FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
RONNIE MARMO AND JOE MANTEGNA
WITH MARK AND KRISTEN MACHIEDO
Theatre 68 Presents the World Premiere of
Self-
Injurious
Behavior
By Jessica Cavanagh
Previews August 30 - September 1, 2019
Performances September 6 - 28, 2019
5112 Lankershim Blvd
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91601
The workshop of SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR was a runaway hit in the summer of 2018, playing to enthusiastic audiences in Dallas for a three week run and garnering critical praise for its writing, its ensemble cast and its direction. In the spring of 2019 the play saw a successful AEA 12 performance showcase run Off Broadway coinciding with National Autism Awareness Month. Now from Executive Producers, veteran actor and director Ronnie Marmo and Tony winning stage and screen favorite Joe Mantegna, the play will receive its world premiere at Theatre 68 in Los Angeles with community outreach through a special partnership with Autism Works Now.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Joe Mantegna and Ronnie Marmo
Through a special partnership with Autism Works Now, our production will be training and employing their program participants, offering opportunities for their Glorious Pies to sell their baked goods as concessions, involving their experts and those they assist in post performance talkbacks and donating a percentage of all tickets sold to the organization which has the mission of
Autism Works Now
www.autismworksnow.org
Autism Works Now provides expressive movement therapy and workplace readiness skills resulting in meaningful, dignified employment for individuals with Autism and related disorders. Their vision is to have small businesses owned and operated by and staffed with individuals on the spectrum within 5 years.
The Ed Asner Family Center
https://edasnerfamilycenter.org/
The Ed Asner Family Center promotes self-confidence in differently abled individuals and brings balance and wellness to those individuals and their families. They are participating in and benefiting from this show's outreach efforts .
Mature Language, Content and Situations
Not Performed As A Sensory Friendly Show
SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR is based on playwright and star Jessica Cavanagh’s own story of loss, love and survival. When severely autistic eleven-year-old Benjamin becomes a danger to himself, his divorced mother, Summer, makes the excruciating decision to admit him to a home for special needs kids. Seeking comfort, she visits her sisters in Portland who desperately and hilariously attempt to distract her with a weekend of escapism at the local renaissance faire. Plagued by haunting dreams of her son and memories of her marriage, Summer is forced to face the need to let go. Striking a chord across audience demographics thanks to its bittersweet and unique blend of honesty and humor, Jessica Cavanagh has captured, in telling her own story, a voice that speaks to the qualities within us all not only to cope with our own “unimaginables” but to continue to live, making the play more than just a story about autism or motherhood, but one about the resiliency of human nature.
August 30: First Preview and Launch Event with Joe Mantegna
Immediately following a performance of the show there will be an interactive talk-back with the audience featuring Joe Mantegna and the playwright/star of the show, Jessica Cavanagh, moderated by Autism Works Now's Joanne Lara and including program participants. There will also be a meet and greet reception for the audience ending the evening. Click Here for Tickets- $25
September 5: Free Preview for Those Assisting The Autistic Community
Autism caregivers, special education teachers and others working with the autistic community or the differently abled in Los Angeles can attend a preview performance of the show for free simply by emailing industry.sib@gmail.com and reserving seats.
September 6th: Opening Night Event with Ed Asner
Immediately following a performance of the show there will be an interactive talk-back with the audience featuring Ed Asner, Ronnie Marmo and the playwright/star of the show, Jessica Cavanagh, moderated by Autism Works Now's Joanne Lara and including leadership of The Ed Asner Family Center. There will also be a meet and greet reception for the audience ending the evening. Click Here for Tickets- $30
DON'T MISS THESE SPECIAL LAUNCH EVENTS!
A PERCENTAGE OF ALL TICKETS SOLD WILL GO TO AUTISM WORKS NOW AND THE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER. AWN'S PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WILL BE EMPLOYED BY THEATRE 68 ON SHOW DAYS
Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES PRESS
NEW YORK PRESS
(click on outlet logo to read coverage)
Listen about us on
DALLAS PRESS
Jessica Cavanagh - Outstanding performance by an actress - DFW Critics Forum 2018
Top 8 onstage moments 2018 - Culturemap Dallas
Unforgettable stage moment - Year in Theatre 2018, TheaterJones
“Like Bernard Pomerance’s Elephant Man and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole,Jessica Cavanagh’s Self-Injurious Behavior takes us into the minefield ofwrenching, personal tragedy, without exploiting our emotions”.
-Christopher Soden, SHARP CRITIC
“A must see for anyone who has, or whose life has been changed by a child whose functioning is severely impaired. BUT it is also for the rest of us too. Jessica Cavanagh’s incredibly personal piece grabs your attention and does not let go.
Riveting, emotionally intense and frequently hilarious”.
- Ann Saucer, THE COLUMN
Jessica Cavanagh, Best Playwright of a Drama 2018 - The Column
Jude Segrest, Best Child Actor in a Drama 2018 - The Column
"Tough, unflinching, tender, funny, heartbreaking”
-Nancy Churnin, DALLAS MORNING NEWS
“A glimpse into a world that many haven’t experienced, but the script leans so heavily on the themes of family, bravery and finding yourself that it becomes accessible to all... a deep dive into both the darkest and brightest wells of human emotion”.
-Lindsey Wilson, CULTUREMAP DALLAS
“The layers of grief, guilt, love and complete exhaustion found in Jessica Cavanagh’s Self-Injurious Behavior will feel all too familiar to some families who are raising children with disabilities. But there’s funny stuff here, and honesty. And with the playwright herself onstage portraying (as she is in real life) the mother of a son on the autism spectrum, a versatile and gutsy cast directed by Marianne Galloway honors every part of Cavanagh’s truth-telling, from shattering low points to high comedy”.
-Jan Farrington, THEATERJONES
Bren Rapp
Producer
Jessica Cavanagh
Playwright
Marianne Galloway
Director
Executive Produced by
Ronnie Marmo and Joe Mantegna
Co-produced by
Kristen and Mark Machiedo
Produced by
Laura Buchwald and Bren Rapp
Production photos by Jordan Fraker and Jeffrey Schmidt
Special Thanks to:
McKinney Repertory Theatre, McKinney, TX (for use of the scene shop)
Collin Theatre Center Costume Department
Dallas Children’s Theatre
Steven Galloway
Jeff Schmidt
The families of cast, crew, and production and design teams
Original Workshop Presented by Theatre Three in Dallas, Texas.
Actors' Equity Association (“Equity”), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
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Cast
(in order of appearance)
Jake - Jonathan Brooks Freeman*
Benjamin - Jude Segrest
Summer - Jessica Cavanagh*
Sage - Janie Haddad Tompkins*
Harmony - Jillian Cavanagh
Libby/Ashley - Madison Calhoun‡
Lynn/Gina - Gisla Stringer
Sebastian - Mitch Lerner*
Hobbits - Yasha Rayzberg/Nick Purro
CREW
Written by - Jessica Cavanagh*
Directed by - Marianne Galloway*+
Technical Direction - Matthew Richter
Production Manager - Bren Rapp
Stage Manager - Cortney Roles
Assistant Director - Madison Calhoun‡
Scenic Design - Brad Bentz
Lighting Design - Matthew Richter
Sound Design - Jake Nice
Costume Design - Ryan Schaap
Prop Master - Kyle Montgomery
Production Assistants - Yasha Rayzberg/Nick Purro
Publicity - Sandra Kuker PR
Web and Graphic Design - Sara Armentrout Voecks
Conflict Choreography: Lydia Mackay • Autism Consultant: Steph Garrett Choreographer: Zenobia Taylor
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association/Equity Approved Showcase
‡ Actors’ Equity Association Membership Candidates
+ Member of SDC, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society
Self-Injurious Behavior
By Jessica Cavanagh
Previews: August 30 - September 1, 2019
Performances: September 6 - 28, 2019
A PERCENTAGE OF ALL TICKETS SOLD WILL GO TO AUTISM WORKS NOW AND
THE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER. AWN'S PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WILL BE
EMPLOYED BY THEATRE 68 ON SHOW DAYS
