Dark Satire THE MOORS Opens November 1 at Cal State Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton's production of "The Moors" by Jen Silverman and directed by Tommy Statler runs from November 1 - 17, 2019 in the Hallberg Theatre on campus. In an English manor on the bleak and savage moors live two sisters: steely, commanding Agatha, and Hudley, the childlike younger sister in her shadow. When a hapless governess arrives, lies are revealed and loyalties shift. This darkly comedic, contemporary satire riffs on 19th-century literature to explore love, power, desperation, and the desire to be seen. New Haven Review hails "The Moors" as "Acerbic, funny [...] brilliant stuff." The New York Times raves "Truly clever and intelligent. You really ought to see this."

Playwright Jen Silverman grew up living in and traveling throughout Asia and Europe, as well as the United States. She completed her BA in comparative literature at Brown University, holds a MFA in playwriting from the University of Iowa, and also studied at Juilliard. Known for her complex, strong female characters, Silverman is a New York-based writer whose work includes "Witch" (Writers Theatre and the Geffen); "The Roommate" (Humana Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Steppenwolf, and South Coast Rep, among others); and "Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties" (Woolly Mammoth, Southwark Playhouse in London, Boston Court in LA, and MCC). She is a two-time MacDowell Colony fellow, a recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, and the Yale Drama Series Award. Silverman was a 2016-2017 Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Fellow at the Lark. In 2018, Random House published her first book, "The Island Dwellers," a collection of interlinked stories set in the U.S. and Japan. Silverman also writes for television and film, most recently on Netflix's "Tales of the City."

Director Tommy Statler earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and directing from Southeast Missouri State University in 2010. His directing credits include "Blood of the Land" (CSUF), "Boy's Life" (Young Actors Ensemble), "Much Ado About Nothing" (Cal Shakespeare Conservatory), and "Angels in America: Perestroika" (SE Missouri State Reading Series). Statler is co-founder and former artistic director of Young Actors Ensemble, and founder and artistic director of Trashcan Shakespeare.

The cast of "The Moors" includes Aryana Hamzehloo, McKenna Oldmixon, Molly Renze, Leianna Weaver, Brandon Burns, and Alison Kamishiro Parsons. Set design is by Vanessa Lara, costume design by Allison Chambers, makeup/wig design by Samantha McCabe, lighting design by Edgar Antonio Alamo, and sound design by Devon Rieckhof and fight choreography by Michael Polak.

"The Moors" plays at 8 pm on November 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, and at 2 pm on November 3, 9, 10, 16, 17. General admission tickets are $14 ($12 with advance Titan Discount purchase for students, seniors or with a CSUF ID) plus a $3 per order fee. Tickets are available by calling (657) 278-3371, 11 am - 5 pm Monday through Friday, or online.

Following "The Moors," the fall season continues with "Picnic," William Inge's bittersweet melodrama set in a small Kansas town in the 1950s. On a sweltering Labor Day morning, the women of a quiet, working-class neighborhood are preparing for the annual picnic when charming young drifter Hal Carter hops off of a freight train and into their lives. Hearts are broken and lives are changed as Hal's dangerous energy challenges the restrictive mid 20th century American values of this sleepy community. "Picnic" is written by William Inge, directed by Eve Himmelheber, and runs from November 15 - December 8, 2019 in the Young Theatre on campus.

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