Book Of Leaves

About

In this contemporary drama, Walter’s grown children don’t know he’s dying of cancer, and they have secrets of their own. Over the course of a long weekend at his tree-shrouded home, many truths come to light, including what happened to his wife, their mother, who died seventeen years earlier. Conflicting desires and hidden ambitions converge in a suspenseful, emotionally charged story that will surprise, and move, mature audiences.

As a part of The Roustabout's mission to offer San Diego fresh new perspectives in theater, we're very excited to present this creatively-produced filmed reading. You won’t want to miss this fascinating presentation of Cooper’s emotionally-rich family drama. The play made its debut in Chicago and this reading is proudly offered for the first time on the West Coast by The Roustabouts. This unique virtual reading features six of San Diego’s finest actors and was filmed by the multiple Emmy award-winning Mike Brueggemeyer. 

We invite you to enjoy our groundbreaking interpretation in this virtual reading of Cooper’s taut and captivating play!

Cast

Tom Stephenson

Walter

Tom is a 40-year veteran of the stage. He trained in Great Britain at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, in Michigan. As a Resident Artist at Cygnet he has been seen in over 16 productions notably as Hector in The History Boys and Joe Ryan in When the Rain Stops Falling. Annually, Tom performs the role of Scrooge in Cygnet’s production of A Christmas Carol. Among his seven credits with Intrepid Theatre Company are Joe Keller in All My Sons, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Bill in The Quality of Life, and an award-winning performance as the Colonel in the critically-acclaimed Father Comes Home from the Wars. At New Village Arts he performed the roles of James in Circle Mirror Transformation and Finbar in The Weir. Most recently he made his debut at Diversionary Theatre in The Hour of Great Mercy. Tom was awarded Actor of the Year in 2014 by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle.

Leigh Akin

Beth

Leigh is a singer, actor, comedian and visual artist. In a non-quarantine world, she has performed in theaters across the United States including Gotham Comedy Club, Soho Rep, Bronx Opera, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theater, Broadway Comedy Club, Skylight Music Theater and North Coast Rep. By day she is the creativity manager and graphic designer for Westminster Presbyterian Church, and in COVID-19 has been creating a series of cooking show cabarets from her apartment called "Leigh Sings Songs and Makes Waffles." Find out more and see her work at LeighEllenAkin.com

Justin Lang

Prince

Justin is grateful to The Roustabouts for this opportunity. Justin is a San Diego based actor. Notable credits: Critics Circle Award-nominated Outstanding Dramatic Productions: Of Mice and Men as George Milton, Trouble In Mind as Eddie Fenton. He was a company member with San Diego’s premier Shakespeare group, Poor Players Theatre Company. He was a founding member and the Production Manager with New Fortune Theatre Company. He has performed with Backyard Renaissance, Common Ground, Diversionary, Intrepid, Ion, Lamb’s, MOXIE, New Fortune, New Village Arts, North Coast Rep, Oceanside Theater, Sierra Rep, The Eastern, Playwrights Project, Poor Players.

Maybelle Shimizu

Sylvie

Maybelle is excited to make their debut with The Roustabouts in Book of Leaves. Their favorite acting credits include: Bull in a China Shop (Diversionary Theatre), As Bees in Honey Drown (OnStage Playhouse), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (USD), Tartuffe (USD MFA), Fault of Falling (SD Fringe 2017). Maybelle earned their BA in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and Psychology and is represented by Shamon-Freitas Talent. 

Durwood Murray

Jack

Durwood is so happy to be performing again, previously appearing in Handbagged and Our Lady of Kibeho at MOXIE Theatre. He’s also appeared in The Servant of 2 Masters and To Kill A Mockingbird (New Village Arts); Well and A Civil War Christmas (Diversionary Theatre); and Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts I, II, and III (Intrepid Theatre Company). Durwood would like to thank The Usual Suspects, Wondrous Strange, and all The Partners for their love and support. 

Kandace Crystal

Alice

Kandace is an Actor, Director, & Florida State alum from Miami, FL. As Artistic Director of American History Theater and Associate Artistic Director of Trinity Theatre Company, Kandace implemented an online discussion series examining historical American events on the mental health of marginalized communities. Additionally, in response to the disproportionate murder of black and brown people at the hands of police, Kandace developed a Podcast/Oral Documentary with Cloudcast Media entitled 8:46-The Catalyst for Change. She hopes to continue using her art to tell the stories of people whose stories need to be told. Keep up with her journey on social media, @KandaceCrystal on all platforms.

Rebecca Crigler

Stage Directions

Rebecca has been called many different things by many different people in a few different places. Sometimes she's called "producer" (with and without a prefix): Mike Birbiglia’s The New One (Lortel Award nomination) and Thank God For Jokes; Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (Lynn Redgrave Theatre - NYC); The American Tradition (New Light Theater Project - NYC); Lucie Pohl: Hi, Hitler, I Lost You There, Pass Over; The Surgeon and Her Daughters (Cherry Lane Theatre - NYC); Whirlwind (New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination, The Wild Project - NYC); and A Sunnyside Mixtape (Queens, NY). Sometimes she's called "company manager": Downtown Race Riot, Jerry Springer – The Opera, Good for Otto, Peace for Mary Frances (The New Group - NYC); 3 Mics (Lynn Redgrave Theatre - NYC). Sometimes "general manager": A Jewish Joke, gUnTOPIA, Roosevelt: Charge The Bear, No Way Back, The Mountaintop (The Roustabouts - NYC and San Diego); Nick Kroll: One Night Only (Cherry Lane Theatre - NYC); The King's Speech (The National Theatre - DC); ADH Theatricals; Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation; ShowTown Theatricals. She's been called "Production Consultant" for Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees, "Producing Director" for The Misfits Theatre Company, and "Resident Artist" at New Light Theater Project. Sometimes people call her a friend.

Creative

Will Cooper

Playwright

Will Cooper is a founding partner in the award-winning The Roustabouts Theatre Co., is a playwright based in San Diego. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild and a former Network Playwright at the nationally renowned Playwrights Development Center Chicago Dramatists. His first play, Book of Leaves, was a finalist at the prestigious Ashland News Plays Festival. His play Jade Heart premiered in Chicago where it garnered enthusiastic critical and audience acclaim; it had its highly successful west coast premiere at MOXIE Theatre

in San Diego. His other plays include Shadows of Athens, Movement Man, and Margin of Error, which kicked off the inaugural season of The Roustabouts Theatre Co. It was nominated by the San Diego Critics Circle for its Craig Noel “Outstanding New Play” award. His play gUnTOPIA premiered on March 13, 2020, presented by TRTC at the MOXIE Theatre in San Diego, but was forced to close after opening night due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among his works-in-progress is Bark, an adaptation of a real-life story from the autobiographical works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince. www.willcooperplaywright.com

Kim Strassburger

Director

Directing credits include Romeo, Romeo and Juliet (The Roustabouts Theatre Co.); Handbagged (MOXIE Theatre);  Bull in a China Shop, A Civil War Christmas, and A New Brain (Diversionary Theatre); 8 Songs for a Mad King (San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Special Event and 2017 Best of Festival-San Diego International Fringe Festival); Sunday in the Park with George (SDTCC Award - Outstanding Direction of a Musical), Master Class, Passion (SDTCC Award nomination - Outstanding Direction of a Musical), Grey Gardens, Gypsy (SDTCC Award nomination - Outstanding Direction of a Musical) and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (ion theatre); Gutenberg the Musical! (Backyard Renaissance); Seascape (New Village Arts); and The Woman in Black with Jason Heil (CSU San Marcos). Kim is a graduate of Catholic University of America and UCSD. She is a member of the 2014 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Kim has also served as an Artistic Trustee for Diversionary Theatre.

Michael Brueggemeyer

Videographer/Editor

Michael is a seven-time EMMY recipient in the Pacific Southwest region. He’s an accomplished Director. His films have won Best Film in 48 Hour Film Project events in six out of twelve attempts, including three films which were selected in the top 20 worldwide, out of over 3000 films. He makes his living doing corporate projects, usually working as a one-man band, doing lighting, sound, camera, and sometimes makeup. Both his writing and editing have won awards. A former Director of Photography in International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 600, Mike has taught seminars on AfterEffects compositing, lighting for green screen, acting for the camera, and the business of the film business.