Skin of a Lawyer

By Richard Kalinoski

Directed by D. Scott Glasser

Madison Repertory Theatre continues its From Page to Stage series with a reading of Skin of a Lawyer, a new play by internationally known playwright Richard Kalinoski.

Skin of a Lawyer follows Hank Banucci, a lawyer whose encounter with the formerly homeless Mrs. Chitwood forces him to examine his personal and professional life. When this unlikely interloper enters the Banucci household, Mrs. Chitwood adds chaos to an already tumultuous family gathering, and prompts a series of peculiar events. While Hank runs for district attorney, Mrs. Chitwood's odd behavior highlights the Banucci's own strange insecurities as a family unit. As they explore what lies beneath the skin of lawyers and criminals, both Hank and Mrs. Chitwood seek answers about the deaths of loved ones and the unhappy family lives they have constructed. Rep Artistic Director D. Scott Glasser will direct the reading.

Produced by The Rep

The reading will take place September 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Isthmus Playhouse of the Madison Civic Center, 211 State Street. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted at the door.

For additional information, contact the Rep office at 256-0029.

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The Playwright

Kalinoski was born and raised in Racine, WI. He attended UW-Whitewater as an undergraduate. He holds an MFA in drama from Carnegie Mellon University and was a Fellow at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Kalinoski wrote Beast on the Moon, which Madison Rep staged during the 1997-1998 season. The French production of Beast on the Moon won five Molière Awards (the French equivalent of the Tony Award); Best Play, Director, Actress, Actor, and Translation. His play Between Men and Cattle won the 1995 Riva Shiner Award at the Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana, where it was later produced. Other work has been presented at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, as well as regional theaters throughout the U.S. and venues abroad. Kalinoski currently lives in Oshkosh, where he teaches in the department of theater at UW-Oshkosh.

The Program

From Page to Stage series offers playwrights an opportunity to hear their work read by professional actors and to gauge audience response at a discussion afterwards. From Page to Stage debuted in 1995 with readings of Three Viewings by Jeffery Hatcher, Clifford's Voices by Marc Kornblatt and Forget Nothing by Patty Lynch. The January 1995 reading of Jeffery Hatcher's Three Viewings led to a production at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Dramatists Publishing Service subsequently published the play and several regional theaters produced it, including Madison Rep in 1998. Hatcher's What Corbin Knew was part of the From Page to Stage series in 1999 and premiered at the Rep in January 2000. Last year, the series featured The Rose of Treason, a new play by local actor and playwright James DeVita.