FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training to Present Durang & Stoppard Double-Bill

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training kicks off its 2015-16 season with a double bill of Tony and Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang's THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE and multi-Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard's THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND. Presenting a full night of entertainment from two masters of absurdist comedy, the evening will start with 30-minute one-act THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE, include a brief intermission and close with THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND. Directed by Greg Leaming, the director of the Conservatory, both shows preview in the Cook Theatre at the FSU Center for Performing Arts on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30pm with a special "Pay What You Can Performance," and officially open on Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, November 22.

In THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE, confused accountant George Spelvin wanders into a theater and finds himself thrown into the leading role in the performance of an ever-changing play. At a loss for lines, stage blocking, and any idea of how the disordered plot is supposed to end, George ad libs his way through a chaotic list of plays, from William Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett.

In THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND, theatre critics Moon and Birdboot attend a British murder mystery. As the playfully melodramatic plot approaches its finale and the two whisper their theories back and forth, they are suddenly pulled into the action of the play. Now they must find the culprit - before they become victims themselves!

"Both of these pieces are challenging absurdist comedies about the theatre," said Greg Leaming. "THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND may be one of Tom Stoppard's funniest plays, and THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE is a wonderful little piece of nasty comedy by a great American playwright. Together they provide some very challenging opportunities for the entire second year company of actors - a great showcase for them all, as well as a terrific workout!"

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory 15-16 season continues with David Ives' outrageous adaptation of the French farce The Liar by Pierre Corneille, running December 29 through January 17. William Shakespeare's dramatic masterpiece Macbeth hits the stage on February 23 and runs through March 13, and the season wraps up with Nora, Ingmar Bergman's stirring adaptation of the iconic play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, running April 12 through May 1.

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