Patrick Bynane and Michael Muller to Star in Amphibian Stage's ON THE CEILING Readings, 1/27-28

Amphibian Stage Productions today announced casting for its first staged reading of the 2013 season, On the Ceiling by Nigel Planer. Patrick Bynane and Michael Muller will star in this two-performance event on Sunday, January 27 and Monday, January 28 at Amphibian's theater at 120 S. Main Street. Longtime Amphibian collaborator David A. Miller will direct the reading.

Michael Muller first performed with Amphibian Stage Productions in 2005 in the main stage production of A Buyer's Market and was also seen in the company's 2006 production of Below the Belt. He returns in On the Ceiling as Lapo, a seasoned fresco plasterer making his mark on the Sistine Chapel. Patrick Bynane, who first appeared at Amphibian Stage Productions in The First Day of School in 2010, plays Loti, the apprentice to Lapo.

David A. Miller has directed a number of Amphibian's productions in the past, including the hit main stage comedies Gutenberg! The Musical! in 2008 and 2009 and Wittenberg in 2011, as well as staged readings of All This Intimacy in 2010 and The Mystery of Irma Vep in 2007.

Lapo and Loti, two fresco plasterers, face another grueling day at work, performing menial labor and covering for their absent boss. In their case, however, the boss is Michelangelo, and the office is the Sistine Chapel. Certain that this work by the first-time painter is doomed to be a disaster, the two men endeavor to save the fresco, and as their world crumbles around them, they must confront the ties that bind them to the work in progress. This comedy by Nigel Planer blurs the line between master and assistant and asks what distinguishes a tradesman from an artist.

On the Ceiling will be presented on Sunday, January 27 at 2:00 p.m. and Monday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Amphibian Stage Productions. The theatre is located at 120 S. Main Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76104.

Tickets for On the Ceiling are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. For tickets and more information, theatergoers may call 817-923-3012, email boxoffice@amphibianproductions.org, or visit www.amphibianproductions.org.

Nigel Planer (Playwright) is a published novelist and poet and a best-selling non-fiction author, as well as an actor and comedian. He has had two stage plays produced, On the Ceiling and Death of Long Pig, and he has written for television and film. Currently Nigel is working on two further radio plays and a new stage play. Nigel regularly teaches and runs workshops for writers at the Arvon Foundation.

David A. Miller (Director) has directed several productions for Amphibian Stage Productions, including Wittenberg, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Below the Belt, and 4 Edges. David has also directed the staged readings of The Mystery of Irma Vep, All This Intimacy, and Triptych. David is the Artistic director of The Artful Conspirators, a Brooklyn-based theatre company, and his recent work with the Conspirators includes Leaving IKEA: A play in two cantos, This Lurking Thing, and Brooklyn Underground: Theatrical Stories from the Green-Wood Cemetery. David teaches acting, directing, and playwriting at Bloomsburg University, and he holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Patrick Bynane (Loti) has appeared with Amphibian Stage Productions in The First Day of School and in the staged readings of All This Intimacy and Inventing Van Gogh at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Most recently, he was seen at Stage West in Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw as Dr. Prentice. Patrick is an associate professor of drama and Director of the Drama Program at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX. Originally from Cleveland, OH, Patrick received his Ph.D. in Theatre History/Criticism from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He has also worked as an actor, director and teacher at various theatres and universities in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Louisiana, New York and Texas.

Michael Muller (Lapo) has performed in several productions at Amphibian Stage Productions, including the main stage productions of A Buyer's Market and Below the Belt, as well as the staged readings of Eyes Forward, Three Hotels, Eye of God, Bach at Leipzig, and A Buyer's Market. He has also performed at Stage West, Circle Theatre, Jubilee Theatre, Kids Who Care, Shakespeare in the Park, Casa Mañana, Dallas Theater Center, Stage #1, and New Arts Theater, and has toured extensively across the United States and Canada. This is his 13th year as the theater teacher and director at Paschal High School's Vagabond Players.

Amphibian Stage Productions is a non-profit theatre company founded in 2000 by three alumni of TCU's Department of Theatre who strive to produce innovative and engaging works of theatre that challenge the way we see the world around us. Now in its thirteenth season, Amphibian has produced numerous groundbreaking and challenging plays (some regional premieres, others US or world premieres) that foster a deeper understanding of ourselves as members of the global community. The company is widely recognized for its stylistically and thematically varied scripts.

Committed to nurturing young and diverse audiences, Amphibian has developed a strong internship program, a summer acting workshop for teens, and a dynamic outreach project, Tad-Poles, that is steadily increasing the company's visibility and following. The group travels to schools and community centers, performing and spreading a message of multicultural collaboration and tolerance.

 

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