Metamorphoses press release!

Lisa, we're grateful you'll be directing for us!

Photo: Director Lisa Berger

(SAN DIEGO, CA 8/6/18) Metamorphoses is based on the myths of Ovid, written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman. The play will be directed by one of San Diego’s most esteemed directors, Lisa Berger. The play will run October 26 – November 4 in the Saville Theatre on the campus of San Diego City College.

Metamorphoses will stretch the talents and skills of the designers, actors, and technicians in that the play will be staged in a pool of water on the Saville Theatre stage. Yes, the play will take place in a splash zone, and audience members may get wet. Actors will definitely get wet.

Lamb’s Players Theatre produced Metamorphoses in 2005, and more recently, Mira Mesa High School staged it. There are challenges with doing a show this ambitious: the designers have to concern themselves with potential problems which include making sure the actors don’t slip on the wet floor. The water has to remain warm and clean, and the costumes have to hold up to getting soaked for every performance. Designers Duane Gardella (scenic), Elisa Benzoni (costumes) and Rob Norberg (lighting) are excited by the challenge and are looking forward to bringing this complex and beautiful show to San Diego audiences.

Berger says this about the play: “I saw the 2002 production of Metamorphoses in New York and was inspired and mesmerized. Her [Zimmerman’s] work requires hyper theatricality and creative imagination, two things I value as a director. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to direct this show.”

Lisa Berger is an acting teacher, professor of theatre, and freelance director. In her 30-year career, she has directed over 60 productions. Theaters include: The New York Fringe Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Diversionary Theatre, Backyard Renaissance, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, Compass Theatre, MiraCosta College, the University of San Diego, and San Diego City College. She began her teaching career as a teaching artist for Walt Disney’s The Lion King, The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Camp Broadway, and the La Jolla Playhouse. She received her MFA from the University of Montana and is a graduate of The William Esper Studio in New York City. In addition to serving as the co-director of The Actors Place at MCIT Studios, Lisa currently teaches at City College, The Actor’s Academy at MiraCosta College, and at the University of San Diego.

Playwright Mary Zimmerman is a professor in the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University. She has served as an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Zimmerman made her mark on the theatre world with her theatrical adaptations of classic works of literature including The Thousand and One Nights (as The Arabian Nights), The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Journey to the West, In Search of Lost Time (as Eleven Rooms of Proust), and The Odyssey (1999). In 2013, Zimmerman debuted the musical The Jungle Book. Among her numerous honors was a 1998 “Genius Grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  In 2002 she won the Tony Award for best direction of a play for Metamorphoses.

Metamorphoses was originally produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago, October 1998. It premiered in New York City by The Second Stage Theatre, New York, September, 2001.

San Diego City College holds open auditions: everyone is welcome. If cast, all actors must enroll in three units of DRAM 242A-D, Rehearsal and Performance. Auditions are Thursday, August 23 from 6:00 – 10:00 in the Saville Theatre. For more information, contact Katie Rodda at krodda@sdccd.edu or 619-388-3088.

The play will run October 26 – November 4 in the Saville Theatre on the campus of San Diego City College. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 and Sundays at 2:00. Tickets are $10 – 15 and can be purchased at the door (cash only) or online at citycollegetheatre.eventbrite.com (small handling fee applies).

Established in 1914, San Diego City College serves as the educational cornerstone of downtown San Diego.  A 60-acre urban campus, City College serves more than 17,000 students, offering 200 majors and degrees and 1,800 classes. City College is part of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), the second largest of California’s 72 community college districts, which also includes Mesa College, Miramar College and Continuing Education. For more information, visit www.sdcity.edu.

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CONTACT: San Diego City College Professor of Dramatic Arts Katie Rodda, 619-388-3088,krodda@sdccd.edu ; San Diego City College Public Information Officer Edgar Hopida, 619-388-3911 or 619-913-0719, ehopida@sdccd.edu

Edgar Hopida
Public Information Officer
San Diego City College

1313 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101
Office: 619.388.3911 | E-mail: ehopida@sdccd.edu