Sacramento, California – June 1, 2021 Capital Stage offers its fifth Virtual Performances Production with RIPE FRENZY by Jennifer Barclay. This all-too-familiar retelling of a tragic school shooting set against the small town sentimentalities of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN leaves a stark comparison for the audience to contend. Capital Stage's Virtual Performances production will be available on demand for FREE from August 3-8, 2021. Producing Artistic Director Michael Stevenson directs his first Virtual Performances production. Tickets for this Virtual Performance are FREE (registration required) and currently available on our website at capstage.org.

TICKETS: FREE (Registration Required)

In an upstate New York small town it is opening night of the local high school’s 40th production of OUR TOWN. As if playing the role of the Stage Manager, one Mom sets the scene for the audience and walks us through the evening’s events. Time and memory grow slippery as her story submerges us in the before, during and after of an active shooter event. Set against the bucolic simplicity of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize Winning play OUR TOWN, RIPE FRENZY examines what has become a tragic American norm and questions our own culpability in the perpetuation of mass shootings in our country.

Jennifer Barclay is an actor-turned-playwright, formerly based in Chicago and California, currently based in Baltimore. Her play RIPE FRENZY won the National New Play Network’s 2016 Smith Prize for Political Theatre and the 2018 Dramatists Guild Fund Writers Alliance Grant. RIPE FRENZY was developed at Woolly Mammoth, the 2017 Ojai Playwrights Conference, NNPN/PlayPenn, and had a 2018 NNPN Rolling World Premiere at New Rep in Boston, Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta and Greenway Court in LA. Her other plays include THIS PROFOUND ABYSS, HOUSEBOUND, YELLOWSTONE: THE BALLAD OF THE RED-STATE WHITE MAN, OBSURA, FREEDOM, NY, THE HUMAN CAPACITY, DANNY, RED HELEN, THE ATTIC DWELLERS, EAT IT TOO, and she is in the midst of developing a trilogy set in the national parks. Jennifer’s plays have been produced and developed by Steppenwolf, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, RedCat, The Kennedy Center, Center Stage, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Co, Andy’s Summer Playhouse, American Blues Theatre, The International Theatre of Vienna and The Edinburgh Fringe, among others. Awards include: Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award, Kennedy Center National Science Playwriting Award, Pinter Review Gold Medal, BETC New Generations Award. Jennifer has been a Fellow at the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Hawthornden International Writers Retreat in Scotland and The New Harmony Project in 2019. She has been a playwright in residence at South Coast Rep, Center Stage and Arena Stage. Jennifer has a degree in Theatre from Northwestern University and an MFA in Playwriting at UC San Diego, where she studied with Naomi Iizuka. She is proud to be an NNPN Affiliated Artist and a member of the Dramatists Guild. As an actor, Barclay has performed in Austria, Scotland, Chicago, California and New York, and has toured her one-woman show, CLEARING HEDGES, nationally and internationally.

For Capital Stage, Michael Stevenson has directed ADMISSIONS, THE HUMANS, THE OTHER PLACE, SWEAT, THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, LUNA GALE, STUPID F##KING BIRD, HOW TO USE A KNIFE, DISGRACED, MR. BURNS, IDEATION,

CLYBOURNE PARK, MAURITIUS, ERRATICA (World Premiere), and LES LIAISONS DANGERUSES. He has directed at regional theatres including: B Street Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Perseverance Theatre Company, and Sacramento Theatre Company. As an actor he has appeared at many regional theatres including: 42nd Street Moon, American Conservatory Theatre, The Aurora Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Capital Stage, B Street Theatre, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre. He holds an M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theatre.

Atim Udoffia* (Zoe)

Atim Udoffia is an actor and director working in theatre, film and video. She recently played a lead in the short film Song for Silas, and the mob boss, Bunny, in the feature Where Sleeping Dogs Lie. Atim has studied and performed on stages in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and London. Notable theatre credits include MACBETH (Sacramento Theatre Company), THE ROYALE (Aurora Theatre Company), ZENITH (SF Playhouse), THE TEMPEST (Sacramento Theatre Company) and DISGRACED (Capital Stage). Atim holds a cross-disciplinary degree in Human Biology from Stanford University.

Dena Martinez* (Miriam)

For Capital Stage, Dena Martinez last directed THE ROOMMATE. As an actress she was in BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY, AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY, and MR BURNS, A POST ELECTRIC PLAY, at Capital Stage. Regional Theater credits include: DIA DE LOS CUENTOS and CLOUD TECTONICS at B St Theater, AMERICAN NIGHT at Cal Shakes, THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS and AMERICAN NIGHT at Denver Center Theater, DISTRACTED and SUNSETS AND MARGARITAS at Theaterworks, RECKLESS and GIBRALTAR at San Jose Stage, FUDDY MEERS and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Marin Theater Company, and LA POSADA MAGICA at San Jose Rep.

Kathryn Smith-McGlynn* (Felicia)

Kathryn’s body of work spans film, theatre, television, video games and new media. She can currently be seen as ‘Jen’ in the film feature Beautiful Dreamer which was a 2020 SFFILM selection. Kathryn also co-starred as Dr. Crawford in the dystopian sci fi action thriller Mazerunner: The Scorch Trials. Her television credits include roles on Deputy (FOX), Better Call Saul (AMC), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Hysteria (Amazon), Scoundrels (ABC), The Lying Game (ABC Family), In Plain Sight (USA) Friday Night Lights (NBC) and others. Kathryn lends her vocal talents to the video game Watchdogs II and has performed on regional stages throughout the country including American Conservatory Theatre (San Francisco CA), B Street Theatre (Sacramento, CA), Capital Stage Company (Sacramento, CA), Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC) Perseverance Theatre Company (Juneau, AK), Organic Theatre Company (Chicago, IL) and many others.

Nicole Anne Salle (Hadley/Bethany)

Nicole Anne Salle is a former Capital Stage Apprentice and graduate of Sacramento State University. She was most recently seen on stage at the Wakamatsu festival in GOLD HILL SAMURAI under the direction of Jamie Van Camp, and on screen in Personal Jury for Sacramento’s 48-hour film festival of 2020. When not acting, Nicole Anne uses her creative energy to run a podcast called Literary Bitchcraft.

KeShawn Mellon (Matt/Bryan James McNamara)

KeShawn Mellon recently graduated from Ohio University with his BFA in Acting. At OU, he performed in A WOOG AMONG THE WAVES (Alan), MACBETH (Lennox), PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS (T), SHE KILLS MONSTERS (Chuck), ENGAGEMENTS (Ryan), and various other productions. During the summer of 2019, he attended the life-changing intensive Theatermakers at The National Theater Institute, where he was awarded the Miranda Family scholarship and became a Miranda Family Fellow. The following summer of 2020 he co-founded Vibrancy Theater and was their Co-Artistic Director until May 2021. Currently, he’s enjoying the summer and catching up on his favorite TV shows.

Director/Prod. Artistic Director: Michael Stevenson

Production Manager: Katie Cannon

Stage Manager: Melissa Jernigan*

Video Editor: Misty McDowell

Sound Editor/Designer: Ed Lee

Capital Stage Presents its fifth Virtual Performances Production

RIPE FRENZY by Jennifer Barclay

Directed by Michael Stevenson

Available Virtually

On Demand Access Available August 3-8, 2021

BOX OFFICE: (COVID-19 Hours: Tu-Th 12-4pm)

Phone: 916-995-5464

Email: boxoffice@capstage.org

Website: capstage.org

Free (Registration Required)

Available via Phone & Online at 916-995-5464 or capstage.org

Playwright: Jennifer Barclay

Director/Producing Artistic Director: Michael Stevenson

Cast: Atim Udoffia*, Dena Martinez*, Katherine Smith-McGlynn*, Nicole Anne Salle & KeShawn Mellon

Production Manager: Katie Cannon

Stage Manager: Melissa Jernigan*

Video Editor: Misty McDowell

Sound Editor/Designer: Ed Lee