Jim Cartwright (Playwright) was born in Farnworth, Lancashire in 1958 and educated at Harper Green Secondary Modern School, Farnworth. His plays are performed around the world and have been translated into 30 languages. His first play, Road opened at the Royal Court in 1986 and won the Samuel Beckett Award, Drama Magazine’s Best New Play Award, Plays and Players Award, and The George Devine Award. In 1988, Road was produced by The Lincoln Centre, NY and is now considered a modern classic. In 1987, Road garnered The Golden Nymph Award for best film. The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (1992) performed at the Royal National Theatre and The Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End, was nominated for six Olivier Awards, was winner of The Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year in 1992 and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1993. It opened on Broadway in 1995. Other works include Two (Manchester Evening News Best Play Award); I Licked a Slag’s Deodorant, Prize Night, Hard Fruit, and Eight Miles High (nominated for the TMA Best Musical Award.) His television work includes: Vroom (1988, selected as centrepiece at The London Film Festival); Wedded (BBC, 1990), and June (BBC, 1990). Jim produced and wrote Village (Channel 4, 1996); two films, Strumpet and Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise (BBC, 2001); and wrote and directed Johnny Shakespeare (BBC, 2007). In 2008, his first novel, Supermarket Supermodel, was published. Mr. Cartwright was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Bolton, a visiting Professor at Salford University, and his old school, Harper Green, named a building in his honour. -– extracted from www.literature.britishcouncil.org
Devon de Mayo - she/her/hers - (Director) is thrilled to be working with The Gift! Most recently, Devon served as the Resident Director for Prima Facie on Broadway. Chicago credits include: In Every Generation, If I Forget (Victory Gardens); First Love is the Revolution (Steep Theatre); The Tasters, Laura and the Sea, and The Scientific Method (Rivendell Theatre); Women Laughing Alone With Salad (Theatre Wit); The Burn (Steppenwolf Theatre); Harvey (Court Theatre); Sycamore (Raven Theatre); You on the Moors Now (The Hypocrites); Animals Out of Paper (Shattered Globe Theatre); You Can’t Take it With You, and Lost in Yonkers (Northlight Theatre); Everything is Illuminated and Compulsion (Next); Roadkill Confidential, The Whole World is Watching, As Told by the Vivian Girls and The Twins Would Like to Say (Dog & Pony). Outside of Chicago, Devon served as Resident Director on The Audience by Peter Morgan (Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway, under the direction of Stephen Daldry). She co-wrote and co-directed Guerra: A Clown Play, a collaboration with Mexico City based artists La Piara (performances in New York, Chicago, Albuquerque, Mexico City and Bogota). Devon is an Assistant Senior Instructional Professor and Director of Performance at the University of Chicago.
Peter Andersen (Director) is the artistic director of Oak Park Festival Theatre. He is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s MFA directing program. He is also a graduate of Emerson College where he obtained his BFA in Acting. Directing projects include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oak Park); The Kennedy Plays (CMU), 21 (CMU), a rock-musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It (CMU), The American Myth (Shakespeare & Company), At Your Own Risk (University of Chicago), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Catskill Mountain Shakespeare), Queer Shakespeare, The Cafe Collections, O/A: The Sophocles Project, As You Like It, Macbeth, Measure for Measure. He has also worked at Chicago Shakespeare, TimeLine Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory Theatre, Writers Theatre, and American Players Theatre as an assistant director. As an actor he has performed in several seasons at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA); Actor’s Shakespeare Project (Boston, MA); and Company One (Boston, MA); he has also performed in New York City and Chicago.
Hannah Clark (Scenic Designer) is delighted to join this team. Chicago Credits include The Hero Within (Chicago Shakespeare in the Park); Sweat and As You Like It (Northwestern University).
