Previews: THE GARBOLOGISTS Is A Hopeful Examination Of Finding Common Ground At Dezart Performs

THE GARBOLOGISTS rounds out the 15th Season for Dezart Performs April 14 - 23. As the lives of a white conservative and a Black liberal working together in a New York City garbage truck become more entwined, they discover some things are easier to toss than others. It is a play that is a hopeful story about finding common ground in uncommon times. The play runs 90 minutes without intermission and is a "delightfully intimate, surprising, and profound, filled with sometimes unexpected laughter and even tears." - onStage Pittsburgh.

"As the old adage goes, one person's trash is another person's treasure," said Dezart Performs founding artistic director Michael Shaw who is directing the play. "Lindsay Joelle's beautifully written and perfectly pitched dialogue is itself something to be treasured. In a world of great economic and social disparity, Danny and Marlowe show us the true meaning of friendship and that our 'jobs' are not always a reflection of our rich inner lives."

Danny (Jacob Alden Roa), a nine-year veteran of DSNY (The City of New York Department of Sanitation) is matched with Marlowe (Nathalie Bennett) on her first day as a garbage collector. Danny is world weary, gruff and more than a little politically incorrect with a degree from the school of hard knocks. Marlowe is a Columbia graduate who did her "Master's Thesis on the proliferation of Anglo-Indian intaglio travel printmaking as a byproduct of 19th century colonialism." The chances of a friendship, or even a chance meeting, at a Manhattan bar would be unlikely. Daily intimate conversations over rancid trash bags during a NYC winter even more so between two such radically different people. Both Danny and Marlowe have secrets. Both have things in their lives they wish they could have kept, and both have thrown much away. The result is a moving and memorable "buddy play" that will stay with the audience for a long time.

THE GARBOLOGISTS runs April 14 - 23,. All performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman's Club) 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Ticket prices are $39 - $50. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org, or by calling (760) 322-0179. Showtimes are Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 7:30pm; Sundays at 2pm.

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley's preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting-edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely
contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

Meet the Cast:
Nathalie Bennett is a Bay Area native and UCLA alumna. She received a "Best Principal Actress" nomination by San Francisco Bay Area Theatre
Critics Circle for Camae in THE MOUNTAINTOP. Theatre credits include
title role in TOYPURINA, leading roles in THE GIRLS OF SUMMER, THIS LAND WAS MADE, WHEN WE WERE COLORED, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, THE PIANO LESSON, STEAL AWAY including one-woman plays
THE DOROTHY DANDRIDGE STORY, A SHADOW IN THE
CLOUDS (Bessie Coleman Story) and TITUBA. Film credits includes Netflix feature film, REBIRTH and award-winning festival short, JACOB STONE. Studies include Margie Haber in Los Angeles and The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Member SAG-AFTRA and Actor's Equity Association. She is honored to play Marlowe in THE GARBOLOGISTS.

Jacob Alden Roa (Danny) is an Actor/Writer/Musician and professional Astrologer, with over a decade in NYC telling stories on stage and screen. In New York, he made his Off-Broadway Debut in INDEPENDENTS at Soho Playhouse and performed at The Park Ave Armory and The Public Theater working with composers and theater artists Mark Sonnenblick, Greta Gertler Gold, Stew and Jocelyn Mackenzie. New to the west coast, Jacob is excited to make his Dezart Performs debut bringing this beautiful human story to life. Proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Shout out to his folks and his partner, Susana, for the support and inspiration that make this life of storytelling possible. Find him on Instagram: @jacobaldenroa.

15th Dezart Performs' Season Listing
THE GARBOLOGISTS
April 14 - 23, 2023
Written by Lindsay Joelle
Directed by Michael Shaw