Where the heck am I? In DC!

Hey there, my marvelous friends and family!

Me as Jessica and Bruce Nelson as Salvador Dali in HYSTERIA at Rep Stage. http://www.repstage.org
Photo by Stan Barouh: http://www.stanbarouh.com

I was trying to remember how long it’s been since my last MarniWatch, and a quick check of the blog shows it’s been FIVE MONTHS! My life has completely turned upside-down and backside-up since then, and the upshot is that I’m doing great and busier than ever.

I toured around Europe in August with my dear friend Brittney Rentschler, visiting friends and family in England, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy… Now I’m back with a vengeance, and relocated back down to DC, potentially permanently… it’s made me very happy! (My parents are certainly thrilled.) ;)

I’ve just opened Terry Johnson’s fabulously hilarious play HYSTERIA with Rep Stage in Columbia, MD. It’s an historical fantasy-comedy about Sigmund Freud’s last few hours; a young student (me) breaks into his garden to discuss an old case, then Salvador Dali shows up, and things go berserk!

The amazing cast includes Bruce Nelson as Dali and Jeff Baker as Freud, along with the fabulous talents of Conrad Feininger and Elizabeth Simmons. Heads-up that the show includes nudity (some of it mine…) but it’s smart and funny and audiences and reviewers are loving it. (From the Baltimore CityPaper: “[Penning] is riveting.”) :) Hope you can make it there to see it!

HYSTERIA by Terry Johnson, directed by Steven Carpenter
http://www.repstage.org
now playing through November 1, 2009
Wed, Thurs, Sun at 7pm
Fri-Sat at 8pm
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2pm

And next up: I’ll be back in New York on November 19 (Telephone Bar) & December 10 (Cornelia Street Café) to do Shakespeare, Anyone? again - then it’s back down to Orlando Shakespeare Theatre from 12/21/09-3/14/10 to play Ophelia in HAMLET and Helena in ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL in rep! More to come on that later…

I miss and love you all - please drop me a line to let me know how you’re doing - and if you’re in DC, we should definitely grab a cup of coffee soon!

Big hugs,
Marni