For Immediate Release: April 15, 2005
Media Contact: Anna Marie Trantas, Intrepid Theatre Company, 215.680.9003

"Brings its own light touch to grim matters." NY Times.

A play about three hostages, chained to three walls, from very different backgrounds who come to depend on each other for survival. Though their backgrounds differ, the political forces that dictate their current state are beyond their comprehension. An exploration of being physically and mentally isolated in a dark place where control seems out of reach.

Intrepid Theatre Company presents Someone Who'll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness, directed by Andrew Borthwick Leslie and featuring Intrepid Theatre Company ensemble member Michael Bartlett (Adam), Mark Cairns (Michael), and Stanton Davis (Edward).

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me opened on Broadway in 1992 and received a Tony nomination. Over a decade later, the content of the play remains glaringly relevant. Someone Who'll Watch Over Me is the story of three men, one American, one Irish and one English chained to three walls of a Beirut prison cell. Inspired by the real-life experiences of former hostages Brian Keenan and John McCarthy, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me explores the physical and psychological distress shared by three men from very different backgrounds. The hostages spend their time instigating each other and reflecting on their lives as well as using their imaginations and humor for storytelling and creating events to mentally remove them from their physical constraints. Regardless of how they are communicating at any given moment, they are interacting, for that is their sustenance. The three men let their guards down throughout their daily struggle of being held captive and come to lean on one another for companionship and for survival.

The production team of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me are Irene Trantas (production manager), Sean Flenders (set design), Brenda Geffers (stage manager), and Paul Moffitt (light design).

Born in Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland, and currently a resident of County Dublin, Frank McGuinness began his career writing poetry before taking on playwriting in the 1980's. Additional works by McGuinness include The Factory Girls, Innocence, Carthaginians, and The Bird Sanctuary. Along with translating many classic dramas such as A Doll's House and Chekhov's Three Sisters, McGuinness has done work for television and film and collaborated with Marianne Faithfull on lyrics for her album A Secret Life. He has published poetry collections such as Booterstown and Stone Jug. McGuinness has won several awards including The London Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright and the New York Critics Circle Award and Writer's Guild Award for Best Play for Someone Who'll Watch Over Me.

Andrew Borthwick-Leslie (Director) moved to Philadelphia from Boston three years ago. He taught at Emerson College in Boston for nine years and is currently teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Andrew has taught at the University of Maryland, Catholic University, DeSales University, the Boston Arts Academy, and the Commonwealth School. He is on the faculty of Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, Massachusetts where he either directs or acts most summers for the last fifteen years. His primary influences are Kristin Linklater and Tina Packer, cofounders of Shakespeare & Co. Kristin is now head of training at the Columbia University graduate school of acting and Tina remains the artistic director of Shakespeare & Co. Andrew has a private studio in Philadelphia where he teaches voice and acting. He has directed previous shows The Shape of Things and Where's My Money? for Intrepid. In Philadelphia, he has also directed Suburbia and All in the Timing at the now defunct Willow Theater. Outside of Philadelphia he has directed many shows and is most recently creating a new piece about the abolitionist Shakespearean actress Fanny Kemble. Andrew is also an actor and has performed in many roles up and down the east coast, primarily Shakespearean roles, although his most recent role was as the lawyer Bardolph in Peter Schaeffer's Lettuce and Lovage at Shakespeare & Co. this past summer.

Michael Bartlett (Adam) was last seen in ITC's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and other credits with ITC include the role of Phillip in The Shape of Things and Phillip in Orphans. Other recent productions include The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window and L'Italiana in Algeri at The McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey. He is currently studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York.

Mark Cairns (Michael) was born and raised in Pittsburgh, before moving to Fort Bragg, NC, where he served for 4 years as a Chemical Officer with the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps. The subject matter of this play conjures up many of the sights, sounds, and smells – as well as fears and fond memories – of the Middle East. Mark later spent 6 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, training senior staff for operations in Southwest Asia and other “hot zones.” Since exiting the USAR a few years ago, Mark has appeared in numerous productions around the Philadelphia area. He was most recently seen in Hurlyburly (Artie) with Theater Catalyst/Pros from Dover, and in Jesus Christ Superstar (Pilate) at The Barnstormers Theater. This is his first appearance with the Intrepid Theatre Company.

Stanton Davis (Edward) Mr. Davis is an assistant professor in the theatre department at Temple University. He serves as speech and dialect coach for the theatre department's graduate and undergraduate actors as well as teaching speech and acting. Mr. Davis comes to Temple from SUNY New Paltz where he taught voice, acting, Shakespeare, dramatic literature, and stage combat. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of Delaware and his BFA from the University of Utah Actor Training Program. He has worked as an actor (stage, film and TV commercials), fight choreographer, stagehand, director, stunt man, voice coach and education director at professional theatres throughout the country. He also takes private students in accent reduction, dialect, voice, and speech. Mr. Davis is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, The Independent Fight Director's Guild, and is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voice Work. Credits include: The Shakespeare Theatre (Washington, DC) The Berkshire Theatre Festival, Actors Lab Arizona, Court Yard Players Touring Company, Arizona Jewish Theatre, AKA Theatre, Tucson Actors Studio, Candlelight Theatre Company (NYC), New Paltz Summer Rep, York Little Theatre, and the Arizona, Tucson, South West, Baltimore, Wisconsin, Park City and Utah Shakespeare Festivals.

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me opens at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 on Friday April 22st at 8:00 p.m. for Preview. Opening night is Saturday, April 23rd and runs through May 15th . Performances run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday nights are 'pay what you can.' Tickets are $20 with discounts for students, seniors, and groups. Ticket reservations are available by calling 1.800.595.4TIX. Tickets are not available for purchase by telephone or online for 'pay what you can' nights.

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