UC San Diego to Present Rajiv Joseph's GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

The UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance presents Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Carla Harting, June 7-10, at the Arthur Wagner Theatre in Galbraith Hall, part of the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theatre District on the university's campus.

In Gruesome Playground Injuries, Kayleen and Dougie are friends whose lives collide, split and intersect over a 30-year span. This revealing and funny play is explored as an ensemble, with a company inhabiting these two characters who, despite some bloodshed, try to make their way to each other.

The show runs June 7-10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for regular performances. Subscriptions and group rates are available. Student tickets are $10 for regular performances. Faculty, staff, alumni and senior citizens discounts are available as well. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the box office at (858) 534-4574. For information about parking, please see the website.

The UC San Diego student cast features James Berardo, Alex Galan, Mrigank Khemka, Josiah Glesener, Kyros Shen, Jake Sutton, Andrew Walters, Molly Adea, Paloma Dominguez, Serina Estrada, Chloris Li, Mary Catherine Lopez, Fedra Ramirez, Hannah Reinert, Andrea von den Boogaard, Tharindu W. Fernando, and ChrisTina Chen.

The creative team includes Carla Harting (Director), Bobbie Helland (Scenic Designer), Brooke Rector (Costume Designer), I Teng Sou (Lighting Designer), Justin Livengood (Sound Designer), Ashlyn Barnett (Assistant Director), Kristen Tregar (Dramaturg), Mona Gutierrez (Production Stage Manager), Blake Ramirez (Assistant Stage Manager), Hannah Hillman (Production Assistant), and Vera Long (Production Assistant).

About the playwright: Rajiv Joseph is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and an award winning playwright. Rajiv has been called "daring, magnificent, and virtuosic" by the L.A. Times. Rajiv Joseph wrote Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (a 2010 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Huck and Holden, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The Monster at the Door, and The North Pool. He is the book-writer and co-lyricist for the upcoming musical, Fly, adapted from JM Barrie's novel, Peter Pan. Rajiv Joseph received his BA in Creative Writing from Miami University and his MFA in Playwriting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. Rajiv has been awarded a United States Artists Grant, the Whiting Award, the Glickman Award, and the National Endowment for the Arts Outstanding New American Play grant. (Silk Road Rising)

About the director: Carla Harting is an actor who has worked extensively in New York and all over the country. Carla has collaborated with Sarah Ruhl on several of her new plays, including the premiere of Dead Man's Cell Phone at Playwrights Horizons, Eurydice at Yale Rep and Second Stage Theatre, as well as Passion Play at Arena Stage. New York theatre credits include Dreams of the Washer King (Playwrights Realm), Kid-Simple (Summer Play Festival), Valparaiso (Rude Mechanicals), Jimmy Carter Was a Democrat (Clubbed Thumb, Performance Space 122, The Kitchen), Freakshow and Late: A Cowboy Song (Clubbed Thumb), Be Aggressive (Soho Repertory Theater) and Straight Up & with a Twist (New Georges). Her regional work includes Goldie, Max & Milk (Florida Stage), Legacy of Light, A Delicate Balance, and Passion Play (Arena Stage), The Lady from Dubuque (Seattle Repertory Theatre)), The Scene, After Ashley, Kid-Simple, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls and The Blue Room (various Humana Festivals at ATL), Night and Day (The Wilma Theater), What the Butler Saw (South Coast Repertory), Uncle Vanya, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Imaginary Invalid, and Zoot Suit (San Diego Repertory Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (La Jolla Playhouse), Our Country's Good (Signature Theatre Company, DC) and The Bright and Bold Design (The Studio Theatre, DC). In San Diego, Carla's recent work includes Outside Mullingar (San Diego Rep), Betrayal (North Coast Rep), Fool For Love (Cygnet), and August Osage County (The Old Globe) for which the cast received a Craig Noel Award for Best Ensemble. Carla's film and television credits include Never Forever with Vera Farmiga, "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Carla received her BA from the College of William & Mary and an MFA in Acting from UCSD.