FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 21, 2014

Contact: Tyler Melchior

215-592-9560 / tyler@1812productions.org

Intimate Exchanges

Starring Anthony Lawton and Jennifer Childs

Written by Alan Ayckbourn

Directed by Mary Carpenter

August 28-September 21, 2014

(Philadelphia, PA) 1812 Productions is pleased to begin its 18th season with Alan Ayckbourn’s epic

comedy of chance, Intimate Exchanges. Presented as part of the 2014 Philadelphia FringeArts Festival,

Intimate Exchanges stars celebrated Philadelphia actors Anthony Lawton and Jennifer Childs.

Like a splendidly fractured lens, Intimate Exchanges is a feat of linguistic gymnastics on two fronts. First,

it moves with marvelous wit, from moment to moment, in dialogue both grand and common. Second,

although scripted, the story itself doesn’t actually exist until the evening of the performance. Beginning

always on a quiet English estate, one of the characters is quickly faced with a choice. The character’s

decision dictates which scene will then be performed. Soon another moment of decision arises, the

outcome of which leads the play into another set of circumstances, and so on. All told, this production

has 16 scenes which, in different combinations, create eight possible plays with eight possible endings.

Mr. Lawton and Ms. Childs will play a total of seven characters and, while each performance will run for

just under two hours, the actors will come to the stage with eight hours of possible dialogue prepared.

Most remarkable about this production of Intimate Exchanges is that the direction of the story is being

left to the audience. This is the first time in the show’s history that some combination of scenes has not

been prepared in advance of each performance. Each preview performance may be different from the

one the night before. What is performed on opening night may not be seen again during the run. Some

combination of choices may prove to be universal in their appeal and create a master version of the

story. Ultimately, each audience will decide which journey it wishes to take.

A prolific playwright, Alan Ayckbourn is a Tony and Olivier Award winner and is the author of 78 full

length plays. Of Intimate Exchanges, he said, “I felt each character had a choice of destiny through it,

that's all. None of them behaves inconsistently within that, but things happen to them in one story that

couldn't happen in another. You can't cross over once you're set on a course.... What the play explores, I

suppose, are the options open and the great element of chance—how, by meeting different people, we

are affected (and affect them) in different ways."

In addition to the challenge of performing Intimate Exchanges, each member of the show’s production

team was tasked with creating malleable designs which could support the whole of the story, whatever

its incarnation, while still framing each piece independently. Intimate Exchanges features scenic and

lighting designs by 1812 veterans Lance Kniskern and James Leitner, respectively. The production also

welcomes 1812 newcomers Allison Roberts, costume designer, and Michael Hahn, sound designer.

Production Sponsor

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Intimate Exchanges also marks 1812 Productions’ return to the FringeArts Festival. The company’s last

production with the festival was an acclaimed original stage adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief

Interviews with Hideous Men. Of the association, 1812 Productions’ Producing Artistic Director, and

Intimate Exchanges performer, Jennifer Childs says, “There is an electricity that invades the city while

the FringeArts Festival is going on—it feels like a time for both audiences and artists to expand their

horizons and embrace experimentation. Running this particular show during the festival made sense—

Alan Ayckbourn is a playwright that is always experimenting with new ways of delivering a story and

1812 has always looked for new ways of getting the audience to interact with performance.”

“The thing I love about this play is that it shows the outcomes of the different choices that the

characters can make. We, obviously don't have that benefit in our everyday lives,” says Intimate

Exchanges’ director Mary Carpenter. “We use the information we have at hand, we call on our life

experience, we rely on our emotions in the moment, and, ultimately, we follow our gut in the moment

of the decision. And all of this is filtered through the unique lens of who we are as individuals. The

challenge with our production of Intimate Exchanges is to empower the audience to make that choice in

the moment; to involve them with the characters' lives and emotional realities, each character's dreams

and disappointments. With the audience making these choices with the characters, they will be invested

in the characters' journeys and, hopefully, recognize themselves in the characters' experiences,

challenges, and triumphs. That’s the great human comedy at play here.”

Intimate Exchanges will be performed from August 28th thru September 21st at The Arcadia Stage at

Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd Street, in Old City. Opening Night is Wednesday, September 3rd at

7pm. Tickets range from $26-$40 and are available at 215-592-9560 or at www.1812productions.org.

Creative Team

Anthony Lawton (Performer): Anthony Lawton has acted in Philadelphia for twenty-two years. Favorite

roles include George in Of Mice and Men (Walnut); Austin in True West and Feste in Twelfth Night

(Lantern); “man” in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1812); Stephano in The Tempest and Cromwell

in A Man For All Seasons (Pennsylvania Shakespeare); The Fire Chief in A 24-Hour Bald Soprano (Brat);

and Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet (Arden). In 2005, Lawton received grants from the Independence

Foundation and Philadelphia Theatre Initiative to write and develop The Foocy, which garnered five

Barrymore Award nominations (including Best New Play). Film: Silver Linings Playbook, Unbreakable,

Invincible; TV: Hack, Cold Case. The Philadelphia City Paper named him the city’s “Best One-Man

Theatre” for his solo productions of The Devil and Billy Markham, The Great Divorce, and The Screwtape

Letters. For more information on these shows, go to: www.anthonylawtonactor.com.

Jennifer Childs (Performer): Jennifer Childs is the Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder of 1812

Productions. For 1812 she has created over a dozen original works of theater including This Is The Week

That Is, Always a Lady, Our Show of Shows, Cherry Bomb, It’s My Party: The Women and Comedy Project,

and the upcoming To The Moon. Her one-woman show Why I’m Scared of Dance by Jen Childs

premiered at 1812 and has since been performed at Delaware Theatre Company, the Kohler Arts Center

in Wisconsin, Act II Playhouse, and City Theatre in Pittsburgh. Favorite performances outside of 1812

include The Happiness Lecture with Bill Irwin at Philadelphia Theater Company, Spin at the Wilma

Theater, Red Herring and Dex and Julie Sittin’ in a Tree at the Arden Theatre Company.

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Mary Carpenter (Director): Mary is so happy to be back at 1812 Productions. She works in Philadelphia

as an actress, director, teacher, and writer. Directing credits include The Search for Signs of Intelligent

Life in the Universe (1812), Look Mom I’m Swell, Oh What Fun, Didn’t You Father Have this Talk with You,

and the upcoming Making Spirits Bright (Act II Playhouse). Most recent acting credits include: Rumors

(Montgomery Theatre), her original one woman show The New & Improved Stages of Grief (2012 Capital

Fringe Festival), Prisoner of Second Avenue (Montgomery Theatre), and City of Nutterly Love (Second

City/Philadelphia Theatre Company). Mary has been a performing and teaching member of

ComedySportz for twenty-one years where she also served as Artistic Director twice. She is a part of the

improv ensembles Dangerous Fools, ‘Til Death Do Us Part, and Wisdom Teeth. She holds Theatre

degrees from Northwestern University and The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Visit

www.momsquadmary.blogspot.com.

Alan Ayckbourn (Playwright): 2014 marks Alan’s 53rd year as a theatre director and his 55th as a

playwright. He has spent his life in theatre, rarely if ever tempted by television or film, which perhaps

explains why he continues to be so prolific. To date he has written 78 plays and his work has been

translated into over 35 languages, is performed on stage and television throughout the world and has

won countless awards. Major successes include: Relatively Speaking, How the Other Half Loves, Absurd

Person Singular, Bedroom Farce, A Chorus of Disapproval, and The Norman Conquests. In the past four

years, there have been revivals of Season's Greetings and A Small Family Business at the National

Theatre and in the West End productions of Absent Friends, A Chorus of Disapproval, and Relatively

Speaking. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his first West End production, Mr. Whatnot. In 2009,

he retired as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph, where almost all his plays have been and continue

to be first staged. Holding the post for 37 years, he still feels that perhaps his greatest achievement was

the establishment of this company’s first permanent home when the two auditoria complex fashioned

from a former Odeon Cinema opened in 1996. In recent years, he has been inducted into American

Theatre’s Hall of Fame, received the 2010 Critics’ Circle Award for Services to the Arts and became the

first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was

knighted in 1997 for services to the theatre. (Source: Alan Ayckbourn's official website

www.alanayckbourn.net.)

Company History

1812 Productions was founded in 1997 and is the only professional theater company in the country

dedicated to comedy. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, has received multiple nominations and

been awarded the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. 1812

Productions is the recipient of an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work

and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. In 2010, they were honored as one of only 10

theaters in the country to receive a National Theatre Company grant from the American Theatre Wing,

founder of the Tony Awards. 1812 Productions, while continually on the search for a permanent home,

continues to perform at various locations in Philadelphia.

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Intimate Exchanges Performance Details

Cast: Anthony Lawton

Jennifer Childs

Written by: Alan Ayckbourn

Directed by: Mary Carpenter

Location: The Arcadia Stage at Arden Theatre Company

40 N. 2nd Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

Dates: August 28th-September 21, 2014

Ticket Prices: $26-$40

Tickets and Information Contact: 215-592-9560

www.1812productions.org

1812 Productions’ Administrative Office

2329 S. 3rd Street

Philadelphia, PA 19148

Intimate Exchanges Performance Schedule

Thursday, August 28th at 8pm (Preview)

Friday, August 29th at 8pm (Preview)

Saturday, August 30th at 8pm (Preview)

Sunday, August 31st at 2pm (Preview)

Tuesday, September 2nd at 8pm (Preview)

Wednesday, September 3rd at 7pm (OPENING NIGHT)

Thursday, September 4th at 8pm

Friday, September 5th at 8pm

Saturday, September 6th at 8pm

Sunday, September 7th at 2pm

Wednesday, September 10th at 6:30pm

Thursday, September 11th at 8pm

Friday, September 12th at 8pm

Saturday, September 13th at 8pm

Sunday, September 14th at 2pm

Wednesday, September 17th at 6:30pm

Thursday, September 18th at 8pm

Friday, September 19th at 8pm

Saturday, September 20th at 8pm

Sunday, September 21st at 2pm

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