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About the Show
Mike Daisey returns to Woolly Mammoth following his sold-out run of
If you See Something Say Something.
“The Master Storyteller” Mike Daisey (The New York Times) returns to Woolly Mammoth to sink his razor-sharp wit into a subject he knows well: the American theater. In this acclaimed monologue about theater, failure, passion, and hope, Daisey fearlessly takes stock of the state of theater in America: a shrinking world with smaller audiences every year. He tells his own story of a life in the theater, both hilarious and heartfelt, as he challenges us to believe in the power of live theater while questioning the state of things today. From gorgeous new theaters standing empty as cathedrals, to “successful” working actors traveling like migrant farmhands, to an arts culture unwilling to speak or listen to its own nation, Daisey seeks answers to essential and dangerous questions about the art we’re making, the legacy we leave the future, and who it is we believe we’re speaking to.
"...a FUNNY, SURPRISINGLY SUPPLE performance
about
life in the theater...rendered here with EXPLOSIVE HUMOR
and a dark edge of tragedy."
– Washington Post
"Gifted monologist Mike Daisey…takes on this taboo topic with scorching anger, humor and heart. 3 ½ stars"
– Washington Times
"ABSORBING, HEARTFELT, FREQUENTLY HILARIOUS.
[A] world-class raconteur."
– DCist
"[Daisey] is full of passion and rage. Fierce energy...animates his storytelling [with] a great deal of subtle humor."
– DC Theatre Scene
"Blending political anger with striking personal stories, this piece should reach anyone who believes in live performance."
– Variety
Check out the Washington Post's feature
article on Mike Daisey (1/2/09).
Who's Who
PLAYWRIGHT
MIKE DAISEY has been called “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation” by the New York Times for his many monologues, which include How Theater Failed America, Invincible Summer, Monopoly!, TRUTH, The Ugly American, I Miss the Cold War, Great Men of Genius, Wasting Your Breath and 21 Dog Years, and over the past decade he has performed his unique extemporaneous monologues at venues such as the Public Theater, American Repertory Theatre, the Spoleto Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Cherry Lane Theatre, Yale Repertory Theater, the Noorderzon Festival, Portland Center Stage, Intiman, Performance Space 122, and many more. He’s been a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, his work has been heard on the BBC, NPR and the National Lampoon Radio Hour, and his groundbreaking series All Stories Are Fiction is available through Audible. Currently he’s a commentator for PRI’s Studio 360 and NPR’s Day To Day, a contributor to WIRED, Slate and Salon, a web contributor to Vanity Fair and Radar Magazine, and his writing appears in the anthology The Best Tech Writing 2006. His first film, Layover, is being distributed by Lars von Trier’s company Zentropa, and he stars in the Lawrence Krauser feature Horrible Child. His first book, 21 Dog Years: A Cubedweller’s Tale, was published by the Free Press and he is working on a second book, Great Men of Genius, adapted from his monologues about genius and megalomania in the lives of Bertolt Brecht, P.T. Barnum, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard. He has been the recipient of the Bay Area Critics Circle Award, two Seattle Times Footlight Awards, and a MacDowell Fellowship. Visit Mike's website at www.mikedaisey.com.
DIRECTOR
JEAN-MICHELE GREGORY works with solo performers and writers to create extemporaneous works based on autobiographical material. Over the last decade she has directed Mike Daisey’s monologues at venues across the nation, including the Public Theater (How Theater Failed America, Invincible Summer), American Repertory Theatre (Monopoly!, Invincible Summer), the Cherry Lane (21 Dog Years), PS 122 (All Stories Are Fiction), Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Great Men of Genius—winner of the Bay Area Critics Circle Award), Yale Repertory Theatre (Invincible Summer), ACT Theatre (The Ugly American), Portland Stage Company (Barring the Unforeseen), the Spoleto Festival, and many more. She recently directed Martin Dockery’s Wanderlust at the Barrow Group Theatre and Suzanne Morrison’s Yoga Bitch at London’s Theatre 503 and Oxford’s Burton Taylor. Fascinated by storytelling in all its shapes and forms, she is at work on a memoir about her family’s exodus from eastern Poland and what it means to forgive.
Schedule & Prices
January 7 – 18, 2009
The run of HOW THEATER FAILED AMERICA is accompanied by roundtable discussions about the state of American theater on January 9th, 12th and 16th. The roundtables put theater administrators, funders, and critics in direct conversation with actors, directors, and technicians working in Washington DC theater in an attempt to honestly and critically assess where we stand.
All roundtables are moderated by Mike Daisey and are FREE. These are not post-show discussions, but rather open dialogues about the state of the art form, and the floor will be opened to audience questions and statements as well. To attend any performance, a ticket is required; however, anyone may attend the roundtable discussions for free.
Fri., January 9: “For-Profit, Non-Profit, No-Profit”
(Approximate start time of roundtable: 9:50pm)
Julianne Brienza, Executive Director – Capital Fringe Festival
Martha Knight, Stage Manager
Jacqueline E. Lawton, Dramaturg, Playwright, Teaching Artist
Bill O’Brien, Director of Theater and Musical Theater – National Endowment for the Arts
KenYatta Rogers, Actor/Director/Educator
Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director – Signature Theatre
Harry Teter, Jr., General Manager – National Theatre
Mon., January 12: “The State of Our Union”
NOTE: This performance is sold out, but anyone may attend the roundtable afterward. Approximate start time of roundtable: 9:20pm).
Jessica Dukes, actress & Woolly Mammoth Company Member
Rick Foucheux, actor & Woolly Mammoth Company Member
Michael Kahn, Artistic Director – Shakespeare Theatre Company
Blake Robison, Producing Artistic Director – Round House Theatre
Howard Shalwitz, Artistic Director – Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Maggie Boland, Managing Director – Signature Theatre
Fri., Jan. 16: “American Theatre in 2034”
(Approximate start time of roundtable: 9:50pm)
Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey, Actress
Peter Marks, Theatre Critic – Washington Post
Jenny McConnell Frederick, Co-Artistic Director – Rorschach Theatre
David Muse, Associate Artistic Director – Shakespeare Theatre Co.; Freelance Director
Shirley Serotsky, Director of Literary & Public Programs – Theater J; Freelance Director
Jeremy Skidmore, Producer – Source Festival; Freelance Director
Molly Smith, Artistic Director – Arena Stage
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, January 7, 8pm
Thursday, January 8, 8pm
Friday, January 9, 8pm
Saturday, January 10, 8pm
Sunday, January 11, 2pm
Sunday, January 11, 7pm
Wednesday, January 14, 8pm
Thursday, January 15, 8pm
Friday, January 16, 8pm
Saturday, January 17, 8pm
Sunday, January 18, 2pm
Sunday, January 18, 7pm
All seats $25!
Directions & Parking
Address:
641 D Street, NW (7th & D)
Washington, DC 20004
Nearby landmarks:
Woolly Mammoth is located in the bustling Penn Quarter neighborhood on D street between Oyamel and Rasika restaurants, around the corner from TicketPlace and down the street from Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh theatre. We are two blocks north of the National Archives and National Gallery of Art and 2 blocks south of the Verizon Center and the Smithsonian American Art Museum/Portrait Gallery.
Metro
Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (Yellow & Green lines) — 1 block away
Gallery Place (Red, Yellow & Green lines) — 2 blocks away, use Verizon Center exit to 7th & F.
Metrobus
The 70, 71, D1, D3, and D6 buses stop at the corner of 7th & E.
The P1, P2, P6, 13A, 13B, 13F, 13G, and 54 buses stop at 7th & Pennsylvania.
Not all of these buses have the same route for both directions, so please use WMATA's Trip Planner at www.wmata.com
Parking
Interpark/Liberty Place, directly across from Woolly's entrance, offers a $10 rate if you mention you're going to Woolly Mammoth.
There is limited metered street parking in the Penn Quarter near Woolly Mammoth, in addition to the following parking garages:
- Interpark Liberty Place, 325 7th St. NW. Open late during Woolly productions, $10 evening Woolly rate.*
- Colonial Parking, 601 Pennsylvania Ave (entrance at 6th & C). Open until midnight Monday - Saturday and until 11 pm Sunday, $7 flat evening and weekend rate.*
- Interpark, 616 E St NW. Open until 11pm Sunday - Friday and 1am Saturday, $9/hour (maximum $20).
* Limited facilities for mobility-impaired patrons; please click here for more information on accessibility.
Garage prices and hours subject to change without notice
Driving Directions
From Virginia via I-395: When crossing the river bear left towards the 14th Street exit. Follow 14th Street, until Constitution Avenue and take a right. Turn left on 6th Street and another left onto D Street NW. (Note, earlier directions indicated the 12th Street Exit, which is currently closed for construction.)
From Virginia via I-66: Take I-66 into the District when it becomes US-50. Turn left onto 7th St NW. Turn right onto D St NW.
From Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac and points west: Reach Wisconsin Ave., NW via either Interstate 270 and River Road or Rockville Pike (which becomes Wisconsin Ave.) Remain on Wisconsin Ave. until reaching Massachusetts Ave., NW just south of the National Cathedral. Take Massachusetts all the way to 9th St. Turn right on 9th. Turn left on D St.
From Rt. 50, Baltimore and points east: Reach New York Ave., NE via either Rt. 50, I95 or the Baltimore Washington Parkway. Remain on New York Ave. all the way downtown to 6th St., NW. Turn left on 6th St. Turn right on D St.
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Mike Daisey, photos by
Kenneth Aaron
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
“When Mike premiered this show Off-Broadway, he led a series of roundtables about the state of the theatre in New York and nationally. The community—from administrators to actors to critics to patrons—gathered in droves to air their concerns about the current climate and propose a healthier vision for the future. Woolly Mammoth jumped at the chance to be the first (and thus far only) regional theatre to host this show and the dialogue surrounding it. We are looking forward to gathering with our colleagues to tackle tough questions about the role theatre can and should play in the Nation’s Capitol.”
– Howard Shalwitz
Woolly Mammoth would like to thank the following patrons for their generous support of
How Theater Failed America:
Shannon & Michael Alford
James C. Byrnes
James & Andrea Hamos
Chas Hausheer & Sheila Sweeney
Miriam J. Cutler & Paul Salditt
David & Hope Kosier
Julie Rios
Scott & Evelyn Schreiber
Adrienne & David Umansky |
