Theatre Exile Will Open Season With THE NORTH PLAN, 2/13-3/3

Theatre Exile will present the third show of their 16th season with the Philadelphia premiere of The North Plan by Jason Wells. Directed by Exile's own Joe Canuso, of South Philadelphia, and featuring veteran Philadelphia actors Madi Distefano, Dan Hodge, Robert Daponte, Aimé Donna Kelly, Carl Granieri and Mark Cairns. The North Plan will run from February 13 to March 3, with the official press opening on February 16 at 8pm.

The revolution starts now. As martial law is declared by the government, federal bureaucrat Carlton Berg scrambles to protect the highly classified list of those American citizens to be detained - branded as "national security threats." His great escape lands in the podunk town of Lodus, MI in the heart of the Ozarks where the nation's last hope lies in the unlikeliest of line ups: an unsympathetic police chief, an ambivalent administrative assistant and a foul mouthed redneck who's turned herself in for drunk driving and thinks Skynyrd should be on the new money.

Wells' sharp and dynamic script balances the subsequent suspense and hilarity as martial law is declared and military commanders take charge of state and local governments. Berg (Hodge) flees with the new regime's top secret enemies list hunted by two DHS agents (DaPonte and Granieri) and lands himself in a police station in the Ozarks town of Lodus where the local police chief (Cairns), administrative officer (Kelly) and a fellow prisoner (Distefano) thwart his efforts to prevent the impending doom.

Director Joe Canuso assembled a strong design and production team to bring the small-town prison to life at the The Latvian Society of Philadelphia at 7th and Spring Garden. Set Designer Meghan Jones (A Behanding In Spokane, Hunter Gatherers) converts the performance space into two rooms of the jail with both acts of the production played against different sets trimmed by Lighting Design by Maria Shaplin, the Sound Design of Michael Kiley (A Behanding In Spokane, The Aliens, Glengarry Glen Ross, That Pretty Pretty, Killer Joe, Red Light Winter), the Costume Design of Katherine Fritz and Fight Choreographer Michael Cosenza (A Behanding In Spokane).

Cast and Crew
Theatre Exile continues their legacy of bringing Philadelphia its first taste of the world's most exciting and adventurous playwrights. They have introduced Philly to Tracy Letts, Rajiv Joseph, Noah Haidle, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Annie Baker and many other nationally acclaimed playwrights. Now, Exile will be the first company in Philadelphia to bring you The North Plan from the mind of Jason Wells, an actor and playwright making a name for himself after several successful productions. Wells' first play, Men of Tortuga, debuted at Steppenwolf Theatre's First Look Repertory of New Work and went on to acclaimed productions at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Profiles Theatre, Apollinaire Theatre Company, Furious Theatre Company, Purple HeArt Theatre and Street Corner Arts. His second play, Perfect Mendacity, was a finalist for the American Theatre Critics Association's Steinberg/New Play Award. The North Plan debuted at Steppenwolf's First Look Repertory of New Works, premiered at Portland Center Stage and was subsequently produced at Theater Wit.

Madi Distefano is the Founding Artistic Director of Brat Productions where her original one-woman show, Popsicle's Departure, 1989, won Best Solo Show at the Edinburgh Festival and a Fringe First for new writing. Madi holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Temple University, where she is an adjunct professor.

Dan Hodge is the Co-Founding Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Artists Collective where he most recently starred as Adolf in Creditors during the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Previously with Theatre Exile, he received a Barrymore Award for Best Ensemble in a Play for Glengarry Glen Ross. Dan holds an MFA in Acting from the Old Globe Theatre and his BFA in Acting from the University of Evansville.

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