Murrieta Repertory Theatre offers its first Repertory Festival June 4 through 26 at the Ramona Hillside Playhouse.

“The MRT Repertory Festival has always been something I’ve wanted to do – to give our audience a chance to see a variety of shows, in this case two shows, on the same weekend,” said MRT Artistic Director Jim Marbury.

“You can come and see one show on Friday, for example Doubt, and come on a Saturday night performance of our classic Evening of One Acts.  It’s exciting, because we draw the very best actors in the region to the material and the challenge of offering this variety.”

Marbury is also Directing Doubt for the Festival.

“People should expect a great evening of theatre – this is such a well crafted piece and we have such a distinguished cast. This is going to be some great entertainment.”

As Artistic Director, Marbury made the decision to put Doubt in the 2009 season.

“I chose Doubt because I really like the writer, John Patrick Shanley. He is famous for his screenplay Moonstruck, which garnered many Academy Awards, but he has also written some really great plays that I’ve had the privilege of reading or seeing over the years,” Marbury said. “This play has such a great theatricality to it that it really fits into what we do at Murrieta Rep. We produce challenging material and deliver it with professionalism. This play is such a great opportunity for us.”

The cast includes Alisa Lovas as Sister Aloysius, Rebecca Williams as Sister James, Mark Rogers as Father Flynn and Marcy Wright as Ms. Muller, all of whom Marbury has worked with before.

“These are all seasoned actors who are in their element. They set the standard for excellence in this region,” Marbury noted.

This fabulous drama, which was recently made into a major motion picture, will be shown in repertory with an Evening of One Acts.

The Evening of One Acts includes Zoo Story by Edward Albee, A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekov, Snowangel by Lewis John Carlino, Ashes to Ashes by Harold Pinter, plus two other selections. The list of directors for the festival include Troy Spieler, Paul Jacques, Arielle Rosenbaum, Jim Marbury, and Alisa Lovas who is directing two pieces.

“I read a bunch of one acts and I also asked for suggestions from everyone on the arts board and read those as well,” said Marcy Wright, Producer of the One Acts. “These pieces were chosen based on my theme and criteria. The theme is ‘Relationships,’ how we relate to each other in various situations. For example: we have two strangers in a park, a father and daughter sparring against a neighbor, a prostitute and her John, etc.”

Wright was looking for short pieces, with minimal lighting cues and very minimal sets because she wanted the set changes to be as short as possible so as not to break the flow of the evening too much for the audience.
“I wanted pieces that showcased the talent of the actors we work with. It’s all about simplicity. With so many shows in one evening, the simpler they are the better the flow and we can focus more on the acting.”

Wright noted that the night consists of both drama and comedy.

• Doubt opens June 4 and performs June 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 18, and 19.
• Evening of One Acts opens June 11 and performs June 12, 20, 21, 25, and 26.

The Ramona Hillside Playhouse is located at 27402 Ramona Bowl Road Hemet, CA 92544.