The Mineola Twins
Identical is relative
September 28 - October 29, 2017
by Paula Vogel
directed by Ariel Craft
Hilarious and absurd yet startlingly familiar, The Mineola Twins marks the first appearance of Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's words on the Cutting Ball stage. Ariel Craft directs this rarely seen, razor sharp satire about domestic upheaval in times of political progress and in the rise of conservatism.
About the play
Myrna is the "good" twin: straight-as-an arrow, traditional in her values. Myra is the "evil" twin: rebellious and unabashedly promiscuous. Even their chest sizes are in explicit contrast. Spanning three decades from the Eisenhower Administration through George H.W. Bush, The Mineola Twins follows the growing and eventually insurmountable chasm between these two sisters through the women's movement, examining what happens when the person you expected to fight at your side becomes your own adversary and greatest threat.
Reviews
Elissa Beth Stebbins is “superb, underscoring the comic similarities between the blood rivals” in our “jaunty” production. - Ian Stewart, San Francisco Magazine
"Under Ariel Craft’s carefully detailed direction, the comic business is carried out flawlessly: perfect timing, complete with a few well-executed pratfalls, little pantomimed entre’acts, well-chosen sound effects with period-perfect songs (sound design by Sara Witsch) and other frills." - Jean Schiffman, San Francisco Examiner
The Mineola Twins is "a polemic on polarization; the ‘me against them’ policy that divides us by our differences instead of celebrating them. Director Ariel Craft highlights the rift between the sisters to epic proportions, creating a combustible tension that can be seen not only in families today, but our nation." - Steve Murray, For All Events
"Political parties that vie for power hinder and foil each other’s plans the way the twins do. But Vogel sidesteps the 24-hour news cycle of warring punditry by looking underneath the partisan masks." - Jeffrey Edalatpour, SF Weekly
On Elissa Beth Stebbins: "I honestly couldn’t tell at first if there were two different but nearly identical looking actors, or just one amazing actor playing both roles. Turns out it was just one incredibly talented person."- Brittany Janis and Katie Cruz, Mission Mission
Ariel Craft is Cutting Ball's Associate Artistic Director and the Artistic Director of the Tenderloin-based theater, The Breadbox. Recent directing credits include the acclaimed Awakening as well as The Pillowman, Lorca's Blood Wedding and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore. Ariel holds a BFA with Honors from New York University where she studied directing and multidisciplinary theatre-making at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. She was an Artistic Fellow at the American Conservatory Theater and previously served as Assistant Artistic Director at The Custom Made Theatre Co. Ariel was recently awarded Theatre Bay Area’s Titan Award.
Elissa Beth Stebbins is so pleased to be back at Cutting Ball! She was seen most recently as all the Liz’s in Crowded Fire’s You For Me For You, and, before that, as part of the Shotgun Players repertory company in both The Village Bike and Caught. Other recent credits include: the title character in The Little Prince at Marin Theater Company, Moretta/Lucetta in The Rover (Shotgun Players), Chorus Lead in Antigone (Cutting Ball), among others. Elissa has a B.A. from Santa Clara University in Theatre and English, and has continued her training with Shakespeare & Company.
www.elissabethstebbins.com
Sango Tajima is an Oakland-based artist who grew up internationally in the U.S, Japan, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, and Thailand. In the Bay, she is a Core Artist of Ragged Wing Ensemble and member of a political theatre collective The Bonfire Makers. As a performer she’s acted in various productions with Campo Santo, Marin Theater Company, FaultLine Theater, Impact Theatre, Ragged Wing Ensemble, and New Conservatory Theatre Center. This will be her second time performing with Cutting Ball after playing Rosaura in Life is a Dream. Sango has a BFA in Acting from the University of Michigan.
Steven Thomas is delighted to return to the Cutting Ball stage after playing Commissioner Brack in last season's Hedda Gabler. An actor and improvisor from Chicago, in the Bay Area Steve has also worked with We Players as Tybalt and Paris in Romeo and Juliet. In Chicago Steve was seen at The Annoyance Theater, Theatre Wit, The Royal George, and other stages around town for Macbeth, Soul Samurai, Pinocchio, and several new works. As always, Steve thanks his family.
Design Team
Scenic Designer: Michael Locher
Costume Designer: Morgan Louie
Lighting Designer: Jacqueline Steager
Sound Designer: Sara Witsch
Properties Designer: Genevieve Perdue
Artwork by Jennifer Berkowitz
The Mineola Twins is made possible in part by Associate Producer Eric Brown and Janine Paver, Amanda Felson, Marty Krasney, Tom and Stephanie Lima, and Laura and Meg Mason.