AN OAK TREE
By Tim Crouch

Man turns tree into daughter!

"Since your daughter's death, I've not been much of a hypnotist." Set in a stage hypnotist's act, "An Oak Tree" is a vivid and absurdly comic play about how we fill the gaps in life. It's performed by two actors, one of whom will have never seen or read a word of the play they're in - until they're in it. There will be a new second actor at each performance. "An Oak Tree" is a brave and challenging story about loss, suggestion and the power of the mind. Many "truths" are conveyed from one actor to another, from a hypnotist to their subject, from the audience to an individual, as the story is revealed. It is a remarkable sequel to Tim Crouch's first play "My Arm", which was a major hit at the Traverse in 2003.

Prepare to have your perception of truth challenged by this highly unusual play.

Check out the featured actors below.

AN OAK TREE — PERFORMANCE DATES AND GUEST ACTORS:

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 - PREVIEW
Sierra Club ICO
MIKE BUCK

Mike is honored and mildly terrified to be selected by the Sierra Club for this preview performance..."Buckle your seat-belts, it's going to be an exciting ride!". Mike was last seen on the Gorilla stage as Jeff, the simple-yet-wise brother, in Rag & Bone. Other favorite roles include Hamilton in The Penguin Play, The Bandleader in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Max Detwieler in The Sound of Music, John Utterson in Jekyll and Hyde, Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret, Duke Frederick in As You Like It.....to name a few. When not on stage his work has been seen as Costume Designer for such Gorilla productions as Orson's Shadow, Jane Eyre, The Long Christmas Dinner, Shirley Valentine, and too many seasons of YDP to mention!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 4 AT 7PM
EMILIA SARGENT*

Emilia is thrilled to be returning to the Gorilla Theatre, where she appeared in Orson's Shadow and Jane Eyre. She has appeared on several area stages, including the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Jaeb, Ferguson and Shimberg theaters, American Stage, Stageworks, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and the Mahaffey. A member of Actors' Equity Association, Sargent has starred in many musicals including My Fair Lady, Cabaret, Damn Yankees, The Music Man, The Song of Songs, and Oklahoma!. Other credits include Boston Marriage, The Underpants, Metamorphoses, A Christmas Story, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Sargent has appeared in several industrial films, commercials and television shows, including FOX Network’s America's Most Wanted. Passionate about theatre education, she founded the SALT Drama Intensive and is a member of the adjunct faculty at the TBPAC Patel Conservatory. Emilia wishes to thank her husband and daughters for their unending love and support.

* Member of AEA



FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5 AT 8PM
JULIE ROWE*
Julie Rowe is a graduate of Idaho State University where she received the Professional Achievement Award for Arts and Humanities from the College of Arts and Sciences 2005. Local audiences will remember her at American Stage and the Shimberg Playhouse as the solo actress in 9 Parts of Desire and at American Stage as Emma in Betrayal, the Patient in Coronado, Karen in Dinner with Friends, Nan/Lina in Three Days of Rain, Jennie in Chapter Two, Claire in Proof, the Bogle in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Sarah in Spinning Into Butter, and a member of the cast of Tapestry.

Other favorite roles include Susie in WIT, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kate in The Miracle Worker, and the ensemble of Mr. Wooten's Big Nite! Ms. Rowe is the Director of Education at American Stage and is delighted to make her Gorilla Theatre debut in this exciting project.

* Member of AEA



SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6 AT 8PM
PETRUS ANTONIUS*

Petrus' Theatre credits are too numerous to list. Gorilla Theatre audiences will remember Petrus in the role of Pablo Picasso in this January's production of A Picasso, as Captain Horster in An Enemy of the People, and as several characters in Travels with my Aunt.

Television viewers may have seen him on Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, Forbidden Love, One life To Live, Another World, Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters Show, Showdown at Eagle Gap, among others.

Film roles include General Martez in The Celestine Prophecy, Father Christopher in The Belly Of The Beast, The Landlord in Lonely Hearts, and Leonardo in The Student Affair.

Petrus has also worked in Sao Paulo, Brazil in numerous soap operas, Film and TV Commercials. He trained at HB Studios and was a member of the prestigious Roundabout Theatre Ensemble Co. in New York from 1988 to 1992, under Artistic Director Gene Feist. He is fluent in 4 languages and holds a black belt in judo.

* Member of AEA



SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7 AT 3PM
DREW DE CARO*

Drew was raised here in the Tampa Bay area, and was a member of the first graduating class of the Artistically Talented Program at Gibbs High School (now know as the PCCA.) After graduating from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Mo., Drew returned to Florida and worked as an actor in Orlando for over ten years. During that time, Drew Attended the MFA acting program at the University of Texas in Austin. Drew was most recently seen as Robert in the American Stage production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. Other recent roles include Bill Baxley in Grace, Lenny in Rumors, Selig in Gem of the Ocean, and George in Stop/Kiss here at the Gorilla Theatre. Drew is a proud and grateful member of the Actors’ Equity Association.

* Member of AEA


THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 11 AT 7PM
DAVID O'HARA
David O'Hara has worked extensively in the Tampa Bay area as a theatre artist for over 35 years. He has served as the Artistic Director of both the New Playmakers and the Loft Theatre as well as a founding member of the School of Night Improvisational Theatre Company. David was last seen at the Gorilla Theatre as Sal, in Alex Nunnelly's Red Cross and was the director of Theatre Hell (written by the late, great Craig Alpaugh) and more recently, Sierra Almengual's Order. David is a highly regarded educator and teaches acting classes at the Patel Conservatory.



FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12 AT 8PM
JIM WICKER
Jim Wicker is pleased to return to Gorilla Theatre, one of his favorite theatrical homes, where he has performed in such plays as Orson's Shadow, Bapbomb, and Aunt Dan and Lemon. Jim just finished a run as the ghost of John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet, completing a 2008 trifecta of Shakespearean roles that also included Polonius in Hamlet, and the Duke in Measure For Measure. Other favorite shows have been Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, All My Sons, and Tracers. Two years ago, Jim retired after a thirty-year teaching career in Tampa's public schools. He is enjoying the transition into a profession that pays even less. These days Jim divides his time among his Tampa home, various theatres around the country, and his North Carolina mountain cabin. Jim's life is good.







SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 AT 8PM
NEVADA CALDWELL
Nevada Caldwell would like to say she's thrilled to be performing here tonight, but she honestly has no idea what's in store for her. And so, she chooses to withhold judgment until Act III (at the Hub.) Area theater goers will have seen Miss Caldwell in a variety of productions at Gorilla, Jobsite, American Stage and Hat Trick. She can say with certainty that she appreciates this unique theater experience and gets a particular thrill from venturing into the unknown. She hopes you will experience that same thrill here tonight. Thank you for coming and please enjoy.





SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 AT 3PM
KARLA HARTLEY
Karla is currently the Producing and Educational Programming Manager for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. She has directed designed and performed in countless shows in the area for the last 25 years. Acting credits include Drew in Girl Bar, Gertrude Stein in Gertrude and Alice, the Stage Manager in Our Town and Aunt Dan in Aunt Dan and Lemon. In October, she can be seen as Eddie and Doctor Scott in The Rocky Horror Show in the Jaeb Theater at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

Her directorial work is currently on stage at the Shimberg Playhouse in Jobsite Theater’s production of Blackbird.



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 7PM
C DAVID FRANKEL

C. David Frankel serves as Assistant Director of Theatre at the University of South Florida. Although primarily known as a director, last spring David performed the role of Kaufmann in Bach at Leipzig at the Gorilla Theatre. His directing credits include 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You," Aunt Dan and Lemon (a Dog and Pony/Gorilla Theatre production), No Exit (produced by TBPAC at the Shimberg Playhouse), Look Back in Anger (at the Gorilla Theatre for Hat Trick Theatre Productions), and The Underpants, also for Hat Trick. Upcoming directing projects include The Glass Menagerie this fall at USF and Betty's Summer Vacation for Hat Trick in the spring. David earned an MFA in Directing from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and currently resides in Dade City with his wife, Connie; their son, Matthew, a junior theatre major at USF, lives in Tampa.



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 AT 8PM
KATHERINE MICHELLE TANNER*

Katherine is thrilled to return to the Gorilla where she was last seen as Jane in Jane Eyre. Most recently she played Celia in As You Like It, at New Theatre and Oona in Chaplin: A Musical, at the Kravis Center. Tampa audiences may remember her as Ophelia in Hamlet, Catharine in Suddenly Last Summer, Catherine in Proof, and Margot in Dial "M" for Murder, at American Stage or as Lisa in Collected Stories, at the TPAC. At the East Village Cabaret she played Cathy in The Last Five Years, while at New Theatre she was originating the role of Evan in Fill Our Mouths. At Florida Studio Theatre, she was Myrrha in Metamorphoses and Alice in Sundew. She appeared in 3 seasons, and over 14 roles, at the Asolo Theatre Festival, including her acclaimed one-woman show Idiot Servant. Some film credits include Lucky Irish, The File, and the Academy Award Nominated short Respire, Mon Amie. She holds a B.A. triple major from St. Olaf College and an M.F.A. in Acting from The Asolo Theatre Conservatory. This fall you can see her as Laura in The Glass Menagerie, at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre.

* Member of AEA



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 AT 8PM
STEVE GARLAND

Steve is a graduate of UC Davis, adopted son of California, and grateful recipient of Creative Loafing’s 2007 Best of the Bay award who’s been blessed with the good grace of appearing on a healthy number of area stages since traveling to Florida. His recent work includes Bach at Leipzig and Orson’s Shadow for the Gorillla Theatre; Gorey Stories and Hurlyburly for Jobsite Theater; and Grace for the Studio @ 620.







SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 AT 3PM
NED AVERILL-SNELL

Ned Averill-Snell has appeared at the Gorilla in Jane Eyre, American Road, Snakebit, A Thurber Carnival, Side Show, and the first Young Dramatists Project. Ned has also appeared with the Alley Cat Players (A Man for All Seasons), Fresh! Live! Theatre Company (The Infinite Typing Pool, written and directed by Steve Mountan), Jobsite Theater (American Buffalo, The Beauty Queen of Leenane), the Center Theatre Company (Art), American Stage (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Chesapeake), Orlando Theater Project (The Lion in Winter), the Indianapolis Shakespeare Festival, and for three seasons at Indiana Repertory Theater. He is the author of two plays: about the author... (developed in workshop at Orlando Theatre Project and produced by the Alley Cat Players), and Emeralds in an Onion Field, produced at the 2001 Orlando International Fringe Festival and in Tampa by the Alley Cat Players. He has taught acting at the Patel Conservatory and served as props master and scene painter for American Stage, in addition to taking the odd job elsewhere as a director, props master, set designer, costumer and sound designer. He lives in Tampa with his wife Jo, co-founder of the Alley Cat Players, sons Joseph (15) and John (13), and daughter Brigid (2).



Thursdays at 7pm — Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm — Sundays at 3pm
WHERE: Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N. Hubert Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33614
"Behind Steinbrenner Field"

TICKET PRICES (unchanged for the past three seasons):
Full price: $20 on Thursdays /$25 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays
Seniors (age 55+) and Students (with ID):
$15 on Thursdays / $20 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays
Student rush: $10, thirty minutes before the show when available.

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