ON NAKED SOIL
Imagining Anna Akhmatova
Written by Rebecca Schull -- Directed by Susan Einhorn

“I drink to my ruined home,
To my vicious life,
To loneliness spent together
And I drink to you -
To the lie of lips that betrayed me
To the deathly cold of your eyes,
To the fact that the world is rough and cruel,
To the fact that God did not save me.”

CAST OF THE PREMIERE PRODUCTION

Rebecca Schull (Anna Akhmatova)

Rebecca Schull (Anna Akhmatova) is one of the country's leading character actresses. Her stage career includes the Broadway productions of "45 Seconds from Broadway," "Golda", and "Herzl." She was in "I Can't Remember Anything" at Signature Theater, directed by Joseph Chaikin, and at the Dublin Theatre Fringe Festival. She was the original Fefu in "Fefu and Her Friends" by Maria Irene Fornes, and appeared in many other Off-Broadway productions. Her regional theater work includes "The Matchmaker" at the La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff, for which she received the Los Angeles Dramalog Award. Her recent film work includes "United 93" directed by Paul Greengrass, "Little Children," with Kate Winslet, and "Flannel Pajamas," featured at Sundance. She is well-known to TV audiences as Fay in the long-running NBC series "Wings." She has guest-starred in numerous television series and movies of the week. Her early training was at the Stanislavski Studio in Dublin and her first professional work was at the Dublin Focus Theatre. She received the all-Ireland Hibernia Award for Best Actress for her work in "A Delicate Balance." She is a member of The Actors Studio and The Actors Center.

Lenore Loveman (Nadezhda Mandelstam)

Lenore Loveman (Nadezhda Mandelstam) was a nominee for the 2007 Abbie Award for Best Actress for her performance in Daniel Damiano's "Dreams of Friendly Aliens" at The Abingdon Theatre. She was featured Off-Broadway opposite Darren McGavin in "Greetings!" by Tom Dudzick and she covered both Grandmas Emma & Aida in "Over the River and Through the Woods" by Joe DiPietro. Film/TV credits include Danielle Montalbano's "David," "Law and Order," Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "The Gathering" and "Blocked." Performances in new plays include "Our Lady of Stone" (Henry Street Settlement), "Dance Card" (La MaMa E.T.C.), "Unorthodox Behavior" (TNC), "Academy Street" (Kampo Cultural Center) and "A Backward Glance of Edith Wharton" (HB Playwrights Foundation). Earlier in her career she appeared in Allen Swift's "Checking Out" (Broadway) and regionally as Winnie in Beckett's "Happy Days," Anna in "Toys in the Attic" and Corrinna in John Guare's "House of Blue Leaves." She toured opposite Buster Keaton in "Merton of the Movies" and Menasha Skulnick in "The Law and Mr. Simon." Early TV appearances include "One Life to Live," "Edge of Night," "Studio One," "Armstrong Circle Theatre," and "The Defenders." Ms. Loveman studied with Uta Hagen. She is also proud of the major role she played in organizing Actors' Equity's Campaign to SAVE the Theatres which culminated in the preservation of 36 historic Broadway theatres.

Sue Cremin (Lydia Chukovskaya)

Sue Cremin (Lydia Chukovskaya) has appeared in "Killing The Boss" (Cherry Lane), "A Part of the Story" (MCC), "Dinosaur Dreams" (NY Stage & Film), "A Wrinkle In Time" (Lincoln Center Inst.) and "A Stone Carver" (Belmont Playhouse). Her regional credits include "The Talking Cure" and "The Poison Tree" (Mark Taper Forum), "Intimate Apparel" (Baltimore Center Stage and South Coast Rep), "The School For Wives" (South Coast Rep), "Twelfth Night" (The Old Globe), "The Fair Hope Memorial" (Actors Gang), "Leocadia" (NJ Shakespeare Festival), "Mrs. Warren's Profession" and "The Marriage of Figaro/Figaro Gets a Divorce" (Yale Rep). Her films include "Homeland," "Broken," "The Good War," "Can't Miss Nick," "An Evident Kiss" and "The Tao of Steve." Her TV appearances include "Canterbury's Law," "Law & Order," "Close To Home," "Monk," "Tru Calling," "ER," "Dream Hackers," "NYPD Blue," "Strong Medicine," "Spin City," "Boy Meets World" and "Guiding Light." She earned an M.F.A. at Yale School of Drama.

DESIGNERS

Set designer Ursula Belden has been represented on Broadway by "Amadeus," "Quilters" and "Waitin' in the Wings." Her off Broadway credits feature nearly three dozen new American plays, numerous American and/or New York premieres and several classics including the award-winning revival of Strindberg's "A Dream Play" directed by Susan Einhorn. She also designed Einhorn's last production at TNC, "Finding Claire." Her international credits include productions in Berlin, Prague and Canada. She has over 250 credits in regional theaters. Her design work has regularly been selected for inclusion in the International Design Exhibition in Prague. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Belden is a Distinguished Professor at Ohio University and has served as guest professor at London's Central St. Martin's School of Art and Design.

Costumes are by Mimi Maxmen, lighting is by Victor en yu Tan, video is by Aaron Rhyne and sound is by Megan Henninger.

SEE PHOTO GALLERY FOR PRODUCTION PHOTOS.