Performer Spotlight
An Online Live Streaming Event
Saturday July 10, 2021 at 7:30pm PT
Sunday July 11, 2021 at 5:00pm PT
Lynne Kaufman’s
Susan Sontag
The Smartest Woman in America
Susan Sontag, the fiercest American intellectual of the 20th century, champions the life of the mind. Whether exploring the origins of ‘camp’ or ‘illness as a metaphor’ she has devoted her life to art, ideas and an unstinting critique of our times. Now, however, when her own time is running out, she wonders if she has made the right choice.
Written by: Lynne Kaufman
Directed by: Warren David Keith
Performed by: Julia Brothers
Watch the Trailer
About the Playwright
Lynne Kaufman is the author of twenty full length plays, three novels and a dozen short stories. Within the last four years, she had had three plays produced at The Marsh SF: “Acid Test”, “Two Minds” and “Who Killed Sylvia Plath”. Unscripted Theatre in S.F. produced her play ”Sex Scandal”. “William Blake in Hollywood,” was produced by the Neil Simon Festival Theatre as the winner of its Best New Comedy Competition. Her play “Daisy in the Dreamtime” was premiered by The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles , won The Rella Lossy Playwright’s Award, and was published in Women Playwrights: Best New Plays and by Dramatic Publishing. She was the recipient of The Otis Guernsey Outstanding New Voice in American Theatre Award from The William Inge Theatre Festival. “Shooting Simone” premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival and received six subsequent regional productions. It was published by Dramatic Publishing. Four of her plays premiered at The Magic Theatre including “The Couch”, which won The Glickman Award for Best New Play in San Francisco and “Speaking in Tongues”, which won a Kennedy Center/NEA/ Fund for New American Plays Award. Her play “Our Lady of the Desert” won Theatreworks ‘Best New Play in California Award”
About the Performer
Julia Brothers is so happy to be joining Lynne Kaufman in bringing to life this one character play that allows us to live, for a brief span of time, in the fascinating mind and heart of Susan Sontag. Recently, Julia was commissioned by SF Playhouse to write and perform her first solo piece, I Was Right Here, directed by Padraic Lillis, which was filmed and ran for five weeks in March and April on the Playhouse’s website. Julia has a passion for developing new work and has originated many roles over the last three decades. Some recent projects include A Peregrine Falls by Leegrid Stevens (dir Padraic Lillis) at The Wild Project, NYC; playing God in the world premiere of the Kilbanes’ rock opera Weightless (dir Becca Wolff) at Z Space and ACT in San Francisco and at The Public Theater’s Under The Radar Festival in NYC; Salesman (Workshop, Rough Draft Festival, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, NYC) by Jeremy Tiang (dir Michael Leibenluft) in which she played Arthur Miller; and Col Sandra Eden in The Trial of Donna Caine by Walter Anderson (dir David Saint) at George Street Playhouse, NJ. Other world premieres include Broadway: Relatively Speaking – George Is Dead by Elaine May (dir John Turturro) Off-Broadway: Clever Little Lies by Joe DiPietro at Westside Arts. Regional: Women In Jeopardy at GEVA, Cape May Playhouse and Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Be Aggressive and Ambition Facing West at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley; Seagull (as adapted by Libby Appel), Magic Forest Farm, The Subject Tonight Is Love and Fortune at Marin Theatre Company, and The First Grade and Our Practical Heaven at Aurora, among others. Some of her favorite Bay Area roles are Robyn in The Roommate (dir Becca Wolff) at SF Playhouse, Dr. Vivian Bearing in Wit (dir Ken Kelleher) at San Jose Stage and Medea (title role) directed Joseph Chaikin at Pacific Repertory Theatre. Julia is an Artistic Associate at Merrimack Repertory Theatre and a company member of The B Street Theatre and SF Playground. She was named MVP for Bay Area Theatre by the San Francisco Chronicle and has received numerous awards for performances there. Along with her acting, Julia has performed at many NYC comedy clubs doing her stand up material and making people laugh. Since her playwriting debut with her solo show, she is busy writing a full length play and is thrilled with the process.
About the Director
Warren David Keith returns to the Marsh after directing Lynne Kaufman’s “Who Killed Sylvia Plath” with Lori Holt as Sylvia. He had extended runs at both the Marsh Berkeley and San Francisco portraying the late Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) in Kaufman’s “Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass.” His most recent appearances on stage include “As You Like It” and “Macbeth” at California Shakespeare Theatre, “Widower’s Houses” and Joe Orton’s “Loot” (opening April 9) at the Aurora Theatre and “The Nether” at SF Playhouse. His film credits include “Raising Arizona,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Fargo,” “A Serious Man,” ” Haiku Tunnel,” “Death and Taxes” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” He has directed shows for the nationally acclaimed Young Conservatory and has taught acting for 25 years.