FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2014
Media Contact: Sarah Pressler
240.644.1387
press@roundhousetheatre.org
ROUND HOUSE THEATRE presents Theresa Rebeck’s hit comedy
SEMINAR
Round House favorites Jerry Whiddon and Marty Lodge reunite for area premiere
February 5 – March 2, 2014 • Round House Theatre Bethesda
240.644.1100 or www.roundhousetheatre.org
TICKETS RANGE FROM $10 TO $45
“$10 TUESDAY” ON FEBRUARY 18 & 25, WITH $10 SIDE SECTION SEATS
(BETHESDA, MD) Round House Theatre launches the 2014 portion of its Bethesda season with
Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck’s hit comedy Seminar. This area premiere reunites
longtime Round House favorites director Jerry Whiddon and actor Marty Lodge, who have
previously worked together on some of the company’s most popular and acclaimed
productions. This fast, funny, and smart new comedy runs February 5 thru March 2. Press night
is Monday, February 10, 2014.
There’s no such thing as an “easy A” in this class! Writing turns into a contact sport and laughter
abounds in this Broadway hit. Four aspiring young novelists sign up for a private class with
Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox
instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a
weapon, and hearts are unmoored. They came for a class in writing and got a lesson in survival.
The New York Times hailed Seminar’s “big laughs” and added that it is “an authentic rush of
pleasure.” Time Out New York called it “sexy, savvy and uproarious” while Variety raved that it is
“enormously entertaining.” The New York Post noted, “Rebeck hits plenty of bull’s-eyes, so sit
back and enjoy the ride.”
Jerry Whiddon and Marty Lodge have a long history of working together at Round House. Jerry
Whiddon was one of the company’s founders and served as Producing Artistic Director for 20
years. Marty Lodge was an Associate Artist at Round House for many years, appearing in over 30
plays. Together, Jerry and Marty worked on 15 Round House productions, including Love and
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Anger, The Pavilion, The Weir, Our Town, Three Days of Rain, Uncle Vanya, Jack & Jill, The
Rehearsal, Travels with My Aunt, Nora, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dog Logic, Two Rooms,
The Swan, and The Misanthrope.
In addition to Lodge, the cast also includes Katie deBuys (Round House Theatre debut), Laura C.
Harris (RHT’s Amadeus, 26 Miles, and Young Robin Hood), Tom Story (Next Fall), and Alexander
Strain (Glengarry Glen Ross, Next Fall, My Name is Asher Lev, and Lord of the Flies).
Seminar tickets range in price from $10 to $45 and may be purchased by calling 240.644.1100,
by ordering online at www.roundhousetheatre.org, or at the Round House box office. Round
House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from Wisconsin Avenue and the
Bethesda station on Metro’s Red Line.
DETAILS AND CALENDAR INFORMATION
WHAT
SEMINAR
WHO
Produced by Round House Theatre
By Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Jerry Whiddon
With Katie deBuys, Laura C. Harris, Marty Lodge, Tom Story, and Alexander Strain
Creative team: scenic designer James Kronzer, costume designer Ivania Stack, lighting designer
Daniel MacLean Wagner, sound designer Eric Shimelonis, props master Kasey Hendricks,
dramaturg Lloyd Rose, and stage manager Bekah Wachenfeld
WHERE
Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda. It is one block from
Wisconsin Ave. and Metro’s Bethesda station on the Red Line. For directions and parking
information, visit www.roundhousetheatre.org/plan-your-visit/.
ABOUT
There’s no such thing as an “easy A” in this class! Writing turns into a contact sport and laughter
abounds in this Broadway hit. Four aspiring young novelists sign up for a private class with
Leonard, an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox
instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a
weapon, and hearts are unmoored. They came for a class in writing and got a lesson in survival.
DATES & TIMES
Seminar runs February 5 thru March 2, 2014 with performances on Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at
3pm. Press night is February 10, 2013. Please note: no performance February 11.
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TICKETS
Tickets range in price from $10 to $45, and can be purchased by calling 240.644.1100, ordering
online at www.roundhousetheatre.org, or visiting the box office in Bethesda. Available
discounts include:
“PLAY IT FORWARD” – free tickets for all High School students in Montgomery County
Public Schools: Round House wants to make attending our shows an integral part of a
Montgomery County education. To that end, we started a new program this season:
Play It Forward. In Play It Forward, all High School students in a Montgomery County
Public School can reserve a free ticket to the performance of their choice during the
2013/14 Round House Theatre Bethesda season, including Seminar. For details and
information, visit www.roundhousetheatre.org/buy-tickets/play-it-forward/ or call
240.644.1100.
Pay-What-You-Can performances: Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30pm and Saturday,
February 8 at 3pm. PWYC tickets go on sale in person at the Bethesda box office one
hour prior to curtain. Cash and exact change only. Limit of 2 tickets per order. PWYC
tickets are subject to availability.
$10 Tuesday: February 18 and 25 at 7:30pm. Side section seats on these dates are
available at the discounted price of $10.
Senior Citizens, Age 30 & under, Military, and Veterans: $20 for Side section seats and
$35 for Center section seats. ID required. Call or visit the box office for tickets.
Groups of 10 or more: Call 240.644-1100 for information.
AUDIENCE EVENTS
Designer Discussion (with the costume, set, lighting, and sound designers): Wednesday,
February 5 at 6:45pm
Director Discussion (with Jerry Whiddon): Friday, February 7 at 7:15pm
Post-Show Talkbacks: Wednesday, February 5 thru Sunday, February 9, and all Wednesdays,
Thursdays, and Sundays (except March 2)
Audio-described performance: Saturday, February 15 at 3pm
Sign-interpreted performance: Saturday, March 1 at 3pm. Reservations for sign interpreting
services must be made by February 15.
ARTIST BIOS
Theresa Rebeck (Playwright) is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and
abroad. New York productions of her work include Dead Accounts at the Music Box
Theatre; Seminar at the Golden Theatre; Mauritius at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan
Theater Club production; The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of
Mann and Spike Heels at Second Stage; Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection and Our House at
Playwrights Horizons; The Understudy at the Laura Pels Theater in a Roundabout Theatre
Company production; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop. Omnium
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Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003) was featured at the Humana
Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre. Her newest work, Poor
Behavior premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2011. Dead Accounts,
commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse, premiered January 2012. Seminar continues to run
on Broadway. In television, Ms. Rebeck has written for Dream On, Brooklyn Bridge, L.A. Law,
American Dreamer, Maximum Bob, First Wave, and Third Watch. She was the creator of the NBC
drama Smash. She has been a writer/producer for Canterbury’s Law, Smith, Law and Order:
Criminal Intent, and NYPD Blue. Her produced feature films include Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and
the independent features Sunday on the Rocks and Seducing Charlie Barker, an adaptation of
her play, The Scene. Awards include the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, the Writer’s
Guild of America award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the
Peabody, all for her work on NYPD Blue. She has won the National Theatre Conference Award
(for The Family of Mann), and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in
2003 for The Bells. Mauritius was originally produced at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, where it
received the 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play as well as the Eliot Norton Award. Other
awards include the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, the Athena Film Festival Award, an Alex
Award, a Lilly Award, and in 2011 she was named one of the 150 Fearless Women in the World
by Newsweek.
Jerry Whiddon (Director) was co-founder of Round House Theatre, and Producing Artistic
Director from 1985-2005. Some favorite directing credits at RHT include: Nixon’s Nixon, Orson’s
Shadow, Our Town, The Swan, Three Days of Rain, Mystery School, Dog Logic. Acting credits:
Moss (Body of Water), Henry (The Lion in Winter), Tyrone Power (Filthy Rich), Petie Maxwell
(Love and Anger), Francois (Wintertime). He has acted and/or directed regionally at: Theater J
(Speed the Plow, Lost in Yonkers, The Odd Couple, Seagull on 16th Street), Studio Theatre
(Blackbird, Landscape of the Body), Folger Theatre, Olney Theatre, Bay Theatre, Everyman
Theatre, Arena Stage, Adventure Theatre, Kennedy Center, as well as Off and Off-Off Broadway.
Film/TV credits include: The Wire, An American Affair, A Woman Named Jackie, and The Pelican
Brief. Voiceover/Narration: Heart and Soul – Frank Loesser. Mr. Whiddon has taught at George
Mason, University of Maryland, and Catholic University. He also coaches actors as well as
leaders in the corporate world.
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