sisters, doing it for themselves

one more night


a play by sean reycraft

One Good Marriage

till death does its part...

7, 8 + 14 March 2008

Why would a young couple invite a roomful of strangers to their first anniversary party? And how is it that these people are their closest friends? These are just some of the questions asked and answered in One Good Marriage, a play by Sean Reycraft, presented at the Madison Coffee and Tea Company in downtown Madison.

Stewart and Stephanie are celebrating their first anniversary, and you are cordially ignited. No, the word should be "invited." Maybe. And "celebrating" might not be the right word either; "remembering" is more like it. Remembering their courtship, their wedding, the old flames...wait, no, not those flames. The trick in telling a story correctly is getting the words right, right?

"This is the first time that they've ever told their story," playwright Reycraft has said. In a way, that story "was told to them. And they're here a year later, being able to turn around and say it. I think that's what makes the play active, as opposed to being a short story."

Remarkably, the story is inspired by a pair of events, but to say any more would reveal too much. "I think I sort of had an idea floating around in my head a long time," said Reycraft, about "something extraordinary happening to two nice, normal, slightly-depressed people." The story veers from dark comedy to a moment of tragedy and back again, all the while shot through with humor and poignancy. It's the kind of story Riverrun has come to specialize in.

The play is set near Glencoe, Ontario, but his dark sense of humor is straight out of his upbringing. Reycraft grew up in Glencoe, in a house right in the middle of a T intersection. "We would wake up at 1 or 2 in the morning after a car ran into our house when the driver passed out or fell asleep at the wheel. We'd think, 'Oh, another car.' That was part of growing up. Cars will hit your house. We never thought it was strange. And we never thought about moving."

Reycraft has written several plays, as well as several scripts for Canadian television shows, including Degrassi: The Next Generation. He also served as story editor and showrunner on the acclaimed series Slings and Arrows, seen here on the Sundance Channel. He is currently writing for the limited-run television series adaptation of the novel Jpod, by Douglas Coupland. He also recently adapted Michael Downing's novel Breakfast With Scot into a film starring Tom Cavanaugh.

The Riverrun production of One Good Marriage stars Kate Glasheen and Chris Reynolds. You may remember Kate from her appearance with Riverrun last spring at Actors Theatre of Louisville; she is an associate artist with the company. This is Mr. Reynolds' first production with Riverrun. It has been directed by Lori Hedges, with costumes once again by resident designer Wanda McGuire.

Riverrun will be performing in a venue new to them, the Madison Coffee and Tea Company. "This is an intimate play in an intimate space," says producer David J. Loehr. "The show is literally these two people telling their story in a comfortable setting." By working in this smaller scale, Riverrun hopes "to illustrate the sense of community that comes with weddings, anniversaries and more." The play will be presented without intermission, in one long act running approximately one hour.

The coffee shop itself will close at 7.00 pm--which is its current seasonal closing time during the week--in order to prepare for the performances. Doors will open again at 7.30 pm, with showtime at 8.00 pm.

The company will also be taking part in the second annual Cincinnati Directors' Competition, presented by the New Edgecliff Theatre in Cincinnati. Their first performance will be Thursday, 6 March, and if the audience vote favors them, the company will return to compete in the final round on Sunday, 9 March. For competition, they will be performing an abbreviated version of the show, running approximately 25 minutes.

Tickets and Information

One Added Performance! 21 March 2008 @ 8.oo pm

Performed at Madison Coffee and Tea Co., 100 W. Main Street, in downtown Madison, Indiana.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for students and seniors.

You can purchase tickets directly at our tickets page with a credit card through the PayPal system, the safest way to pay online. If you prefer to buy your tickets in person, you can buy them in advance at the Madison Coffee and Tea Company. Seating is very limited, but you're also welcome to try your luck and purchase at the door on performance nights.

You may also reserve a seat by calling 812.496.0201 and leaving a message with your name, phone number, email address and your preferred show times. If your preferred show is sold out, we will contact you and arrange for another time; otherwise, your tickets will be waiting at the door. And you can also reserve tickets by emailing tickets at riverruntheatre.org.

Tickets and reservations for the snowed-out 7 + 8 March performances will be honored at the 21 March performance as needed. Thank you for your patience.

The Cast

Kate Glasheen

Kate Glasheen is an associate artist with Riverrun Theatre Co. Originally from Cincinnati, Kate earned bachelors degrees in Theatre Performance and English Literature from Butler University in Indianapolis. Roles at Butler include Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Lillas Pastia in The Tragedy of Carmen, and Kate in Sylvia. She has toured nationally with Bridgework Theatre and Madcap Puppet Productions. Other credits include three summers at the Shawnee Professional Summer Theatre and a season at the sketch comedy and rock and roll club, Shadowbox, in Newport, KY. Kate also had the opportunity to study directing at the University of Ulster in Colerain, Northern Ireland. She performed to great acclaim in Fat Pig by Neil LaBute this past fall. She performed with Riverrun most recently last spring in What Song the Syrens Sang live onstage at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Chris Reynolds

Chris is making his Riverrun debut with this production.

More info coming soon.


The Crew

Playwright / Sean Reycraft

Sean Reycraft has written for three of the top shows on Canadian television. He replaced showrunner and co-creator Bob Martin (of Broadway's The Drowsy Chaperone) on the third and final season of TMN/Sundance Channel's Slings and Arrows. For two seasons before that, Sean wrote for the ubiquitous Degrassi: The Next Generation, a top hit among teens on CTV and The N! Network here in the United States. He got his start, and a Gemini Award nomination, writing for two seasons on CTV's award-winning The Eleventh Hour.

One Good Marriage has been produced in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Washington (twice extended), Ireland and London, England. His other plays include Roundabout; Throat, a CBC Radio Writers Guild of Canada Top 10 Nominee; and Pop Song, winner of the Canadian Chalmers Play Award.

Director / Lori Hedges

Lori is making her debut as a director with Riverrun with this performance. She is also Riverrun Theatre's Director of Community Relations.

Lori has a degree in theatre from Hanover College. More info coming soon.

Costume Design / Wanda McGuire

Wanda has recently moved to Hanover and has recently worked with Actors Theatre of Louisville. She moved from Los Angeles, CA where she taught costume construction at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising at UCLA. She has worked at the Mark Taper Forum, Hartford Stage, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and Utah Shakespeare, to name a few. Costume designs include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hatfields and McCoys, Shenandoah, Hamlet, The Fantasticks, and Julius Caesar. She has also been a guest artist with the Hanover College Theatre, designing costumes for several productions in the last two years. For Riverrun, she designed the costumes and some set pieces for The Sapphire Comb and The Rough Guide to the Underworld and Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol this past season.