The West Coast premiere of Breadcrumbs

The West Coast premiere of a moving and thought-provoking new play by Jennifer Haley is next up for the award-winning Theater 150 in Ojai. Starring Anne Gee Byrd and Brook Masters and directed by Jessica Kubzansky, Breadcrumbs opens on July 9 for a three-week run through July 24.

Breadcrumbs probes the relationship between two very different women. Alida, a reclusive fiction writer who is diagnosed with dementia, must depend upon Beth, a troubled young caretaker, to complete her autobiography. In a symbiotic battle of wills, the two delve in the dark woods of Alida's past, unearthing a secret tragedy that shatters their notions of language, loneliness, and essential self.

"The two are antipodes," explains Haley. "One seeks to know herself entirely within the confines of her own imagination, and one wholly through the approval of others. They provided a wonderful distillation of the questions I was mulling: the difference between essence and identity. What kept me plodding through the woods with these women was my empathy for the thing they share - a huge loneliness, and also a huge desire to see through it to a greater, wordless essence of acceptance and love."

The challenging role of Alida, the writer facing the reality of oncoming Alzheimer's, will be filled by Anne Gee Byrd. Well known to Los Angeles audiences for her work with The Anteus Company, she has also been seen in major roles at the Pasadena Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, A Noise Within, and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. Her extensive regional theater credits include the Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, as well as the McCarter Theatre at Princeton, matched by extended film and television credits. She is the recipient of the 2011 Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award for her role as "Peggy" in Rogue Machine's Four Places. Beth, Alida's opposite in Breadcrumbs, will be played by Brook Masters of Ojai. Well known for her work as a choreographer in the Ojai area, Ms. Masters has worked with the Art Center Theater and the Boston Center for the Arts, following her training at the Boston Conservatory.

"We're thrilled to be able to present powerful work by this talented playwright," says Theater 150 artistic director Michael Addison. "Combined with the vision and theatrical insights of director Jessica Kubzansky, I think our audiences will be given a theater experience they'll long remember."

Breadcrumbs was a finalist for the 2008 O'Neill Playwrights Conference. It premiered at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, where it was praised in D.C. Theatre Scene as a "heartbreakingly beautiful new play... by a playwright in absolute command of her gifts."

Set design for Breadcrumbs is by Susan Gratch, lighting design is by Jeremy Pivnick, costume design is by Madeline Mikkelson, and original music and sound design are by Bruno Louchouarn.

Performances of Breadcrumbs take place July 9 through 24, Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm; and Sundays @ 2pm. There will be no matinee on July 9. Two preview performances take place on Thursday, July 7 and Friday, July 8 at 8 pm. Theater 150 is located at 316 E. Matilija Street, Ojai 93023. Tickets range from $22-$29, except opening night which is $50 and includes a reception with the actors. Previews are $15. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 805-646-4300 or go to www.theater150.org.