Whistler in the Dark: Family Stories

Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm
Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm
Sundays at 3pm

“If it gets really touch and go, we can always throw the dog on the grill.”

In the wreckage of a bombed-out playground, four children are caught playing house; reflected in the funhouse mirror of their game is a thrilling and devastating allegory of a post-war society. A brilliant marriage of slapstick and tragedy, Family Stories examines the fear that results from living in a society without free media or civil liberties.

Between the laughter and horror lies a haunting and intensely shocking portrait of the cruelties and atrocities of a country at war with itself.

the company
	Melissa Barker is very pleased to be working with Whistler for a second season as an Artistic Associate. She was most recently seen in their staged reading of Red Dog. Other Whistler credits include The Europeans (staged reading) and The Bacchae. She has also performed with imaginary beasts, National Theatre of Allston and New Exhibition Room. Melissa studied theatre at Suffolk University.
	Danny Bryck is excited to make his Whistler in the Dark debut. Boston credits include: Carny Knowledge with Fort Point Theatre Channel; The Donkey Show with American Repertory Theater; Animal Farm with New Repertory Theatre; The Corn is Green and Rock ‘n’ Roll (U.S.) with Huntington Theatre Company; and Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Blue Spruce Theatre (IRNE nomination). Danny works as a dialect coach with Company One, is a writer for ImprovBoston’s sketch troupe “The Ruckus,” and has performed in New York and Western Mass. He holds a BFA from Boston University’s School of Theatre and studied at LAMDA. To join Danny's mailing list, email dpbryck@gmail.com.
	Nate Gundy holds a BA in theatre performance from Salem State. He is thrilled to be joining Whistler in the Dark for the first time. Recent credits include Mill 6 Collaborative's Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People, and Theatre on Fire's Gasping! Last summer he performed in New Exhibition Room's first full-length production, the world premiere, Shh!
	Jennifer O'Connor holds a B.F.A. in theatre performance from Salem State. Joining Whistler for their inaugural production of The Possibilities, she has been with the company ever since. For three seasons she was the company manager and an acting member of imaginary beasts. Other Boston area collaborations include Apollinaire Theatre, Insomouth Productions, and staged readings with Catalyst Collaborative@MIT and New Voices @ New Rep.
the playwright
	Biljana Srbljanovic
the artistic team
	Molly Haas-Hooven (Dramaturg) is excited to join the Whistler team for the first time. She is a recent graduate of Brandeis University where she received her B.A. in Theatre Arts with a minor in Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies. Recent Boston credits include performances with Makeshift Theatre: Rapunzel and Robin Hood and SLAM Boston: The Endoftheworldometer and The Stand-In She has trained with Double Edge Theatre, Roy Hart Theatre and studied dance and Suzuki at Brandeis. Her senior thesis, Shadow Trees, an original play about the experiences of a marine re-integrating into American society was the recipient of the Steinberg Prize for Best Original Play in 2009. Currently she is co-leading a monologue writing workshop at Close to Home, an organization that works to prevent domestic violence in Dorchester.
	Meron Langsner (Fight Director) proudly returns to Whistler after having had two of his short plays included in January’s Whistler Wednesday. He has composed violence for New Repertory Theatre, Lyric Stage, Merrimack Rep, Zeitgeist Stage, BTW, Yellow Taxi Productions, and several academic venues (Tufts, Brandeis, Boston University, and Boston Conservatory). Meron was one of three writers in the country to be selected for the pilot year of the National New Play Network Emerging Writer Residencies. His plays have been performed around the country and overseas, his publishers include Smith & Kraus, Applause, and JAC. Meron is currently a doctoral candidate in Drama at Tufts University. MFA: Brandeis, MA: NYU/Tisch.
	Vawnya Nichols (Stage Manager) Stage Managing credits include The Diary of Anne Frank (Boston Children's Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Now!), Carny Knowledge (Fort Point Theatre Channel), Boyce & Melinda's Investment Strategies for the Post-Money World (Magic Bean Productions), Classics! National Tour (Chamber Theatre Productions), FeverFest 09 (Small Theatre Alliance of Boston), Present Imperfect (Fort Point Theatre Channel), Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls (Holland Productions) and Harvard University's FarceFest 2009. Additional credits include work as Production Manager for Betrayal (Another Country Productions) and Assistant Stage Manager for Alcina (Boston Opera Collaborative), Voyeurs de Venus (Company One), and Summer Play Festival (Boston Actors Theatre).
	Cara Grace Pacifico (Costume Designer) is a local freelance costume designer, properties designer, and dramaturg. Her recent costuming work includes Boston Opera Collaborative's productions of The Crucible and Carmen, and the premiere of Matthew Vest's opera The Hourglass with Juventas! New Music Ensemble. She has designed properties for Fort Point Theatre Channel's Present Imperfect, Gurnet Theatre Project's Essential Self Defense and Boston Theatre Works' Elliot Norton Award-Winning Angels in America. After returning from the dramaturgy program at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she dramaturged New Repertory Theatre's According to Tip, which won the Elliot Norton's “Outstanding New Script.” Pacifico is a graduate of Tufts University.
	PJ Strachman (Lighting Designer) has recently designed Whistler in the Dark's One Flea Spare and The Bacchae, Blue Spruce's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Last Five Years and World Premiere of Portraits, FUDGE’s New England Premiere of Nevermore, Phoenix's World Premiere of The Superheroine Monologues, Way Theatre's The Memory of Water and East Coast Premiere of Love-Lies-Bleeding, Worcester Foothills' I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and many other area shows. She is the regular designer for Chamber Repertory Theatre and Stonehill College, including two ACTF regional selections. PJ is also a guest lecturer with Boston Arts Academy, Gann Academy, and Stonehill College. Photos of her work can be seen at www.pjelex.com.
	Meg Taintor (Director) holds a B.A. in Theatre and Women & Gender Studies from Middlebury College. She is the Artistic Director at Whistler, for whom she has directed One Flea Spare, In On It, The Bacchae, Mary's Wedding, Vampire, All This Flying, All This Tumbling Down, The B File, and The Possibilities, and performed in A Hard Heart, Don't Exaggerate (FeverFest 06), and in The Psyche Project (FeverFest 07). Meg has also directed for Mill6 Theatre and New Voices @ New Rep. Her regional theatre credits include the National Players, Rorschach Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, the Potomac Theatre Project and Washington Shakespeare Company.