People's Light & Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of a new adaptation of SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR, the master work by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Luigi Pirandello, from October 10 - November 4, 2007, on the Steinbright Stage. Long-time company member Louis Lippa adapts this classic, Ken Marini directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610-644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. Carrabba's Italian Grill is the show's corporate sponsor.

SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR is the most popular of Pirandello's plays. In the play, audiences are confronted with the unexpected arrival of six fictional play characters that have been abandoned by their author. They interrupt and invade the rehearsal of another play and demand that the author not only finish their story, but in a way that they would like it to be told. The play asks probing questions about the nature of reality versus illusion, truth versus artifice and the workings of the creative process.

Translator and adaptor Louis Lippa is fluent in the Italian language. This is the third Pirandello piece that he has worked on, either as a director or as an adaptor. His first, Have It Your Way, was produced by People's Light in 1997.

Lippa says, "I became interested in the work of Pirandello when I directed it for the first time. I then realized how much tragedy and comedy exist at the same time in his work. If the comedy is not present, then the tragedy is not as potent. Six Characters is one of my favorites because the idea - that six characters abandoned by their author seek another author to end their story - is so original."

He adds, "Many translations of Pirandello miss the humor in his work. When I read Pirandello in Italian, I understand that a lot of the 'philosophical talk' is in the context of comedy. The philosophical speak is not only to spout ideas, but to accomplish a dramatic goal. I certainly haven't read all of the translations that are available, but I believe this one is probably more free and humorous than the others."

SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR previews on Wednesday, October 10th and Thursday, October 11th at 7:30pm. The show opens on October 12th at 8pm and runs through November 4, 2007. Tickets are now on sale and range in price from $29 - $48 with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more, seniors and students. Audiences are encouraged to join the artists after each Thursday evening performance to discuss the production.

Subscriptions to the 2007/2008 Season are still available at a significant savings. Remaining shows include: Treasure Island (November 14 - December 30, 2007); The Glass Menagerie (February 13 - March 22, 2008); I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda (May 28 - June 22, 2008); Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily (June 18 - July 13, 2008). For information, tickets and subscriptions, please call the box office at 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

Special performances and discounts, in addition to discount meal packages and talk-backs with the artists are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900, ext. 134 or email group@peopleslight.org.

KEY BIOS

Luigi Pirandello (Author) was born to wealthy parents in 1867 on the island of Sicily. As a young child he expressed an interest in literature and academics. He began his studies at the University of Rome in 1887, but eventually completed his thesis at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany. When he was a young man his family arranged his marriage to a young woman he had never met. The couple settled in Rome, where Pirandello established himself as a professor at a local teacher's college for women, a position he would maintain through the 1920s. His first success as a writer came in 1904 with the publication of his novel, The Late Mattia Pascal. He continued to focus on writing novels and did not begin to write plays until 1916. His theatrical successes include Right You Are - If You Think You Are (1916), Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921), Henry IV (1922), Naked (1922), Each in His Own Way (1924), Tonight We Improvise (1930) and As You Desire Me (1930). In the mid 1920s Pirandello opened the Art Theatre of Rome where he produced Italian and foreign plays of significance and featured some of the most respected actors in Italy. Pirandello received support for his theatre from Benito Mussolini, who had expressed admiration for the playwright. In 1932 Pirandello was able to bring his work to the screen with an adaptation of As You Desire Me, starring Greta Garbo. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934. He died in 1936 and was given a state burial.

Louis Lippa (Translator/Adaptor) is a Playwright in Residence with The People's Light & Theatre Company and a member of the Dramatists Guild. His plays have been produced in the Philadelphia area as well as Off-Broadway and at regional and community theatres throughout the country. Playwriting awards include an Off-Broadway OBIE; fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; the Dramatic Publishing Company's National Award for The Stone House; the Roger L. Stevens Award; and the Kennedy Center's New Play Award for his play, Sign of the Lizard, concerning the murder of the Spanish poet Garcia Lorca. His two-part six-hour adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel, Sister Carrie, produced by People's Light, received critical acclaim from Philadelphia, Washington and London reviewers. His play, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, has received productions at People's Light; City Theatre of Pittsburgh; the Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco; and the Gorilla Theatre of Tampa Bay. Lippa recently received the Barrymore Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ken Marini (Director) is co-founder of PLTC and has directed over 30 productions, including Humble Boy, The Man from Nebraska, The Problem and How We Talk in South Boston for 30FEST, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, A Delicate Balance, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, and Sign of the Lizard. Other PLTC credits include The Life of Galileo and an internationally acclaimed production of Louis Lippa's adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. He was the Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Center for the Arts for six seasons, directing Kindertransport, The Glass Menagerie and many others. Other credits include How His Bride Came To Abraham at Playwrights' Theatre of New Jersey, When Real Life Begins at Chain Lightning Theatre, Richard III for the National Shakespeare Company, Amadeus, Sleuth and Romeo & Juliet for Hedgerow Theatre, Pete 'n Keely at Act II Playhouse and All's Well That Ends Well for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He has directed A View from the Bridge in Russia and Psycho Drama in Edinburgh.

Kevin Bergen (Lead Actor) is a member of People's Light's Resident Ensemble of Artists and has appeared in over twenty productions at People's Light, including both Outside the Box festivals, As You Like It, A Flea in Her Ear, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Merchant of Venice, He Held Me Grand, Fabulation, Or the Re-Education of Undine, Man From Nebraska, and Twelfth Night. Kevin has acted locally with The Wilma Theatre, The Arden Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and InterAct Theatre Company. Other regional credits include American Repertory Theatre, The Studio Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Shenandoah Shakespeare, and North Carolina Shakespeare Theatre. Kevin is a graduate of The American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard.

Elena Bossler (Young Actress) recently performed with the company in Anne of Green Gables as Ruby. Over the summer she also appeared in David O'Connor's production of A Brief History of Helen of Troy as Heather in the Lantern Theatre Company's new studio space. Elena has previously worked with the Philadelphia Theatre Company, performing in their annual PYP productions, as well as performing at Allen's Lane Theatre Company as Lucille in Psychopathia Sexualis. She performed at the City of Maples Repertory Theater in Macon, Missouri in their productions of Sweet Charity and My Favorite Year. Elena is preparing to travel to New Delhi in December where she will study and perform with the Adi Theatre. She is currently finishing up her senior year at Temple University, where she appeared as Amy in Company, Ophelia in Hamlet and, most recently, as Sister Claire in The Devils.

Kim Carson (Stepdaughter) has been seen at People's Light in Anne of Green Gables and The Crucible. Her most recent credits include Side by Side by Sondheim - Walnut Street Theatre, Fantasticks! - Mum Puppettheatre (Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical), and Beauty Is - Hotel Obligato. Other credits include Arden Theatre Co., 11th Hour Theatre Co., and Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

Peter DeLaurier (Director) was seen last season in Humble Boy, The Imaginary Invalid and The Giver. He is an Artistic Associate at PLTC and has been with the Theatre since 1981. Other PLTC productions include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Around the World in 80 Days, The Forgiving Harvest, Holes, Camping With Henry & Tom, A Delicate Balance, In the Blood, Once in a Lifetime, Sister Carrie and the international tour of Kabuki Achilles. Peter was nominated for the Outstanding Actor Barrymore Award for his performance in Man From Nebraska and won that award for the one-man show Underneath the Lintel at the Lantern Theater Company. He played Matthew Cuthbert earlier this year in his stage adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (which received a Barrymore nomination for Outstanding New Play) and appeared in PLTC's remounting of Holes at the Academy of Music. He has directed at PLTC and at theatres around the country, serving as Artistic Director of New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS. With his wife, PLTC actress Ceal Phelan, and other friends, he co-founded two of Delaware's professional theatres: The Delaware Theatre Company (1978) and First Stage (1987).

Mark Del Guzzo (Young Actor) is a member of the Resident Ensemble and was most recently seen as the role of Asher in People's Light's adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver. Other PLTC productions include last year's Robin Hood: A Panto, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Yemaya's Belly, Jason and the Golden Fleece, 30FEST : POPS and The Cuban Swimmer, Sleeping Beauty, The Miser, Born Yesterday, and Holes, both seen here at People's Light and in Philadelphia - remounted at the Academy of Music. Mark began his affiliation with People's Light at the age of 8, taking part in the Summerstage program, and later joining The New Voices Ensemble. He has spent the last few years teaching and assisting with the Summerstage program, as well as leading core classes through the fall and winter for 2nd through 8th graders. He has also appeared in The Fantasticks, Once in a Lifetime, Peter Pan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (performed at Swarthmore College), Grimm Tales, More Grimm Tales, Arabian Nights, and Sally's Gone, She Left Her Name. He is also the vocalist/lyricist for the hard-core band Last Day Dying.

Melanye Finister (Lead Actress) was most recently seen in Something You Did, Fabulation, and The Member of the Wedding, and is currently the Director of Audience Development at People's Light. She has been a company member since 1991 and has appeared in many plays at PLTC, including 30FEST: The Moon Please and July 7, 1994, String of Pearls, Afternoon of the Elves, Gospel at Colonus, More Grimm Tales, and Beauty and the Beast. She has also worked for the Arden, InterAct Theatre Company, Venture Theater, The Wilma, and The Walnut Street Theatre. Melanye holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Julia Giampietro (Little Girl) is making her first appearance on the People's Light and Theatre stage. She has been in several community theater productions, including Amity Children's Theater's Annie, The Wizard of Oz and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Forge Theater's The Little Mermaid, and Barley Sheaf Theater's The Sound of Music where she played Gretl, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, where she played Gladys Herdman. Julia has attended the People's Light Summerstage program for the last two years and is a fifth grader at Holy Family School in Phoenixville.

Evan Jonigkeit (Son) is from Philadelphia and has worked with Walnut Street Theatre, Pig Iron Theater Co., Philadelphia Theatre Co., Adrienne Theatre, Cape Rep Theatre and now People's Light and Theatre. He is a 2005 graduate of Temple University. Recent credits include Dishwashers at Walnut St. Theatre, Rose Tattoo at Cape Rep Theatre, Brolik Productions' film Crooked Necktie, an ESPN commercial, the Travel Channel's Mysterious Journeys, and Fox Television's film Twice A Hero, all to air late 2007 - early 2008. Evan is also currently a literary committee member for PlayPenn New Play Development.

Matt Mezzacappa (Assistant Stage Manager) has acted professionally for 12 years. Previous productions include A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden), The Little Prince and To Kill a Mockingbird (Olney Theatre Center), The Grapes of Wrath and The Boxcar Children (Arden Theatre Company), The Shakespeare Stealer (Kennedy Center), and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Washington Shakespeare Company), in which he played conquistador-to-be, Young Martin. He has also worked as a director with the bold new South Camden Theatre Company in Camden, NJ as well as a (real) assistant stage manager and playwright with the National Constitution Center.

Connor Murtagh (Young Boy) is a sophomore at Phoenixville Area High School. He has been acting throughout the area in community theaters since he was about five-years-old. Some of his past performances include Damn Yankees at Footlighters, The Assassins at St. Josephs University, and Barnum at Forge Theater, for which he received an Anvil for his performance. Connor has been attending Summerstage for the past two years as well. This is his first show here at People's Light & Theatre Company.

Gregory Scott Miller (Harry Andrews) is the Master Electrican at People's Light. He has been a performer, appearing in such shows as Waiting for Godot, Blue Window, Sylvia, Uncle Vanya and Incorruptible. At People's Light he has designed lighting for Tuesdays With Morrie, The Foreigner, 30 Fest and an assortment of theatre school and Summerstage projects. Greg last appeared onstage here in Once in a Lifetime as a stagehand.

Stephen Novelli (Father) was seen recently in Humble Boy, The Giver, The Imaginary Invalid, The Crucible, Jack & the Beanstalk and The Member of the Wedding and is an Associate Artistic Director at PLTC. He has directed Tuesdays with Morrie, POPS and The Mourning Show for 30FEST, Camping with Henry and Tom, The Hope Zone, As You Like It, Measure for Measure and Glengarry Glen Ross, among others. A member of the resident company since 1974, he has performed in many productions, including 30FEST, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, Julius Caesar, Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire, Midons - or The Object of Desire, The Little Foxes, The Little Prince, all 3 versions of A Christmas Carol, The Merchant of Venice, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, Sign of the Lizard, The Playboy of the Western World, Sister Carrie, Hamlet, Tartuffe, The Tempest, and Have It Your Way.

Ceal Phelan (Mother) has acted extensively at People's Light since 1980, most recently in Anne of Green Gables, adapted by her husband Peter DeLaurier. As a PLT company member, she has directed shows and teaches adults and teens in the Theatre School. Last spring she directed The Taming of the Shrew at the Lantern Theater and this winter will direct The Tempest at Arcadia University.

Marcia Saunders (Madame Pace) has been a member of the PLTC acting company for 30 years, Marcia was seen recently in Anne of Green Gables, The Man From Nebraska (for which she received an Outstanding Lead Actress Barrymore nomination), The Crucible, and The O'Connor Girls. Previous PLTC credits include Claire in A Delicate Balance - receiving a 2004 Barrymore Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress, The Memory of Water, Macbeth, and Once in a Lifetime. A Barrymore nominee for her roles in A View from the Bridge, A Flea in Her Ear, Hard Times, Molly's Delicious, and My Mother Said I Never Should, Marcia was the recipient of two Emmy Awards for her narration of Teacher TV on the Discovery Channel. Seen recently as Gertrude in The Underpants at the Two River Theatre Company and as Louella Parsons in the Wilma Theatre's Shakespeare in Hollywood, Marcia has worked with The Arden, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Lantern Theater Company, The Walnut Street Theatre, and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

Cathy Simpson (Stage Manager) has been a company member at People's Light since 1994 and was recently seen here in Splittin' the Raft. Other PLTC performances include Something You Did , Fabulation, 30FEST, Jungalbook, A Higher Place in Heaven, Pretty Fire, Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire, The Little Prince, In the Blood, and He Held Me Grand-reprising her role in that production at Indiana Rep. Cathy has also performed with The Philadelphia Theatre Company, Interact Theatre, Freedom Theatre, Philadelphia Young Playwrights and Philly Shakes. Cathy's regional credits include the Studio Theatre, Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth, Olney Theatre Center, Source Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, The St. Louis Black Repertory Company, and St. Louis Rep. She has received two nominations and one "special mention" for the Helen Hayes Award in Washington D.C., and is a 2002 Barrymore Award winner for her performance in Freedom Theatre's production of The Old Settler. Cathy also received a Barrymore nomination for her portrayal of the Welfare Lady in our production of In the Blood. Cathy is a member of the Freedom Rising Company at the National Constitution Center.