Hovering above the Gutter Theater Company presents the Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Wit” by Margaret Edson, on June 13th through 28th At the Second Stage at the Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street). Evening performances on 6/13, 6/14, 6/20, 6/21, 6/25, 6/27 and 6/28 - at 8pm. Afternoon performances on 6/15 and 6/22- at 2pm Tickets range from $12-20 and are available directly at www.hatgtheater.com

Wit conveys the poignant story of Dr. Vivian Bearing, a recognized English literature scholar, chronicling her own eight month journey into her personal battle and eventual succumbing to ovarian cancer. Vivian has devoted years to the study and instruction of the Holy Sonnets of the metaphysical poet, John Donne. She confronts her cancer by reviewing her own life and by deciphering the language used around her, in particular the use of wit. “I was fascinated with Wit in the way Vivian tackles her cancer,” professes director Bridget Dougherty. “She has no friends to hold her hand during a nighttime vigil, no children around her and no religion- she has only her wit. She uses both these memories and her vast knowledge in managing her cancer in the most aggressive way.”

Playwright Margaret Edson has said the “play is about love and knowledge. And it's about a person who has built up a lot of skills during her life who finds herself in a new situation where those skills and those great capacities don't serve her very well. So she has to disarm, and then she has to become a student. She has to become someone who learns new things.”

A dazzling and humane play you will remember will your dying day. John Simon, New York Magazine

An original and urgent work of art…Among the finest plays of the decade. Donald Lyons, The Wall Street Journal

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

Margaret Edson (Playwright) graduated with a B.A. in Renaissance History from Smith Collage, and received a master's in English literature from Georgetown University. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Wit in 1999. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the background in writing Wit. At the time of the first New York production of Wit in late 1998, Edson was a kindergarten teacher at Centennial Place Elementary School in Georgia. Edson has written a second play, Satisfied, whose subject is "country-gospel radio in Kentucky".

Bridget Dougherty (Director) Bridget is the current Artistic Director for Hovering above the Gutter Theater Company. She holds a B.A. in theater from Temple University. She has worked throughout the Philadelphia area for the past ten years. Recent directing credits include How I learned to Drive, An O. Henry Christmas, Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief, and Anton in Show Business.

Susan Giddings (Vivian Bearing) is pleased to be making her debut with Hovering above the Gutter Theater Company. Area theaters where Susan has worked include the Lantern, Theatre Exile, Wilma, Bristol Riverside, Celebration Theater of Lansdowne, Allen’s Lane, Hedgerow, and Villanova. Some favorite roles include Jean Brodie (THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE), Judith (HAY FEVER), Eleanor (THE LION IN WINTER), Doctor (AGNES OF GOD), Bella Manningham (ANGEL STREET), Madame Arcati (BLITHE SPIRIT), and Scrooge (A CHRISTMAS CAROL).

Gigi Naglak (Susie Monahan) has performed locally with Flashpoint Theatre Company, Simpatico Theatre Project , the Brick Playhouse, and Delaware Theatre Company. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts and History from Drew University and an MA in Text and Performance Studies from King’s College London/Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Gigi also teaches for DTC and Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and serves on the steering committee for the Philadelphia New Play Festival. She is a founding member of Flashpoint Theatre Company, where she serves as Director of Development and Production Dramaturg.

Dave Ebersole (Jason Posner) is the assistant artistic director for HATG. He appeared as Doc Porter in Crimes of the Heart in and directed Streamers and Four Dogs and a Bone. Other directing credits outside of HATG include A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fences, and Boy Gets Girl. Favorite roles include Evan As Bees in Honey Drown, Richard The Lion in Winter, and Tom The Glass Menagerie. He currently works with Theater for Transformation and its founder Dr. Amanda Kemp with her on going touring presentation Show Me The Franklins Remembering The Ancestors, Slavery, and Benjamin Franklin. Dave holds a BA in Theater from Temple University.

HOVERTING ABOVE THE GUTTER THEATER COMPANY
Hovering above the Gutter Theater Company continues to work with emerging artists in their work with contemporary classics. Their recent successes with the productions of Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief, Streamers, Four Dogs and a Bone, and Crimes of the Heart, and the continuing success with monthly event the Starving Artists’ Monologue Slam has made HATG Theater Company one of the most talked about new theater companies in Philadelphia. This production of Wit will strive in making HATG Theater Company stronger than ever and will continue to test boundaries and drive emerging artists on to the forefront of Philadelphia’s growing theater community.

Wit by Margaret Edson
Directed by Bridget Dougherty
Starring Susan Giddings
Opens 6/13 through 6/28
For more information: www.hatgtheater.com 215-525-1551