The Marsh: Dirk Alphin – Axis

Dirk Alphin’s
Axis
In Person at The Marsh SF Studio

Directed by Dirk Alphin
Performers: Erica Clark, Timothy Flanagan, Robert Fraser, Dennis Hasty, Anneliese Stauff, Alan Brown

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36078/production/1192892
Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance, and additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.

April 7 – 28, 2024
Sundays at 5pm

Ticket Information
Tickets: $20 – $35 General Seating sliding scale | $50 & $100 Reserved Seating
Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance, and additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.

90 minutes | 1 Intermission | Ages 18+
Please do not bring infants to the show

About the Show
AXIS, written and directed by Dirk Alphin, is about the last two days of the last family in town in a town that’s sinking underground. The largest open air strip mine on the face of the earth is swallowing up everything feeble and anyone crippled inside. Set in the hot desert interior of the Fogg residence on July 4th, 1976 (Bicentennial Independence Day) and the following day, we watch the family as they navigate storms, harness sparks and perceive ultraviolet light with their naked eyes.

Illegitimate son Seth needs to come out if he is to self-persevere in a disintegrating world. His mother, un-wed Leora, needs to finally burgeon in the hope to find her pot o’ gold. Gramps, the widowed wheelchair bound grandfather, needs to remember the old Native songs in order to control and face his personal fireworks. “Locate the axis, that’s the thing” says Gramps to Seth, urging him to harness his own power and indulge in “making magnets” to attract a suitable closing. “The magic of life is in the changes of fortune!” insists now he’s there, now he’s not Geoffrey, a visiting suiter to both closeted Seth and Seth’s never-married mother Leora.

We come into this world as an act of separation. Denying lonesomeness, we clutch onto each other in desperate necessity. Togetherness and loneliness are familiars: these very relatives should be apprehensive of drawing too close, while equally reticent of drifting too far apart.
Artist Biographies

Dirk Alphin (Playwright/Director) – has lived in San Francisco for over forty years. He has worked in the theater and in film/video as an actor, director, playwright, producer, and designer. He helped create and manage two landmark performance venues: Valencia Rose Cabaret in the 1980s and Josie’s Cabaret & Juice Joint in the 1990s. More recent work includes plays at the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Park Theater in Danville, CA. He has written and has produced several full length, one-act, and solo performance pieces.He is also a fine arts painter, and has had his work featured in galleries and museums, including the de Young in SF.

Elena Kobylina (Assistant Director) – is a Teaching Artist, Theater Professional, and performing artist. She thrives on utilizing her talents to heal and empower youth through a therapeutic approach with expressive arts. Through her growing expertise in performing arts, Elena works to impact many students positively. Along with her teaching and passion for pedagogy, Elena is currently working on her solo show: “From Russia With Love, For Tomatoes” about her journey as an immigrant and unsettled upbringing in Russia. She graduated from The Actors Studio Drama School with an MFA in Acting. She’s a recipient of Creatives Rebuild New York’s “Guaranteed Income for Artists” grant. Theater-wise, Elena’s favorite role was the portrayal of Yelena in “Uncle Vanya,” under the direction of Susan Aston, renowned for her work as an acting coach in “The Sopranos.”

Erica Clark (LEORA) is a software engineer living in San Francisco with her pomeranian, Ziggy Stardust.This is her theatrical debut, and she is very excited to be performing alongside this talented cast and crew.

Timothy Flanagan (GRAMPS) was an active player in local theater throughout the 1980’s and ’90’s, appearing in productions at San Francisco Shakespeare in the Park, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and The Marin Shakespeare Company. He’s played major roles at The Magic Theater, The Aurora Theater, The Z Collective and Theater Rhinoceros where he played Max in their acclaimed production of BENT by Martin Sherman. He toured to Washington D.C. in the midst of the AIDS crisis in MORE THAN NAMES, a story of the making of the AIDS memorial quilt. After an extended hiatus he returned to the stage in 2023, acting in the production of RECIPROCATING PUMPS here at The Marsh, written and directed by Dirk Alphin. He is thrilled to be back at The Marsh and once again working with the multi-talented Mr. Alphin.

Robert Fraser (SETH) – is thrilled to make his debut with The Marsh in this role. With a passion for the performing arts and social justice, Robert has spent the last year and a half studying at the A.C.T. Conservatory, honing his craft and expanding his horizons on the stage.Beyond his acting pursuits, Robert is a talented concert pianist who has been working on an upcoming pop album, infusing his love for music into every note he plays. By day he is a case manager and technology specialist for Code Tenderloin.

Dennis Hasty (GEOFFREY) – trained at the prestigious Jean Shelton Acting School, attended workshops coached by the legendary Stella Adler, studied improvisation with Skip Blass and Debbie Durst, and performed at the improv group Leftover Spaghetti. He has played lead roles in RECIPROCATING PUMPS (Alphin), BIRDBATH (Melfi), THE DAY THE WHORES CAME OUT TO PLAY TENNIS (Kopit), and AM I BLUE (Henley), as well as supporting roles in various plays which include Terrence McNally, Joe Orton, appeared onstage at The Curran Theater in THE REAL LIVE BRADY BUNCH, and sang in musicals at The San Jose Theater Guild (THE APPLE TREE and STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW). He is a former competitive gymnast and Chippendales dancer, and is incredibly thankful to be in another brilliant work by Dirk Alphin.

Anneliese Stauff (OPAL) – began acting in 1998 in Salem, MA portraying “Bridget Bishop” in History Alive!’s production of CRY INNOCENT. She earned a B.A in Drama from SFSU and has served as a Stage Manager for numerous Bay Area theater organizations including The Magic Theatre, Intersection for the Arts, Campo Santo, 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors and the Live Oak Theatre. She currently works full time as an Operations Specialist in Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Program and regularly performs as “Magenta” in Barely Legal’s shadow cast of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

Alan Brown (REVEREND HARMS) is excited to be coached in acting and auditioning and now directed by Dirk Alphin in this role and in this presentation of AXIS. I have had a 4 year acting hiatus since playing Agatha Trunchbull for the Pied Piper Players in their local production of MATILDA. Previous roles include the transmutable John in NAOMI IN THE LIVING ROOM and the dependable butler Foote in NINA IN THE MORNING, both plays directed by Mr. Alphin and written by the irrepressible Christopher Durang. Alan is a local Bay Arean who until recent retirement worked as a caregiver for the County of San Francisco.