shannon C.M. Flynn, award-winning graduate of the prestigious Yale School of Drama directing program, has gathered an all-star ensemble of local theater talent for The Hunger Artists Theatre Company production of William Shakespeare’s Othello, January 14-February 6, 2005, at The Hunger Artists Theatre Company, 699-A South State College Boulevard, Fullerton.

Joining Flynn are Hunger Artists company members Scott Johnson (Othello), Mark Coyan (Iago), Jessica Beane (Desdemona), Chey Kennedy (Cassio), Leonard Joseph Dunham (Roderigo), Richard De Vicariis (Barbantio) and Mark Palkoner (Lodovico), as well as Terri Mowrey (Emilia) and Myra Chen (Bianca) making their Hunger Artists Theatre Company debuts.

Christina L. Munich returns to The Hunger Artists Theatre Company to design lights for Othello. Flynn designs the set, with assistance from Melissa Petro. Mike Burgess serves production stage manager. Assistant Director Jill Johnson, Sound Design and Original Music composed by Adam Martin and Fight Choreography/Stage Combat Consultant Tirion Mortrell.

Performances of Othello will be Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 7 pm. There will be a special Monday night performance on Monday, January 31. Tickets are $15 general admission, with $12 tickets for seniors and students with ID.

How many lives would you destroy to get what you deserve? One of the four Great Tragedies (along with Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet) Othello is Shakespeare’s classic tale of betrayal, jealousy and madness. Explore the darkest depths of the human heart in this intense new production directed by award winning graduate of the Yale School of Drama, and Hunger Artists Founding Artistic Director, Shannon C.M. Flynn.

Passed over for military promotion in favor of the less experienced Cassio, Iago begins plotting the downfall of his commander, the Moorish general Othello. Planting the seeds of doubt in Othello’s heart about the faithfulness of his new wife Desdemona, Iago orchestrates a masterful symphony of suspicion, deceit and betrayal, culminating in a tragic crescendo of madness and murder.

“Jealousy, suspicion, murder: This is Othello stripped to the bare essentials,” says director Flynn. “I want to focus on the vital elements, the actors and the text, to create a relentlessly paced production that cuts straight to the heart of human desire.”

As Founding Artistic Director of The Hunger Artist Theatre Company, Flynn oversaw three successful seasons with such productions as Madame Guignol’s Macabre Theatre: The Funeral of Dr. Boufant, The Metamorphosis (winner of OC Weekly’s 1998 Best Male Performance for Mark Coyan) and In The Penal Colony.

In 1999, she moved to New Haven, Connecticut after being accepted into the MFA Directing program at the prestigious Yale School of Drama. While at Yale, she directed such original works as Joshua Scher’s Felling Giants and Jason Lindner’s The Gog/Magog Project and The Half-Life of Memory, as well as a sideshow-set production of Romeo and Juliet. Her thesis production was a new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Trial. She served as Artistic Director of the Summer Cabaret for two successful seasons, directing such works as Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep, Neil LaBute’s bash: the latterday plays and Yasmina Reza’s Art.

After graduating from Yale, Shannon returned to California, where she began working on the television industry. She also renewed her association with The Hunger Artists, directing the company’s award-winning production of Sweeney Todd (2003 OC Weekly Theater Awards: Best Actor in a Musical – Mark Palkoner, Best Musical Production & Best Director) as well as its recent sold-out run of Assassins.