Landscape and Silence

LANDSCAPE

Robert Symonds has been active as both actor and director with The Repertory Theater since the inaugural season at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. This season he was seen as Kit Carson in "The Time of Your Life" and Lord Mulligan in "Camino Real" on the mainstage and as Mendacious Porpentine in "The Disintegration of James Cherry" in The Forum. Last season, the protean Mr. Symonds played Kemp in "A Cry of Players," Evans in "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer" and the title role in Moliere's ':The Miser" on the mainstage, and in The Forum directed John White's .'Bananas" and was seen in the central role of Dominic Christian in "The Inner Journey." During the 1965-66 season, he appeared as Azdak in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle," for which he was voted Best Supporting Actor by Variety's Poll of New York Critics, as Robespierre in "Danton's Death" and as Mr. Sparkish in "The Country Wife," which he also directed. In the 1966-67 season he played Captain Face in "The Alchemist," staged "The East Wind" and played Federzoni in "Galileo." For the 1967-68 season Mr. Symonds played the title role in "Cyrano de Bergerac," Chaplain de Stogumber in "Saint Joan" and Demokos in "Tiger at the Gates." As both actor and director, Mr. symonds was associated with The San Francisco Actor's Workshop for eleven years. He is the associate director of The Repertory Theater.

Mildred Natwick, whose superb talents have won her international recognition, was first introduced to Broadway audiences in "Carrie Nation." It was a case of love at first sight, and Miss Natwick has been delighting theatergoers since then in such plays as Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," "The Playboy of the Western World," "The Grass Harp" by Truman Capote, "Candida" and Christopher Fry's "The Firstborn" with Katharine Cornell, "Waltz of the Toreadors" with Sir Ralph Richardson, "The Good Soup," "Critic's Choice," "Barefoot in the Park" in New York and London, and, most recently, in the revival of "Our Town." Miss Natwick began her acting career with the Vagabonds, a local theater group in Baltimore and later joined the famous University Players, trading lines with such other fledgling actors as Henry Fonda, the late Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Joshua Logan. On the screen, she has been acclaimed for her roles in such films as "The Quiet Man," "The Trouble with Harry," "The Court Jester" and "Barefoot in the Park," for which she won the Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Currently, Miss Natwick can be seen on the screen in Truman Capote's "Trilogy" and has appeared on almost every major television dramatic show.

SILENCE

A recipient of both an Indiana University Fellowship in theater and a Fulbright Grant in acting, Barbara Tarbuck has had the unique experience of alternating the roles of Laura and Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie." After a year in repertory at Indiana University, she studied at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, returning to this country to tour with the first national company of "America Hurrah," under the direction of Joseph Chaiken. Last season, Miss Tarbuck toured in Tyrone Guthrie's production of "Lamp At Midnight." Her summer stock experience includes such varied plays as Pinter's "The Birthday Party," "Mary, Mary" and "The Lion in Winter."

James Patterson received the 1968 "Tony" Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Stanley in Pinter's "The Birthday Party." This versatile young actor has been seen in some of off-Broadway's most memorable offerings, including Edward Albee's "The Zoo Story," Robert Lowell's "The Old Glory," George in "Epitaph For George Dillon," and an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's .'Brothers Karamazov" in which he played Dimitri. In addition, Mr. Patterson won an "Obie" for his portrayal of Bill Lloyd in still another Pinter play, "The Collection." Among his other Broadway credits, he appeared as Bill Maitland in the matinee performances of "Inadmissible Evidence" and during the same season was seen in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Conversations at Midnight." His most recent Broadway appearance was in "The Wrong Way Light Bulb" and in London, he was seen in "Tomorrow With Pictures." Last sum. mer, he played the role of John in Ionesco's "Hunger and Thirst," at Stockbridge, Mass. Mr. Patterson's film credits include "Lilith," "In the Heat Of the Night" and "Castle Keep"; and on television, he has been seen on many of the major dramatic shows including "Mission Impossible" and "The F.B.I.," as well as NET's Shakespeare Repertory Company.

Born in Cardiff, South Wales, Peter Gill made his first trip to this country last summer to direct "Much Ado About Nothing" at Stratford, Conn: He began his theatrical career as an actor, then joined the Royal Court Theater as an assistant director. His first major production was the Restoration comedy "The Soldier's Fortune," by Thomas Otway. He also directed three full-Iength plays by D. H. Lawrence: "A Collier's Friday Night," "The Daughter-in-Law" and "The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd" which played in repertory at the Royal Court, successfully introducing Lawrence as a playwright. Subsequently Mr. Gill took "The Daughter-in-Law" on tour in eastern Europe where it won first prize at the 1968 Belgrade International Theatre Festival. His other directorial credits include "Crimes of Passion" by Joe Orton, a double-bill of "The Local Stigmatic" by Heathcote Williams and "The Dwarfs" by Harold Pinter at the Travers Theatre in Edinburgh, Shaw's "O'Flaherty VC" which opened at the Mermaid Theater in London and then went on tour to the Vancouver Festival, and "Life Price," a documentary study of a child murderer. Mr. Gill also wrote and directed "Over Gardens Out" and "The Sleepers Den" which were produced at the Theater Upstairs at the Royal Court and will be published this summer by Calder & Boyars. His other play, "A Precious Life," based on Chekhov's "My Life," was performed at the Royal Court in 1967. Queried about his future plans, Mr. Gill disclosed that he will direct "Hedda Gabler" in Stratford, Ontario, this summer and then hopes to get to work on writing and directing a film.

Based on designs by John Gunter.

Schmidt designed William Hanley's "The Inner Journey" for director Jules Irving and returned this season as resident designer for The Repertory Theater to do "The Time of Your Life" and "Operation Sidewinder" on the Beaumont mainstage and "The Disintegration of James Cherry" in The Forum. His credits include a wide range of work in both regional theater and in New York. He has recently returned from the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis where he designed "The Homecoming" for director Joseph Anthony. He has worked extensively for the New York Shakespeare Festival where the productions he has designed include "King John" and "Twelfth Night" in Central Park, all for director Joseph Papp. In addition to designing for the theater, Mr. Schmidt is involved in readying the novel, "The Man Who Loved Children," for production as a motion picture.

As resident lighting designer for The Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center, John Gleason created the lighting earlier this season for "The Time of Your Life," "Camino Real" and the current production of "Operation Sidewinder" on the mainstage and "The Increased Difficulty of Concentration" and "The Disintegration of James Cherry" in The Forum. Last season he designed lighting for "King Lear," "A Cry of Players," "In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer" and "The Miser" on the Beaumont mainstage, and "Bananas," "An Evening for Merlin Finch," "The Inner Journey" and "The Year Boston Won the Pennant" in The Forum. Also for The Repertory Theater, he was responsible for the lighting in the initial Forum productions, "Walking to Waldheim" and "Happiness," and Ron Cowen's "Summertree," and for "Saint Joan," "Tiger at the Gates," "Cyrano de Bergerac," "The Alchemist" and "Yerma" at the Beaumont, and "Tartuffe" and "The Changeling" at the ANTA-Washington Square. Mr. Gleason is a technical consultant and lighting designer for The National Theater of The Deaf which recently completed its second U.S. tour, and will be lighting designer this summer for the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Conn.

based on designs by Deirdre Clancy.