February/March 2007
STILL LIFE a documentary by Emily Mann
Directed by Ric Sechrest
The 78th Street Theatre Lab
236 West 78th Street at Broadway, New York City

Set and Graphics Designers:  Jack and Rebecca Cunningham
Costume Designer:  Rebecca Cunningham
Lighting Designer:  Esther M. Palmer
Sound Designer:  Jesse Flower-Ambroch
Property Designer: Heather Cunningham
Press Representative:  Judd Hollander, Bunch of People Press and PR
Press Photographer:  David Anthony

Starring: Heather E. Cunningham, Erik Potempa, and Kristen Vaughan.

"As the deeply dissatisfied estranged wife of a Vietnam vet in Retro Productions' presentation of Emily Mann's play, Heather E. Cunningham burst with working-class outrage and resentment yet made you care for this lost soul without begging for sympathy. And in an evening of three monologues, she played off the other two actors, never showily but always eloquently. " - Marc Miller, Performances to Remember, 2007 

 "The pains of readjustment are sharply rendered in Still Life, which might be described as an emotional strip-tease in triplicate...  Still Life lives up to its title: three talking heads, two tables, and virtually no action. Yet the talk is compelling... Potempa's Mark... he has the working-class accent and the angst right...  Cunningham and Vaughan are marvels, both subtly defying expectations about their characters' roles in Mark's life. Even in repose, and there's a lot of it, each stays in character, forcing us to confront Cheryl's bitterness and Nadine's complicated earth-mother makeup even when they're not front and center. Director Ric Sechrest smartly varies the rhythms of the characters' delivery, making them sound spontaneous as they ponder a bleak, nearly hopeless landscape." - Marc Miller, (original review)

"This is a superb production of the play.  I have stopped going to see productions of Still Life because the ones I saw (save for the ones in Europe)  rarely captured the devastating power of the original. Your production got it. It was also thrilling to see it in a tiny space.  You made magic in the 78th Street Theater Lab.  Every aspect of the experience was first rate. Retro is clearly a company dedicated to creating impeccable work that truly matters."  - Emily Mann, playwright, Still Life

BACK STAGE EAST "PERFORMANCE TO REMEMBER, 2007" - Heather E. Cunningham