Acclaim Recommended, Acclaim Nominated: Non-Equity acting ensemble (Michael Call, Mindy Heithaus, Jeffrey K Miller)
Light bulb factory love story: old bulbs are easily replaced.
From: New Edgecliff Theatre
Most Fringy Thing: One of the most absurd love stories ever told, but a love story none the less.
Brief Description: In search of a job, Max finds himself the new kid at the Industri-Light Bulb Factory. But his surroundings are all too familiar… and he’s certain he has seen his boss somewhere before. Is he losing his mind, or is this the start of a very sick- and ultimately deadly- game? Max must uncover the truth, or accept a fate that will keep his life in a mind-numbing limbo.
Company Biography
Established in 1998, New Edgecliff Theatre was built on the idea of locally produced professional theatre. The mission of New Edgecliff Theatre is to create a powerful artistic experience utilizing local professionals and stressing the fundamental communion between actor and audience. Recent work includes productions of [title of show], The Night of the Iguana, Equus, and our every-popular holiday production of The Santaland Diaries.
From: Cincinnati, OH
About the Playwright
NET's Playwright-in-Residence Catie O’Keefe Catie O'Keefe holds a BA in Theatre from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon USA and a Masters in Playwriting from Royal Holloway University of London. Her work has been performed at the Jerwood Centre, Southwark Theatre, Henley Fringe Festival, The Royal Court Upstairs, Theatre 503 and the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Space Between My Head and My Body premiered at London's Theatre 503 and then transferred to the Underbelly Baby Belly 3 in Edinburgh. Her Play Deception, Illusion and Nate has been performed in the US and as part of the Dyssing Monday's Dyslexic festival in October 2008 and again in the Henley Fringe Festival in July 2009 in the UK. Her Play An Apartment with Grace was one of six winners to be produced for The Louisiana State University Outworks Festival in April 2010. Her writing is best described as "dark, imaginative and witty".
About the Director
Illana Stein is thrilled to be back in Cincinnati and working with NET for the 2011 Fringe Festival. She first got involved with NET when she directed Burying Barbie for their second Director's Competition. She is a freelance director originally from Fort Worth, TX but considers Cincinnati an artistic home as she spent 3 years as Assistant to the Artistic Director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC). While at CSC, she directed their 2008 summer tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream, eductional tour In Love with Shakespeare, and served as assistant director and dramaturg on the majority of productions. Other directing credits include Home Free! (Midnight Project at Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Woolgatherer, Autobahn, As You Like It, and Opehlia's Story (a conceptualized play). As an assistant director and dramaturg she has worked at a wide range of regional theatres including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Victoria Musica!), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Well, and The Merchant of Venice) Yale Repertory Theatre (Romeo and Juliet), and Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Twelfth Night). Ms. Stein has a BFA in Drama from the University of Oklahoma where she also co-founded and served as Artistic Director for ORASI Productions, a student-led theatre production company.
About the Cast
Michael Carr is a recent graduate of CCM Drama. He is a Cincinnati native. Roles performed include:(CCM) Andrey- Three Sisters (Acclaim Winner), The Man- On the Verge (Acclaim), Barnett Lloyd - Crimes of the Heart. (Carnegie Performing Arts Center) Pvt Schelling -Bury the Dead (Acclaim Winner), Pap/The Duke - Big River. He could not have gotten to where he is without the support of his family and close friends.
Mindy Heithaus is very excited to be working with New Edgecliff again on this Fringe endeavor. She previously was on Night Of The Iguana last fall. She is a graduate of NKU's theatre department. Past roles include Lina Lamont in Singin' In The Rain (Covedale), Shelby in Steel Magnolias (LaComedia), Meg in Crimes Of The Heart (Showboat), Placard Girl in Reefer Madness The Musical (The Know), Bridget in Nana's Naughty Knickers (LaComedia), and Diana in Lend Me A Tenor (Drama Workshop). She would like to thank her family and friends for all their love and support. She also wants to the thank the cast and crew for this fun, exciting, and sometimes confusing journey.
Jeffrey K. Miller is thrilled to join the cast of Darker for his second go-round in the Cincy Fringe. Using his theatre degree from NKU, Jeffrey has worked with theatre companies all over Cincinnati and the region including New Edgecliff Theatre, Middletown Lyric Theatre, Cincinnati Landmark Productions, Mad Anthony Theatre/Fitton Center, Wyoming Players, Two seasons at Pioneer Playhouse, NKU, ArtReach: Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Madcap Puppet Theatre at Cincinnati Zoo, and Cincinnati Museum Center.
Critics' Reviews
Review: The Examiner
by Richard O Jones
"Darker" is an eerie love story taking place, ostensibly, in the office of a light bulb factory. Max (Michael Carr) has just come to work there, inadvertently muscling in on the desk of co-worker Tom (Jeffrey K. Miller) at the urging of office manager Lucy (Mindy Heithaus). For a light bulb factory, it is an extremely ill-lit office, and a half-dozen or so bare light bulbs dominate both the set and light designs. It all looks too familiar to Max, however, who questions Lucy and Tom if he has worked there before.
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Review: CityBeat
by Harper Lee
"New Edgecliff Theatre’s contribution to the 2011 Fringe Festival, Catie O’Keefe’s Darker, has an enticing ambiance (at Know Theatre). The sparse set features a number of bare light bulbs that at times are blindingly bright and at others pulsing or dim. The effect is garish and mesmerizing, appropriate for a play with themes like anger, unrequited love and lost memory."
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Review: Cincinnati Enquirer, Enjoy these local Fringe entries
by Jackie Demaline
Two easy-to-recommend entries by local companies in this year's Cincinnati Fringe Festival are "Darker" by New Edgecliff Theatre and "Peyote Business Lunch" from Artemis Exchange.
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Review: The Conveyor
When the end comes it is said that the light fades from your eyes and everything goes dark. That image is the visual put forth from New Edgecliff's Darker written by Catie O'Keefe. Light and Dark run heavily through this production. Keeping the characters and the audience 'in the dark' takes on an additional importance. Love, death, the power of the impending darkness puts a sensual story on stage with a hazy situation where the past is seeping into the present.
The cast of Michael Carr, Mindy Heithaus, and Jeffery Miller are all excellent. They know their characters and show no fear in playing off each other. The set and costumes, designed by Jim Stump, were the best I have seen in Fringe this year. It is risky to have a set and lighting design as elaborate as Darker used, but Stump made it work really well with the limits placed on Fringe productions.
For the full article check it out on theconveyor.com.
Review: Behind the Curtain
"In Darker, film noir meets Fringe and the result is a very stylized and engaging theater experience. All aspects of the production compliment each other, making the final result more than the sum of its parts."
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