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14 unusual facts about South Coast Repertory


Amy Freed

In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon (both commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory), The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays.

A comedy about the Roman emperor Nero, co-commissioned by South Coast Repertory and Berkeley Rep.

Ellen D. Williams

Working with such companies in Los Angeles as Playwrights Arena at LATC, East West Players, South Coast Repertory, LoudRMouth, The Garage Theatre Company, to name a few.

Joe Hortua

He has written such plays as Burning, Making It, and Between Us which have been performed at The Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory Theater.

Kario Salem

Salem won a Drama Log award for his performance in Richard Greenberg's "The Extra Man" at South Coast Repertory Theater, as well as a Boston Critic's award for his performance as "Cousins" in George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara with Cherry Jones at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge.

Melanie Marnich

She has received commissions from the Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage and South Coast Repertory.

Nilo Cruz

Some of the theatres that have developed and performed his works include New York’s Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Pasadena Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, The Alliance, New Theatre, Florida Stage and the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

Patrick Kerr

He is also active on the American stage, appearing in productions at California Shakespeare Theater, South Coast Repertory, and Berkeley Rep, among others.

Philip Kan Gotanda

Theaters where Gotanda's works have been produced include American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Campo Santo+Intersection, East West Players, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Missouri Rep, New York Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Asian American Theater Company, Robey Theatre Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory.

Roger Rueff

His stage play Hospitality Suite premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California in 1992 and has been subsequently produced internationally.

South Coast Repertory

Other playwrights who had multiple premieres at SCR also became familiar names in theatres across America: Amy Freed, Craig Lucas, Howard Korder, Keith Reddin, Octavio Solis, and Richard Greenberg, who has had nine commissioned world premieres at SCR.

The first season in the Folino Theatre Center earned rave reviews and introduced three plays — Greenberg's The Violet Hour, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel and Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow.

Within two years, artistic and financial momentum had picked up and SCR looked toward its Third Step: a converted Sprouse-Reitz Variety Store on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa.

Wayne Lemon

South Coast Repertory Theater of Costa Mesa, CA hosted the Chance Theater's production, Winter 2010, the first time since the early days of the theater that a smaller theater company has been invited to perform at SCR.


Betsy Brandt

In theater, Brandt has acted in performances of Much Ado About Nothing with the Arizona Theatre Company, Control+Alt+Delete with the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Beth Henley's Ridiculous Fraud, Julia Cho's The Language Archive with South Coast Repertory, and Next Fall with Geffen Playhouse.

Dudley Knight

Knight coached voice, text, and dialects at many theatres, including the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, and American Conservatory Theatre.

Evan Jacobs

He made short films with a camera he received as a gift, and later studied acting and directing at South Coast Repertory and Milton Katselas' Beverly Hills Playhouse.

Jeanne Paulson

Recently, she appeared in Death of a Salesman at Geva Theatre; other regional credits include work at Arizona Theatre Company (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Copenhagen), La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, and at the South Coast Repertory where she received a L.A. Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Rose in Holy Days.

Lauren Gunderson

Gunderson's play Émilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, about the real-life 18th century physicist Émilie du Châtelet was commissioned and developed at South Coast Repertory as part of their 2008 Pacific Playwrights Festival directed by Kate Whorisky.

Libby Appel

Theatres in which Appel worked include Intiman Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, New Mexico Repertory, The Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival, and the Alabama, Colorado and Kern Shakespeare Festivals.

Michael Manuel

He has worked with the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Empty Space Theatre, Seattle Rep, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, A Noise Within (where he received both Dramalogue and LADC awards), Interact Theatre Company, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Manhattan Theatre Club, Yale Repertory Theatre, and many others.

Michelle Hurd

She won a Robbie Award for Best Actress for her work in the world premiere of The Violet Hour at South Coast Repertory.

Rebecca Dines

She has performed numerous times for Palo Alto-based Theatreworks, as well as Kansas City, Berkeley, San Jose, and South Coast Repertory theatres, Magic and B Street theatres, and the Laguna Playhouse, among others.

The Violet Hour

It was commissioned by and originally produced by South Coast Repertory with Hamish Linklater as Seavering and Mario Cantone as Gidger.

Todd Murray

Murray grew up in the small rural town of Montandon, Pennsylvania and graduated from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and business, and from there went on to be involved in theater productions at the Paper Mill Playhouse and the South Coast Repertory.