CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director
414-224-1761 or [email protected]
CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR BEAUTIFULLY COMPELLING
THE AMISH PROJECT
BY JESSICA DICKEY
MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER STIEMKE STUDIO
FEBRUARY 11, 2015 – MARCH 22, 2015
FEATURING REP ASSOCIATE ARTIST DEBORAH STAPLES
December 23, 2014 – [Milwaukee] – Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for The
Amish Project, the next production in their 2014/15 Stiemke Studio Season. The Amish Project by Jessica
Dickey is a fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting in an Amish community, and
the path of forgiveness and compassion forged in its wake. The one-person cast for The Amish Project
stars Rep Associate Artist Deborah Staples. Directed by Milwaukee-based theater director and Rep
Literary Coordinator Leda Hoffmann, the production runs February 11 – March 22, 2015 and opens
Friday, February 13.
Praised by The New York Times as “extraordinary” and as “a remarkable piece of writing,” The Amish
Project is a devastating and beautiful one-woman tour-de-force performance that compels audiences to
question the paths taken at the crossroads of grief, rage, and clemency. Inspired by the 2006 school
shootings in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, this fictional account of a real-life tragedy allows audiences to
glimpse into the world of Amish culture, and to come to grips with the true limits of compassion and
forgiveness.
THE CAST
Deborah Staples is an Associate Artist with The Rep. She was most recently seen at The Rep playing Veta
Louise Simmons in Harvey, Belinda in Noises Off, Susan in How The World Began, Mrs. Van Daan in The
Diary of Anne Frank, Emilia in Othello, and Jean Louise in To Kill a Mockingbird. Other recent credits
include work on the independent film Pilot Error, season eight with American Players Theatre as Victoria
(Too Many Husbands) and Gertrude (Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead), and her Jeff
Award-nominated performance at Writers’ Theatre for The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful
Redhead. Staples is a commercial (yes, that was her as Glinda the Good Witch with Packer Jordy Nelson!)
and voiceover talent, has taught Acting Fundamentals at Marquette University and is the mother of two
daughters, Amalia and Miranda, who are currently appearing in The Rep’s annual holiday production of
A Christmas Carol at the Pabst Theater. She enjoys this extraordinary community to live, work, and play
in.
The Creative Team for The Amish Project includes: Director, Leda Hoffmann; Scenic Design, Courtney
O’Neill; Costume Design, Leslie Vaglica; Lighting Design, Jason Fassl; Sound Design, Victoria Deiorio;
Dialect Coach, Jill Walmsley Zager; Stage Manager, Sarah Hoffmann; and Assistant Director, Philip
Muehe.
____
Single tickets for all of The Amish Project performances are now on sale and can be purchased online at
www.MilwaukeeRep.com, by phone at 414-224-9490, or in person at The Rep’s Ticket Office at 108 E.
Wells Street. Ticket prices start at $30.00. Group tickets are also available for purchase by calling
Morgan Halverson in Group Sales at 414-290-5340.
##
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally-recognized company that presents compelling dramas,
powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works, full-scale musicals, housed in its three unique
performance venues – the Quadracci Powerhouse, Stiemke Studio and Stackner Cabaret. The Rep also
produces an annual production of A Christmas Carol at the beautiful and historic Pabst Theater. Under
the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Managing Director Chad Bauman, The Rep is
committed to creating plays that are meaningful and relevant to the society we live in – plays that are
challenging, visceral, and engage the community through the issues they explore, demonstrating how a
theater deeply rooted in its locality can also enjoy a richly influential and resonant national voice.
.