Wit

The New York Times critic called Wit, "the kind of theatrical experience of which legends are made." Neither too intellectual or too maudlin, as some producers feared, the play strikes a chord with audiences. "Every once in a while a play comes along that bonds people together in extraordinary ways," notes The Boston Globe reviewer. The play "isn't a tearful lecture on how to die, it's a dry-eyed lesson on how to live--with simplicity and kindness." Another Boston critic concurs: "To say that Wit is about cancer is misleading; it is really about finding a balance between head and heart." "this is a rich and resonant piece of writing," asserts an Atlanta reviewer, "a play about language and ideas, philosophy and religion. It is at once funny, sad, tragic, and life-affirming, complex and simple--yes a metaphysical paradox.

Avery Villines (Dr. Vivian Bearing) - No stranger to the stage Avery has enjoyed performing professionally as well as locally. She has a BFA in Theatre Arts from Valdosta State University and has worked in professional theatre in Florida, Nebraska, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and The Bahamas. Her most memorable local rolls include Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias, Rizzo in Grease, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Nurse Ratchet in One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nancy in Oliver with The Augusta Players, Norma Hubley in Plaza Suite, Penelope Toop in See How They Run, Abby Brewster in Arsenic & Old Lace, and the Leading Player in Pippin with the Ft. Gordon Dinner Theatre. Avery would like to dedicate this performance to her father, who lost his battle with lung cancer in ’92 and to her mother who is a 5-year survivor of Breast Cancer. Go Mom!

Brett P. Hall (Dr. Jason Posner)- Brett P. Hall began seriously acting at Evans High School his freshman year. His first role at ASU was with the Augusta State & Paine College collaboration of A Soldier’s Play as Captain Wilcox and Captain Taylor. Other ASU acting credits include (but are not limited to) Arcadia, Dr. Faustus, The Laramie Project, Dancing at Laughnasa, and most recently The Merchant of Venice and a cameo in Doug Joiner’s production of Dutchman. Directing credits include Defense Mechanisms and The Ferryman. Brett has also been involved in almost all technical aspects of theatre with shows such as Anything Goes, Oh Kay, and ASU’s Crimes of the Heart. Brett would like to dedicate each and every one of these performances to his Papa, James Pierson, who will always be missed and loved.

Rosie Messer (E.M. Ashford)- Rosie Messer is a storyteller and writer. She has performed locally and at festivals on the east coast. This is her first play.

Michael Hamilton (Dr. Harvey Kelekian)- Michael is an engineer with Kimberly-Clark by day, but his true passion is theater. He has been involved in numerous church and community theater productions over the past 20 years as an actor, director and teacher in several states including Georgia, Tennessee and Washington. While living in Knoxville, TN he served for 4 years as Drama Ministry Director for Westlake Baptist and was a core member of The WordPlayers, a faith-based community theater company. More recently, in the Seattle area, he was the acting coach for the CrossWord Players at Northshore Baptist Church and a member of the Attic Theater Company. He was last seen under the spotlight as Cogsworth in the Augusta Players’ production of Beauty and the Beast. He is thrilled to be at home once again where his southern accent is the norm and is delighted to be working with Le Chat Noir and this wonderful cast on Wit. And finally, many thanks for the constant encouragement from my balcony people...you know who you are!!

Jonathan Cook (Technician/Fellow/Student/Code Team)- Jonathan graduated from Augusta State University in May of 2005 with a degree in TV/Cinema and currently works at Channel 26 News of Augusta. Over the course of his college career he was heavily involved in theatre. Jonathan’s most memorable roles were Gary Lejune in the Aiken Community Playhouse production of Noises Off (2003) and as Elwood P. Dowd in ASU’s production of Harvey (2004). While he was a student, he also had the opportunity to write two one-act plays, which have been performed on the ASU stage. Aside from acting, he has played guitar for over 10 years and is currently in the studio recording a full-length CD with two of his bands. Jonathan also spends a lot of time working on independent films and has been known to enter his work into festivals and competitions around the nation.

Sharon Brooks (E.M. Ashford August 10-12). Sharon has been active in Augusta community theater for many years. Some of her favorite roles include, Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday, a Witch in MacBeth, Amanda Wingfield in Glass Menagerie, and Mother Superior in Agnes of God. Sharon most recently appeared as M'Lynn in the Augusta Player's production of Steel Magnolias. Sharon performs each day in front of a captive audience as a Special Education Teacher at Lakeside High School. She is excited to be part of the first production at Le Chat Noir.

Tami Lopez (Technician/Fellow/Student/Code Team)- Tami Lopez is a staple of both the area social scene as a bar tender at the Soul Bar, and of the area Theatre scene. She has performed with the Aiken Community Playhouse as a Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors, and the ASU productions of Faustus and Harvey. Outside of Georgia, Tami has also performed with Northwestern State University in Louisiana as Sally Slaton in their production of the musical, Parade.

Courtney Robertson Prouty (Susie Monahan)- Wit marks Courtney’s eighth theatre production in Augusta. She has performed in Steel Magnolias, The Trip to Bountiful, Guernica, and 5^th of July with the Augusta State University Theatre. In 2002 and 2003 she was voted Best Actress by the ASU Drama Guild for her portrayals of Thomasina in Arcadia and Mephistopheles in Faustus. Courtney enjoys acting in local and regional commercials as well as industrial and independent films. Her most recent acting effort can be seen in the indie flick Deep Green, 2006 winner of the Southern Fried Flicks Film Festival award for Best Local Film.

Duane Brown started his stage training at an early age. Since the age of seven he has been exposed to all elements of theatre. His credits include Lil' Abner, 499 Seats, and Bye Bye Birdie for the Augusta Players. Duane was also part of Dutchman (for which he scored the music), and Faustus, both directed by Doug Joiner. His film, The Drive is Getting Scared, was accepted to the 2004 New Orleans Film Festival and won the Audience Choice Award at the 2005 Southern Fried Flicks Festival. He is also the author of the dreamscape memoir One Time, I Fell Asleep.

Douglas E. Joiner (Director)- Doug received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Augusta College, and his Master of Fine Arts in Directing from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a director, Doug has worked in the United States as well as Romania at the Sibui International Theatre Festival. Among his credits are Dutchman by Imiri Baraka, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, Hansel and Gretel by Richard Davis, Two Rooms by Lee Blessing, The Bacchae by Euripides, and The Madman and the Nun by Stanislaw Witkiewicz . Some of his acting credits include the King in Rumplstiltskin, Chris Keller in All My Sons, Bilbo in Bilbo and the Magic Ring, and Walker in Two Rooms. Doug currently teaches Communication and Theatre at Augusta State University.

Jeff Hutto (Assistant Stage Manager)- Jeff’s theatre experience comes largely from opera and musical theatre. In addition to the Augusta Opera, YART and other community theatre companies, Jeff performed with the ASU Opera Workshop for five years. Along with many minor roles and chorus parts, he has performed such leading roles as Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Tony in Bernstein's A West Side Story, and Colonel Mustard in Clue: The Musical.

Rhiannon Martin (Stage Manager)- Rhiannon Martin is a recent graduate of Augusta State University with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre. Within the last five years that she has seriously pursued Theatre, her technical credits include both Assistant and Stage Management positions for ASU productions. She has also acted with several area Theatre Companies as well as Augusta State, most recently in her Senior Thesis production, Dutchman. Rhiannon hopes that working with Le Chat Noir will help her to establish a body of work from which to pursue a career in Theatre.