| ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
David Sedaris (Playwright) is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and his most recent book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, each of which became an immediate bestseller. The audio version of Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is a 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album. He is the author of the NYT-bestselling collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (with illustrations by Ian Falconer). He was also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. Sedaris’ pieces appear regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in “The Best American Essays.” There are over ten million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages.
He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name “The Talent Family” and have written half-a-dozen plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. These plays include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler’s Knob, and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service. David Sedaris’ original radio pieces can often be heard on the public radio show This American Life. David Sedaris has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album.
Anthony Methvin (Director) is Producing Associate at Diversionary Theatre, where he directed Significant Other, the workshop of Who’s That, Gurl? And readings of The Harvest and Wolves. At Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company, where he is Producing Director, he directed Bachelorette, co-directed Abundance and the World Premiere of Tarrytown with Fran Gercke, and, for their Unleashed series, directed a reading of Assistance, and directed and co-adapted readings of Showgirls, Mommie Dearest, Troll 2, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, and Queen of Outer Space. Assistant Director: Buyer & Cellar and Sense & Sensibility (Old Globe), Dogfight (Cygnet), Baby with the Bathwater (Diversionary), and Spring Awakening (Palomar College). Local performances: Bedevere/Ni Knight/Mrs. Galahad/Concorde in Spamalot (Cygnet), Doug in Gutenberg! The Musical! and Lord John in The Elephant Man (Backyard Renaissance), Roger in A New Brain, Reed in Boys and Girls, and Kent in Harmony, Kansas (Diversionary). Playwright: Bleed Like Me. Education: BFA in Acting from Florida State University. Upcoming: Director of Steel Magnolias for Backyard Renaissance. You can follow him on Instagram @anthonymethvin.
Justin Humphres (Scenic Designer) is a scenic and video designer based in San Diego, CA. His design work has been seen internationally in both the United States and Asia. As a video designer, he has created content for numerous concert tours, corporate events and Las Vegas shows. As an assistant/associate he has worked on various commercial, regional and Broadway projects. Recent San Diego scenic design credits include: Significant Other, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and This Beautiful City (Diversionary), Actually (San Diego Rep), Vietgone (San Diego Rep), and Voyeurs de Venus (Moxie). Broadway credits include: SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical (Associate Designer), Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. (Associate Designer). Justin holds a BFA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from University of California, San Diego. www.justinhumphres.com
TJ Fucella (Sound Designer) is honored to be returning to Diversionary as a sound designer. His recent credits include Bull in a China Shop, Lizard Boy, and The Boy Who Danced On Air (Diversionary) Cinderella Eats Rice & Beans, and Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (New Village Arts), as well as Gypsy, On The 20th Century, Shockheaded Peter, and Spamalot (Cygnet Theatre Company), Father Comes Home From The War, and Perfect Arrangement (Intrepid), Miracle On 34th Street (San Diego Musical Theatre). He’d like to thank all of his friends at Diversionary, as well as his fiancée, Julia, for inspiring and supporting him.
Curtis Mueller (Lighting Designer) returns to Diversionary having designed Girlfriend, Hedwig and The Angry Inch, The Hour of Great Mercy, Bull in a China Shop, The Happiest Place on Earth, Cardboard Piano, Homos, Well, 2.5 Minute Ride, Lizard Boy, Manhandled, Now or Later, A Civil War Christmas, Amazons and Their Men, Man Clan, and A New Brain. Select local credits include: Withering Heights, Margin of Error (Roustabouts Theatre Company); End of The Rainbow, Quality of Life, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, I Hate Hamlet, All My Sons, Macbeth (Intrepid Theatre Company); Big River, The 1940s Radio Hour, Seascape (New Village Arts); Chess in concert, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening (Cabaret at the Merc Summer Series). Curtis has also worked extensively with Coronado School of The Arts. Curtis holds a BFA in Lighting Design from California Institute of The Arts.
Elisa Benzoni (Costume Designer) is thrilled to be working again with Diversionary Theatre. Select credits include: Significant Other, The Loneliest Girl in the World, The Happiest Place on Earth, Homos or Everyone in America, Ballast, Mystery of Love and Sex (Diversionary Theatre), Sex with Strangers (Geffen Playhouse), The Who and The What, Our Town; Tall Girls; Brahaman/I; Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (La Jolla Playhouse); Constellations (Old Globe); Cloud 9, Romeo and Juliet, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Reckless, Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure (USD/Old Globe); The Father, How the Other Half Loves, Of Mice and Men, Travels with my Aunt, The Illusion, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Cocktail Hour, Fox on the Fairway (Nominated for a Craig Noel Award), Chapatti, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Great Nome Gold Rush (North Coast Repertory Theatre); Men on Boats, Secret Garden, Awake and Sing, Sylvia (New Village Arts); Elisa holds a costume design MFA from UCSD. www.elisabenzoni.com
Beth Hall (Stage Manager) is a newly San Diego-based Production and Stage Manager. She graduated from Fresno State with a B.A. in Theatre Arts, where she focused on stage management and technical theatre. Before moving to San Diego, she worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for five years, and collaborated with such companies as the San Francisco Playhouse, A.C.T., the Curran, foolsFURY, StageWrite, and many others. Her recent production credits include Without Walls (La Jolla Playhouse), Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man (foolsFURY), The Jungle (Curran), Word (StageWrite), and The Mechanics of Love (A.C.T). |
Contact: Jenny Case, Managing Director