August 23-September 28, 2008
Scaredycats - World Premiere
Written by Cheryl Bascom, directed by Doug Clayton.
Presented by Fran Bascom and Gudrun Giddings.
Peter and his wife Christine have invited their neighbors over for an important meeting. She’s become deeply concerned that crime is on the rise in their quiet suburban neighborhood- not that there’s any evidence of it. No matter. She’s determined to convince her neighbors and her husband (who’s surprised by her sudden affinity for body building and guns) to form a Neighborhood Watch group.
Visiting them for a presentation by a handsome, no-nonsense young police officer , Bryce Melton, are: a gay couple, Adam and Tony; Mary Helen and Patrick, a well-to-do couple, who are accompanied by Justine, their sweet-faced, live-in babysitter; Trina, pregnant with twins, whose husband Carl is all too ready to don camouflage fatigues and take Christine’s concerns to an even higher level of paranoia. Eventually, this unlikely band of vigilantes takes to the streets, and in the course of an increasingly frenzied and wickedly comic evening, nothing goes as planned. Crimes are indeed uncovered, arrests are made, shots are fired, secrets are revealed, and conventional ideas about love, marriage, fidelity and friendship are deeply shaken. Part farce and part romantic comedy, “Scaredycats” is a razor-sharp satire of contemporary suburban life and attitudes.
Starring (in alphabetical order):
- Julian Berlin
- Ben Brannon
- Heather Corwin
- Patrick Gomez
- Meeghan Holaway
- Derek Long
- Christian Malmin
- Josh T. Ryan
- Bradley Snedeker
- Lauren Waisbren
- Dan Wingard
From left, Lauren Waisbren & Patrick Gomez.
Cheryl Bascom, playwright, grew up in the San Fernando Valley and graduated from UCLA summa cum laude and a Phi Beta Kappa member. She produced for stage (“Heartstopper,” “Sicily’s Grandchildren,” “The White Death”) and screen (“The Man Who Ate a Car”). Her previous hit play, “Deconstructing Romance,” ran at the Matrix Theatre. She also wrote for the hit TV series “Designing Women.” Additionally, she was a casting director (“Waltz Across Texas,” “Happily Ever After”).
Douglas Clayton directs “Scaredycats.” His previous local directing credits include “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (Sacred Fools), “A Piece of Tin” (Lyric Theatre), “The Glass Menagerie” (the Colony), “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Godspell” (Marmac Repertory Theatre). He was trained at USC and Florida State University/The Asolo Conservatory. Douglas is the Executive Director of the newly-formed Yosemite Repertory Theatre in Mariposa, California and serves as the Programs Manager for the Los Angeles Stage Alliance.
