ICEBERGS

by Alena Smith directed by Randall Arney

Originally produced at Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, CA

November 08 to December 18, 2016

About the Premiere Production:

Synopsis: Los Angeles, California, where the weather is always nice, and the future looks bright… at least on the surface. Playwright Alena Smith (Showtime’s The Affair, HBO’s The Newsroom) and Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney bring you to Silver Lake on a warm November night for this acerbic, affectionate and affecting world premiere comedy, where a new generation of thirtysomethings navigate filmmaking and family planning, trying to put down roots before everything melts away.

Artistic Statement: ICEBERGS is sure to join the repertoire of frequently produced plays for numerous reasons.  It is incredibly topical and while global warming is not what the play is solely about, it is an important, pervasive idea within it.  The question of how and why we choose to have children and bring them into a complicated world has existed in every generation, but the specificity of the preservation of the earth itself gives this play a timeliness and urgency that will surely attract artists and audiences.  Alena has a singular voice- she is at once funny and scathing and forces us to look at the lives we are leading with humor, pathos and sometimes self-recrimination.  Her characters are rich individuals and while the backdrop of this play is Hollywood and therefore perfect for us, the idea of being on the cusp of success in one’s professional life while making life-altering decisions in one’s personal life is a situation to which most people can easily relate.  ICEBERGS, while very much of this time and place, is universal in its larger questions about future generations, current reservations and leaping into the great unknown. It will surely enrich the American repertoire of plays.

Grant Statement:This grant from the Edgerton Foundation will give us the opportunity to expand the rehearsal period for this world premiere production by one week. The investment will undoubtedly propel this new play to higher levels as the entire creative time will gain a whole extra week together to explore and shape this play. 

Cast: Nate Corddry, Rebecca Henderson, Jennifer Madge, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Keith Powell

Set DesignerAnthony Fanning

Lighting Designer: Daniel Lonazzi

Sound Designer: Richard Woodbury

Costume Designer: David Kay Michelson

Assistant Stage Manager: Elizabeth A. Brohm

Production Stage Manager: Young Ji

Casting Director: Phyllis Schuringa. CSA

Dramaturg: Rachel Wiegardt- Egel