The Bluest Eye April 8, 2011

PHANTOM PROJECTS THEATRE GROUP presents
Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning novelist Toni Morrison’s
THE BLUEST EYE
Adapted by Lydia R. Diamond
Opening Friday APRIL 8, 2011 at 8pm
Running 8pm Thurs-Saturday, matinees Sat and Sunday at 2pm, Sunday evenings 7pm
(There will be no 7pm show on closing night April 24, 2011)

Los Angeles, CA - PHANTOM PROJECTS THEATRE GROUP, celebrating their 15th Anniversary Season and Toni Morrison’s 80th Birthday, brings THE BLUEST EYE to Los Angeles.

Based on the controversial novel, the play was originally commissioned for stage by Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Banned in some areas of the country, this adaptation focuses on the perception of beauty, love, and racism aspects of our culture.

Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and schoolmates. Instead, she faces constant ridicule and abuse. She blames her dark skin and prays for blue eyes, sure that love will follow. With rich language and bold vision, this powerful adaptation of an American classic explores the crippling toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, a family, and an innocent girl.

JANET MILLER (Director) received a 2010 Ovation Award nomination for her work at Musical Theatre West, and a 2009 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for the Off-Broadway production of THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES. This past summer, Janet 
was invited to stage her original choreography at Capital Repertory in Albany NY, San Jose Repertory, Theatre Aspen, and Sacramento Music Circus. Last season for Phantom, Janet directed Lydia R. Diamond’s adaptation of the Toni Morrison book, THE BLUEST EYE to critical acclaim. Janet was the resident choreographer for Milt Larsen’s Variety Arts Center for six years, and choreographed several period pieces in that venue. She has taught and choreographed worldwide, most notably in Thailand and China. Janet is the recipient of the 2003 Excellence in Art Award for Drama and was the Artistic Director/Resident Director for the Torrance Theatre Company for seven years, directing sixteen shows during her tenure. She received a 2003 Choreography Garland Award in addition to the 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Choreography. In 2008, she received a Garland Award and a LADCC Award for choreography in WINTER WONDERETTES.
STEVE CISNEROS (Producing Artistic Director, Co-Founder) founded Phantom Projects at the age of 17, teaming up with his former high school teacher Bruce Gevirtzman. Cisneros oversees the daily operations of the group and has successfully achieved growth for the company each season. In addition to Southern California, he has created an international scope of influence for the troupe, which has been featured throughout the world, particularly in Russia and France. In 2010, Phantom Projects opened a costume rental company, which rents out thousands of costumes to theatres and performance groups. Steve’s business savvy and good planning have incorporated this new source of revenue into another opportunity to sustain and grow the already successful brand known as Phantom Projects Theatre Group. The group will now be expanding their cultural offerings to a wide range of classics, and the development of new works for adult audiences while continuing to offer programming at their homebase, the 1,251 seat La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
PHANTOM PROJECTS was founded in 1997 with the mission of providing high quality theatrical experiences to Southern California Audiences. Specializing in plays based on classic pieces of literature, Phantom Projects continues to bring veteran actors from Stage, TV, and Film to perform at the 1,251 seat La Mirada Theatre and in Santa Monica, CA at The Miles Playhouse. The 15th anniversary season will include THE BLUEST EYE (April 8-24 at The Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica), THROUGH THESE EYES (May 5th), and THE 2011 YOUNG ARTIST PROJECT (August 6th).

THE BLUEST EYE opens Friday April 8, 2011 at 8pm and runs Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. There will be no 7pm show on closing night April 24, 2011. PHANTOM PROJECTS THEATRE GROUP presents THE BLUEST EYE at The Miles Memorial Playhouse located at 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403. Tickets $22 and may be purchased by calling (714) 690-2900 or at www.PhantomProjects.com.

OUR DESIGN TEAM
JEREMY PIVNICK (Lighting Designer) has garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Angstrom Award for Career Achievement, 2 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards (18 nominations), and 4 Backstage West Garland Awards (including 2 awards for Outstanding Year in Lighting Design). He is a prominent member of the Los Angeles and New York theatre communities and has designed over 250 productions in LA, New York, Chicago, and beyond, at places like South Coast Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Northlight, San Jose Rep, Capitol Rep, and the Laguna Playhouse. Recently, his work was seen in New York in the hit Off-Broadway musical The Marvelous Wonderettes , which ran at the Westside Theatre for 18 months and he has designed many productions of the show regionally.
JOHN ZALEWSKI (Sound Designer) is a multi-award winning (5 LA Weekly Awards, 5 nominations , an Ovation Award, 14 nominations, 10 Backstage Garland Awards , the Backstage “Local Hero” Award, “Best Ensemble” Award, and 2 Dramalogue Awards) Los Angeles native who lived in Northern Brazil for ten years before returning to study audio engineering and music synthesis at Cal State Dominguez Hills. He worked with Rezaʼs Abdoh’s Dar A Luz company in New York and Frankfurt. John is a member of The Evidence Room and Antaeus theater companies and has designed and composed for the Humana Festival, the LAPhil, Long Beach Opera, Geffen, South Coast Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, East West Players, 24th Street Theater, Boston Court, LATC, Padua Playwrights, Actors'Gang, Ensemble Studio Theater West in Atwater Village, Green Beetle at Theater Asylum, Playwrights Arena, CircleX, Odyssey, chashama, PS122, LaMama, amongst others. He designed sound and composed on the short film series The Furies and for the feature Garyʼs Walk, both produced by Padua Playwrights. John is a recipient of the TCG/NEA Career Development Fellowship.

MARIKA STEPHENS (Set Designer) is a recent graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Since graduation she has designed at Powerhouse Theater for: In the Company of Jane Doe, The Story of Miracles, and House Full of Letters which won the KCACTF National Playwriting Award and went on to perform at the Kennedy Center in D.C. Marika designed Trafficking in Broken Hearts at the Celebration Theater, and Arroz con Pollo for The Ruby Theater at the Complex. She currently works at NBC television on the series The Event.

OUR ENSEMBLE

SOLA BAMIS (Pecola Breedlove) spent last summer at the Guthrie Theater in their residency program and recently performed the role of the Provost in the Walt Disney Modular Theater production of Measure for Measure. She has also appeared as Amiga Gringa/Beauty in the Suzan Lori-Parks project In The Blood, directed by Fran Bennett, Gail in the Robey Theater Company's production of The River Niger, and Sarah in a production of The Lover by Harold Pinter. Sola was featured in the world premiere of Forgotten World, directed by Laurie Carlos.

TIFFANY DANIELLE (Frieda and Darlene) has been performing for 13 years in Theatre, Television and Commercials. Hailing from Chicago, IL, Tiffany discovered her love for the arts at an early age. Graduating from Clark Atlanta University, she received her B.A. in Theater Arts and continued her graduate studies at the University of Florida. Tiffany makes her debut with Phantom Projects in The Bluest Eye.

WILLIE MACK DANIELS (Cholly) lives in Santa Ana and is a graduate of the LACC Theatre Academy's Professional Actor Training Program, Florida State University and the University of Southern California. Recently, he played the role of Paul in Six Degrees of Separation at the Westchester Playhouse. Willie's other theatre credits include Macbeth, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, A Piece of My Heart, National Pastime and Landscape of the Body. Last year he was seen as Detective Harrington in the feature film Justify, and was recently seen as Dr. Peter Lucious in the action film Omission. As a screenwriter Willie has been the recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation Fellowship, Film Independent’s Project Involve Program Fellowship, the Prague Summer Writer’s Program and is an alumnus of the Guy Alexander Hanks/Marvin Miller Screenwriting program sponsored by Dr. Bill and Camille Cosby.

SHAMIKA FRANKLIN (Mrs. Breedlove) finished a two-year run as the undisputed "Queen of New Orleans," for Disneyland Entertainment, and a jazz/blues vocalist for Club NYX alongside musical greats such as Ms. Ruby Hayes & the Jimmy McConnell quintet. She holds a B.A in Theatre from the University of Missouri and has appeared on numerous stages (locally at the Wilshire Ebell) across the country while simultaneously working on film and commercial projects.

KWESIU JONES (Daddy, Soaphead Church) is originally from Montgomery, Alabama and is making his third appearance with Phantom Projects. Selected credits include the role of Crooks in Of Mice and Men and Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. Kwesiu recently starred in the movie The Confidant opposite Billy Zane and Richard Roundtree. In addition, he has worked on several TV shows and web series.

JOHNNETT KENT (Mamma) portrayed Pearl Bailey in the Ambassador of Love and appeared in the award winning HBO series The Wire. She earned the Prestigious Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Washington D.C's Arena Stage. Johnnett possesses a BFA from Towson University and has studied in Great Britain at the Dartington College of Arts.

TEKQUIREE SPENCER (Claudia) is currently working on a documentary about colorism in the African American Community. Last year she was seen on stage in local productions of Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes...Love, and in I Need Thee. She has worked on TV productions such as Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Celebrity Rap Superstar, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, and Hell Date, and has recently completed her first pilot.

DANIKA BUTLER (Maureen) has performed in countless musicals, including Grease, Damn Yankees, Little Shop Horrors and many more. She currently works as a performer for Disneyland Resorts.