San Francisco Playhouse Presents WASHED UP ON THE POTOMAC

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the final show of its 2017-18 Sandbox Series-the world premiere of Washed Up on the Potomac, written by Lynn Rosen. José Zayas will direct.

Order is the name of the game in this D.C. proofreading office, but everything is a bit off today. It is ninety degrees in October, a costly mistake has been made on an important account, and someone is going to get fired. As three proofreaders ponder their futures, they become haunted and inspired by memories of a coworker whose body may have washed up on the bank of the Potomac today. Who will be the next to go? Or are they already gone?

"Our characters-a budding novelist, a wannabe rock star, a wallflower dreamer and their terror-stricken supervisor-wrestle with the possible death of a disappeared former co-worker whose body may have washed up on the Potomac", said Artistic Director Bill English. "Many of us will remember that catastrophic event that helped us or drove us to turn a corner in our lives, the crisis whose jolt of adrenaline pushed us out of our comfort zone into a new and terrifying landscape. Washed Up on the Potomac gives its dreamers eloquent and potent language to take us with them on their journey."

The cast of Washed Up on the Potomac will feature Jessica Bates*, Millie Brooks, Max Forman-Mullin, Vincent Randazzo*, and Cole Alexander Smith*.

San Francisco Playhouse's production of Washed Up on the Potomac is made possible by Sandbox Series Producer Rowland Weinstein; Producer Sandra Hess; and Associate Producers Karla Jones, Barbara & Saul Rockman, and Tappan Wilder.

Lynn Rosen (Playwright) Lynn's plays have been produced or developed with: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Actors Theatre of Louisville, New Georges, UC Santa Barbara's Launch Pad (commission/production), Women's Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre (three EST/Sloan New Play Commissions), The Pool, Centerstage - Baltimore, Studio Theatre, Red Bull Theater, Working Theater, Barrington Stage, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The New Group, The Lark (Writing Fellow), terraNOVA Collective, New Harmony Project (Writer in Residence 2017), GEVA, Fault Line, The Brick, The 52nd Street Project, among others. Lynn cowrites/co-created the award-winning web series Darwin, directed by Emmywinner Carrie Preston, which was named one of the "Top Ten Best Web Series of 2015" by Paste Magazine. Most recently: Lynn's short play, I Love You, was recorded for Playing On Air, starring Bill Irwin and Steven Boyer, directed by David Auburn; Washed Up On The Potomac, produced by Lynn's playwrightdriven theatre company The Pool @ The Flea, NYC, directed by José Zayas; development of her farce The Imperialists with New Dramatists and New Neighborhood, directed by Christian Parker. Current Commissions: Gurley! A musical about Helen Gurley Brown and Betty Friedan, developed with rock duo, The Kilbanes, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley commission; Chasing Totality, an exploration of the space race, EST/Sloan Commission with director/producer Kay Matschullat; The Claudias - A Revenge Play, Red Bull Theatre commission; Legerdemain, developed with director Julie Kramer, Audrey Residency/New Georgs. Lynn grew up in Gary, Indiana, has a BA in Theater Arts from Brandeis University, and resides in NYC. She is a Resident Playwright at New Dramatists.

José Zayas (Director) has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally and internationally. Recent credits include: The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, Mass MoCa, US and European Tour), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Undocumented (Joe's Pub), Exquisite Agony, Blind Spot, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Ace and Hola awards for best production and direction), Burundanga, The House of the Spirits (Ace Awards, Hola Award and Ovation awards for best production and direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, Madre (el drama padre), Besame Mucho, Nowhere on the Border, and Barcelo on the Rocks (Repertorio Español), Washed Up on the Potomac (Flea Theater), Pinkolandia and El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theatre), Corazon Eterno (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is not a Racist (PS 122, Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). He has premiered works by Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot and Jordi Galceran. He was assistant director for Talk Radio directed by Robert Falls, Regrets Only directed by Christopher Ashley, and Come Back Little Sheba directed by Michael Pressman. Awards: Ace, Hola Awards, Premios Ati, Ovation. nytheatre.com: People of the Year. Drama League Fellow, Lincoln Center's Director's Lab, Soho Rep Writers/Director's Lab, NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors, Ensemble Studio Theatre member, Resident Director Repertorio Español. Born in Puerto Rico, he graduated from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Sandbox Series is San Francisco Playhouse's new works program. The Playhouse's commitment to new works in the Sandbox Series has been honored by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Theatre Wing. Designed to bridge the gap between staged readings and Mainstage productions, the program combines top-notch directors and actors with limited design elements, allowing new voices in American theater to be heard while reducing the theatre's financial risk for full production at this stage of a play's development. The series has achieved significant critical and commercial milestones: Sandbox plays have won two Will Glickman Awards in the past three years; the Sandbox smash hit Ideation recently completed a successful Off-Broadway engagement in New York City; and George Brant's Grounded went on to international acclaim after its Sandbox premiere.
*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and
Stage Managers.