by Jonathan Tolins
Directed by Teresa Sanderson
Featuring Aaron Swenson
Performances November 6 – November 21
Alex More is a struggling actor in LA who takes an odd job in the basement of Barbara Streisand’s home, where he meets and bonds with the iconic star. With outrageous comedy and witty ruminations on the solitude of celebrity, the love-hate attraction between gay men and divas, and the melancholy that lurks beneath narcissism, this one-man performance creates the illusion of a stage filled with people, all of whom have their own droll point of view.
Cast & Production Team
Aaron Swenson
Aaron is unbelievably excited to work on a full production with Pygmalion again after thirteen years; other than a couple of appearances in the annual When PYGs Flyfundraiser, his last outing with Pygmalion Productions was in The Food Chain in 2002. Aaron has worked as a professional actor in Utah since 1997; Salt Lake audiences may recognize Aaron from his work in Saturday’s Voyeur at Salt Lake Acting Company, or from his multiple stints in the title role in Hedwig and the Angry inch (Plan-B). Other favorite credits include Urinetown and Jesus Christ: Superstar(Park City Egyptian Theatre), and both Bat Boy! The Musical and the staged reading of Tiny Kushner: Five Short Plays by Tony Kushner (Salt Lake Acting Company). Aaron is currently in his ninth season as Wardrobe Supervisor and Head of Costume Crafts at Pioneer Theatre Company, and works as a freelance costume designer. Having recently designed costumes for both You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown andTwelfth Night for Salt Lake Shakespeare, Aaron will be designing costumes again for PTC’s encore concert performance of The Rocky Horror Show this fall, as well as for the world premieres of Two Dollar Bill at PTC and Booksmart at Plan-B Theatre Company.
Teresa Sanderson – Director
Teresa is excited to be directing Buyer & Cellar. Although she is known primarily as an actor, she enjoys keeping her directing muscles exercised. Most recent directing projects include Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill with PYGmalion Theater Company. Teresa has also been seen on stage recently as Vivian Bearing in Wit for Wasatch Theatre Company, Violet Weston in August: Osage County for Silver Summit and Utah Rrep., and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf for Pinnacle Theatre Company. She is grateful for her artistic team and PYGmalion and as always for the love and support of her family. This piece is dedicated to Norman DeGroot.
Emilio Casillas – Assistant Director, Stage Manager
Emilio is thrilled to be working for PYGmalion Theater Company for the first time. Emilio recently worked as Assistant Director on Electra with the Classical Greek Theatre Festival, designed lights for Utah Rep’s Ordinary Days, and was the Technical Director for the inaugural Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Emilio is now Festival Director of the GSL Fringe, and is looking forward to a bigger, fringier second year. You may also have seen Emilio credited as Stage Manager for Pinnacle Acting Company, Westminster Players, The Grand Theatre, and Westminster Opera Studio. Emilio owes many thanks to the Salt Lake theatre community for the support and guidance as he ventures into this crazy profession.
Andrea Beecher – Scenic Design
Andrea has spent her entire adult life in the fashion retail and interior design industries. She spent years designing the templates for major worldwide fashion retailers, but after a decision to pursue interior design exclusively, she helped create the design division of cityhomeCOLLECTIVE. There, she built a residential and commercial design and staging firm from the ground up, building on the impressive real estate brokerage that partner Cody Derrick had already created. Over the years she has designed homes, restaurants, offices, hair salons, and more, quickly becoming one of Salt Lake’s most in-demand designers. She has also had the opportunity to design both retail and television set spaces for the Sundance Film Festival, and served as the production designer for an award-winning independent film which was accepted at film festivals worldwide. Andrea also has her own business, designing and manufacturing furniture, lighting and accessories. She is very excited to be working with Pygmalion for the first time.
Thomas George – Scenic Design
Thomas is a former Adjunct Instructor of Theatre at the University of Utah. He holds an MFA from U.C. San Diego, and a BFA from the University of Utah. His work can be seen this season at Salt Lake Acting Company and Plan B Theatre Company, among others. His previous designs for PYGmalion Productions include Mockingbird, Hellman Vs. McCarthy, Motherhood Outloud and Spark. Guest designs for the University of Utah include A Flea In Her Ear, The Adding Machine, and Reasons To Be Pretty. Other notable productions include Hamlet for the Brooklyn Gallery Players, You Are Here at the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York, The New Voices Playwrights Festival for the New School of Drama, The Misanthrope at the Mandel Weiss Forum Theatre, and As You Like It for the Potiker Theatre at UC San Diego.
Mikal Troy Klee – SoundScape Design
Since 1998 Troy has been creating SoundScapes for PYGmalion Theatre Company. He has also worked with The Classical Greek Theatre Festival, Salt Lake Acting Company, The Hive Theatre Company, Wasatch Theatre Company, Utah Rep Theatre Company, Around The Globe Theatre Company, Dark Horse Company Theatre, and Pinnacle Acting Company. Production designs include, Wit, Hellman v. McCarthy, Spark, The Women of Lockerbie, Antigone, August: Osage County, Grace, A Behanding in Spokane, The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), The Coming Ice Age, Dottie: The Sister Lives On, The Lion in Winter, Six Degrees of Seperation, True West, Gypsy, and 33 Variations.
