In April 2018, a staged reading of Purely Academic was performed at the University of California, San Diego, USA. The performance was directed by Nicole Javier.
Photo credits: Alex Matthews, Qualcomm Institute
Cast
- Prof. Jill Holywell – Deanna Driscoll
- Charles Mittleman – David Price
- Prof. Martin Godson – Mike Sears
- Prof. Mary Long – Natalie Griffith Robichaux
- Dr Joanne Cook – Kristen Leadbetter
- Anna White – Danielle E.B. Wineman
- Dr Marsha Collins – Sarah Elizabeth Price
- Prof. Max Williams – Sam Aros Mitchell
Program: Purely Academic Program
David Price is a first-year MFA Acting candidate. He is originally from Dallas and received his BFA in Theatre from SMU. UCSD credits: The Green Cockatoo (Marquis de Lansac), Othello (Lodovico), Mothers (Ty). New York credits include appearances at: The Pearl Theatre Company, New Light Theatre Project, New York Shakespeare Exchange, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Actor’s Shakespeare Company. Regional appearances: Dallas Theatre Center, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, WaterTower Theatre, Undermain Theatre, Lyric Stage, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Uptown Players, Dallas Actors Lab, Our Productions and the national tour of Rudolph… the Musical. David has also appeared in several commercials, short films, and TV shows.
Kristen Leadbetter is a first-year PhD student. She holds a BA in Communication and Business Administration from SUNY Geneseo, and a MA in Theatre Arts from Stony Brook University. Prior to UCSD, Kristen worked as an On-Air Producer and Promotions/Events Manager for iHeartMedia, directed and acted for regional theater companies, and modeled for NYC-based studios. Her areas of research include acting pedagogy, feminist critical theory, interpersonal communication theories, and practice as research.
Sarah Elizabeth Price is new to the San Diego area. She recently moved from Dallas, where she lived and worked professionally for the last five years. Recent credits include: Lucille Frank in Parade (WaterTower Theatre), Liza Minnelli in The Boy from Oz (Uptown Players), Blanche Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde (WaterTower Theatre), Stephanie Necrophorus in Nine (Lyric Stage), Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (PFamily Arts), Claire in Ordinary Days (Our Productions), Margaret Leavitt in Silent Sky (WaterTower Theatre), and Puppeteer/Girl Elf in the National Tour of Rudolph…the Musical (Wishing Star Productions). Sarah received her BFA in Theatre from Baylor University.
Mike Sears: Off-Broadway: When Words Fail (Houseman Theatre), Leap (Abingdon Theatre), To Have and To Hold (Phil Bosakowski Theatre). Off-Off Broadway: The American Globe Theatre, Boomerang Theatre Summer Shakespeare, New Dramatist, New York Fringe Festival, The Present Company, NY Musical Theatre Works, The Producer’s Club and The Duplex. Regional: Rain, Kiss Me, Kate, Othello, (The Old Globe), Sideways, His Girl Friday, Hands on a Hard Body, Bonnie and Clyde, (La Jolla Playhouse), Parlour Song (Backyard Renaissance, Critics Circle Award), A Behanding In Spokane, Man From Nebraska (Cygnet Theatre), Tortilla Curtain (San Diego Rep), The Mystery of Love and Sex, Birds of a Feather (Diversionary Theatre) Killer Joe (Compass Theatre), The Foreigner, The Glory Man, Rehearsal for Murder (Lamb’s Players), Simpatico (New Village Arts), Good Boys (Mo’olelo), Tuesday’s With Morrie (North Coast Rep). Mike is a graduate of the William Esper Studio in New York City.
DeAnna Driscoll has been working as a professional actor, teacher, and director in San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York City for the past 25 years. She was most recently seen in the award winning play, ‘Hand To God’ at the San Diego Repertory Theater and just previous to that she starred in the Pulitzer Prize winning play, ‘The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-in-the-moon Marigolds’ at Cygnet Theatre for which she won the 2017 San Diego Critics Circle Award for ‘Best Female Lead Performance of the Year.’ DeAnna has graced the stage at The Old Globe Theater in the shows ‘ Bethany’ and ‘Bus Stop’ and she won both the 2005 Critics Circle Award and The Garland Award for ‘Outstanding Female Performance’ for her role of Grace in ‘ Bus Stop’ as well as winning the 2006 Pate Award for her work in the one-woman show, ‘ Bad Dates’ . DeAnna’s television, commercial and film credits include roles on Balancing Act, Pt. Pleasant, Veronica Mars, Decaf, Clipping Adam, Extreme Blue, Sunny Delight, Union Bank, and Pepsi, among others. DeAnna is a proud member of both Actors Equity and SAG.
Sam Aros Mitchell’s research focuses on the transformative work of First Nation and Native American dance and theatre artists, who continue to break boundaries, connect land to body, and bring Native communities to a place of healing. Sam is an enrolled member with the Texas Band of Yaqui Indians. He is currently in his third-year of a PhD program at UC San Diego. Sam has an MFA in Dance Theatre from UC San Diego, and a BFA in dance from UC Santa Barbara. Sam has danced in contemporary dance companies, and has toured, both nationally and internationally for over 25 years. In April of 2016, Sam and co-author, Julie Burelle, published an article entitled “Dee(a)r Spine: Dance, Dramaturgy, and the Repatriation of Indigenous Memory” which was part of Dance Research Journal’s special edition on Indigenous dance. Sam continues to work, teach and learn, within his Yaqui community, with Native American and First Nation communities and within the contemporary dance community. http://www.sammitcheldance.com Lios em chaniavu!
Danielle E.B. Wineman is finishing up her 2nd year as a MFA in Acting candidate. UCSD credits include:Othello (Bianca), The Green Cockatoo (Leocardie), (w)holeness (Veena), and Taming of the Shrew(d) (Hortensio). Other selected credits include: A Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater), Rock of Ages (Grandstreet Theatre) The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (Warehouse Theatre Company), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks). Thank you all for coming and supporting this reading.
Nicole Javier (Director of Purely Academic) is a second-year MFA actor at UCSD Theatre and Dance. UCSD: Othello, What of the Night?, (w)holeness, Taming of the Shrew(d), Though It May Shift. Directing: Eurydice (UCSD). Regional credits: Forever Poppy (Provincetown Playhouse), tokyo fish story (TheatreWorks), Rapture, Blister Burn (Aurora Theatre Company), Flor (Cornerstone Theatre Company), Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare Orange County), Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Crowded Fire Theatre), and Dis/Connected (New Conservatory Theatre). Nicole was an apprentice at Touchstone Theatre Company and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Chapman University. UPCOMING: Mothers by Anna Moench. http://www.nicolejavier.com