Village Productions Announces Brian Drillinger as the Spring 2008 Visiting Artist

Village Productions is thrilled to announce that Brian Drillinger is our Visiting Artist for Spring 2008. Brian has a multitude of Broadway, Feature Film, and Television credits, and is Creative Director for Edgemar Center for the Arts and Instructor at the Larry Moss Studios in Los Angeles (please see Brian Drillinger’s bio, below).

As Visiting Artist, Brian Drillinger will be teaching a Scene Study Class for adults on Saturdays for 4 hours each week, in the Pottstown area. The class starts on April 5^th and runs through May 24^th. The class is appropriate for all levels of actors, and is limited to 16 students. There are currently a few openings available in this class. Brian also will be teaching a Scene Study Class for teenagers during his stay. This class is already full.

Brian also will be directing the play, ALMOST, MAINE for Village Productions. A delightful play by New York playwright John Cariani, ALMOST, MAINE runs June 6^th – 22^nd at the Historic Yellow Springs Cultural Center (at the West Pikeland Township Building in Chester Springs). Please see more information about ALMOST, MAINE, below.

For more information about the Scene Study Class or ALMOST, MAINE, contact rebecca@villageproductions.org or 610.633.8083 or visit www.villageproductions.org for information and a registration form.

About our Director, Brian Drillinger

Brian Drillinger is a teacher, director, actor, and producer, and the co-founder and Creative Director for the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Drillinger has been a teacher and producing partner with Larry Moss and Michelle Danner for the past eight years, and is a private acting coach, helping young actors start careers such as Traylor Howard (Monk, Boston Common, Two Guys And A Girl, Me Myself And Irene), Jennifer Grant (Movie Stars, Savage, The Evening Star) and Stacey Dash (Clueless). Judy Kerr lists Mr. Drillinger as a recommended coach in the successful industry guidebook “Acting is Everything”.

Mr. Drillinger studied acting at the State University of New York at Purchase and graduated with honors from their intensive conservatory program. He has studied for many years with Uta Hagen in New York and Larry Moss in Los Angeles. Mr. Drillinger co-wrote, produced and starred in the feature film How to Go Out on a Date in Queens, which also stars Jason Alexander, Rob Estes, Kimberly Williams, Esai Morales, and Ron Perlman. His performance earned him Best Supporting Actor Award at the L.A. Indies Awards 2006. He played the role of Stan on Broadway and in the film version of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, and the National Tour of Broadway Bound. He originated the role of Jason Posner in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Wit at the South Coast Repertory and reprised the role at the Seattle Repertory and the Alley Theatre in Houston. Other regional credits include The Substance of Fire at the Old Globe in San Diego, Death of a Salesman and Boundary Waters at the South Coast Repertory, Solace, Gangster Apparel, and Dove at the Hudson Theatre, A Shayna Madel at the Tiffany Theatre, and Bright Ideas at Edgemar Center for the Arts. Television credits include The Agency, Wings, Life Goes On, Reasonable Doubts and General Hospital. Mr. Drillinger also starred opposite Sally Kirkland in the feature film Starry Night, and Janeane Garafalo in the feature film I Shot a Man in Vegas.

Mr. Drillinger produced and directed the Edgemar benefit show in June 2001, hosted by Jason Alexander, and starring Hilary Swank, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sally Kellerman, Chad Lowe, Helen Hunt, Paul Reiser, Hank Azaria and many others, and raising over a quarter of a million dollars for the Edgemar. Other production credits include Four-Thought and the critically acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo at the Hudson Theatre, both at the Hudson Theatre. He also produced the workshop production of How to Go Out on a Date in Queens directed by Larry Moss. Mr. Drillinger co-founded Diva Chihuahua films and produced the award winning short Dos Corazones. Other directing credits include The House of Yes at the Edgemar Center, The Dreamer Examines His Pillow at the Complex, and Almost, Maine in Melbourne Australia.

About Almost, Maine

On a Friday night in the middle of winter, residents of a small, mythical town in far northern Maine are falling in and out of love at an alarming rate. The town of Almost is very far inland, and very far north, where the sky is big, the winters are long, and there's lot's of space. At the very same time, on the very same night and colored by the appearance of the magical lights of the aurora borealis, nine couples are experiencing the power of connection. Some are resolving old relationships, others explore love for the very first time and still others come to the realization that their chance to connect has passed them by. Presented as nine vignettes, Almost, Maine offers laughter, tears, and drama. Almost, Maine is a comedy that will leave you spent from laughter and thoroughly warmed from the inside out. With some strong language and not too many controversial themes, Almost, Maine should be, and could be, good for the whole family.