Actors Theatre of Louisville to Present O GURU GURU GURU as Part of 2013 Humana Festival, 3/20-4/7

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced O Guru Guru Guru, or why I don't want to go to yoga class with you by Mallery Avidon, directed by former Actors Theatre directing intern Lila Neugebauer. The play will run in the Victor Jory Theatre beginning on March 20, opening March 22 and running through April 7th. The production is part of the 37th Humana Festival of New American Plays, made possible by a generous grant from the Humana Foundation. 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.

Lila grew up in an ashram, but she does not want to go to yoga class with you. Not because she doesn't like stretching or has no discipline or worries she might be bad at it. Not because she doesn't like you. The reason Lila doesn't want to go to yoga class is not easy to explain-but let her try. A disarming look at the precarious process of becoming yourself.

Mallery Avidon's play Breaks & Bikes recently premiered at Pavement Group in Chicago. Her other work has been produced by Target Margin Theater, On the Boards, angry BLVD and Williams College Summer Theater Lab, and developed by Playwrights Horizons, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, IRT Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, New Century Theater Company and A Collection of Shiny Objects.

Lila Neugebauer was a former directing intern at Actors Theatre and was the assistant director/dramaturg on The Edge of Our Bodies (Humana Festival 2011), written and directed by Adam Rapp. She has had various credits in New York as well as in regional theatre including most recently Dan LeFranc's Troublemaker at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Annie Baker's The Aliens (The Studio Theatre, D.C.; West Coast premiere, The San Francisco Playhouse), and The Valley of Fear at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She is also the co-artistic director of The Mad Ones.

The cast includes Rebecca Hart who was most recently seen at Actors in A Devil at Noon during the 35th Humana Festival of New American Plays. Khrystyne Haje is an Emmy Award-winner and received the Civilian Medal of Honor for entertaining U.S. troops with Bob Hope during the war in Afghanistan. She will be familiar to many for her role as Simone in ABC's long running hit Head of the Class. Daphne Gaines is returning to Actors Theatre after appearing in A Christmas Carol. Maya Lawson's theatre credits include The K of D: An Urban Legend at Magic Theatre, Courting Vampires at Theatre at Boston Court, Blackbird at Studio Theatre Los Angeles and Curse of the Starving Class at American Conservatory Theater. Gisela Chipe was last seen at Actors in Dracula. Kristin Villanueva was last seen as May Kasahara in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at the Singapore Arts Festival.

The production team includes Andrew Lieberman (Scenic Designer) who is a Princess Grace winner and designed Sandra Tsing Loh's I Worry at Actors Theatre in 2003. Ásta Bennie Hostette's (Costume Designer) New York theatre credits include The (*) Inn at Target Margin Theater, Grimly Handsome and Tube at Incubator Arts Project, Strange Cargo at PS122 and Babes in Toyland at the Ice Factory Festival and the Ohio Theatre. Brian H. Scott(Lighting Designer) recently designed lighting for Cafe Variations, Trojan Women, Under Construction, WhoDoYouThinkYouAre, Hotel Cassioepia and Death and the Ploughman. Darron L. West (Sound Designer) is a Tony and Obie Award-winning sound designer whose work for theatre and dance has been heard in over 500 productions nationally, internationally, on Broadway and off.

This year's Humana Festival of New American Plays showcases six full-length plays: The Delling Shore by Sam Marks; Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; Cry Old Kingdom by Jeff Augustin; Gnit by Will Eno; O Guru Guru Guru, or why I don't want to go to yoga class with you by Mallery Avidon; Sleep Rock Thy Brain,a play by Rinne Groff, Lucas Hnath and Anne Washburn commissioned by Actors Theatre and featuring the Acting Apprentice Company; and an evening of three ten-minute plays by Jonathan Josephson, Sarah Ruhl and Emily Schwend.

Actors Theatre celebrates the 37th Humana Festival with underwriter the Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana, Inc. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Single tickets and festival packages are now available. For more information or reservations call 502 584-1205 or 1-800-4-ATL-TIX, or visit Actors Theatre's website at ActorsTheatre.org.

Humana Festival Locals Passes are available to Louisville area residents for only $75. The Locals Pass enables you to see five festival productions. Humana Pass holders receive 5 Extra Seat Passes for The Delling Shore, Cry Old Kingdom, Appropriate, Gnit, and the Ten-Minute Plays. Humana Pass holders also receive: 50% off any additional tickets to the festival, priority placement in the Extra Seat Pass Line and 2 additional vouchers good for any public panel discussion.

Mallery Avidon is a playwright interested in the intersection of fact and fiction. Her work has been produced by Pavement Group, Target Margin Theater, On the Boards, angry BLVD and Williams College Summer Theater Lab and developed by Playwrights Horizons, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, IRT Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, New Century Theater Company and A Collection of Shiny Objects. Avidon is an alumna of Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab, an affiliated artist with New Georges, an artistic associate of Pavement Group and Target Margin Theater, and co-curator of The Bushwick Starr's monthly reading series. She has taught playwriting in prisons, high schools and universities. Avidon holds a B.F.A. in Theater from Cornish College of the Arts and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Brown University.

Lila Neugebauer's regional theatre credits include: Dan LeFranc's Troublemaker (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Annie Baker's The Aliens (The Studio Theatre, D.C.; West Coast premiere, The San Francisco Playhouse), and The Valley of Fear (Williamstown Theatre Festival). In New York: Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War(The Mad Ones/The Brick, Ars Nova, The New Ohio Theatre), TheWii Plays (Ars Nova), Nick Jones'Grizzly (Joe's Pub), Circle Mirror Transformation (Juilliard), Edgewise (Cherry Lane Studio), The Sluts of Sutton Drive (Ensemble Studio Theatre), and Associate Director on Karen O'sStop The Virgens (St. Ann's Warehouse, Sydney Opera House). Affiliations: Drama League Alum, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Ensemble Studio Theatre member, New Georges Affiliated Artist, Time Warner Fellow with The Women's Project, Co-Artistic Director of The Mad Ones.

Rebecca Hart, At Actors Theatre: Rock & Roll: The Reunion Tour and A Devil at Noon (2011 Humana Festival). Regional Theatre: The Great Immensity (The Civilians, Kansas City Repertory), Son of a Gun (O'Neill Music Theatre Conference), Orestes: an Antic Tragedy (Folger Theatre and Two River Theater) and A Midsummer Night's Dream(Stonington Opera House). Off-Broadway: Son of a Gun (Beckett Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Target Margin, HERE), Vendetta Chrome (Clubbed Thumb, Ohio Theatre), Dead City (New Georges). Film: Young Adult (Paramount), Lemon (Imperfect Films). Other Theatre: The Sundance Institute/MassMoCA, Page 73, New Dramatists, Hartford Stage, New York Stage & Film, the Ice Factory Festival (New Ohio), Summer Sublet (HERE) and the Druid Theatre (Ireland). rebeccahart.net

Khrystyne Haje is making her Actors Theatre debut. Regional Theatre: Anna in Nothing Sacred and Princess Marjorie in Princess Marjorie (South Coast Repertory), Eileen in Moon Over Buffalo (Pasadena Playhouse). Off-Broadway: Stephanie in You've Got Hate Mail (Stage 72) and Loretta in Suburban Motel: Featuring Loretta (Gary Marshall's Falcon Theatre). Television: Haje has appeared in over 40 television shows, including Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Babylon Fields, Stepsister from the Planet Weird, Attack of the 5'2" Woman, The Bates Motel and Simone in ABC's long running hit Head of the Class. Awards: Haje is an Emmy Award-winner and received the Civilian Medal of Honor for entertaining U.S. troops with Bob Hope during the war in Afghanistan. People Magazine also named her one of "The 50 Most Beautiful People In The World". @TheRealKhrys

Daphne Gaines, At Actors Theatre: A Christmas Carol. Regional Theatre: Ruined (Denver Center, Best Supporting Actress Henry & Ovation Award Nominations), Three Children (Hong Kong Fringe Theatre), American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose' (Denver Center, Ovation Award Nomination) and Gee's Bend (Denver Center). New York Credits/Off-Broadway: The Lily's Revenge (Obie Award; Here Arts Theatre), A Walk Across America... (LaMama Theatre, New York Innovative Theater Lead Actress Nomination), Faust (Classic Stage Company), Three Sisters (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Cedar Creek (Abingdon Theatre Company), The Mystery of the Charity of Joan of Arc (Target Margin Theatre), Orpheus (Here Arts Theatre), Yokasta's Redux (LaMama Theatre), Nightvision: A Vampyre Opera (The Public Theater, Brooklyn Academy Of Music), Dead Tech (Smack Melon Theatre) and Revelations: the Outtakes (The Public Theater). Additional Credits: Gaines is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School and holds a B.A. in theatre and psychology from the University of Georgia.

Maya Lawson (O Guru Guru Guru) Regional Theatre: The K of D: An Urban Legend (Magic Theatre), Courting Vampires (Theatre at Boston Court), Blackbird (Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles), Curse of the Starving Class (understudy, American Conservatory Theater) and Pride and Prejudice (Portland Center Stage/Book-It Repertory, Seattle). Off-Broadway: Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary (The Management), Auto Graphic Novel (Theater for the New City) and Tundra (Brooklyn Art Exchange). Film/Television: The Brand Upon the Brain! (directed by Guy Maddin), Hard to Come By, Lauren Is Missing and The Come Up. Additional Credits: Lawson holds a B.F.A. in theatre from Cornish College of the Arts.

Gisela Chipe, At Actors Theatre: Dracula. Regional Theatre: Hamlet: Prince of Cuba, Yentl (Asolo Repertory Theatre), The Clean House (Syracuse Stage), pride@prejudice, (Capital Repertory & Chester Theatres) and Midsummer, Bat Boy! The Musical, The Seagull, Comedy of Errors (Great Lakes Theatre & Idaho Shakespeare Festival).Off-Broadway: Emancipation (Classical Theatre of Harlem) and Laws of Motion (PS122). Other Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Really Inventive Stuff--Radio), Macbeth (Stonington Opera House),1001, 9 Parts of Desire (Contemporary American Theater Festival), Comedy of Errors,The Crucible (North Carolina Shakespeare Festival), The Underpants(Shadow Lawn Stage), Merchant of Venice (Colorado Shakespeare Festival) and Misalliance, Major Barbara, Barrymore Award-winning Tuesday (PTTP). Film: Diving Normal. Additional Credits: Chipe received her training from Walden Theatre, her B.A. from College of Charleston and her PTTP, M.F.A. from the University of Delaware.

Kristin Villanueva is making her debut at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. She was last seen as May Kasahara in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Singapore Arts Festival). Regional Theatre: Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice (Playmakers Repertory), Helena in All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare & Company), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona The Musical (Nebraska Shakespeare Festival) and Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors (Theatreworks Colorado). New York Credits: Here Lies Love at The Public Theater (musical lab production), Overturn Theatre Ensemble, National Asian American Company, Living Image Arts and Theatre Works. Film: A Midsummer Night's Dream; Merry Christmas, Eve. Television: Gossip Girl. Additional Credits: Villanueva graduated from SUNY Purchase with the Chair's Award for Achievement in Acting.

The Humana Festival is an internationally acclaimed event that has introduced more than 400 plays into the American and interNational Theatre's repertoire, including three Pulitzer Prize winners-The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley and Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies-as well as Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise, Jane Martin's Anton in Show Business, Charles L. Mee's Big Love, Theresa Rebeck's The Scene, Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley and Becky Shaw, UNIVERSES' Ameriville, Jordan Harrison's Maple and Vine, Stephen Belber's Tape and The Civilians' This Beautiful City. Over 380 Humana Festival plays have been published in anthologies and individual acting editions, making Actors Theatre a visible and vital force in the development of new plays.

The Humana Festival is the premier event of its kind in the nation, drawing audiences of nearly 40,000 last year. For the past 36 years, hundreds of the industry's most distinguished leaders, producers, critics and admirers have descended upon Louisville for a month-long celebration of new writing for the stage. The Festival culminates in two industry weekends which bring together a collection of amazing new plays with one-of-a-kind panels, cocktail parties, discussions and networking events. It is the perfect opportunity to see new work, make new connections and support the creation of new American theatre.

Now in its 49th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, has emerged as one of America's most consistently innovative professional theatre companies. For almost 40 years, it has been a major force in revitalizing American playwriting. Its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays is recognized as the premier event of its kind and draws producers, journalists, critics, playwrights and theatre lovers from around the world for a marathon of new works. More than 380 plays from Actors Theatre have been published, making them available to producers and readers, and creating a significant addition to the nation's dramatic literature. Actors Theatre's programming includes a broad range of classical and contemporary work, presenting more than 500 performances each season. The company performs annually to nearly 200,000 people and is the recipient of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a regional theatre: a special Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. Actors Theatre's international appearances include performances in 29 cities in 15 foreign countries. Currently, there are 40 books of plays and criticism from Actors Theatre in publication and circulation.