Actors Theatre of Louisville to Open 37th Humana Festival with Sam Mark's THE DELLING SHORE, 2/27

The 37th Humana Festival of New American Plays, made possible by a generous grant from the Humana Foundation, opens with the world premiere of Sam Mark's The Delling Shore, directed by Actors Theatre's associate artistic director Meredith McDonough. The Delling Shore is playing in the Bingham Theatre and begins previews on February 27, opens March 1 and runs through April 7. Tickets are on sale now to the public and can be purchased at The Actors Theatre Box Office by calling 502-584-1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org. The Delling Shore was developed, in part, with the assistance of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program.

From the moment Frank Bay and his daughter Adrianne arrive at Thomas Wright's secluded lake house, Thomas andhisdaughter are out to get them. Thomas' writing has brought him fame and fortune, but fellow novelist Frank still struggles to find a foothold in the literary world for himself and for Adrianne, also an aspiring author. Over the course of one fraught evening, as the men confront their professional jealousies and personal failures, their offspring are drawn inexorably into the fray-and words become weapons.

Sam Marks, who was chosen as one of "50 Playwrights to Watch" by The Dramatist Magazine,will make his Actors Theatre debut with The Delling Shore. He received his Off-Broadway debut with The Joke at Studio Dante, directed by Sam Gold. His plays have been workshopped at The Atlantic Theater, The Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Manhattan Theater Club, New York Theater Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, The Rattlestick Theater, The Vineyard and many others. Marks' other works include The Old Masters, Brack's Last Bachelor Party, The Joke, Nelson, The Bigger Man and Craft. He holds an MFA in playwriting from Brown University.

Meredith McDonough recently made her directorial debut as associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville with The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez. She previously co-directed Back Story and Heaven and Hell (On Earth) at Actors Theatre, as well as numerous shortplays in the Humana Festival. Some of her credits include serving as Director of New Works at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, developing work with theater companies across the nation and serving as Associate Artistic Directorof The Orchard Project. She is also a Drama League Fellow, alum of The Women's Project Directors Laband a Kesselring Award Panelist. McDonough received her M.F.A. from the University of California, San Diego, where she studied with Actors Theatre Artistic Director Les Waters.

The cast includes Jim Frangione (Thomas) who has held roles at Long Wharf Theater, Merrimack Rep, Geva Theater, Alley Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Mark Taper Forum and on Broadway. Bruce McKenzie (Frank) is returning to Actors after appearing in the first show of the 2012-2013 Season, Romeo and Juliet. Catherine Combs (Adrianne) is also returning after performing in Adam Rapp's The Edge of Our Bodies during the 35th Humana Festival and has held roles in major films such as The Blind Side and 13 Going on 30. Meredith Forlenza (Ellen) has appeared in the Broadway Productions A Behanding in Spokane and Pal Joey and is making her Actors Theatre debut.

The production team includes Daniel Zimmerman (Scenic Designer) whose work was last seen at Actors in Romeo and Juliet and Lorraine Venburg (Costume Designer) whose most recent work at Actors was for The Whipping Man. Russell H. Champa (Co-lighting Designer) will be designing for Actors for the first time and his credits include In The Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) and Julia Sweeney's God Said, "Ha!" on Broadway. Dani Clifford (Co-lighting Designer) is returning to Actors after working on several shows including ReEntry and Cruising the Divide. We also welcome back Benjamin Marcum (Sound Designer) who has been designing sound at Actors Theatre of Louisville for 11 years.

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