IT: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Invisible Theatre’s 51st Anniversary Season Kicks Off With

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT
by

Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell
Based on the critically acclaimed book THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT
by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal

“An absolute MUST-SEE”
-The Cincinnati Enquirer

September 1* – 11, 2022
*Low Cost Preview

The Invisible Theatre is located at 1400 N. First Avenue (at Drachman),
Tucson, Arizona 85719

The Invisible Theatre kicks off its landmark 51st Anniversary Season with LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell and directed by Susan Claassen assisted by Fred Rodriguez. A critically acclaimed 2018 Broadway play, this fast-paced story explodes with blistering comedy and timely relevance. Facts become blurry when they’re twisted into fiction in the high-stakes world of publishing. The demanding editor-in-chief of a high-end magazine hires a determined millennial fact-checker to work on a groundbreaking essay. The deadline is tight, the essay is dense, and everyone must make a good faith effort in telling the story honestly. This is the ultimate showdown of fact versus fiction. Are facts negotiable? Is art more accurate at showing the heart of the matter? Can there ever be a justifiable reason to distort reality for the greater good, and who gets to decide? Based on the critically acclaimed book of the same name, THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT starring David Alexander Johnston, Jack Cooperstein and Emily Gates is a tightrope walk of playful debate on the virtues and vices of creative non-fiction. As it cleverly dissects the slippery slope from authenticity to fakery in today’s world, whose side will you be on?

Please call (520) 882-9721 for reservations and information
or go to www.invisibletheatre.com for online ticket sales

Made possible in part through the generous support and vibrant memory of
Kay Juhan

Southwest Premiere – *Preview $20, all other performances $40. Discounts are available for groups, seniors, active military and students.
Reservations are required – all seats are reserved. There will be no sales at the Box Office.

The Invisible Theatre is located at 1400 N. First Avenue (at Drachman), Tucson, AZ 85719.
The running time is 85 minutes with no intermission.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT is appropriate for mature audiences (16 and up).

COVID PROTOCOLS

The health and safety of our artists, staff and patrons continues to be our top priority. All patrons are required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination (or a negative Covid-19 Test within 24 hours). All staff and patrons will be required to wear masks the entire time they are in the theatre. The theatre will be at 70% Capacity.

THE INVISIBLE THEATRE

The Invisible Theatre (IT) of Tucson, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, is dedicated to producing quality theatre and arts education experiences for all facets of the community, in an intimate setting that showcases local professional talent and guest artists. Started in 1971 as an arena for local playwrights, the theatre has expanded its programs to include adaptations of classics and recent Off-Broadway plays and musicals, while continuing to encourage new playwrights through both full productions and stage readings. Our award winning arts education program for special needs children focuses on ability rather than dwelling on disability. Our commitment to artistic excellence, diversity, equity, inclusion and quality has made the Invisible Theatre a very visible force in the local, national, and international arts scene.

ABOUT THE PEOPLE

David Alexander Johnston (Jack) made his IT debut in DON’T TALK TO THE ACTORS and has been a valued member ever since. David appeared as nine different characters in the one man show THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY and also in the unique WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT and most recently TRUMBO. He has appeared with ATC and WRTE in such favorites as DEATH OF A SALESMAN and most recently appeared in their productions of THE LITTLE FOXES and ANGELS FALL. He won a Tucson MAC award for playing Mr. Green in VISITING MR. GREEN at LTW. His television and movie credits include Day of Redemption, Spin,The Unflyable Plane for BBC, Fast Getaway II, and Tank Girl as well as regional and national commercials and industrial films.

Jack Cooperstein (Jim) is making his Invisible Theatre debut and IT is looking forward to many more collaborations! Jack is a sophomore at the University of Arizona in Theatre Arts. Upon graduation, he hopes to pursue a professional career in acting. Before moving to Tucson, Jack spent most of his life in Virginia and was introduced to theatre at Stafford Senior High School. Jack performed in many productions including such favorites as THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, and PETER AND THE STARCATCHER. Since moving to Tucson, Jack has starred in a variety of student films that premiered at The Loft Cinema and Fox Theatre including Eyes On Me, The Disinherited, and Haphazard.

Emily Gates (Emily) is so excited to be working with the phenomenal Invisible Theatre to help bring this production of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT to the stage and IT is thrilled to have her as a treasured ensemble member. Emily is a recent graduate of The University of Arizona receiving her bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. She will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design to pursue her MFA in Acting and Performing Arts. Some of Emily’s favorite shows include: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS, FILMING O’KEEFFE, GLORIA, OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS, SILLY WOMAN, ACCOMPLICE, TIME STANDS STILL, SHOW PEOPLE, BLOOMSDAY and LOVE AND INFORMATION. Emily would like to thank her mother, father and older sister for always loving and supporting her. Emily would also like to thank the IT family for giving her this incredible opportunity.

Susan Claassen (Producer/Director/Designer) continues her 47th anniversary as IT’s Artistic Director. She has produced and directed over 500 productions including such favorites as the award winning DANCING LESSONS (MAC Award Best Comedy Director), LOOPED and most recently EMERGENCY. Some of her most memorable IT roles have been Olive in OLIVE AND THE BITTER HERBS (MAC Award Best Comedy Actor), and most recently Dr. Ruth in BECOMING DR. RUTH. Susan’s production of A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD (www.edithhead.biz) has had over 600 performances and has been touring nationally and internationally since 2002. She was featured in the 2006 Republic of Georgia International Theatre Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 2007, and played London’s West End in July/August 2008. Susan received a prestigious LA Stage Alliance Ovation Best Actress Nomination in 2011 for her portrayal of Edith Head, 2011 BroadwayWorld LA nomination as Best Actress, was the Phoenix New Times Best Actress 2012 and was most recently nominated as Best Solo Performance by The San Francisco Bay Area Critics Association and Theatre Bay Area Critics. Susan has been a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001, and is featured in Arizona’s centennial legacy book, Arizona’s 48 Most Intriguing Women. Susan dedicates her work to the memory of her beloved mother, Goldie.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS

David Murrell (Playwright) was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Chicago, currently lives in Queens, and has written a sea chest’s worth of TV and film treatments and spec scripts. Access Theater (NYC) and the Cleveland Public Theatre each produced his play DUCTWORK, and the Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected his and Jeremy Kareken’s feature screenplay about haunted breast implants, THESE! Conquered the Earth! In 2019, he received the Outer Critics Circle’s John Gassner Playwriting Award.

Gordon Farrell (Playwright) trained as a playwright at the Yale School of Drama, and received an MFA in 1986. He went from there to work with major Hollywood studios, initially as a story analyst for Warner Brothers and Columbia Pictures, and eventually as a screenwriter. He has written for hire and sold screenplays to Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, MGM and ITC. His first independent screenplay, Girls Who Smoke, premiered in 2011. It went on to be an official selection at over a dozen film festivals, winning the Audience Choice Award in Seattle at the Post Alley Film Festival. His other plays have been produced in San Francisco, at the Alleyway Theatre, at the Yale School of Drama, and at Primary Stages in New York. He is the author of The Power of the Playwright’s Vision, published by Heinemann Press in 2001.

Jeremy Kareken (Playwright) is a playwright living in New York and Baltimore. His short plays HOT ROD, BIG TRAIN and 80 CARDS have been performed around America and internationally. He served as a speech writer and policy analyst for two presidential campaigns. His awards include the Sewanee Conference’s Dakin Fellowship, and Guthrie/Playwrights Center’s Two-Headed Challenge Award. The Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriter’s Conference selected Jeremy and David Murrell for their horror-comedy script about haunted breast implants, THESE! Conquered the Earth! In 2018, PlayPenn shortlisted Jeremy’s new political satire about an illiterate king, THE RED WOOL. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he has taught at NYU, NYIT, the Actors Studio Drama School, and currently teaches at the Acting Studio-New York. A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Jeremy occasionally acts and serves as a researcher for Bravo TV’s Inside the Actors Studio.

John D’Agata is the author of The Lifespan of a Fact, Halls of Fame, and About a Mountain, as well as the editor of the 3-volume series A New History of the Essay, which includes the anthologies The Next American Essay, The Making of the American Essay, and The Lost Origins of the Essay. His work has been supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Howard Foundation Fellowship, an NEA Literature Fellowship, and a Lannan Foundation Fellowship. He holds a B.A. from Hobart College and two M.F.A.s from the University of Iowa, and recently his essays have appeared in The Believer, Harper’s, Gulf Coast, and Conjunctions. John D’Agata lives in Iowa City where he teaches creative writing at the University of Iowa.

Jim Fingal is is the author of The Lifespan of a Fact, now a software engineer and writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

FACTS ABOUT THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

CAST:
David Alexander Johnston, Jack Cooperstein and Emily Gates

DIRECTOR:
Susan Claassen, assisted by Fred Rodriguez

WHERE:
The Invisible Theatre
1400 N. First Avenue (at Drachman), Tucson, AZ 85719

RUNNING TIME:
85 minutes with no intermission

AGE RECOMMENDATION:
Mature audiences,16 and up (mature language)

WHEN: (PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE IN DATES AND TIMES)
Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 7:30 PM (Preview)
Friday, September 2, 2022 at 7:30 PM (Opening)
Saturday, September 3, 2022 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, September 3, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 2:00 PM

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Thursday, September 8, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Friday, September 9, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 2:00 PM

PRODUCTION STAFF:
PRODUCER and DIRECTOR: Susan Claassen
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Fred Rodriguez
SET DESIGN: James Blair and Susan Claassen
LIGHT DESIGN: James Blair
SOUND DESIGN: Rob Boone and Susan Claassen
PROP DESIGN: Emily Gates and Diana Knoepfle
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: Diana Knoepfle

FOR INFORMATION AND TO PURCHASE TICKETS:

Call our Box Office at (520) 882-9721
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted.
Tickets are also available 24/7 through www.invisbletheatre.com.
General Admission: $40, Students: $20