THE READING SERIES

AYN/SISTER BY JENNIE FRANKS

AUGUST 14, 2017-7:00PM

BAR MAX

2412 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206

TICKETS-FREE -RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED CALL 720-583-3975 (We do ask that you purchase something from the venue as they are donating the space)

AYN/SISTER

BY JENNIE FRANKS

DIRECTED BY TRACY SHAFFER

STARRING

TRACY SHAFFER, EMILY DAVIES, ANDREW UHLENHOPP AND ALEC SARCHE

After decades of living in America, *Ayn Rand brings her Communist sister Nora to New York from Russia. Ayn rigidly conducts her life according to her book “The Virtue of Selfishness”, a philosophy at odds with her sister’s. It is a philosophy that has enabled Ayn to control everything and everybody. Too late Ayn realizes that all her beliefs and premises are under siege by her seemingly ditzy, baby sister who is the only one that can match her extraordinary wit and intellect. Between truth and lies, envy and love, Nora manages to hold Ayn’s marriage and legacy up for blackmail in a tight sisterly grip.

*Ayn Rand immigrated to the USA from Russia and is best known as the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. She is also known for her politics. Her followers include Paul Ryan and Alan Greenspan, who under her influence as Chairman of the Federal Reserve led the country to adopt her economic policies of ‘laissez-faire’capitalism. The result unfortunately was the economic meltdown of 2008.

PLAYWRIGHT

JENNIE FRANKS

Jennie Franks lives in Telluride, Colorado, where for ten years she produced The Telluride Playwrights Festival. Franks grew up in England and worked as an actor in theater, television and film.  Besides acting, writing plays and song lyrics, Franks’ is a Colorado filmmaker. Her award winning children’s film ‘The Ballad of Arthur Muldoon’ with Monty Python Terry Jones, has been seen in film festivals all over the country and on Rocky Mountain PBS.  Her latest venture is a documentary film of her play The Hispanic Women’s Project; based on true stories of Latinas, who live and work in a Colorado resort town.  

DIRECTOR

TRACY SHAFFER (DIRECTOR/AYN RAND)

I have been a theatre professional for thirty-something years. Fortunate to have been trained in acting by the legendary Stella Adler and in directing by Yvgeny Lanskoy (Moscow Art Theatre) at her New York Conservatory. I spent a decade working on both coasts and with some great regional theatres, did small parts in big movies, big parts in small TV shows and spent a year on the road playing "Shelby" in the National Tour of Steel Magnolias. Denver has been home for the past twenty years, allowing me to write plays, direct theatre, act now and then with the Denver Center Theatre Company, sell houses, raise sons and host a monthly gathering called The Card Table. I am currently torturing myself by working on a book.

CAST

andrew uhlenhopp (frank o'connor)

Andrew extends a colossal vibe of gratitude to all of you out there who support live local theatre: art is vital. As an actor, some of his favorite past ventures include: Johnny, opposite his wife Kelly as Frankie, in Frankie & Johnny in The Clair de Lune; King Henry II in The Lion In Winter; Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter & columnist Mike McAlary in Lucky Guy (2015 Marlowe Award for Best Actor); and Colonel Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men (Theater Colorado’s Best Supporting Actor 2014). He is also an accomplished writer & director. He will next be performing this autumn at Vintage Theatre in August: Osage County. Andrew also finds great fulfillment as a private counselor; please visit his website at www.changingleadintogold.com.

ALEC SARCHÉ (Jake Nightingale)

Alec Sarché is a recent graduate with a BA in Theatre from Colorado College. He was last seen in Denver as Melchior in Spring Awakening with the Fearless Theatre, and will soon feature in Curious Theatre's regional premiere of Appropriate, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. His credits at Colorado College include Howie in Rabbit Hole, Jamie Wellerstein in The Last Five Years, KJ in Annie Baker’s The Aliens, Jake in A Lie of the Mind, and two separate performances as Cole in Idris Goodwin’s #matter. His independent work as a creator of immersive theatre has bolstered his acting career, and he is thrilled to be working for the first time with And Toto too.

DARREN SMITH (STAGE DIRECTIONS)

Darren serves as president as well as technical director for And Toto too, Darren is responsible for the technical operations of the theater, determining technical staffing and equipment requirements for productions, and acts as the central coordinating point for the designers, the stage management team, the craftspeople, etc. – throughout each production. With more than 30 years of experience both on-stage and in almost every capacity behind the scenes, Darren brings a wealth of ideas and best practices to And Toto too.