PERSONNEL
BEST
A NEW PLAY BY PETE HOLMBERG
IN THE WAKE OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND THE BIRTH OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT, THREE MALE PARTNERS IN A SUCCESSFUL PR FIRM CONVENE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS TO DISCUSS A PIVOTAL HIRING DECISION.
IN THE WAKE OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND THE BIRTH OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT, THREE MALE PARTNERS IN A SUCCESSFUL PR FIRM CONVENE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS TO DISCUSS A PIVOTAL HIRING DECISION.
As the media fallout descends, American executives are being pressured to evolve in their public discourse, while confidential conversations are devolving at warp speed. The disparity between public messaging and private communication has never been more pronounced.
Three middle-aged executives - Luddy, Kyle & David - have a brutally frank Human Resources conversation. They want to make the final decision on the exhaustive search they’ve conducted for a new SVP. Their hunt has yielded four final candidates who have been subjected to rigorous interviews and secretly christened: Overpriced Guy, Weak-Handshake Guy, The Fat Chick, and The Hot Chick.
Through a ruthless process of elimination, David’s shameless misogyny, Kyle’s internalized homophobia, and Luddy’s covert lust are all laid bare, and three candidates fall by the wayside.
Are the revelations about Weinstein et al., actually CHANGING hiring conversations, or merely throwing a wrench into them?
DIRECTED BY JENNY TIBBELS
FEATURING CHARLIE GORRILLA, KHRIS LEWIN & JONNY MALDONADO
STAGE MANAGED BY STEPHANIE HOLLANDER
PRESENTED BY ROUST THEATRE COMPANY AS PART OF THE ACT ONE THEATRE FESTIVAL AT THE SECRET THEATRE IN LONG ISLAND CITY
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE for PROGRAM A:
Thursday January 11, 7PM
Sunday January 14, 5:30PM
Friday January 19, 7PM
Sunday January 21, 8PM
Saturday January 27, 7PM
Tuesday January 30, 7PM
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ALL TICKETS $15 in advance, or $18 at the door:
THE SECRET THEATRE
44-02 23rd St.
Long Island City, NY 11101
E, M, G OR 7 train to Courthouse SQ/23rd St.
JENNY TIBBELS, director
Jenny Tibbels is dedicated to works that address issues of justice and promote intercultural exchange. A graduate of the MFA Theatre program at Columbia University and a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Jenny started the theatre program at Bard High School Early College and is currently on faculty at St. John’s University. Theatre credits include directing the premieres of Scott Ramsey’s Dance with the Sun for the Fresh Fruit Festival at the Wild Project and Ursula Rucker’s My Father's Daughter at the Annenberg Center, curating and directing a South African Play Festival at Baltimore’s Theatre Project, associate producing The Freedom Theatre’s The Siege at NYU Skirball, company managing the premiere of Arjuna’s Dilemma at BAM, and performing with the SITI Company Lab, the Chocolate Factory, and in Creative Time’s Doomocracy. https://www.jennytibbels.com/
PETE HOLMBERG, playwright
Pete Holmberg began writing his series of unfinished and unproduced works in 1987 when he was 21-years old and failing as an actor in Chicago. Personnel Best is among his first works to be finished, and the first ever to be produced. In addition to failing as an actor, Mr. Holmberg also failed as a stand-up comic in New York City in the early nineties. Like many people who come to New York with the hopes of becoming famous, he found success in the field of public relations where his love of writing came in handy while ghost writing for clients, managing crises and authoring annual reports. His one and only co-byline in his own name came about when he and his friend Isadora Fox chronicled their search for a dead body on Valentine's Day for Time Out New York in 1997. Having become a Real Estate Agent at the age of 50, Mr. Holmberg now authors a blog exploring the emotional side of New York Real Estate at York24.com.
STEPHANIE HOLLANDER, stage manager
Stephanie Hollander is a stage manager and scenic artist. Some recent credits include the world premier of Boris Akunin's "Hamlet: A Version” which was co-produced by Roust Theatre Company, and “The Last Seance” for which she received a nomination for Best Stage Manager in the New York Theater Festival. Stephanie graduated in 2012 from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Theatre and loves spending her free time with her sweet chiweenie, Sasse.
ACTING COMPANY
CHARLIE GORRILLA, LUDDY
(TOP)
Charlie Gorrilla is looking forward to working with Jenny Tibbels and Roust Theatre Company on this incredibly timely play. Charlie has worked on a wide range of theatre projects including Doomocracy, Death of a Salesman, Dog Sees God, and some others. He can also be seen in ABC's Madoff and the new Amazon Series The Romanoffs. Charlie believes art has the opportunity to open up conversation about topics people would normally, perhaps, shy away from. This play touches on many of those topics. Charlie would like to thank Nicole for her constant and unwavering support.
KHRIS LEWIN*, KYLE
(MIDDLE)
Khris Lewin is very pleased to work with Roust Theatre Company again, having played Horatio in Boris Akunin’s Hamlet. A Version for Roust and Red Lab this past spring. Next up: Khris will be appearing at LaMama ETC as Frank in Extreme Whether by Karen Malpede, with peformances beginning March 1st. Other NYC: Private Life of the Master Race (Roust), Gorilla (SATC), Oliver! (Harbor Lights), Richard II (Fight or Flight/Sonnet Rep), Fêtes de la Nuit (Ohio Theatre). Regional: My One And Only, Something’s Afoot (Goodspeed), The Music Man (Ogunquit Playhouse), Knock! Knock! (Vineyard Playhouse), title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Hamlet, Antonio’s Revenge (TheatreWorks), title role in Macbeth (Nebraska Shakespeare). NPR’s Selected Shorts and Bloomsday on Broadway at Symphony Space. Khris is a professor at Baruch College In New York City and in Chengdu, China. BA: Duke University, MFA: National Theatre Conservatory.
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*Appears courtesy of ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA)
JONNY MALDONADO, DAVID
(BOTTOM)
Born and raised in the Lower East Side of New York City, Jonny earned his MFA in Acting at Brooklyn College. A three time champion of MTV's Yo Momma, he now teaches public speaking at the City College of New York and Borough of Manhattan Community College. Theatre credits include: Doomocracy (Brooklyn Army Terminal), Suburban Motel, Marisol (Brooklyn College), Twelfth Night, Cloud Tectonics, The Oresteia, A Sunday Morning in the South (City College), Ubu The King, Machinal (MCC).