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March 25, 2003
DH-03 TK 022
Contact: Thomas Knox
(310) 243-3367
Email: tknox@csudh.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Advisory

"Dinner With Friends" Opens Theatre Season
at California State University, Dominguez Hills

CARSON, Calif: - California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) ushers in another season of full theatre productions with the 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, "Dinner with Friends," to be presented on three weekends between April 25 and May 10 in the University's Edison Theatre.

Directed by Sydell Weiner, Cal State Dominguez Hills professor of theatre, "Dinner with Friends" has been called "a deceptively simple suburban comedy about marriage and relationships." What appears to be a glimpse of the perils of breaking up becomes an original take on the terrors of staying together. The cast features student and professional actors.

"This is a witty play about two couples, one that gets a divorce and the other that stays together," Weiner explained. "What begins as a breezy comedy turns poignant as the couples deal with the repercussions of their choices." Show times are: April 25 & 26 at 8 p.m.; May 9, & 10 at 8 p.m.; and May 3 & 4 at 2 p.m.

Profile on the Director

Sydell Weiner, Ph.D., is a director and actress from New York. She received her acting training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Yale School of Drama, and has performed professionally in both New York and Los Angeles. As a director, she has staged "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Gypsy," "A Chorus Line", "Uncommon Women and Others," "Crimes of the Heart, "A Shayna Maidel," and many others. She teaches Acting, Directing, Creative Dramatics, Speech and Play Analysis.

Dr. Weiner has published articles in both The American Journal of Psychotherapy and the Journal of Clinical Psychology comparing the art of theatre to the practice of psychotherapy. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a private practice in Torrance. Dr. Weiner is also listed in Who's Who in Entertainment, Who's Who Among American Women, and Who's Who in the World. She is a recipient of the CSUDH's Lyle Gibson Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Weiner embodies the maxim of "giving back to the community" as she is an alumna who received her master's degree in marriage and family counseling from CSUDH in 1996.
Please visit the university website at www.csudh.edu for information on campus curriculum and activities. Learn more about upcoming events presented by the Department of Theatre Arts at www.csudh.edu/theatre/index.html.

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