La Jolla Names MOXIE Theater As 2009/2010 Resident Theater Company

La Jolla Playhouse is proud to announce its 2009/2010 resident theatre company: MOXIE Theatre. This marks the second year of the Playhouse's landmark Resident Theatre Program, and the newly-appointed company will be in residence at La Jolla Playhouse July - September, 2009, in the Mandell Weiss Forum Studio.

Spearheaded by La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley, the Resident Theatre Program aims to encourage the artistic development of up-and-coming theatre companies, while advancing and contributing to the San Diego theatre scene as a whole. The program is also designed to address the lack of available, affordable performance spaces by providing a temporary home each year to one of the many local theatre troupes without a permanent venue.

"There is such an abundance of dynamic and diverse theatre companies in San Diego, yet such a dearth of available theatre spaces," said Ashley. "We are delighted to be in a position to share our facilities with a local theatre company each year, providing not only the opportunity to use the space at no cost, but to offer crucial production and administrative support as well." Ashley continued, "In just a few years, MOXIE Theatre has become one of the most adventurous and electrifying theatre companies in San Diego, and we couldn't be more excited to present their work on our stages as part of the Resident Theatre Program."

MOXIE Theatre is a professional non-profit theatre founded by the critically-acclaimed group of performers and directors: Jo Anne Glover, Liv Kellgren, Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and Jennifer Eve Thorn. The mission of MOXIE Theatre is to expand the idea of what is feminine by using the intimate art of theatre to create more honest and diverse female images for our culture. MOXIE fans know that each distinct MOXIE production will always share one similar quality - moxie, defined as "courage, pluck, gumption, perseverance, guts." It may be the hero of a play who embodies the term moxie, or a challenging subject matter. In whatever way it is revealed, moxie is the unifying characteristic that permeates all of the company's productions. MOXIE Theatre has garnered numerous local awards since its inception in 2004, including five San Diego Critics Circle "Craig Noel" Awards, among them the Des McAnuff New Visions Award for MOXIE Theatre Artistic Director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.

"What a thrill to be chosen as this year's resident theatre company at La Jolla Playhouse and to be able to bring our work to a whole new audience," said Sonnenberg. "That the Playhouse has offered us this temporary home demonstrates their amazing enthusiasm for fostering local talent and developing partnerships in this vibrant theatre community."

The Resident Theatre Program is an annual appointment at La Jolla Playhouse. In addition to the performance space, the Playhouse provides lighting and sound support and is available to provide marketing and development advice. No artistic direction is provided by the Playhouse, nor direct funding for projects.

La Jolla Playhouse has enjoyed a long tradition of sharing facilities, as demonstrated by its relationship with the Theatre and Dance department at the University of California, San Diego. Since its inception, the Playhouse and UC San Diego have collaborated, creating an integrated environment for the exciting and internationally-acclaimed theatre produced by the Playhouse and the nationally-renowned theatre training program offered by the Department of Theatre and Dance.

The nationally-acclaimed, Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse is known for its tradition of creating the most exciting and adventurous new work in regional theatre. The Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, and is considered one of the most well-respected not-for-profit theatres in the country. Numerous Playhouse productions have moved to Broadway, including Big River, The Who's Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Walk in the Woods, Dracula, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, Jersey Boys, The Farnsworth Invention, Cry-Baby and 33 Variations. Located on the UCSD campus, La Jolla Playhouse is made up of three primary performance spaces: the Mandell Weiss Theatre, the Mandell Weiss Forum Theatre, and the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for La Jolla Playhouse, a state-of-the-art theatre complex which features the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

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