Salt Lake Acting Company

CONTACT: David Mong (801)363-0526
Email: mong@saltlakeactingcompany.org

Salt Lake Acting Company presents a special presentation of A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT by Jeff Metcalf in the Chapel Theatre.

For mature audiences

Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) is pleased to present the premiere of A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT by Jeff Metcalf. A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT will have the Press Opening on Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30pm at Salt Lake Acting Company's Chapel Theatre. A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT is scheduled to play Wednesdays through Sundays through October 19, 2008.

The artistic team for A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT will be: David Mong- director; Z - Light support, Cynthia L. Kehr Rees- Sound support. Arika Schockmel will be the Production Stage Manager.

The one-man play will feature Paul Kiernan, an actor well known to SLAC and Salt Lake audiences.

For Salt Lake Acting Company A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT began in 2005 when SLAC Dramaturg Mike Dorrell attended an evening of Metcalf-organized readings of short pieces at the downtown public library. One of the pieces presented that evening was from Metcalf, a writer SLAC had worked with on CABBIES, COWBOYS AND THE TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN several years earlier. Jeff had written WHERE TO? for the SLAC-commissioned collection of short plays celebrating Utah and the 2002 Olympics. At the City Library Jeff performed a piece comprised of diary entries about his experience being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer. It was funny, real, deep and moving. It had a lot to say about taking responsibility for one's own treatment experience and the "silence" that often enshrouds many men when dealing with emotional issues and vulnerability. Dorrell felt the piece had great promise and SLAC approached Metcalf about the project. It was officially commissioned by SLAC in March of 2006. Jeff went to work developing it into a play. After several script conferences, a workshop and re-writes, a draft of the play was read in the New Play Sounding Series in the spring of 2007. At that point it was a two-man play that featured Paul Kiernan and Alexis Baigue. Following the reading, it was decided that the play should, in fact, be a one-person play, which was truer to its origins and would make it more portable. Jeff's quest, which SLAC supported completely, was to use the play to reach into the community whenever possible and tell his story and the lessons learned in an entertaining and accessible fashion. The revised play, now entitled A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT, was given a special reading in the Chapel in January of 2008, with Paul Kiernan. Members of the community and medical profession were invited to give feedback. At the same time the play drew interest from Scott Carrier, an independent radio producer developing work for Hearing Voices. A shortened radio version was produced by Carrier for APR and NPR, again featuring Paul Kiernan. A 53-minute version of the radio piece is available on the Hearing Voices website and is scheduled to air on American Public Radio stations this fall. The play has also been, or will be performed as a reading version by either Jeff Metcalf or Paul Kiernan in Keyenta, Utah; Boise, Idaho;Oakland, California; Cortona, Italy and Ronda, Spain, thus far. SLAC is also working to book the play in the community and beyond. Jeff Metcalf will join us for a post play discussion October 8th following the Wednesday evening performance.

JEFF METCALF (Playwright) is an award-winning teacher and writer who lives with his wife and two children in Salt Lake City, Utah. A professor of English at the University of Utah, Jeff has been the recipient of the 2008 University of Utah Outstanding Faculty Award, the John Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education, the National Council Teachers of English Outstanding Teacher Award, a Fulbright Memorial Scholar Award, a Writers at Work Lifetime Achievement Award and many other awards. His fiction, essays, and plays have appeared in numerous local and national magazines. SLAC credits include: WHERE TO? in CABBIES, COWBOYS AND TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN, HOMECOMING and BETWEEN WORLDS. When he is not teaching or writing, Metcalf's free time is spent stalking mercurial trout on the West's great fly fishing water.

DAVID MONG (Director) has been SLAC's Literary Manager since the '94- '95 season. He has directed ICE GLEN; DUKE OF THE WEST in THE WATER PROJECT; SWIMMING IN THE SHALLOWS; DUST EATERS; LOBBY HERO; FROM RALPH @ PHILLY.COM FR JONAH @ SLC.COM and THE UNSETTLING for 2001's CABBIES, COWBOYS AND THE TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN; GUN-SHY; LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER; FOREPLAY in MERE MORTALS and MASTER CLASS, all for SLAC. David has also produced the New Play Sounding Series since 1994 and has directed a number of those readings. He spent eighteen years in Seattle,Washington working as a professional actor. In that time he performed at nearly all of the northwest theatres; as well as regionally at New Mexico Rep, Virginia Stage Company and the Westbeth Theatre Space in New York. David was a member of the Human Ensemble Theatre for a number of years before leaving Salt Lake, where he directed, acted and wrote a couple plays.

PAUL KIERNAN (Jeff) is a proud member of Actor's Equity. He returns to SLAC having last appeared in SKIN IN FLAMES, MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS; the world premieres of SEXSTING, SEEING THE ELEPHANT; and CABBIES, COWBOYS AND THE TREE OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN; and in THE BEARD OF AVON; MEMORY OF WATER; SATURDAY'S VOYEUR 2001 and

FREEDOMLAND. Paul has appeared at Pioneer Theatre Company in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, as Mr. Collins, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, JULIUS CAESAR, AMADEUS, TEN LITTLE INDIANS, DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, CYRANO DE BERGERAC, PETER PAN, MACBETH and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. He played Brutus in JULIUS CAESAR with Salt Lake Shakespeare, Cyrano at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca and was seen in MACBETH, AS YOU LIKE IT and THE TEMPEST at St. Louis Shakespeare. Paul was most recently seen as Oscar in THE ODD COUPLE at the New London Barn Playhouse in New Hampshireand appeared in MERRY WIVES, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and AMADEUS with Great Lakes Festival in Cleveland. Paul also appeared in DIRTY BLONDE with Utah Contemporary Theatre. Film and television credits include: Dear Rail for Sci Fi Channel, Go Figure for the Disney Channel, Luck of the Irish, Disney's Double Teamed, The Maldonado Miracle, The HBO series From the Earth to the Moon, Touched By An Angel, Cover Me, Everwood, and most recently the movie The Cusp. He received an MFA from Brandeis University.

SLAC NOTES:

Monday, October 6 - NEW PLAY SOUNDING SERIES: at 7:00 PM

New plays, new voices. Theatre unplugged.

CHARM by Kathleen Cahill

A fantasia based on the life of the fascinating but generally unheralded Margaret Fuller; groundbreaking writer, early feminist, the first female foreign correspondent and inspiration for The Scarlet Letter--- with imaginative appearances by Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne. A vivid and highly theatrical telling of one of America's forgotten stories.

Free Staged Readings and Talk Backs. Be a part of theatre in the making.

Sponsored by American Express and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Program

Wednesday, October 8th - Post Play Discussion A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT

Following the evening performance, with playwright Jeff Metcalf

Saturday, October 11 - Matinee Post Play Discussion THE OVERWHELMING

Approximately 4:30 pm with SLAC Dramaturg Mike Dorrell

MONDAY, NOV. 17 - NEW PLAY SOUNDING SERIES: at 7:00pm

A new play by SIX YEARS playwright Sharr White

Salt Lake Acting Company
168 West 500 North, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103
Admin. (801)363-0526

FACT SHEET

SLAC PRODUCTION

A SLIGHT DISCOMFORT

PLAYWRIGHT

Jeff Metcalf

DIRECTOR

David Mong

CAST

Paul Kiernan

LIGHT SUPPORT

Z

SOUND SUPPORT

Cynthia L. Kehr Rees

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

Arika Schockmel

DATES

Opening: Oct. 1, 2008
Closing: Oct. 19, 2008

TIMES

Regular: Wed & Thurs- 7:30PM
Wed & Thurs- 7:30PM
Fri & Sat- 8:00PM
Sun- 2:00PM & 7:00PM

TICKETS

$13 (for single tickets)

BOX OFFICE

(801) 363-SLAC (7522) (Mon-Fri- 10:00AM to 6:00PM) or
www.saltlakeactingcompany.org to buy online.

David Mong
Literary Manager/Media Relations
Salt Lake Acting Company
168 West 500 North
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Admin- (801) 363-0526