Ruskin Group Theatre Presents A MEMORY OF TWO MONDAYS, Opens 6/10

Arthur Miller's autobiographical play will be staged at the Ruskin Group Theatre for a limited time. The play elegantly, and hilariously at times, depicts the way a common experience can bond people together.

Miller says of the era - "There were two occasions when Americans lived through a common experience, not in the first world war or even the second, or in Korea, or even Vietnam, but in the Civil War and the Great Depression, that is when everybody was in the same boat...and perhaps we understood each other a little bit better then."

During a time of 25% unemployment, Arthur Miller's play conjures the dreams of a young man yearning for a college education and a life beyond the hopelessness of the 1930's Great Depression. Originally produced on Broadway in 1955, this piece draws from the playwright's own experiences, and focuses on several working class characters diligently earning a living in a Brooklyn automobile parts warehouse. The Broadway revival production was recognized with 9 Drama Desk Award nominations, a Tony, and Theatre World Award.

Arthur Miller (Playwright) is one of the most prominent figures is American Theater. His play Death of a Salesman was the first play to win a Tony Award, NY Drama Critics' Circle Award, and Pulitzer Prize. Miller was born in the Harlem area of New York in 1915, as the second of three children, to Polish-Jewish Immigrants Isidore and Augusta Miller. He worked menial jobs as a young man after his family lost nearly everything during the Great Depression and gained entrance as a student at the University of Michigan, where he first majored in journalism and worked as a night reporter for the student paper. During this time he wrote his first play No Villain, for which he won the Avery Hopwood Award. This inspired Miller to enroll in a playwriting seminar, which provided the encouragement he needed to consider a career as a playwright.

In addition to Miller's recognition as an accomplished writer, he gained celebrity when he married Marilyn Monroe, and again when he was called upon to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Throughout his lifetime his talent was celebrated often with achievements such as being a Kennedy Center Honoree and garnering both Tony and Emmy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, National Medal of Arts, The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, The Jerusalem Prize, Principe de Asturias Prize for Literature (the undisputed master of modern drama), and several more. His widely recognized works include nearly one hundred plays, screenplays, radio plays, and essays.

AMELIA MULKEY (Director) is a director in theater and film. She cut her teeth in filmmaking by working as a producing director's assistant for several television shows including Saving Grace, Army Wives, and Lie to Me. Since then, Amelia has produced and directed several short films including Unicorn Girl, which can be seen at the Other Venice Film Festival in October 2011. She graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Art History and Theatre from Loyola Marymount University. Amelia has since worked on several stage productions at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre, and has been tapped numerous times to direct Café Plays, the popular Ruskin Theatre event which sells out monthly. Other stage credits include When the Speak of Rita, Bash, The Laramie Project, 'Denty Crisis, and Lend Me a Tenor. Amelia is collaborating with the San Francisco Playwrights Foundation for the development of new works.

A MEMORY OF TWO MONDAYS opens Friday, June 10th and runs through July 25, 2011. (Gala preview on Saturday, June 4th). Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm (No show on Sunday, July 3rd). Ruskin Group Theatre is located at3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Tickets are $25 ($20 for students, seniors, and guild members) and can be purchased in advance by calling (310) 397-3244. For more information please visit www.ruskingrouptheatre.com. Free and convenient parking is available at the theater.

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