The Marsh San Francisco Welcomes Kate Robards in AIN'T THAT RICH

The Marsh San Francisco welcomes a new solo show to the Studio stage, Ain't That Rich by Kate Robards. A favorite of the 2016 Capital Fringe Fest in DC, the show was named one of the "Best of Fringe" by DC Metro Theater Arts and won first prize at the 2017 Maui Fringe Festival. In this compelling work, Kate describes growing up "poor" in an East Texas town, where she tries to keep up with the small-town wealthy people. Doing all she can to escape, Kate marries into the coveted one-percent. She thinks her husband is "rich." Her in-laws think that "rich" is not a nice word. As Kate straddles two different extreme ways of life, she realizes what money can and cannot buy, including the possible salvation for a loved one. Ain't That Rich, directed by Keiran King, will be presented 8:00pm Fridays and 8:30pm Saturdays October 20-December 2, 2017 (press opening: October 21) at The Marsh San Francisco Studio Theater, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. For tickets ($20-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved), the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh box office at 415-282-3055 (open 1-4pm, Monday through Friday).

Ain't That Rich, Robards' second solo show, began at the Capital Fringe Fest in July 2016 where it was hailed "mesmerizing and powerful as it is funny" by the DC Metro Theater Arts. The show then traveled to Maui's IAO Theatre where it won the First Prize - Best of Fringe Award and the Audience Choice Award for the 2017 Maui Fringe Festival. Ain't That Rich has since played at FRIGID NYC 2017 to sold-out audiences at UNDER St. Marks where Theatre is Easy declared the solo show "a rollercoaster of emotion with a Goldilocks balance of comedy and drama. Robards shines," and it recently appeared at the 2017 Montreal Fringe Festival where Robards was called "truly impressive in her ability to carry the entire show on her own, and spectators are left feeling fully satisfied" by the Montreal Theatre Hub. This solo show was developed with assistance from Solo Sundays at Stage Werx in San Francisco and was part of The Marsh Risings Series.

Kate Robards is an award-winning writer and performer. She has lived around the world, including Amsterdam and Shanghai, but identifies deeply with Orange, Texas, a small Gulf Coast town on the Texas-Louisiana border where she spent the first twenty years of her life. Her work often deals with the sense of home, rootedness, and identity. Her first solo play, Mandarin Orange, premiered in Washington, DC where it went on to play at the EXIT Theatre and The Marsh in San Francisco as well as the Maui Fringe Festival earning Robards the Hoku Award for Favorite Performer. Her one-act-play Madame Pearl was performed at California College of the Arts' Orange Box PLAySPACE in San Francisco. Robards has performed with Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory, The San Francisco Olympians Festival, EXIT Theatre, Shanghai Repertory Theatre, Urban Aphrodite International, and The Cutting Ball Theater. She has been featured in independent films and web series, playing everything from a 1940s housewife to a modern-day, crack-addicted prostitute. Robards was a company member of FOGG Theatre Company and served on the board of directors at FOGG and The Cutting Ball Theater, both in San Francisco. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in writing from California College of the Arts, is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Keiran King (Director) is the author of the plays Last Call, Mr. & Mrs. Blacke, and Taboo, all of which have been added to the National Library of Jamaica. In 2014 King was Jamaica's most-read newspaper columnist. He is also a director, producer, composer, and an award-winning set designer.

David Ford (Developer) has been collaborating on new and unusual theater for three decades and has been associated with The Marsh for most of that time. The San Francisco press has variously called him "the solo performer maven," "the monologue maestro," "the dean of solo performance," and "the solo performer's best friend." Collaborators include Geoff Hoyle, Echo Brown, Brian Copeland, Charlie Varon, Marilyn Pittman, Rebecca Fisher, Wayne Harris, and Marga Gomez. As a director, Mr. Ford has directed both solo and ensemble work regionally at The Public Theater, Second Stage, St. Clement's, Dixon's Place, One Dream Theatre, and Theatre for the New City (NY), Highways Performance Space (LA), and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (DC), as well as at theaters around the Bay Area including Magic Theatre and Marin Theatre Company. He is also a published playwright.

The Marsh is known as "a breeding ground for new performance." It was launched in 1989 by Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, and now annually hosts more than 600 performances of 175 shows across the company's two venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. A leading outlet for solo performers, The Marsh's specialty has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "solo performances that celebrate the power of storytelling at its simplest and purest." The East Bay Times named The Marsh one of Bay Area's best intimate theaters, calling it "one of the most thriving solo theaters in the nation. The live theatrical energy is simply irresistible."

Photo credit: Rex Lott